Byblos

Byblos (/ˈbɪblɒs/ BIB-loss; Ancient Greek: Βύβλος), also known as Jebeil, Jbeil or Jubayl (Arabic: جُبَيْل, romanized: Jubayl, locally Jbeil [ʒ(ə)beːl]), is an ancient city in the Keserwan-Jbeil Governorate of Lebanon. The area is believed to have been first settled between 8800 and 7000 BC and continuously inhabited since 5000 BC. During its history, Byblos was part of numerous cultures including Egyptian, Phoenician, Assyrian, Persian, Hellenistic, Roman, Genoese, Mamluk and Ottoman. Urbanisation is thought to have begun during the third millennium BC when it developed into a city, making it one of the oldest cities in the world, if not the oldest. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

It was in Ancient Byblos that the Phoenician alphabet, the ancestor of the Greek, Latin and all other Western alphabets, was developed.

The name appears as kbnj in Egyptian hieroglyphic records going back to the 4th-dynasty pharaoh Sneferu (fl. 2600 BC) and as Gubla (𒁺𒆷) in the Akkadian cuneiform Amarna letters to the 18th-dynasty pharaohs Amenhotep III and IV. In the 1st millennium BC, its name appeared in Phoenician and Punic inscriptions as Gebal (𐤂𐤁𐤋, GBL); in the Hebrew Bible as Geval (גבל); and in Syriac as GBL (ܓܒܠ). Eusebius' Onomasticon stated that Byblos was called "Gobel / Gebal" in Hebrew. The name seems to derive from GB (𐤂𐤁, "well") and ʾL (𐤀𐤋, "god"), the latter a word that could variously refer to any of the Canaanite gods or to their leader in particular. The name thus seems to have meant the "Well of the God" or "Source of the God".^{[citation needed]}

Its present Arabic name Jubayl (جبيل) or J(e)beil is a direct descendant of these earlier names, although apparently modified by a misunderstanding of the name as the triliteral root GBL or JBL, meaning "mountain". When the Arabic form of the name is used, it is typically rendered Jbeil, Jbail, or Jbayl in English.^{[citation needed]} All of these, along with Byblos, are etymologically related. During the Crusades, this name appeared in Western records as Gibelet or Giblet. This name was used for Byblos Castle and its associated lordship.^{[citation needed]}

The Phoenician City, known to the Greeks as Býblos (Βύβλος) and to the Romans as Byblus, was important for their import of papyrus out of Ancient Egypt – to the extent that "Byblos" came to mean "papyrus" in Greek. The English word "Bible", therefore, ultimately derives from the Greek name of the city, Βύβλος ('Βύblos / Byblos'), a Greek mumbo-jumble of גְּבָל ('Gāḇal / Gəbal Gobâl'..., that is, 'Gebal' or 'Jebel'), which shares the same root as גְּבוּל ('Gəḇūl / Gābūl, that is 'Gebul' or 'Jabul'), as they're derivatives of ג־ב־ל ('g-ḇ-l' / 'g-b-l' / 'g-v-l'), which means 'twist as a rope', '(be a, set) border' or 'bound(aria)', which tells us that it is a North Boundary of Canaan.

Situated approximately 42 km (26 mi) north of Beirut, Byblos holds a strong allure for archaeologists due to its accumulations of various strata resulting from countless centuries of human dwelling. The initial excavation was conducted by Ernest Renan in 1860, documented in his work "Mission de Phénicie" (1865–1874). This was succeeded by Pierre Montet's efforts from 1921 to 1924, and later by Maurice Dunand, who continued excavations from 1925 for a span of forty years. Renan's expedition was to "provide the evidence that the city did not move and that Gebeil is Byblos".

Fragments attributed to the semi-legendary pre-Homeric Phoenician priest Sanchuniathon say Byblos was the first city erected in Phoenicia and was established by the god Cronus. (Cronus was considered the nearest equivalent to the Canaanite Baal / Baal Hammon in the syncretising system used by the ancient Greeks and Romans.) According to the writer Philo of Byblos (quoting Sanchuniathon, and quoted in Eusebius), Byblos was founded by the Phoenician shrine god El (whom the Greeks identified with their god Cronus). During the 3rd millennium BC, the first signs of a town can be observed, with the remains of well-built houses of uniform size. This was the period when the Canaanite civilization began to develop.^{[citation needed]}

Neolithic remains of some buildings can be observed at the site. Jacques Cauvin published studies of flint tools from the stratified Neolithic and Chalcolithic sites in 1962. Remains of humans found in Chalcolithic burials have been published by Henri Victor Vallois in 1937. Tombs from this era were discussed by Emir Maurice Chehab in 1950. Early pottery found at the tell was published by E.S. Boynton in 1960 with further studies by R. Erich in 1954 and Van Liere and Henri de Contenson in 1964.