Baalbek; Baʿlabakk; B'albak Complete

Description

Baalbek preserves a celebrated sanctuary from the Roman period. In antiquity the settlement was known as Heliopolis and ranked among the principal communities of the Beqaa Valley. The circumstances under which Christianity first took root there remain unclear; the Ecclesiastical Histories of Theodoret and Sozomen indicate that Christians at Heliopolis likely faced active persecution. With the spread of Christianity in the fourth century, the cult of Jupiter Heliopolitanus began to be eclipsed, though the transition was gradual owing to Baalbek’s size and its long-established prominence as a pagan center. In the late Roman era a basilica was inserted within the sacred precinct. The monumental character of the complex, still striking today, encouraged some late antique observers to deny a pagan authorship of the great works; a legend therefore circulated that credited King Solomon with their construction. Pseudo-Zacharias of Mytilene, who transmitted this tradition, also reported that in 524/525 CE the building was destroyed by a lightning strike—an account with a certain irony, given the site’s earlier dedication to a thunder deity. Motifs of lightning likewise figure in local devotion to Saint Barbara: according to her legend, after her pagan-official father killed her upon discovering her baptism, he was immediately struck by lightning; she is consequently invoked for protection against lightning. In 634 the city fell to Muslim forces. Seventh-century coin legends revert to the ancient toponym Baʿlabakk, indicating the restoration of the original name. An Umayyad mosque, among the earliest Muslim places of worship, was erected to the east of the sanctuary on the former forum. The church within the old sanctuary was abandoned, and the shrine was later dismantled. In the Crusader period, ashlar blocks and other architectural elements were reused to convert the complex into a fortress, which is still known as the Qalaʿa (“fort”). Plan source: https://www.athenapub.com/aria1/_Baalbek/baalbek-siteplan-ARIA.html Further reading: https://www.livius.org/articles/place/heliopolis-baalbek/