Portal:Lebanon

The Lebanon Portal

A view of Byblos, Lebanon

Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south, and the Mediterranean 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.

Human habitation in Lebanon dates to 5000 BC. From 3200 to 539 BC, it was part of Phoenicia, a maritime civilization that spanned the Mediterranean Basin. In 64 BC, the region became part of the Roman Empire and the subsequent Byzantine Empire. After the seventh century, it came under the rule of different Islamic caliphates, including the Rashidun, Umayyad and Abbasid. The 11th century saw the establishment of Christian Crusader states, which fell to the Ayyubids and the Mamluks. Lebanon came under Ottoman rule in the early 15th century. Under Ottoman sultan Abdulmejid I, the first Lebanese proto state, the Mount Lebanon Mutasarrifate, was established as a home for Maronite Christians, as part of the Tanzimat reforms.

Lebanon is a developing country, ranked 112th on the Human Development Index. It has been classified as an upper-middle-income state. The Lebanese liquidity crisis, coupled with nationwide corruption and disasters such as the 2020 Beirut explosion, precipitated the collapse of Lebanon's currency and fomented political instability, widespread resource shortages, and high unemployment and poverty. The World Bank has defined Lebanon's economic crisis as one of the world's worst since the 19th century. Despite the country's small size, Lebanese culture is renowned both in the Arab world and globally, powered primarily by the large and influential Lebanese diaspora. Lebanon is a founding member of the United Nations and the Arab League, and a member of the Non-Aligned Movement, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie, and the Group of 77. (Full article...)

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Promontory of Byblos. The royal necropolis lies at the base of the Roman colonnade.

The royal necropolis of Byblos is a group of nine Bronze Age underground shaft and chamber tombs housing the sarcophagi of several kings of the city. Byblos (modern Jbeil) is a coastal city in Lebanon, and one of the oldest continuously populated cities in the world. The city established major trade links with Egypt 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 and Orientalist Ernest 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 the French mandate authorities, during which reliefs inscribed with Egyptian 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 an underground tomb containing a massive stone sarcophagus. The grave was explored by the French epigrapher and archeologist Charles Virolleaud. Intensive digs were carried out around the site of the tomb by the French Egyptologist Pierre 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 the Middle Bronze Age, specifically the 19th century BC; some were unspoiled, and contained a multitude of often valuable items, including royal gifts from Middle Kingdom pharaohs Amenemhat III and Amenemhat 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 the Ahiram sarcophagus. This sarcophagus is famed for its Phoenician inscription, one of five epigraphs known as the Byblian royal inscriptions; it is considered to be the earliest known example of the fully developed Phoenician alphabet. Montet compared the function of the Byblos tombs to that of Egyptian mastabas, where the soul 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...)

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1940 Mandatory Palestine v Lebanon football match Bodashtart Byzantine Empire Fakhr al-Din II Law school of Berytus Levantine Arabic Roman temple of Bziza Russian occupations of Beirut Salih ibn Mirdas Temple of Eshmun

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... that the Mseilha Fort is strategically located to overlook the crossing of the Jaouz River near Ras ash-Shaq'a, a promontory in Lebanon?
... that people are robbing Lebanese banks to get their own money back?
... that code-switching in Lebanon is so common that "hi, كيفك؟ Ça va ?", which combines English, Levantine Arabic and French, is a typical greeting?
... that Gigarta, a settlement mentioned by Strabo and Pliny the Elder, is believed to have been located on the slopes of Mount Lebanon, although its exact location remains under debate?
... that Albert Bahhuth fled the Lebanese Civil War and owned a Subway franchise before being named an auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles?
... that the first day of filming of the psychological thriller Farah coincided with the beginning of the 2019 Lebanese protests?

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Greek Orthodox Easter in As-Suwayda, Syria

Arab Christians (Arabic: ﺍﻟْﻤَﺴِﻴﺤِﻴُّﻮﻥ ﺍﻟْﻌَﺮَﺏ, romanized: al-Masīḥiyyūn al-ʿArab) are the Arabs who adhere to Christianity. The number of Arab Christians who live in the Middle East was estimated in 2012 to be between 10 and 15 million. Arab Christian communities can be found throughout the Arab world, but are concentrated in the Eastern Mediterranean region of the Levant and Egypt, with smaller communities present throughout the Arabian Peninsula and North Africa.

The history of Arab Christians coincides with the history of Eastern Christianity and the history of the Arabic language; Arab Christian communities either result from pre-existing Christian communities adopting the Arabic language, or from pre-existing Arabic-speaking communities adopting Christianity. The jurisdictions of three of the five patriarchates of the Pentarchy primarily became Arabic-speaking after the early Muslim conquests – the Church of Alexandria, the Church of Antioch and the Church of Jerusalem – and over time many of their adherents adopted the Arabic language and culture. Separately, a number of early Arab kingdoms and tribes adopted Christianity, including the Nabataeans, Lakhmids, Salihids, Tanukhids, ʿIbādī of al-Hira, and the Ghassanids.

In modern times, Arab Christians have played important roles in the Nahda movement, and they have significantly influenced and contributed to the fields of literature, 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...)

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General images

The following are images from various Lebanon-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1Anti-Syrian protesters heading to Martyrs' Square in Beirut on foot and in vehicles, 13 March 2005 (from History of Lebanon)
Image 2Aerial photo of Beirut, Lebanon's capital (from Culture of Lebanon)
Image 3Palm trees at the seafront in Corniche Beirut (from Culture of Lebanon)
Image 4Portrait of Elie Hobeika (from History of Lebanon)
Image 5Map 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 (from History of Lebanon)
Image 6Sidewalk Cafes are a trademark of the BCD (from Culture of Lebanon)
Image 7The Grand Serail, also known as the Government Palace, is the headquarters of the prime minister of Lebanon (from Politics of Lebanon)
Image 8A building in Ghazieh, near Sidon, bombed by the Israeli Air Force (IAF), 20 July 2006 (from History of Lebanon)
Image 9Lebanon Parliament 2018 (from Politics of Lebanon)
Image 10Aftermath of the 4 August 2020 Beirut explosion (from History of Lebanon)
Image 11Map of the Shebaa farms (from History of Lebanon)
Image 12Christian Church and Druze Khalwa in Shuf Mountains: Historically; the Druzes and the Christians in the Shuf Mountains lived in complete harmony. (from History of Lebanon)
Image 13Beiteddine Palace, venue of the Beiteddine Festival (from Culture of Lebanon)
Image 14Map showing power balance in Lebanon, 1976:
Dark Green – controlled by Syria;
Purple – controlled by Maronite groups;
Light Green – controlled by Palestinian militias (from History of Lebanon)
Image 15Beirut in 1950 (from History of Lebanon)
Image 16Bashir Shihab II (from History of Lebanon)
Image 17Protesters in Beirut. Mohammad Al-Amin Mosque, 20 October 2019 (from History of Lebanon)
Image 18Rue Maarad is a main street in the central district (from Culture of Lebanon)
Image 19A selection of Lebanese dishes from Cafe Nouf Restaurant in London (from Culture of Lebanon)
Image 20An array of Lebanese cuisine. (from Culture of Lebanon)
Image 21A map of Mount Lebanon c. AD 1180 (from History of Lebanon)
Image 22Csontváry Kosztka, Tivadar - Pilgrimage to the Cedars of Lebanon (from Culture of Lebanon)
Image 23Flag as drawn and approved by the members of the Lebanese parliament during the declaration of independence in 1943 (from History of Lebanon)
Image 24Portrait of Fakhreddine while he was in Tuscany, stating "Faccardino grand emir dei Drusi" translated as "Fakhreddine: great emir of the Druze" (from History of Lebanon)
Image 25The Green Line that separated West and East Beirut, 1982 (from History of Lebanon)
Image 26Khalil Gibran (April 1913) (from Culture of Lebanon)
Image 27The funeral of the assassinated Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri (from History of Lebanon)
Image 28Fakhreddine II (from History of Lebanon)
Image 29City of Zahlé at the eastern edge of the Mount Lebanon Range in eastern Lebanon (from Culture of Lebanon)
Image 30Fairuz playing guitar (from Culture of Lebanon)
Image 31Gibran Khalil Gibran Garden and surroundings in Beirut Central District, Majidiye, Beirut (from Culture of Lebanon)