Ithobaal I

Ithobaal I is the name of a 9th-century BCE king of Tyre mentioned in the story of Jezebel from the Hebrew Bible, and in a citation by Josephus of a list of the kings of Tyre put together by the Phoenician author Menander of Ephesus.

Relation to Ahab of Israel

Ithobaal held close diplomatic contacts with king Ahab of Israel (Samaria)|Israel]. 1 Kings 16:31 relates that his daughter Jezebel married Ahab, and Phoenician influence in Samaria and the other Israelite cities was extensive. In 1 Kings Ithobaal is labeled king of the Sidonians. At this time Tyre and Sidon were consolidated into one kingdom.

Indirect Assyrian sources

Tyre is not mentioned as an opponent of Shalmaneser III at the Battle of Qarqar in 853 BC, but twelve years later, in 841, Ithobaal's son Baal-Eser II gave tribute to the Assyrian monarch.