The ruins of Baalbek are situated in the Bekaa Valley, 85 kilometers from Beirut.
The exact date of its foundations are unknown. According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, Canaan, to which Baalbek is closely associated, was translated into Greek as Phoenicia, from phoenix:
Canaan which anciently comprised Lebanon and Syria was translated into Greek as Phoenicia –from phoenix- presumably to reflect the endurance and the survival of the Canaanites through the domination of the various invaders (the Amorites, the Hyksos, the Egyptians, the Assyrians etc).
The phoenix is a mythical bird, fabled to live for five or six hundred years, after which it burnt itself to ashes, and emerged from it’s ashes with renewed youth, to live through another cycle of years. Thence an emblem of immortality and resurrection.
To the Canaanites Baal was it’s sacred city, the equivalent of Lhasa to Buddhists, Jerusalem to Christians, Mecca to Muslims.
The original cave shrines of the Canaanites leave no recognizable remains, new sanctuaries having been traditionally built over previous sacred sites.
Biblical era:
The bible makes no specific mention of Baalbek although there are many references to the cult of Baal. None of the biblical sites such as <<Baalgad in the valley of Lebanon>. Or the <<vineyard at Baal-Hamon>> could be identified definitely with Baalbek. As to Baalath (1 Kings, ix: 17-19) <<and Solomon built … Baalath and Tadmor (Palmyra) in the wilderness>>. We know that Solomon’s Kingdom stretched from Gaza to the shores of the Euphrates, (1 Kings, iv: 21-14) and the Baalath above could well be Baalbek except for two non applicable claims. 1) Baalbek is situated in one of the largest and most fertile valleys in the Middle East, and on one of the main trade routes of the Fertile Crescent; therefore it definitely is not in the wilderness. 2) Baalbek has been in existence long before Solomon’s days, therefore the Bible might have meant some other Baalath that Solomon might have built somewhere in the wilderness.
In the Hellenistic age (334-64 B.C.)
When Alexander the Great conquered the Near East in 334 Baalbek was renamed Heliopolis. On his death The Bekaa including Baalbek came under the rule of Ptolemy. In 200 B.C. it was taken over by Antiochus the Great. Tigranes the Great of Armenia came in 86 B.C.
In the Roman era (66 B.C.-A.D. 306):
When Julius Caesar visited Baalbek in B.C. 47 (then Heliopolis) he granted it the status of Roman colony and issued coins to commemorate the event, see below:
It is now out of print. I have referred to it to compile the notes here.
Nero (54-68)
Vespasian (69-79)
Trajan (98-117)
Hadrian (117-138)
Antonius Pius (138 161)
Marcus Aurelius (161-180)
Septimus Severus (193-211)
Caracalla (211-217)
Elagabalus (218-222)
Philip the Arab (243-249)
In the Byzantine era (306-635):
In A.D. 306 Emporer Constantine the Great embraced Christiantity and the spread of that faith resulted in the closing of the temples.
Theodosius the Great (379-395) made Christianity the state religion of the Roman Empire and ordered the destruction of pagan alters and converted the temples of Baalbek into Christian churches. Under his reign further construction was halted.
In the Arabic era:
In A.D. 635 the second elected Moslem Calif Omar sent his general, Abou Obeidah to occupy the area. Abou Obeidah discarded the hellenized name of Heliopolis and reinstated the original name Baalbakaa. He transformed the churches into a military fortress called Qualaa and issued a guarantee of security to the Christians and Persians living there.
In 1134 Baalbek was over-run by the Mongol Jengis Khan and in 1158 Baalbek was almost destroyed by a series of earthquakes.
In 1171 the Crusaders succeeded in occupying it but shortly thereafter were massacred.
1175 it was captured by Saladin.
1176 Raymond of Tripoli attacked the city.
1260 Hulagu –a grandson of Jengis Khan plundered the city.
In 1517 Sultan Salim ousted the Mamalukes and brought the country under Turkish domination, although the Harfouch emirs were locally stronger than the Sultan.
1850 the Sultan regained control making Baalbek the seat of the Caza attached to Damascus until the end of World War 1 when it was occupied by the British Forces under General Allanby and then handed over to France with the rest of Syria and Lebanon.
Since Lebanon gained independence in 1943, archeological research and restoration works are continued by the Lebanese Service Des Antiquities under Emir Maurice Chehab and Prof. H. Kalayan.
The six remaining columns of the Temple of Jupiter are 64 feet heigh and composed of three drums. See diagram above, left.
In Athens the columns of the Parthenon are 24 feet high and composed of 11 drums.
In Egypt, the largest stones used in the Pyramids do not exceed 18 feet in length; in Baalbek some blocks are 64 feet long, weighing over 800 tons, they form what is known as the Cyclopean wall, upon which the Temple of Jupiter is built.
Left is a drawing by Wood and Dawkins in 1751. The Temple Of Jupiter had nine columns. Eight years later violent earthquakes brought down three, leaving the six remaining columns as seen in the photos above.
Directly left is the entrance to the Temple of Bacchus.
The lintel is of three stones, the middle one having become dislodged around 1202. British Consul-General Richard Burton had it propped up in 1870. In 1901 the German Archeological Mission repaired it and made it more secure, removing the prop installed by Burton.
The lintel is decorated with a large phoenix with cadeceus in his claws. In his beak he carries garlands of pine cones and pomegranites, the ends of which are held by two winged genii, below.
This wall surrounds the Temple of Jupiter on three sides. Nine of the blocks are on the north side, nine on the south, and six to the west side, their measurements being 33 feet in length, 14 feet in height and 10 feet breadth.
Upon the six stones at the west are the Trilithon, three gargantuan blocks, 14 feet 6” in height, 12 feet in thickness and 64 feet in length.
These massive stones are probably the largest ever handled by man. At one time the temple of Jupiter was named <<Trilithon>> -<Three-stoned>> and Baalbek was known as the <<City of the Trilithon>>.
According to Whitacker’s Almanac Hajar Al-Hubla, below is the largest building stone in the world at 70 feet in length and 16 x 14 feet cross section. To gauge the scale of this stone, note the three men marked by arrows.
