Editing Baalbek

{{short description|City in Baalbek-Hermel, Lebanon}}
{{distinguish|text=[[Balbec, Indiana]], in the United States}}
{{pp-extended|small=yes}}
{{use dmy dates|date=October 2021}}
{{Infobox settlement
| official_name      = Baalbek
| native_name        = {{lang|ar|بَعْلَبَكّ}}
| settlement_type    = [[List of cities and towns in Lebanon|City]]
| image_skyline      = Temple of Bacchus, Baalbek, Lebanon (49890013476).jpg
| imagesize          = 275px
| image_alt          = Temple of Bacchus
| image_caption      = Temple of Bacchus
| image_flag         = 
| image_seal         = 
| image_shield       = 
| nickname           = 
| motto              = 
| image_map          = 
| map_caption        = 
| pushpin_map        = Lebanon
| pushpin_label_position = bottom
| pushpin_mapsize    = 275
| pushpin_map_caption = Location in Lebanon
| coordinates        = {{coord|34|0|22.81|N|36|12|26.36|E|region:LB|display=inline,title}}
| subdivision_type   = Country
| subdivision_name   = {{Flag|Lebanon}}
| subdivision_type1  = [[Governorates of Lebanon|Governorate]]
| subdivision_name1  = [[Baalbek-Hermel Governorate|Baalbek-Hermel]]
| subdivision_type2  = [[Districts of Lebanon|District]]
| subdivision_name2  = [[Baalbek District|Baalbek]]
| established_title  = 
| established_date   = 
| government_type    = 
| government_footnotes = 
| leader_title       = Mayor
| leader_name        = Bachir Khodr
| area_total_km2     = 7
| area_metro_km2     = 16
| elevation_footnotes = 
| elevation_m        = 1170
| population_footnotes = {{citation needed|date=December 2013}}
| population_total   = 82,608
| population_metro   = 105000
| timezone           = [[Eastern European Time|EET]]
| utc_offset         = +2
| timezone_DST       = +3
| utc_offset_DST     = 
| postal_code_type   = 
| postal_code        = 
| area_code          = 
| footnotes          = {{Infobox UNESCO World Heritage Site
  |child    = yes
  |ID       = 294
  |Year     = 1984
  |Criteria = Cultural: i, iv
}}
| website            = 
}}
'''Baalbek'''{{efn|Also spelled '''Ba'labek''',{{sfnp|''Cook's''|1876}} '''Balbec''',{{sfnp|Wood|1757}} '''Baalbec'''{{sfnp|''EB''|1878|p=176}} and '''Baalbeck'''.<ref>{{cite web |script-title=ar:إتحاد بلديات غربي بعلبك |language=ar |trans-title=West Baalbeck Municipalities Union |url=http://www.west-baalbeck.org/ |date=2013 |access-date=8 September 2015 |archive-date=23 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210723131204/http://www.west-baalbeck.org/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>}} ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|b|ɑː|l|b|ɛ|k|,_|ˈ|b|eɪ|ə|l|b|ɛ|k}};<ref>
* {{cite web |last=Olausson |first=Lena |title=How to Say: Baalbek |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/theeditors/2006/08/how_to_say_baalbek.html |date=2 August 2006 |access-date=8 September 2015 |publisher=[[BBC]] |location=London }}
*{{cite encyclopedia |title=Baalbek |encyclopedia=Merriam–Webster |year=2020 |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Baalbek }}
*{{cite encyclopedia |title=Baalbek |encyclopedia=American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language |year=2020 |publisher=Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company |url=https://www.ahdictionary.com/word/search.html?q=Baalbek }}</ref> {{langx|ar|بَعْلَبَكّ|Baʿlabakk}}; {{langx|syr|ܒܥܠܒܟ}}) is a city located east of the [[Litani River]] in [[Lebanon]]'s [[Beqaa Valley]], about {{convert|67|km|mi|abbr=on}} northeast of [[Beirut]]. It is the capital of [[Baalbek-Hermel Governorate]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.localiban.org/rubrique894.html |title=Mohafazah de Baalbek-Hermel |publisher=Localiban |access-date=20 February 2017 |archive-date=21 February 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170221111459/http://www.localiban.org/rubrique894.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> In 1998, the city had a population of 82,608.<ref name=":11">{{cite book |author1=Wolfgang Gockel |url=https://archive.org/details/syrialebanon0000gock/page/202 |title=Syria – Lebanon |author2=Helga Bruns |date=1998 |publisher=Hunter Publishing, Inc. |isbn=9783886181056 |edition=illustrated |page=[https://archive.org/details/syrialebanon0000gock/page/202 202]}}</ref> Most of the population consists of [[Shi'a Islam in Lebanon|Shia Muslims]], followed by [[Sunni Islam in Lebanon|Sunni Muslims]] and [[Christianity in Lebanon|Christians]];<ref name=":11" /> in 2017, there was also a large presence of [[Refugees of the Syrian civil war|Syrian refugees]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ba'albak (District, Lebanon) - Population Statistics, Charts, Map and Location |url=https://www.citypopulation.de/en/lebanon/admin/baalbak_al_harmal/53__baalbak/ |access-date=2024-11-09 |website=www.citypopulation.de}}</ref>

Baalbek has a history that dates back at least 11,000 years, encompassing significant periods such as [[Prehistory of Lebanon|Prehistoric]], [[Canaan]]ite, [[Hellenistic period|Hellenistic]], and [[Phoenicia under Roman rule|Roman]] eras. After Alexander the Great conquered the city in 334 BCE, he renamed it '''Heliopolis''' ({{lang|grc|Ἡλιούπολις}}, [[Greek language|Greek]] for "Sun City"). The city flourished under Roman rule. However, it underwent transformations during the [[Historiography of the Christianization of the Roman Empire|Christianization period]] and the subsequent [[Spread of Islam|rise of Islam]] following the [[Muslim conquest of the Levant|Arab conquest]] in the [[7th century in Lebanon|7th century]]. In later periods, the city was sacked by the [[Mongol Empire|Mongols]] and faced a series of earthquakes, resulting in a decline in importance during the [[History of Lebanon under Ottoman rule|Ottoman]] and modern periods.<ref name=":102">{{Cite book |last1=Najem |first1=Tom |title=Historical Dictionary of Lebanon |last2=Amore |first2=Roy C. |last3=Abu Khalil |first3=As'ad |date=2021 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |isbn=978-1-5381-2043-9 |edition=2nd |series=Historical Dictionaries of Asia, Oceania, and the Middle East |location=Lanham Boulder New York London |pages=45–46}}</ref>

In the modern era, Baalbek enjoys economic advantages as a sought-after tourist destination.<ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://apnews.com/video/lebanon-war-and-unrest-hezbollah-retail-and-wholesale-israel-government-7338ad26e29d4e19b2a6f0d49b4649d7 |title=Israeli war with Hezbollah cripples tourism in ancient city of Baalbek |language=en |access-date=2024-11-01 |via=apnews.com}}</ref> It is known for the ruins of the Roman temple complex, which includes the [[Temple of Bacchus]] and the [[Temple of Jupiter (Baalbek)|Temple of Jupiter]], and was inscribed in 1984 as a [[UNESCO World Heritage]] site. Other tourist attractions are the ''Great [[Umayyad Caliphate|Umayyad]] Mosque'', the [[Baalbeck International Festival|Baalbek International Festival]], the mausoleum of Sit Khawla, and a [[Baalbek Stones|Roman quarry site]] named ''Hajar al-Hibla''.<ref name=":102" /> Baalbek's tourism sector has encountered challenges due to conflicts in Lebanon, particularly the [[Lebanese Civil War|1975–1990 civil war]], the ongoing [[Syrian civil war spillover in Lebanon|Syrian civil war]] since 2011,<ref name=":102" /><ref>{{Cite book |last=Paturel |first=Simone |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pS2hDwAAQBAJ |title=Baalbek-Heliopolis, the Bekaa, and Berytus from 100 BCE to 400 CE: A Landscape Transformed |publisher=BRILL |year=2019 |isbn=9789004400733 |pages=6 |language= |quote=The town of Baalbek is a Hezbollah stronghold and was the scene of Israeli commando raids in 2006 and some rocket fire from Syria in recent years due to the civil war.}}</ref> and the [[Israel–Hezbollah conflict (2023–present)|Israel–Hezbollah conflict]] (2023–present).<ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://apnews.com/video/lebanon-war-and-unrest-hezbollah-retail-and-wholesale-israel-government-7338ad26e29d4e19b2a6f0d49b4649d7 |title=Israeli war with Hezbollah cripples tourism in ancient city of Baalbek |language=en |access-date=2024-11-18 |via=apnews.com}}</ref>

Baalbek is considered to be part of [[Hezbollah]] group's heartland<ref>{{cite news |last1=Staff |first1=Al Jazeera |title=What is Lebanon's ancient city of Baalbek and why is Israel targeting it? |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2024/11/1/what-is-lebanons-ancient-city-of-baalbek-and-why-is-israel-targeting-it |access-date=18 January 2025 |work=Al Jazeera |date=1 November 2024 |language=en}}</ref> and is known to be their political stronghold.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Arunasalam |first1=Samritha |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/israel-lebanon-baalbek-1.7368705 |access-date=18 January 2025}}</ref> During the [[Israeli occupation of Southern Lebanon]] (1982–2000), the group managed to overpower the Lebanese army in Baalbek and gain control of the city. The settlement was subsequently used as a base to recruit and train men for attacks against Israeli forces.<ref name=":12">{{Cite book |last=Hamzeh |first=Ahmad Nizar |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HNyv0N8cVE0C&dq=%22baalbek%22+%22hizbullah%22&pg=PA100 |title=In the Path of Hizbullah |publisher=Syracuse University Press |year=2004 |isbn=978-0-8156-3053-1 |pages=100–128 |language=}}</ref><ref name=":13">{{Cite book |last=Malthaner |first=Stefan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=24SOGS31WVQC |title=Mobilizing the Faithful: Militant Islamist Groups and Their Constituencies |publisher=Campus Verlag |year=2011 |isbn=9783593394121 |pages=82–83, 182–184, 236–242 |language=}}</ref><ref name=":3">{{Cite book |last=Levitt |first=Matthew |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X7YfEQAAQBAJ |title=Hezbollah: The Global Footprint of Lebanon's Party of God |publisher=Georgetown University Press |year=2013 |isbn=9781647125325 |edition=Updated |publication-date=2024 |pages=129}}</ref> Hezbollah continues to hold significant political influence and popular support in Baalbek.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Chaddad |first=Rita |date=2021 |title=Culture, tourism, and territory: Analyzing discourses and perceptions of actors in Byblos and Baalbek in Lebanon |journal=Journal of Tourism and Cultural Change |volume=19 |issue=6 |pages=805–818 |doi=10.1080/14766825.2020.1802470}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=27 September 2024 |title=Inside the Lebanese Valley Where Israel Is Bombarding Hezbollah |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/27/world/middleeast/bekaa-valley-lebanon-hezbollah.html |work=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref> In the [[2022 Lebanese general election]] the [[Amal Movement|Amal]]-Hezbollah list won 9 out of 10 seats in the Baalbek-Hermel Governorate.<ref>{{Cite news |date=16 May 2022 |title=Here's The List Of Who Won In The Bekaa III (Baalbek-Hermel) District In Lebanon's Elections 2022 |url=https://www.the961.com/winners-bekaa-iii-lebanons-elections-2022/}}</ref>

Israel has conducted numerous airstrikes and raids against military and civilian targets in the Baalbek area in the past decades. For instance, in 2006 during the [[Operation Sharp and Smooth]], Israeli commandos raided a hospital and bombed multiple houses, killing two Hezbollah fighters and at least eleven civilians.<ref>{{Cite journal |title=Why They Died: Civilian Casualties in Lebanon during the 2006 War |url=https://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/reports/lebanon0907.pdf |journal=Human Rights Watch |volume=19 |issue=5 |pages=124–129}}</ref><ref name="peda">{{cite book |last=Pedahzur |first=Ami |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jhKCiqvUDkEC&pg=PA132 |title=The Israeli Secret Services and the Struggle Against Terrorism |publisher=Columbia University Press |year=2009 |isbn=9780231140423 |pages=132 }}</ref><ref name="time">{{cite news |author=Andrew Lee Butters |date=2 August 2006 |title=Behind the Battle for Baalbek |url=http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1222201,00.html#ixzz1wp9gTr5m |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071031042744/http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1222201,00.html?#ixzz1wp9gTr5m |archive-date=October 31, 2007 |access-date=18 November 2024 |newspaper=Time}}</ref> In 2024, during the Israel–Hezbollah conflict, Israel sent [[Lebanese displacement during the Israel–Hezbollah conflict|forced displacement]] calls for the entire city.<ref name=":4">{{Cite news |date=2024-04-23 |title=Israel conducts air raid on Baalbek, Hezbollah stronghold in Lebanon |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/israel-conducts-air-raid-baalbek-hezbollah-stronghold-lebanon-2024-03-23/ |work=[[Reuters]]}}</ref><ref name=":5">{{Cite web |date=2024-03-23 |title=Israeli Airstrike Hits Hezbollah Stronghold in Northeast Lebanon |url=https://www.voanews.com/a/israeli-airstrike-hits-hezbollah-stronghold-in-northeast-lebanon/7540324.html |access-date=2024-05-27 |website=Voice of America |language=en}}</ref> Shortly after, Israeli airstrikes killed 19 people, including 8 women.<ref>{{Cite web |author=Al Jazeera Staff |title=What is Lebanon's ancient city of Baalbek and why is Israel targeting it? |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2024/11/1/what-is-lebanons-ancient-city-of-baalbek-and-why-is-israel-targeting-it |access-date=2024-11-01 |website=Al Jazeera |language=en}}</ref>

==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]}}

==History==
===Prehistory===
The hilltop of [[Tell (archaeology)|Tell]] Baalbek, part of a valley to the east of the northern [[Beqaa Valley]]{{sfnp|Jessup|1881|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=mzdQAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA453 453]}} ({{langx|la|[[Coele-Syria]]}}),{{sfnp|''EB''|1911}} shows signs of almost continual habitation over the last 8–9000 years.<ref>{{cite web |title=Lebanon, Baalbek |url=http://www.dainst.org/index_12_en.html |location=Berlin |publisher=[[German Archaeological Institute]] |date=2004 |access-date=8 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041011160916/http://www.dainst.org/index_12_en.html |archive-date=11 October 2004 }}</ref> It was well-watered both from a stream running from the ''Rās al-ʿAyn'' [[spring (water)|spring]] southwest of the citadel{{sfnp|Jessup|1881|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=mzdQAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA456 456]}} and, during the [[spring (season)|spring]], from numerous rills formed by meltwater from the [[Anti-Lebanon Mountains|Anti-Lebanons]].{{sfnp|''DGRG''|1878|p=1036}} [[Macrobius]] later credited the site's foundation to a colony of [[ancient Egypt|Egyptian]] or [[Assyrian Empire|Assyrian]] priests.{{sfnp|''DGRG''|1878|p=1036}} The settlement's religious, commercial, and strategic importance was minor enough, however, that it is never mentioned in any known [[Assyrian Empire|Assyrian]] or [[Ancient Egypt|Egyptian]] record,<ref>Hélène Sader.{{where|date=September 2015}}</ref> unless under another name.{{sfnp|''EB''|1878|p=176}} Its enviable position in a fertile valley, major watershed, and along the route from [[Ancient Tyre|Tyre]] to [[Palmyra]] should have made it a wealthy and splendid site from an early age.{{sfnp|''EB''|1878|p=176}}{{sfnp|''New Class. Dict.''|1862}} During the [[Canaanite religion|Canaanite]] period, the local temples were primarily devoted to the [[Heliopolitan Triad]]: a male god ([[Baʿal]]), his consort ([[Astarte]]), and their son ([[Tammuz (god)|Adon]]).{{sfnp|Jidejian|1975|p=47}} The site of the present [[Temple of Jupiter (Baalbek)|Temple of Jupiter]] was probably the focus of earlier worship, as its [[altar]] was located at the hill's precise summit and the rest of the sanctuary raised to its level.{{citation needed|date=September 2024}}

In [[Islamic mythology]], the temple complex was said to have been a palace of [[Solomon]]'s{{sfnp|Jessup|1881|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=mzdQAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA470 470]}}{{efn|Commonly mistaken by European visitors to have been the one described in the [[Old Testament|Biblical]] [[First Book of Kings]].<ref>{{bibleverse|1 Kings|7:2–7|HE}}.</ref>{{sfnp|''CT''|2010}}}} which was put together by ''[[djinn]]''{{sfnp|Volney|1787|p=224}}{{sfnp|''DGRG''|1878|p=1038}}{{sfnp|Jessup|1881|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=mzdQAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA454 454]}} and given as a wedding gift to the [[Queen of Sheba]];{{sfnp|''EI''|1913|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=zJU3AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA543 543]}} its actual [[#Antiquity|Roman origin]] remained obscured by the citadel's [[#Middle Ages|medieval fortifications]] as late as the 16th-century visit of the [[Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth|Polish]] prince [[Mikołaj Krzysztof "the Orphan" Radziwiłł|Radziwiłł]].{{sfnp|''CT''|2010}}{{sfnp|Radziwiłł|1601}}

{{anchor|Heliopolis|Roman Baalbek}}
===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}}
===Middle Ages and early modernity===
[[File:Ruins of Old Mosque, Baalbek WDL2449.png|thumb|right|The ruins of a Baalbek mosque {{circa|lk=no|1900}}]]
[[File:BaalbekMosquePillars.jpg|thumb|The probable remains of a medieval [[mosque]] in front of some of the [[Mamluk Egypt|Mamluk]] fortifications]]
Baalbek was occupied by the [[Rashidun army|Muslim army]] in AD&nbsp;634 ([[AH (era)|{{sc|ah}}]]&nbsp;13),{{sfnp|Cook|1914|p=[http://digi.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/diglit/cook1914bd1/0638 555]}} in 636,{{sfnp|Jessup|1881|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=mzdQAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA473 473]}} or under [[Abu ʿUbaidah]] following the [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine]] [[Battle of Yarmouk|defeat at Yarmouk]] in 637 ([[AH (era)|{{sc|ah}}]]&nbsp;16),{{citation needed|date=September 2015}} either peacefully and by agreement{{sfnp|''EI''|1913|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=zJU3AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA543 543]}} or following a heroic defense and yielding {{convert|2000|oz|kg|abbr=on}} of gold, {{convert|4000|oz|kg|abbr=on}} of silver, 2000 silk vests, and 1000 swords.{{sfnp|''EB''|1878|p=177}} The ruined temple complex was fortified under the name {{nowrap|'''al-Qala''''}} ({{abbr|lit.|literally}}&nbsp;"[[Alcalá (surname)|The Fortress]]"){{sfnp|Cook|1914|p=[http://digi.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/diglit/cook1914bd1/0638 555]}} but was sacked with great violence by the Damascene caliph [[Marwan&nbsp;II]] in 748, at which time it was dismantled and largely depopulated.{{sfnp|''EB''|1878|p=177}} It formed part of the district of Damascus under the [[Umayyad dynasty|Umayyads]] and [[Abbasid dynasty|Abbasids]] before being conquered by [[Fatimid Egypt]] in 942.{{sfnp|''EI''|1913|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=zJU3AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA543 543]}} In the [[10th century in Lebanon|mid-10th century]], it was said to have "gates of palaces sculptured in marble and lofty columns also of marble" and that it was the most "stupendous" and "considerable" location in the whole of Syria.{{sfnp|Jessup|1881|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=mzdQAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA473 473]}} It was sacked and razed by the Byzantines under [[John I Tzimiskes|John&nbsp;I]] in 974,{{sfnp|''EI''|1913|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=zJU3AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA543 543]}} raided by [[Basil II the Bulgarkiller|Basil&nbsp;II]] in 1000,{{sfnp|''CMH''|1966|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=9lHeh36S8ooC&pg=PT634 634]}} and occupied by [[Salih ibn Mirdas]], [[emir]] of [[Emirate of Aleppo|Aleppo]], in 1025.{{sfnp|''EI''|1913|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=zJU3AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA543 543]}}

In 1075, it was finally lost to the Fatimids on its conquest by [[Tutush&nbsp;I]], [[Seljuk Turks|Seljuk]] emir of [[List of rulers of Damascus#Seljuq emirs|Damascus]].{{sfnp|''EI''|1913|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=zJU3AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA543 543]}} It was briefly held by [[Muslim ibn Quraysh]], emir of [[Emirate of Aleppo|Aleppo]], in 1083; after its recovery, it was ruled in the Seljuks' name by the eunuch [[Gümüshtegin]] until he was deposed for conspiring against the usurper [[Toghtekin]] in 1110.{{sfnp|''EI''|1913|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=zJU3AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA543 543]}} Toghtekin then gave the town to his son [[Taj al-Muluk Buri|Buri]]. Upon Buri's succession to Damascus on his father's death in 1128, he granted the area to his son [[Jamal al-Din Muhammad|Muhammad]].{{sfnp|''EI''|1913|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=zJU3AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA543 543]}} After Buri's murder, Muhammad successfully defended himself against the attacks of his brothers [[Shams-ul-Mulk Isma'il|Ismaʿil]] and [[Shihab-ud-din Mahmud|Mahmud]] and gave Baalbek to his [[vizier]] [[Mu'in ad-Din Unur|Unur]].{{sfnp|''EI''|1913|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=zJU3AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA543 543]}} In July 1139, [[Imad ad-Din Zengi|Zengi]], atabeg of [[Atabegate of Aleppo|Aleppo]] and stepfather of Mahmud, besieged Baalbek with 14 catapults. The outer city held until 10 October and the citadel until the 21st,{{sfnp|Venning & al.|2015|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=ubflCAAAQBAJ&pg=PA109 109]}} when Unur surrendered upon a promise of safe passage.{{sfnp|''EI''|1936|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=zJU3AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA1225 1225]}} In December, Zengi negotiated with Muhammad, offering to trade Baalbek or [[Homs]] for Damascus, but Unur convinced the atabeg to refuse.{{sfnp|Venning & al.|2015|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=ubflCAAAQBAJ&pg=PA109 109]}} Zengi strengthened its fortifications and bestowed the territory on his lieutenant [[Najm ad-Din Ayyub|Ayyub]], father of [[Saladin]]. Upon Zengi's assassination in 1146, Ayyub surrendered the territory to Unur, who was acting as regent for Muhammad's son [[Mujir ad-Din Abaq|Abaq]]. It was granted to the eunuch [[Ata al-Khadim]],{{sfnp|''EI''|1913|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=zJU3AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA543 543]}} who also served as viceroy of Damascus.

In December 1151, it was raided by the garrison of [[Banias|Banyas]] as a reprisal for its role in a Turcoman raid on Banyas.{{sfnp|Venning & al.|2015|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=ubflCAAAQBAJ&&pg=PA138 138]}} Following Ata's murder, his nephew [[Dahhak ibn Jandal|Dahhak]], emir of the [[Wadi al-Taym]], ruled Baalbek. He was forced to relinquish it to [[Nur ad-Din, atabeg of Aleppo|Nur ad-Din]] in 1154{{sfnp|''EI''|1913|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=zJU3AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA543 543]}} after Ayyub had successfully intrigued against Abaq from his estates near Baalbek. Ayyub then administered the area from Damascus on Nur ad-Din's behalf.{{sfnp|Venning & al.|2015|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=ubflCAAAQBAJ&&pg=PA141 141–142]}} In the mid-12th century, [[Muhammad al-Idrisi|Idrisi]] mentioned Baalbek's two temples and the legend of their origin under Solomon;{{sfnp|Jessup|1881|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=mzdQAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA475 475–476]}} it was visited by the [[Judaism|Jewish]] traveler [[Benjamin of Tudela]] in 1170.{{sfnp|''CT''|2010}}

Baalbek's citadel served as a jail for [[Crusaders]] taken by the Zengids as [[prisoners of war]].{{sfnp|Alouf|1944|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=qiyY1CKE9SIC&pg=PA94 94]}} In 1171, these captives successfully overpowered their guards and took possession of the castle from its garrison. Muslims from the surrounding area gathered, however, and entered the castle through a secret passageway shown to them by a local. The Crusaders were then massacred.{{sfnp|Alouf|1944|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=qiyY1CKE9SIC&pg=PA94 94]}}

Three major earthquakes occurred in the 12th century, in 1139, 1157, and 1170.{{sfnp|''EB''|1878|p=177}} The one in 1170 ruined Baalbek's walls and, though Nur ad-Din repaired them, his young heir [[As-Salih Ismail al-Malik|Ismaʿil]] was made to yield it to [[Saladin]] by a 4-month siege in 1174.{{sfnp|''EI''|1913|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=zJU3AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA543 543]}} Having taken control of Damascus on the invitation of its governor [[Shams al-Din Muhammad ibn al-Muqaddam|Ibn al-Muqaddam]], Saladin rewarded him with the {{nowrap|'''emirate of Baalbek'''}} following the [[Battle of the Horns of Hama|Ayyubid victory at the Horns of Hama]] in 1175.{{sfnp|Humphreys|1977|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=JfXl5kvabhoC&pg=PA52 52]}} [[Baldwin IV of Jerusalem|Baldwin]], the young leper [[king of Jerusalem]], came of age the next year, ending the Crusaders' treaty with Saladin.{{sfn|Lock|2013|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=AkCKZ9Hs4-QC&pg=PA63 63]}} His former regent, [[Raymond III of Tripoli|Raymond of Tripoli]], raided the [[Beqaa Valley]] from the west in the summer, suffering a slight defeat at Ibn al-Muqaddam's hands.{{sfnp|Runciman|1951|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=QL88AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA410 410]}} He was then joined by the main army, riding north under Baldwin and [[Humphrey II of Toron|Humphrey of Toron]];{{sfnp|Runciman|1951|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=QL88AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA410 410]}} they defeated Saladin's elder brother [[Turan Shah]] in August at [[Ayn al-Jarr]] and plundered Baalbek.{{sfnp|Alouf|1944|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=qiyY1CKE9SIC&pg=PA94 94]}} Upon the deposition of [[Turan Shah]] for neglecting his duties in Damascus, however, he demanded his childhood home{{sfnp|Sato|1997|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=MycQL-9_bqwC&pg=PA57 57]}} of Baalbek as compensation. Ibn al-Muqaddam did not consent and Saladin opted to invest the city in late 1178 to maintain peace within his own family.{{sfnp|Baldwin|1969|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=RfO1J6hjcdgC&pg=PA572 572]}} An attempt to pledge fealty to the Christians at [[Kingdom of Jerusalem|Jerusalem]] was ignored on behalf of an existing treaty with Saladin.{{sfnp|Köhler|2013|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=tYG0AQAAQBAJ&pg=PA226 226]}} The siege was maintained peacefully through the snows of winter, with Saladin waiting for the "foolish" commander and his garrison of "ignorant scum" to come to terms.{{sfnp|Lyons & al.|1982|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=kRF1F3wK26YC&pg=PA132 132–133]}} Sometime in spring, Ibn al-Muqaddam yielded and Saladin accepted his terms, granting him [[Baʿrin]], [[Kafartab|Kafr Tab]], and [[al-Maʿarra]].{{sfnp|Lyons & al.|1982|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=kRF1F3wK26YC&pg=PA132 132–133]}}{{sfnp|Sato|1997|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=MycQL-9_bqwC&pg=PA58 58]}} The generosity quieted unrest among Saladin's vassals through the rest of his reign{{sfnp|Baldwin|1969|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=RfO1J6hjcdgC&pg=PA572 572]}} but led his enemies to attempt to take advantage of his presumed weakness.{{sfnp|Lyons & al.|1982|pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=kRF1F3wK26YC&pg=PA132 132–133]}} He did not permit Turan Shah to retain Baalbek very long, though, instructing him to lead the Egyptian troops returning home in 1179 and appointing him to a sinecure in [[emirate of Alexandria|Alexandria]].{{sfnp|Humphreys|1977|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=JfXl5kvabhoC&pg=PA52 52]}} Baalbek was then granted to his nephew [[Farrukh Shah]], whose family ruled it for the next half-century.{{sfnp|Humphreys|1977|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=JfXl5kvabhoC&pg=PA52 52]}} When Farrukh Shah died three years later, his son [[Bahram Shah]] was only a child but he was permitted his inheritance and ruled til 1230.{{sfnp|''EI''|1913|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=zJU3AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA543 543]}} He was followed by [[Al-Ashraf Musa, Emir of Damascus|al-Ashraf Musa]], who was succeeded by his brother [[As-Salih Ismail (Ayyubid emir)|as-Salih Ismail]],{{sfnp|''EI''|1913|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=zJU3AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA543 543]}} who received it in 1237 as compensation for being deprived of [[Damascus]] by their brother [[al-Kamil]].{{sfn|Venning & al.|2015|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=ubflCAAAQBAJ&&pg=PA299 299]}} It was seized in 1246 after a year of assaults by [[as-Salih Ayyub]], who bestowed it upon [[Saʿd al-Din al-Humaidi]].{{sfnp|''EI''|1913|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=zJU3AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA543 543]}} When as-Salih Ayyub's successor [[Al-Muazzam Turanshah|Turan Shah]] was murdered in 1250, [[al-Nasir Yusuf]], the [[sultan of Aleppo]], seized Damascus and demanded Baalbek's surrender. Instead, its emir did homage and agreed to regular payments of tribute.{{sfnp|''EI''|1913|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=zJU3AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA543 543]}}

The [[Mongolian Empire|Mongolian]] general [[Kitbuqa]] took Baalbek in 1260 and dismantled its fortifications. Later in the same year, however, [[Qutuz]], the [[sultan of Egypt]], defeated the Mongols and placed Baalbek under the rule of their emir in Damascus.{{sfnp|''EI''|1913|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=zJU3AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA543 543]}} Most of the city's still-extant fine mosque and fortress architecture dates to the reign of the sultan [[Qalawun]] in the 1280s.{{citation needed|date=September 2015}} By the early 14th century, [[Abulfeda]] the [[Hama]]thite was describing the city's "large and strong fortress".{{sfnp|Jessup|1881|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=mzdQAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA476 476]}} The revived settlement was again destroyed by a flood on 10 May 1318, when water from the east and northeast made holes {{convert|30|m|abbr=on}} wide in walls {{convert|4|m|abbr=on}} thick.{{sfnp|Alouf|1944|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=qiyY1CKE9SIC&pg=PA96 96]}} 194 people were killed and 1500 houses, 131 shops, 44 orchards, 17 ovens, 11 mills, and 4 aqueducts were ruined, along with the town's mosque and 13 other religious and educational buildings.{{sfnp|Alouf|1944|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=qiyY1CKE9SIC&pg=PA96 96]}} In 1400, [[Timur]] pillaged the town,<ref>le Strange, 1890, p. xxiii.</ref> and there was further destruction from a 1459 earthquake.{{sfnp|''EI''|1913|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=zJU3AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA544 544]}}

===Early modernity===
[[File:1856 Kiepert Map of Lebanon - Geographicus - Lebanon-kiepert-1856.jpg|thumb|Baalbek & environs, {{circa|lk=no|1856}}]]In 1516, Baalbek was conquered with the [[Ottoman Syria|rest of Syria]] by the [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] sultan [[Selim the Grim]].{{sfnp|''EI''|1913|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=zJU3AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA544 544]}} In recognition of their prominence among the [[Shia Islam|Shiites]] of the [[Beqaa Valley]], the Ottomans awarded the [[sanjak of Homs]] and local ''[[iltizam]]'' concessions to Baalbek's [[Harfush clan|Harfush family]]. Like the Hamadas, the Harfush emirs were involved on more than one occasion in the selection of Church officials and the running of local monasteries.<br /> Tradition holds that many Christians quit the Baalbek region in the eighteenth century for the newer, more secure town of [[Zahlé]] on account of the Harfushes' oppression and rapacity, but more critical studies have questioned this interpretation, pointing out that the Harfushes were closely allied to the Orthodox Ma'luf family of Zahlé (where indeed Mustafa Harfush took refuge some years later) and showing that depredations from various quarters as well as Zahlé's growing commercial attractiveness accounted for Baalbek's decline in the eighteenth century. What repression there was did not always target the Christian community per se. The Shiite 'Usayran family, for example, is also said to have left Baalbek in this period to avoid expropriation by the Harfushes, establishing itself as one of the premier commercial households of [[Sidon]] and later even serving as consuls of Iran.<ref>Stefan Winter (11 March 2010). ''The Shiites of Lebanon under Ottoman Rule, 1516–1788''. Cambridge University Press, Page 166.</ref>

From the 16th century, European [[history of tourism|tourists]] began to visit the colossal and picturesque ruins.{{sfnp|Cook|1914|p=[http://digi.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/diglit/cook1914bd1/0639 556]}}{{sfnp|''EB''|1878|p=178}}{{efn|Notable visitors{{sfnp|''EB''|1878|p=178}}{{sfnp|''EB''|1911}} included [[Martin von Baumgarten|Baumgarten]] (1507),{{sfnp|Baumgarten|1594}} [[Pierre Belon|Belon]] (1548),{{sfnp|Belon|1553}}{{sfnp|Belon|1554}} [[André Thévet|Thévet]] (1550),{{sfnp|Thevet<!--sic-->|1554}} [[Melchior von Seydlitz|von Seydlitz]] (1557),{{sfnp|Sedlitz|1580}} [[Mikołaj Krzysztof "the Orphan" Radziwiłł|Radziwiłł]] (1583),{{sfnp|Radziwiłł|1601}} [[Francisco Quaresmio|Quaresmio]] (1620),{{sfnp|Quaresmio|1639}} [[Balthasar de Monconys|Monconys]] (1647),{{sfnp|Monconys|1665}} [[Jean de la Roque|de la Roque]] (1688),{{sfnp|de la Roque|1722}} [[Henry Maundrell|Maundrell]] (1699),{{sfnp|Maundrell|1703}} [[Richard Pococke|Pococke]] (1738),{{sfnp|Pococke|1745}} [[Robert Wood (antiquarian)|Wood]] and [[James Dawkins (antiquarian)|Dawkins]] (1751),{{sfnp|Wood|1757}} [[Constantin François de Chassebœuf, comte de Volney|Volney]] (1784),{{sfnp|Volney|1787}} [[Robert Richardson (travel writer)|Richardson]] (1818),{{sfnp|Richardson|1822}} [[Francis Rawdon Chesney|Chesney]] (1830),{{sfnp|Chesney|1850}}{{sfnp|Chesney|1868}} [[Alphonse de Lamartine|Lamartine]] (1833),{{sfnp|Lamartine|1835}} [[Auguste Frédéric Louis Viesse de Marmont|Marmont]] (1834),{{sfnp|Marmont|1837}} [[Charles G. Addison|Addison]] (1835),{{sfnp|Addison|1838}} [[Alexander Lindsay, 25th Earl of Crawford|Lindsay]] (1837),{{sfnp|Lindsay|1838}} [[Edward Robinson (scholar)|Robinson]] (1838{{sfnp|Robinson|1841}} & 1852),{{sfnp|Robinson|1856}} [[John Wilson (missionary)|Wilson]] (1843),{{sfnp|Wilson|1847}} [[Louis Félicien Joseph Caignart de Saulcy|De Saulcy]] (1851),{{sfnp|De Saulcy|1853}} and [[Heinrich Frauberger|Frauberger]] (19th c.).{{sfnp|Frauberger|1892}}}} [[William Bodham Donne|Donne]] hyperbolised "No ruins of antiquity have attracted more attention than those of Heliopolis, or been more frequently or accurately measured and described."{{sfnp|''DGRG''|1878|p=1037}} Misunderstanding the temple of Bacchus as the "Temple of the Sun", they considered it the best-preserved [[Roman temple]] in the world.{{citation needed|date=September 2015}} The Englishman [[Robert Wood (antiquarian)|Robert Wood]]'s 1757 ''Ruins of Balbec''{{sfnp|Wood|1757}} included carefully measured engravings that proved influential on British and Continental [[Neoclassical architecture|Neoclassical architects]]. For example, details of the Temple of Bacchus's ceiling inspired a bed<ref>{{cite web |last=Coote |first=James |title=Adam's Bed: 16 Varieties of (Im)propriety |url=http://www.utexas.edu/architecture/center/center9%20copy/coote.html |publisher=Center for American Architecture & Design, University of Texas School of Architecture |location=Austin |access-date=5 May 2009 |archive-date=2 September 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100902070011/http://www.utexas.edu/architecture/center/center9%20copy/coote.html }}</ref> and [[Osterley House|ceiling]] by [[Robert Adam]] and its portico inspired that of [[St George's, Bloomsbury|St George's]] in [[Bloomsbury]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.stgeorgesbloomsbury.org.uk/ |title=St George's Church Bloomsbury |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071104133047/http://www.stgeorgesbloomsbury.org.uk/hist.htm |archive-date=4 November 2007 |access-date=25 July 2009 }}</ref>

During the 18th century, the western approaches were covered with attractive groves of [[walnut tree]]s,{{sfnp|Volney|1787|p=224}} but the town itself suffered badly during the [[Near East earthquakes of 1759|1759 earthquakes]], after which it was held by the [[Metawali]], who again feuded with other Lebanese tribes.{{citation needed|date=September 2015}} Their power was broken by [[Jezzar Pasha]], the rebel governor of [[Acre Province (Ottoman Empire)|Acre]], in the last half of the 18th century.{{citation needed|date=September 2015}} All the same, Baalbek remained no destination for a traveller unaccompanied by an armed guard.{{Citation needed|date=September 2015}} Upon the pasha's death in 1804, chaos ensued until [[Ibrahim Pasha of Egypt]] occupied the area in 1831, after which it again passed into the hands of the Harfushes.{{sfnp|''EI''|1913|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=zJU3AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA544 544]}} In 1835, the town's population was barely 200 people.{{sfnp|Addison|1838}} In 1850, the Ottomans finally began direct administration of the area, making Baalbek a [[kaza]] under the [[Damascus Eyalet]] and its governor a [[kaymakam]].{{sfnp|''EI''|1913|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=zJU3AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA544 544]}}

===Excavations===
[[File:Baalbek-stoneofpregnantwoman.jpg|thumb|[[Stone of the Pregnant Woman#Second monolith|The largest stone at Baalbek]], uncovered in 2014]]
[[Emperor of Germany|Emperor]] [[William II, German Emperor|Wilhelm&nbsp;II]] of [[German Empire|Germany]] and his wife passed through Baalbek on 1 November 1898,{{sfnp|Cook|1914|p=[http://digi.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/diglit/cook1914bd1/0639 556]}} on their way to Jerusalem. He noted both the magnificence of the Roman remains and the drab condition of the modern settlement.{{sfnp|Cook|1914|p=[http://digi.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/diglit/cook1914bd1/0639 556]}} It was expected at the time that natural disasters, winter frosts, and the raiding of building materials by the city's residents would shortly ruin the remaining ruins.{{sfnp|Jessup|1881|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=mzdQAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA476 476]}} The archaeological team he dispatched began work within a month. Despite finding nothing they could date prior to Baalbek's [[Ancient Romans|Roman]] occupation,{{sfnp|Wiegand|1925}} [[Otto Puchstein]] and his associates worked until 1904{{sfnp|Cook|1914|p=[http://digi.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/diglit/cook1914bd1/0639 556]}} and produced a meticulously researched and thoroughly illustrated series of volumes.{{sfnp|Wiegand|1925}} Later excavations under the Roman flagstones in the Great Court unearthed three [[skeletons]] and a fragment of [[Achaemenid Empire|Persian]] pottery dated to the 6th–4th&nbsp;centuries&nbsp;BC. The [[sherd]] featured [[cuneiform]] letters.{{sfnp|Jidejian|1975|p=15}}

In 1977, [[Jean-Pierre Adam]] made a brief study suggesting most of the large blocks could have been moved on rollers with [[machine]]s using [[Capstan (nautical)|capstans]] and [[pulley]] blocks, a process which he theorised could use 512 workers to move a {{convert|557|tonne}} block.{{sfnp|Adam & al.|1999|p=35}}{{sfnp|Adam|1977}} "Baalbek, with its colossal structures, is one of the finest examples of Imperial Roman architecture at its apogee", [[UNESCO]] reported in making Baalbek a [[World Heritage Site]] in 1984.<ref>{{cite web |ref={{harvid|WHC}} |title=Baalbek |url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/294 |publisher=[[UNESCO]] [[World Heritage Centre]]<!--sic--> |location=New York |date=2015 |access-date=8 September 2015 }}.</ref> When the committee inscribed the site, it expressed the wish that the protected area include the entire town within the Arab walls, as well as the southwestern extramural quarter between Bastan-al-Khan, the Roman site and the Mameluk mosque of Ras-al-Ain. Lebanon's representative gave assurances that the committee's wish would be honoured. Recent cleaning operations at the Temple of Jupiter discovered the deep trench at its edge, whose study pushed back the date of Tell Baalbek's settlement to the [[PPNB]] [[Neolithic]]. Finds included pottery [[sherd]]s including a spout dating to the early [[Bronze Age]].{{sfnp|Genz|2010}} In the summer of 2014, a team from the [[German Archaeological Institute]] led by Jeanine Abdul Massih of the [[Lebanese University]] discovered a sixth, much larger stone suggested to be the [[World's largest ancient block#Monoliths|world's largest ancient block]]. The stone was found underneath and next to the Stone of the Pregnant Woman ("Hajjar al-Hibla") and measures around {{convert|19.6|×|6|×|5.5|m|abbr=on}}. It is estimated to weigh <ref name=":9">{{Cite news |date=2024-10-24 |title=Lebanon's ancient city of Baalbek bears the scars of Israeli bombs |url=https://www.lemonde.fr/en/international/article/2024/10/24/lebanon-s-ancient-city-of-baalbek-bears-the-scars-of-israeli-bombs_6730359_4.html |access-date=2024-11-04 |language=en}}</ref>{{convert|1650|tonne}}.{{sfnp|Kehrer|2014}}

===Modern history===
[[File:W. & A.K. Johnston. Asia Minor. 1911 DB.jpg|thumb|right|A detail from a 1911 map of Turkey in Asia, showing Baalbek's former rail connections]]
Baalbek was connected to the [[Beirut–Damascus Railway|DHP]], the [[Third French Republic|French]]-owned railway concession in [[Ottoman Syria]], on 19 June 1902.<ref name="back">{{cite book |last=Ludvigsen |first=Børre |date=2008 |chapter=Lebanon: Railways: Background |title=Al Mashriq: The Levant |location=Halden |publisher=Østfold University |access-date=16 September 2015 |url=http://almashriq.hiof.no/lebanon/300/380/385/railways/background/index.html}}</ref> It formed a station on the [[standard-gauge]] line between [[Riyaq]] to its south and [[Aleppo]] (now in [[Syria]]) to its north.<ref name="riho">{{cite book |last=Ludvigsen |first=Børre |date=2008 |chapter=Lebanon: Railways: Riyaq–Homs |title=Al Mashriq: The Levant |location=Halden |publisher=Østfold University |access-date=16 September 2015 |url=http://almashriq.hiof.no/lebanon/300/380/385/railways/branches/riyaq-homs/index.html}}</ref> This Aleppo Railway connected to the [[Beirut–Damascus Railway]] but—because that line was built to a 1.05-meter [[railway gauge|gauge]]—all traffic had to be unloaded and reloaded at Riyaq.<ref name="riho" /> Just before the [[First World War]], the population was still around 5000, about 2000 each of [[Sunni Islam|Sunnis]] and [[Shiites|Shia]] [[Lebanese Shia Muslims#Shia Twelvers (Metouali)|Mutawalis]]{{sfnp|''EI''|1913|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=zJU3AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA544 544]}} and 1000 [[Greek Orthodox Church|Orthodox]] and [[Maronites]].{{sfnp|''EB''|1911|p=89}} The [[Free France|French]] general [[Georges Catroux]] proclaimed the [[independence of Lebanon]] in 1941 but colonial rule continued until 1943. Baalbek still has its railway station<ref name="riho" /> but service has been discontinued since the 1970s, originally owing to the [[Lebanese Civil War]].

In March 1974, [[Musa al-Sadr]] announced the launching of the "[[Amal Movement#Harakat al-Mahrumin /Movement of the Deprived|Movement of the Deprived]]" in front of a rally in Baalbek attended by 75,000 men. Its objective was to stand up for Lebanon's neglected [[Shia]] community. In his speech he listed grievances with the Lebanese government, including Baalbek's lack of a secondary school, Shia communities receiving disproportionately less funds from the national budget, most of the homeless being Shia etc. The occasion was a religious one, and there was celebratory gunfire preceding it.<ref>[[Fouad Ajami|Ajami, Fouad]] (1986) ''The vanished Imam : Musa al Sadr and the Shia of Lebanon''. [[I.B. Tauris]]. {{ISBN|1-85043-025-X}} p.145</ref> He also announced the setting up of military training camps to train villagers in southern Lebanon to protect their homes from Israeli attacks. These camps led to the creation of the [[Amal Militia]].<ref>[[David Hirst (journalist)|Hirst, David]] (2010) ''Beware of Small States. Lebanon, battleground of the Middle East.'' Faber and Faber. {{ISBN|978-0-571-23741-8}} p.101</ref>

By the 2000s, Baalbek was frequently described as a stronghold of Hezbollah,<ref name=":12" /><ref name=":13" /><ref name=":3" /> although it also has a large presence of Christians and Sunni Muslims.<ref name=":6">{{Cite web |title=Baalbek after the bombs |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2006/8/2/baalbek-after-the-bombs |access-date=2024-11-04 |website=Al Jazeera |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":9"/> Many of the city's mayors have been Shia, but since 2022, Baalbek has had a Sunni mayor.<ref name=":9" />

=== Israeli–Lebanon conflict ===
In 1978, Israel invaded south Lebanon, forcing hundreds of thousands of Shia Muslims to flee.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Jaber |first=Hala |date=Winter–Spring 1999 |title=Consequences of Imperialism: Hezbollah and the West |journal=The Brown Journal of World Affairs |volume=6 |issue=1 |pages=168}}</ref> As a result of the invasion, when [[Hassan Nasrallah]] returned to Lebanon from his studies in [[Najaf]], he was unable to return to his [[Bazouriyeh|hometown in the south]], and instead settled in Baalbek.<ref name=":10">{{Cite book |last1=Daher |first1=Aurélie |url=https://www.worldcat.org/title/938989849 |title=Hezbollah: mobilisation and power |translator-last1=Randolph |translator-first1=Henry W. |date=2019 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-049589-3 |location=New York |pages=155–156 |oclc=938989849}}</ref> [[Abbas al-Musawi]] also moved to Baalbek.<ref name=":10" />

In 1982, at the height of another [[1982 Lebanon War|Israeli invasion]], Amal split into two factions over [[Nabih Berri]]'s acceptance of the American plan to evacuate Palestinians from West Beirut. A large number of dissidents, led by Amal's military commander [[Hussein Musawi]] moved to Baalbek.<ref>David Hirst pp.187-188</ref> Once established in the town the group, which was to evolve into Hezbollah, began to work with Iranian [[Revolutionary Guards]], veterans of the [[Iran Iraq War]]. The following year the Iranians established their headquarters in the Sheikh Abdullah barracks in Baalbek.<ref>David Hirst p.190</ref> Ultimately there were between 1,500 and 2,000 Revolutionary Guards in Lebanon,<ref>David Hirst p.186</ref> with outposts further south in the [[Shia]] villages, such as [[Jebchit]].<ref>David Hirst p.235</ref>

In 1984, Israel launched raids on Baalbek, killing 100 Lebanese civilians and wounding hundreds inside the city.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=Khalidi |first=Rashid |title=The Palestinians in Lebanon: Social Repercussions of Israel's Invasion |journal=[[Middle East Journal]] |volume=38 |issue=2 |pages=259}}</ref> Israel also bombed a school in the [[Wavel]] Palestinian refugee camp next to the city, wounding 150 school children.<ref name=":0" />

On 24/25 June 1999, following elections in Israel and the new administration undecided, the [[Israeli Air Force|IAF]] launched two massive air raids across Lebanon. One of the targets was the [[al Manar]] radio station's offices in a four-storey building in Baalbek which was completely demolished. The attacks also hit Beirut's power stations and bridges on the roads to the south. An estimated $52 million damage was caused. Eleven Lebanese were killed as well as two Israelis in [[Kiryat Shmona]].<ref>Middle East International. No 603, 2 July 1999; Publishers [[Christopher Mayhew]]. [[Dennis Walters]]; Michael Jansen pp.4-5; Reinoud Leendes pp.5&7</ref>

[[File:Locations bombed Aug13 no fact box.jpg|thumb|A map of Israeli bombing during the [[Second Lebanon War]]. Baalbek was a major target, with more than 70 bombs dropped.]]

==== 2006 Lebanon War ====
During the 2006 Lebanon war, many Israeli bombs fell inside the historic Roman town, and some fell as close as 300 meters from the temple of Baalbek.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Archaeology |first=Current World |date=2006-09-03 |title=Lebanon |url=https://www.world-archaeology.com/world/asia/lebanon/lebannon/ |access-date=2024-11-04 |website=World Archaeology |language=en-US}}</ref> After the war, UNESCO stated that the cracks in the Roman temples had widened.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2009-10-31 |title=UNESCO: Lebanon's Ancient Ruins Damaged by War |url=https://www.voanews.com/a/a-13-2006-09-18-voa39/325829.html |access-date=2024-11-04 |website=Voice of America |language=en}}</ref> The damage was thought to be due to shockwaves created by the bombs.<ref name=":1"/>

More than 250 houses and buildings were destroyed by Israel during the war.<ref name=":6" /> Reporters investigating the aftermath found these to be civilian houses and didn't find any evidence of military use.<ref name=":6" />

On the evening of 1 August 2006,{{sfnp|HRW|2007|p=124}} hundreds of [[Israeli Defense Forces|Israeli Defense Forces (IDF)]] soldiers raided Baalbek and the Dar al-Hikma<ref name="timetimetime">{{cite magazine |last=Butters |first=Andrew Lee |url=http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1222201,00.html?cnn=yes |title=Behind the Battle for Baalbek |date=2 August 2006 |magazine=Time |access-date=8 September 2015 |archive-date=24 October 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121024023615/http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1222201,00.html?cnn=yes }}</ref> or Hikmeh Hospital<ref name="mxm">{{cite web |author=Nahla |title=Minute by Minute:: August 2 |website=Lebanon Updates |date=2 August 2006 |url=http://lebanonupdates.blogspot.com/2006/08/minute-by-minute-august-2.html |access-date=2 August 2006 |archive-date=3 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201103181906/http://lebanonupdates.blogspot.com/2006/08/minute-by-minute-august-2.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> in Jamaliyeh{{sfnp|HRW|2007|p=124}} to its north ("[[Operation Sharp and Smooth]]"). Their mission was to rescue two captured soldiers, [[Ehud Goldwasser]] and [[Eldad Regev]], who were abducted by Hezbollah on 12 July 2006. They were transported by helicopter{{sfnp|HRW|2007|p=124}} and supported by [[Apache helicopter]]s and [[UAV|unmanned drones]],<ref name="timetimetime" />{{sfnp|HRW|2007|p=124}} The [[Israeli Defense Forces|IDF]] was acting on information that Goldwasser and Regev were at the hospital. [[Al Jazeera Arabic|al-Jazeera]] and other sources claimed the IDF was attempting to capture senior Hezbollah officials, particularly Sheikh [[Mohammad Yazbek]].<ref name="mxm" /> The hospital had been empty for four days, the most unwell patients having been transferred and the rest sent home.<ref name="timetimetime" /> No Israelis were killed;{{sfnp|HRW|2007|p=124}} Five civilians were abducted and interrogated by the Israelis, presumably because one shared his name with [[Hassan Nasrallah]], the secretary general of Hezbollah;{{sfnp|HRW|2007|p=127}} they were released on August 21.{{sfnp|HRW|2007|p=127–128}}

On August 7, Israel killed 9 civilians in an attack on [[Brital]], just south of Baalbek, and by the subsequent attack on the car leaving the scene for the hospital.{{sfnp|HRW|2007|p=137}} A [[Human Rights Watch]] investigation showed that none of those killed were combatants, it is likely none were members of Hezbollah, and none of the survivors had any knowledge of any military presence at place of the attack.<ref>{{Cite journal |date=2007-09-05 |title=Why They Died |url=https://www.hrw.org/report/2007/09/05/why-they-died/civilian-casualties-lebanon-during-2006-war |journal=Human Rights Watch |language=en}}</ref>

On 14 August just before the ceasefire took effect, two Lebanese police and five Lebanese soldiers were killed by a drone strike while driving their van around the still-damaged road through Jamaliyeh.{{sfnp|HRW|2007|p=164–165}}

==Geography==
===Climate===
Baalbek has a [[mediterranean climate]] ([[Köppen climate classification]]: ''Csa'') with significant continental influences. It is located in one of the drier regions of the country, giving it an annual average of {{convert|450|mm|in|0|disp=or}} of rainfall compared with {{convert|800|to|850|mm|in|0}} in coastal areas, overwhelmingly concentrated in the months from November to April. Baalbek has hot rainless summers with cool (and occasionally snowy) winters. Autumn and spring are mild and fairly rainy.

{{Weather box|width=auto
|metric first=y
|single line=y 
|collapsed = Y
|location =  Baalbek ([[Chlifa]]), elevation {{convert|1000|m|ft|abbr=on}}
|Jan high C = 12.1
|Feb high C = 13.1
|Mar high C = 15.8
|Apr high C = 20.8
|May high C = 25.6
|Jun high C = 30.7
|Jul high C = 34.0
|Aug high C = 33.9
|Sep high C = 30.5
|Oct high C = 25.5
|Nov high C = 19.2
|Dec high C = 14.3
| year high C = 
|Jan mean C = 4.5
|Feb mean C = 5.1
|Mar mean C = 8.6
|Apr mean C = 13.5
|May mean C = 18.0
|Jun mean C = 22.8
|Jul mean C = 25.1
|Aug mean C = 25.7
|Sep mean C = 21.7
|Oct mean C = 17.5
|Nov mean C = 11.1
|Dec mean C = 6.8
| year mean C = 
|Jan low C = 2.7
|Feb low C = 3.4
|Mar low C = 5.3
|Apr low C = 8.6
|May low C = 11.8
|Jun low C = 15.1
|Jul low C = 17.3
|Aug low C = 17.7
|Sep low C = 15.1
|Oct low C = 11.8
|Nov low C = 8.3
|Dec low C = 4.5
| year low C = 
|precipitation colour = green
|Jan precipitation mm = 96
|Feb precipitation mm = 89
|Mar precipitation mm = 58
|Apr precipitation mm = 28
|May precipitation mm = 12
|Jun precipitation mm = 1
|Jul precipitation mm = 1
|Aug precipitation mm = 1
|Sep precipitation mm = 1
|Oct precipitation mm = 9
|Nov precipitation mm = 43
|Dec precipitation mm = 72
|year precipitation mm = 
| source 1 = [[Food and Agriculture Organization|FAO]]<ref name=FAO>{{cite web
| url = https://www.fao.org/land-water/land/land-governance/land-resources-planning-toolbox/category/details/fr/c/1028000/
| title = World-wide Agroclimatic Data of FAO (FAOCLIM)
| publisher= Food and Agriculture Organization of United Nations
| access-date = 21 December 2024}}</ref>
}}

==Demographics==
{{bar box
|title=Religion in Baalbek (2014) <ref name="lub-anan.com">{{cite web | url=https://lub-anan.com/المحافظات/البقاع/بعلبك/البلدات/ | title=بلدات قضاء بعلبك في محافظة البقاع }}</ref>
|titlebar=
|left1=Religion
|right1=Percent
|float=right
|bars=
{{bar percent|[[Lebanese Shia Muslims|Shia Islam]]|DarkGreen|59.61}}
{{bar percent|[[Lebanese Sunni Muslims|Sunni Islam]]|Green|34.24}}
{{bar percent|[[Christianity in Lebanon|Christian]]|DarkBlue|5.66}}
{{Bar percent|Others|Gray|0.49}}
}}

In 2014, [[Islam in Lebanon|Muslims]] made up 93.85% and [[Christianity in Lebanon|Christians]] made up 5.66% of registered voters in Baalbek. 59.61% of the voters were [[Lebanese Shia Muslims|Shiite Muslims]] and 34.24% were [[Lebanese Sunni Muslims|Sunni Muslims]].<ref name="lub-anan.com">{{cite web | url=https://lub-anan.com/المحافظات/البقاع/بعلبك/البلدات/ | title=بلدات قضاء بعلبك في محافظة البقاع }}</ref>

==Economy==
===Tourism===
The Roman ruins have been the setting for the long running [[Baalbeck International Festival|Baalbek International Festival]].

Baalbek's tourism sector suffered significantly due to the [[Lebanese Civil War|Lebanese Civil war]] (1975–1990). After the civil war ended, tourism gradually saw a resurgence, including opera, orchestras.<ref name=":8">{{Cite book |last=Malaspina |first=Ann |title=Lebanon |year=2009 |pages=106}}</ref> But it was once again disrupted by Israeli bombings of Baalbek during the 2006 war.<ref name=":8" />

After the 2006 war, conservation work at Lebanon's historic sites began in October that year.<ref name="wapo">{{cite news |last=Karam |first=Zeina |author-link=Zeina Karam |date=4 October 2006 |title=Cleanup to Start at Old Sites in Lebanon |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/04/AR2006100401294_pf.html |access-date=8 September 2015 |newspaper=The Washington Post |agency=Associated Press}}</ref> The ruins at Baalbek were not directly hit by Israeli bombing but the effects of blasts during the conflict toppled a block of stones at the Roman ruins and existing cracks in the temples of Jupiter and Bacchus were feared to have widened.<ref name="wapo" /> Frederique Husseini, director-general of Lebanon's Department of Antiquities, requested $550,000 from Europeans to restore Baalbek's souk and another $900,000 for repairs to other damaged structures.<ref name="wapo" />

Starting in the early 2000s, Hezbollah organized permanent or temporary exhibitions called "Exposition of the Resistance" which commemorate what is considered to be Lebanese resistance to Israeli occupation. Spanning several hundred square meters, the exhibitions feature defused Israeli weapons, recreated scenes of war, and photos and videos of Lebanese people killed by Israel.<ref name=":7">{{Cite book |last=Saade |first=Bashir |title=Hizbullah and the politics of remembrance: writing the Lebanese nation |date=2016 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-107-10181-4 |series=Cambridge Middle East studies |location=New York |pages=135}}</ref>{{Sfn|Daher|2019|p=119}} Starting in 2009, Hezbollah setup an exhibition to commemorate the 2006 war.<ref name=":7" />

During the [[Syrian civil war]], the UK [[Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office|FCO]] designated areas close to the Syrian border, including Baalbek and the rest of Beqaa valley, as "red zone" – advising against all travel.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |title=The lost tourists of Lebanon's 'red zone' |url=https://www.middleeasteye.net/features/lost-tourists-lebanons-red-zone#:~:text=Like%20many%20other%20touristic%20sites,Israel-Lebanon%20War%20in%202006. |access-date=2024-11-04 |website=Middle East Eye |language=en}}</ref> The US State Department made a similar designation. These designations, prompted by perceived proximity to Syria and clashes between [[Bab al-Tabbaneh–Jabal Mohsen conflict|Sunnis and Alawites]], discouraged international tourism.<ref name=":2" />

During [[2024 Israeli invasion of Lebanon|its 2024 invasion of Lebanon]], Israel bombed a restaurant frequented by tourists<ref name=":9" /> and damaged the historic [[Hotel Palmyra (Baalbek)|Hotel Palmyra]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://today.lorientlejour.com/article/1435104/the-violation-of-our-private-and-collective-memories.html |title=The violation of our private and collective memories |last=Khoury |first=Gilles |date=2024-11-11 |access-date=2024-11-12}}</ref> In November, [[UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists|UNESCO]] gave Baalbek enhanced protection to safeguard against [[Destruction of cultural heritage during the Israeli invasion of Lebanon|damage to the archaeological site during the invasion]]; it was one of 34 areas to receive this protection.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Cultural property under enhanced protection Lebanon |url=https://www.unesco.org/en/culture/cultural-property-under-enhanced-protection-lebanon |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241231104017/https://www.unesco.org/en/culture/cultural-property-under-enhanced-protection-lebanon |archive-date=31 December 2024 |access-date=2025-01-01 |language=en |url-status=live }}</ref>

{{anchor|Temple of Jupiter|Temple of Venus|Temple of Bacchus|Temple of the Sun}}<!--linked-->

== Ruins ==
{{See also|Temple of Jupiter, Baalbek|Temple of Bacchus|Stone of the Pregnant Woman|Temples of the Beqaa Valley|List of Roman monoliths|List of ancient architectural records#Monoliths|List of largest monoliths in the world}}
[[File:Baalbek 1.png|thumb|right|200px|1911 diagram of the ruins after the [[Otto Puchstein|Puchstein]] excavations.{{sfnp|''EB''|1911|p=90}} (Facing SW, with the Temple of Jupiter labelled "Temple of the Sun")]]

The Tell Baalbek<!--sic--> temple complex, fortified as the town's citadel during the Middle Ages,{{sfnp|''EI''|1913|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=zJU3AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA544 544]}} was constructed from local stone, mostly white [[granite]] and a rough white [[marble]].{{sfnp|''DGRG''|1878|p=1038}} Over the years, it has suffered from the region's numerous earthquakes, the [[iconoclasm]] of Christian and Muslim lords,{{sfnp|''DGRG''|1878|p=1037}} and the reuse of the temples' stone for fortification and other construction. The temples also suffered minor damage from the shockwaves generated by nearby Israeli bombings in the 2006 Lebanon war.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=Brockman |first=Norbert C. |url=https://www.worldcat.org/title/698626500 |title=Encyclopedia of sacred places |date=2011 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=978-1-59884-654-6 |edition=2nd |location=Santa Barbara, Calif |pages=33 |oclc=698626500}}</ref> The nearby [[Qubbat Duris]], a 13th-century [[qubba|Muslim shrine]] on the old road to Damascus, is built out of granite columns, apparently removed from Baalbek.{{sfnp|''DGRG''|1878|p=1038}} Further, the jointed columns were once banded together with iron; many were gouged open{{sfnp|Jessup|1881|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=mzdQAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA459 459]}} or toppled by the emirs of Damascus to get at the metal.{{sfnp|''DGRG''|1878|p=1038}} As late as the 16th century, the Temple of Jupiter still held 27 standing columns{{sfnp|Thevet|1554}} out of an original 58;{{sfnp|Cook|1914|p=[http://digi.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/diglit/cook1914bd1/0643 560]}} there were only nine before the [[Near East earthquakes of 1759|1759 earthquakes]]{{sfnp|Wood|1757}} and six today.{{When|date=January 2017}}

The complex is located on a raised plaza erected {{convert|5|m|abbr=on}} over an earlier T-shaped base consisting of a podium, staircase, and foundation walls.{{efn|"Current survey and interpretation, show that a pre-Roman floor level about 5&nbsp;m lower than the late Great Roman Courtyard floor existed underneath".{{sfnp|Lohmann|2010|p=29}}}} These walls were built from about 24 [[monolith]]s, at their lowest level weighing approximately {{convert|300|tonne}} each. The tallest retaining wall, on the west, has a second course of monoliths containing the famous "[[trilithon|Three Stones]]" ({{langx|grc|Τρίλιθον}}, ''[[trilithon|Trílithon]]''):{{sfnp|Jessup|1881|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=mzdQAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA456 456]}} a row of three stones, each over {{convert|19|m|abbr=on}} long, {{convert|4.3|m|abbr=on}} high, and {{convert|3.6|m|abbr=on}} broad, cut from [[limestone]]. They weigh approximately {{convert|800|tonne}} each.{{sfnp|Adam|1977|p=52}} A fourth, still larger stone is called the [[Stone of the Pregnant Woman]]: it lies unused in a nearby quarry {{convert|800|m|abbr=on}} from the town.{{sfnp|Alouf|1944|p=139}} Its weight is estimated at {{convert|1000|tonne}}.{{sfnp|Ruprechtsberger|1999|p=15}} A fifth, still larger stone weighing approximately {{convert|1200|tonne}}{{sfnp|Ruprechtsberger|1999|p=17}} lies in the same quarry.  This quarry was slightly higher than the temple complex,<ref>{{cite book|last1=Adam|first1=Jean Pierre|title=Roman Building: Materials and Techniques|year=1999|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-0415208666|first2=Anthony |last2=Mathews |page=35}}</ref>{{sfnp|Adam & al.|1999|p=35}}{{sfnp|Hastings|2004|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=yk1CKgPRKtAC&pg=PA892 892]}} so no lifting was required to move the stones.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Hastings |first1=James |title=A Dictionary of the Bible: Volume IV: (Part II: Shimrath -- Zuzim) |date=October 2004a |orig-date=1889 |publisher=The Minerva Group |isbn=978-1-4102-1729-5 |page=892 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yk1CKgPRKtAC |access-date=28 November 2024 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |editor1-last=Barker |editor1-first=Simon J. |editor2-last=Courault |editor2-first=Christopher |editor3-last=Domingo |editor3-first=Javier Á |editor4-last=Maschek |editor4-first=Dominik |author1=Jeanine Abdul Massih |title=From Concept to Monument: Time and Costs of Construction in the Ancient World: Papers in Honour of Janet DeLaine |date=13 July 2023 |publisher=Archaeopress Publishing Ltd |isbn=978-1-78969-423-9 |page=170 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UajMEAAAQBAJ&dq=About+the+Baalbek+Trilithon:+The+Transport+and+Use+of+the+Megaliths&pg=PA171 |language=en |chapter=Quarrying Megaliths in Heliolopis Baalbek (Lebanon)}}</ref>

The temple complex was entered from the east through the [[Propylaea]] ({{lang|grc|προπύλαιον}}, ''propýlaion'') or Portico,{{sfnp|''DGRG''|1878|p=1037}} consisting of a broad staircase rising {{convert|20|ft}}{{sfnp|Jessup|1881|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=mzdQAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA465 465]}} to an arcade of 12 columns flanked by 2 towers.{{sfnp|Cook|1914|p=[http://digi.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/diglit/cook1914bd1/0639 556]}} Most of the columns have been toppled and the stairs were entirely dismantled for use in the nearby later wall,{{sfnp|Jessup|1881|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=mzdQAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA456 456]}}{{efn|The staircase is shown intact on a coin from the reign of the [[list of Roman emperors|emperor]] [[Philip the Arab]].{{sfnp|Jessup|1881|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=mzdQAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA456 456]}}}} but a Latin inscription remains on several of their bases stating that Longinus, a lifeguard of the [[1st Parthian Legion]], and Septimius, a freedman, gilded their capitals with [[bronze]] in gratitude for the safety of [[Septimius Severus]]'s son [[Antoninus Caracalla]] and empress [[Julia Domna]].{{sfnp|Jessup|1881|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=mzdQAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA466 466]}}{{efn|The inscriptions were distinct in the 18th century{{sfnp|Wood|1757}} but becoming illegible by the end of the 19th:{{sfnp|Jessup|1881|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=mzdQAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA466 466]}}<br /><br />{{sc|[i. o.] m. diis helivpol. pro sal.<br />[et] victoriis d. n. antonini pii fel. avg. et ivliæ avg. matris d. n. cast. senat. patr., avr. ant. longinvs specvl. leg. i.<br />[ant]oninianæ capita colvmnarvm dva ærea avro inlvminata sva pecvnia ex voto l. a. s.}}{{sfnp|Cook|1914|p=[http://digi.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/diglit/cook1914bd1/0639 556]}}<br />and<br />{{sc|[i. o.] m. pro sal[vte] d. [n.] imp. antonin[i pii felicis...]<br />[...sep]timi[vs...] bas avg. lib. capvt colvmnæ æneum avro inl[vminat]vm votvm sva pecvnia l. [a. s.]}}{{sfnp|Cook|1914|p=[http://digi.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/diglit/cook1914bd1/0639 556]}}}}

Immediately behind the Propylaeum is a hexagonal forecourt{{sfnp|Cook|1914|p=[http://digi.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/diglit/cook1914bd1/0639 556]}} reached through a threefold entrance{{sfnp|''EB''|1878|p=177}} that was added in the mid-3rd century by the emperor [[Philip the Arab]].{{citation needed|date=September 2015}} Traces remain of the two series of columns which once encircled it, but its original function remains uncertain.{{sfnp|Cook|1914|p=[http://digi.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/diglit/cook1914bd1/0639 556]}} [[William Bodham Donne|Donne]] reckoned it as the town's [[forum (Roman)|forum]].{{sfnp|''DGRG''|1878|p=1037}} Badly preserved coins of the era led some to believe this was a sacred [[cypress tree|cypress]] grove, but better specimens show that the coins displayed a single stalk of grain instead.{{sfnp|Cook|1914|p=[http://digi.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/diglit/cook1914bd1/0641 558–559]}}

The rectangular Great Court to its west covers around {{convert|3|or|4|acre}}{{sfnp|''EB''|1878|p=177}} and included the main [[altar]] for [[sacrifice|burnt offering]], with [[Roman mosaic|mosaic]]-floored [[lustration]] basins to its north and south, a [[souterrain|subterranean chamber]]<!--sic-->,{{sfnp|Cook|1914|p=[http://digi.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/diglit/cook1914bd1/0642 559]}} and three underground passageways {{convert|17|ft|abbr=on}} wide by {{convert|30|ft|abbr=on}} high, two of which run east and west and the third connecting them north and south, all bearing inscriptions suggesting their occupation by Roman soldiers.{{sfnp|''EB''|1878|p=177}} These were surrounded by [[Corinthian order|Corinthian]] [[portico]]es, one of which was never completed.{{sfnp|Cook|1914|p=[http://digi.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/diglit/cook1914bd1/0642 559]}} The columns' bases and capitals were of limestone; the shafts were monoliths of highly polished red [[Roman Egypt|Egyptian]] [[granite]] {{convert|7.08|m|abbr=on}} high.{{sfnp|Cook|1914|p=[http://digi.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/diglit/cook1914bd1/0642 559]}} Six remain standing, out of an original 128.{{citation needed|date=September 2015}} Inscriptions attest that the court was once adorned by portraits of [[Marcus Aurelius]]'s daughter [[Vibia Aurelia Sabina|Sabina]], [[Septimius Severus]], [[Gordian I|Gordian]], and [[Velius Rufus]], dedicated by the city's Roman colonists.{{sfnp|Cook|1914|p=[http://digi.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/diglit/cook1914bd1/0642 559]}} The [[entablature]] was richly decorated but is now mostly ruined.{{sfnp|Cook|1914|p=[http://digi.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/diglit/cook1914bd1/0642 559]}} A westward-facing basilica was constructed over the altar during the reign of [[Theodosius I|Theodosius]]; it was later altered to make it eastward-facing like most [[Christianity|Christian]] [[church (building)|churches]].{{sfnp|Cook|1914|p=[http://digi.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/diglit/cook1914bd1/0638 555]}}

[[File:Pano Baalbek 1.jpg|thumb|center|upright=4|The Great Court of ancient Heliopolis's temple complex]]

The Temple of Jupiter—once wrongly credited to [[Helios]]{{sfnp|Cook|1914|p=[http://digi.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/diglit/cook1914bd1/0648 565]}}—lay at the western end of the Great Court, raised another {{convert|7|m|abbr=on}} on a {{convert|47.7|x|87.75|m|abbr=on}} platform reached by a wide staircase.{{sfnp|Cook|1914|p=[http://digi.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/diglit/cook1914bd1/0643 560]}} Under the [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantines]], it was also known as the "[[Trilithon]]" from the three massive stones in its foundation and, when taken together with the forecourt and Great Court, it is also known as the Great Temple.{{sfnp|''EB''|1911|p=90}} The Temple of Jupiter proper was circled by a [[peristyle]] of 54 unfluted [[Corinthian column]]s:{{sfnp|Jessup|1881|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=mzdQAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA460 460]}} 10 in front and back and 19 along each side.{{sfnp|Cook|1914|p=[http://digi.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/diglit/cook1914bd1/0643 560]}} The temple was ruined by earthquakes,{{sfnp|Cook|1914|p=[http://digi.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/diglit/cook1914bd1/0639 556]}} destroyed and pillaged for stone under [[Theodosius I|Theodosius]],{{sfnp|Cook|1914|p=[http://digi.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/diglit/cook1914bd1/0638 555]}} and 8 columns were taken to [[Constantinople]] ([[Istanbul]]) under [[Justinian I|Justinian]] for incorporation into the [[Hagia Sophia]].{{citation needed|date=September 2015}} Three fell during the late 18th century.{{sfnp|''EB''|1878|p=177}} 6 columns, however, remain standing along its south side with their entablature.{{sfnp|Cook|1914|p=[http://digi.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/diglit/cook1914bd1/0643 560]}} Their capitals remain nearly perfect on the south side, while the [[Beqaa Valley|Beqaa]]'s winter winds have worn the northern faces almost bare.{{sfnp|Jessup|1881|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=mzdQAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA462 462]}} The [[architrave]] and [[frieze]] blocks weigh up to {{convert|60|tonne}} each, and one corner block over {{convert|100|tonne}}, all of them raised to a height of {{convert|19|m|2|abbr=on}} above the ground.{{sfnp|Coulton|1974|p=16}} Individual [[Crane (machine)#Roman Empire|Roman cranes]] were not capable of lifting stones this heavy. They may have simply been rolled into position along temporary earthen banks from the quarry.{{sfnp|Jessup|1881|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=mzdQAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA462 462]}} The [[Julio-Claudian emperors]] enriched its sanctuary in turn. In the mid-1st century, [[Nero]] built the tower-altar opposite the temple. In the early 2nd century, [[Trajan]] added the temple's forecourt, with [[portico]]s of [[granite|pink granite]] shipped from [[Aswan]] at the southern end of [[Roman Egypt|Egypt]].{{citation needed|date=September 2015}}

The [[Temple of Bacchus]]—once wrongly credited to Jupiter{{sfnp|Cook|1914|p=[http://digi.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/diglit/cook1914bd1/0647 564]}}{{efn|It has also been misattributed to [[Apollo]] and [[Helios]].{{sfnp|''EB''|1878|p=177}} The locals once knew it as the ''Dar es-Sa'adeh'' or "Court of Happiness".{{sfnp|Jessup|1881|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=mzdQAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA458 458]}}}}—may have been completed under [[Septimius Severus]] in the 190s, as his coins are the first to show it beside the Temple of Jupiter.{{citation needed|date=September 2015}} It is the best preserved of the sanctuary's structures, as the other rubble from its ruins protected it.{{citation needed|date=September 2015}} It is enriched by some of the most refined reliefs and sculpture to survive from [[classical antiquity|antiquity]].{{sfnp|Jessup|1881|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=mzdQAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA459 459]}} The temple is surrounded by forty-two columns—8 along each end and 15 along each side{{sfnp|Jessup|1881|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=mzdQAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA458 458]}}—nearly {{convert|20|m|abbr=on}} in height.{{citation needed|date=September 2015}} These were probably erected in a rough state and then rounded, polished, and decorated in position.{{sfnp|Jessup|1881|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=mzdQAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA459 459]}}{{efn|The [[cornice]] of the [[exaedrum]] in the northwest corner remains partially sculpted and partially plain.{{sfnp|Jessup|1881|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=mzdQAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA459 459]}}}} The entrance was preserved as late as [[Richard Pococke|Pococke]]{{sfnp|Pococke|1745}} and [[Robert Wood (antiquarian)|Wood]],{{sfnp|Wood|1757}} but the [[keystone (architecture)|keystone]] of the [[lintel]] had slid {{convert|2|ft|abbr=on|0}} following the [[Near East earthquakes of 1759|1759 earthquakes]]; a column of rough masonry was erected in the 1860s or '70s to support it.{{sfnp|Jessup|1881|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=mzdQAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA458 458]}} The [[Near East earthquakes of 1759|1759 earthquakes]] also damaged the area around the [[soffit]]'s famed inscription of an eagle,{{sfnp|''EB''|1878|p=178}} which was entirely covered by the keystone's supporting column. The area around the inscription of the eagle was greatly damaged by the [[Near East earthquakes of 1759|1759 earthquake]].{{sfnp|''EB''|1878|p=178}} The interior of the temple is divided into a {{convert|98|ft|adj=on|abbr=on}} [[nave]] and a {{convert|36|ft|adj=on|abbr=on}} [[adytum]] or sanctuary{{sfnp|Jessup|1881|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=mzdQAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA458 458]}} on a platform raised {{convert|5|ft|abbr=on|0}} above it and fronted by 13 steps.{{sfnp|Jessup|1881|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=mzdQAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA459 459]}} The screen between the two sections once held reliefs of [[Neptune (god)|Neptune]], [[Triton (god)|Triton]], [[Arion]] and his dolphin, and other marine figures{{sfnp|Maundrell|1703}} but these have been lost.{{sfnp|Jessup|1881|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=mzdQAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA459 459]}} The temple was used as a kind of [[donjon]] for the medieval Arab and Turkish fortifications,{{sfnp|''EI''|1913|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=zJU3AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA544 544]}} although its eastern steps were lost sometime after 1688.{{sfnp|''EB''|1878}} Much of the portico was incorporated into a huge wall directly before its gate, but this was demolished in July 1870 by Barker{{who|date=September 2015}} on orders from [[Ottoman Syria|Syria]]'s governor [[Rashid Pasha (governor of Syria)|Rashid Pasha]].{{sfnp|Jessup|1881|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=mzdQAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA458 458]}} Two spiral staircases in columns on either side of the entrance lead to the roof.{{sfnp|''EB''|1878|p=178}}

The Temple of Venus—also known as the Circular Temple or [[Nymphaeum]]{{sfnp|Jessup|1881|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=mzdQAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA466 466]}}—was added under [[Septimius Severus]] in the early 3rd century{{citation needed|date=September 2015}} but destroyed under [[Constantine the Great|Constantine]], who raised a basilica in its place.{{sfnp|''EB''|1878|p=178}} [[Samuel Jessup|Jessup]] considered it the "gem of Baalbek".{{sfnp|Jessup|1881|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=mzdQAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA466 466]}} It lies about {{convert|150|yd|abbr=on}} from the southeast corner of the Temple of Bacchus.{{sfnp|Jessup|1881|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=mzdQAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA466 466]}} It was known in the 19th century as ''El Barbara''{{sfnp|Jessup|1881|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=mzdQAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA466 466]}} or ''Barbarat el-Atikah'' (St Barbara's), having been used as a [[Greek Orthodox Church|Greek Orthodox]] church into the 18th century.{{sfnp|''EB''|1878|p=178}}{{efn|In the 1870s and '80s, its [[Metawali]] caretaker Um Kasim would demand [[bakshish]] from visitors and for use of the olive oil lamps used to make vows to St Barbara.{{sfnp|Jessup|1881|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=mzdQAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA466 466]}}}}

The ancient walls of Heliopolis had a circumference of a little less than {{convert|4|mi|abbr=on|0}}.{{sfnp|''DGRG''|1878|p=1037}} Much of the extant fortifications around the complex date to the 13th century{{sfnp|Cook|1914|p=[http://digi.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/diglit/cook1914bd1/0638 555]}} reconstruction undertaken by the [[Mamluk]] sultan [[Qalawun]] following the devastation of the earlier defenses by the [[Mongolian Empire|Mongol]] army under [[Kitbuqa]].{{sfnp|''EI''|1913|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=zJU3AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA543 543]}} This includes the great southeast tower.{{sfnp|''EI''|1913|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=zJU3AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA544 544]}} The earliest round of fortifications were two walls to the southwest of the Temples of Jupiter and Bacchus.{{sfnp|''EI''|1913|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=zJU3AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA544 544]}} The original southern gateway with two small towers was filled in and replaced by a new large tower flanked by curtains,{{clarify|date=September 2015}} probably under [[Taj al-Muluk Buri|Buri]] or [[Imad ad-Din Zengi|Zengi]].{{sfnp|''EI''|1913|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=zJU3AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA544 544]}} [[Bahramshah]] replaced that era's southwest tower with one of his own in 1213 and built another in the northwest in 1224; the west tower was probably strengthened around the same time.{{sfnp|''EI''|1913|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=zJU3AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA544 544]}} An inscription dates the [[barbican]]-like strengthening of the southern entrance to around 1240.{{sfnp|''EI''|1913|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=zJU3AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA544 544]}} Qalawun relocated the two western curtains{{clarify|date=September 2015}} nearer to the western tower, which was rebuilt with great blocks of stone. The barbican was repaired and more turns added to its approach.{{sfnp|''EI''|1913|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=zJU3AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA544 544]}} From around 1300, no alterations were made to the fortifications apart from repairs such as Sultan [[Barkuk]]'s restoration of the moat in preparation for Timur's arrival.{{sfnp|''EI''|1913|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=zJU3AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA544 544]}}

Material from the ruins is incorporated into a ruined mosque north of downtown{{sfnp|Jessup|1881|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=mzdQAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA467 467]}} and probably also in the [[Qubbat Duris]] on the road to [[Damascus]].{{sfnp|Jessup|1881|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=mzdQAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA467 467]}} In the 19th century, a "shell-topped canopy" from the ruins was used nearby as a [[mihrab]], propped up to show locals the direction of [[Mecca]] for their [[Salah|daily prayers]].{{sfnp|Jessup|1881|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=mzdQAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA467 467]}}

===Tomb of Husayn's daughter===
Under a white dome further towards town is the tomb of Khawla, daughter of [[Husayn ibn Ali|Hussein]] and granddaughter of Ali, who died in Baalbek while Husayn's family was being transported as prisoners to Damascus.<ref>Michel M. Alouf -History of Baalbek 1922 "After the defeat and murder of Hossein by the Ommiads, his family was led captive to Damascus; but Kholat died at Baalbek on her way into exile."</ref><ref>Nelles Guide Syria – Lebanon -Wolfgang Gockel, Helga Bruns – 1998 – Page 202 3886181057 "Ensconced under a white dome further towards town are the mortal remains of Kholat, daughter of Hussein and granddaughter of."</ref>

== Ecclesiastical history ==
Heliopolis (in Phoenicia; not to be confused with the Egyptian bishopric [[Heliopolis in Augustamnica]]) was a bishopric under Roman and Byzantine rule, but it disappeared due to the Islamic rule.

In 1701, Eastern Catholics ([[Byzantine Rite]]) established anew an [[Melkite Greek Catholic Eparchy of Baalbek|Eparchy of Baalbek]], which in 1964 was promoted to the present [[Melkite Greek Catholic Archeparchy of Baalbek]].{{citation needed|date=August 2023}}

=== Titular see ===
In the [[Latin Church]], the Ancient diocese was only nominally restored (no later than 1876) as [[Titular archbishopric]] of Heliopolis (Latin) / Eliopoli (Curiate Italian), demoted in 1925 to Episcopal [[Titular bishopric]], promoted back in 1932, with its name changed (avoiding Egyptian confusion) in 1933 to (non-Metropolitan) Titular archbishopric of '''Heliopolis in Phoenicia'''.

The title has not been assigned since 1965. It was held by:<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gcatholic.org/dioceses/former/t0704.htm|title=Titular See of Heliopolis in Phœnicia, Lebanon|website=www.gcatholic.org}}</ref>
* Titular Archbishop: Luigi Poggi (1876.09.29 – death 1877.01.22) on emeritate (promoted) as former Bishop of [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Rimini|Rimini]] (Italy) (1871.10.27 – 1876.09.29)
* Titular Archbishop: [[Mario Mocenni]] (1877.07.24 – 1893.01.16) as papal diplomat : [[Apostolic Delegate]] to [[Colombia]] (1877.08.14 – 1882.03.28), Apostolic Delegate to Costa Rica, Nicaragua and Honduras (1877.08.14 – 1882.03.28), Apostolic Delegate to Ecuador (1877.08.14 – 1882.03.28), Apostolic Delegate to Peru and Bolivia (1877.08.14 – 1882.03.28), Apostolic Delegate to Venezuela (1877.08.14 – 1882.03.28), [[Apostolic Internuncio]] to Brazil (1882.03.28 – 1882.10.18), created [[Cardinal-Priest]] of [[S. Bartolomeo all'Isola]] (1893.01.19 – 1894.05.18), promoted [[Cardinal-Bishop]] of [[Suburbicarian Diocese of Sabina|Sabina]] (1894.05.18 – death 1904.11.14)
* Titular Archbishop: Augustinus Accoramboni (1896.06.22 – death 1899.05.17), without prelature
* Titular Archbishop: Robert John Seton (1903.06.22 – 1927.03.22), without prelature
*Titular Bishop: [[Gerald O'Hara]] (1929.04.26 – 1935.11.26) as [[Auxiliary Bishop]] of [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia|Philadelphia]] (Pennsylvania, USA) (1929.04.26 – 1935.11.26), later Bishop of [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Savannah|Savannah]] (USA) (1935.11.26 – 1937.01.05), restyled (only) Bishop of [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Savannah–Atlanta|Savannah–Atlanta]] (USA) (1937.01.05 – 1950.07.12), promoted [[Archbishop-Bishop]] of [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Savannah|Savannah]] (1950.07.12 – 1959.11.12), also [[Apostolic Nuncio]] (papal ambassador) to Ireland (1951.11.27 – 1954.06.08), [[Apostolic Delegate]] to Great Britain (1954.06.08 – death 1963.07.16) and [[Titular Archbishop]] of [[Pessinus]] (1959.11.12 – 1963.07.16)
* Titular Archbishop: [[Alcide Marina]], [[Lazarists|C.M.]] (1936.03.07 – death 1950.09.18), mainly as papal diplomat : [[Apostolic Delegate]] to Iran (1936.03.07 – 1945), [[Apostolic Administrator]] of [[Roman Catholic Apostolic Vicariate of Constantinople]] (Turkey) (1945–1947) and Apostolic Delegate to Turkey (1945–1947), [[Apostolic Nuncio]] to Lebanon (1947 – 1950.09.18)
* Titular Archbishop: Daniel Rivero Rivero (1951 – death 1960.05.23) (born Bolivia) on emeritate, formerly Titular Bishop of [[Tlous]] (1922.05.17 – 1931.03.30) as [[Coadjutor Bishop]] of [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Santa Cruz de la Sierra|Santa Cruz de la Sierra]] ([[Bolivia]]) (1922.05.17 – 1931.03.30) succeeding as Bishop of Santa Cruz de la Sierra (1931.03.30 – 1940.02.03), Metropolitan Archbishop of [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Sucre|Sucre]] (Bolivia) (1940.02.03 – 1951)
* Titular Archbishop: [[Raffaele Calabria]] (1960.07.12 – 1962.01.01) as [[Coadjutor Archbishop]] of [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Benevento|Benevento]] (Italy) (1960.07.12 – 1962.01.01), succeeding as Metropolitan Archbishop of Benevento (1962.01.01 – 1982.05.24); previously Titular Archbishop of [[Soteropolis]] (1950.05.06 – 1952.07.10) as Coadjutor Archbishop of [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Otranto|Otranto]] (Italy) (1950.05.06 – 1952.07.10), succeeding as Metropolitan Archbishop of Otranto (Italy) (1952.07.10 – 1960.07.12)
* Titular Archbishop: [[Ottavio De Liva]] (1962.04.18 – death 1965.08.23) as papal diplomat : [[Apostolic Internuncio]] to Indonesia (1962.04.18 – 1965.08.23).

== Notable people ==
* [[Saint Barbara]] (273–306)
* [[Callinicus of Heliopolis]] (c. 600 – c. 680), chemist and inventor
* [[Abd al-Rahman al-Awza'i]] (707–774)
* [[Qusta ibn Luqa]] (820–912), mathematician and translator
* [[Sheikh Adi ibn Musafir]] (1070s–1162)
* [[Bahāʾ al-dīn al-ʿĀmilī]] (1547–1621), [[Lebanese people in Iran|Lebanese-Iranian]] scholar, philosopher, architect, mathematician, astronomer
* [[Rahme Haider]] (1880s–1939), American lecturer from Baalbek
* [[Khalil Mutran]] (1872–1949), poet and journalist
* [[Harfush dynasty]]
* [[Hussein Sharafeddine]] (born 1997), footballer

== In popular culture ==
* [[Letitia Elizabeth Landon]]'s poetical illustration {{ws|[[s:Letitia Elizabeth Landon (L. E. L.) in Fisher's Drawing Room Scrap Book, 1839/Ruins at Balbec|Ruins at Balbec]]}} is on a painting by [[William Henry Bartlett]] entitled ''Six detached pillars of the Great Temple at Balbec'', and was published in Fisher's Drawing Room Scrap Book, 1839.<ref>{{cite book|last =Landon|first=Letitia Elizabeth|title=Fisher's Drawing Room Scrap Book, 1839|url=https://play.google.com/books/reader?id=ufpcAAAAcAAJ&pg=GBS.PA66|section=picture|year=1838|publisher=Fisher, Son & Co.}}{{cite book|last =Landon|first=Letitia Elizabeth|title=Fisher's Drawing Room Scrap Book, 1839|url=https://play.google.com/books/reader?id=ufpcAAAAcAAJ&pg=GBS.PA68|section=poetical illustration|page=57|year=1838|publisher=Fisher, Son & Co.}}</ref>
* [[Ameen Rihani]]'s ''[[The Book of Khalid]]'' (1911), the first English novel by an Arab-American, is set in Baalbek.
* The events of the 1984 novel ''Les fous de Baalbek'' (SAS, #74) by [[Gérard de Villiers]] take place in Baalbek.

== Twin towns ==
Baalbek is [[Twin towns and sister cities|twinned]] with:
* {{flagicon|ITA}} [[Bari]], Italy
* {{flagicon|ITA}} [[L'Aquila]], Italy
* {{flagicon|TUR}} [[Bergama]], Turkey
* {{flagicon|GRE}} [[Thrace]], Greece
* {{flagicon|IDN}} [[Yogyakarta (city)|Yogyakarta]], [[Indonesia]]<ref>{{cite web |last=Syaifullah |first=M. |title=Yogyakarta dan Libanon Bentuk Kota Kembar |website=Tempo Interaktif |date=26 October 2008 |url=http://www.tempointeraktif.com/hg/nusa/2008/10/26/brk,20081026-142146,id.html |access-date=25 January 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090818225745/http://tempointeraktif.com/hg/nusa/2008/10/26/brk%2C20081026-142146%2Cid.html |archive-date=2009-08-18 }}</ref>
* {{flagicon|IRN}} [[Qazvin]], [[Iran]]

== Gallery ==
<gallery>
File:The Round Temple and the Temple of the Muses located outside the sanctuary complex, Heliopolis (Baalbek), Lebanon.jpg|The Round Temple and the Temple of the Muses located outside the sanctuary complex
File:Propylaea of Baalbek temples complex 16062.JPG|Remains of the Propylaeum, the eastern entrance to the site
File:Great Court of Temples Complex in Baalbek (49856240571).jpg|The Great Court of Temples Complex
File:Temple of Venus, Baalbek 14114.JPG|Temple of Venus
File:Baalbeck Temple.jpg|Massive columns of the Temple of Jupiter
File:1873 Stieler Map of Asia Minor, Syria and Israel - Palestine (modern Turkey) - Geographicus - Klein-AsienSyrien-stieler-1873.jpg|An 1873 German map of Asia Minor & Syria, with relief illustrating the Beqaa (''El Bekaa'') valley
File:Baalbec. Panorama - Bonfils. LCCN93500455.jpg|Panorama, around 1870, by [[Félix Bonfils]]
File:Birdseye View of Baalbek and the Lebanons.jpg|Baalbek in 1910, after the arrival of [[Aleppo Railway|rail]]
File:Baalbek. General view 04956r.jpg|The ruins of Baalbek facing west from the hexagonal forecourt in the 19th century
File:Colossal Hewn Block, Ancient Quarries Baalbek.jpg|The "[[Stone of the Pregnant Woman]]" in the early 20th century, the Temple of Jupiter in the background
</gallery>

== See also ==
* {{Annotated link|List of cities of the ancient Near East}}
* {{Annotated link|List of Catholic dioceses in Lebanon}}
* {{Annotated link|List of colossal sculptures in situ}}
* {{Annotated link|List of largest monoliths}}
* {{Annotated link|Triparadeisos}}

== Notes ==
{{notelist}}

== References ==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Baalbek}}
{{Wikivoyage|Baalbek}}
* [https://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=Baalbek&ie=UTF8&t=k&om=1&ll=34.006857,36.203921&spn=0.003313,0.006781 Google Maps satellite view]
* Panoramas of the temples at [https://web.archive.org/web/20110515020154/http://lebanon360hd.com/videos/video_baal_en.html Lebanon 360] and [http://www.discoverlebanon.com/en/panoramic_views/bekaa/baalbeck/monuments.php Discover Lebanon]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090605035347/http://www.dainst.org/index_2951_en.html Archaeological research in Baalbek] from the [[German Archaeological Institute]]
* [http://www.gcatholic.org/dioceses/former/t0704.htm GCatholic – Latin titular see]
* [http://www.baalbeck.org.lb/ Baalbeck International Festival]
* [http://almashriq.hiof.no/lebanon/300/380/385/railways/branches/riyaq-homs/index.html Baalbek Railway Station] (2006) at ''Al Mashriq''
* {{cite book |ref={{harvid|''CMH''|1966}} |date=1966 |title=The Byzantine Empire |series=''Cambridge Medieval History'', Vol.&nbsp;IV |editor-last=Hussey |editor-first=J.M. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9lHeh36S8ooC |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=[[Cambridge, England|Cambridge]] }}
* {{cite encyclopedia |editor-last=Smith |editor-first=William |editor2-last=Anthon |editor2-first=Charles |chapter=Heliopolis |page=349 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FjIaAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA349 |title=A New Classical Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography, Mythology, and Geography |location=New York |publisher=Harper & Bros. |date=1862 |ref={{harvid|''New Class. Dict.''|1862}} }}
* {{cite encyclopedia |last=K. |first=T. |editor-last=Grafton |editor-first=Anthony |editor2-last=Most |editor2-first=Glenn W. |editor3-last=Settis |editor3-first=Salvatore |title=The Classical Tradition |chapter=Baalbek |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LbqF8z2bq3sC&pg=PA115 |page=115 |date=2010 |ref={{harvid|''CT''|2010}} |isbn=978-0-674-03572-0 |location=[[Cambridge, Mass.|Cambridge]] |publisher=Harvard University Press }}
* {{cite encyclopedia |publisher=T. Cook & Son |location=London |title=Cook's Tourists' Handbook for Palestine and Syria |date=1876 |url= https://archive.org/stream/cookstouristsha13ltdgoog#page/n379/mode/2up |chapter=Ba'albek |ref={{harvid|''Cook's''|1876}} |pages=359–365 }}
* {{cite book |last=Donne |first=William Bodham |author-link=William Bodham Donne |title=A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography, ''Vol.&nbsp;I'' |editor-last=Smith |editor-first=William |date=1878 |location=London |publisher=John Murray |chapter=Helio′polis Syriae |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nEtBAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA1036 |pages=1036–1038 |ref={{harvid|''DGRG''|1878}} }}
* {{cite EB9 |mode=cs2 |wstitle=Baalbec |volume=3 |ref={{harvid|''EB''|1878}} |pages=176–178 }}
* {{cite EB1911 |mode=cs2 |last=Hogarth |first=David George |author-link=David George Hogarth |wstitle=Baalbek |volume=3 |ref={{harvid|''EB''|1911}} |pages=89–90 }}
* {{cite book |last=Sobernheim |first=Moritz |ref={{harvid|''EI''|1913}} |chapter=Baalbek |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zJU3AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA543 |pages=543–544 |title=Encyclopaedia of Islam: A Dictionary of the Geography, Ethnography, and Biography of the Muhammadan Peoples |edition=1st |volume=I |publisher=E.J. Brill |location=Leiden |date=1913 |isbn=9004082654 }}
* {{cite encyclopedia |last=Zettersteen |first=K.V. |title=Zengī |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ro--tXw_hxMC&pg=PA1224 |ref={{harvid|''EI''|1936}} |pages=1224–1225 |encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia of Islam: A Dictionary of the Geography, Ethnography, and Biography of the Muhammadan Peoples |edition=1st |volume=VIII |publisher=E.J. Brill |location=Leiden |date=1936 |isbn=9004097961 }}
* {{cite journal |last=Adam |first=Jean-Pierre |author-link=Jean-Pierre Adam |title=À propos du trilithon de Baalbek: Le transport et la mise en oeuvre des mégalithes |trans-title=About the Baalbeck Trilithon: The Transport and Use of the Megaliths |journal=Syria |volume=54 |issue=1/2 |date=1977 |pages=31–63 |doi=10.3406/syria.1977.6623 |language=fr}}
* {{cite book |last=Adam |first=Jean-Pierre |author-link=Jean-Pierre Adam |author2-last=Mathews |author2-first=Anthony |ref={{harvid|Adam & al.|1999}} |title=Roman Building: Materials and Techniques |date=1999 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-415-20866-6 }}
* {{cite book |last=Addison |first=Charles Greenstreet |author-link=Charles G. Addison |title=Damascus and Palmyra: A Journey to the East with a Sketch of the State and Prospects of Syria, under Ibrahim Pasha, ''Vol.&nbsp;II'' |url=https://archive.org/stream/damascusandpalm01addigoog#page/n7/mode/2up |location=Philadelphia |publisher=T.K. & P.G. Collins for E.L. Carey & A. Hart |date=1838 }}
* {{cite book |last=Alouf |first=Michel<!--sic--> M. |date=1944 |title=History of Baalbek |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qiyY1CKE9SIC |location=Beirut |publisher=American Press |isbn=9781585090631 }}
* {{cite book |last=Arastu |first=Rizwan |title=God's Emissaries: Adam to Jesus |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MrxrBwAAQBAJ |isbn=978-0-692-21411-4 |date=2014 |publisher=Imam Mahdi Association of Marjaeya |location=Dearborn }}{{Dead link|date=February 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
* {{cite book |editor-last=Baldwin |editor-first=Marshall W. |chapter=The Rise of Saladin |title=A History of the Crusades, ''Vol.&nbsp;I:'' The First Hundred Years, ''2nd&nbsp;ed.'' |publisher=University of Wisconsin Press |location=Madison |date=1969 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RfO1J6hjcdgC |isbn=9780299048341 }}
* {{cite book |last=Baumgarten |first=Martin von (Martinus à Baumgarten in Braitenbach) |author-link=Martin von Baumgarten |title=Peregrinatio in Aegyptum, Arabiam, Palaestinam, & Syriam |language=la |trans-title=A Trip to Egypt, Arabia, Palestine, & Syria |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9SQ8AAAAcAAJ |date=1594 |location=Nürnberg (Noriberga)}}
* {{cite book |last=Belon |first=Pierre (Petrus Bellonius Cenomanus) |author-link=Pierre Belon |title=De Admirabili Operum Antiquorum et Rerum Suspiciendarum Praestantia |language=la |trans-title=On the Admirableness of the Works of the Ancients and a Presentation of Suspected Things |location=Paris (Parisius)<!--sic--> |publisher=Guillaume Cavellat (Gulielmus Cavellat) |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CGxEAAAAcAAJ |date=1553}}
* {{cite book |last=Belon |first=Pierre |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0ic8AAAAcAAJ&pg=PR2 |title=Les observations de plusieurs singularitez & choses memorables, trouvées en Grece, Asie, Judée, Egypte, Arabie, & autres pays estranges |language=fr |trans-title=Observations on the Many Singularities & Memorable Things Found in Greece, Asia, Judea, Egypt, Arabia, & Other Strange Lands |location=Paris |publisher=Gilles Corrozet |date=1554}}
* {{cite web |last=Bouckaert |first=Peter |author2-last=Houry |author2-first=Nadim |title=Why They Died: Civilian Casualties in Lebanon during the 2006 War |url=https://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/reports/lebanon0907.pdf |volume=19|number=5(E) |date=2007 |editor-last=Whitson |editor-first=Sarah Leah |editor2-last=Ross |editor2-first=James |editor3-last=Saunders |editor3-first=Joseph |editor4-last=Roth |editor4-first=Kenneth |publisher=Human Rights Watch |ref={{harvid|HRW|2007}} }}
* {{cite book |last=Burkitt |first=Francis Crawford |title=Early Eastern Christianity: St Margaret's Lectures, 1904, on the Syriac-speaking Church |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vssdKNm9Hm4C |date=1904 |publisher=John Murray |location=London |isbn=9781593331016 }}{{Dead link|date=February 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
* {{cite book |last=Chesney |first=Francis Rawdon |author-link=Francis Rawdon Chesney |title=The Expedition for the Survey of the Rivers Euphrates and Tigris, carried on by Order of the British Government, in the Years 1835, 1836, and 1837; Preceded by Geographical and Historical Notices of the Regions Situated between the Rivers Nile and Indus |location=London |publisher=Longman, Brown, Green, & Longmans |date=1850 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=555UAAAAYAAJ}}
**[https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.22799 volume I]
**[https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.22799 volume II]
* {{cite book |last=Chesney |first=Francis Rawdon |author-link=Francis Rawdon Chesney |title=Narrative of the Euphrates Expedition carried on by Order of the British Government during the Years 1835, 1836, and 1837 |url=https://archive.org/stream/narrativeeuphra00chesgoog#page/n12/mode/2up |location=London |publisher=Spttiswoode & Co. for Longmans, Green, & Co. |date=1868 }}
* {{cite book |last=Cook |first=Arthur Bernard |title=Zeus: A Study in Ancient Religion |url=http://digi.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/diglit/cook1914bd1/0011 |volume=I: ''Zeus God of the Bright Sky'' |location=[[Cambridge, England|Cambridge]] |publisher=Cambridge University Press |date=1914 }}
* {{cite journal |last=Coulton |first=J.J. |title=Lifting in Early Greek Architecture |journal=Journal of Hellenic Studies |volume=94 |date=1974 |pages=1–19 |doi=10.2307/630416 |jstor=630416 |s2cid=162973494 }}
* {{cite book |last=de la Roque |first=Jean |author-link=Jean de la Roque |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BtUWAAAAQAAJ |title=Voyage de Syrie et du Mont-Leban |language=fr |trans-title=Travel to Syria and Mount Lebanon |location=Paris |publisher=André Cailleau |date=1722 }}
* {{cite book |last=De Saulcy |first=Louis Félicien Joseph Caignart |author-link=Louis Félicien de Saulcy |title=Voyage Autour de la Mer Morte et dans les Terres Bibliques exécuté de Decembre 1850 a<!--sic--> Avril 1851 |language=fr |trans-title=Travel around the Dead Sea and within the Biblical Lands undertaken from December 1850 to April 1851''], Vol.&nbsp;II'' |location=Paris |publisher=J. Claye & Co. for Gide & J. Baudry |date=1853 |url=https://archive.org/stream/voyageautourdel01saulgoog#page/n6/mode/2up}}
* {{cite book |last=Frauberger |first=Heinrich |title=Die Akropolis von Baalbek |language=de |trans-title=The Baalbek Acropolis |url=http://digi.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/diglit/frauberger1892/0005?sid=ab950d5b6241a257fc52ce565814ae81 |publisher=H. Keller |location=[[Frankfurt on Main|Frankfurt]] |date=1892}}
* {{cite book |last=Genz |first=Hermann |chapter=Reflections on the Early Bronze Age IV in Lebanon |pages=205–218 |location=Wiesbaden |publisher=Harrassowitz Verlag |date=2010|editor-last=Matthiae |editor-first=Paolo |editor2-last=Pinnock |editor2-first=Frances |editor3-last=Marchetti |editor3-first=Nicolò |editor4-last=Nigro |author4-first=Lorenzo |title=Proceedings of the 6th International Congress of the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East: 5 May–10 May 2009, "Sapienza", Università di Roma |volume=2: ''Excavations, Surveys, and Restorations: Reports on Recent Field Archaeology in the Near East'' |isbn=978-3-447-06216-9 }}
* {{cite book |last=Graves |first=Robert |author-link=Robert Graves |date=1955 |title=The Greek Myths |volume=I |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ClTmOEBNMhAC |location=London |publisher=Penguin Books |isbn=9780141959658 }}
* {{cite book |last=Hastings |first=James |author-link=James Hastings |title=A Dictionary of the Bible Dealing with Its Language, Literature, and Contents |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yk1CKgPRKtAC |volume=IV, Pt.&nbsp;II |orig-date=1898 |date=2004 |publisher=University Press of the Pacific in Honolulu |isbn=978-1-4102-1729-5}}
* {{cite book |last=Humphreys |first=R. Stephen |title=From Saladin to the Mongols: The Ayyubids of Damascus, 1193–1260 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JfXl5kvabhoC |publisher=State University of New York Press |location=Albany |date=1977 |isbn=0-87395-263-4}}
* {{cite book |last=Jessup |first=Samuel |chapter=Ba'albek |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mzdQAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA453 |pages=453–476 |editor-last=Wilson |editor-first=Charles William |editor-link=Charles William Wilson |title=Picturesque Palestine, Sinai, and Egypt, ''Div.&nbsp;II'' |location=New York |publisher=D. Appleton & Co., illustrated by [[Harry Fenn|Henry Fenn]] & [[John Douglas Woodward (artist)|J.D. Woodward]] |date=1881 }}
* {{cite book |last=Jidejian |first=Nina |title=Baalbek: Heliopolis: "City of the Sun" |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7MZtAAAAMAAJ |date=1975 |location=Beirut |publisher=Dar el-Machreq Publishers |isbn=978-2-7214-5884-1 }}
* {{cite web |last=Kehrer |first=Nicole |location=Berlin |publisher=[[German Archaeological Institute]] |date=21 November 2014 |title=Libanesisch-deutsches Forscherteam entdeckt weltweit größten antiken Steinblock in Baalbek |language=de |trans-title=Lebanese-German Research Team Discovers the World's Largest Ancient Stone Block in Baalbek |url=http://www.dainst.org/pressemitteilung/-/asset_publisher/nZcCAiLqg1db/content/libanesisch-deutsches-forscherteam-entdeckt-weltweit-gro%C3%9Ften-antiken-steinblock-in-baalbek?redirect=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.dainst.org%2Fmeldungen&redirectURL=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.dainst.org%2Fpressemitteilung%3Fp_p_id%3D101_INSTANCE_nZcCAiLqg1db%26p_p_lifecycle%3D0%26p_p_state%3Dnormal%26p_p_mode%3Dview%26p_p_col_id%3Dcolumn-6%26p_p_col_count%3D1 |access-date=30 November 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141212011113/http://www.dainst.org/pressemitteilung/-/asset_publisher/nZcCAiLqg1db/content/libanesisch-deutsches-forscherteam-entdeckt-weltweit-gro%C3%9Ften-antiken-steinblock-in-baalbek?redirect=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.dainst.org%2Fmeldungen&redirectURL=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.dainst.org%2Fpressemitteilung%3Fp_p_id%3D101_INSTANCE_nZcCAiLqg1db%26p_p_lifecycle%3D0%26p_p_state%3Dnormal%26p_p_mode%3Dview%26p_p_col_id%3Dcolumn-6%26p_p_col_count%3D1 |archive-date=12 December 2014 }}
* {{cite book |last=Köhler |first=Michael |title=Alliances and Treaties between Frankish and Muslim Rulers in the Middle East: Cross-Cultural Diplomacy in the Period of the Crusades |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tYG0AQAAQBAJ |publisher=translated from the German by Peter M. Holt for Koninklijke Brill |location=Leiden |date=2013 |editor-last=Hirschler |editor-first=Konrad |series=''The Muslim World in the Age of the Crusades'', Vol.&nbsp;I |isbn=978-90-04-24857-1 |issn=2213-1043 }}
* {{cite web |last=Kropp |first=Andreas |author2-last=Lohmann |author2-first=Daniel |ref={{harvid|Kropp & al.|2011}} |title='Master, look at the size of those stones! Look at the size of those buildings!' Analogies in Construction Techniques Between the Temples at Heliopolis (Baalbek) and Jerusalem |date=April 2011 |issue=No.&nbsp;1 |pages=38–50 |url=https://www.academia.edu/1154782 |access-date=13 March 2013 }}{{dead link|date=October 2021}}
* {{cite book |last=Lamartine |first=Alphonse de|date=1835 |location=Brussels (Bruxelles) |publisher=L. Hauman |title=Souvenirs, Impressions, Pensées, et Paysages pendant un Voyage en Orient 1832–1833 ou Notes d'un Voyageur |language=fr |trans-title=Remembrances, Impressions, Thoughts, and Passages concerning Travel in the Orient 1832–1833 or Notes from a Voyager |url=https://archive.org/stream/souvenirsimpress00lama#page/n3/mode/2up}}
* {{cite book |last=Lendering |first=Jona |author-link=Jona Lendering |title=Baalbek (Heliopolis) |url=https://www.livius.org/ba-bd/baalbek/baalbek_history.html |publisher=Livius |date=2013 |access-date=8 September 2015 |archive-date=2 July 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150702034514/http://www.livius.org/ba-bd/baalbek/baalbek_history.html }}
* {{cite book |title=Palestine Under the Moslems: A Description of Syria and the Holy Land from A.D. 650 to 1500|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ENANAAAAIAAJ&q=Lajjun+Guy+le+Strange&pg=PA493 |first1=Guy|last1=le Strange|year=1890|publisher=Committee of the [[Palestine Exploration Fund]]}}
* {{cite book |last=Lindsay |first=Alexander |author-link=Alexander Lindsay, 25th Earl of Crawford |title=Letters from Egypt, Edom, and the Holy Land, ''Vol.&nbsp;II'' |url=https://archive.org/stream/lettersonegypte03crawgoog#page/n8/mode/2up |location=London |date=1838 |publisher=Henry Colburn }}
* {{cite book |last=Lock |first=Peter |title=The Routledge Companion to the Crusades |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AkCKZ9Hs4-QC |series=Routledge Companions to History |publisher=Routledge |date=2013 |isbn=9781135131371 }}
* {{cite journal |last=Lohmann |first=Daniel |title=Giant Strides towards Monumentality: The architecture of the Jupiter Sanctuary in Baalbek/Heliopolis |journal=Bolletino di Archaologia (Bulletin of Archaeology) |volume=Special |date=2010 |pages=29–30 }}
* {{cite book |last=Lyons |first=Malcolm Cameron |author2-last=Jackson |author2-first=David Edward Pritchett |ref={{harvid|Lyons & al.|1982}} |date=1982 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kRF1F3wK26YC |title=Saladin: The Politics of the Holy War |series=''Oriental Publications'', No.&nbsp;30 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=[[Cambridge, England|Cambridge]] |isbn=0-521-31739-8}}
* {{cite book |last=Marmont |first=Auguste-Frédéric-Louis Viesse de |author-link=Auguste-Frédéric-Louis Viesse de Marmont |title=Voyage du Maréchal Duc de Raguse en Hongrie, en Transylvanie, dans la Russie Méridionale, en Grimée,<!--sic--> et sur les Bords de la Mer d'Azoff, a<!--sic--> Constantinople, dans Quelques Parties de l'Asie-Mineure, en Syrie, en Palestine, et en Égypte. 1834.–1835. |language=fr |trans-title=Travel of Marshal Marmont, the Duke of Ragusa, in Hungary, in Transylvania, within Southern Russia, in the Crimea, and on the Shores of the Sea of Azov, to Constantinople, within Certain Parts of Asia Minor, in Syria, in Palestine, and in Egypt (1834–1835), ''Vol.&nbsp;III:'' Syrie ''[''Syria'']'' |location=Paris |publisher=Ladvocat |date=1837 |url=http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k616452.r=.langEN }}
* {{cite journal |last=Monconys |first=Balthasar de |author-link=Balthasar de Monconys |journal=Journal des Voyages de Monsieur de Monconys |volume=I |title=Voyage de Syrie |trans-title=Syrian Travel |url=https://gutenberg.beic.it/webclient/DeliveryManager?pid=855257 |publisher=Horace Boissat & George Remeus |location=Lyon |date=1665 |pages=296&nbsp;ff |language=fr}}
* {{cite book |last=Maundrell |first=Henry |author-link=Henry Maundrell |url=https://archive.org/details/gri_journeyfroma00maun |title=A Journey from ''Aleppo'' to ''Jerusalem'' at Easter ''A.D.'' 1697 |location=Oxford |date=1703 }}
* {{cite book |editor-last=Overbeck |editor-first=J. Josephus |title=S. Ephraemi Syri Rabulae Episcopi Edesseni Balaei Aliorumque Opera Selecta e Codicibus Syriacis Manuscriptis in Museo Britannico et Bibliotheca Bodleiana Asservatis Primus Edidit |chapter=Rabulae Vita |chapter-url=https://archive.org/stream/sephraemisyrirab00over#page/266/mode/2up |location=Oxford |publisher=Clarendon Press |date=1865 |pages=159–209|language=la}}&nbsp;& {{in lang|syc}}
* {{cite book |last=Pococke |first=Richard |author-link=Richard Pococke |title=A Description of the East, and Some other Countries,<!--sic--> ''Vol.&nbsp;II, Pt.&nbsp;I'' Observations on Palæstine or the Holy Land, Syria, Mesopotamia, Cyprus, and Candia |location=London |publisher=W. Bowyer |date=1745 |chapter=Of Baalbeck, the antient<!--sic--> Heliopolis |chapter-url=https://archive.org/stream/gri_33125009339611#page/n139/mode/2up |pages=106–113 }}
* {{cite book |last=Quaresmio |first=Francisco (Franciscus Quaresmius) |author-link=Franciscus Quaresmius |title=Historica, Theologica, et Moralis Terrae Sanctae Elucidatio |language=la |trans-title=A Historical, Theological, and Moral Elucidation of the Holy Land |date=1639 |url=https://archive.org/stream/bub_gb_0zRulLNbGngC#page/n5/mode/2up |location=Antwerp (Antuerpia) |publisher=Balthasar Moretus}}
* {{cite book |last=Radziwiłł |first=Mikołaj Krzystof (Nicolaus Christophorus Radzivilus) |author-link=Mikołaj Krzysztof "the Orphan" Radziwiłł |url=http://polona.pl/item/1682207/2/ |location=Braniewo (Brunsberga) |publisher=Georg Schönfels (Georgius Schonfels) |title=Hierosolymitana Peregrinatio ''[''A Jerusalem Trip'']'' |date=1601 |language=la}}
* {{cite book |last=Richardson |first=Robert |url=https://archive.org/stream/travelsalongmed01richgoog#page/n8/mode/2up |title=Travels along the Mediterranean, and Parts Adjacent; in Company with the Earl of Belmore, during the Years 1816–17–18: Extending as far as the Second Cataract of the Nile, Jerusalem, Damascus, Balbec, &c. &c. Illustrated by Plans and other Engravings, ''Vol.&nbsp;II'' |location=London |publisher=T. Cadell |date=1822 }}
* {{cite book |last=Robinson |first=Edward |author-link=Edward Robinson (scholar) |title=Biblical Researches in Palestine, Mount Sinai, and Arabia Petraea. A Journal of Travels in the Year 1838 by E. Robinson and E. Smith, Vol.&nbsp;III |url=http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=hvd.32044011784253;view=1up;seq=5 |publisher=Crocker & Brewster |location=Boston |date=1841 }}
* {{cite book |last=Robinson |first=Edward |author-link=Edward Robinson (scholar) |title=Later Biblical Researches in Palestine, and in the Adjacent Regions. A Journal of Travels in the Year 1852 by E. Robinson, E. Smith, and Others |location=Boston |publisher=Crocker & Brewster |url=http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=hvd.32044005047949;view=1up;seq=7 |date=1856 }}
* {{cite book |last=Rowland |first=Benjamin Jr. |chapter=The Vine-Scroll in Gandhāra |title=Artibus Asiae |volume=19 |number=3/4 |date=1956 |pages=353–361 }}
* {{cite book |last=Runciman |first=Steven |title=A History of the Crusades, ''Vol.&nbsp;II:'' The Kingdom of Jerusalem and the Frankish East, 1100–run1187 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QL88AAAAIAAJ |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=[[Cambridge, England|Cambridge]] |date=1951 |isbn=0-521-34771-8 }}
* {{cite journal |last=Ruprechtsberger |first=Erwin M. |title=Vom Steinbruch zum Jupitertempel von Heliopolis/Baalbek (Libanon) [From the Quarry to the Temple of Jupiter of Heliopolis (Baalbek, Lebanon)] |journal=Linzer Archäologische Forschungen (Linz Archaeological Research) |volume=30 |pages=7–56 |date=1999 |language=de}}
* {{cite journal|last=Sato |first=Tsugitaka |title=State and Rural Society in Medieval Islam: Sultans, Muqtaʿs, and Fallahun |journal=Islamic History and Civilization Studies and Texts |publisher=Brill |location=Leiden |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MycQL-9_bqwC |isbn=90-04-10649-9 |issn=0929-2403 |series=''Islamic History and Civilization'', Vol.&nbsp;17 |date=1997 }}
* {{cite book |last=Sedlitz |first=Melchior von |url=http://daten.digitale-sammlungen.de/~db/0003/bsb00032551/images/index.html?id=00032551&groesser=&fip=eayaenewqwfsdrxdsydeayayztseayaeayaw&no=3&seite=5 |title=Gründtliche Beschreibung: Der Wallfart<!--sic--> nach dem heyligen Lande |language=de |trans-title=A Thorough Description: The Places of Pilgrimage in the Holy Land |date=1580 |publisher=Fritsch}} Reprinted at Görlitz in 1591.
* {{cite journal |last=Steiner |first=Richard C. |title=On the Rise and Fall of Canaanite Religion at Baalbek: A Tale of Five Toponyms |url=https://www.questia.com/library/journal/1P3-1998448721/on-the-rise-and-fall-of-canaanite-religion-at-baalbek |journal=Journal of Biblical Literature |volume=128 |number=3 |date=Fall 2009 |pages=507–525 |doi=10.2307/25610200 |jstor=25610200 |access-date=8 September 2015 |archive-date=4 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304124542/https://www.questia.com/library/journal/1P3-1998448721/on-the-rise-and-fall-of-canaanite-religion-at-baalbek |url-status=dead }}
* {{cite book |last=Thevet<!--sic--> |first=André |author-link=André Thévet |url=http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k545339 |title=Cosmographie de Levant |language=fr |trans-title=A Cosmography of the Levant |date=1554 |location=Lyons |publisher=Jean de Tournes (Ian de Tournes) & Guillaume Gazeau (Guil. Gazeav)}}
* {{cite book |last=Venning |first=Timothy |author2-last=Frankopan |author2-first=Peter |ref={{harvid|Venning & al.|2015}} |title=A Chronology of the Crusades |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ubflCAAAQBAJ |publisher=Routledge |location=Abingdon |date=2015 |isbn=978-1-138-80269-8 }}
* {{cite book |last=Volney |first=Constantin François de Chasseboeuf, comte de |author-link=Constantin François de Chassebœuf, comte de Volney |date=1787 |title=Voyage en Syrie et en Égypte, Pendant les anneés<!--sic--> 1783, 1784, & 1785, avec deux Cartes Géographiques & deux Planches gravées, représentant les ruines du Temple du Soleil à Balbek, & celles de la ville de Palmyre dans le Désert de Syrie |language=fr |trans-title=Travel in Syria and Egypt, during the Years 1783, 1784, & 1785, with two maps & two engravings, showing the ruins of the Temple of the Sun at Baalbek & those of the city of Palmyra in the Syrian Desert |location=Paris |publisher=Volland; Desenne |url=http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k1041132}}
* {{cite book |last=Wiegand |first=Theodor |title=Baalbek: Ergebnisse der Ausgrabungen und Untersuchungen in den Jahren 1898 bis 1905 |language=de |trans-title=Baalbek: Results of the Excavations and Surveys from the Years 1898 to 1905 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wN9JvgPVvWIC |date=1925 |publisher=Walter de Gruyter |isbn=978-3-11-002370-1}}
* {{cite book |last=Wilson |first=John |author-link=John Wilson (missionary) |title=The Lands of the Bible Visited and Described in an Extensive Journey Undertaken with Special Reference to the Promotion of Biblical Research and the Advancement of the Cause of Philanthropy, ''Vol.&nbsp;II'' |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=id07AAAAcAAJ&pg=PP11 |location=Edinburgh |publisher=William Whyte & Co. |date=1847 }}
* {{cite book |last=Winter |first=Stefan Helmut |title=The Shiite Emirates of Ottoman Syria (Mid-17th–Mid-18th Century) |location=Chicago |publisher=University of Chicago Press |date=2002 }}
* {{cite book |last=Wood |first=Robert |author-link=Robert Wood (antiquarian) |title=The Ruins of Balbec, otherwise Heliopolis in Cœlosyria<!--sic--> |url=http://digi.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/diglit/wood1757/0001?sid=8f2052cdebd7fe0f338d37fb5d5079d2 |date=1757 |location=London }}

=== Further reading ===
* {{cite book |title=The Entrance to the Temple of Jupiter |url=http://www.wdl.org/en/item/2441/ |via=World Digital Library |date=29 May 2013 |access-date=8 September 2015 |publisher=Library of Congress |location=[[Washington, D.C.|Washington]] }}
* {{cite book |url=https://whc.unesco.org/whreview/article8.html |title=Baalbek |publisher=[[UNESCO]] [[World Heritage Centre]] |location=New York |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070912003207/https://whc.unesco.org/whreview/article8.html |archive-date=2007-09-12 }}

{{World Heritage Sites in Lebanon}}
{{Baalbek District}}
{{Archaeological sites in Lebanon}}
{{Phoenician cities and colonies}}
{{Roman colonies in ancient Levant}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Baalbek]]
[[Category:Tourist attractions in Lebanon]]
[[Category:World Heritage Sites in Lebanon]]
[[Category:Archaeological sites in Lebanon]]
[[Category:Great Rift Valley]]
[[Category:Phoenician sites in Lebanon]]
[[Category:Coloniae (Roman)]]
[[Category:Populated places established in the 7th millennium BC]]
[[Category:Roman sites in Lebanon]]
[[Category:Tourism in Lebanon]]
[[Category:Sunni Muslim communities in Lebanon]]
[[Category:Pre-Pottery Neolithic B]]
[[Category:Phoenician cities]]
[[Category:Roman towns and cities in Lebanon]]