Tyre
2 of the 7 encyclopedias on this shelf carry an entry for Tyre. Both are reproduced below, so you can see where they agree and where they differ.
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
in ancient geography, a famous city of antiquity, on the coast of Phœnicia, 24 miles to the S. of Sidon. The first city of Tyre was built on the mainland, but the second and more imortant city was erected on an island about a mile long, running parallel with the shore, but separated separated from it by a strait of the Mediterranean a mile wide. The city covered the whole island, and was of extraordinary magnificence and beauty, while its wealth made it the envy of all surrounding nations. Tyre had two capacious harbors, and the whole island was surrounded by a strong wall 150 feet in height. It was the emporium of all the commerce of the then known world, and the fleets of its merchant princes traded to all parts of the earth. The Tyrians were celebrated for their splendid dyes, especially of scarlet and purple, for their skill in all mechanical arts, their metallic work, industry, and commerce. In the time of David and Solomon, the Tyrian king, Hiram, maintained friendly relations with the Israelites, and his people, as the importers and chief workmen of Solomon, greatly assisted that monarch in the building of his temple. Tyre is repeatedly mentioned in the Old Testament for its strength, wealth, and beauty, and is threatened with destruction for its pride and grandeur. It was frequently subjected to the horrors of war, endured many long and fearful sieges, and became nominally a tributary state to the Assyrians and Persians. Alexander III. took Tyre after a seven months' siege of extraordinary difficulty, during which he constructed a mole connecting the insular city with the mainwas taken land, land, in in July, 332 B. C. Tyre from the Saracens by the Crusaders, after a siege of five months and a half, June 20, 1123. Saladin sought in vain to retake it in 1187. The prosperity of Tyre was not finally destroyed till the conquest of Syria by the Turks in 1516. At present it is a poor town, called Sur, or Soor. It occupies the E. side of what was formerly the island, 1 mile long, and 1/2 mile from the shore, thus inclosing two so-called harbors separated by Alexander's causeway, which is now a broad isthmus. The only real harbor is on the N.; but even this is too shallow to admit any but the smallest class of vessels. It is filled and the N. coast of the island lined with stone columns, whose size and countless number evince the former magnificence of the famous city.
Aiton's Encyclopedia (1910)
tir, one of the celebrated cities of antiquity. It was the chief port of the Phoenicians, a seafaring people. It was situated at the eastern extreme of the Mediterranean, about equally distant from Damascus and Jerusalem. Hiram, king of Tyre, it may be remembered, was on excellent terms with King Solomon, and in exchange for wheat gave him cedars of Lebanon to be used in building the temple. Modern Tyre is a place of about 6,000 inhabitants. Tyre was overthrown first by Nebuchadnezzar, the Babylonian, by the Persians, and again by Alexander the Great in 332 B. C. Its final subjection was completed by the Roman Antigonus, 313 B. C. Splendid columns, the ruins of an aqueduct, and other public works attest the former beauty and splendor of the city. In Ezekiel xxvi and xxvii we have a noble description of Tyre, "situate at the entry of the sea, a merchant of the people for many isles." A few phrases, caught here and there, give some idea of the commerce of this busy city; "Shipboards of fir trees"; "Cedars from Lebanon to make masts"; "Oars of the oaks of Bashan"; "Benches of ivory"; "Fine linen with broidered work from Egypt spread forth to be thy sail"; "Blue and purple covered thee"; "Wise men, thy pilots"; "They of Persia were in thine army"; "Men hanged their shields upon thy walls"; "Tarshish (southwestern Spain), thy merchant, with silver, iron, tin, and lead"; "Vessels of brass in thy market"; "Horses, and horsemen, and mules in thy fairs"; "Horns of ivory and ebony"; "Syria, thy merchant in thy fairs, with emeralds, purple, and broidered work, and fine linen and coral and agate"; "Judah in thy market, with wheat, and honey, and oil, and balm"; "Damascus, thy merchant, wine and white wool"; "Bright iron, cassia, and calamus in thy market"; "Precious clothes for chariots"; "Arabia, lambs, rams, goats"; "Sheba, spices, precious stones, and gold"; "Blue clothes, broidered work, chests of rich apparel, bound with cords and made of cedar"; "Thou wast replenished and made very glorious in the midst of the seas. Thy rowers have brought thee into great waters."