History Beirut

1 history

1.1 hellenistic , roman period
1.2 middle ages
1.3 ottoman rule
1.4 modern era

history

beirut settled more 5,000 years ago. name derives canaanite-phoenician erot ( wells ), referring underground water table still tapped local inhabitants general use. explanation city named after phoenician daughter of adonis , aphrodite, beroe. excavations in downtown area have unearthed layers of phoenician, hellenistic, roman, byzantine, arab, crusader , ottoman remains. first historical reference beirut dates 14th century bc, when mentioned in cuneiform tablets of amarna letters, 3 letters ammunira of biruta (beirut) sent pharaoh of egypt. biruta referenced in letters rib-hadda, king of byblos (also known jbeil). oldest settlement on island in river progressively silted up. city known in antiquity berytus. name taken in 1934 archaeological journal published faculty of arts , sciences @ american university of beirut.

hellenistic , roman period

in 140 b.c. city destroyed diodotus tryphon in contest antiochus vii sidetes throne of macedonian seleucid monarchy. beirut rebuilt on more conventional hellenistic plan , renamed laodicea in phoenicia (greek: Λαοδίκεια ἡ ἐν Φοινίκῃ) or laodicea in canaan in honor of seleucid laodice. modern city overlies ancient one, , little archaeology carried out until after end of civil war in 1991. post-war salvage excavations (1993-to date) have yielded new insights in layout , history of berytus. public architecture included several bath complexes, colonnaded streets, circus , theater; residential areas excavated in future garden of forgiveness, martyrs square , beirut souks.

mid-first-century coins berytus bear head of tyche, goddess of fortune; on reverse, city s symbol appears: dolphin entwines anchor. symbol later taken printer aldus manutius in 15th century venice.

beirut conquered pompey in 64 b.c. city assimilated roman empire, veteran soldiers sent there, , large building projects undertaken. beirut considered roman city in eastern provinces of roman empire.

in 14 b.c., during reign of herod great, berytus became colonia , named colonia iulia augusta felix berytus. law school known; 2 of rome s famous jurists, papinian , ulpian, both natives of phoenicia, taught there under severan emperors. when justinian assembled pandects in 6th century, large part of corpus of laws derived these 2 jurists, , in 533 justinian recognized school 1 of 3 official law schools of empire. after 551 beirut earthquake students transferred sidon.

middle ages

beirut conquered muslims in 635. prince arslan bin al-mundhir founded principality of sin-el-fil in beirut in 759 ad. principality developed later principality of mount lebanon, basis establishment of greater lebanon, today s lebanon. trading centre of eastern mediterranean, beirut overshadowed acre during middle ages. 1110 1291 in hands of crusaders kingdom of jerusalem. john of ibelin, old lord of beirut (1179–1236) rebuilt city after battles saladin , built ibelin family palace in beirut.

ottoman rule

pine forest of beirut, 1914

under ottoman sultan selim (1512–1520), ottomans conquered syria including present-day lebanon. beirut controlled local druze emirs throughout ottoman period. 1 of them, fakhr-al-din ii, fortified in 17th century, ottomans reclaimed in 1763. of damascus, beirut broke acre s monopoly on syrian maritime trade , few years supplanted main trading centre in region. during succeeding epoch of rebellion against ottoman hegemony in acre under jezzar pasha , abdullah pasha, beirut declined small town population of 10,000 , object of contention between ottomans, local druze, , mamluks. after ibrahim pasha of egypt captured acre in 1832, beirut began revival.

view of beirut s grand serail- circa 1930

by second half of nineteenth century, beirut developing close commercial , political ties european imperial powers, particularly france. european interests in lebanese silk , other export products transformed city major port , commercial centre. boom in cross-regional trade allowed groups, such sursock family, establish trade , manufacturing empires further strengthened beirut s position key partner in interests of imperial dynasties. meanwhile, ottoman power in region continued decline. sectarian , religious conflicts, power vacuums, , changes in political dynamics of region culminated in 1860 lebanon conflict. beirut became destination maronite christian refugees fleeing worst areas of fighting on mount lebanon , in damascus. in turn altered ethnic composition of beirut itself, sowing seeds of future ethnic , religious troubles there , in greater lebanon. however, beirut able prosper in meantime. again product of european intervention, , general realization amongst city s residents commerce, trade, , prosperity depended on domestic stability.

in 1888, beirut made capital of vilayet (governorate) in syria, including sanjaks (prefectures) latakia, tripoli, beirut, acre , bekaa. time, beirut had grown cosmopolitan city , had close links europe , united states. became centre of missionary activity spawned educational institutions, such american university of beirut. provided water british company , gas french one, silk exports europe came dominate local economy. after french engineers established modern harbor in 1894 , rail link across lebanon damascus , aleppo in 1907, of trade carried french ships marseille. french influence in area exceeded of other european power. 1911 encyclopædia britannica reported population consisting of 36,000 muslims, 77,000 christians, 2,500 jews, 400 druze , 4,100 foreigners. @ start of 20th century, salim ali salam 1 of prominent figures in beirut, holding numerous public positions including deputy beirut ottoman parliament , president of municipality of beirut. given modern way of life, emergence of salim ali salam public figure constituted transformation in terms of social development of city.

an aerial panoramic view of beirut in last third of 19th century

in 2003 book entitled beirut , 7 families, dr. yussef bin ahmad bin ali al husseini says:

the 7 families of beirut families bonded among each other , made famous historical agreement governor of syrian coast in 1351 protect , defend city of beirut , shores, , chase invadors , stop progress towards it.

these families are:

all other families of beirut considered have descended 1 of 7 main branches, such nahhas, yanout inkidar, hajjal, hamza , others derived sinno family (p. 14).

sinno considered old family in beirut, descending muslim leader tareq bin ziyad.

modern era

saint nicholas staircase in ashrafieh



ras beirut , mediterranean sea



nightlife scene in badaro

after collapse of ottoman empire following world war i, beirut, along rest of lebanon, placed under french mandate. lebanon achieved independence in 1943, , beirut became capital city. city remained regional intellectual capital, becoming major tourist destination , banking haven, persian gulf oil boom.

this era of relative prosperity ended in 1975 when lebanese civil war broke out throughout country. during of war, beirut divided between muslim west part , christian east. downtown area, home of of city s commercial , cultural activity, became no man s land known green line. many inhabitants fled other countries. 60,000 people died in first 2 years of war (1975–1976), , of city devastated. particularly destructive period 1978 syrian siege of achrafiyeh, main christian district of beirut. syrian troops relentlessly shelled eastern quarter of city, christian militias defeated multiple attempts syria s elite forces capture strategic area in three-month campaign later known hundred days war.

another destructive chapter 1982 lebanon war, during of west beirut under siege israeli troops. in 1983, french , barracks bombed, killing 241 american servicemen, 58 french servicemen, 6 civilians , 2 suicide bombers.

since end of war in 1990, people of lebanon have been rebuilding beirut, , start of 2006 israel-lebanon conflict city had regained status tourist, cultural , intellectual center in middle east , centre commerce, fashion, , media. reconstruction of downtown beirut has been largely driven solidere, development company established in 1994 prime minister rafic hariri. city has been host asian club basketball championship , asian football cup , has hosted miss europe pageant 8 times, 1960–1964, 1999, 2001–2002.

rafic hariri assassinated in 2005 near saint george hotel in beirut. month later 1 million people gathered opposition rally in beirut. cedar revolution largest rally in lebanon s history @ time. last syrian troops withdrew beirut on 26 april 2005, , 2 countries established diplomatic relations on 15 october 2008.

during 2006 lebanon war, israeli bombardment caused damage in many parts of beirut, predominantly shiite southern suburbs of beirut. on 12 july 2006, hezbollah, code named true promise ended 8 israeli deaths , 6 injuries. in response, idf targeted hezbollah s main media outlets. there artillery raids against targets in southern lebanon, , israeli cabinet held beirut responsible attacks. on 13 july 2006 israel began implementing naval , air blockade on lebanon; during blockade israel bombed runways @ beirut international airport , major beirut-damascus highway in eastern lebanon.

in may 2008, after government decided disband hezbollah s communications network (a decision later rescinded), violent clashes broke out briefly between government allies , opposition forces, before control of city handed on lebanese army. after national dialogue conference held in doha @ invitation of prince of qatar. conference agreed appoint new president of lebanon , establish new national government involving political adversaries. result of doha agreement, opposition s barricades dismantled , opposition s protest camps in martyrs square. on 19 october 2012, car bomb killed 8 people in beirut s neighbourhood of achrafiyeh, including brigadier general wissam al-hassan, chief of intelligence bureau of internal security forces. in addition, 78 others wounded in bombing. largest attack in capital since 2008. on 27 december 2013, car bomb exploded in central district killing @ least 5 people, including former lebanese ambassador u.s. mohamad chatah, , wounding 71 others.

in 12 november 2015 beirut bombings, 2 suicide bombers detonated explosives outside mosque , inside bakery, killing 43 people , injuring 200. islamic state of iraq , levant claimed responsibility attacks.