Ithobaal I was king of
Tyre from
887[?] to
856[?]. During his reign, Tyre expanded its power on the continent, making all of southern
Phoenicia its territory, including
Sidon. During his reign, Tyre also built its first colonies -
Botrys[?] (now
Batrun[?]) near
Byblos, and
Auza[?] in
Libya.
Ithobaal held close diplomatic contacts with king Ahab of Israel. His daughter Jezebel even married Ahab, and Phoenician influence in Samaria and the other Israelian cities was large.