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BAALBEK (anc. Heliopolis)

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Originally appearing in Volume V03, Page 90 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.

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BAALBEK
BAALBEK (anc. Heliopolis)

BAALBEK (anc. See also:
HELIOPOLIS
Heliopolis) , a See also:

TOWN

town of the Buka'a (Coelesyria), See also:

ALTITUDE (Lat. altitudo, from altus, high)

altitude 3850 ft., situated E. of the Litani and near the parting between its See also:

WATERS, TERRITORIAL

waters and those of the Asi. Pop. about 5000, including 2000 Metawali and loco Christians (Maronite and Orthodox). Since 1902 Baalbek has been connected by railway with Rayak (Rejak) on the See also:

BEIRUT

Beirut-See also:

DAMASCUS

Damascus See also:

LINE

line, and since 1907 with See also:

ALEPPO (native Haleb)

Aleppo. It is famous for its See also:

temple ruins of the See also:

ROMAN

Roman See also:

period, before which we have no See also:

RECORD (Lat. recordari, to recall to mind, from cor, heart or mind)

record of it, certain though it be that Heliopolis is a See also:

TRANSLATION

translation of an earlier native name, in which See also:

BAAL

Baal was an See also:

ELEMENT (Lat. elementum)

element. It has been suggested, but without See also:

GOOD, JOHN MASON (1764-1827)

good See also:

REASON (Lat. ratio, through French raison)

reason, that this name was the Baalgad of Josh. xi. 17. Heliopolis was made a colonic probably by Octavian (coins of 1st See also:

CENTURY (from Lat. centuria, a division of a hundred men)

century A.D.), and there must have been a Baal temple there in which See also:

TRAJAN [MARCUS ULPIUS TRAJANUS] (A. D. 53-117)

Trajan consulted the See also:

ORACLE (Lat. oraculum, from ora' to pray; the corresponding Greek word is uavreiov or Xpnuri7pwov)

oracle. The See also:

FOUNDATION (Lat. fundatio, from fundare, to found)

foundation of the See also:

PRESENT

present buildings, however, See also:

DATES

dates from See also:

ANTONINUS, SAINT ANTONIO PIEROZZI

Antoninus See also:

PIUS

Pius, and their See also:

DEDICATION (Lat. dedicatio, from dedicare, to proclaim, to announce)

dedication from Septimius See also:

Severus, whose coins first show the two temples. The See also:

GREAT

great courts of approach were not finished before the reigns of See also:

CARACALLA (or CARACALLUS), MARCUS A U R E L I U S ANTONINUS (186-217)

Caracalla and See also:

Philip. In See also:

COMMEMORATION

commemoration, no doubt, of the dedication of the new sanctuaries, Severus conferred the See also:

jus Italicum on the See also:

CITY (through Fr. cite, from Lat. civitas)

city. The greater of the two temples was sacred to See also:

JUPITER

Jupiter (Baal), identified with the See also:

Sun, with whom were associated See also:

VENUS

Venus and See also:

Mercury as abugwyot See also:

BEEF (through O. Fr. boef, mod. boeuf, from Lat. bos, bovis, ox, Gr. f3oiir, which show the ultimate connexion with the Sanskrit go, gaits, ox, and thus with " cow")

Beef- The lesser temple was built in See also:

HONOUR (Lat. honos or lwnor, honoris; in English the word was spelled with or without the u indifferently until the 17th century, but during the 18th century it became fashion-able to spell the word " honor "; Johnson's and Webster's Dictionaries stereoty

honour of Bacchus (not the Sun, as formerly believed).

Jupiter-Baal was represented locally as a beardless See also:

god in See also:

long scaly drapery, holding a See also:

WHIP

whip in his right See also:

hand and See also:

LIGHTNING

lightning and ears of See also:

corn in his See also:

LEFT

left. Two bulls supported him. In this See also:

guise he passed into See also:

EUROPEAN

European See also:

WORSHIP (i.e. " worth-ship," O. Eng. weor8scipe)

worship in the 3rd and 4th centuries A.D. The extreme See also:

LICENCE (through the French from Lat. licentia, licere, to be lawful)

licence of the Heliopolitan worship is often animadverted upon by See also:

early See also:

Christian writers, and See also:

CONSTANTINE

Constantine, making an effort to curb the Venus cult, built a See also:

BASILICA

basilica. See also:

THEODOSIUS

Theodosius erected another, with western See also:

apse, in the See also:

main See also:

court of the Jupiter temple. When See also:

Abu Ubaida (or Obaida) attacked the See also:

PLACE (through Fr. from Lat. platea, street; Gr. IrAar6s, wide)

place after the Moslem See also:

CAPTURE (from Lat. capere, to take; Fr. prise maritime; Ger. Wegnahme)

capture of Damascus (A.D. 635), it was still an opulent city and yielded a See also:

rich See also:

BOOTY (apparently influenced by " boot," O. Eng. bot, ad-vantage or profit, through an adaptation from an earlier form cognate with Ger. Beute and Fr. butin)

booty. It became a See also:

bone of contention between the various Syrian dynasties and the caliphs first of Damascus, then of See also:

EGYPT

Egypt, and in 748 was sacked with great slaughter. In 1090 it passed to the See also:

SELJUKS

Seljuks, and in 1134 to Jenghiz See also:

KHAN (from the Turki, hence Persian and Arabic Khan)

Khan; but after 1145 it remained attached to Damascus and was captured by See also:

SALADIN (Arab. Sala-ud-din, " Honouring the Faith ") (1138—1193)

Saladin in 1175. The Crusaders raided its valley more than once, but never took the city. Three times shaken by See also:

EARTHQUAKE

earthquake in the 12th century, it was dismantled by Hulagu in 126o. But it revived, and most of its See also:

FINE

fine Moslem See also:

MOSQUE (through Fr. mosquie; Span. mezquila, from Arab. masjid, sajada, to adore)

mosque and fortress See also:

ARCHITECTURE (Lat. architectura, from the Gr. ap)(LTEKrwv, a master-builder)

architecture, still extant, belongs to the reign of See also:

SULTAN (an Arabic word meaning " victorious " or " a ruler," sultat, dominion)

Sultan Kahan (1282) and the succeeding century, during which See also:

ABULFEDA [Abu l-Fida' Ismail ibn 'Ali 'Imad-ud-Dni] (1273-1331)

Abulfeda describes it as a very strong place.

In 1400 Timur pillaged it, and in 1517 it passed, with the See also:

REST (O. Eng. rest, reste, bed, cognate with other Teutonic forms, e.g. Ger. Rast, Riiste, rest, and probably Gothic Rasta, league, i.e. resting or stopping place)

rest of See also:

SYRIA

Syria, to the See also:

OTTOMAN

Ottoman dominion. But Ottoman See also:

jurisdiction was merely nominal in the See also:

Lebanon See also:

DISTRICT

district, and Baalbek was really in the hands of the 1VIetawali (see LEBANON), who retained it against other Lebanon tribes, until " Jezzar " See also:

PASHA

Pasha, the See also:

REBEL, JOHANN PETER (176o-1826)

rebel See also:

GOVERNOR (from the Fr. gouverneur, from gouverner, O. Fr. governer, Lat. gubernare, to steer a ship, to direct, guide)

governor of the See also:

Acre See also:

province, See also:

broke their See also:

POWER [WILLIAM GRATTAN] TYRONE (1797-1841)

power in the last See also:

HALF

half of the 18th century. The anarchy which succeeded his See also:

DEATH

death in 1804 was only ended by the See also:

EGYPTIAN

Egyptian occupation (1832). With the treaty of See also:

LONDON

London (184o) Baalbek became really Ottoman, and since the See also:

settlement of the Lebanon (1864) has attracted great See also:

numbers of tourists. After Puchstein, with permission of Georg Reimer See also:

EMERY (Ger. Smirgel)

Emery See also:

Walker sc. The ruins were brought to European See also:

NOTICE

notice by See also:

PIERRE

Pierre See also:

BELON, PIERRE (1517-1564)

Belon in 1555, though previously visited, in 1507, by See also:

Martin von See also:

Baumgarten. Much damaged by the earthquake of 1759, they remained a See also:

WILDERNESS

wilderness of fallen blocks till 1901, when their clearance was undertaken by the See also:

German Archaeological See also:

INSTITUTE (from Lat. instituere, to establish or set up)

Institute and entrusted to the direction of Prof. O. Puchstein. They See also:

lie mainly on the See also:

ancient See also:

ACROPOLIS (Gr. aKpos, top, a6)Xts, city)

Acropolis, which has been shored up with huge walls to See also:

FORM (Lat. forma)

form a See also:

TERRACE (Fr. terrace, terrasse, from It. terraccia, terrazzo, Lat. terra, earth)

terrace raised on vaults and measuring about 1100 ft. from E. to W. The See also:

PROPYLAEA (Ilp6sruXov, 1pol- mala)

Propylaea lie at the E. end, and were approached by a See also:

FLIGHT

flight of steps now quarried away. These propylaea formed a covered See also:

hall, or See also:

VESTIBULE (from Lat. vestibulum)

vestibule, about 35 ft. deep, flanked with towers richly decorated within and without (much damaged by Arab reconstruction).

Columns stood in front, whose bases still exist and See also:

bear the names of Antoninus Pius and Julia Domna. Hence, through a triple gateway in a richly ornamented See also:

SCREEN (usually, but very doubtfully, connected with Lat. scrinium, a box for holding books, from scribere, to write; a connexion with Ger. Schranke, barrier, has been suggested)

screen, See also:

ACCESS (Lat. accessus)

access is gained to the first or Hexagonal Court, which See also:

MEASURES

measures about 250 ft. from See also:

ANGLE (from the Lat. angulus, a corner, a diminutive, of which the primitive form, angus, does not occur in Latin; cognate are the Lat. angere, to compress into a bend or to strangle, and the Gr. ayKOS, a bend; both connected with the Aryan root ank-, to

angle to angle. It is now razed almost to foundation level; but it can be seen that it was flanked with halls each having four columns in front. Aportal on the W., 5o ft. wide, flanked by lesser ones to ft. wide (that on the N. is alone preserved), admitted to the Main Court, in whose centre was the High See also:

ALTAR (Lat. altare, from alias, high; some ancient etymological guesses are recorded by St Isidore of Seville in Etymologiae xv. 4)

Altar of Burnt See also:

SACRIFICE (from Lat. sacrificium; sacer, holy, and facere, to make)

Sacrifice. This altar and a great tank on the N. were covered by the See also:

FOUNDATIONS

foundations of Theodosius' basilica and not seen till the See also:

RECENT

recent German clearance. The Main Court measures about 440 ft. from E.'to W. and 370 ft, from N. to S., thus covering about 31 acres. It had a continuous fringe of covered halls of various dimensions and shapes, once richly adorned with statues and columnar screens. Some of these halls are in See also:

FAIR

fair preservation. Stairs on the W. led up to the temple of Jupiter-Baal, now much ruined, having only 6 of the 54 columns of its See also:

PERISTYLE (Gr. wept, round, and oriaos, column)

peristyle erect. Three See also:

fell in the earthquake of 1759. Those still See also:

STANDING

standing are Nos. 11' to 16 in the See also:

SOUTHERN

southern See also:

RANK (O.Fr. rant or rent, mod. rang, generally connected with the O.E. and O.H.G. bring, a ring)

rank.

Their bases and shafts are not finished, though the capitals and rich See also:

ENTABLATURE (Lat. in, and tabula, a tablet)

entablature seem completely worked. They have . a height of 6o ft. and See also:

DIAMETER (from the Cr. &a, through, µErpov, measure)

diameter of 71 ft., and are mostly formed of three blocks. The See also:

ARCHITRAVE (from Lat. arcus, an arch, and trabs, trabem, a beam)

architrave is threefold and bears a See also:

FRIEZE

frieze with See also:

lion-heads, on which rest a moulding and See also:

CORNICE (Fr. corniche, Ital. cornice)

cornice. The temple of Bacchus stood on a See also:

PLATFORM (Fr. plateforme, i.e. ground plan)

platform of its own formed by a southern See also:

PROJECTION

projection of the Acropolis. It was much smaller than the Jupiter temple, but is better preserved. The steps of the E. approach were intact up to 1688. The temple was See also:

PERIPTERAL (Gr. irepi, round, and 7rTep6v, a wing)

peripteral with 46 columns in its peristyle. These were over 52 ft. in height and of the Corinthian See also:

order, and supported an entablature 7 ft. high with See also:

double frieze, connected with the See also:

CELLA

cella walls by a coffered See also:

CEILING (from a verb " to ceil," i.e. to line or cover; of disputed etymology, but apparently connected with Fr. ciel, Lat. caelum, sky)

ceiling, which contained slabs with heads of gods and emperors. See also:

Richard See also:

Burton, when See also:

consul-See also:

general at Damascus in 187o, cleared an Arab screen out of the vestibule, and in consequence the exquisite See also:

DOORWAY (corresponding to the Gr. Iran, Lat. porte)

doorway leading into the cella can now be well seen. On either See also:

side of it staircases constructed within columns See also:

lead to the roof. The cracked See also:

DOOR (corresponding to the Gr. Bbpa,. Lat. fores or valvae; the English word, with other forms common in allied languages, comes from the same Indo-European stem as the Gr. Obpa and Lat. fares)

door-See also:

LINTEL (0. Fr. lintel, mod. linteau, from Late Lat. limitellum, limes, boundary, confused in sense with limen, threshold; the Latin name is supercilium, Ital. soprasogli, and Ger. Stutz)

lintel, which shows an See also:

EAGLE (Fr. aigle, from the Lat. aquila)

eagle on the See also:

SOFFIT (from Fr. soffite, Ital. soffitta, a ceiling, formed as if from su. fjictus for suff xus, Lat. suffigere, to fix underneath)

soffit, was propped up first by Burton, and lately, more securely, by the Germans. The cella, now ruinous, had inner See also:

wall-reliefs and engaged columns, which supported rich entablatures.

The vaults below the Great Court of the Jupiter Temple, together with the supporting walls of the terrace, are noticeable. In the W. wall of the latter occur the three famous megaliths, which gave the name Trilithon to the Jupiter temple in See also:

BYZANTINE

Byzantine times. These measure from 63 to 64 ft. in length and 13 ft. in height and breadth; and have been raised 20 ft. above the ground. They are the largest blocks known to have been used in actual construction, but are excelled by another See also:

block still attached to its See also:

bed in the quarries half a mile S.W. This is 68 ft. long by 14 ft. high and weighs about t500 tons. For long these blocks were supposed, even by European visitors, to be See also:

RELICS (Lat, reliquiae, the equivalent of the English " remains " in the sense of a dead body)

relics of a primeval See also:

RACE

race of See also:

GIANT (O.E. geant, through Fr. giant, O.Fr. gaiant, jaiant, jeant, med. pop. Lat. gagante—cf. Ital. gigante—by assimilation from gigantem, ace. of Lat. gigas, Gr. yiyas)

giant builders. In the town, below the Acropolis, on the S.E. is a small temple of the See also:

LATE

late imperial See also:

AGE (Fr. age, through late Lat. aetaticum, from aetas)

age, consisting of a semicircular cella with a peristyle of eight Corinthian columns, supporting a projecting entablature. The cella is decorated without with a frieze, and within with pillars and arcading. This temple owes its preservation to its use as a See also:

church of St See also:

BARBARA, SAINT

Barbara, a See also:

LOCAL

local See also:

MARTYR (Gr. pimp or µaprvs)

martyr, also claimed by the Egyptian Heliopolis. Hence the See also:

BUILDING

building is known as Barbarat al-atika. Considerable remains of the N. See also:

GATE

gate of the city have also been exposed.

End of Article: BAALBEK (anc. Heliopolis)

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