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114-503: The city is located in one of the few flat areas of the Lebanese coast. It is built to the north of the river, the ancient Tamyrus, which bears its name on a dune overlooking the Mediterranean . It is surrounded by plantations of bananas and vegetable crops. It has an area of 10.1 km (3.9 sq mi). The Beirut - Tyre Highway separates the plantations. Now dismantled, the track is

228-752: A development company established in 1994 by Prime Minister Rafic Hariri . The city has hosted both the Asian Club Basketball Championship and the Asian Football Cup, and has hosted the Miss Europe pageant nine times: 1960–1964, 1999, 2001–2002, and 2016. Rafic Hariri was assassinated in 2005 near the Saint George Hotel in Beirut. A month later about one million people gathered for an opposition rally in Beirut. The Cedar Revolution

342-499: A few restaurants at the edges of the Damour river . In the 19th century, Damour was the a flourishing center of the Chouf region. Its plain was then planted with mulberry and had twelve large manufacturing companies. Ten thousand workers and technicians worked in the natural silk industry. The city has a real fascination for the Lebanese worker and attracts the largest majority of the natives in

456-554: A huge fire erupted in an oil and tyre warehouse in the port's duty-free zone, on 10 September 2020. Beirut sits on a peninsula extending westward into the Mediterranean Sea . It is flanked by the Lebanon Mountains and has taken on a triangular shape, largely influenced by its situation between and atop two hills: Al- Ashrafieh and Al-Musaytibah. The Beirut Governorate occupies 18 square kilometres (6.9 sq mi), and

570-475: A massive garbage crisis, mainly from July 2015 up to March 2016. The issue began when authorities shut down the main landfill site originally used for Beirut's garbage south-east of the city and failed to provide any alternative solutions for months. As a result, garbage mounted in the streets in Greater Beirut and caused protests to erupt, which sometimes invoked police action. This problem was commonly blamed on

684-700: A new national government involving all the political adversaries. As a result of the Doha Agreement , the opposition's barricades were dismantled and so were the opposition's protest camps in Martyrs' Square . On 19 October 2012, a car bomb killed eight people in the Beirut's neighborhood of Achrafiyeh , including Brigadier General Wissam al-Hassan , chief of the Intelligence Bureau of the Internal Security Forces . In addition, 78 others were wounded in

798-401: A private company called Venus Towers Real Estate Development Company to destroy the ruins (archaeological site BEY194) in the $ 500 million construction project of three skyscrapers and a garden behind Hotel Monroe in downtown Beirut. Two later reports by an international committee of archaeologists appointed by Layoun, including Hanz Curver, and an expert report by Ralph Pederson, a member of

912-654: A regional intellectual capital, becoming a major tourist destination and a banking haven, especially for the Persian Gulf oil boom. Beirut International Airport was opened on 23 April 1954. This era of relative prosperity ended in 1975 when the Lebanese Civil War broke out throughout the country, During most of the war, Beirut was divided between the Muslim west part and the Christian east. The downtown area, previously

1026-572: A result of construction and urbanization of the area. Beirut   IV ( Furn esh-Shebbak , river banks) was also on the left bank of the river and on either side of the road leading eastwards from the Furn esh Shebbak police station towards the river that marked the city limits. The area was covered in red sand that represented Quaternary river terraces . The site was found by Jesuit Father Dillenseger and published by fellow Jesuits Godefroy Zumoffen, Raoul Describes and Auguste Bergy. Collections from

1140-470: A stopover. Damour has a mild mediterranean climate ( Köppen climate classification : Csa ). There exist six churches in Damour, of which Notre-Dame de Damour and St Élias are the biggest. There are also three other chapels, including Sainte Thècle, St Michel, which was the first church in Damour, St Maroun, which is under reconstruction, and St Joseph. These six churches are all Maronite Churches . Before

1254-456: Is Beyrouth , which was sometimes used during Lebanon's French mandate . The Arabic name derives from Phoenician bēʾrūt ( 𐤁𐤀‏𐤓𐤕‎ bʾrt ). This was a modification of the Canaanite and Phoenician word bīʾrōt later bēʾrūt , meaning " wells ", in reference to the site's accessible water table . The name is first attested in the 14th   century   BC, when it

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1368-607: Is a calque of the Latin name, from μέσος ( mésos , "in the middle") and γήινος ( gḗinos , "of the earth"), from γῆ ( gê , "land, earth"). The original meaning may have been 'the sea in the middle of the earth', rather than 'the sea enclosed by land'. Ancient Iranians called it the "Roman Sea", and in Classical Persian texts , it was called Daryāy-e Rōm (دریای روم), which may be from Middle Persian form, Zrēh ī Hrōm (𐭦𐭫𐭩𐭤 𐭩 𐭤𐭫𐭥𐭬). The Carthaginians called it

1482-742: Is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean , surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia , on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Europe , on the south by North Africa , and on the west almost by the Morocco–Spain border . The Mediterranean has played a central role in the history of Western civilization . Geological evidence indicates that around 5.9 million years ago,

1596-570: Is known as al-Baḥr [al-Abyaḍ] al-Mutawassiṭ ( البحر [الأبيض] المتوسط ) 'the [White] Middle Sea'. In Islamic and older Arabic literature, it was Baḥr al-Rūm ( بحر الروم ) or al- Baḥr al-Rūmī ( بحر الرومي ) 'the Sea of the Romans' or 'the Roman Sea' or Baḥr al-šām ( بحر الشام ) or al-Baḥr al-šāmī ( البحر الشامي ) ("the Sea of Syria"). At first, that name referred only to the eastern Mediterranean, but

1710-461: Is mild and rainy; frost has never been recorded. Summer is prolonged, hot and humid. The prevailing wind during the afternoon and evening is from the west (onshore, blowing in from the Mediterranean); at night it reverses to offshore, blowing from the land out to sea. The average annual rainfall is 825 millimetres (32.5 in), with the large majority of it falling from October to April. Much of

1824-448: The 5th Macedonian and the 3rd Gallic Legions . Berytus's law school was widely known; two of Rome's most famous jurists, Papinian and Ulpian , were natives of Phoenicia and taught there under the Severan emperors. Ecclesiastical historian Sozomen studied at the law school in Beirut between 400-402. When Justinian assembled his Pandects in the 6th century, a large part of

1938-617: The Battle of Tigranocerta , Armenia forever lost their holdings in Syria and Beirut was conquered by Roman general Pompey . Laodicea was conquered by Pompey in 64 BC and the name Berytus was restored to it. The city was assimilated into the Roman Empire , soldiers were sent there, and large building projects were undertaken. From the 1st century BC, the Bekaa Valley served as a source of grain for

2052-509: The Black Sea . In Persian, the name was translated as Baḥr-i Safīd , which was also used in later Ottoman Turkish . Similarly, in 19th century Greek, the name was Άσπρη Θάλασσα ( áspri thálassa ; "white sea"). According to Johann Knobloch, in classical antiquity , cultures in the Levant used colours to refer to the cardinal points: black referred to the north (explaining the name Black Sea ), yellow or blue to east, red to south (e.g.,

2166-755: The German Crusade of 1197 . John of Ibelin , known as the Old Lord of Beirut, was granted the lordship of the city in 1204. He rebuilt the city after its destruction by the Ayyubids and also built the House of Ibelin palace in Beirut. In 1291 Beirut was captured and the Crusaders expelled by the Mamluk army of Sultan al-Ashraf Khalil . Under the Ottoman sultan Selim I (1512–1520),

2280-701: The Italian Lakes (Po). While the Mediterranean watershed is bordered by other river basins in Europe, it is essentially bordered by endorheic basins or deserts elsewhere. The following countries are in the Mediterranean drainage basin while not having a coastline on the Mediterranean Sea: The following countries have a coastline on the Mediterranean Sea: Several other territories also border

2394-705: The Italian city-states like Amalfi and Genoa before the Crusades, according to the Cairo Geniza documents. A document dated 996 mentions Amalfian merchants living in Cairo . Another letter states that the Genoese had traded with Alexandria . The caliph al-Mustansir had allowed Amalfian merchants to reside in Jerusalem about 1060 in place of the Latin hospice . The Crusades led to

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2508-660: The Lebanese Civil War , Palestinian forces laid siege to the city. On January 20, 1976, thousands of militants from the Palestine Liberation Organization committed a massacre of the inhabitants in revenge for a massacre of Palestinians in Karantina . During 1982 Lebanon War , the Israeli Air Force bombed the city which was under the control of the Palestinian militias . During the 2006 Lebanon War ,

2622-470: The Lebanese Civil War , Damour had another Catholic church , Savior's Church. Most of the population is Maronite Catholic Damour, one of the few coastal cities in Lebanon with a sandy beach, is just ten minutes from Beirut . This proximity makes it a popular destination for tourists, particularly water sports enthusiasts. Thus several restaurants, coffees and snacks are located along the beach. There are also

2736-709: The Middle Palaeolithic and Upper Paleolithic through the Neolithic to the Bronze Age . Beirut   I ( Minet el-Hosn ) was listed as "the town of Beirut" ( French : Beyrouth ville ) by Louis Burkhalter and said to be on the beach near the Orient and Bassoul hotels on the Avenue des Français in central Beirut. The site was discovered by Lortet in 1894 and discussed by Godefroy Zumoffen in 1900. The flint industry from

2850-689: The Punic Wars in the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC, the Roman Republic defeated the Carthaginians to become the preeminent power in the Mediterranean. When Augustus founded the Roman Empire , the Romans referred to the Mediterranean as Mare Nostrum ("Our Sea"). For the next 400 years, the Roman Empire completely controlled the Mediterranean Sea and virtually all its coastal regions from Gibraltar to

2964-616: The Red Sea ) and white to west. That would explain the Bulgarian Byalo More , the Turkish Akdeniz , and the Arab nomenclature described above, lit. "White Sea". Major ancient civilizations were located around the Mediterranean. The sea provided routes for trade, colonization, and war, as well as food (from fishing and the gathering of other seafood) for numerous communities throughout

3078-550: The Roman Empire , Mare Nostrum ("Our Sea"). The term Mare Mediterrāneum appears later: Solinus apparently used this in the 3rd century, but the earliest extant witness to it is in the 6th century, in Isidore of Seville . It means 'in the middle of land, inland' in Latin , a compound of medius ("middle"), terra ("land, earth"), and -āneus ("having the nature of"). The modern Greek name Μεσόγειος Θάλασσα ( mesógeios ; "inland")

3192-537: The Roman provinces of the Levant and even for Rome itself. Under Claudius , Berytus expanded to reach the Bekaa Valley and include Heliopolis (Baalbek) . The city was settled by Roman colonists who promoted agriculture in the region. As a result of this settlement, the city quickly became Romanized , and the city became the only mainly Latin-speaking area in the Syria-Phoenicia province . In 14   BC, during

3306-516: The sixteenth-largest in the Arab world . The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint of Lebanon's Mediterranean coast. Beirut has been inhabited for more than 5,000 years, making it one of the oldest cities in the world. Beirut is Lebanon's seat of government and plays a central role in the Lebanese economy , with many banks and corporations based in the city. Beirut is an important seaport for

3420-517: The "Syrian Sea". In ancient Syrian texts, Phoenician epics and in the Hebrew Bible , it was primarily known as the "Great Sea", הים הגדול HaYam HaGadol , ( Numbers ; Book of Joshua ; Ezekiel ) or simply as "The Sea" ( 1 Kings ). However, it has also been called the "Hinder Sea" because of its location on the west coast of the region of Syria or the Holy Land (and therefore behind a person facing

3534-517: The 16th century and also maintained naval bases in southern France (1543–1544), Algeria and Tunisia. Barbarossa , the Ottoman captain is a symbol of this domination with the victory of the Battle of Preveza (1538). The Battle of Djerba (1560) marked the apex of Ottoman naval domination in the eastern Mediterranean. As the naval prowess of the European powers increased, they confronted Ottoman expansion in

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3648-515: The 7th century, and with it the religion of Islam , which soon swept across from the east; at its greatest extent, the Arabs, under the Umayyads , controlled most of the Mediterranean region and left a lasting footprint on its eastern and southern shores. A variety of foodstuffs, spices and crops were introduced to the western Mediterranean's Spain and Sicily during Arab rule, via the commercial networks of

3762-802: The Atlantic via the Strait of Gibraltar —the narrow strait that connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea and separates the Iberian Peninsula in Europe from Morocco in Africa —is only 14 km (9 mi) wide. The Mediterranean Sea encompasses a vast number of islands , some of them of volcanic origin. The two largest islands, in both area and population, are Sicily and Sardinia . The Mediterranean Sea has an average depth of 1,500 m (4,900 ft) and

3876-548: The Cypriot. The battle was won by Crusaders. Fakhr Din Emir was killed, while his brother Shams al - Din fell hostage. He was released after five days for a ransom of three thousand dinars tyriens. In May 1860, Druze forces committed a massacre of the people. During the nights of the first world war, inhabitants met the armoured French cruiser Jeanne d'Arc sailors and received medicines, food and other needed supplies. In 1941, Damour

3990-450: The Empire. The council was elected by an assembly of city notables and played an instrumental role governing the city through the following decades. In 1888, Beirut was made capital of a vilayet (governorate) in Syria, including the sanjaks (prefectures) Latakia, Tripoli, Beirut, Acre and Bekaa. By this time, Beirut had grown into a cosmopolitan city and had close links with Europe and

4104-585: The IDF targeted Hezbollah's main media outlets. There were then artillery raids against targets in southern Lebanon, and the Israeli cabinet held Beirut responsible for the attacks. Then on 13 July 2006 Israel began implementing a naval and air blockade over Lebanon; during this blockade Israel bombed the runways at Beirut International Airport and the major Beirut-Damascus highway in Eastern Lebanon. In May 2008, after

4218-492: The Islamic world. These include sugarcane, rice, cotton, alfalfa, oranges, lemons, apricots, spinach, eggplants, carrots, saffron and bananas. The Arabs also continued extensive cultivation and production of olive oil (the Spanish words for 'oil' and 'olive'— aceite and aceituna , respectively—are derived from the Arabic al-zait , meaning 'olive juice'), and pomegranates (the heraldic symbol of Granada) from classical Greco-Roman times. The Arab invasions disrupted

4332-483: The Israeli Air Force destroyed several bridges on Highway Beirut - Tyre and on the Damour River. The history of the archeological bridge dates back to the era of prince-Béchir Shehab who had a great interest in it, it was considered a strategic and important transit point between Mt Lebanon and the South. Mediterranean For other countries, click here . The Mediterranean Sea ( / ˌ m ɛ d ɪ t ə ˈ r eɪ n i ən / MED -ih-tə- RAY -nee-ən )

4446-443: The Levant immediately claimed responsibility for the attacks. On 4 August 2020, a massive explosion in the Port of Beirut resulted in the death of at least 203 people (with an additional three missing) and the wounding of more than 6,500. Foreigners from at least 22 countries were among the casualties. Furthermore, at least 108 Bangladeshis were injured in the blasts, making them the most affected foreign community. The cause of

4560-411: The Levant, being the only state in history to ever do so, being given the nickname "Roman Lake". The Western Roman Empire collapsed around 476 AD. The east was again dominant as Roman power lived on in the Byzantine Empire formed in the 4th century from the eastern half of the Roman Empire . Though the Eastern Roman Empire would continue to hold almost all of the Mediterranean, another power arose in

4674-410: The Mediterranean Sea (from west to east): Beirut Beirut ( / b eɪ ˈ r uː t / bay- ROOT ; Arabic : بيروت , romanized :  Bayrūt ) is the capital and largest city of Lebanon . As of 2014 , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, just under half of Lebanon's population, which makes it the fourth-largest city in the Levant region and

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4788-405: The Mediterranean Sea is the Nile , which takes its sources in equatorial Africa. The basin of the Nile constitutes about two-thirds of the Mediterranean drainage basin and encompasses areas as high as the Ruwenzori Mountains . Among other important rivers in Africa, are the Moulouya and the Chelif , both on the north side of the Atlas Mountains . In Asia, are the Ceyhan and Seyhan , both on

4902-450: The Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea without ship lock, because the water level is essentially the same. The westernmost point of the Mediterranean is located at the transition from the Alborán Sea to the Strait of Gibraltar, the easternmost point is on the coast of the Gulf of Iskenderun in southeastern Turkey. The northernmost point of the Mediterranean is on the coast of the Gulf of Trieste near Monfalcone in northern Italy while

5016-411: The Mediterranean towards East Africa and Asia. This led to a preference for the Mediterranean countries and their ports like Trieste with direct connections to Central and Eastern Europe experienced a rapid economic rise. In the 20th century, the 1st and 2nd World Wars as well as the Suez Crisis and the Cold War led to a shift of trade routes to the European northern ports, which changed again towards

5130-405: The Mediterranean was cut off from the Atlantic and was partly or completely desiccated over a period of some 600,000 years during the Messinian salinity crisis before being refilled by the Zanclean flood about 5.3 million years ago. The Mediterranean Sea covers an area of about 2,500,000 km (970,000 sq mi), representing 0.7% of the global ocean surface, but its connection to

5244-415: The Ottoman parliament and President of the Municipality of Beirut. Given his modern way of life, the emergence of Salim Ali Salam as a public figure constituted a transformation in terms of the social development of the city. In his 2003 book entitled Beirut and its Seven Families , Yussef Bin Ahmad Bin Ali Al Husseini says: The seven families of Beirut are the families who bonded among each other and made

5358-412: The Ottomans conquered Syria including present-day Lebanon . Beirut was controlled by local Druze emirs throughout the Ottoman period. One of them, Fakhr-al-Din II , fortified it early in the 17th century, but the Ottomans reclaimed it in 1763. With the help of Damascus , Beirut successfully broke Acre's monopoly on Syrian maritime trade and for a few years supplanted it as the main trading center in

5472-467: The Rue el Arz area, are two sites discovered by Lorraine Copeland, Peter Wescombe , and Marina Hayek in 1964 and examined by Diana Kirkbride and Roger Saidah. One site was behind the parking lot of the Byblos Cinema and showed collapsed walls, pits, floors, charcoal, pottery and flints. The other, overlooking a cliff west of the Rivoli Cinema, was composed of three layers resting on limestone bedrock. Fragments of blades and broad flakes were recovered from

5586-416: The Sahel region. During the last centuries, Damour was located on the central axis of fighting and successive wars. In 1302 , after the Mamluks took Arwad Island, on 8 June the same year, the Cypriots landed on the Damour River. A battle took place between the Emir Fakhr al - Din Abdel - Hamid bin Jamaluddin Altnokhi, his brother the Emir Shams al - Din Abdullah accompanied by an army of Muslims against

5700-414: The United States. It also became a centre of missionary activity that spawned educational institutions such as the American University of Beirut . Provided with water from a British company and gas from a French one, silk exports to Europe came to dominate the local economy. After French engineers established a modern harbour in 1894 and a rail link across Lebanon to Damascus and Aleppo in 1907, much of

5814-406: The ages. The earliest advanced civilizations in the Mediterranean were the Egyptians and the Minoans , who traded extensively with each other. Other notable civilizations that appeared somewhat later are the Hittites and other Anatolian peoples , the Phoenicians , and Mycenean Greece . Around 1200 BC the eastern Mediterranean was greatly affected by the Bronze Age Collapse , which resulted in

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5928-407: The area as generic Mediterranean Sea, in the Western Basin. It does not recognize the label Sea of Sardinia . Note 2: Thracian Sea and Myrtoan Sea are seas that are part of the Aegean Sea . Note 3: The Black Sea is not considered part of it. The International Hydrographic Organization defines the limits of the Mediterranean Sea as follows: Stretching from the Strait of Gibraltar in

6042-436: The autumn and spring rain falls in heavy downpours on a limited number of days, but in winter it is spread more evenly over many days. Summer receives very little rainfall, if any. Snow is rare, except in the mountainous eastern suburbs, where snowfall occurs due to the region's high altitudes. Hail (which can often be heavy) occurs a few times per year, mostly during winter. Lebanon, especially Beirut and its suburbs, suffered

6156-418: The blast is believed to be from government-confiscated and stored ammonium nitrate . As many as 300,000 people have been left homeless by the explosion. Protesters in Lebanon called on the government on 8 August 2020 for the end of the alleged negligence that resulted in the 4 August explosion. On 10 August 2020, as a result of the protests, Prime Minister Hassan Diab announced his resignation. Weeks later,

6270-453: The bombing. It was the largest attack in the capital since 2008. On 27 December 2013, a car bomb exploded in the Central District killing at least five people, including the former Lebanese ambassador to the U.S. Mohamad Chatah , and wounding 71 others. In the 12 November 2015 Beirut bombings , two suicide bombers detonated explosives outside a mosque and inside a bakery, killing 43 people and injuring 200. The Islamic State of Iraq and

6384-434: The central government. Moreover, Beirut has a lack of green areas with just two main public gardens (sanayeh and horch Beirut). In fact, concrete roofs cover 80% of the capital area. Beirut is divided into 12 quarters ( quartiers ): These quarters are divided into 59 sectors ( secteurs ). Badaro is an edgy, bohemian style neighborhood, within the green district of Beirut ( secteur du parc ) which also include

6498-410: The city into a major port and commercial center. This boom in cross-regional trade allowed certain groups, such as the Sursock family , to establish trade and manufacturing empires that further strengthened Beirut's position as a key partner in the interests of imperial dynasties. Meanwhile, Ottoman power in the region continued to decline. Sectarian and religious conflicts, power vacuums, and changes in

6612-443: The city's metropolitan area 67 square kilometres (26 sq mi). The coast is rather diverse, with rocky beaches, sandy shores and cliffs situated beside one another. Beirut has a hot-summer Mediterranean climate ( Köppen : Csa , bordering on As , Trewartha : Csal ) characterized by mild days and nights, as its coastal location allows temperatures to be moderated by the sea . Autumn and spring are warm, but short. Winter

6726-495: The corpus of laws was derived from these two jurists, and in AD   533 Justinian recognised the school as one of the three official law schools of the empire. In 551, a major earthquake struck Berytus, causing widespread damage. The earthquake reduced cities along the coast to ruins and killed many, 30,000 in Berytus alone by some measurements. As a result, the students of the law school were transferred to Sidon . Salvage excavations since 1993 have yielded new insights in

6840-483: The country and region, and rated a Beta + World City by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network . Beirut was severely damaged by the Lebanese Civil War , the 2006 Lebanon War , and the 2020 massive explosion in the Port of Beirut . Its architectural and demographic structure underwent major change in recent decades. The English name Beirut is an early transcription of the Arabic name Bayrūt ( بيروت ). The same name's transcription into French

6954-500: The country's political situation. This garbage crisis birthed a movement called " You Stink " which was directed at the country's politicians. In March 2016, the government came up with a so-called temporary solution to establish two new landfills East and South of the city to store the garbage, while several municipalities across the country, in an unprecedented move, began recycling and managing waste more efficiently, building waste-management facilities and relying on themselves rather than

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7068-526: The deepest recorded point is 5,109 ± 1 m (16,762 ± 3 ft) in the Calypso Deep in the Ionian Sea . It lies between latitudes 30° and 46° N and longitudes 6° W and 36° E . Its west–east length, from the Strait of Gibraltar to the Gulf of Alexandretta , on the southeastern coast of Turkey , is about 4,000 kilometres (2,500 mi). The north–south length varies greatly between different shorelines and whether only straight routes are considered. Also including longitudinal changes,

7182-512: The destruction of many cities and trade routes. The most notable Mediterranean civilizations in classical antiquity were the Greek city states and the Phoenicians , both of which extensively colonized the coastlines of the Mediterranean. Darius I of Persia , who conquered Ancient Egypt, built a canal linking the Red Sea to the Nile, and thus the Mediterranean. Darius's canal was wide enough for two triremes to pass each other with oars extended and required four days to traverse. Following

7296-457: The downtown area have unearthed layers of Phoenician, Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine, Arab, Crusader, Persian and Ottoman remains. Beirut was settled over 5,000 years ago, and there is evidence that the surrounding area had already been inhabited for tens of thousands of years prior to this. Several prehistoric archaeological sites have been discovered within the urban area of Beirut, revealing flint tools from sequential periods dating from

7410-420: The east), which is sometimes translated as "Western Sea". Another name was the "Sea of the Philistines ", ( Book of Exodus ), from the people inhabiting a large portion of its shores near the Israelites . In Modern Hebrew , it is called הים התיכון HaYam HaTikhon 'the Middle Sea'. In Classic Persian texts was called Daryāy-e Šām (دریای شام) "The Western Sea" or "Syrian Sea". In Modern Standard Arabic , it

7524-449: The eastern quarter of the city, but Christian militias defeated multiple attempts by Syria's elite forces to capture the strategic area in a three-month campaign later known as the Hundred Days' War . Another destructive chapter was the 1982 Lebanon War , during which most of West Beirut was under siege by Israeli troops. In 1983, French and US barracks were bombed , killing 241 American servicemen, 58 French servicemen, six civilians and

7638-402: The end of the battle. There were no more obstacles in the direction of Beirut. In 1942, South African army engineers built a railway line from Haifa to Beirut along the coast and Australian engineers continued the line to Tripoli. <Orpen N & Martin H J. Salute the Sappers, part 1. 1981 Johannesburg. ISBN   0 620 05376 3 > The line is no longer in use. On January 9, 1976, during

7752-443: The entire Mediterranean. Once, most of the trade between Western Europe and the East was passing through the region , but after the 1490s the development of a sea route to the Indian Ocean allowed the importation of Asian spices and other goods through the Atlantic ports of western Europe. The sea remained strategically important. British mastery of Gibraltar ensured their influence in Africa and Southwest Asia. Especially after

7866-426: The famous historical agreement with the governor of the Syrian Coast in 1351 to protect and defend the city of Beirut and its shores, and chase the invaders and stop their progress towards it. After World War I and the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, Beirut, along with the rest of Lebanon, was placed under the French Mandate . Lebanon achieved independence in 1943, and Beirut became the capital city. The city remained

7980-416: The first layer of black soil, above which some Bronze Age pottery was recovered in a layer of grey soil. Pieces of Roman pottery and mosaics were found in the upper layer. Middle Bronze Age tombs were found in this area, and the ancient tell of Beirut is thought to be in the Bourj area. The Phoenician port of Beirut was located between Rue Foch and Rue Allenby on the north coast. The port or harbour

8094-399: The flourishing of trade between Europe and the outremer region. Genoa, Venice and Pisa created colonies in regions controlled by the Crusaders and came to control the trade with the Orient. These colonies also allowed them to trade with the Eastern world. Though the fall of the Crusader states and attempts at banning of trade relations with Muslim states by the Popes temporarily disrupted

8208-584: The government decided to disband Hezbollah's communications network (a decision it later rescinded), violent clashes broke out briefly between government allies and opposition forces, before control of the city was handed over to the Lebanese Army . After this a national dialogue conference was held in Doha at the invitation of the Prince of Qatar. The conference agreed to appoint a new president of Lebanon and to establish

8322-566: The head of Tyche , goddess of fortune; on the reverse, the city's symbol appears: a dolphin entwines an anchor . This symbol was later taken up by the early printer Aldus Manutius in 15th century Venice . After a state of civil war and decline the Seleucid Empire faced, King Tigranes the Great of the Kingdom of Armenia conquered Beirut and placed it under effective Armenian control. However, after

8436-470: The home of much of the city's commercial and cultural activity, became a no man's land known as the Green Line . Many inhabitants fled to other countries. About 60,000 people died in the first two years of the war (1975–1976), and much of the city was devastated. A particularly destructive period was the 1978 Syrian siege of Achrafiyeh , the main Christian district of Beirut. Syrian troops relentlessly shelled

8550-436: The immediate coastline on all sides of the Mediterranean tends to have strong maritime moderation. The sea was an important route for merchants and travellers of ancient times, facilitating trade and cultural exchange between the peoples of the region. The history of the Mediterranean region is crucial to understanding the origins and development of many modern societies. The Roman Empire maintained nautical hegemony over

8664-555: The institute of Nautical Archaeology and now teaching in Marburg , Germany, dismissed the claims that the trenches were a port, on various criteria. The exact function of site BEY194 may never be known, and the issue raised heated emotions and led to increased coverage on the subject of Lebanese heritage in the press. In 140   BC, the Phoenician city was destroyed by Diodotus Tryphon during his conflict with Antiochus VII Sidetes for

8778-502: The later Principality of Mount Lebanon, which was the basis for the establishment of Greater Lebanon, today's Lebanon. As a trading center of the eastern Mediterranean , Beirut was as important as Acre (in modern-day Israel ) during the Middle Ages . From 1110 to 1291, the town and Lordship of Beirut was part of the Kingdom of Jerusalem . The city was taken by Saladin in 1187 and recaptured in 1197 by Henry I of Brabant as part of

8892-627: The layout and history of Roman Berytus. Public architecture included several bath complexes , Colonnaded Streets , a circus and theatre; residential areas were excavated in the Garden of Forgiveness , Martyrs' Square and the Beirut Souks. Beirut was conquered by the Muslims in 635. Prince Arslan bin al-Mundhir founded the Principality of Sin el Fil in Beirut in 759. From this principality developed

9006-730: The major ranges bordering Southern Europe. Total annual precipitation is significantly higher on the European part of the Mediterranean basin, especially near the Alps (the 'water tower of Europe') and other high mountain ranges. As a consequence, the river discharges of the Rhône and Po are similar to that of the Nile, despite the latter having a much larger basin. These are the only three rivers with an average discharge of over 1,000 m /s (35,000 cu ft/s). Among large natural fresh bodies of water are Lake Victoria (Nile basin), Lake Geneva (Rhône), and

9120-478: The meantime. This was again a product of European intervention, and also a general realization amongst the city's residents that commerce, trade, and prosperity depended on domestic stability. After petitions by the local bourgeois, the governor of Syria Vilayet Mehmed Rashid Pasha authorized the establishment of the Beirut Municipal Council, the first municipality established in the Arab provinces of

9234-512: The migrants and arrest the traffickers of immigrants. In 2015, more than one million migrants crossed the Mediterranean Sea into Europe. Italy was particularly affected by the European migrant crisis . Since 2013, over 700,000 migrants have landed in Italy, mainly sub-Saharan Africans. The Mediterranean Sea connects: The 163 km (101 mi) long artificial Suez Canal in the southeast connects

9348-485: The naval battles of Abukir (1799, Battle of the Nile ) and Trafalgar (1805), the British had for a long time strengthened their dominance in the Mediterranean. Wars included Naval warfare in the Mediterranean during World War I and Mediterranean theatre of World War II . With the opening of the lockless Suez Canal in 1869, the flow of trade between Europe and Asia changed fundamentally. The fastest route now led through

9462-428: The number of drowned refugees in the region as a direct result of the policies. An Azerbaijani official described the sea as "a burial ground ... where people die". Following the 2013 Lampedusa migrant shipwreck , the Italian government decided to strengthen the national system for the patrolling of the Mediterranean Sea by authorising " Operation Mare Nostrum ", a military and humanitarian mission in order to rescue

9576-468: The political dynamics of the region culminated in the 1860 Lebanon conflict . Beirut became a destination for Maronite Christian refugees fleeing from the worst areas of the fighting on Mount Lebanon and in Damascus. This in turn altered the religious composition of Beirut itself, sowing the seeds of future sectarian and religious troubles there and in greater Lebanon. However, Beirut was able to prosper in

9690-596: The region when the Battle of Lepanto (1571) checked the power of the Ottoman Navy . This was the last naval battle to be fought primarily between galleys . The Barbary pirates of Northwest Africa preyed on Christian shipping and coastlines in the Western Mediterranean Sea. According to Robert Davis, from the 16th to 19th centuries, pirates captured 1 million to 1.25 million Europeans as slaves. The development of oceanic shipping began to affect

9804-604: The region. During the succeeding epoch of rebellion against Ottoman hegemony in Acre under Jezzar Pasha and Abdullah Pasha , Beirut declined to a small town with a population of about 10,000 and was an object of contention between the Ottomans, the local Druze, and the Mamluks . After Ibrahim Pasha of Egypt captured Acre in 1832, Beirut began its revival. After the Albanian fighter Tafil Buzi

9918-414: The reign of Herod the Great , Berytus became a colony , one of four in the Syria-Phoenicia region and the only one with full Italian rights ( ius Italicum ) exempting its citizens from imperial taxation. Beirut was considered the most Roman city in the eastern provinces of the Roman Empire. Furthermore, the veterans of two Roman legions were established in the city of Berytus by emperor Augustus :

10032-468: The sea for centuries and is the only state to have ever controlled all of its coast. The countries surrounding the Mediterranean and its marginal seas in clockwise order are Spain , France , Monaco , Italy , Slovenia , Croatia , Bosnia and Herzegovina , Montenegro , Albania , Greece , Turkey , Syria , Lebanon , Israel , Palestine ( Gaza Strip ), Egypt , Libya , Tunisia , Algeria , and Morocco ; Cyprus and Malta are island countries in

10146-641: The sea. In addition, Northern Cyprus ( de facto state ) and two overseas territories of the United Kingdom ( Akrotiri and Dhekelia , and Gibraltar ) also have coastlines along the Mediterranean Sea. The drainage basin encompasses a large number of other countries, the Nile being the longest river ending in the Mediterranean Sea. The Ancient Egyptians called the Mediterranean Wadj-wr/Wadj-Wer/Wadj-Ur. This term (literally "great green")

10260-518: The shortest shipping route between the multinational Gulf of Trieste and the Libyan coastline of the Gulf of Sidra is about 1,900 kilometres (1,200 mi). The water temperatures are mild in winter and warm in summer and give name to the Mediterranean climate type due to the majority of precipitation falling in the cooler months. Its southern and eastern coastlines are lined with hot deserts not far inland, but

10374-475: The site was described as Mousterian and is held by the Museum of Fine Arts of Lyon . Beirut   II ( Umm el-Khatib ) was suggested by Burkhalter to have been south of Tarik el Jedideh, where P.E. Gigues discovered a Copper Age flint industry at around 100 metres (328 feet) above sea level . The site had been built on and destroyed by 1948. Beirut   III ( Furn esh-Shebbak ), listed as Plateau Tabet ,

10488-471: The site were made by Bergy, Describes and another Jesuit, Paul Bovier-Lapierre . Many Middle Paleolithic flint tools were found on the surface and in side gullies that drain into the river. They included around 50 varied bifaces accredited to the Acheulean period , some with a lustrous sheen , now held at the Museum of Lebanese Prehistory . Henri Fleisch also found an Emireh point amongst material from

10602-472: The site, which has now disappeared beneath buildings. Beirut   V ( Nahr Beirut , Beirut River ) was discovered by Dillenseger and said to be in an orchard of mulberry trees on the left bank of the river, near the river mouth , and to be close to the railway station and bridge to Tripoli . Levallois flints and bones and similar surface material were found amongst brecciated deposits . The area has now been built on. Beirut   VI (Patriarchate)

10716-704: The south side of the Taurus Mountains . In Europe, the largest basins are those of the Rhône , Ebro , Po , and Maritsa . The basin of the Rhône is the largest and extends up as far north as the Jura Mountains , encompassing areas even on the north side of the Alps . The basins of the Ebro, Po, and Maritsa, are respectively south of the Pyrenees , Alps, and Balkan Mountains , which are

10830-570: The southern ports through European integration, the activation of the Silk Road and free world trade. In 2013, the Maltese president described the Mediterranean Sea as a "cemetery" due to the large number of migrants who drowned there after their boats capsized. European Parliament president Martin Schulz said in 2014 that Europe's migration policy "turned the Mediterranean into a graveyard", referring to

10944-599: The southernmost point is on the coast of the Gulf of Sidra near the Libyan town of El Agheila . Large islands in the Mediterranean include: The Alpine arc , which also has a great meteorological impact on the Mediterranean area, touches the Mediterranean in the west in the area around Nice . The typical Mediterranean climate has hot, dry summers and mild, rainy winters. Crops of the region include olives , grapes , oranges , tangerines , carobs and cork . The Mediterranean Sea includes 15 marginal seas : Note 1: The International Hydrographic Organization defines

11058-538: The status of a Roman colony , it was notionally refounded and its official name was emended to Colonia Iulia Augusta Felix Berytus to include its imperial sponsors. At the time of the crusades , the city was known in French as Barut or Baruth . The earliest settlement of Beirut was on an island in the Beirut River, but the channel that separated it from the banks silted up and the island ceased to be. Excavations in

11172-640: The term was later extended to the whole Mediterranean, it was also called Baḥr al-Maghrib ( بحر المغرب ) ("the Sea of the West"). A name that was used mainly for the western basin. In Turkish , it is the Akdeniz 'the White Sea'; in Ottoman, ﺁق دڭيز , which sometimes means only the Aegean Sea . The origin of the name is not clear, as it is not known in earlier Greek, Byzantine or Islamic sources. It may be to contrast with

11286-606: The throne of the Hellenistic Seleucid monarchy. Laodicea in Phoenicia was built upon the same site on a more conventional Hellenistic plan. Present-day Beirut overlies this ancient one, and little archaeology was carried out until after the civil war in 1991. The salvage excavations after 1993 have yielded new insights into the layout and history of this period of Beirut's history. Public architecture included several areas and buildings. Mid-1st-century coins from Berytus bear

11400-658: The trade in western Europe and brought it to a halt. However, the Norsemen developed the trade from Norway to the White Sea , while also trading in luxury goods from Spain and the Mediterranean. The Byzantines in the mid-8th century retook control of the area around the north-eastern part of the Mediterranean. Venetian ships from the 9th century armed themselves to counter the harassment by Arabs while concentrating trade of Asian goods in Venice. The Fatimids maintained trade relations with

11514-589: The trade relations between Western and Eastern Europe while disrupting trade routes with Eastern Asian Empires. This, however, had the indirect effect of promoting trade across the Caspian Sea . The export of grains from Egypt was re-routed towards the Eastern world . Products from East Asian empires, like silk and spices, were carried from Egypt under the Arab rule to ports like Venice and Constantinople by sailors and Jewish merchants. The Viking raids further disrupted

11628-450: The trade was carried by French ships to Marseille . French influence in the area soon exceeded that of any other European power. The 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica reported a population consisting of 36,000 Muslims, 77,000 Christians, 2,500 Jews, 400 Druze and 4,100 foreigners. At the start of the 20th century, Salim Ali Salam was one of the most prominent figures in Beirut, holding numerous public positions including deputy from Beirut to

11742-625: The trade with the Orient, it however continued. Europe started to revive, however, as more organized and centralized states began to form in the later Middle Ages after the Renaissance of the 12th century . Ottoman power based in Anatolia continued to grow, and in 1453 extinguished the Byzantine Empire with the Conquest of Constantinople . Ottomans gained control of much of the eastern part sea in

11856-484: The two suicide bombers. Between 1989 and 1990 parts on East Beirut were destroyed in fighting between Lebanese army units loyal to General Aoun and Samir Geagea 's Maronite Christians Lebanese Forces with the Syrian Armed Forces -backed Elias Hrawi and Salim Al-Huss Lebanese army forces. Since the end of the war in 1990, the people of Lebanon have been rebuilding Beirut, whose urban agglomeration

11970-645: The west to the entrances to the Dardanelles and the Suez Canal in the east, the Mediterranean Sea is bounded by the coasts of Europe, Africa, and Asia and is divided into two deep basins: The drainage basin of the Mediterranean Sea is particularly heterogeneous and extends much further than the Mediterranean region. Its size has been estimated between 4,000,000 and 5,500,000 km (1,500,000 and 2,100,000 sq mi), depending on whether non-active parts (deserts) are included or not. The longest river ending in

12084-636: Was a site discovered while building on the property of the Lebanese Evangelical School for Girls in the Patriarchate area of Beirut. It was notable for the discovery of a finely styled Canaanean blade javelin suggested to date to the early or middle Neolithic periods of Byblos and which is held in the school library. Beirut   VII, the Rivoli Cinema and Byblos Cinema sites near the Bourj in

12198-494: Was excavated and reported on several years ago and now lies buried under the city. Another suggested port or dry dock was claimed to have been discovered around 1 kilometre (0.62 miles) to the west in 2011 by a team of Lebanese archaeologists from the Directorate General of Antiquities of Lebanese University . Controversy arose on 26 June 2012 when authorization was given by Lebanese Minister of Culture Gaby Layoun for

12312-498: Was interned and then pardoned by the Ottoman administration for his constant uprisings, he raised 3,000 Albanian mercenaries to fight in Lebanon; some of them became notorious shortly afterwards for having been responsible for the widespread disorders in Beirut. By the second half of the nineteenth century, Beirut was developing close commercial and political ties with European imperial powers, particularly France. European interests in Lebanese silk and other export products transformed

12426-480: Was mainly constituted during war time through an anarchic urban development stretching along the littoral corridor and its nearby heights. By the start of the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict the city had somewhat regained its status as a tourist, cultural and intellectual centre in the Middle East and as a center for commerce, fashion, and media. The reconstruction of downtown Beirut has been largely driven by Solidere ,

12540-559: Was mentioned in three Akkadian cuneiform tablets of the Amarna letters , letters sent by King Ammunira of Biruta to Amenhotep III or Amenhotep IV of Egypt . Biruta was also mentioned in the Amarna letters from King Rib-Hadda of Byblos . The Greeks hellenised the name as Bērytós ( Ancient Greek : Βηρυτός ), which the Romans latinised as Berytus . When it attained

12654-525: Was suggested to have been located on the left bank of the Beirut River . Burkhalter suggested that it was west of the Damascus road, although this determination has been criticized by Lorraine Copeland . P. E. Gigues discovered a series of Neolithic flint tools on the surface along with the remains of a structure suggested to be a hut circle . Auguste Bergy discussed polished axes that were also found at this site, which has now completely disappeared as

12768-575: Was the French administrative capital. The city being a strategic crossing point on the road to Beirut , 21 July 1941, was the place of one of the battles that affected Lebanon during World War II Syria-Lebanon Campaign . Australian troops, progressing towards the North along the coast, took Damour, held by the French Foreign Legion, faithful to the Vichy Government. A cease-fire was concluded at

12882-488: Was the largest rally in Lebanon's history at that time. The last Syrian troops withdrew from Beirut on 26 April 2005, and the two countries established diplomatic relations on 15 October 2008. During the 2006 Lebanon War, Israeli bombardment caused damage in many parts of Beirut, especially the predominantly Shiite southern suburbs of Beirut. On 12 July 2006, the "Operation Truthful Promise" carried out by Hezbollah ended with 8 Israeli deaths and 6 injuries. In response,

12996-721: Was the name given by the Ancient Egyptians to the semi-solid, semi-aquatic region characterized by papyrus forests to the north of the cultivated Nile delta, and, by extension, the sea beyond. The Ancient Greeks called the Mediterranean simply ἡ θάλασσα ( hē thálassa ; "the Sea") or sometimes ἡ μεγάλη θάλασσα ( hē megálē thálassa ; "the Great Sea"), ἡ ἡμετέρα θάλασσα ( hē hēmetérā thálassa ; "Our Sea"), or ἡ θάλασσα ἡ καθ’ ἡμᾶς ( hē thálassa hē kath’hēmâs ; "the sea around us"). The Romans called it Mare Magnum ("Great Sea") or Mare Internum ("Internal Sea") and, starting with

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