Byblos
Byblos is located on the Mediterranean coast of present-day Lebanon, about 26 miles (42 kilometers) north of Beirut. It is attractive to archaeologists because of the successive layers of debris resulting from centuries of human habitation. In 1860, the French writer, Ernest Renan carried out an excavation here, but systematic archaeological investigation did not take place until the 1920s.
The site first appears to have been settled during the Neolithic period, approximately 5000 BC; according to the writer Philo, Byblos had the reputation of being the oldest city in the world. During the 3rd millennium BC, the first signs of a town can be observed, with the remains of well-built houses of uniform size. This was the period when the Phoenician civilisation began to develop, and archaeologists have recovered Egyptian-made artifacts dated as early as the Fourth dynasty of Egypt. The growing city was evidently a wealthy one.
By about 1200 BC, archaeological evidence at Byblos shows clear evidence an alphabetic script which consisted of twenty-two characters; an important example of this script is the sarcophagus of king Ahiram. One of the most important monuments of this period is the temple of Resheph, a Canaanite war god, but this had fallen into ruins by the time of Hellenistic rule and the arrival of Alexander the Great in the area in 332 BC. Coinage was already in use, and there is abundant evidence of trade with other Mediterranean countries.
During the Roman period, the temple of Resheph was elaborately rebuilt, and the city, though smaller than its neighbours such as Tyre and Sidon, was a centre for the cult of Adonis. In the 3rd century, a small but impressive theatre was constructed. The coming of the Byzantine empire resulted in the establishment of a bishop's seat in Byblos, and the town grew rapidly. Although a Persian colony is known to have been established in the region following the Muslim conquest of 636, there is little archaeological evidence for it. Trade with the rest of Europe effectively dried up, and it was not until the coming of the Crusaders in 1098 that prosperity returned to Byblos.
Byblos, under the name of Gibelet or Giblet, was an important military base in the 11th century, and the remains of its Crusader castle are among the most impressive architectural structures now visible at its centre. The town was taken by Saladin in 1187, re-taken by the Crusaders, and eventually conquered by Beibars in 1266. Its fortifications were subsequently restored. From 1516, the town and the whole region came under Turkish domination and formed part of the Ottoman Empire.
See also Ba`alat Gebal
