Editing Beirut (section)

=== Roman period ===
[[File:Beirut - Lebanon - Paris of the East! - November 2008 - Downtown Beirut is re-constructed mostly thanks to Rafik Hariri - The Paris of the East is back!.jpg|thumb|left|upright=0.9|Roman Columns of Basilica near the [[Roman Forum, Beirut|Forum]] of Berytus]]
{{main|Berytus}}
Laodicea was conquered by [[Pompey]] in 64 BC and the name Berytus was restored to it. The city was assimilated into the [[Roman Empire]], soldiers were sent there, and large building projects were undertaken.<ref name="DTBcom">[http://www.downtownbeirut.com/AboutBeirut.html About Beirut and Downtown Beirut] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090423075733/http://www.downtownbeirut.com/AboutBeirut.html |date=23 April 2009 }}, DownTownBeirut.com. Retrieved 17 November 2007.</ref><ref name="LPlanet">{{cite web |title=Beirut |work=Lonely Planet |url=http://www.lonelyplanet.com/lebanon/beirut |access-date=25 August 2016 |archive-date=24 May 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090524052809/http://www.lonelyplanet.com/lebanon/beirut |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://ukar.ff.cuni.cz/EN/proj-beirut.html |title=Czech excavations in Beirut, Martyrs' Square |work=Institute for Classical Archaeology |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130723183833/http://ukar.ff.cuni.cz/EN/proj-beirut.html |archive-date=23 July 2013}}</ref> From the 1st century BC, the [[Beqaa Valley|Bekaa Valley]] served as a source of grain for the [[Roman province]]s of the [[Levant]] and even for [[Rome]] itself. Under [[Claudius]], Berytus expanded to reach the [[Beqaa Valley|Bekaa Valley]] and include [[Baalbek|Heliopolis (Baalbek)]]. The city was settled by Roman colonists who promoted agriculture in the region.

As a result of this settlement, the city quickly became [[Romanization (cultural)|Romanized]], and the city became the only mainly [[latin language|Latin-speaking]] area in the [[Phoenice (Roman province)|Syria-Phoenicia province]].<ref name="Morgan, James F. page 87">Morgan, James F. ''The Prodigal Empire: The Fall of the Western Roman Empire'', page 87</ref> In 14{{nbsp}}BC, during the reign of [[Herod the Great]], Berytus became a [[colonia (Roman)|colony]], one of four in the [[Phoenice (Roman province)|Syria-Phoenicia region]] and the only one with full Italian rights (''{{lang|la|ius Italicum}}'') exempting its citizens from imperial taxation. Beirut was considered the most Roman city in the eastern provinces of the Roman Empire.<ref name="Morgan, James F. page 87" /> Furthermore, the veterans of two [[Roman legion]]s were established in the city of Berytus by emperor [[Augustus]]: the [[Legio V Macedonica|5th Macedonian]] and the [[Legio III Gallica|3rd Gallic Legions]].<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zMJqGTSUmH8C&pg=PA45 |title=Roman Berytus: a colony of legionaries |isbn=978-0-203-49907-8 |last1=Hall |first1=Linda Jones |date=6 February 2004 |publisher=Taylor & Francis}}</ref>

Berytus's [[Law School of Beirut|law school]] was widely known;<ref>[https://archive.today/20120524192722/http://student.britannica.com/comptons/article-230135 Beirut], Britannica.com</ref> two of Rome's most famous jurists, [[Papinian]] and [[Ulpian]], were natives of [[Phoenicia]] and taught there under the [[Severan dynasty|Severan]] emperors. Ecclesiastical historian [[Sozomen]] studied at the law school in Beirut between 400-402.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Hollerich |first1=Michael |title=Making Christian History: Eusebius of Caesarea and His Readers |date=June 22, 2021 |publisher=Univ of California Press |isbn=978-0-520-29536-0|pages=67,332 |edition=1st}}</ref> When [[Justinian I|Justinian]] assembled his ''[[Digest (Roman law)|Pandects]]'' in the 6th century, a large part of the corpus of laws was derived from these two jurists, and in AD{{nbsp}}533 Justinian recognised the school as one of the three official law schools of the empire.

In 551, a [[551 Beirut earthquake|major earthquake]] struck Berytus,<ref name="LebEmbU.S." /><ref name="DTBcom" /><ref>{{cite book |url=https://www.fulltextarchive.com/page/History-of-Phoenicia7/#p2 |title=History of Phoenicia |access-date=17 November 2007 |archive-date=7 March 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140307085928/http://www.fulltextarchive.com/page/History-of-Phoenicia7/#p2 |url-status=live }}</ref> causing widespread damage. The earthquake reduced cities along the coast to ruins and killed many, 30,000 in Berytus alone by some measurements.<ref name="Sbeinati">{{cite journal |last1=Sbeinati |first1=M.R. |author2=Darawcheh R. |author3=Mouty M |year=2005 |title=The historical earthquakes of Syria: an analysis of large and moderate earthquakes from 1365 B.C. to 1900 A.D. |journal=Annals of Geophysics |volume=48 |issue=3 |pages=347–435 |doi=10.4401/ag-3206 |doi-access=free}}</ref> As a result, the students of the law school were transferred to [[Sidon]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ikamalebanon.com/national_heritage/south_nh/sth_cities_nh/saida.htm |title=Saida (Sidon) |publisher=Ikamalebanon.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090628084129/http://www.ikamalebanon.com/national_heritage/south_nh/sth_cities_nh/saida.htm |archive-date=28 June 2009 |access-date=5 May 2009}}</ref>

Salvage excavations since 1993 have yielded new insights in the layout and history of Roman Berytus. Public architecture included several [[Roman Baths, Beirut|bath complexes]], [[Colonnaded Street]]s, a [[Hippodrome of Berytus|circus]] and theatre;<ref name="academia.edu" /> residential areas were excavated in the [[Garden of Forgiveness]], [[Martyrs' Square, Beirut|Martyrs' Square]] and the Beirut Souks.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Perring |first=Dominic |date=2003 |url=https://www.academia.edu/489532 |title=The Insula of the House of the Fountains in Beirut: an Outline History |journal=Antiquaries Journal |volume=83 |pages=195–230 |doi=10.1017/S0003581500077696 |s2cid=162079588}}{{Dead link|date=December 2021 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

[[File:Beyrouth-histoire1.jpg|thumb|right|View of Beirut with snow-capped [[Mount Sannine]] in the background&nbsp;– 19th century]]