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Baalbeck is the site of the most magnificent and best preserved Roman
temples in the world.
The gigantic Acropolis was built between the 1st and 4th centuries AD,
on the grounds of an ancient Phoenician temple dedicated to the worship
of Baal, a semitic deity. The Roman adopted the Greek name of the town,
Heliopolis (city of sun), and dedicated the new temples to the cults of
Jupiter, Bacchus and Venus.
Construction of the grandiose temple of Jupiter, the largest of the three,
began during the reign of Emperor Augustus, (27 B.C. - 14 A.D.). and was
completed around AD 60 during the reign of Emperor Nero (54 - 68).
The other two temples were built during the following two centuries, particularly
during the reign of the Syro-Roman emperors : Septimus Severus, Caracalla
and Phillip the Arab.
In erecting this monumental edifice, Rome wanted to assert the supremacy
of its atheist religion at a site close to the birthplace of Christianity,
which was rapidly becoming a destabilising force within the empire.
The religious conflict lasted until the beginning of the 4th century AD,
then ended with the triumph of Christianity symbolized by the conversion
of Emperor Constantine in 312.
The temple were soon transformed into churches.
Four centuries later, Arab conquerors turned the Acropolis into a military
fortress.
But most devastating, however, were the four major earthquakes that shook
the Beqaa region during the last millennium, the most powerful of which
struck in 1759.
During the past century, German French and Lebanese archeologists carried
extensive excavation and restoration works within the Acropolis.
A new museum was opened within its confines in 1998.
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