Gigarta

Not to be confused with Giganta.

Gigarta (also known as Gigartus in classical sources) was an ancient settlement in northern Lebanon. Noted primarily in the Museiliha inscription found in the vicinity of the Mseilha Fort, Gigarta appears to have been involved in a territorial dispute with Caesarea ad Libanum (modern Arqa) during the first century AD. Historical accounts suggest that Gigarta's status was below that of a fully developed Roman city (civitas), yet above that of a minor settlement or hamlet (vicus). Gigarta's precise location remains unknown; scholars have speculated that it may correspond to either modern-day Gharzouz, Zgharta, or Hannouch, all localities in North Lebanon.

In ancient sources

The precise location of Gigarta remains debated among scholars due to scarce archaeological evidence directly linked to the site; information about the settlement comes from inscriptions and ancient texts suggesting it was situated on the western foothills of Mount Lebanon. First century AD Greek geographer Strabo refers the place as "Gigartus", one of the strongholds of the "Arabians and Itureans", and describes its location as being on the slopes of the Libanus. Pliny the Elder writing in the first century AD, situated Gigarta between Tripolis to the north and Botrys to the south. The Museiliha inscription referencing Gigarta was discovered in Aabrine, south of the promontory of Ras ash-Shaq'a. It was reported to have been transported from its findspot in the vicinity of the Mseilha Fort. This inscription, now housed in the Louvre Museum, is in Latin and records a boundary-marking operation between Caesarea ad Libanum and the people of Gigarta, from the vicus (village) of the Sidonians, on the order of a procurator. Gigarta does not appear to have attained the status of a civitas, even during the early Byzantine period (330–717). Byzantine geographer George of Cyprus, writing as late as the early seventh century, still referred to it as a village.

Interpretation and location

French orientalist Ernest Renan suggested that Gigarta is modern Gharzouz, while French archeologist René Dussaud proposed present-day Zgharta, based on proximity and descriptions from ancient texts. Recent research by Lebanese archaeologist Hassan Salame-Sarkis proposes that Gigarta may correspond to the location of the site known as Hannouch (or Selaata) situated on the coast close to Batroun. Sarkis based his identification of Gigarta on findings that include remnants of a Byzantine basilica and other ancient structures in Hannouch, suggesting historical importance that aligns with accounts of Gigarta. He posits that Hannouch's proximity to the ancient route to Arqa, along with its closeness to the findspot of the Museiliha inscription, supports the identification of Hannouch with the ancient settlement of Gigarta. According to French historian Julien Aliquot, Gigarta was a settlement of greater statutory importance than a vicus but of lower rank than a city: it was probably the capital of a more or less fragmented canton or pagus, comprising one or more vici, including the one called "vicus of the Sidonians" mentioned in the Museiliha inscription.

References

Sources

• Aliquot, Julien (2009). La Vie religieuse au Liban sous l'Empire romain. Bibliothèque archéologique et historique (in French). Beyrouth: Presses de l’Ifpo. ISBN 978-2-35159-299-1.

• Dussaud, René (1927). "Chapitre II. De Tripoli à Carné. — L'Émésène" [Chapter II. From Tripoli to Karnos. - The Emesene]. Topographie historique de la Syrie antique et médiévale [Historical topography of ancient and medieval Syria]. Bibliothèque archéologique et historique (in French). Beyrouth: Presses de l’Ifpo. pp. 75–115. ISBN 978-2-35159-464-3. Retrieved 2024-11-10.

• George of Cyprus (1890) [7th century AD]. Gelzer, Heinrich (ed.). Descriptio Orbis Romani [The Description of the Roman World] (in Latin). B. G. Teubneri.

• Louvre Museum (2024). "inscription ; borne". Louvre. Retrieved 2024-11-06.

• Mommsen, Theodor; Hirschfeld, Otto; Domaszewski, Alfredus (1873). Inscriptiones Asiae provinciarum Europae Graecarum Illyrici Latinae (in Latin). Georgius Reimerus.
• Pliny the Elder (2019) [First century AD]. "Natural History". ToposText. Retrieved 2024-11-12.

• Renan, Ernest (1864). Mission de Phénicie Dirigée par M. Ernest Renan [Mission to Phoenicia, directed by Mr. Ernest Renan] (in French). Paris: Imprimerie impériale. OCLC 763570479.
• Salame-Sarkis, Hassan (2005). "Le dieu de Râs ach-Chaq'a-Théouprosopon". Syria. Archéologie, Art et histoire. 82 (1): 173–188. doi:10.3406/syria.2005.8689.
• Strabo (2019) [First century AD]. "Geography". ToposText. Retrieved 2024-11-12.