Berytus

Berytus is the ancient name for the coastal city now identified with Beirut, the present capital of Lebanon. The name, derived from the Greek Berytos, was used in Phoenician, Hellenistic, and Roman periods as the city developed along the Mediterranean coast.

In antiquity, Berytus functioned as a major Phoenician port and urban center. It came under successive empires, including Persian, Hellenistic, and Roman rule, and grew into a prosperous city with a substantial harbor and public amenities such as theaters, baths, and walls. During the Roman era it attained the status of a notable provincial center and attracted settlers and veterans, contributing to its urban growth.

Berytus is especially remembered for its Law School, which flourished in late antiquity and drew jurists from across the Roman world. The school and its associates played a key role in the development of classical and Byzantine legal scholarship, and its activity is reflected in later legal texts and references in imperial legislation. The accompanying library and teaching complex were renowned in antiquity.

A severe earthquake in 551 CE devastated Beirut and surrounding areas, destroying much of Berytus’s infrastructure, including the law school and its library. This disaster contributed to the decline of Berytus as a major urban center, though the city continued to be inhabited and later experienced new phases under Byzantine and Islamic rule.

Today, ruins and archaeological remains near modern Beirut reflect the site’s Roman and Phoenician past, offering insights into ancient urban planning, harbor architecture, and the legal learning tradition associated with Berytus.