3rd century in Lebanon

	3rd century in Lebanon
	Key event(s):
	Third Century Crisis;
	Statue of Ulpian, a Lebanese Roman jurist born in Tyre. He was considered one of the great legal authorities of his time and was one of the five jurists upon whom decisions were to be based according to the Law of Citations of Valentinian III.
	Chronology:
	← 2nd century; 3rd century; 4th century →;

This article lists historical events that occurred between 201–300 in modern-day Lebanon or regarding its people.

Administration

Tyre was the capital of Phoenice, but the Roman emperor Elagabalus (r. 218–222) raised his native Emesa (modern-day Homs) to co-capital, leading to a rivalry between the two cities as the head of the province.^[1]

Propraetorial Imperial Legates of Phoenicia

Date	Propraetorial Imperial Legates (Governors)
c. 207	Domitius Leo Procillianus
213	D. Pius Cassius
Between 268 and 270	Salvius Theodorus
Between 284 and 305	L. Artorius Pius Maximus
292 – 293	Crispinus^[2]^[3]

Events

200s

Domitius Leo Procillianus is Propraetorial Imperial Legate of Phoenicia c. 207 AD.

Bust of young Severus Alexander, Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, Copenhagen

Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius Severus Alexander, known simply as Severus Alexander, is born in 1 October 208, Arqa, in modern-day Lebanon.^[4]

210s

Willem Swanenburgh, after Joachim Anthonisz Wtewael, Beheading of the Roman Judge Papinian, 1606

The Phoenician-born Papinian, a celebrated Roman jurist, magister libellorum, attorney general (advocatus fisci) and, praetorian prefect is murdered in 212 AD.^[5]
D. Pius Cassius is Propraetorial Imperial Legate of Phoenicia, 213 AD.

Seven Wise Men Mosaic: Calliope, surrounded by Socrates and seven wise men (Baalbeck, 3rd century A.D.)

Septimius Severus' wife Julia Domna and son Caracalla tour in Baalbek, 215 AD.^[6]
Marcus Julius Gessius Marcianus, native of Arqa and a Roman aristocrat and step-father of Severus Alexander, is murdered in 218 AD.^[7]

220s

The Tyrian-born Ulpian, Latin: Gnaeus Domitius Annius Ulpianus; a Roman jurist and one of the great legal authorities, under Severus Alexander, serves as praetorian prefect from 222 AD.^[8]
Ulpian is murdered in 228.^[8]

230s

The Third century Crisis begins with the assassination of the Lebanese Roman emperor Severus Alexander, 21/22 March 235 AD.^[9]

Porphire Sophiste, in a French 16th-century engraving
Porphyry of Tyre, a Neoplatonic philosopher, is born in Tyre, c. 234 AD.^[10]
Beirut is first mentioned in writing as a major center for the study of law in the works of Gregory Thaumaturgus, 238/239 AD.

250s

Marinus is metropolitan bishop of Tyre, c. 250.^[11]
Origen, an early Christian scholar, ascetic and theologian, dies in Tyre, c. 253 AD (aged c. 69).^[12]

260s

Salvius Theodorus is Propraetorial Imperial Legate of Phoenicia in 268 AD.

270s

The Palmyrene empire is established in 270 AD with the start of Zenobia's expedition against the Tanukhids in the spring of the same year, leading to the occupation of Roman Phoenice by the Syrian Palmyrenes.^[13]

The Palmyrene Empire in 271

Pagan temples are attested in a Greek inscription mentioning the date 272 AD found in the Mar Mama church in Ehden.^[14]
The Palmyrene empire is reconquered by the Romans, 273 AD.
A Roman mint is established in Tripolis, 273/274 AD.^[15]^[16]

280s

Saint Moura Church, Kfarsghab, Lebanon.

Saint Moura, an Egyptian Saint that is almost exclusively celebrated amongst Maronites, is martyred in 283 AD, Ansena, Egypt.^[17]
The Third century Crisis ends with the ascension of Diocletian and his implementation of reforms in 284 AD.
L. Artorius Pius Maximus is Propraetorial Imperial Legate of Phoenicia in 284 AD.
The Roman mint in Tripolis closes down in 286/287 AD.

290s

Crispinus is Propraetorial Imperial Legate of Phoenicia, 292 – 293.
Aquilina, a native of Byblos and a christian child, dies in 293 AD, shortly before the executioner could carry out the decapitation sentenced on her for her religion.^[18]

Miniature painting of the martyrdom of Ananias and his companions, Menologion of Basil II

Ananias "of Phoenicia" the Presbyter, Peter the prison guard, and seven soldiers, get martyred in the form of drowning after lengthy torture for their Christianity, 295 AD, Phoenicia.^[19]
Gelasinus is martyred in Baalbek, 297 AD.^[20]^[21]

Ecclesiastical administration

The ecclesiastical administration of Pheonice paralleled the political, but with some differences. The bishop of Tyre emerged as the pre-eminent prelate of Phoenice by the mid-3rd century.^[22]

Military

Since the time of Septimius Severus, it had been the practice to assign not more than two legions to each frontier province, and, although in some provinces one legion was sometimes deemed sufficient, the upper limit was not exceeded. This policy appears to have been continued during the third century AD, as seen in the case of Aurelian raising the garrisons of Phoenice to the normal strength of two legions.^[23]

Education

Saint Gregory the Miracle-Worker, 14th century icon

In 238 or 239 AD, Beirut was first mentioned in writing as a major center for the study of law in the panegyric of Gregory Thaumaturgus, the bishop of Neo-Caesarea^[24]^[25]^[26] The 3rd-century emperors Diocletian and Maximian issued constitutions exempting the students of the law school of Beirut from compulsory service in their hometowns.^[27]^[28]

References

^ Eißfeldt 1941, p. 368.
^ Linda Jones Hall, Roman Berytus: Beirut in late antiquity (2004)
^ PLRE
^ Furius Dionysius Filocalus, Chronograph of 354, Part 3: "DIVI·ALEXANDRI·KAL·OCT".
^ Reed, Joseph J. (1862). Outlines of Universal History: In Three Parts; with a Copious Index to Each Part, Showing the Correct Mode of Pronouncing Every Name Mentioned ... J.B. Lippincott & Company.
^ Jessup (1881), p. 471.
^ Birley, Septimius Severus: The African Emperor, p. 222
^ ^a ^b "Ulpian | Roman jurist | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 2022-09-23.
^ "Severus Alexander (222–235 AD): The Calm before the Storm" (PDF). The Saylor Foundation.
^ Schott, Jeremy M. (2013-04-23). Christianity, Empire, and the Making of Religion in Late Antiquity. University of Pennsylvania Press. ISBN 978-0-8122-0346-2.
^ Eusebius, Church History VII.5
^ The New Catholic Encyclopedia (Detroit: Gale, 2003). ISBN 978-0-7876-4004-0
^ Bryce, Trevor (2014-03-05). Ancient Syria: A Three Thousand Year History. OUP Oxford. ISBN 978-0-19-100293-9.
^ Yammine, Y.: Daleel Ehden, page 14.
^ Sellars, Ian J. (2013). The Monetary System of the Romans. p. 355. Retrieved Nov 19, 2019.
^ "Tripolis, Phoenicia (Tripoli, Lebanon)". FORVM ANCIENT COINS. Retrieved Nov 19, 2019.
^ Moubarac,Youakim (1984), Pentalogie Antiochienne / Domaine Maronite - Tome II - Volume I - page 39. Editor Cenacle Libanais - Beirut - Lebanon.
^ "Martyr Aquilina of Byblos in Syria". www.oca.org. Retrieved 2022-09-23.
^ "Martyrs Ananias the Presbyter, Peter, and seven soldiers, in Phoenicia". www.oca.org. Retrieved 2022-09-23.
^ Forster (1828), p. 239.
^ Butler (1799), p. 402.
^ Eißfeldt 1941, p. 369.
^ Parker, "The Legions of Diocletian and Constantine," p. 177/178.
^ Sartre 2005, p. 289
^ Collinet 1925, p. 17
^ Thaumaturgus 239, pp. 45–46
^ Jidejian 1973, p. 65
^ Collinet 1925, pp. 29–30

Sources

A.R. Birley, Septimius Severus: The African Emperor, Routledge, 2002
Forster, Thomas Ignatius M. (1828), Circle of the Seasons, and Perpetual Key to the Calendar and Almanack; to which is added the Circle of the Hours, and the History of the Days of the Week; being a Compendious Illustration of the History, Antiquities, and Natural Phenomena, of Each Day of the Year, London: J. & C. Adlard for Thomas Hookham
Butler, Alban (1799), The Lives of the Primitive Fathers, Martyrs, and other Principal Saints: Compiled from Original Monuments, and other Authentic Records: Illustrated with the Remarks of Judicious Modern Critics and Historians, 3rd ed., Vol. VIII, Edinburgh: J. Moir for J. P. Coghlan
Jessup, Samuel (1881). "Ba'albek". In Wilson, Charles William (ed.). Picturesque Palestine, Sinai, and Egypt, Div. II. New York: D. Appleton & Co., illustrated by Henry Fenn & J.D. Woodward. pp. 453–476.
Collinet, Paul (1925). Histoire de l'école de droit de Beyrouth (in French). Paris: Société Anonyme du Recueil Sirey.
Jidejian, Nina (1973). Beirut: Through the Ages. Beirut: Dar el-Machreq.
Thaumaturgus, Gregory (1873) [239]. "Oratio Panegyrica ad Originem" [The Oration and Panegyric Addressed to Origen] (PDF). In Philip Schaff (ed.). Ante-Nicene Fathers. Vol. 6. Translated by S. D. F. Salmond. Edinburgh: Christian Classics Etheral Library.
Yammine, Fr. Youssef, Daleel Ehden, Editor El, 2000.
Sartre, Maurice (2005). The Middle East Under Rome. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0-674-01683-5.
Eißfeldt, Otto (1941). "Phoiniker (Phoinike)". Realencyclopädie der Classischen Altertumswissenschaft. Vol. Band XX, Halbband 39, Philon–Pignus. pp. 350–379.
Martindale, J. R.; Jones, A. H. M, The Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire, Vol. I AD 260–395, Cambridge University Press (1971)
Linda Jones Hall, Roman Berytus: Beirut in late antiquity (2004)

[FOOTNOTEEißfeldt1941368-1] Eißfeldt 1941, p. 368.

[2] Linda Jones Hall, Roman Berytus: Beirut in late antiquity (2004)

[3] PLRE

[4] Furius Dionysius Filocalus, Chronograph of 354, Part 3: "DIVI·ALEXANDRI·KAL·OCT".

[5] Reed, Joseph J. (1862). Outlines of Universal History: In Three Parts; with a Copious Index to Each Part, Showing the Correct Mode of Pronouncing Every Name Mentioned ... J.B. Lippincott & Company.

[FOOTNOTEJessup1881[httpsbooksgooglecombooksidmzdQAQAAIAAJpgPA471_471]-6] Jessup (1881), p. 471.

[7] Birley, Septimius Severus: The African Emperor, p. 222

[:0-8] "Ulpian | Roman jurist | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 2022-09-23.

[The_Saylor_Foundation-9] "Severus Alexander (222–235 AD): The Calm before the Storm" (PDF). The Saylor Foundation.

[10] Schott, Jeremy M. (2013-04-23). Christianity, Empire, and the Making of Religion in Late Antiquity. University of Pennsylvania Press. ISBN 978-0-8122-0346-2.

[11] Eusebius, Church History VII.5

[12] The New Catholic Encyclopedia (Detroit: Gale, 2003). ISBN 978-0-7876-4004-0

[13] Bryce, Trevor (2014-03-05). Ancient Syria: A Three Thousand Year History. OUP Oxford. ISBN 978-0-19-100293-9.

[14] Yammine, Y.: Daleel Ehden, page 14.

[15] Sellars, Ian J. (2013). The Monetary System of the Romans. p. 355. Retrieved Nov 19, 2019.

[16] "Tripolis, Phoenicia (Tripoli, Lebanon)". FORVM ANCIENT COINS. Retrieved Nov 19, 2019.

[17] Moubarac,Youakim (1984), Pentalogie Antiochienne / Domaine Maronite - Tome II - Volume I - page 39. Editor Cenacle Libanais - Beirut - Lebanon.

[18] "Martyr Aquilina of Byblos in Syria". www.oca.org. Retrieved 2022-09-23.

[19] "Martyrs Ananias the Presbyter, Peter, and seven soldiers, in Phoenicia". www.oca.org. Retrieved 2022-09-23.

[FOOTNOTEForster1828[httpsarchiveorgdetailsbub_gb_F2K4iE_VTC0Cpagen264_239]-20] Forster (1828), p. 239.

[FOOTNOTEButler1799[httpsbooksgooglecombooksidBEBOAAAAYAAJpgPA402_402]-21] Butler (1799), p. 402.

[FOOTNOTEEißfeldt1941369-22] Eißfeldt 1941, p. 369.

[23] Parker, "The Legions of Diocletian and Constantine," p. 177/178.

[24] Sartre 2005, p. 289

[25] Collinet 1925, p. 17

[26] Thaumaturgus 239, pp. 45–46

[27] Jidejian 1973, p. 65

[28] Collinet 1925, pp. 29–30

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