- Tyre was the major region for the purple dye industry, which probably began as early as the 18th century B.C.
- The dye was carefully extracted, a few drops at a time from the murex, a shell-fish found in the waters off of Tyre and sidon. The process used to extract the fluid was so difficult and so expensive that only the rich could afford to buy the dyed fabric. It is because of this Phoenician fabric that we still use the expression "born in the purple" to mean one who is born rich.
- This dye was used in royal robes, other kinds of special ceremonial or ritual garments, or garments indicating high rank . Byzantine Emperor Justinian I clad in Tyrian purple, 6th-century mosaic at Basilica of San Vitale, Ravenna, Italy "<Wikipedia>
- The dye was carefully extracted, a few drops at a time from the murex, a shell-fish found in the waters off of Tyre and sidon. The process used to extract the fluid was so difficult and so expensive that only the rich could afford to buy the dyed fabric. It is because of this Phoenician fabric that we still use the expression "born in the purple" to mean one who is born rich.
- This dye was used in royal robes, other kinds of special ceremonial or ritual garments, or garments indicating high rank . Byzantine Emperor Justinian I clad in Tyrian purple, 6th-century mosaic at Basilica of San Vitale, Ravenna, Italy "<Wikipedia>