Majdal Anjar (Arabic: مجدل عنجر; also transliterated Majdel Anjar) is a village of Beqaa Governorate, Lebanon. Majdal Anjar is an overwhelmingly Sunni Muslim town.[1][2][3]
Majdal Anjar
مجدل عنجر Majdal Anjar | |
|---|---|
Village | |
 | |
  Majdal Anjar Location in Lebanon | |
| Coordinates: 33°42′27″N 35°54′14″E / 33.70750°N 35.90389°E | |
| Country |  Lebanon |
| Governorate | Beqaa Governorate |
| District | Zahle District |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Said Hussien Yassin |
| Area | |
• Total | 9.90 sq mi (25.65 km2) |
| Elevation | 3,180 ft (970 m) |
| Population (2006) | |
• Total | 23,000 |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (EST) |
| • Summer (DST) | +3 |
| Website | Majdal Anjar official web site |
Geography
editMajdal Anjar is one of the Bekaa Valley towns of the east. It is located on the international road linking Beirut and Damascus through Lebanon and Syria's Masnaa Border Crossing, about 55 km from the Lebanese capital and 57 kilometers from Damascus. Rise of 970 m above sea level. An area of 25,642,775 square meters. A population of about 25,000 people. It borders Sawiri from east and south, Anjar from north and Dakwi and Rawda from west.
Agriculture
editThe most important crops are cereals, including: wheat, barley, lentil, grapes, potatoes, beets, nuts, peaches apricots, cherry, pomegranate, almonds, olives, raspberries, apples, onions, tomatoes, zucchini, cabbage, cauliflower, watermelon, lettuce, radishes, parsley, Mint, garlic, beans, kidney beans, etc.
Industry
editNothing more than a simple primitive industry, and food industry, including bread, sugar, flour, and the construction industry. A sugar factory was founded in 1958 in Majdal Anjar.
Trade
editThe town of Majdal Anjar is a complex interaction between Lebanon and the Arab states. There are custom offices along the border region.
Tourism
editThe Temple at Majdal Anjar that was later converted into a castle, dates back to the reign of Herod of Chalkis who is thought to be the builder of this temple.[4]
History
editIn 1838, Eli Smith noted Mejdel 'Anjar as a Sunni Muslim village in the Beqaa Valley.[5]
In the 2nd century BCE, the Itureans, an Arab tribe from modern-day Jordan, settled in the southern Bekaa Valley and established the city of Chalkis. Following the Roman conquest of the region, Emperor Claudius granted the area to Herod of Chalkis, a great-grandson of Herod the Great, who ruled from 41 to 48 CE. It is likely that Herod of Chalkis constructed the temple now visible at Majdel Anjar, located about three kilometers southwest of the more prominent ruins of the Umayyad city of Anjar. The site controlled a key route to Damascus. The Abbasids later dismantled the temple, converting it into a fortress.[6]
Inside The town there is a mosque called "Omar bin al-Khattab," built by Walid bin Abdul Malik bin Marwan.
Archaeology
editMajdel Anjar I is a large site, 1.5 kilometres (0.93 mi) northwest of the village where Jesuit archaeologist, Auguste Bergy found numerous flint tools that dated to various periods. He identified a Heavy Neolithic assemblage of the Qaraoun culture that consisted of chisels, axes cores and other debris.[7]
Majdal Anjar II or Tell Majdal Anjar is 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) north of the village near the road. Lorraine Copeland commented that "sackfulls" of neolithic flints could be recovered from the area when she visited, including large cutting tools.[8][9] The tell shows deposits with finds consisting of pottery sherds, flints and part of a stoneware bowl. Also found were scapers, burins, trapezoidal axes and segmented sickles with fine denticulation. Pottery was both fine and coarse featuring red washing, burnishing and incisions. Finds were similar to middle neolithic levels of Byblos and Ard Tlaili.[10]
References
edit- ^ Gambill, Gary C. (December 2007). "Islamist Groups in Lebanon". Middle East Review of International Affairs. 11 (4). Retrieved 10 March 2024.
- ^ Nicholas Blanford (25 August 2006). Killing Mr Lebanon: The Assassination of Rafik Hariri and Its Impact on the Middle East. I.B.Tauris. p. 109. ISBN 9780857714053.
- ^ Nour Samaha (2 July 2013). "The strange case of Lebanon's Shebaa". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 11 June 2015.
- ^ "Majdel Anjar temple - LebanonUntravelled.com". 20 July 2020. Retrieved 30 September 2024.
- ^ Robinson and Smith, 1841, vol 3, 2nd appendix, p. 142
- ^ "Majdel Anjar - Livius". www.livius.org. Retrieved 30 September 2024.
- ^ Moore, A.M.T. (1978). The Neolithic of the Levant. Oxford University, Unpublished Ph.D. Thesis. pp. 444–446.
- ^ Université Saint-Joseph (Beirut; Lebanon) (1966). Mélanges de l'Université Saint-Joseph. Impr. catholique. Retrieved 1 May 2011.
- ^ Copeland, Lorraine, "Neolithic Village Sites in the South Beqaa Lebanon", Melanges de l'Université Saint-Joseph (Beirut Lebanon) Volume 45, (Pages 83-114), 1969.
- ^ Moore, A.M.T. (1978). The Neolithic of the Levant. Oxford University, Unpublished Ph.D. Thesis. pp. 436–442.
Bibliography
editExternal links
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- Majdel Aanjar, localiban