Baalbek is a city in Lebanon, located east of the Litani River in the Beqaa Valley. It is about 67 kilometers (42 miles) northeast of Beirut and serves as the capital of the Baalbek-Hermel Governorate. In 1998, the city had a population of 82,608. Most residents are Shia Muslims, followed by Sunni Muslims and Christians. In 2017, many Syrian refugees also lived there.
Baalbek has a history spanning at least 11,000 years. After Alexander the Great conquered the city in 334 BCE, he renamed it Heliopolis, meaning "Sun City." The city thrived during Roman rule but changed significantly during the spread of Christianity and the rise of Islam in the 7th century. Later, it was attacked by the Mongols and suffered from earthquakes, which reduced its importance during the Ottoman Empire and modern times.
Today, Baalbek is a tourist destination. It is famous for the ruins of a Roman temple complex, including the Temple of Bacchus and the Temple of Jupiter. These ruins were added to the UNESCO World Heritage list in 1984. Other attractions include the Great Umayyad Mosque, the Baalbek International Festival, the mausoleum of Sit Khawla, and a Roman quarry site called Hajar al-Hibla. Tourism in the area has faced challenges due to conflicts in Lebanon, such as the civil war (1975–1990), the Syrian civil war (2011–present), and the Israel–Hezbollah conflict (2023–present).
Baalbek is considered a key area for Hezbollah, a political and military group. During Israel’s occupation of southern Lebanon (1982–2000), Hezbollah took control of the city and used it as a base for attacks against Israeli forces. Hezbollah continues to hold political influence in Baalbek. In the 2022 Lebanese general election, the Amal-Hezbollah group won 9 out of 10 seats in the Baalbek-Hermel Governorate.
Israel has carried out many airstrikes and raids in Baalbek over the years. For example, in 2006, during the Operation Sharp and Smooth, Israeli soldiers attacked a hospital and bombed homes, killing two Hezbollah fighters and at least 11 civilians. In 2024, during the Israel–Hezbollah conflict, Israel warned residents to leave the city. Shortly after, Israeli airstrikes killed 19 people, including 8 women.
Etymology
Baalbek is located a few kilometers away from a swamp where the Litani River (also known as the classical Leontes) and the Asi River (also known as the upper Orontes) originate. It may be the same place as the "Source of the Two Rivers," a location mentioned in ancient Ugaritic texts from the 1920s as the home of the god El in the Baal Cycle. It is also linked to a separate ancient text about a serpent.
During the Roman Empire, Baalbek was called Heliopolis, a Latin version of the Greek name Hēlioúpolis, which means "Sun City." This name was used during the Hellenistic period and is recorded in writings from the Seleucid and Ptolemaic rulers. However, the historian Ammianus Marcellinus noted that older Assyrian names for Levantine towns were still used alongside Greek names imposed by the Diadochi, who were rulers after Alexander the Great. In Greek religion, Helios was both the sun in the sky and a god representing the sun. The local Semitic god Baʿal Haddu was often compared to Zeus or Jupiter or simply called the "Great God of Heliopolis." This name might also reflect the Egyptians’ connection of Baʿal to their sun god Ra. To avoid confusion with the Egyptian city of the same name, it was sometimes called Heliopolis in Syria or Coelesyria. In Catholicism, it is known as Heliopolis in Phoenicia, named after the Roman province of Phoenice. The importance of the sun worship is also seen in the name Biḳāʿ al-ʿAzīz, which refers to the plateau around Baalbek and honors an earlier sun god named Aziz. In Greek and Roman times, the city was known as Heliopolis. Some of the best-preserved Roman ruins in Lebanon are found here, including one of the largest temples in the Roman Empire. The gods worshipped there—Jupiter, Venus, and Bacchus—were equivalent to the Canaanite deities Hadad and Atargatis. Local traditions influenced the design of the temples, which differ from typical Roman architecture.
The name "bʿlbk" appears in the Mishnah, a second-century Jewish text, as a type of garlic called "shum ba'albeki." It is also mentioned in two early 5th-century Syriac manuscripts: a translation of Eusebius’s Theophania and a biography of Rabbula, a bishop from Edessa. In Classical Arabic, it was pronounced "Baʿlabakk," and in Modern Standard Arabic, it is written as "Baʿlabak" or "Baʿlabekk." In Lebanese Arabic, it is "Bʿalbik."
Scholars have debated the origin of the name "Baalbek" since the 18th century. Cook suggested it means "Baʿal (Lord) of the Beka," while Donne proposed it means "City of the Sun." Lendering believes it is likely a shortened form of "Baʿal Nebeq," meaning "Lord of the Source" of the Litani River. Steiner suggests it may be a Semitic adaptation of "Lord Bacchus," referencing the temple complex dedicated to the god Bacchus.
In the 19th century, some biblical archaeologists linked Baalbek to several places mentioned in religious texts, including the town of Baalgad in the Book of Joshua, the city of Baalath in the First Book of Kings, the location of Baal-hamon where Solomon had a vineyard, and the "Plain of Aven" in the Book of Amos.
History
The hilltop of Tell Baalbek, located in a valley east of the northern Beqaa Valley (Latin: Coele-Syria), has been home to people almost nonstop for about 8,000 to 9,000 years. It had water from a stream near the Rās al-ʿAyn spring and from small streams formed by melting snow from the Anti-Lebanon mountains during spring. Later, a writer named Macrobius claimed that the site was founded by a group of Egyptian or Assyrian priests. However, the settlement was not important enough to be mentioned in records from Assyria or Egypt, unless it was called by another name. Its location in a fertile valley, along a major water source, and on a route between Tyre and Palmyra should have made it a wealthy place early on. During the Canaanite period, local temples were dedicated to the Heliopolitan Triad: a male god (Baal), his wife (Astarte), and their son (Adon). The area where the Temple of Jupiter now stands was likely the center of worship, as its altar was placed at the hill’s highest point, and the rest of the temple was built to match that level.
In Islamic stories, the temple complex was said to be a palace built by jinn for Solomon and given as a gift to the Queen of Sheba. Its true origin as a Roman site was hidden by medieval fortifications, even during a visit by the Polish prince Radziwiłł in the 16th century.
After Alexander the Great conquered Persia in the 330s BC, Baalbek (called Heliopolis in Greek) became part of the kingdoms formed by Alexander’s successors in Egypt and Syria. It was later taken over by the Romans during their wars in the east. The Roman settlers who lived there, called Colonia Julia Augusta Felix Heliopolitana, may have arrived as early as the time of Julius Caesar, but were more likely soldiers from the 5th and 8th legions under Augustus. During this time, the city had a Roman military presence. From 15 BC to AD 193, it was part of the territory of Berytus. The city is mentioned by Josephus, Pliny, Strabo, and Ptolemy, as well as on coins of nearly every emperor from Nerva to Gallienus. The 1st-century Pliny did not list it among the Decapolis, a group of ten cities in Coelesyria, but the 2nd-century Ptolemy did. The population likely changed with the seasons, depending on markets, the Indian monsoon, and caravans traveling to the coast and inland.
During the Classical Antiquity period, the city’s temple to Baʿal Haddu was first linked to the Greek sun god Helios and later to the Greek and Roman sky god, called "Heliopolitan Zeus" or "Jupiter." The current Temple of Jupiter probably replaced an earlier one built on the same foundation. It was constructed in the mid-1st century and likely completed around AD 60. The god’s statue was a beardless golden figure in the pose of a charioteer, holding a whip in one hand and a thunderbolt and grain stalks in the other. The image appeared on local coins and was carried through the streets during festivals. Macrobius compared the rituals to those for Diva Fortuna at Antium and said the people carrying the statue were the town’s leaders, who prepared by fasting, being chaste, and shaving their heads. In bronze statues from Byblos and Tortosa, the god was shown inside a pillar-like shape, surrounded by busts of the sun, moon, and five planets. Mercury’s bust was especially prominent; a marble stone in Massilia showed Mercury as a full figure. Local people also worshipped Baetylia, black cone-shaped stones considered sacred to Baʿal. One of these was taken to Rome by Emperor Elagabalus, who built a temple for it on the Palatine Hill. Heliopolis was a famous oracle and pilgrimage site, and its worship spread widely, with inscriptions found in Athens, Rome, Pannonia, Venetia, Gaul, and near the Wall in Britain. The Roman temple complex began growing during the late 1st century BC under Augustus and continued until the rise of Christianity in the 4th century. A 6th-century writer named John Malalas claimed Baalbek was a "wonder of the world" and credited much of the complex to Emperor Antoninus Pius, but it is unclear how accurate his account was. By the 4th century, the site had three temples: one to Jupiter Heliopolitanus (Baal), one to Venus Heliopolitana (Astarte), and one to Bacchus. A fourth temple on a nearby hill honored Mercury (Adon or Seimios), the third figure of the Heliopolitan Triad. At this time, the site was one of the two largest religious places in the Western world, along with Praeneste in Italy.
Emperor Trajan visited the site’s oracle twice. The first time, he asked a question in a sealed letter and received a blank reply, which he found impressive because his own paper was empty. He later asked if he would survive his wars against Parthia and was given a broken centurion’s vine staff as a response. In AD 193, Emperor Septimius Severus granted the city ius Italicum rights. His wife, Julia Domna, and son, Caracalla, visited Egypt and Syria in AD 215; inscriptions honoring them at the site may date from that time. Julia was a native of Syria whose father had been a priest of the sun at Emesa, like Elagabalus.
The town became a battleground when Christianity spread. Early Christian writers like Eusebius criticized the local pagan practices, especially the worship of the Heliopolitan Venus. In AD 297, an actor named Gelasinus converted to Christianity during a scene mocking baptism. His public confession led the audience to drag him from the theater and stone him to death. In the early 4th century, a deacon named Cyril destroyed many idols in Heliopolis and was killed and (allegedly) eaten. Around the same time, Constantine, before becoming a Christian, destroyed the goddess’s temple, built a basilica in its place, and banned the local custom of prostituting women before marriage. Bar Hebraeus also said Constantine ended the practice of polygamy in the area. The locals responded by attacking Christian virgins. They reacted again when Julian the Apostate allowed them more freedom. The city was so hostile to Christians that people from Alexandria were sent there as punishment. The Temple of Jupiter, already damaged by earthquakes, was destroyed by Theodosius in 379 and replaced by a basilica (now lost), using stones from the pagan complex. The Easter Chronicle says Theodosius also destroyed the city’s smaller temples and shrines. Around AD 400, Rabbula, who later became the bishop of Edessa, tried to be martyred by provoking the pagans of Baalbek but was only thrown down the temple stairs. The city became its own bishopric. Under Emperor Justinian, eight of the complex’s Corinthian columns were taken to Constantinople to help rebuild the Hagia Sophia between 532 and 537. Michael the Syrian claimed the golden statue of Heliopolitan Jupiter was still visible during
Geography
Baalbek has a Mediterranean climate (Köppen classification: Csa) with influences from nearby land areas. It is in one of the drier parts of the country, receiving about 18 inches (450 millimeters) of rain each year. Coastal areas get about 31 to 33 inches (800 to 850 millimeters) of rain yearly, mostly between November and April. Baalbek’s summers are hot and dry, while winters are cool and sometimes snowy. Autumn and spring are mild and have moderate rainfall.
Demographics
In 2014, registered voters in Baalbek comprised 93.85% Muslims and 5.66% Christians. Of these voters, 59.61% were Shiite Muslims and 34.24% were Sunni Muslims.
Economy
The Roman ruins have been the location for the ongoing Baalbek International Festival.
Baalbek’s tourism industry was greatly affected by the Lebanese Civil War (1975–1990). After the war ended, tourism slowly began to recover, with events such as opera and orchestras returning. However, this progress was interrupted again by Israeli bombings of Baalbek during the 2006 war.
In October 2006, conservation work began at Lebanon’s historic sites. The Roman ruins at Baalbek were not directly damaged by Israeli bombing, but the shaking from explosions during the conflict caused a group of stones to fall at the ruins. Existing cracks in the temples of Jupiter and Bacchus were also feared to have gotten bigger. Frederique Husseini, director-general of Lebanon’s Department of Antiquities, asked European countries for $550,000 to restore Baalbek’s souk and another $900,000 to repair other damaged structures.
Starting in the early 2000s, Hezbollah set up permanent or temporary exhibitions called “Exposition of the Resistance” to honor Lebanese resistance to Israeli occupation. These exhibitions, covering hundreds of square meters, included Israeli weapons that were made safe, scenes from wars, and photos and videos of Lebanese people who were killed by Israel. In 2009, Hezbollah created a special exhibition to remember the 2006 war.
During the Syrian civil war, the UK Foreign Office marked areas near the Syrian border, including Baalbek and the rest of the Beqaa Valley, as “red zones,” advising people not to travel there. The US State Department made a similar warning. These designations, because of their closeness to Syria and conflicts between groups, reduced international tourism.
During Israel’s 2024 invasion of Lebanon, Israeli forces bombed a restaurant that many tourists visited and damaged the historic Hotel Palmyra. In November, UNESCO provided extra protection for Baalbek to help safeguard the archaeological site during the invasion. Baalbek was one of 34 areas to receive this protection.
Ruins
The Tell Baalbek temple complex, used as the town's citadel during the Middle Ages, was built using local stone, mainly white granite and rough white marble. Over time, the area has been damaged by many earthquakes, the destruction of religious images by Christian and Muslim leaders, and the reuse of temple stones for other buildings. The temples also suffered minor damage from the shockwaves of Israeli bombings during the 2006 Lebanon war. Nearby, the Qubbat Duris, a 13th-century Muslim shrine on the old road to Damascus, was built from granite columns taken from Baalbek. These columns were once joined with iron, but many were broken or knocked over by rulers from Damascus to remove the metal. By the 16th century, the Temple of Jupiter still had 27 standing columns out of an original 58. Before the 1759 earthquakes, there were only nine, and today, only six remain.
The complex sits on a raised plaza built 5 meters (16 feet) above an older T-shaped base made of a platform, staircase, and foundation walls. These walls were made from about 24 large stone blocks, each weighing around 300 tonnes (330 tons) at their lowest level. The tallest wall on the west side includes the famous "Three Stones" (Ancient Greek: Τρίλιθον, Trílithon): three stones, each over 19 meters (62 feet) long, 4.3 meters (14 feet) high, and 3.6 meters (12 feet) wide, cut from limestone. Each weighs about 800 tonnes (880 tons). A fourth, even larger stone called the Stone of the Pregnant Woman remains unused in a nearby quarry 800 meters (2,600 feet) away. It weighs about 1,000 tonnes (1,100 tons). A fifth, even larger stone weighing about 1,200 tonnes (1,300 tons) is also in the same quarry. The quarry was slightly higher than the temple, so no lifting was needed to move the stones.
The temple complex was entered from the east through the Propylaea (Portico), which included a wide staircase rising 20 feet (6.1 meters) to an arcade of 12 columns flanked by two towers. Most of the columns have fallen, and the stairs were removed for use in nearby walls. However, a Latin inscription on some column bases states that Longinus, a lifeguard of the 1st Parthian Legion, and Septimius, a freedman, gilded their capitals with bronze to thank Septimius Severus’s son Antoninus Caracalla and empress Julia Domna.
Behind the Propylaeum is a hexagonal forecourt with a threefold entrance added in the mid-3rd century by Emperor Philip the Arab. Some columns that once surrounded it remain, but its original purpose is unclear. Some believed it was a town forum, while others thought it was a sacred cypress grove. Better-preserved coins from the time show a single stalk of grain instead of a cypress.
The rectangular Great Court to the west covers about 3 or 4 acres (1.2 or 1.6 hectares) and included the main altar for burnt offerings, with mosaic-floored lustration basins to the north and south, a subterranean chamber, and three underground passageways 17 feet (5.2 meters) wide by 30 feet (9.1 meters) high. These passageways, which once had inscriptions showing they were used by Roman soldiers, were surrounded by Corinthian porticoes. One of these porticoes was never completed. The columns’ bases and capitals were made of limestone, while the shafts were monoliths of highly polished red Egyptian granite 7.08 meters (23.2 feet) high. Six of the original 128 columns remain standing. Inscriptions show that the court once had portraits of Marcus Aurelius’s daughter Sabina, Septimius Severus, Gordian, and Velius Rufus, dedicated by the city’s Roman colonists. The entablature was richly decorated but is now mostly ruined. A westward-facing basilica was built over the altar during Theodosius’s reign and later changed to face east, like most Christian churches.
The Temple of Jupiter—once mistakenly credited to Helios—was located at the western end of the Great Court, raised another 7 meters (23 feet) on a platform 47.7 meters (156.5 feet) by 87.75 meters (287.9 feet), reached by a wide staircase. Under the Byzantines, it was called the "Trilithon" because of the three massive stones in its foundation. When combined with the forecourt and Great Court, it is also called the Great Temple. The Temple of Jupiter was surrounded by 54 unfluted Corinthian columns: 10 in front and back and 19 on each side. Earthquakes ruined the temple, and under Theodosius, it was destroyed and pillaged for stone. Eight columns were taken to Constantinople (Istanbul) under Justinian for use in the Hagia Sophia. Three fell during the late 18th century. Six columns remain standing along its south side, with their entablature intact. The capitals on the south side are nearly perfect, while the northern faces have been worn away by the Beqaa’s winter winds. The architrave and frieze blocks weigh up to 60 tonnes (66 tons) each, and one corner block weighs over 100 tonnes (110 tons). These were raised to a height of 19 meters (62.34 feet) above the ground. Roman cranes could not lift such heavy stones, so they may have been rolled into place along temporary earthen banks from the quarry. The Julio-Claudian emperors added to the temple’s sanctuary. In the mid-1st century, Nero built a tower-altar opposite the temple. In the early 2nd century, Trajan added the temple’s forecourt, with porticos of pink granite shipped from Aswan, Egypt.
Ecclesiastical history
Heliopolis (in Phoenicia; not to be confused with the Egyptian bishopric Heliopolis in Augustamnica) was a church area under Roman and Byzantine rule. It was no longer active because of Islamic rule.
In 1701, Eastern Catholics (Byzantine Rite) created a new Eparchy of Baalbek. This became the current Melkite Greek Catholic Archeparchy of Baalbek in 1964.
In the Latin Church, the old diocese was only officially restored (no later than 1876) as the Titular archbishopric of Heliopolis (Latin)/Eliopoli (Curiate Italian). It was changed to a lower status in 1925, raised to a higher status again in 1932, and its name was updated in 1933 to avoid confusion with Egypt. This became the (non-Metropolitan) Titular archbishopric of Heliopolis in Phoenicia.
The title has not been assigned since 1965. It was held by: