The Temples of the Beqaa Valley are a number of shrines and Roman temples that are dispersed around the Beqaa Valley in Lebanon. The most important and famous are those in Roman Heliopolis. A few temples are built on former buildings of the Phoenician & Hellenistic era, but all are considered to be of Roman construction and were started to be abandoned after the fourth century with the fall of the Roman Paganism. [1]
During the early Roman empire the area was chosen to create huge pagan temples of Roman deities, in order to show the "greatness" of the empire of Rome in Phoenicia.
After the end of the first century CE the territory became jointly controlled by the cities of Damascus, Sidon and Paneas. It is thought that the area was inhabited continuously until the third century CE. Although the sites may have been built on previous layers of architecture, the current temples are predominantly considered to be of Roman construction and were largely abandoned after the fourth century CE during the Byzantine era. [1]
In the first century the Temples started to be built, using the nearby quarries with famous ""Monoliths".
The Temple of Jupiter in Heliopolis (in a complex area called even Sanctuary of Heliopolitan Zeus) was the biggest pagan temple in the classical world. The presence of a huge quarry was one of the reasons for the Roman decision to create a huge "Great Court" of a big pagan temple complex in this mountain site, located at nearly 1100 meters of altitude and on the eastern Borders of the Roman Empire: it took three centuries to create this colossal Roman paganism's temple complex.
With Constantine the Great Christianity was declared officially the religion of the Roman empire and the pagan Temples started to be neglected. Eusebius records that the Emperor Constantine destroyed a temple of Venus 'on the summit of Mount Lebanon'. [2] Later the Bizantines used some materials from the abandoned Temples.
Documentation of the temples in the Beqaa Valley area began in the 19th century, with surveys by Edward Robinson in 1852 CE and Sir Charles Warren. [3] [4] The most notable of the temples of Venus, Bacchus and Jupiter at Baalbek were thoroughly studied by Paul Collart and Pierre Coupel. [5] [6] Ten sacred sites were also documented by Daniel Krencker and Willy Schietzschmann in 1938. [7] Maurice Tallon published an itinerary of the sanctuaries in 1967 with details of the paths to reach them. [8] George F. Taylor provided a pictorial guide in the late 1960s with more recent information coming from Shim'on Dar in 1993 and epigraphic surveys in 2002 and 2003. [9]
The Seleucids occupied the area after 200 BCE, shortly after which the Ituraeans developed a principality in the area until the fall of Chalcis when the territory passed to the Herodian kings Agrippa I and Agrippa II. After the end of the first century CE the territory became jointly controlled by the cities of Damascus, Sidon and Paneas. It is thought that the area was inhabited continuously until the third century CE. Although the sites may have been built on previous layers of architecture, the current temples are predominantly considered to be of Roman construction and were largely abandoned after the fourth century CE during the Byzantine era. [1]
The temples were often connected with ancient occupational sites. Olivier Callot and Pierre-Louis Gatier argued that several of the temple sites might have been mistaken for monumental tombs as Roman mausoleums such as Saidnaya have been found in Lebanon. [10] Taylor held the view that the religious architecture was the responsibility of "the hand of a single master builder" but was not able to answer the question of why so many shrines should be concentrated in the area. [9] Henry Seyrig, when reviewing Krencker and Zscheitzmann's "Romische Tempel in Syrien" highlighted that "the clue to an important social and economic change that would deserve to be one day the focus of a study". There is still a deplorable lack of a comprehensive study into the history, archaeology, architecture of these buildings and ancient sites, or the religious life of the people who used them. [1]
The typology of the temples has been studied and they are generally divided into Antae, Prostylos or Peripteral types. Antae temples have side walls that extend to form a porch at the front or rear (or both) and terminated in pilasters that were called the antae. [11] If columns were placed in advance of the walls or antae, the temple was termed Prostylos and if columns surrounded the temple it was termed Peripteral. The peripteral type is thought to be the most perfect form of temple and the best preserved of this type is the Temple of Bacchus at Baalbek. [9] [11]
It was the opinion of Edward Robinson that worship was not conducted within the temples, but rather outside it. [9] The temple was the domain of the priests where they venerated a cult statue. [9] Worshippers gathered around the temple at ceremonial times and hence there was no need for divisions within it, such as the aisles of modern churches. [9] The cult images, along with temples themselves would often be aligned so that the sun would illuminate them at certain times of day and year. [9] George F. Taylor was of the opinion that a sacrifice would be made when certain areas of the temple became illuminated. [9] He suggested that a "Minister of Works" may have been responsible for local civil engineering in Ancient Roman times. [9]
George F. Taylor divided up the Temples of Lebanon into three groups: [12]
The Temples of the Beqaa Valley in Taylor's first group included El-Lebwe, Yammoune, Qasr Banat, Iaat, Nahle, Baalbek, Hadeth, Kasarnaba, Temnin el-Foka, Nebi Ham, Saraain El Faouqa, Niha, Hosn Niha, Ferzol and Kafr Zebad. [9]
The Beqaa Valley, also transliterated as Bekaa, Biqâ, and Becaa and known in classical antiquity as Coele-Syria, is a fertile valley in eastern Lebanon. It is Lebanon's most important farming region. Industry also flourishes in Beqaa, especially that related to agriculture.
The Temple of Bacchus is part of the Baalbek archaeological site, in Beqaa Valley region of Lebanon. The temple complex is considered an outstanding archaeological and artistic site of Imperial Roman Architecture and was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1984. This monument to Bacchus is one of the best preserved and grandest Roman temple ruins; its age is unknown, but its fine ornamentation can be dated to the second century CE.
Phoenicia under Roman rule describes the Phoenician city states ruled by Rome from 64 BCE to the Muslim conquests of the 7th century. The area around Berytus was the only Latin speaking and Romanized part of Aramaic-speaking Phoenicia.
Niha is a village in the Bekaa Valley about 18 km (5.0 mi) north of Zahlé. It is famous for its Roman archeological ruins in the outskirts, and in particular two lower Roman temples that date back to the 1st century AD.
Archaeology of Lebanon includes thousands of years of history ranging from Lower Palaeolithic, Phoenician, Roman, Arab, Ottoman, and Crusades periods.
Hebbariye, Hebbariyeh, Hebbariya or Hebariya is a village and municipality situated in the Hasbaya District of the Nabatieh Governorate in Lebanon. It is located on the southwestern slopes of Mount Hermon near the Lebanon–Syria border, northeast of Rachaya Al Foukhar and is positioned amongst orchards of apricot trees. There it is a roman temple.
The Temples of Mount Hermon are around thirty Roman shrines and Roman temples that are dispersed around the slopes of Mount Hermon in Lebanon, Israel and Syria. A few temples are built on former buildings of the Phoenician & Hellenistic era, but nearly all are considered to be of Roman construction and were largely abandoned during the persecution of pagans in the late Roman Empire.
Nebi Safa, Nabi Safa, Neby Sufa, An Nabi Safa, An Nabi Safa' or En Nabi Safa also known as Mazraet Selsata or Thelthatha is a village in the Kfar Mishki municipality situated 13 kilometres (8.1 mi) west of Rashaya in the Rashaya District of the Beqaa Governorate in Lebanon.
Aaqbe, Akbeh, Aqbe, Akbe, Aaqabet, el-Aaqbe, Akraba, Aaqabet Rashaya or Akabe (العقبه) is a village and municipality situated 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) west of Rashaya in the Rashaya District of the Beqaa Governorate in Lebanon.
Khirbet El-Knese, El-Knese or El Knese are two Roman temples south of Yanta, north of Rashaya in the Rashaya District of the Beqaa Governorate in Lebanon.
Bakka, Bekka or Beka is a village and municipality situated 85 kilometres (53 mi) east of Beirut in the Rashaya District of the Beqaa Governorate in Lebanon. The population of the village is Sunni.
Nahle ), is a village situated 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) northeast of Baalbek in Baalbek District, Baalbek-Hermel Governorate, Lebanon. It has the ruins of a roman temple.
Qasr el Banat is an ancient temple situated 1.5 kilometres (0.93 mi) east of Chlifa in the Baalbek District of the Beqaa Governorate in the city of Qsarnaba (Lebanon).
Kafr Zabad is a village in Lebanon. It is also the site of two ancient Roman antae temples.
Qalaat Faqra is an archaeological site in Kfardebian, Lebanon, with Roman and Byzantine ruins. Located near the Faqra ski resort on the slopes of Mount Sannine at an altitude of 1500 m, it is one of the most important sites of the UNESCO-listed valley of Nahr al-Kalb.
The Roman temple of Bziza is a well-preserved first century AD building dedicated to Azizos, a personification of the morning star in the Canaanite mythology. This Roman temple lends the modern Lebanese town of Bziza its current name, as Bziza is a corruption of Beth Azizo meaning the house or temple of Azizos. Azizos was identified as Ares by Emperor Julian.
Hosn Niha is an archaeological site in Lebanon composed of some temples and buildings in the outskirts of the village of Niha, that hold significant archaeological value.
Augusti Pagus was a Roman settlement in Roman Phoenicia. It was created in the 110s AD and lasted nearly seven centuries until the Arab invasion of the Levant. The settlement was named in honor of Roman Emperor Augustus, who ordered the development of this pagus in the central-northern hills of the Beqaa Valley.
