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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. 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 original form thanks to work in the
past hundred years by German, French and Lebanese
archaeologists.
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The Famous
Six Columns |
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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.
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Aerial
view of the Acropolis |
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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 visitors and its
historical importance was recognized.
The first survey and restoration work at Baalbeck was begun
by the German Archaeological 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 1rst 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. |
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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 construction from the
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. |
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The temple
was begun in the last quarter of the 1rst 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. |
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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 4th 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.
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Sacked by the
Mongols about 1260, Baalbeck later enjoyed a period of calm
and prosperity under Mamluke rule.
The temple
complex of Baalbeck is made up of the Jupiter Temple and the
Bacchus Temple adjacent to it. A short distance away is the
circular structure known as the Temple of Venus. Only part
of the staircase remains of a fourth temple dedicated to
Mercury, on Kheikh Abdallah hill. |
At the
half-way point of this commercial street a second major
street called Decumanus Maximus (running east to west)
cuts across it at right angles. It is also flanked by
shops. In all, 600 shops have been uncovered, giving
Aanjar the right to call itself a major Umayyad strip
mall.
The masonry work, of Byzantine origin, consists of
courses of cut stone alternating with courses of brick.
This technique, credited to the Byzantines reduced the
effects of earthquakes. The tidy division of the site
into four quarters is based on earlier Roman city
planning. At the city's crossroads you'll have your
first hint that the Umayyads were great recyclers.
Tetrapylons mark the four corners of the intersection.
This configuration, called a tetrastyle is
remarkably reminiscent of Roman architecture. One of the
tetrapylons has been reconstructed with its full quota
of four columns. Note the Greek inscriptions at the
bases and the Corinthian capitals with their
characteristic carved acanthus leaves-delightful to look
at but definitely not original to the Umayyads.
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The Great Temple or "Jupiter
Temple"
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. |
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The
Propylaea |
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The Propylaea
The Propylaea completed in the mid-3rd century 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. |
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The
Hexagonal Forecourt
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 3rd century A.D.
At the end of the 4rth century or the early 5th century, it
was covered with a dome and transformed into a church. |
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The Great
Court
Built in the 2nd century A.D., covered an area 134x112
meters and contained the main installation 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.
Two huge structures stand in the center of the Great Court:
a restored sacrificial altar and a tower with only the lower
courses remaining. The tower, dating from the beginning of
the 1st century A.D., was probably built to allow the
worshipers to view the proceedings from the top. It was
flanked by two solitary columns of gray and red granite. two
pools for ritual washing, decorated with relief carvings,
were placed north and south of both altar and tower. these
structures were destroyed when a Christian basilica was
built on the site at the end of the 4th century.
The entire Court was enclosed by a succession of rectangular
and semi-circular exedrae or recesses decorated by niches
which contained statues. Surrounding the Court, in front of
the exedrae, 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.
Temple of Jupiter
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 an apparent oriental adaptation.
The Temple measures 88x48 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 of 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. |
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The
Little Temple or the "Temple of Bacchus"
Next to the Jupiter complex is a separate building known
as the Temple of Bacchus. Constructed during the first
half of the 2nd century A.D., it has been remarkably
well preserved.
While the Great Temple was dedicated to the public cult
of the Heliopolitan Triad, the little temple was
apparently consecrated to a mysterious and initiatic
cult centered around the young god of Baalbeck. This god
was identified as a solar and growth deity,whose birth
and growth promised regeneration and eternal life to the
faithful.
Wine and other drugs, such as opium, may have been used
by the worshipers and it was the carvings of grapes and
poppies on the main door jamb and some carved Bacchic
scenes, which suggested the temple's identification with
Bacchus. |
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Thirty-three
steps lead up to the entrance and the whole structure sits
on a platform five meters high. The entrance through the
lofty monumental gate and the view of its ornate interior
constitute one of the loveliest sights of Baalbeck. The
stairs on either side of the doorway may have had some
ritual function.
The 15th century tower at the corner of this temple is a
good example of the Mamluke fortifications of Baalbeck. From
the top of the tower a view can be had of the surrounding
area.
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The
Exedrae around the Great Court |
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The
Round Temple or the "Temple of Venus"
The gem-like temple southeast of the acropolis was built
in the 3rd 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.There are a number of other Roman remains
and Islamic sites to visit in Baalbeck and its immediate
neighborhood. |
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The Great Mosque
In front of the acropolis entrance, this mosque dates
from the 7th-8th 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 north-west corner of the
courtyard. |
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Remains of the Great Mosque |
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Public
buildings
At Boustan el-Khan south of the temples are important
remains of public baths, a market and probably a
"bouleuterion", or assembly hall.
Ras El-Ain
This ancient spring, now incorporated into modern Baalbeck,
has been a source of water since antiquity. Here are traces
of a Roman shrine and nympheun as well as remains of a
Mamluke mosque built in 1277.
Quarries
At the southern entrance of town is a quarry where the
stones used in the temples were cut. A huge block,
considered the largest hewn stone in the world, still sits
where it was cut almost 2,000 years ago. Called the "Stone
of the Pregnant Woman", it is 21.5m x 4.8m x 4.2meters in
size and weighs an estimated 1,000 tons. There is another
quarry at Al-Kiyyâl, southwest of town after Qoubbat Douris.
Quoubbat al-Amjad
On Sheikh Abdallah Hill are the remains of the Zawiya -
Mosque and tomb of "Sheikh Abdallah Al-Youmînî", built under
the rule of Al-Amjad, grand nephew of Saladin and governor
of Baalbeck between 1182 and 1230. It was constructed of
stones from the neighboring temple of Mercury.
City Gate
Northwest of the Acropolis near the army barracks lie the
remains of a Roman city gate, part of the fortifications
that surrounded the city.
Qoubbat as-Saadin
Not far from the City Gate is a two-room mausoleum built in
1409, which served as a burial place for the Mamluke
governors of Baalbeck.
Qoubbat Douris
At the southern entrance of town is the site of an octagonal
structure composed of eight Roman granite columns. Built
during the 13th century, it was originally covered with a
cupola and held an Ayyoubid tomb. |
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