Editing Baalbek (section)

==Etymology==
A few kilometres from the swamp from which the [[Litani River|Litani]] (the classical Leontes) and the [[Asi River|Asi]] (the upper [[Orontes River|Orontes]]) flow, Baalbek may be the same as the ''manbaa al-nahrayn'' ("Source of the Two Rivers"), the abode of [[El (god)|El]] in the [[Ugaritic religion|Ugaritic]] [[Baal Cycle]]<ref>KTU 1.4 IV 21.</ref> discovered in the 1920s and a separate serpent incantation.<ref>KTU 1.100.3.</ref>{{sfnp|Steiner|2009}}

Baalbek was called ''Heliopolis'' during the [[Roman Empire]], a [[Latinization of names|latinisation]] of the [[Ancient Greek language|Greek]] ''Hēlioúpolis'' ({{lang|grc|Ἡλιούπολις}}) used during the [[Hellenistic period]],<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/294/ |title=Baalbek |publisher=UNESCO World Heritage Centre}}</ref> meaning "Sun City"{{sfnp|Lendering|2013}} in reference to the [[sun worship|solar cult]] there. The name is attested under the [[Seleucids]] and [[Ptolemaic Egypt|Ptolemies]].{{sfnp|Jidejian|1975|p=5}} However, [[Ammianus Marcellinus]] notes that earlier [[Akkadian language|Assyrian]] names of [[Levant]]ine towns continued to be used alongside the official [[Ancient Greek language|Greek]] ones imposed by the [[Diadochi]], who were successors of [[Alexander the Great]].<ref>[[Ammianus Marcellinus|Amm. Marc.]], [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Ammian/14*.html ''Hist.'', Bk&nbsp;XIV, Ch.&nbsp;8, §6] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221101123202/https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Ammian/14%2A.html |date=1 November 2022 }}.</ref> In [[ancient Greek religion|Greek religion]], [[Helios]] was both the [[sun]] in the sky and its [[personification]] as a [[Greek god|god]]. The local [[Canaanite religion|Semitic god]] [[Baʿal]] [[Hadad|Haddu]] was more often [[interpretatio graeca|equated]] with [[Zeus]] or [[Jupiter (mythology)|Jupiter]] or simply called the "Great God of Heliopolis",{{sfnp|Jidejian|1975|p=57}}{{efn|The name also appears in the Hellenized form ''Balanios'' and ''Baal Helion'' in records describing the acts of [[Theodosius I|Theodosius]]'s reign.{{sfnp|Jessup|1881|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=mzdQAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA473 473]}}}} but the name may refer to the Egyptians' association of [[Baʿal]] with their great god [[Ra]].{{sfnp|Jidejian|1975|p=5}}{{efn|The Egyptian priests' claims that Heliopolis represented a direct descendant of Ra's cult at [[Iunu]], however, is almost certainly mistaken.{{sfnp|Cook|1914|p=[http://digi.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/diglit/cook1914bd1/0633 550]}}}} It was sometimes described as {{nowrap|'''Heliopolis in Syria'''}} or '''Coelesyria''' ({{langx|la|Heliopolis Syriaca}} or ''{{lang|la|Syriae}}'') to distinguish it from [[Heliopolis (Ancient Egypt)|its namesake in Egypt]]. In [[Catholic Church|Catholicism]], its [[List of Catholic titular sees (B-K)|titular see]] is distinguished as '''{{nowrap|Heliopolis in Phoenicia}}''', from its former [[Roman province]] [[Phoenice (Roman province)|Phoenice]]. The importance of the solar cult is also attested in the name ''Biḳāʿ al-ʿAzīz'' borne by the plateau surrounding Baalbek, as it references an earlier solar deity named [[Aziz (disambiguation)|Aziz]]. In [[Hellenistic Period|Greek]] and [[Roman Empire|Roman]] [[Classical antiquity|antiquity]], it was known as ''Heliopolis''. Some of the best-preserved Roman ruins in Lebanon are located here, including one of the largest temples of the Roman empire. The gods worshipped there ([[Jupiter (mythology)|Jupiter]], [[Venus (mythology)|Venus]], and [[Bacchus]]) were [[interpretatio graeca|equivalents]] of the [[Canaanite religion|Canaanite]] deities [[Hadad]], [[Atargatis]]. Local influences are seen in the planning and layout of the temples, which differ from classic Roman design.
{{sfnp|''EI''|1913|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=zJU3AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA543 543]}}

The name {{sc|bʿlbk}} appears in the [[Mishnah]], a second-century [[rabbinic]] text, as a kind of [[garlic]], ''shum ba'albeki'' (שום בעלבכי).<ref>Mishnah, Maaserot 5:8</ref> It appears in two early 5th-century [[Syriac language|Syriac]] manuscripts, a {{circa|lk=no|411}}{{sfnp|Cook|1914|p=[http://digi.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/diglit/cook1914bd1/0633 550]}} translation of [[Eusebius]]'s ''[[Theophania (Eusebius)|Theophania]]''<ref>Brit. Mus. Add. 12150.</ref><ref>[[Eusebius]], ''[[Theophania (Eusebius)|Theophania]]'', 2.14.</ref> and a {{circa|lk=no|435}}{{sfnp|Burkitt|1904|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=vssdKNm9Hm4C&pg=PA51 51]}} [[hagiography|life]] of [[Rabbula]], [[bishop of Edessa]].{{sfnp|Overbeck|1865|p=[https://archive.org/stream/sephraemisyrirab00over#page/228/mode/2up 196]}}{{sfnp|Cook|1914|p=[http://digi.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/diglit/cook1914bd1/0633 550]}} It was pronounced as '''Baʿlabakk''' ({{langx|ar|بَعْلَبَكّ}}) in [[Classical Arabic]].{{sfnp|Arastu|2014|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=MrxrBwAAQBAJ&pg=PT616 616]}}{{sfnp|Steiner|2009}} In [[Modern Standard Arabic]], its [[Arabic diacritics|vowels are marked]] as ''Baʿlabak'' ({{lang|ar|بَعْلَبَك}})<ref name="alalc">{{cite web |title=Arabic |url=https://www.loc.gov/catdir/cpso/romanization/arabic.pdf |work=ALA-LC Romanization Tables |publisher=Library of Congress |location=[[Washington, D.C.|Washington]] |date=2015 }}</ref> or ''Baʿlabekk''.{{sfnp|''EI''|1913}} It is ''Bʿalbik'' ({{lang|ar|بْعَلْبِك}}, is {{IPA|ar|ˈbʕalbik|}}) in [[Lebanese Arabic]].<ref name="alalc" />

The [[etymology]] of Baalbek has been debated since the 18th century.{{sfnp|''EI''|1913|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=zJU3AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA543 543]}}{{sfnp|Steiner|2009}} [[Arthur Bernard Cook|Cook]] took it to mean "[[Baʿal]] (Lord) of the [[Beqaa Valley|Beka]]"{{sfnp|Cook|1914|p=[http://digi.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/diglit/cook1914bd1/0633 550]}} and [[William Bodham Donne|Donne]] as "City of the Sun".{{sfnp|''DGRG''|1878}} [[Jona Lendering|Lendering]] asserts that it is probably a contraction of ''Baʿal Nebeq'' ("[[Baʿal#Word|Lord]] of the Source" of the [[Litani River]]).{{sfnp|Lendering|2013}} [[Richard C. Steiner|Steiner]] proposes a [[Semitic languages|Semitic]] adaption of "[[Baʿal#Word|Lord]] Bacchus", from the classical temple complex.{{sfnp|Steiner|2009}}

Nineteenth-century [[Biblical archaeology|Biblical archaeologists]] proposed the association of Baalbek with the town of [[Baalgad]] in the [[Book of Joshua]];<ref>{{bibleverse|Josh.|11:17|HE}}</ref> the town of [[Baalath]], one of [[Solomon]]'s cities in the [[First Book of Kings]];<ref>{{bibleverse|1 Kings|9:17–18|HE}}</ref>{{sfnp|''New Class. Dict.''|1862}} [[Baal-hamon]], where Solomon had a [[vineyard]];<ref>{{bibleverse|Song of Songs|8:11|HE}}.</ref>{{sfnp|''EB''|1878|p=176}} and the "Plain of Aven" in [[Book of Amos]].<ref>{{bibleverse|Amos|1:5|HE}},</ref>{{sfnp|Jessup|1881|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=mzdQAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA468 468]}}