World Heritage Identification Number: 295
World Heritage since: 1984
Category: Cultural Heritage
WHE Type: Historic Cities & Urban Areas
Transboundary Heritage: No
Endangered Heritage: No
Country: 🇱🇧 Lebanon
Continent: Asia
UNESCO World Region: Arab States
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Byblos: An Ancient City Steeped in History and Culture
Byblos, officially known as Jebeil, Jbeil, or Jubayl, is an ancient city located within the Keserwan-Jbeil Governorate of Lebanon. This remarkable site, recognized by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site, offers a unique glimpse into the rich tapestry of human civilization that has unfolded along the shores of the Mediterranean Sea over thousands of years.
More to come…UNESCO Description of the World Heritage Site
The ruins of many successive civilizations are found at Byblos, one of the oldest Phoenician cities. Inhabited since Neolithic times, it has been closely linked to the legends and history of the Mediterranean region for thousands of years. Byblos is also directly associated with the history and diffusion of the Phoenician alphabet.
UNESCO Justification of the World Heritage Site
Criterion (iii): Byblos bears an exceptional testimony to the beginnings of Phoenician civilization.
Criterion (iv): Since the Bronze Age, Byblos provides one of the primary examples of urban organization in the Mediterranean world.
Criterion (vi): Byblos is directly and tangibly associated with the history of the diffusion of the Phoenician alphabet (on which humanity is still largely dependent today), with the inscriptions of Ahiram, Yehimilk, Elibaal and Shaphatbaal.
Encyclopedia Record: Byblos
Byblos, also known as Jebeil, Jbeil or Jubayl, 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.Additional Site Details
Area: Not available
Number of Components: 1
(iv) — Outstanding example of a type of building or landscape
(vi) — Directly associated with events or living traditions
Coordinates: 34.11917 , 35.6455555556
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