Constantine's province of Augusta Libanensis was short-lived, but formed the basis of the re-division of Phoenice c. 400 into the Phoenice I or Phoenice Paralia (Greek: Φοινίκη Παραλία, "coastal Phoenice"), and Phoenice II or Phoenice Libanensis (Lebanese Phoenicia);(Φοινίκη Λιβανησία), with Tyre and Emesa as their respective capitals.[1] In the Notitia Dignitatum, written shortly after the division, Phoenice I is governed by a consularis, while Libanensis is governed by a praeses, with both provinces under the Diocese of the East.[2] Only two governors of Phoenice were known from the reign of Theodosius II (408–450) to that of Justin I (518–527).[3]
Events
400s
5th century bull mosaic in the Beiteddine palace.
Around the year 400, Rabbula, the future bishop of Edessa, attempts to have himself martyred by interrupting and disrupting the pagans of Baalbek but he was only thrown down the temple stairs along with his companion.[4]
A village featuring a luxurious building with Roman thermal baths and two large winepresses is established in the modern region of Zaarour, c. 400.[5]
In 404 AD, towards the end of the reign of Arcadius, numerous Isaurian robbers gather in great numbers and ravage cities and villages as far as Phoenicia.[6]
John Chrysostom writes to Maron around AD 405 expressing his great love and respect, and asking him to pray for him.[7]
Roman ruins of Berytus, in front of Saint George Greek Orthodox Cathedral in modern-day Beirut.
The school's exact location is uncertain, but it is thought to have lain just north of Nejmeh Square (pictured), next to the Saint George Greek Orthodox Cathedral.
By the 5th century, the law school of Berytus had established its leading position and repute among the Empire's law schools; its teachers were highly regarded and played a chief role in the development of legal learning in the East to the point that they were dubbed “ecumenical masters”.[10][11] From 425, the law school of Constantinople becomes a rival center of law study.[12]
430s
Marcellinus, bishop of Arqa, participates at the Council of Ephesus in 431.[13][14][15] in which Cyrus, bishop of Tyre (?–431), is deposed as a supporter of Nestorius.[16] and Berenicianus is ordained as his successor as the bishop of Tyre. (431–?)[16]
440s
From Al Bass, dated 440: "possibly the oldest fresco of the Virgin Mary worldwide." (National Museum, Beirut)
In the summer of 2017 a Greek inscription, five-metres long, naming Irenaeus as bishop of Tyre, was found west of the Sea of Galilee. Since the inscription provides the date of the church's completion as 445, it gives credence to a date as early as 444 CE for his ordination.[18]
Epiphanius, bishop of Arqa, takes part in a synod at Antioch in 448.[13][14][15]
A council is held in Tyre, February, 449, to discuss and examine the nestorian beliefs of Ibas, Bishop of Edessa. This council had serious consequences at Chalcedon and especially at the Council of the Three Chapters in 553.[19]
450s
in 450 AD Berytus obtains from Theodosius II the title of metropolis, with jurisdiction over six sees taken from Tyre.
Heraclitus, bishop of Arqa, Porphyrius, a bishop from Batroun,[20] and Thomas, the bishop of Porphyreon (Jieh),[21] participate in the Council of Chalcedon, 451 AD, in which the Maronites reject miaphysitisim and maintain full communion with the then united Orthodox Catholic Church.[22] It's also decided in the council to restore the jurisdiction of the six sees Berytus obtained, back to Tyre, leaving, however, to Berytus its rank of metropolis.[23] Thus, from 451 AD Berytus is an exempt metropolis which depends directly on the Patriarch of Antioch.[24]
Limestime statue base with ancient Greek inscription mentioning Patricius, a well known jurist who taught in the law school of Berytus. The base was unearthed in 1906 in Beirut. Has disappeared since 1925.[26]
In 460 AD, the emperor Leo I issues an edict that orders candidates for the bar of the Eastern praetorian prefecture to produce certificates of proficiency from the law teachers who instruct them at one of the recognized law schools of the Empire. As a result, learning law at the law school of Berytus becomes highly desired.[27][28]
470s
John II Codonatus, archbishop of Tyre, becomes patriarch of Antioch (477).[29][30][31][32][33][34]
A mosaic from Upper Galilee, then part of Phoenice Paralios (Maritima), is completed on 16 April 478 in the celebration of the visit of Longinus, the archbishop of Tyre and several other ecclesiastical figures on the first Sunday after Easter.[35]
480s
5th century mosaic of the goddess Ktisis from the Beiteddine Palace.
In 491/492, during the reign of Anastasius I, LakhmidArabs invade Phoenicia Libanensis, reaching as far as Emesa.[40]
Ecclesiastical administration
The ecclesiastical administration paralleled the political, but with some differences. When the province was divided c. 400, Damascus, rather than Emesa, became the metropolis of Phoenice II. Both provinces belonged to the Patriarchate of Antioch, with Damascus initially outranking Tyre, whose position was also briefly challenged by the see of Berytus c. 450; after 480/1, however, the Metropolitan of Tyre established himself as the first in precedence (protothronos) of all the Metropolitans subject to Antioch.[37]
^ abVitalien Laurent, Le corpus des sceaux de l'empire Byzantin, vol. V/2, Paris, 1965, nº 1531.
^This episode, told by Procopius in the Persian Wars, I.2.11-15, could be placed in 421, during the previous war against the Sassanids (Michael H. Dodgeon, Samuel N. C. Lieu, Geoffrey Greatrex, The Roman Eastern Frontier and the Persian Wars, Part 2, CRC Press, 2002, ISBN0-203-99454-X, p. 259).
Cook, Arthur B. (1914). Zeus: a study in ancient religion (Band 1): Zeus god of the bright sky. Cambridge.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
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