History of Lebanon

 Geography of Lebanon Lebanon is today a small republic stretching approximately 160 kilometers along the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea with a total area of 10,452 kilometers square and an estimated population of 3,874,050 according to an independent 2006 estimate, including Palestinian refugees and foreign workers, mainly Syrian. Lebanese territory is dominated mostly by mountains which consist of the parallel ranges of the Lebanon and the Anti-Lebanon. Between the Lebanon and the Anti-Lebanon ranges lies the valley of Biqa'. Lebanon is bounded on the north by the Eleutherus River (Nahr al-Kabir), on the east by the Anti-Lebanon mountains, both of which they share with what is present-day Syria. It is also bounded on the west by the Mediterranean Sea and on the south by the highlands of the Galilee, or what is today Occupied Palestine (Israel). Beirut, the capital of present-day Lebanon, its largest city and principal port, is located almost mid-way on the coastal line of the country.

 Ancient History of Lebanon (2700 BCE – 7th century CE) The history of Lebanon is almost as old as the earliest evidence of mankind. Lebanon was the homeland of Phoenicia; an ancient civilization among the earliest renowned civilizations of Egypt, Mesopotamia, and Greece. At different periods, Lebanon had come under the control of several foreign conquerors including Assyrians, Babylonians, Armenians, Persians, Greeks, Romans, Arabs, Ottomans and French, each leaving a noticeable influence on modern-day Lebanon. What the Greeks names as Phoenicia was a civilization that flourished along the coast for more than 2,000 years (2700-450 BCE). The Phoenicians developed the first alphabet, and Phoenician city-states such as Byblos, Beirut, and Tyre became symbols for the art of navigation, trade and communication. Phoenicians, however, never united politically and thus were subject to many conquests: Assyrians in 867 BCE; Babylonians in the 590s