Lebanon, officially theRepublic of Lebanon, is a country in theLevant region ofWest Asia. Situated at the crossroads of theMediterranean Basin and theArabian Peninsula, it is bordered bySyria to the north and east,Israel to the south, and theMediterranean Sea to the west;Cyprus lies a short distance from the coastline. Lebanon has a population of more than five million and an area of 10,452 square kilometres (4,036 sq mi).Beirut is the country's capital and largest city.
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Promontory of Byblos. The royal necropolis lies at the base of theRomancolonnade.
Theroyal necropolis of Byblos is a group of nineBronze Age undergroundshaft and chamber tombs housing thesarcophagi of severalkings of the city.Byblos (modern Jbeil) is a coastal city in Lebanon, and one of theoldest continuously populated cities in the world. The city established major trade links withEgypt during the Bronze Age, resulting in a heavy Egyptian influence on local culture and funerary practices. The location of ancient Byblos was lost to history, but was rediscovered in the late 19th century by the French biblical scholar andOrientalistErnest Renan. The remains of the ancient city sat on top of a hill in the immediate vicinity of the modern city of Jbeil.Exploratory trenches and minor digs were undertaken by theFrench mandate authorities, during which reliefs inscribed withEgyptian hieroglyphs were excavated. The discovery stirred the interest of western scholars, leading to systematic surveys of the site.
On 16 February 1922, heavy rains triggered a landslide in the seaside cliff of Jbeil, exposing anunderground tomb containing a massive stone sarcophagus. The grave was explored by the Frenchepigrapher and archeologistCharles Virolleaud. Intensive digs were carried out around the site of the tomb by the FrenchEgyptologistPierre Montet, who unearthed eight additional shaft and chamber tombs. Each of the tombs consisted of a vertical shaft connected to a horizontal burial chamber at its bottom. Montet categorized the graves into two groups. The tombs of the first group date back to theMiddle Bronze Age, specifically the 19th century BC; some were unspoiled, and contained a multitude of often valuable items, including royal gifts fromMiddle Kingdom pharaohsAmenemhat III andAmenemhat IV, locally made Egyptian-style jewelry, and various serving vessels. The graves of the second group were all robbed in antiquity, making precise dating problematic, but the artifacts indicate that some of the tombs were used into the Late Bronze Age (16th to 11th centuries BC).
In addition to grave goods, seven stone sarcophagi were discovered—the burial chambers that did not contain stone sarcophagi appear to have housed wooden ones which disintegrated over time. The stone sarcophagi were undecorated, save theAhiram sarcophagus. This sarcophagus is famed for itsPhoenician inscription, one of five epigraphs known as theByblian royal inscriptions; it is considered to be theearliest known example of the fully developedPhoenician alphabet. Montet compared the function of the Byblos tombs to that of Egyptianmastabas, where thesoul of the deceased was believed to fly from the burial chamber, through the funerary shaft, to the ground-level chapel where priests would officiate. (Full article...)
... that the FrenchJesuit priest and archaeologistRené Mouterde contributed to the documentation of 3,405 Greek and Latin inscriptions from Lebanon, Jordan, and Syria?
... that the first day of filming of the psychological thrillerFarah coincided with the beginning of the2019 Lebanese protests?
... thatGigarta, a settlement mentioned byStrabo andPliny the Elder, is believed to have been located on the slopes ofMount Lebanon, although its exact location remains under debate?
In modern times, Arab Christians have played important roles in theNahda movement, and they have significantly influenced and contributed to the fields ofliterature, politics, business,philosophy, music, theatre and cinema, medicine, and science. Today Arab Christians still play important roles in the Arab world, and are relatively wealthy, well educated, and politically moderate. Emigrants from Arab Christian communities also make up a significant proportion of the Middle Eastern diaspora, with sizable population concentrations across the Americas, most notably in Brazil, Argentina, Venezuela, Colombia, and the US. However those emigrants to the Americas, especially from the first wave of emigration, have often not passed the Arabic language to their descendants. (Full article...)
Image 9Anti-Syrian protesters heading to Martyrs' Square in Beirut on foot and in vehicles, 13 March 2005 (fromHistory of Lebanon)
Image 10Portrait of Fakhreddine while he was in Tuscany, stating "Faccardino grand emir dei Drusi" translated as "Fakhreddine: great emir of the Druze" (fromHistory of Lebanon)
Image 12Flag as drawn and approved by the members of the Lebanese parliament during the declaration of independence in 1943 (fromHistory of Lebanon)
Image 13Map showing power balance in Lebanon, 1983: Green – controlled by Syria, purple – controlled by Christian groups, yellow – controlled by Israel, blue – controlled by the United Nations (fromHistory of Lebanon)
Image 26Csontváry Kosztka, Tivadar - Pilgrimage to the Cedars of Lebanon (fromCulture of Lebanon)
Image 27Map showing power balance in Lebanon, 1976: Dark Green – controlled by Syria; Purple – controlled byMaronite groups; Light Green – controlled byPalestinian militias (fromHistory of Lebanon)
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