Hiram II

Hiram II (Hi-ru-mu) was the Phoenician king of Tyre from 737 to 729 BC. In 738 he was listed as a tributary of the Assyrian king Tiglath-Pileser III. His predecessor, Ithobaal II, was also stated to have paid tribute in that year. It is possible that the date in the Assyrian record is in error and Hiram's reign did not begin until 737. Hiram II should not be identified with the "Hiram, king of the Sidonians" who paid tribute to the Assyrians at an earlier date.

In 733 or 732, Hiram allied with Rezin, king of Damascus, but was attacked and defeated by Tiglath-Pileser. He was then deprived of Sidon, which the Assyrian king bestowed on Elulaios. Hiram also had agents on Cyprus, where his interests probably lay in the copper mines about Amathus and Limassol.

In 729, Mattan II deposed Hiram and seized the throne. In 728 he made a large payment of tribute to buy Assyrian recognition of his usurpation.