 Sidon returned to its former level of prosperity while Tyre was besieged for 13 years ( 586 – 573 BC ) by the Chaldean king Nebuchadnezzar II . Nevertheless , the Sidonian king was still held in exile at the court of Babylon . Sidon reclaimed its former standing as Phoenicia 's chief city in the Achaemenid Empire ( c.529 – 333 BC ) . During this period , Xerxes I awarded king Eshmunazar II with the Sharon plain for employing Sidon 's fleet in his service during the Greco @-@ Persian Wars . 
