Batroun ( ar, ٱلْبَتْرُون ';

Syriac Syriac may refer to: *Syriac language, an ancient dialect of Middle Aramaic *Sureth, one of the modern dialects of Syriac spoken in the Nineveh Plains region * Syriac alphabet ** Syriac (Unicode block) ** Syriac Supplement * Neo-Aramaic languages a ...

script: ܒܬܪܘܢ ') is a coastal city in northern

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 lie ...

and one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. It is the capital city of Batroun District.

Etymology

The name ''Batroun'' (

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...

: ''al-Batroun'') is related to the

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

''Botrys'' (also spelled ''Bothrys''), which was later Latinized to ''Botrus''. Historians believe that the Greek name of the town originates from the Phoenician word, ''bater'', which means ''to cut'' and it refers to the maritime wall that the Phoenicians built in the sea to protect them from tidal waves.

Economy and urban development

Historically, the city of Batroun was settled at the interface between the sea and the national road that connected Beirut to Tripoli. Lately, the radical shift of the historical functions of the local economic tissue into a leisure service-based economy (nightclubs, bars, restaurants, stores, etc.) has become the unique and only lever of the development of the city. The economic metamorphosis has resulted in the resettlement of housing towards emerging city suburbs (nearby hills: New Batroun, Batroun Hills, Basbina, etc.) consequently to the overvaluation of the real estate market in the city centre. It clearly reveals here the constitution of a business city-centre (dedicated to leisure and business) balanced by the constitution of residential suburbs, where accelerated

urban sprawl Urban sprawl (also known as suburban sprawl or urban encroachment) is defined as "the spreading of urban developments (such as houses and shopping centers) on undeveloped land near a city." Urban sprawl has been described as the unrestricted growt ...

has led to the destruction of natural lands (pinewood and orange groves) and to the fatal rise in land prices.

Tourism

Batroun is a major tourist destination in North Lebanon. The town boasts historic

Maronite The Maronites ( ar, الموارنة; syr, ܡܖ̈ܘܢܝܐ) are a Christian ethnoreligious group native to the Eastern Mediterranean and Levant region of the Middle East, whose members traditionally belong to the Maronite Church, with the lar ...

and

Greek Orthodox The term Greek Orthodox Church ( Greek: Ἑλληνορθόδοξη Ἐκκλησία, ''Ellinorthódoxi Ekklisía'', ) has two meanings. The broader meaning designates "the entire body of Orthodox (Chalcedonian) Christianity, sometimes also cal ...

churches. The town is also a major beach resort with a vibrant nightlife that includes pubs and nightclubs. Citrus groves surround Batroun, and the town has been famous (from the early twentieth century) for its fresh lemonade sold at the cafés and restaurants on its main street. Biking along the Batroun coastline is also a major activity namely in late summer days. In 2009, the Batroun International Festival was born. It began hosting leading local and international artists. The festival takes place usually in July and/or August of each year in the old harbor area.

Demography

The people of Batroun are mainly

Melkite The term Melkite (), also written Melchite, refers to various Eastern Christian churches of the Byzantine Rite and their members originating in the Middle East. The term comes from the common Central Semitic root ''m-l-k'', meaning "royal", a ...

, and

Christians. Batroun is a

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 let ...

(Latin rite)

Titular See A titular see in various churches is an episcopal see of a former diocese that no longer functions, sometimes called a "dead diocese". The ordinary or hierarch of such a see may be styled a "titular metropolitan" (highest rank), "titular archbi ...

History

Batroun is likely the "Batruna" mentioned in the

Amarna letters The Amarna letters (; sometimes referred to as the Amarna correspondence or Amarna tablets, and cited with the abbreviation EA, for "El Amarna") are an archive, written on clay tablets, primarily consisting of diplomatic correspondence between ...

dating to the 14th century B.C. Batroun was mentioned by the ancient geographers

Strabo Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called " Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-sighted that he could s ...

, Pliny,

Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy (; grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος, ; la, Claudius Ptolemaeus; AD) was a mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist, who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were of importanc ...

, Stephanus Byzantius, and Hierocles. Theophanes called the city "Bostrys." The

Phoenicians Phoenicia () was an ancient thalassocratic civilization originating in the Levant region of the eastern Mediterranean, primarily located in modern Lebanon. The territory of the Phoenician city-states extended and shrank throughout their his ...

founded Batroun on the southern side of the promontory called in

Antiquity Antiquity or Antiquities may refer to: Historical objects or periods Artifacts *Antiquities, objects or artifacts surviving from ancient cultures Eras Any period before the European Middle Ages (5th to 15th centuries) but still within the histo ...

, Theoprosopon and during the

Byzantine Empire 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 ...

, Cape Lithoprosopon. Batroun is said to have been founded by

Ithobaal I Ithobaal I ', 1 Kings 16:31; grc, Εἰθώβαλος ''Eithobalos'') is the name of a 9th-century BCE king of Tyre mentioned in the story of Jezebel from the Hebrew Bible, and in a citation by Josephus of a list of the kings of Tyre put together ...

(Ethbaal), king of Tyre, whose daughter Jezabel (897–866 B.C.) married

Ahab Ahab (; akk, 𒀀𒄩𒀊𒁍 ''Aḫâbbu'' 'a-ḫa-ab-bu'' grc-koi, Ἀχαάβ ''Achaáb''; la, Achab) was the seventh king of Israel, the son and successor of King Omri and the husband of Jezebel of Sidon, according to the Hebrew Bib ...

. The city was under Roman rule to

Phoenicia Phoenicia () was an ancient thalassocratic civilization originating in the Levant region of the eastern Mediterranean, primarily located in modern Lebanon. The territory of the Phoenician city-states extended and shrank throughout their his ...

Prima province, and later after the region was Christianized became a

suffragan A suffragan bishop is a type of bishop in some Christian denominations. In the Anglican Communion, a suffragan bishop is a bishop who is subordinate to a metropolitan bishop or diocesan bishop (bishop ordinary) and so is not normally jurisdiction ...

of the

Patriarchate of Antioch Patriarch of Antioch is a traditional title held by the bishop of Antioch (modern-day Antakya, Turkey). As the traditional "overseer" (ἐπίσκοπος, ''episkopos'', from which the word ''bishop'' is derived) of the first gentile Christian c ...

. In 551, Batroun was destroyed by an earthquake, which also caused mudslides and made the Cape Lithoprosopon crack. Historians believe that Batroun's large natural harbor was formed during the earthquake. Three

bishops are known to have come from Batroun: Porphyrius in 451, Elias about 512 and Stephen in 553 ( Lequien, II, 827). According to a Greek '' Notitia episcopatuum'', the

See has existed in Batroun since the tenth century when the city was then called ''Petrounion''. After the Muslim conquests of the region, the name was Arabicized to Batroun. Batroun was controlled by the

Crusaders The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were in ...

in 1104, to be known as the Lordship of Botrun as part of the

County of Tripoli The County of Tripoli (1102–1289) was the last of the Crusader states. It was founded in the Levant in the modern-day region of Tripoli, northern Lebanon and parts of western Syria which supported an indigenous population of Christians, ...

, until it was conquered by the

Mamluks of Egypt The Mamluk Sultanate ( ar, سلطنة المماليك, translit=Salṭanat al-Mamālīk), also known as Mamluk Egypt or the Mamluk Empire, was a state that ruled Egypt, the Levant and the Hejaz (western Arabia) from the mid-13th to early 16th ...

in 1289. One of Batroun's archaeological sites is the citadel of Mousaylaha which is constructed on an isolated massive rock with steep sides protruding in the middle of a plain surrounded by mountains. Under Ottoman rule, Batroun was the centre of a caza in the mutessariflik of Lebanon and the seat of a Maronite diocese, suffragan to the

Maronite patriarchate The Maronite Catholic Patriarchate of Antioch (in Latin: Patriarchatus Antiochenus Maronitarum) is the seat of the Patriarch of the Maronite Church. It is currently governed by the Patriarch Cardinal Bechara Boutros al-Rahi, OMM. The Maronite ...

. Since 1999, it has been the seat of the

eparchy Eparchy ( gr, ἐπαρχία, la, eparchía / ''overlordship'') is an ecclesiastical unit in Eastern Christianity, that is equivalent to a diocese in Western Christianity. Eparchy is governed by an ''eparch'', who is a bishop. Depending on the ...

Politics

Elections, municipal and parliamentary, in Batroun have seen increasing interest, namely in the context of local and national struggle for power. The current serving Mayor of Batroun is Marcelino El Harek.

Gallery

File:Batroun Harbour.jpg File:Batroun, site touristique.JPG File:Lebanon - 20150614 - Batroun 2.jpg File:Lebanon - 20150614 - Batroun 3.jpg File:Les murs phéniciens de Batroun.JPG File:Lebanon - 20150614 - Batroun 4.jpg File:Batroun - Bejdarfel Church (2319509188).jpg File:Batroun port IMG 1038.jpg File:Batroun Village.jpg File:BatrounHouse.jpg

Landmarks

* The Ancient Sea Wall * El-Bahsa beach * Makaad El Mir * El-Mseilha Fort * St. Stephan's Cathedral * Historic Souk

References

;Citations * *

External links

Ortmtlb.org.lb

Batroun.com
{{Authority control Batroun District Coloniae (Roman) Mediterranean port cities and towns in Lebanon Populated coastal places in Lebanon Populated places in the North Governorate Phoenician cities Phoenician sites in Lebanon Hellenistic colonies Crusader churches Tourist attractions in Lebanon Tourism in Lebanon Christian cities in Lebanon Maronite Christian communities in Lebanon