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163-634: The history of the Roman Republic began between the 6th century BCE/5th century BCE. The Roman Phoenicia lasted from the 1st century to the 4th century BCE. In the 4th century BCE the Romans expanded their empire into the Italian peninsula and proceeded to expand into foreign areas. The Roman Republic invaded Carthage, where the Punic Wars were fought. This was one of the most prosperous periods in

326-660: A devastating war with Persia exhausted the empire's resources; the early Muslim conquests that followed saw the loss of the empire's richest provinces— Egypt and Syria —to the Rashidun Caliphate . In 698, Africa was lost to the Umayyad Caliphate , but the empire subsequently stabilised under the Isaurian dynasty. The empire was able to expand once more under the Macedonian dynasty , experiencing

489-462: A sensational victory against Bulgaria and the Kievan Rus' in 971. John in particular was an astute administrator who reformed military structures and implemented effective fiscal policies. After John's death, Constantine VII's grandsons Basil II and Constantine VIII ruled jointly for half a century, although the latter exercised no real power before Basil's death in 1025. Their early reign

652-547: A "country district" called Pagus Augustus , where are located the famous Niha temples with Latin inscriptions. Phoenicians would ascend to the throne of Rome during the Severan dynasty . The city of Heliopolis (now called Baalbek) was made a colonia by Septimius Severus (193–211) in 193 CE, having been part of the territory of Berytus on the Phoenician coast since 15 BCE. Work on the religious complex there lasted over

815-487: A century and a half and was never completed. The dedication of the present temple ruins, the largest religious building in the entire Roman empire, dates from the reign of Septimus Severus, whose coins first show the two temples. The great courts of approach were not finished before the reigns of Caracalla (211–217 CE) and Philip the Arab (244–249 CE). In commemoration of the dedication of the new sanctuaries, Severus conferred

978-467: A combination of external threats and internal instabilities caused the Roman state to splinter as regional armies acclaimed their generals as "soldier-emperors". One of these, Diocletian ( r.  284–305 ), seeing that the state was too big to be ruled by one man, attempted to fix the problem by instituting a Tetrarchy , or rule of four, and dividing the empire into eastern and western halves. Although

1141-645: A considerable increase in the size of urban settlements, together with a notable upsurge in new towns. Trade was also flourishing; the Venetians, the Genoese and others opened up the ports of the Aegean to commerce, shipping goods from the Crusader states and Fatimid Egypt to the west and trading with the empire via Constantinople. Manuel's death on 24 September 1180 left his 11-year-old son Alexios II Komnenos on

1304-691: A divisive topic in modern scholarly debate about his life. Little is known about Philip's early life and political career. He was born in what is today Shahba , Syria , about 90 kilometres (56 mi) southeast of Damascus , in Trachonitis . His birth city, later renamed Philippopolis, lay within Aurantis , an Arab district which at the time was part of the Roman province of Arabia Petraea . Most historians accept that Philip was, indeed, an Arab , but this ethnic identification remains uncertain. He

1467-595: A large number in Venice. According to chronicler Niketas Choniates , a prostitute was even set up on the patriarchal throne. When order had been restored, the crusaders and the Venetians proceeded to implement their agreement; Baldwin of Flanders was elected emperor of a new Latin Empire , and the Venetian Thomas Morosini was chosen as patriarch. The lands divided up among the leaders included most of

1630-512: A lengthy conflict against Sasanid Persia and ended in 363 with the death of his son-in-law Julian . The short Valentinianic dynasty , occupied with wars against barbarians , religious debates, and anti-corruption campaigns, ended in the East with the death of Valens at the Battle of Adrianople in 378. Valens's successor, Theodosius I ( r.  379–395 ), restored political stability in

1793-651: A line through the Adriatic Sea and south to Cyrene, Libya . This encompassed most of the Balkans , all of modern Greece, Turkey, Syria , Palestine ; North Africa, primarily with modern Egypt and Libya ; the Aegean islands along with Crete , Cyprus and Sicily , and a small settlement in Crimea . The landscape of the Empire was defined by the fertile fields of Anatolia , long mountain ranges and rivers such as

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1956-611: A motivational factor in Philip's own ascent, due to geographic and ethnic similarity between himself and the Emesan emperors. Philip's rise to prominence began through the intervention of his brother Priscus, who was an important official under the emperor Gordian III . His big break came in 243, during Gordian III's campaign against Shapur I of Persia, when the Praetorian prefect Timesitheus died under unclear circumstances. At

2119-593: A potentially disastrous situation. Although Philip was accused of abandoning territory, the actual terms of the peace were not as humiliating as they could have been. Philip apparently retained Timesitheus’ reconquest of Osroene and Mesopotamia , but he had to agree that Armenia lay within Persia's sphere of influence. He also had to pay an enormous indemnity to the Persians of 500,000 denarii. Philip immediately issued coins proclaiming that he had made peace with

2282-450: A small fleet of 100 ships to defend the capital, but other than that he was indifferent to the populace. He was finally overthrown when Isaac II Angelos , surviving an imperial assassination attempt, seized power with the aid of the people and had Andronikos killed. The reign of Isaac II, and more so that of his brother Alexios III , saw the collapse of what remained of the centralised machinery of Byzantine government and defence. Although

2445-417: A speedy and marked improvement. Gradually, however, Andronikos's reign deteriorated. The aristocrats were infuriated against him, and to make matters worse, Andronikos seemed to have become increasingly unbalanced; executions and violence became increasingly common, and his reign turned into a reign of terror. Andronikos seemed almost to seek the extermination of the aristocracy as a whole. The struggle against

2608-473: A traditional Roman experience. Other Roman buildings included academic buildings that allowed for Roman cultural influence through education.  Additionally, evidence from cemeteries and death-related practices along the coast of Lebanon showed to be a combination of indigenous cultures, Roman influence, and also contained Hellenistic components as well. Shortly into the Romanization period of Berytus,

2771-608: A two-century-long renaissance . This came to an end in 1071, with the defeat by the Seljuk Turks at the Battle of Manzikert . Thereafter, periods of civil war and Seljuk incursion resulted in the loss of most of Asia Minor . The empire recovered during the Komnenian restoration , and Constantinople would remain the largest and wealthiest city in Europe until the 13th century. The empire was largely dismantled in 1204, following

2934-517: A two-month siege on 29 May 1453. The final Byzantine emperor, Constantine XI Palaiologos , was last seen casting off his imperial regalia and throwing himself into hand-to-hand combat after the walls of the city were taken. The Empire was centred in what is now Greece and Turkey with Constantinople as its capital. In the 5th century, it controlled the eastern basis of the Mediterranean running east from Singidunum (modern Belgrade ) in

3097-541: Is evidence that some Komnenian heirs had set up a semi-independent state in Trebizond before 1204. According to the historian Alexander Vasiliev , "the dynasty of the Angeloi, Greek in its origin, ... accelerated the ruin of the Empire, already weakened without and disunited within." In 1198, Pope Innocent III broached the subject of a new crusade through legates and encyclical letters. The stated intent of

3260-547: Is impossible to precisely date the foundation of the Byzantine Empire. In a series of conflicts between the third and first centuries   BC, the Roman Republic gradually established hegemony over the eastern Mediterranean , while its government ultimately transformed into the one-person rule of an emperor . The Roman Empire enjoyed a period of relative stability until the third century AD , when

3423-715: The Tactica , a military treatise; and the Book of the Eparch , which codified Constantinople's trading regulations. In non-literary contexts Leo was less successful: the empire lost in Sicily and against the Bulgarians , while he provoked theological scandal by marrying four times in an attempt to father a legitimate heir. The early reign of that heir, Constantine VII , was tumultuous, as his mother Zoe , his uncle Alexander ,

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3586-695: The Bekaa valley and included Heliopolis: it was the only area mostly Latin-speaking in the Syria-Phoenicia region, because settled by Roman colonists who even promoted agriculture in the fertile lands around actual Yammoune . From the 1st century BCE the Bekaa valley served as a source of grain for the Roman provinces of the Levant and even for the same Rome (today the valley makes up to 40 percent of Lebanon's arable land ): Roman colonists created there even

3749-536: The Catalan Company ravaging the countryside and increasing resentment towards Constantinople. The situation became worse for Byzantium during the civil wars after Andronikos III died. A six-year-long civil war devastated the empire, allowing the Serbian ruler Stefan Dušan to overrun most of the empire's remaining territory and establish a Serbian Empire . In 1354, an earthquake at Gallipoli devastated

3912-706: The Council of Clermont and urged all those present to take up arms under the sign of the Cross and launch an armed pilgrimage to recover Jerusalem and the East from the Muslims. The response in Western Europe was overwhelming. Alexios was able to recover a number of important cities, islands and much of western Asia Minor. The Crusaders agreed to become Alexios' vassals under the Treaty of Devol in 1108, which marked

4075-684: The Council of Piacenza in 1095, envoys from Alexios spoke to Pope Urban II about the suffering of the Christians of the East and underscored that without help from the West, they would continue to suffer under Muslim rule. Urban saw Alexios' request as a dual opportunity to cement Western Europe and reunite the Eastern Orthodox Church with the Roman Catholic Church under his rule. On 27 November 1095, Urban called

4238-475: The Danube , he pushed his troops too far in 602—they mutinied, proclaimed an officer named Phocas as emperor, and executed Maurice. The Sasanians seized their moment and reopened hostilities ; Phocas was unable to cope and soon faced a major rebellion led by Heraclius . Phocas lost Constantinople in 610 and was soon executed, but the destructive civil war accelerated the empire's decline. Under Khosrow II ,

4401-750: The Danube . In the north and west were the Balkans, the corridors between the mountain ranges of Pindos , the Dinaric Alps , the Rhodopes and the Balkans . In the south and east were Anatolia, the Pontic Mountains and the Taurus - Anti-Taurus range, which served as passages for armies, while the Caucasus mountains lay between the Empire and its eastern neighbours. Roman roads connected

4564-636: The Empire of Trebizond , was created after Alexios I of Trebizond , commanding the Georgian expedition in Chaldia a few weeks before the sack of Constantinople, found himself de facto emperor and established himself in Trebizond. Of the three successor states, Epirus and Nicaea stood the best chance of reclaiming Constantinople. The Nicaean Empire struggled to survive the next few decades, however, and by

4727-602: The Middle Ages . The eastern half of the Empire survived the conditions that caused the fall of the West in the 5th century AD, and continued to exist until the fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Empire in 1453. During most of its existence, the empire remained the most powerful economic, cultural, and military force in the Mediterranean world . The term "Byzantine Empire" was only coined following

4890-689: The Normans who arrived in Italy at the beginning of the 11th century. During a period of strife between Constantinople and Rome culminating in the East-West Schism of 1054 , the Normans advanced gradually into Byzantine Italy . Reggio , the capital of the tagma of Calabria, was captured in 1060 by Robert Guiscard , followed by Otranto in 1068. Bari , the main Byzantine stronghold in Apulia ,

5053-581: The Pechenegs , who were caught by surprise and annihilated at the Battle of Levounion on 28 April 1091. Having achieved stability in the West, Alexios could turn his attention to the severe economic difficulties and the disintegration of the empire's traditional defences. However, he still did not have enough manpower to recover the lost territories in Asia Minor and to the advance by the Seljuks. At

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5216-407: The Roman papacy . In 780, Empress Irene assumed power on behalf of her son Constantine VI . Although she was a capable administrator who temporarily resolved the iconoclasm controversy, the empire was destabilized by her feud with her son. The Bulgars and Abbasids meanwhile inflicted numerous defeats on the Byzantine armies, and the papacy crowned Charlemagne as Roman emperor in 800. In 802,

5379-615: The Sack of Constantinople by Latin armies at the end of the Fourth Crusade ; its former territories were then divided into competing Greek rump states and Latin realms . Despite the eventual recovery of Constantinople in 1261, the reconstituted empire would wield only regional power during its final two centuries of existence. Its remaining territories were progressively annexed by the Ottomans in perennial wars fought throughout

5542-523: The Sasanian Empire and returned to Rome to be confirmed by the Senate . Although his reign lasted only five years, it marks an unusually stable period in a century that is otherwise known for having been turbulent. Near the end of his rule, Philip commemorated Rome's first millennium . In September 249, during the Battle of Verona , he was betrayed and killed by Decius , who promptly usurped

5705-546: The antoninianus , as rioting began to occur in Egypt, causing disruptions to Rome's wheat supply and further eroding Philip's support in the capital. Although Decius tried to come to terms with Philip, Philip's army met the usurper near modern Verona that summer. Decius easily won the battle and Philip was killed sometime in September 249, either in the fighting or assassinated by his own soldiers who were eager to please

5868-476: The first Christian ruler of Rome . He was described as such in many published works that became widely known during the Middle Ages , including: Chronicon ( lit.   ' Chronicle ' ); Historiae Adversus Paganos ( lit.   ' History Against the Pagans ' ); and Historia Ecclesiastica ( lit.   ' Ecclesiastical History ' ). Consequently, Philip's religious affiliation remains

6031-513: The sea walls of Constantinople , overhaul provincial governance, and wage inconclusive campaigns against the Abbasids. After his death, his empress Theodora , ruling on behalf of her son Michael III , permanently extinguished the iconoclastic movement; the empire prospered under their sometimes-fraught rule. However, Michael was posthumously vilified by historians loyal to the dynasty of his successor Basil I , who assassinated him in 867 and who

6194-453: The state religion , and other religious practices were proscribed . Greek gradually replaced Latin for official use as Latin fell into disuse. The empire experienced several cycles of decline and recovery throughout its history, reaching its greatest extent after the fall of the west during the reign of Justinian I ( r. 527–565 ), who briefly reconquered much of Italy and the western Mediterranean coast . The appearance of plague and

6357-521: The third Gallic . The city quickly became Romanized. Large public buildings and monuments were erected and Berytus enjoyed full status as a part of the empire. Under the Romans, Berytus was enriched by the dynasty of Herod the Great , and was made a colonia , Colonia Iulia Augusta Felix Berytus , in 14 BCE. Beirut's school of law was widely known at the time. Two of Rome's most famous jurists, Papinian and Ulpian , both natives of Phoenicia, taught at

6520-469: The "land of the Romans" ( Bilād al-Rūm ), but the people of medieval Western Europe preferred to call them "Greeks" ( Graeci ), due to having a contested legacy to Roman identity and to associate negative connotations from ancient Latin literature. The adjective "Byzantine", which derived from Byzantion (Latinised as Byzantium ), the name of the Greek settlement Constantinople was established on,

6683-465: The 1 BCE to 1 CE and 4 CE to 1 CE. These grave cites were Roman but they displayed a distinctive likeness with a Phoenician burial. Scholars have made the prediction that these burial cities were performed by the Bomans but the individuals buried are of Phoenician descent. The Roman citizenship became universal across their conquered lands, and a result of this, as described previously, Beirut would become

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6846-667: The 14th and 15th centuries. The fall of Constantinople to the Ottomans in 1453 ultimately brought the empire to an end. Many refugees who had fled the city after its capture settled in Italy and throughout Europe, helping to ignite the Renaissance . The fall of Constantinople is sometimes used to mark the dividing line between the Middle Ages and the early modern period . The inhabitants of the empire, now generally termed Byzantines, thought of themselves as Romans ( Romaioi ). Their Islamic neighbours similarly called their empire

7009-468: The 15th-century historian Laonikos Chalkokondyles , whose works were widely propagated, including by Hieronymus Wolf . "Byzantine" was used adjectivally alongside terms such as "Empire of the Greeks" until the 19th century. It is now the primary term, used to refer to all aspects of the empire; some modern historians believe that, as an originally prejudicial and inaccurate term, it should not be used. As

7172-548: The 1st century BCE as part of the Roman conquest of the Eastern Mediterranean. Marcus Agrippa helped to found the colony of Berytus before the combination of destructive earthquakes and the emerging Byzantine Empire concluded the Romanization period of Berytus around the 5th c. CE. While the Roman Empire conquered the city of Berytus, the relationship between Romans and the people of Berytus was mutualistically beneficial. Romans were able to rely on Phoenicians' cities for goods and materials in which they acquired through trade.  On

7335-510: The 532 Nika revolt he rebuilt much of Constantinople, including the original Hagia Sophia . Justinian took advantage of political instability in Italy to attempt the reconquest of lost western territories. The Vandal Kingdom in North Africa was subjugated in 534 by the general Belisarius , who then invaded Italy ; the Ostrogothic Kingdom was destroyed in 554. In the 540s, however, Justinian began to suffer reversals on multiple fronts. Taking advantage of Constantinople's preoccupation with

7498-526: The Actia-Dusaria Games in Bostra , capital of Arabia. This festival combined the worship of Dushara , the main Nabataean deity, with commemoration of the Battle of Actium , as part of the Roman Imperial cult . The creation of the new city of Philippopolis, piled on top of the massive tribute owed to the Persians, as well as the necessary donativum to the army to secure its acceptance of his accession, made Philip desperately short of money. To pay for it, he ruthlessly increased levels of taxation, while at

7661-408: The Arab efforts to capture Constantinople in the 670s , but suffered a reversal against the Bulgars , who soon established an empire in the northern Balkans . Nevertheless, he and Constans had done enough to secure the empire's position, especially as the Umayyad Caliphate was undergoing another civil war . Justinian II sought to build on the stability secured by his father Constantine but

7824-433: The Bekaa valley north of the Beirut - Damascus road. Second, the area south of the same road, including the Wadi al-Taym and the western flank of Mount Hermon . Third, the area west of a line drawn along the ridge of Mount Lebanon . In the coastal area of Lebanon there are not many Roman ruins. It will be remarked that the coastal plain of Lebanon is singularly lacking in temple remains, but it must not be thought that

7987-408: The Byzantine administration's policy of heavy taxation and abolishing of the levy. The weakening of Georgia and Armenia played a significant role in the Byzantine defeat at Manzikert in 1071. Basil II is considered among the most capable Byzantine emperors and his reign as the apex of the empire in the Middle Ages . By 1025, the date of Basil II's death, the Byzantine Empire stretched from Armenia in

8150-430: The Byzantines to the Ottomans, temple debris – particularly the dressed blocks – was utilized in buildings. Even a cursory examination of the medieval fortifications along the coast – at Byblos, for instance – will reveal the extent of the pilfering from Roman buildings. Door frames, lintels, architraves, even altars and inscribed stelae, can be seen in the lower courses of castle and church walls. Agrippa greatly favoured

8313-418: The Byzantines used some materials from the abandoned temples Post-63 BCE, the Phoenician culture and its traits seemed to have disappeared. It is hypothesized that the Phoenician 'disappearance' stems from the fact that the Phoenicians were getting absorbed by the Greco-Roman culture.The word "Phoenician" was simply just a word of past tense that showed a person or place that was once its own civilization before

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8476-415: The Empire by land, with the Via Egnatia running from Constantinople to the Albanian coast through Macedonia and the Via Traiana to Adrianople (modern Edirne ), Serdica (modern Sofia ) and Singidunum. By water, Crete, Cyprus and Sicily were key naval points and the main ports connecting Constantinople were Alexandria, Gaza, Caesarea and Antioch. The Aegean sea was considered an internal lake within

8639-432: The Empire. The emperor was the centre of the whole administration of the Empire, who the legal historian Kaius Tuori has said was "above the law, within the law, and the law itself"; with a power that is difficult to define and which does not align with our modern understanding of the separation of powers. The proclamations of the crowds of Constantinople, and the inaugurations of the patriarch from 457, would legitimise

8802-411: The Mongol invasion also gave Nicaea a temporary respite from Seljuk attacks, allowing it to concentrate on the Latin Empire to its north. The Empire of Nicaea, founded by the Laskarid dynasty , managed to recapture Constantinople in 1261 and defeat Epirus . This led to a short-lived revival of Byzantine fortunes under Michael VIII Palaiologos , but the war-ravaged empire was ill-equipped to deal with

8965-405: The Normans were driven out of Greece, in 1186 the Vlachs and Bulgars began a rebellion that led to the formation of the Second Bulgarian Empire . The internal policy of the Angeloi was characterised by the squandering of the public treasure and fiscal maladministration. Imperial authority was severely weakened, and the growing power vacuum at the centre of the empire encouraged fragmentation. There

9128-412: The Persian point of view) state that Gordian died in battle. Whatever the case, Philip assumed the purple robe following Gordian's death. Philip was not willing to repeat the mistakes of previous claimants, and was aware that he had to return to Rome in order to secure his position with the Senate . However, his first priority was to conclude a peace treaty with Shapur, and withdraw the army from

9291-455: The Persians ( pax fundata cum Persis ). Leading his army back up the Euphrates , south of Circesium Philip erected a cenotaph in honor of Gordian III, but his ashes were sent ahead to Rome, where he arranged for Gordian III's deification. Whilst in Antioch , he left his brother Priscus as extraordinary ruler of the Eastern provinces, with the title of rector Orientis . Moving westward, he gave his brother-in-law Severianus control of

9454-432: The Roman decision to create a huge "Great Court" of a big pagan temple complex in this mountain site, located at nearly 1100 meters of altitude and on the eastern Borders of the Roman Empire : it took three centuries to create this colossal Roman paganism 's temple complex. Under Constantine the Great Christianity was declared officially the religion of the Roman empire and the pagan Temples started to be neglected. Later

9617-516: The Romans built a huge temples complex in Heliopolis on a pre-existing tell dating to the PPNB , consisting of three temples: Jupiter, Bacchus and Venus. On a nearby hill, they built a fourth temple dedicated to Mercury. Berytus was considered the most Roman city in the eastern provinces of the Roman Empire. It was one of four Roman colonies in the Syria-Phoenicia region and the only one with full Ius Italicum (meaning: exemption from imperial taxation). Its territory/district under Claudius reached

9780-410: The Romans. The Phoenician language, culture, religion, ethnicity, and political standings were not viable enough to give a person/place the name of Phoenician, as these traits were washed away. However, experts will argue over the fact that the Phoenicians are not a "...reflection or inversion of Greek and Roman civilization but in relation to it." Christianity flooded Ancient Lebanon in hopes of guiding

9943-401: The Sassanids occupied the Levant and Egypt and pushed into Asia Minor, while Byzantine control of Italy slipped and the Avars and Slavs ran riot in the Balkans. Although Heraclius repelled a siege of Constantinople in 626 and defeated the Sassanids in 627, this was a pyrrhic victory . The early Muslim conquests soon saw the conquest of the Levant , Egypt , and the Sassanid Empire by

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10106-413: The Tetrarchy system quickly failed, the division of the empire proved an enduring concept. Constantine I ( r.  306–337 ) secured sole power in 324. Over the following six years, he rebuilt the city of Byzantium as a capital city , which was renamed Constantinople . Rome , the previous capital, was further from the important eastern provinces and in a less strategically important location; it

10269-426: The Turkish invaders at the Battle of Hyelion and Leimocheir , brought troops from the capital and was able to gather an army along the way, a sign that the Byzantine army remained strong and that the defensive program of western Asia Minor was still successful. John and Manuel pursued active military policies, and both deployed considerable resources on sieges and city defences; aggressive fortification policies were at

10432-486: The West, Khosrow I of the Sasanian Empire invaded Byzantine territory and sacked Antioch in 540. Meanwhile, the emperor's internal reforms and policies began to falter, not helped by a devastating plague that killed a large proportion of the population and severely weakened the empire's social and financial stability. The most difficult period of the Ostrogothic war, against their king Totila , came during this decade, while divisions among Justinian's advisors undercut

10595-401: The West. Zeno ( r.  474–491 ) convinced the problematic Ostrogoth king Theodoric to take control of Italy from Odoacer, which he did; dying with the empire at peace, Zeno was succeeded by Anastasius I ( r.  491–518 ). Although his Monophysitism brought occasional issues, Anastasius was a capable administrator and instituted several successful financial reforms including

10758-429: The Western provinces to achieve an economic revival that continued until the close of the century. It has been argued that Byzantium under the Komnenian rule was more prosperous than at any time since the Persian invasions of the 7th century. During the 12th century, population levels rose and extensive tracts of new agricultural land were brought into production. Archaeological evidence from both Europe and Asia Minor shows

10921-522: The abolition of the chrysargyron tax . He was the first emperor to die with no serious problems affecting his empire since Diocletian. The reign of Justinian I was a watershed in Byzantine history. Following his accession in 527, the law-code was rewritten as the influential Corpus Juris Civilis and Justinian produced extensive legislation on provincial administration; he reasserted imperial control over religion and morality through purges of non-Christians and "deviants"; and having ruthlessly subdued

11084-440: The abuses and corruptions prevailing at that time in the empire. Heavy tributes and religious dissension produced disorder and confusion. Furthermore, the ecumenical councils of the fifth and sixth centuries CE were unsuccessful in settling religious disagreements. This turbulent period weakened the empire and made it easy prey to the newly converted Muslim Arabs of the Arabian Peninsula . Roman influence in Berytus began around

11247-401: The administration's response. He also did not fully heal the divisions in Chalcedonian Christianity , as the Second Council of Constantinople failed to make a real difference. Justinian died in 565; his reign saw more success than that of any other Byzantine emperor, yet he left his empire under massive strain. Financially and territorially overextended, Justin II ( r.  565–578 )

11410-400: The age of 45. While the name of Philip's mother is unknown, he did have a brother, Gaius Julius Priscus , an equestrian and a member of the Praetorian Guard under Gordian III (238–244). Philip was married to Marcia Otacilia Severa , daughter of a Roman governor. They had a son, Philip II , born in 237 or 238. The rise to the purple of the Severans from nearby Emesa is noted as

11573-431: The anniversary. At the same time, Philip elevated his son to the rank of co- augustus . Despite the festive atmosphere, there were continued problems in the provinces. In late 248, the legions of Pannonia and Moesia , dissatisfied with the result of the war against the Carpi, rebelled and proclaimed Tiberius Claudius Pacatianus emperor. The resulting confusion tempted the Quadi and other Germanic tribes to cross

11736-568: The aristocracy turned into wholesale slaughter, while the emperor resorted to ever more ruthless measures to shore up his regime. Despite his military background, Andronikos failed to deal with Isaac Komnenos of Cyprus, Béla III of Hungary who reincorporated Croatian territories into Hungary, and Stephen Nemanja of Serbia who declared his independence from the Byzantine Empire. Yet, none of these troubles compared to William II of Sicily 's invasion force of 300 ships and 80,000 men, arriving in 1185 and sacking Thessalonica . Andronikos mobilised

11899-473: The army. The betrayed troops of Agathocles decided to make peace with Carthage. Agathocles tried to get revenge, with the little he had left. Agathocles was killed using poison in 289 BCE. This prompted for Sicily and Carthage to draft treaties to maintain compliance with one another. However, in 279 BCE, their fourth treaty was drawn, it established mutual aid and. defense against a common enemy, Pyrruhus , King of Epirus. Pyrruhus settled in Sicily and quickly made

12062-635: The authority of the Persian king Shapur I, and war with Persia flared up again by 245. Nevertheless, Philip was back in Rome by August 247, where he poured more money into the most momentous event of his reign – the Ludi Saeculares , which coincided with the one thousandth anniversary of the foundation of Rome. So in April 248 AD (April 1001 A.U.C. ), Philip had the honor of leading the celebrations of

12225-495: The capital, and Alexios Angelos was elevated to the throne as Alexios IV along with his blind father Isaac. Alexios IV and Isaac II were unable to keep their promises and were deposed by Alexios V . The crusaders again took the city on 13 April 1204 , and Constantinople was subjected to pillage and massacre by the rank and file for three days. Many priceless icons, relics and other objects later turned up in Western Europe ,

12388-576: The city attracted students from the Mediterranean region who desired to learn Roman law from elite professors. Local excavations at Berytus showed both Greek and Roman laws present in Berytus with evidence of a school for lawyers and teachers that formed around the 3rd century CE. Today one of the best examples of Roman Temple architecture is in Lebanon at the ruins of Baalbek. The Roman temple sites in Lebanon can be divided into three main groups. First,

12551-413: The city had collapsed so severely that it was now little more than a cluster of villages separated by fields. On 2 April 1453, Sultan Mehmed 's army of 80,000 men and large numbers of irregulars laid siege to the city. Despite a desperate last-ditch defence of the city by the massively outnumbered Christian forces (c. 7,000 men, 2,000 of whom were foreign), Constantinople finally fell to the Ottomans after

12714-404: The city of Berytus, and adorned it with a splendid theatre and amphitheatre, beside baths and porticoes, inaugurating them with games and spectacles of every kind, including shows of gladiators. In two hundred and fifty years – from Augustus to Philip the Arab – were made all the Roman temples, with a very similar design: they show the golden era of Roman rule in Lebanon. In the first century

12877-519: The city was given a foundation of Roman imperialism. It is seen thought that Emesa was in association with Phoenicia. The overall strike through the Phoenician label to bear the characteristics of Roman became a regular activity in the region during this time. As Rome heads west across the Mediterranean Sea, they come across Carthage , modern-day Tunisia. Some think of ancient Carthage to be have been their own empire, founded by Dido , where

13040-490: The city. In the Colosseum , in what had been originally prepared for Gordian III's planned Roman triumph over the Persians, more than 1,000 gladiators were killed along with hundreds of exotic animals including hippos, leopards, lions, giraffes, and one rhinoceros. The events were also celebrated in literature, with several publications, including Asinius Quadratus ' History of a Thousand Years , specially prepared for

13203-659: The consent of Rome." After all of this, the Third Punic War arose. The war resulted in Rome ultimately ending Carthage and destroying the city, once again. The Carthaginian territory became a province of Rome. Unlike, the Phoenicians, who lost their culture, the Carthaginian language, religion, and culture was preserved for years after the defeat. It is true that Carthage lost the Punic Wars to Rome; however Rome allowed Carthage and other African cities were given

13366-603: The crusade was to conquer Egypt , the centre of Muslim power in the Levant. The Crusader army arrived at Venice in the summer of 1202 and hired the Venetian fleet to transport them to Egypt. As a payment to the Venetians, they captured the (Christian) port of Zara in Dalmatia , which was a vassal city of Venice, it had rebelled and placed itself under Hungary's protection in 1186. Shortly afterward, Alexios IV Angelos , son of

13529-504: The deposed and blinded Emperor Isaac II, made contact with the Crusaders. Alexios offered to reunite the Byzantine church with Rome, pay the Crusaders 200,000 silver marks, join the crusade, and provide all the supplies they needed to reach Egypt. The crusaders arrived at Constantinople in the summer of 1203 and quickly attacked , starting a major fire that damaged large parts of the city, and briefly seized control. Alexios III fled from

13692-475: The east by allowing the Goths to settle in Roman territory; he also twice intervened in the western half, defeating the usurpers Magnus Maximus and Eugenius in 388 and 394 respectively. He actively condemned paganism , confirmed the primacy of Nicene Christianity over Arianism , and established Christianity as the Roman state religion . He was the last emperor to rule both the western and eastern halves of

13855-433: The east to Calabria in southern Italy in the west. Many successes had been achieved, ranging from the conquest of Bulgaria to the annexation of parts of Georgia and Armenia, and the reconquests of Crete , Cyprus , and the important city of Antioch . These were not temporary tactical gains but long-term reconquests. At the same time, Byzantium was faced with new enemies. Its provinces in southern Italy were threatened by

14018-537: The emperor's role as the leader of the Christian world, John marched into the Holy Land at the head of the combined forces of the empire and the Crusader states; yet despite his efforts in leading the campaign, his hopes were disappointed by the treachery of his Crusader allies. In 1142, John returned to press his claims to Antioch, but he died in the spring of 1143 following a hunting accident. John's chosen heir

14181-400: The empire and especially the east. Economic prosperity led to a revival in construction and urban development; temples and palaces were built throughout the country, as well as paved roads that linked the main cities like Heliopolis and Berytus . Indeed, starting in the last quarter of the 1st century BCE (reign of Augustus ) and over a period of two centuries (reign of Philip the Arab ),

14344-418: The empire's demise; its citizens referred to the polity as the "Roman Empire" and to themselves as "Romans". Due to the imperial seat's move from Rome to Byzantium , the adoption of state Christianity , and the predominance of Greek instead of Latin , modern historians continue to make a distinction between the earlier Roman Empire and the later Byzantine Empire . During the earlier Pax Romana period,

14507-533: The empire's eastern defences. The emergency lent weight to the military aristocracy in Anatolia, who in 1068 secured the election of one of their own, Romanos Diogenes , as emperor. In the summer of 1071, Romanos undertook a massive eastern campaign to draw the Seljuks into a general engagement with the Byzantine army. At the Battle of Manzikert , Romanos suffered a surprise defeat against Sultan Alp Arslan and

14670-552: The empire, gaining only short-term success. To avoid another sacking of the capital by the Latins, he forced the Church to submit to Rome, again a temporary solution for which the peasantry hated Michael and Constantinople. The efforts of Andronikos II and later his grandson Andronikos III marked Byzantium's last genuine attempts to restoring the glory of the empire. However, the use of mercenaries by Andronikos II often backfired, with

14833-468: The empire; after his death, the West would be destabilised by a succession of "soldier-emperors", unlike the East, where administrators would continue to hold power. Theodosius II ( r.  408–450 ) largely left the rule of the east to officials such as Anthemius , who constructed the Theodosian Walls to defend Constantinople, now firmly entrenched as Rome's capital. Theodosius' reign

14996-522: The end of the Norman threat during Alexios' reign. Alexios's son John II Komnenos succeeded him in 1118 and ruled until 1143. John was a pious and dedicated emperor who was determined to undo the damage to the empire suffered at the Battle of Manzikert half a century earlier. Famed for his piety and his remarkably mild and just reign, John was an exceptional example of a moral ruler at a time when cruelty

15159-620: The enemies that surrounded it. To maintain his campaigns against the Latins, Michael pulled troops from Asia Minor and levied crippling taxes on the peasantry, causing much resentment. Massive construction projects were completed in Constantinople to repair the damage of the Fourth Crusade, but none of these initiatives were of any comfort to the farmers in Asia Minor suffering raids from Muslim ghazis. Rather than holding on to his possessions in Asia Minor, Michael chose to expand

15322-682: 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

15485-584: The former Byzantine possessions. Although Venice was more interested in commerce than conquering territory, it took key areas of Constantinople, and the Doge took the title of " Lord of a Quarter and Half a Quarter of the Roman Empire ". After the sack of Constantinople in 1204 by Latin crusaders, two Byzantine successor states were established: the Empire of Nicaea and the Despotate of Epirus . A third,

15648-554: The fort, allowing the Ottomans (who were hired as mercenaries during the civil war by John VI Kantakouzenos ) to establish themselves in Europe. By the time the Byzantine civil wars had ended, the Ottomans had defeated the Serbians and subjugated them as vassals. Following the Battle of Kosovo , much of the Balkans became dominated by the Ottomans. Constantinople by this stage was underpopulated and dilapidated. The population of

15811-754: The frontier and raid Pannonia . At the same time, the Goths invaded Moesia and Thrace across the Danube frontier, and laid siege to Marcianopolis , as the Carpi, encouraged by the Gothic incursions, renewed their assaults in Dacia and Moesia. Meanwhile, in the East, Marcus Jotapianus led another uprising in response to the oppressive rule of Priscus and the excessive taxation of the Eastern provinces. Other usurpers, like Marcus Silbannacus are reported to have started rebellions without much success. Overwhelmed by

15974-488: The heart of their imperial military policies. Despite the defeat at Myriokephalon, the policies of Alexios, John and Manuel resulted in vast territorial gains, increased frontier stability in Asia Minor, and secured the stabilisation of the empire's European frontiers. From c.  1081 to c.  1180 , the Komnenian army assured the empire's security, enabling Byzantine civilisation to flourish. This allowed

16137-583: The historiographical periodizations of " Roman history ", " late antiquity ", and "Byzantine history" significantly overlap, there is no consensus on a "foundation date" for the Byzantine Empire, if there was one at all. The growth of the study of "late antiquity" has led to some historians setting a start date in the seventh or eighth centuries. Others believe a "new empire" began during changes in c.  300   AD. Still others hold that these starting points are too early or too late, and instead begin c.  500 . Geoffrey Greatrex believes that it

16300-562: The history of the area that is now Lebanon. Phoenicia became one of the intellectual and economic hubs of the eastern half of the empire and a destination for merchants and intellectuals. The Romans built the temples of Baalbek, the temples at Mount Hermon , the temples of Niha and various other structures now in ruins that include smaller temples, hippodromes , baths and the Law school of Berytus . The last century of Seleucid rule in Lebanon

16463-500: The island of Sicily his own territory. Sicily and Carthage defeated Pyrruhus and his army, drawing him out of Sicily. After this defeat, Carthage landed itself in the horizon of Rome. Thus, began the First Punic War , from 264 BCE to 241 BCE, the war was ended with yet again, another treaty stating that Sicily was now of Rome's possession and a payment was demanded due to the damages from the war. This left Carthage desperate as

16626-663: The label of free cities and became formal cities of the Roman Empire. Rome made this decision because Carthage and their allies were once loyal allies to the empire. Therefore, the Punic world was able to live on. Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire , also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire , was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred in Constantinople during late antiquity and

16789-726: The later part of his reign, John focused his activities on the East, personally leading numerous campaigns against the Turks in Asia Minor. His campaigns fundamentally altered the balance of power in the East, forcing the Turks onto the defensive, while retaking many towns, fortresses, and cities across the peninsula for the Byzantines. He defeated the Danishmend Emirate of Melitene and reconquered all of Cilicia , while forcing Raymond of Poitiers , Prince of Antioch, to recognise Byzantine suzerainty. In an effort to demonstrate

16952-433: The law school under the Severan emperors. When Justinian assembled his Pandects in the 6th century, a large part of the corpus of laws were derived from these two jurists, and Justinian recognized the school as one of the three official law schools of the empire in 533 CE. Upon the death of Theodosius I in 395 CE, the empire was divided in two: the eastern or Byzantine part with its capital at Constantinople , and

17115-418: The measures he took to reform the government of the empire have been praised by historians. According to the historian George Ostrogorsky , Andronikos was determined to root out corruption: under his rule, the sale of offices ceased; selection was based on merit, rather than favouritism; and officials were paid an adequate salary to reduce the temptation of bribery. In the provinces, Andronikos's reforms produced

17278-592: The mid-13th century it had lost much of southern Anatolia. The weakening of the Sultanate of Rûm following the Mongol invasion in 1242–1243 allowed many beyliks and ghazis to set up their own principalities in Anatolia, weakening the Byzantine hold on Asia Minor. Two centuries later, one of the Beys of these beyliks, Osman I , would establish the Ottoman Empire that would eventually conquer Constantinople. However,

17441-583: The mid-3rd century. The small circular structure known as the Temple of Venus, was probably finished at this time as well. 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

17604-546: The most capable Byzantine emperors, withstood continued Arab attacks, civil unrest, and natural disasters, and reestablished the state as a major regional power. Leo's reign produced the Ecloga , a new code of law to succeed that of Justinian II, and continued to reform the "theme system" in order to lead offensive campaigns against the Muslims, culminating in a decisive victory in 740 . Constantine overcame an early civil war against his brother-in-law Artabasdos , made peace with

17767-508: The most famous Roman Law School. "By 250, and likely earlier, there was no Phoenician "people," only Romans living in the provinces called Phoenice." The regions that were known to be "Phoenician" were given new names that were pseudo-ethnonyms, this did not cut the geographical regions off completely from Phoenicia, but gave it loose ties to the former region. The grave held grave goods that showed Phoenician habits, but also held exotic objects that are from abroad regions. The Phoenicians were not

17930-653: The most important connection throughout the Western Mediterranean. However, the Gadir administration was overtaken by the Romans, where they implemented its organizational structures of Roman empire into the Phoenicia and the other regions apart of the former administration. In recent years, experts and archeologists excavated multiple burial places, or necropolises , in the city of Cádiz that helped Roman Empire decent. These discoveries are predicted to be from

18093-586: The new Abbasid Caliphate , campaigned successfully against the Bulgars, and continued to make administrative and military reforms. However, due to both emperors' support for the Byzantine Iconoclasm , which opposed the use of religious icons , they were later vilified by Byzantine historians; Constantine's reign also saw the loss of Ravenna to the Lombards , and the beginning of a split with

18256-445: The new ruler. Philip's eleven-year-old son and heir may have been killed with his father and Priscus disappeared without a trace. Some later traditions, first mentioned by the historian Eusebius in his Ecclesiastical History , held that Philip was the first Christian Roman Emperor. According to Eusebius ( Ecc. Hist. VI.34), Philip was a Christian, but was not allowed to enter Easter vigil services until he confessed his sins and

18419-466: The newly-formed Arabic Rashidun Caliphate . By Heraclius' death in 641, the empire had been severely reduced economically as well as territorially—the loss of the wealthy eastern provinces had deprived Constantinople of three-quarters of its revenue. The next seventy-five years are poorly documented. Arab raids into Asia Minor began almost immediately, and the Byzantines resorted to holding fortified centres and avoiding battle at all costs; although it

18582-598: The number of invasions and usurpers, Philip offered to resign, but the Senate decided to throw its support behind the emperor, with a certain Gaius Messius Quintus Decius most vocal of all the senators. Philip was so impressed by his support that he dispatched Decius to the region with a special command encompassing all of the Pannonian and Moesian provinces. This had a dual purpose of both quelling

18745-401: The one thousandth birthday of Rome, which according to the empire's official Varronian chronology was founded on 21 April 753 BC by Romulus . Commemorative coins, such as the one illustrated at left, were issued in large numbers and, according to contemporary accounts, the festivities were magnificent and included spectacular games, ludi saeculares , and theatrical presentations throughout

18908-430: The only ones feeling this Roman wave of over them, the Greeks were enduring the influence of the Romans, too. These Mediterranean regions were trying their hardest to combat the "co-opted nation", to hold against this, the nations had to make it known of their assertion to not be overcome; and to promote cultural difference, this is to distinguish the homeland culture from the push of Romans beliefs. The city of Emesa , in

19071-542: The only option for expansion was Spain, but Spain was already secured. The Second Punic Wars (218 BCE to 202 BCE) struck Carthage and Rome following the assassination of Hasdrubal , where Hannibal prompted this war. Carthage fought Rome on the basis of the burdensome demands and lack of peace that the treaties were supposed to impose. In the end, the Carthaginian Army was destroyed, and endured even more debt, and "... had to undertake never to go to war without

19234-463: The other hand, Romans provided economic activity for local Phoenician cities in which they traded agricultural and craft products (wine, oil, glass, purple, silk, textiles, ceramics) that were exported to Rome and other surrounding areas. Roman influence in Berytus is visible through the social/cultural evidence, but also the physical/architectural evidence that has been exposed through archaeological excavations. Berytus became known as “Little Rome” and

19397-569: The outset of his reign, Alexios faced a formidable attack from the Normans under Guiscard and his son Bohemund of Taranto , who captured Dyrrhachium and Corfu and laid siege to Larissa in Thessaly . Guiscard's death in 1085 temporarily eased the Norman problem. The following year, the Seljuq sultan died, and the sultanate was split due to internal rivalries. By his own efforts, Alexios defeated

19560-521: The patriarch Nicholas , the powerful Simeon I of Bulgaria , and other influential figures jockeyed for power. In 920, the admiral Romanos I used his fleet to secure power, crowning himself and demoting Constantine to the position of junior co-emperor. His reign, which brought peace with Bulgaria and successes in the east under the general John Kourkouas , was ended in 944 by the machinations of his sons, whom Constantine soon usurped in turn. Constantine's ineffectual sole rule has often been construed as

19723-521: The people to assimilate to the Roman beliefs. The Phoenician gods and goddesses were eliminated from the force of Christianity. The people and the cities had to abide by the Christian teachings. Most of the Mediterranean sea regions relied heavily on the Gadir administration, known to be located in the South of the Iberian Peninsula and now situated in the city of Cádiz, Spain, this metropolis was

19886-410: The pope and Western Christian kingdoms, and he successfully handled the passage of the crusaders through his empire. In the East, Manuel suffered a major defeat in 1176 at the Battle of Myriokephalon against the Turks. These losses were quickly recovered, and in the following year Manuel's forces inflicted a defeat upon a force of "picked Turks". The Byzantine commander John Vatatzes , who destroyed

20049-605: The ports of southern Italy, he sent an expedition to Italy in 1155, but disputes within the coalition led to the eventual failure of the campaign. Despite this military setback, Manuel's armies successfully invaded the southern parts of the Kingdom of Hungary in 1167, defeating the Hungarians at the Battle of Sirmium . By 1168, nearly the whole of the eastern Adriatic coast lay in Manuel's hands. Manuel made several alliances with

20212-470: The principal Phoenician cities of Byblos , Sidon , and Tyre were granted Roman citizenship. These cities were centers of the pottery, glass, and purple dye industries; their harbors also served as warehouses for products imported from Syria, Persia , and India . They exported cedar , perfume, jewelry, wine, and fruit to Rome. This prosperity meant Phoenicia became a notable destination for intellectuals, tradesmen and merchants; even farmers, from all over

20375-431: The principal coastal cities went unembellished during the Roman era. Berytus, Byblos, Sidon, Tyre, Tripolis, Botrys (Batroon), Caesarea ad Libanum (Arka), were all prosperous enough to have mints and to strike coins under the Romans. There were certainly temples in all these cities; the coin types are sufficient evidence for this. The reverse of a coin of Berytus, for example, illustrates a temple of Astarte (Venus); this coin

20538-416: The provinces of Moesia and Macedonia . He arrived in Rome in the late summer of 244, where he was confirmed augustus . Before the end of the year, he nominated his young son caesar (heir), his wife, Marcia Otacilia Severa , was named augusta , and he also deified his father Marinus, even though the latter had never been emperor. While in Rome, Philip also claimed a victory over the Persians with

20701-472: The rebellion of Pacatianus as well as dealing with the barbarian incursions. Although Decius managed to quell the revolt, discontent in the legions was growing. Decius was proclaimed emperor by the Danubian armies in the spring of 249 and immediately marched on Rome. Yet even before he had left the region, the situation for Philip had turned even more sour. Financial difficulties had forced him to debase

20864-470: The region exhibited strength and power amongst its neighbors. In 317 BCE, tyrant Agathocles came to power in ancient Syracuse , a city in Sicily. Agathocles "...filled the cities of Sicily with outrage and slaughter" In the history of Sicily, there had never been a Tyrant like him, his abuse and brutality gave him power over the people. With Agathocles being granted complete and absolute control of Sicily, he took his army of thousands and continued to control

21027-413: The remaining Carthaginians in Sicily. The tyrant made an elite army and planned to set sail for Africa to attack Carthage. The Carthaginians ended up defeating Agathocles. The Syracusan army was weakened, putting the tyrant in a panic. He made a secret plan to save himself and a few of his closest men, word got around of this betrayal to his men and he was arrested. However, he managed to escape and flee from

21190-540: The rest of the most prominent cities in Sicily. With word of this tyrant scavenging through his own cities, Carthage became afraid of what would happen to their armies that they held in Sicily. Carthage then sent their forces over to Sicily to restrain Agathocles conquest to destroy their strongholds. Unfortunately, this did not go in the favor of the Carthaginians, and in return, Agathocles drew up plans to rid

21353-420: The rights of the ius Italicum on the city. Today, only six Corinthian columns remain standing of this huge Jupiter temple. Severus also separated the area of modern Lebanon and parts of Syria from the greater province of Syria Coele , and formed the new province of Phoenice . Furthermore, the veterans of two Roman legions were established in the city of Berytus (actual Beirut): the fifth Macedonian and

21516-662: The rule of an emperor. The senate had its own identity but would become an extension of the emperor's court, becoming largely ceremonial. Philip the Arab Philip I ( Latin : Marcus Julius Philippus ; c.  204 – September 249), commonly known as Philip the Arab , was the Emperor of the Roman Empire from 244 to 249. After the death of Gordian III in February 244, Philip, who had been Praetorian prefect , rose to power. He quickly negotiated peace with

21679-408: The same time he ceased paying subsidies to the tribes north of the Danube that were vital for keeping the peace on the frontiers. Both decisions would have significant impacts upon the empire and his reign. In 245, Philip was forced to leave Rome as the stability established by Timesitheus was undone by a combination of his death, Gordian's defeat in the east and Philip's decision to cease paying

21842-713: The subsidies. The Carpi moved through Dacia , crossed the Danube and emerged in Moesia where they threatened the Balkans . Establishing his headquarters in Philippopolis in Thrace , he pushed the Carpi across the Danube and chased them back into Dacia, so that by the summer of 246, he claimed victory against them, along with the title "Carpicus Maximus". In the meantime, the Arsacids of Armenia refused to acknowledge

22005-406: The suggestion of his brother Priscus, Philip became the new Praetorian prefect, with the intention that the two brothers would control the young Emperor and rule the Roman world as unofficial regents. Following a military defeat , Gordian III died in February 244 under circumstances that are still debated. While some claim that Philip conspired in his murder, other accounts (including one coming from

22168-455: 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. Near the Temple of Venus are the remains of "The Temple of the Muses", dating from the beginning of the 1st century A.D. — Paul Reynolds The presence of a huge quarry was one of the reasons for

22331-538: The third and fourth century, was labeled as a Phoenician city from ancient literature. However, it was found that Emesa was not Phoenician, and instead labeled as Arab. There were no signs of the city being of Phoenician descent, as the language was not spoken there. Excavations found in Emesa are inscribed in Greek, and some in Latin. The city was annexed by Syria, then broke off and became apart of Syria Phoenice. From here on,

22494-461: The throne before being recognized by the Senate as his successor. Born in modern-day Shahba, Syria , in what was then Arabia Petraea , Philip's ethnicity was not attested with certainty, but he was most likely an Arab . While he publicly adhered to the Roman religion , he was later asserted to have been a Christian , and in the later half of the 3rd century and into the beginning of the 4th century, some Christian clergymen held that Philip had been

22657-491: The throne. Alexios was highly incompetent in the office, and with his mother Maria of Antioch 's Frankish background, his regency was unpopular. Eventually, Andronikos I Komnenos , a grandson of Alexios I, overthrew Alexios II in a violent coup d'état . After eliminating his potential rivals, he had himself crowned as co-emperor in September 1183. He eliminated Alexios II and took his 12-year-old wife Agnes of France for himself. Andronikos began his reign well; in particular,

22820-544: The titles of Persicus Maximus , Parthicus Maximus and Parthicus Adiabenicus (the latter probably unofficially). In an attempt to shore up his regime, Philip put a great deal of effort in maintaining good relations with the Senate, and from the beginning of his reign, he reaffirmed the old Roman virtues and traditions. He quickly ordered an enormous building program in his home town, renaming it Philippopolis , and raising it to civic status, while he populated it with statues of himself and his family. He also introduced

22983-442: The unpopular Irene was overthrown by Nikephoros I ; he reformed the empire's administration but died in battle against the Bulgars in 811. Military defeats and societal disorder, especially the resurgence of iconoclasm, characterised the next eighteen years. Stability was somewhat restored during the reign of Theophilos ( r.  829–842 ), who exploited economic growth to complete construction programs, including rebuilding

23146-408: The west, the warlord Odoacer deposed Romulus Augustulus in 476, killed his titular successor Julius Nepos in 480, and the office of western emperor was formally abolished. Through a combination of luck, cultural factors, and political decisions, the Eastern empire never suffered from rebellious barbarian vassals and was never ruled by barbarian warlords—the problems which ensured the downfall of

23309-469: The western part with its capital at Ravenna . Under the Byzantine Empire, intellectual and economic activities in Beirut, Tyre, and Sidon continued to flourish for more than a century. However, in the sixth century a series of earthquakes demolished the temples of Baalbek and destroyed the city of Beirut, leveling its famous law school and killing nearly 30,000 inhabitants. To these natural disasters were added

23472-489: The western parts of the empire became increasingly Latinised , while the eastern parts largely retained their preexisting Hellenistic culture . This created a dichotomy between the Greek East and Latin West . These cultural spheres continued to diverge after Constantine I ( r.  324–337 ) moved the capital to Constantinople and legalised Christianity . Under Theodosius I ( r. 379–395 ), Christianity became

23635-468: The worldwide famous temples in the area of Heliopolis (actual Baalbek) started to be built, using the nearby quarries with famous "Monoliths" . The Temple of Jupiter in Heliopolis (in a complex area called even Sanctuary of Heliopolitan Zeus ) was the biggest pagan temple in the classical world. The (Jupiter) temple was begun in the last quarter of the 1st century B.C., and was nearing completion in

23798-422: The zenith of Byzantine learning , but while several works were compiled, they were largely intended to legitimise and glorify the emperor's Macedonian dynasty . His son and successor died young; under two soldier-emperors, Nikephoros II ( r.  963–969 ) and John I Tzimiskes ( r.  969–976 ), the Roman army claimed numerous military successes, including the conquest of Cilicia and Antioch , and

23961-437: The “most Roman city” due to the amount of Roman influence, both physically and culturally, on the city. Agrippa I, who was closely associated with Roman authorities, was a driving factor in the Romanization of Berytus.  His Roman influence was shown through the implementation and construction of Roman baths, porticoes, a theater, and an amphitheater.  The large amphitheater served as an arena to host gladiatorial shows,

24124-552: Was besieged in August 1068 and fell in April 1071 . About 1053, Constantine IX disbanded what the historian John Skylitzes calls the "Iberian Army", which consisted of 50,000 men, and it was turned into a contemporary Drungary of the Watch . Two other knowledgeable contemporaries, the former officials Michael Attaleiates and Kekaumenos , agree with Skylitzes that by demobilising these soldiers, Constantine did catastrophic harm to

24287-560: Was captured. Alp Arslan treated him with respect and imposed no harsh terms on the Byzantines. In Constantinople a coup put in power Michael Doukas , who soon faced the opposition of Nikephoros Bryennios and Nikephoros III Botaneiates . By 1081, the Seljuks had expanded their rule over virtually the entire Anatolian plateau from Armenia in the east to Bithynia in the west, and had established their capital at Nicaea , just 90 kilometres (56 miles) from Constantinople. The Komnenian dynasty attained full power under Alexios I in 1081. From

24450-561: Was given credit for his predecessor's achievements. Basil I ( r.  867–886 ) continued Michael's policies. His armies campaigned with mixed results in Italy but defeated the Paulicians of Tephrike . His successor Leo VI ( r.  886–912 ) compiled and propagated a huge number of written works. These included the Basilika , a Greek translation of Justinian I's law-code which included over 100 new laws of Leo's devising;

24613-581: Was his fourth son, Manuel I Komnenos , who campaigned aggressively against his neighbours both in the west and east. In Palestine, Manuel allied with the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem and sent a large fleet to participate in a combined invasion of Fatimid Egypt . Manuel reinforced his position as overlord of the Crusader states, with his hegemony over Antioch and Jerusalem secured by agreement with Raynald , Prince of Antioch, and Amalric of Jerusalem . In an effort to restore Byzantine control over

24776-546: Was invaded annually, Anatolia avoided permanent Arab occupation. The outbreak of the First Fitna in 656 gave Byzantium breathing space, which it used wisely: some order was restored in the Balkans by Constans II ( r.  641–668 ), who began the administrative reorganisation known as the " theme system ", in which troops were allocated to defend specific provinces. With the help of the recently rediscovered Greek fire , Constantine IV ( r.  668–685 ) repelled

24939-410: Was marked by disorder and dynastic struggles. These ended in 63 BCE, when the Roman General Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus, more commonly known as Pompey the Great, lead his military and defeated the Seleucid Empire. This defeat captured Seleucid Syria and Phoenicia (Lebanon), adding to the Roman State . Economic and intellectual activities flourished in Lebanon during the Pax Romana . The inhabitants of

25102-497: Was marked by the theological dispute over Nestorianism , which was eventually deemed heretical , and by the formulation of the Codex Theodosianus law code. It also saw the arrival of Attila 's Huns , who ravaged the Balkans and exacted a massive tribute from the empire; Attila however switched his attention to the rapidly-deteriorating western empire , and his people fractured after his death in 453. After Leo I ( r.  457–474 ) failed in his 468 attempt to reconquer

25265-406: Was not esteemed by the "soldier-emperors" who ruled from the frontiers or by the empire's population who, having been granted citizenship , considered themselves "Roman". Constantine extensively reformed the empire's military and civil administration and instituted the gold solidus as a stable currency. He favoured Christianity , which he had converted to in 312. Constantine's dynasty fought

25428-506: Was occupied by conflicts against two prominent generals, Bardas Skleros and Bardas Phokas , which ended in 989 with the former's death and the latter's submission. Between 1021 and 1022, following years of tensions, Basil II led a series of victorious campaigns against the Kingdom of Georgia , resulting in the annexation of several Georgian provinces to the empire. Basil's successors also annexed Bagratid Armenia in 1045. Importantly, both Georgia and Armenia were significantly weakened by

25591-450: Was only used to describe the inhabitants of that city; it did not refer to the empire, which they called Romanía —"Romanland". After the empire's fall, early modern scholars referred to the empire by many names, including the "Empire of Constantinople", the "Empire of the Greeks", the "Eastern Empire", the "Late Empire", the "Low Empire", and the "Roman Empire". The increasing use of "Byzantine" and "Byzantine Empire" likely started with

25754-465: Was ordered to sit among the penitents, which he did willingly. Later versions located this event in Antioch . However, historians generally identify the later Emperor Constantine , baptized on his deathbed, as the first Christian emperor, and generally describe Philip's adherence to Christianity as dubious, because non-Christian writers do not mention the fact, and because throughout his reign, Philip to all appearances (coinage, etc.) continued to follow

25917-441: Was overthrown in 695 after attempting to exact too much from his subjects; over the next twenty-two years, six more rebellions followed in an era of political instability . The reconstituted caliphate sought to break Byzantium by taking Constantinople, but the newly crowned Leo III managed to repel the 717–718 siege , the first major setback of the Muslim conquests. Leo and his son Constantine V ( r.  741–775 ), two of

26080-467: Was soon at war on many fronts. The Lombards , fearing the aggressive Avars , conquered much of northern Italy by 572. The Sasanian wars restarted that year, and continued until the emperor Maurice finally emerged victorious in 591; by that time, the Avars and Slavs had repeatedly invaded the Balkans , causing great instability. Maurice campaigned extensively in the region during the 590s, but although he managed to re-establish Byzantine control up to

26243-429: Was struck during the reign of Caracalla (A.D. 211–217), and has the bust of his mother, Julia Domna, on the obverse side. A similar temple appears on the Byblos coinage, and this city struck under Macrinus, the successor to Caracalla, the well-known coin depicting a temple precinct and courtyard built round a baetyl, or sacred cone. But in these urban surroundings, ashlars and column drums were too useful to lie unused; from

26406-428: Was the norm. For this reason, he has been called the Byzantine Marcus Aurelius . During his twenty-five-year reign, John made alliances with the Holy Roman Empire in the West and decisively defeated the Pechenegs at the Battle of Beroia . He thwarted Hungarian and Serbian threats during the 1120s, and in 1130 he allied himself with Lothair III , the German Emperor against the Norman King Roger II of Sicily . In

26569-418: Was the son of a local citizen, Julius Marinus , possibly of some importance. Allegations from later Roman sources ( Historia Augusta and Epitome de Caesaribus ) that Philip had a very humble origin or even that his father was a leader of brigands are not accepted by modern historians. His birth date is not recorded by contemporary sources, but the 7th-century Chronicon Paschale records that he died at

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