[a] When it attained the status of a Roman colony, it was notionally refounded and its official name was emended to Colonia Iulia Augusta Felix Berytus to include its imperial sponsors.

Several prehistoric archaeological sites have been discovered within the urban area of Beirut, revealing flint tools from sequential periods dating from the Middle Palaeolithic and Upper Paleolithic through the Neolithic to the Bronze Age.

It was notable for the discovery of a finely styled Canaanean blade javelin suggested to date to the early or middle Neolithic periods of Byblos and which is held in the school library.

After a state of civil war and decline the Seleucid Empire faced, King Tigranes the Great of the Kingdom of Armenia conquered Beirut and placed it under effective Armenian control.

[38] In 14 BC, during the reign of Herod the Great, Berytus became a colony, one of four in the Syria-Phoenicia region and the only one with full Italian rights (ius Italicum) exempting its citizens from imperial taxation.

Public architecture included several bath complexes, Colonnaded Streets, a circus and theatre;[33] residential areas were excavated in the Garden of Forgiveness, Martyrs' Square and the Beirut Souks.

Though French infrastructure investments in the region were supportive, the local merchant elites were able to independently maintain economic power even after the end of the First World War.

Syrian troops relentlessly shelled the eastern quarter of the city,[63] but Christian militias defeated multiple attempts by Syria's elite forces to capture the strategic area in a three-month campaign later known as the Hundred Days' War.

By the start of the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict the city had somewhat regained its status as a tourist, cultural and intellectual centre in the Middle East and as a center for commerce, fashion, and media.

[77] On 19 October 2012, a car bomb killed eight people in the Beirut's neighborhood of Achrafiyeh, including Brigadier General Wissam al-Hassan, chief of the Intelligence Bureau of the Internal Security Forces.

Beirut has a hot-summer Mediterranean climate (Köppen: Csa, bordering on As, Trewartha: Csal) characterized by mild days and nights, as its coastal location allows temperatures to be moderated by the sea.

The issue began when authorities shut down the main landfill site originally used for Beirut's garbage south-east of the city and failed to provide any alternative solutions for months.

[109] Due to the devastation incurred on the city center from the Lebanese Civil War, the Beirut Central District underwent a thorough reconstruction and development plan that gave it back its cultural and economic position in the region.

That evolution was accompanied with the relocation of international organizations, reoccupation of civic and government buildings, expansion of financial activities, and establishment of regional headquarters and global firms in the city center.

[110] Assessment of the demand for build-up space in the BCD has been done in reference to a number of macro-economic, demographic, and urban planning considerations at a time of marked need for new activity poles in the city, such as Souks, financial, cultural and recreational centers.

Much of the damage had been done through unapproved demolitions in the 1980s and early 1990s, bringing down "some of the capital's most significant buildings and structures," wrote UCLA professor Saree Makdisi in the journal, Critical Inquiry, in 1997.".

[118] The Open Door Policy facilitated foreign capital inflows, with French firms dominating investments and four of Beirut's five leading banks being French-owned by the 1920s,[118] after which the city further solidified its status as a key financial link between the West and the decolonizing Middle East.

[citation needed] With its seaport and airport—coupled with Lebanon's free economic and foreign exchange system, solid gold-backed currency, banking-secrecy law, and favorable interest rates—Beirut became an established banking center for Arab wealth, much of which was invested in construction, commercial enterprise, and industry (mostly the manufacture of textiles and shoes, food processing, and printing).

[123] Beirut's foreign reserves were still close to an all-time high when they reached $32.5 billion in 2011 and analysts say that the Central Bank can cover nearly 80 percent of the Lebanese currency in the market.

[124] The Lebanese banking system is endowed with several characteristics that promote the role of Beirut as a regional financial center, in terms of ensuring protection for foreign capital and earnings.

However, in recent times, certain countries, such as the United States, have frequently placed Lebanon, and Beirut in particular, on their travel warnings lists due to the many car bombings and orchestrated acts of political violence.

The neighborhood residents, a mix of old impoverished Christian bourgeoisie, bohemian style people in their 30s and well-established urban professionals, are loyal to local bakery and pastry shops.

The neighborhood is well known for its trendy bars and pubs, cafes, restaurants and lounges; most are directly located on Rue Gouraud, the main thoroughfare that cuts through the middle of the district.

Travel + Leisure magazine called Gemmayzeh "SoHo by the Sea," due to its colorful and chic cafés amid 1950s apartment buildings and hole-in-the-wall shops.

Although visitors from neighboring Arab nations make up the bulk of medical tourism patients here due to its proximity, Beirut is strongly trying to woo more Southern Europeans, Asians and North Americans to its land.

[140] Major hotel and spa chains work with local clinics, travel agencies and the tourism ministry to create comprehensive healthcare and recuperation packages for foreign visitors.

[161] The ministry of transport and public works purchased an extra 250 intra and inter-buses in 2012 to better serve regions outside the capital as well as congestion-choked Beirut, hoping to lessen the use of private cars.

The permanent collection shows a set of Japanese engravings, numerous works of Islamic art and classic Italian paintings, while temporary exhibitions are also shown throughout the year.

It is promoted by means of state-of-the-art modern techniques: a hologram, an auto-stereoscopic movie, a full-scale reconstitution and a game "fly with mimo" – an entertainment that delights children and adults.

Artists like Shakira, Mariah Carey, Enrique Iglesias, Andrea Bocelli, Pitbull, Engelbert Humperdinck, Scorpions, and many more have included Beirut on their concert tours.