Ras Baalbek ( ar, رأس بعلبك) is a village in the northern
Beqaa Valley
The Beqaa Valley ( ar, links=no, وادي البقاع, ', Lebanese ), also transliterated as Bekaa, Biqâ, and Becaa and known in classical antiquity as Coele-Syria, is a fertile valley in eastern Lebanon. It is Lebanon's most important ...
in
Lebanon
Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...
.
History
Ras Baalbek is 500 metres west of a
Neolithic
The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several parts ...
rock shelter called
Ras Baalbek I.
To the east there are ruins that are alleged to be the remains of a
Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...
aqueduct. Inhabitants of the village have confirmed it was once called "Connaya," suggesting a link to the ancient settlement of Conna, mentioned in the work of
Antonius
Antonius is a masculine given name, as well as a surname. Antonius is a Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Latin, Norwegian, and Swedish name used in Greenland, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, part of the Republic of Karelia, Estonia, Belgium, Netherlands, ...
.
Notable features include the monastery of "Our Lady of Ras Baalbek" (''Deir Saidat ar-Ras'') and two
Byzantine
The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
churches. One church is in the centre of the village and the other lies by the Roman aqueduct.
In 1838,
Eli Smith
Eli Smith (born September 13, 1801, in Northford, Connecticut, to Eli and Polly (Whitney) Smith, and died January 11, 1857, in Beirut, Lebanon) was an American Protestant missionary and scholar. He graduated from Yale College in 1821 and from Andov ...
noted Ras Baalbek's population as being predominantly
Catholic Christian
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...
.
In 2014, the war with
ISIS
Isis (; ''Ēse''; ; Meroitic: ''Wos'' 'a''or ''Wusa''; Phoenician: 𐤀𐤎, romanized: ʾs) was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kingd ...
in the nearby village of
Arsal
Arsal (also spelled Aarsal, Ersal or 'Irsal; ar, عرسال), is a town and municipality situated east of Labweh, northeast of Beirut, in Baalbek District of Baalbek-Hermel Governorate, Lebanon. resulted in the residents of Ras Baalbek forming a militia to protect the village. The militias were allied to the
Lebanese Armed Forces
)
, founded = 1 August 1945
, current_form = 1991
, disbanded =
, branches = Lebanese Ground ForcesLebanese Air Force Lebanese Navy
, headquarters = Yarze, Lebanon
, flying_hours =
, websit ...
. In September 2016 the Lebanese Army attacked Islamic State positions near Ras Baalbek.
Demographics
Around 15,000 people live in Ras Baalbek. The population is entirely Christian, mainly
Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
, having switched from
Orthodox Christianity
Orthodoxy (from Ancient Greek, Greek: ) is adherence to correct or accepted creeds, especially in religion.
Orthodoxy within Christianity refers to acceptance of the doctrines defined by various creeds and ecumenical councils in Late antiquity, A ...
in 1721.
The village is fashion designer
Zuhair Murad
Zuhair Murad ( ar, زهير مراد) (born in July 1971) is a Lebanese fashion designer. He was born in 1971 in Ras Baalbek, Lebanon.
Biography
Zuhair Murad was born to a Melkite Catholic family in Ras Baalbek. Shortly after high school, M ...
's hometown.
References
Bibliography
*
External links
Ras Baalbek websiteRas Baalbek
{{Portal, Lebanon, History, Asia
Populated places in Baalbek District
Great Rift Valley
Coloniae (Roman)
Populated places established in the 6th millennium BC
Melkite Christian communities in Lebanon