About Baalbek

BAALBECK

SUN CITY

Baalbeck, Lebanon's greatest Roman treasure, can be counted among the wonders of the ancient world. The largest and most noble Roman temples ever built, they are also among the best preserved.

Towering high above the Beqaa plain, their monumental proportions proclaimed the power and wealth of Imperial Rome. The gods worshipped here, the Triad of Jupiter, Venus and Mercury, were grafted onto the indigenous deities of Hadad, Atargatis and a young male god of fertility. Local influences are also seen in the planning and layout of the temples, which vary from the classic Roman design.

Aerial view of the Acropolis

Over the centuries Baalbeck's monuments suffered from theft, war and earthquakes, as well as from numerous medieval additions. Fortunately, the modern visitor can see the site in something close to its hundred years by German, French and Lebanese archaeologists.

Baalbeck is located on two main historic trade routes, one between the Mediterranean coast and the Syrian interior and the other between northern Syria and northern Palestine. Today the city, 85 kilometers from Beirut, is an important administrative and economic center in the northern Beqaa valley.

THE TEMPLES IN HISTORY

For centuries the temples of Baalbeck lay under meters of rubble, obscured by medieval fortifications. But even in ruin the site attracted the admiration of vis''itors and its historical importance was recognized.

The first survey and restoration work at Baalbeck was begun by the German archeological Mission in 1898. In 1922 French scholars undertook extensive research and restoration of the temples, work which was continued by the Lebanese Directorate General of Antiquities.

Baalbeck's temples were built on an ancient tell that goes back at least to the end of the third millennium B.C. Little is known about the site during this period, but there is evidence that in the course of the 1^st millennium B.C. an enclosed court was built on the ancient tell. An altar was set in the center of this court in the tradition of the biblical Semitic high places.

During the Hellenistic period (333-64 B.C.) the Greeks identified the god of Baalbeck with the sun god and the city was called Heliopolis or City of the Sun. At this time the ancient enclosed court was enlarged and a podium was erected on its western side to support a temple of classical form. Although the temple was never built, some huge structures from this Hellenistic project can still be seen. And it was over the ancient court that the Romans placed the present Great Court of the Temple of Jupiter.

The temple was begun in the last quarter of the 1st century B.C., and was nearing completion in the final years of Nero's reign (37-68 A.D.). The Great Court Complex of the Temple of Jupiter, with its porticoes, exedrae, altars and basins, was built in the 2nd century A.D. Construction of the so-called temple of Bacchus was also started about this time.

The Propylaea and the Hexagonal Court of the Jupiter Temple were added in the 3rd century under the Severan Dynasty (193-235 A.D.) and work was presumably completed in the mid-3rd century. The small circular structure known as the Temple of Venus, was probably finished at this time as well.

When Christianity was declared an official religion of the Roman Empire in 313 A.D., Byzantine Emperor Constantine officially closed the Baalbeck temples. At the end of the 4^th century, the Emperor Theodosius tore down the altars of Jupiter's Great Court and built a basilica using the temple's stones and architectural elements. The remnants of the three apses of this basilica, originally oriented to the west, can still be seen in the upper part of the stairway of the Temple of Jupiter.

After the Arab Conquest in 636 the temples were transformed into a fortress, or qal'a, a term still applied to the Acropolis today.

During the next centuries Baalbeck fell successively to the Omayyad, Abbasid, Toulounid, Fatimid and Ayyoubid dynasties. Sacked by Mongols about 1260, Baalbeck later enjoyed a period of calm and prosperity under Mamluke rule.

THE SITES

The first view the visitor has of Baalbeck is the six Corinthian columns of the Great Temple thrusting 22 meters into the skyline. Built on a podium seven meters above the Court, these six columns and the entablature on top give an idea of the vast scale of the original structure.

The complex of the Great Temple has four sections: the monumental entrance or Propylaea, the Hexagonal Court, the Great Court and finally the Temple itself, where the six famous columns stand.

The Propylaea, completed in the mid-3^{rd c}entury A.D., is approached by a large semicircle of stone benches and a partially restored stairway. The entrance structure has towers at either end and is fronted by 12 granite columns. An interior stairway goes to the top of the Propylaea where there is an excellent view of the area.

^{Three doors lead to the Hexagonal Forecourt where 30 granite columns originally supported the entablature. This six-sided form was built between the Propylaea and the Great Court in the first half of the third century A.D. At the end of the 4th century or the early 5th} century, it was covered with a dome and transformed into a church.

The Great Court, built in the 2^nd century A.D., covered an area 134*112 meters and contained the main installations of the cult. Structurally, The court is a platform built on the leveled-off top of the ancient artificial tell. The tell was consolidated on the eastern, northern and southern sides by vaulted substructures, and on the western side by the temple's podium. These substructures supported the porticos and exedrae around the Court and were used for stables and storage.

The entire Court was enclosed by a succession of rectangular and semi-circular exedrate or recesses decorated by niches, which contained statues. Surrounding the Court, in front of the exedrate, was an 84-column Corinthian colonnade of Egyptian granite. On the exterior walls of the Court the remains of medieval battlements can still be seen.

After passing through the Propylaea, the Hexagonal Forecourt and Great Court, the worshiper at last arrived at the Temple of Jupiter. This approach to the sanctuary through a series of defined spaces was apparent oriental adaptation.

The Temple measures 88*48 meters and stands on a podium 13 meters above the surrounding terrain and 7 meters above the courtyard. It is reached by a monumental stairway.

Originally surrounded by 54 external columns, most these now lie in fragments on the ground. The six standing columns are joined by an entablature decorated with a frieze of bulls and lions' heads connected by garlands.

The Podium is built with some of the largest stone blocks ever hewn. On the west side of the podium is the “Trilithon,” a celebrated group of three enormous stones weighing about 800 tons each.

The gem-like temple southeast of the acropolis was built in the 3^rd century A.D. Its design and size, as well as its orientation towards the Great Temple, set it apart from the other Baalbeck temples. These attributes also help identify it as the temple of the Fortune of Baalbeck, that is the tutelary divinity of the City, under the protection of its great gods. It was not by accident that during the Byzantine period it was converted into a church dedicated to Saint Barbara, who is the patron saint of Baalbeck to this day.

^{Near the Temple of Venus are the remains of “The Temple of the Muses”, dating from the beginning of the 1st century A.D.}

AROUND THE TOWN

The Great Mosque: In front of the acropolis entrance, this mosque dates from the 17^{th - 18th} centuries of the Omayyad period. Built on what was the site of the Roman forum and later a Byzantine church dedicated to St. John, the mosque re-uses granite and limestone columns. There is a square minaret in the northwest corner of the courtyard.

Public building: At Boustan el-Khan south of the temples are important remains of public baths, a market and probably a bouleuterion, or assembly place.