There is evidence that Sidon was inhabited as long ago as 4000 B.C., and perhaps as early as Neolithic times (6000 - 4000 B.C.). The ancient city was built on a promontory facing an island, which sheltered its fleet from storms and served as a refuge during military incursions from the interior. In its wealth, commercial initiative, and religious significance, Sidon is said to have surpassed all other Phoenician city states.

Sidon was twice destroyed in war between the 7th and 4th centuries B.C. and again during the earthquake in the 6th Century A.D.

Geography

To the east were highlands with altitudes from 2000 to 2600 feet, but still dissected enough to allow travel to the east, to Damascus.
The Sidonian Depression, a geological line of weakness, strikes to the southeast, ending the Lebanon Mountain range and providing usable routes inland.
The hills are for the most part limestone and chalk, so the forests were not thick. The city was sited on a low hill and a wall separated the city from attack by land.

Trade

Glass manufacture, Sidon's most important enterprise in the Phoenician era, was conducted on a vast scale and the production of purple dye was almost as important. The small shell of the Murex trunculus was broken in order to extract the pigment that was so rare it became the mark of royalty.
Textiles were produced using the dye and traded in all parts of the ancient world. The textile industry flourished. It was later found that the sands from the area produced an excellent transparent glass, and this glass was a prized commodity throughout the Near East.

Brief History

BCE
1400-1350 - City kingdom according to el-Armarna Letters.
1280 - Mentioned in papyrus Anastasi I. 11th cent. Journey of Wen-Amon passes thru Sidon.
1050 - Philistines destroyed Sidon; inhabitants fled to Tyre.
980 - Joab's census ...reaches Sidon
841 - Campaign of Shalmaneser III
806 - Campaign of Adad-Nirari III to Damascus.
701 - Sidon submitted to Sennachrib; Luli, king of Sidon, fled.
677 - Sidon revolted against Esarhaddon and lost.
351 - Artaxerxus besieges Sidon; city burnt completely.
333 - Sidon surrenders to Alexander without resistance.
320 - Ptolemy (by sea) and Nicanor by land occupied Sidon.
315 - Antigonus and Ptolemy fight back and forth thru Phoenicia.
246-217 - Ptolemy and Seleucis fight back and forth.
200 - armies of Ptolemy IV were defeated; Scopas flees to Sidon.
163 - Sidon remains faithful to Antiochus during Maccabean revolt.
108-107 - Sidon besieged by Holofernes?