BEIRUT, the chief seaport of Syria and the most beautiful, is situated on a triangular promontory roughly 6m. by 5m., backed by the Lebanon range. The bay thus formed to the north is known as St. George's bay for it was here, according to legend, that he slew the dragon. Pop. 95,000; 37,50o Mohammedans, 35.00o Christians, mostly Maronites.
Beirut appears first in history in a list of Thotmes III. (early 15th century B.C.). In the epoch of the Amarna let ters (140o B.c.) its ruler was Ammunira, who contributed to the correspondence and was apparently a loyal vassal of the Pharaohs.
any rate, the pro-Egyptian Rib-Addu of Byblos, a notable figure in the despatches, repaired to Beirut when forced to vacate Byblos. Beirut is mentioned, but no more, in the satiric Papyrus Anastasi I. of the time of Ramses II. (early 13th century B.c.) . No mention is made apparently of Beirut in the Old Testament. The context does not admit of its identification either with Bero thai (2 Sam. viii. 8) or with Berothah (Ezek. xlvii. 16) . Ac cording to Strabo (xvi. 735) Beirut was taken and destroyed by Tryphon in his struggle with Demetrius II. (Antiochus VII.) for the Seleucid throne (14o B.c.) . Marcus Agrippa, a lieutenant of Augustus, captured the city in 15 B.C. and made it a military col ony with the title Colonia Julia Augusta Felix Berytus (Corp. Inscr. Lat. iii. 161, etc.), with the added privilege of the jus Itali cum. Herod the Great showed it favour by erecting many fine buildings and in Beirut was held the dramatic assembly before which Herod in person arraigned his two sons, Alexander and Aristobulus, and secured a majority sentence of death (Josephus, Antiq. xvi. 1E2). Agrippa I. (A.D. 37-44) and his son Agrippa II. added to its attractions a theatre and an amphitheatre. It was here Titus celebrated the fall of Jerusalem and his father's birth day with gladiatorial contests. In Roman times the city of Beirut was famous as a home of learning. It was sought by many desirous of Greek learning, amongst them Appian the martyr. Its school of Roman law was recognized as one of the official law schools of the empire, until a disastrous earthquake (551) com pelled its removal to Sidon. Gregory Thaumaturgus (A.D. 185
the wonder-working pupil of Origen, was a student here, and two of the professors of the law school, Anatolius and Dorotheus, drew up at Justinian's behest the third part of Justinian law, known as the Second Code (5 29-531) . After the earthquakes Beirut was never restored to its former splendour and in A.D. 600 the great public buildings lay strewn where they had fallen. In 635 it passed under the blighting influence of the Arab occupation of Syria. The period of Frank domination was one of great military activity. The crusaders in their first progress along the coast from Antioch to Jerusalem (1099) passed within hail of the walls, but made no effort to attack. Baldwin I. captured the city in I I I0 and in I 151 it was pillaged by the Egyptian fleet. From 1 17 7 until its capture by Saladin (1 18 7) it was the scene of incessant fighting. Saladin dismantled its defences (119o), dreading its reoccupation by the Franks. John of Beirut (d. 1236) restored castle and ramparts and the new defences in size and magnificence excelled any that had been before. Frederick II., having quarrelled with John, took the city by a night surprise, but the castle resisted till the siege was raised by the arrival of help from Cyprus (1232). The sur render of the city to the Mohammedans in 1291 marked the end of the kingdom of Jerusalem. Thereafter it was dominated in turn by Mameluke sultans of Egypt, Druse emirs of the Lebanon, and the Turks (from 1517) . The most famous of the Druse emirs was Fakhr-ed-Din (1584-1635) who made himself independent of the Turks, chose Beirut as his residence, fortified it, and by an alliance with Venice did much to foster and develop its trade. The Turks forced their way into the city in 1763 and in 1789 the city was finally freed from Druse interference. Ahmad el Jezzar of Acre (1775-1804) re-established the defences, built a new castle on the site of the old and completed the circle of the walls, but his building was not substantial. Beirut was occupied by the forces of Mohammed Ali of Egypt in 1830-31. He made the city his quarantine station for the Syrian coast and all ships were obliged to come to its port to the benefit of its trade. In 184o the Egyptians were dislodged—Beirut in the process being bombarded by the allied fleets (Britain, Austria, Turkey)—and the city restored to Turkish possession. During the massacres in the Lebanons (186o) large numbers of Christian refugees took shelter in Beirut and settled there. In the course of the war be tween Turkey and Italy a Turkish gunboat was sunk in the har bour by the Italian fleet 0912). On Oct. 8, 1918, Indian troops (7th Meerut Division) of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force en tered Beirut, but France, whose war vessels had arrived in the harbour shortly before, installed a military governor.
The buildings shattered by the earthquakes of the 6th century were never apparently rebuilt. Fakhr-ed-Din is said to have used a large number of columns to block the harbour and Mahmud Bey, governor in 1839-4o, built a breakwater entirely of columns, only to have it swept away by a violent storm the following year. In 1852 Robinson speaks of the city wall (Jez zar's) then almost entire, columns of a temple, an aqueduct leading under the city, ancient walls and foundations on the rocks on the seashore where was a small harbour. The great aqueduct, probably of the period of Herod the Great, which led water from the Lebanon to the city across the plain on an immense wall, was still fairly complete about 184o. Later it became a quarry for building stones. Recently French savants have decided to proceed with investigations and excavations on promising sites in the city. At the corner of the streets Allenby and Weygand there have been discovered two bases for statues with Latin inscriptions com memorating a certain Sentius Proculus who held important mili tary and civil posts under the Romans in first century A.D.
French mandatory control Beirut, possessing itself municipal autonomy, is also the capital of the autonomous State of Great Lebanon (Grand Liban), and the residence of the French high commissioner for Syria. It is the see for archbishops or bishops of several communions, and a famous centre of learn ing. Higher education is provided by the American and Jesuit col leges and the list of Christian mission schools and seminaries, both Protestant and Catholic, is long and imposing. The city has been equipped with a good water supply (1875) and gas installation (1888), now amalgamated (1925) with the Electric Tramway Company to provide an electric supply. Beirut has some fine squares but the bazaars are poor. Some of the meaner parts were demolished by Jemial Pasha in 1916 to widen the main streets. Beirut is connected by rail with Damascus (1895) and with Aleppo via Rayak (1907) . Railways coastwise to Tripoli (there is a steam tramway as far as Ma`cmaltein) and Acre are contemplated. A harbour was constructed in 1889, but only vessels of light draught can range alongside the quays and most of the unloading is by lighters. Port charges are heavy. During 1924 there entered the port 656 steamers, total tonnage 1,357,93o and 2,174 sailing ves sels, total tonnage
Beirut has long been famous for its export trade. As early as the first century A.D. its sweet wine, linen and silk stuffs pene trated to all parts of the known world. Under Turkish rule Beirut was a distributing centre for a large block of territory stretching from Hama to Jaffa and extending to Damascus and the Hauran. The erection of a frontier between Syria and Palestine has tended to restrict its sphere of economic influence in spite of the relief afforded by the customs agreement between Syria and Palestine in 192I. Yet trade has continued to make steady recovery since 1918. Comparisons of annual values of trade expressed in francs are apt to be misleading because Syrian currency is now based on French and has fluctuated correspondingly in value. The chief imports through Beirut in 1925 were building materials (cement, wood, iron) cotton manufactures, flour, rice, motor spirit, salt; and the chief exports, fruits and seeds, native foodstuffs, hides, manufactured goods, textiles, metal work, woodwork, cocoons, wool, live animals. An international exhibition was held at Beirut in 1921. Twice weekly a fleet of motor cars carrying passengers and mails leaves Beirut for Baghdad via Damascus (inaugurated 1923). The time occupied is about two days.
Robinson, Biblical Researches (1852) ; W. M. Bibliography.-E. Robinson, Biblical Researches (1852) ; W. M. Thomson, The Land and the Book (1858) ; Pauly-Wissowa Realen cyklopadie, s.v. "Berytos." Le Comte du Mesnil de Buisson, Les Anciennes Defenses de Beyrout; Syria (1921, bibl.) ; P. Collinet, Histoire de l' cole de Droit de Beyrout (1925).
