Contrôler un territoire, contrôler un sanctuaire : aspects religieux de la fondation de Berytus

Abstract

The foundation of the roman colony of Berytus by Augustus was accompanied by a profound modification of his civic territory : from then on, he was crossing Mount Libanon. One of the consequences of that extension is the integration of the Heliopolitan sanctuary in the colony’s public religion. Because of the lack of evidence, historians usually investigate the religious consequences of a territorial reorganization and not the possible religious motivation of the founder. In the case of Berytus, Augustan foundation, the question is not unjustified, despite the insufficient documentation. By exploring the historical context of the colonial foundation, we can propose a description of the integration of the sanctuary, partly hypothetical : the consequences (and in particular the « monumentalisation »), are so important that they could imply the intervention of the central authorities. The investigation into the position of the Heliopolitan sanctuary in the new civic environment leads us to reconsider the epigraphic evidence referring to the Heliopolitan deities.

Keywords

• roman colony
• Berytus
• Augustus
• roman Near East
• civic territory
• extra-urban sanctuary