Editing Baalbek (section)

===Antiquity===
{{stack begin}}[[File:1921 reconstruction of the Baalbelk temple complex.jpg|thumb|right|Reconstruction of Temple of Jupiter/Baalbek]]
[[File:1865 Spruner Map Israel or Palestine post 70 AD.jpg|thumb|right|Roman Heliopolis and its surroundings in the [[2nd century in Lebanon|2nd]] and the [[3rd century in Lebanon|3rd century.]]]]
{{stack end}}
After [[Alexander the Great]]'s [[Alexander the Great's conquest of Persia|conquest of Persia]] in the 330s&nbsp;BC, Baalbek (under its Hellenic name [[#Name|Heliopolis]]) formed part of the [[Diadochi]] kingdoms of [[Ptolemaic Egypt|Egypt]] & [[Seleucid Syria|Syria]]. It was annexed by the [[Roman Empire|Romans]] during their eastern wars. The settlers of the [[Roman colony]] '''Colonia Julia Augusta Felix Heliopolitana''' may have arrived as early as the time of [[Julius Caesar|Caesar]]{{sfnp|''EB''|1878|p=176}}{{sfnp|''DGRG''|1878|p=1036}} but were more probably the [[legionaries|veterans]] of the [[Legio V Alaudae|5th]] and [[8th Legion]]s under [[Augustus]],{{sfnp|''New Class. Dict.''|1862}}{{sfnp|''EB''|1911|p=89}}{{sfnp|Cook|1914|p=[http://digi.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/diglit/cook1914bd1/0633 550]}} during which time it hosted a Roman garrison.{{sfnp|''EB''|1878|p=176}} From 15&nbsp;BC to AD&nbsp;193, it formed part of the territory of [[Berytus]]. It is mentioned in [[Josephus]],<ref>[[Josephus]], ''[[Antiquities of the Jews|Ant.]]'', XIV.3–4.</ref> [[Pliny the Elder|Pliny]],<ref>[[Pliny the Elder|Pliny]], ''[[Natural History (Pliny)|Nat. Hist.]]'', V.22.</ref> [[Strabo]],<ref>[[Strabo]], ''[[Geography (Strabo)|Geogr]].'', [[s:el:Γεωγραφικά/ΙΣΤ|Bk.&nbsp;14, Ch.&nbsp;2, §10]]. {{in lang|el}}</ref> and [[Claudius Ptolemy|Ptolemy]]<ref name="ptol">[[Claudius Ptolemy|Ptolemy]], ''[[Geography (Ptolemy)|Geogr.]]'', [http://rbedrosian.com/Classic/Ptol/ptol127.htm Bk.&nbsp;V, Ch.&nbsp;15, §22] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180929184129/http://rbedrosian.com/Classic/Ptol/ptol127.htm |date=29 September 2018 }}.</ref> and on [[Roman coinage|coins]] of nearly every [[list of Roman emperors|emperor]] from [[Nerva]] to [[Gallienus]].{{sfnp|''EB''|1878|p=176}} The 1st-century Pliny did not number it among the [[Decapolis]], the "Ten Cities" of Coelesyria, while the 2nd-century Ptolemy did.<ref name="ptol" /> The population likely varied seasonally with market fairs and the schedules of the [[Indian monsoon]] and [[Caravan (travellers)|caravans]] to the coast and interior.{{sfnp|''DGRG''|1878|p=1037}}

[[File:Lebanon, Baalbek, Ancient temple complex of Roman Heliopolis, Roman columns.jpg|left|thumb|[[Corinthian order|Corinthian]] [[capital (column)|capitals]] [[Ornament (art)|ornamenting]] the [[column]]s of the [[Temple of Bacchus]]]]
During [[Classical Antiquity]], the city's [[Roman temple|temple]] to [[Baʿal]] [[Hadad|Haddu]] [[interpretatio graeca|was conflated]] first with the worship of the [[Ancient Greek religion|Greek]] [[sun god]] [[Helios]]{{sfnp|Cook|1914|p=[http://digi.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/diglit/cook1914bd1/0633 550]}} and then with the Greek and [[Ancient Roman religion|Roman]] [[sky god]] under the name "[[Heliopolitan Zeus]]" or "[[Heliopolitan Jupiter|Jupiter]]". The present Temple of Jupiter presumably replaced an earlier one using the same foundation;{{efn|Daniel Lohmann wrote that, "due to the lack of remains of temple architecture, it can be assumed that the temple this terrace was built for was never completed or entirely destroyed before any new construction started..."{{sfnp|Lohmann|2010}}{{page needed|date=September 2015}} "The unfinished pre-Roman sanctuary construction was incorporated into a master plan of monumentalisation. Apparently challenged by the already huge pre-Roman construction, the early imperial Jupiter sanctuary shows both an architectural megalomaniac design and construction technique in the first half of the first century AD."{{sfnp|Lohmann|2010|p=29}}}} it was constructed during the mid-[[1st century in Lebanon|1st century]] and probably completed around AD&nbsp;60.{{efn|"It is apparent from a graffito on one of the columns of the Temple of Jupiter that that building was nearing completion in 60 A.D."{{sfnp|Rowland|1956}}}}{{sfnp|Kropp & al.|2011}} His [[idolatry|idol]] was a [[Kouros|beardless]] [[Gold#Cultural history|golden]] god in the pose of a [[chariot]]eer, with a [[flagellum|whip]] raised in his right hand and a [[thunderbolt]] and stalks of grain in his left;{{refn|[[Macrobius]],<ref name="macrobe">[[Macrobius]], ''[[Saturnalia (Macrobius)|Saturnalia]]'', Vol.&nbsp;I, Ch.&nbsp;23.</ref> translated in [[Arthur Bernard Cook|Cook]].{{sfnp|Cook|1914|p=[http://digi.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/diglit/cook1914bd1/0635 552]}}}} its image appeared on local coinage and it was borne through the streets during several festivals throughout the year.<ref name="macrobe" /> [[Macrobius]] compared the rituals to those for [[Diva Fortuna]] at [[Antium]] and says the bearers were the principal citizens of the town, who prepared for their role with abstinence, chastity, and shaved heads.<ref name="macrobe" /> In [[bronze sculpture|bronze]] [[Ancient Greek sculpture|statuary]] attested from [[Byblos]] in [[Roman Phoenicia|Phoenicia]] and [[Tortosa]] in [[Roman Spain|Spain]], he was encased in a pillarlike [[term (architecture)|term]] and surrounded (like the Greco-[[Ancient Persian religion|Persian]] [[Mithras]]) by busts representing the [[Ancient Greek astronomy|sun, moon, and five known planets]].{{sfnp|Graves|1955|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=ClTmOEBNMhAC&pg=PT40 40–41]}} In these statues, the bust of Mercury is made particularly prominent; a marble [[stela]] at [[Massilia]] in [[Transalpine Gaul]] shows a similar arrangement but enlarges Mercury into a full figure.{{sfnp|Graves|1955|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=ClTmOEBNMhAC&pg=PT40 40–41]}} Local cults also revered the [[Baetylus|Baetylia]], black conical stones considered sacred to [[Baʿal]].{{sfnp|''DGRG''|1878|p=1037}} One of these was taken to Rome by the emperor [[Elagabalus]], a former priest "of the sun" at nearby [[Emesa]],{{sfnp|Jessup|1881|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=mzdQAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA471 471]}} who erected a temple for it on the [[Palatine Hill]].{{sfnp|''DGRG''|1878|p=1037}} Heliopolis was a noted [[oracle]] and [[pilgrimage]] site, whence the cult spread far afield, with inscriptions to the Heliopolitan god discovered in [[Ancient Athens|Athens]], [[Ancient Rome|Rome]], [[Pannonia]], [[Veneto|Venetia]], [[Gaul]], and near the [[Hadrian's Wall|Wall]] in [[Roman Britain|Britain]].{{sfnp|Cook|1914|p=[http://digi.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/diglit/cook1914bd1/0635 552]}} The Roman temple complex grew up from the early part of the reign of [[Augustus]] in the late 1st&nbsp;century&nbsp;BC until the [[Christianity in the Roman Empire|rise of Christianity]] in the [[4th century in Lebanon|4th&nbsp;century]]. (The 6th-century chronicles of [[John Malalas]] of [[Antioch]], which claimed Baalbek as a "[[wonders of the ancient world|wonder of the world]]",{{sfnp|Jessup|1881|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=mzdQAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA471 471]}} credited most of the complex to the 2nd-century [[Antoninus Pius]], but it is uncertain how reliable his account is on the point.){{sfnp|''CT''|2010}} By that time, the complex housed three temples on Tell Baalbek: one to [[Jupiter Optimus Maximus Heliopolitanus|Jupiter Heliopolitanus]] (Baʿal), one to [[Venus Heliopolitana]] (Ashtart), and a third to [[Bacchus]]. On a nearby hill, a fourth temple was dedicated to the third figure of the [[Heliopolitan Triad]], [[Mercury (mythology)|Mercury]] (Adon or Seimios{{sfnp|Cook|1914|p=[http://digi.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/diglit/cook1914bd1/0637 554]}}). Ultimately, the site vied with [[Praeneste]] in [[Roman Italy|Italy]] as the two largest sanctuaries in the Western world.{{citation needed|date=September 2024}}

The emperor [[Trajan]] consulted the site's [[oracle]] twice. The first time, he requested a written reply to his sealed and unopened question; he was favorably impressed by the god's blank reply as his own paper had been empty.{{sfnp|Cook|1914|p=[http://digi.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/diglit/cook1914bd1/0635 552–553]}} He then inquired whether he would return alive from his wars against [[Parthia]] and received in reply a [[centurion]]'s [[vine staff]], broken to pieces.{{sfnp|Cook|1914|p=[http://digi.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/diglit/cook1914bd1/0636 553]}} In AD&nbsp;193, [[Septimius Severus]] granted the city ''[[ius Italicum]]'' rights.<ref>[[Ulpian]], ''De Censibus'', Bk.&nbsp;I.</ref>{{efn|Coins of [[Septimius Severus]] bear the legend {{sc|col·hel·i·o·m·h}}: ''{{lang|la|Colonia Heliopolis Iovi Optimo Maximo Helipolitano}}''.{{sfnp|''EB''|1878|p=176}}}} His wife [[Julia Domna]] and son [[Caracalla]] toured [[Roman Egypt|Egypt]] and [[Roman Syria|Syria]] in AD&nbsp;215; inscriptions in their honour at the site may date from that occasion; Julia was a Syrian native whose father had been an [[Emesa]]n priest "of the sun" like [[Elagabalus]].{{sfnp|Jessup|1881|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=mzdQAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA471 471]}}

The town became a battleground upon the [[Christianity in the Roman Empire|rise of Christianity]].{{sfnp|Cook|1914|p=[http://digi.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/diglit/cook1914bd1/0637 554]}}{{efn|It is mentioned, ''inter alia'', by [[Sozomen]]<ref>[[Sozomen]], ''Hist. Eccles.'', v.10.</ref> and [[Theodoret]].<ref>[[Theodoret]], ''Hist. Eccles.'', III.7 & IV.22.</ref>}} Early Christian writers such as [[Eusebius of Caesarea|Eusebius]] (from nearby [[Caesarea Maritima|Caesarea]]) repeatedly execrated the practices of the local pagans in their worship of the Heliopolitan Venus. In AD&nbsp;297, the actor [[Gelasinus]] converted in the middle of a scene mocking [[baptism]]; his public profession of faith provoked the audience to drag him from the theater and [[stoning|stone him to death]].{{sfnp|Cook|1914|p=[http://digi.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/diglit/cook1914bd1/0637 554]}}{{sfnp|''EB''|1878|p=176}} In the early 4th century, the deacon Cyril defaced many of the [[idolatry|idols]] in Heliopolis; he was killed and (allegedly) [[Human cannibalism|cannibalised]].{{sfnp|Cook|1914|p=[http://digi.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/diglit/cook1914bd1/0637 554]}} Around the same time, [[Constantine the Great|Constantine]], though not yet a Christian, demolished the goddess' temple, raised a basilica in its place, and outlawed the locals' ancient custom of prostituting women before marriage.{{sfnp|Cook|1914|p=[http://digi.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/diglit/cook1914bd1/0637 554]}} [[Bar Hebraeus]] also credited him with ending the locals' continued practice of [[polygamy]].<ref>[[Bar Hebraeus]], [https://books.google.com/books?id=52hgAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA85 ''Hist. Compend. Dynast.'', p.&nbsp;85.] {{in lang|la}}</ref> The enraged locals responded by raping and torturing Christian virgins.{{sfnp|Cook|1914|p=[http://digi.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/diglit/cook1914bd1/0637 554]}} They reacted violently again under the freedom permitted to them by [[Julian the Apostate]].{{sfnp|''EB''|1878|p=176}} The city was so noted for its hostility to the Christians that [[Alexandria]]ns were banished to it as a special punishment.{{sfnp|''EB''|1878|p=176}} The Temple of Jupiter, already greatly damaged by earthquakes,{{sfnp|Cook|1914|p=[http://digi.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/diglit/cook1914bd1/0639 556]}} was demolished under [[Theodosius I|Theodosius]] in 379 and replaced by another basilica (now lost), using stones scavenged from the pagan complex.{{sfnp|Cook|1914|p=[http://digi.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/diglit/cook1914bd1/0638 555]}} The ''[[Easter Chronicle]]'' states he was also responsible for destroying all the lesser temples and shrines of the city.<ref>{{cite book|language=el, la|title=Chronicon Paschale|series=[[Corpus Scriptorum Historiae Byzantinae]]|trans-chapter=CCLXXXIX|chapter=σπθʹ Ὀλυμπιάς|volume=I|chapter-url=https://archive.org/stream/bub_gb_8CQAAAAAYAAJ#page/n593|place=[[Bonn]]|year=1832|publisher=Impensis ed. Weberi|editor1-first=Barthold Georg|editor1-last=Niebuhr|editor1-link=Barthold Georg Niebuhr|editor2-first=Ludwig|editor2-last=Dindorf|editor2-link=Karl Wilhelm Dindorf#Ludwig Dindorf|page=561}}</ref> Around the year 400, [[Rabbula]], the future [[bishop of Edessa]], attempted to have himself martyred by disrupting the pagans of Baalbek but was only thrown down the temple stairs along with his companion.{{sfnp|Cook|1914|p=[http://digi.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/diglit/cook1914bd1/0638 555]}} It became the seat of its own bishop as well.{{sfnp|''EB''|1878|p=176}} Under the reign of [[Justinian I|Justinian]], eight of the complex's [[Corinthian order|Corinthian column]]s were disassembled and shipped to [[Constantinople]] for incorporation in the rebuilt [[Hagia Sophia]] sometime between 532 and 537.{{citation needed|date=September 2015}} [[Michael the Syrian]] claimed the golden idol of Heliopolitan Jupiter was still to be seen during the reign of [[Justin&nbsp;II]] (560s & 570s),{{sfnp|Cook|1914|p=[http://digi.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/diglit/cook1914bd1/0638 555]}} and, up to the time of its conquest by the Muslims, it was renowned for its palaces, monuments, and gardens.{{sfnp|''EB''|1878|p=177}}

{{anchor|Medieval|Medieval period|Emirate of Baalbek|Emirate}}