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© All rights reserved for The Municipality of Amioun & eNET
Amioun’s Location
Situated between the
sea and the mountains, on a chain of beautiful hills that stretch from
east to west, Amioun has a distinctive location and a breathtaking view.
Surrounding the hills on which Amioun is situated are olive fields in the north and vineyards,
almond orchards, and olive trees in the south. Paved roads, including the
Beirut-Cedars main highway, run through those hills. Long ago, when the
houses that stretched on those hills were few, Amioun was called “ the
town of beautiful hills”. Amioun can be reached via the highway that
passes through Jbeil ( Byblos), Batroun, Chekka, and Kfarhazir. It can
also be reached from Tripoli by way of Bahsas, Dahr El Ain, Aba, and
Bishmizzine.
How
Did Amioun Derive Its Name
Amioun’s name is very ancient and can be traced back to the
earliest Semitic and Aramean periods. The name was actually cited in the
letters of Tell el Amarna, which were sent in the 14 th century
B.C. by local governors in Lebanon to their overlords, the pharaohs of
Egypt. Those letters provide information on conditions in Lebanon at that
time. Cited in those letters is the word “ Amia”, a name that might
have been used to refer to the site of present-day Amioun. In his
etymological study of the names of Lebanon’s towns and villages, Anis
Frayha thinks that Amioun’s name is derived from the Semitic – Aramaic
word “ Emun” , which means a fortified and invincible fort.
| Amioun In History Amioun is a very old town whose history can be traced back to the earliest periods. In the past years, a number of French and German orientalists – foremost of whom was the Frenchman Ernest Renan – visited it, studied its archaeological sites, and wrote a lot about them. Amioun’s history goes back to the middle of the eolithic period. The eolithic groups that had been in this region before the arrival of the ancient Semitic peoples (around 4000 B.C. or even earlier) continued to live there during the Paleolithic and Neolithic periods. This is supported by the existence of small caves in the rocky hill of Amioun, that is, in the ancient part of the town. It is in this part of Amioun that we have two of the oldest archaeological sites in the town : the cavities of the “Sheer” (the Arabic word for cliff), above which St John’s church stands, and the Cathedral of St George “ el Dahleez” ( the Arabic word for tunnel). |
Amioun has been
inhabited since the earliest periods. In his book “The Monuments of Lebanon”, Father Lamens mentions a
number of towns, one of which is “Amia” (p.76). According to Condor,
this town of “Amia” is none other than present-day Amioun. If
Condor’s claim is true, Amioun may be considered as the oldest town in
the interior of Lebanon. ( See Condor, the Tell el Amarna Tablets, 2nd
ed., London, 1894).
Amioun’s past has left its mark on different historical periods, whether ancient, medieval, or modern. Some of its monuments can be traced back to a period when different pagan religions prevailed. With the advent of Christianity, the pagan temples in Amioun were transformed into churches whose bells signalled the triumph of monotheism.