Hiram I

Hiram I (Phoenician: 𐤇𐤓𐤌, Ḥirōm, meaning "my brother is exalted"; also spelled Hirom or Huram) was the Phoenician King of Tyre who reigned during the 10th century BC, approximately 980 to 947 BC. He succeeded his father, Abibaal, and is a prominent figure in both the Hebrew Bible and the historical records cited by the ancient historian Josephus. Under his long reign of 34 years, Tyre grew from a lesser city-state into the most important and dominant Phoenician commercial power in the Mediterranean.

Hiram I is best known for his strategic alliances and close friendships with the Israelite Kings David and his son Solomon. He initially sent skilled artisans, carpenters, stonemasons, and valuable cedar timber from Lebanon to Jerusalem to help build a royal palace for King David. After David's death, Hiram maintained this alliance with Solomon, providing essential materials and expert craftsmen for the construction of the First Temple in Jerusalem and Solomon's own palace complex. In exchange, Solomon provided Hiram with annual shipments of wheat and olive oil, and the two kings established a mutually beneficial trade network that included joint maritime expeditions to Ophir via the Red Sea, which brought immense wealth to both kingdoms.

Beyond these alliances, Hiram I undertook significant domestic building projects in Tyre, including land reclamation efforts to connect the city's offshore islands to the mainland, creating contiguous land and expanding its dual harbors. He also fortified the city and is said to have built temples to the Tyrian gods Melqart and Astarte. The prosperity and stability achieved under Hiram I established the dynastic line and commercial dominance of Tyre for decades, ensuring an orderly succession by his son, Baal-Eser I.