Hadath El Jebbeh

Hadath El Jebbeh
حدث الجبة
City
Map showing the location of Hadath El Jebbeh within Lebanon
Hadath El Jebbeh

Location within Lebanon

Coordinates: 34°15′00″N 35°55′46″E / 34.25000°N 35.92944°ECoordinates: 34°15′00″N 35°55′46″E / 34.25000°N 35.92944°E
Country  Lebanon
Governorate North Governorate
District Bsharri District
Elevation 1,420 m (4,660 ft)
Time zone EET (UTC+2)
  Summer (DST) EEST (UTC+3)
Dialing code +961

Hadath El Jebbeh ( known as Hadeth El Jebbeh, Hadath el-Jubbah, Hadad El-Gebbeh or Hadet ej Jobbé; Arabic: حدث الجبة), is a town located in the Bsharri District in the North Governorate of Lebanon. It is situated in the Valley of Qadisha. The population is Christian Maronite.

Etymology

Hadath is the name of three localities in Lebanon. To differentiate between the localities, the name of the region is added, Hadath Beirut, Hadath Baalbeck and finally Hadath Al Jebbeh. Other localities by this name exist in the Middle-East.

The Semitic root of Hadath means the new. Hadath could mean the new town.[1]

The common pronunciation of the name is Hadad. It gives an indication to a probable different meaning. Hadad was the northwest Semitic storm and rain god and the town could have had a temple dedicated to this god. And the popular tradition claims that the church dedicated to the saint patron of Hadath, Saint Daniel, was built on the remnants of a pagan temple.[2]

Jebbeh is the traditional name of the Kadisha region, called also Jebbet Bsharri in reference to Bsharri the largest town of this region. The Semitic root Gb means well, deep and could be a reference to the deep gorges of the Kadisha. In Lebanon, other Jebbeh exist like Jebbet Mnaytra and Jebbet Yanuh.

History

Hadath is a very ancient settlement. Maronites settled there in the 9th century A.D. after fleeing the Orontes valley. The town knew its importance during the Crusades. It was destroyed at the end of the 13th century A.D. by the Mamluk army. Going to this period, 8 Maronite mummies of inhabitants were found in a nearby grotto, the 'Assi of Hadath. After its destruction, the town recovered and regained some importance till the end of the 16th century A.D.

Hadath gave the Maronite Church three Patriarchs, Yaaqoub Ibn Eid (1445–1468), Boutros Ibn Youssef Ibn Yaaqoub, known as Ibn Hassane (1468–1492) and Sham'un Ibn Dawud Ibn Youssef Ibn Hassane (1492–1524).[3] Those three patriarchs were very active in combating the influence of the Jacobites on the Maronites, a struggle that led to the eviction of the Jacobites of the Kadisha around 1550.

See also

Maronite mummies

References

  1. Moubarac, Y. (1984). Pentalogie Antiochienne / Domaine Maronite - Volume 2 - Part 2, Cenacle Libanais, Beirut. page 649.
  2. Lammens, H. (1986). Tasrih al-Absar fi Ma Yahtawi Loubnan min Al-Athar, Dar Nazir Abboud, Beirut. Page 99-100
  3. Moubarac, Y. (1984). Pentalogie Antiochienne / Domaine Maronite - Volume 1 - Part 1, Cenacle Libanais, Beirut. page 14.

External links