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Bishmizzine

Coordinates: 34°19′13.0″N 35°47′50.0″E / 34.320278°N 35.797222°E / 34.320278; 35.797222
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Bishmizzine
City
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Interactive map of Bishmizzine
Coordinates: 34°19′13.0″N 35°47′50.0″E / 34.320278°N 35.797222°E / 34.320278; 35.797222
CountryFile:Flag of Lebanon.svg Lebanon
GovernorateNorth Governorate
DistrictKoura District
Time zoneUTC+2 (EET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+3 (EEST)
Dialing code+961

Bishmizzine (Arabic: بشمزين, romanized: Bishmizzīn), also spelled Bechmizzine, Bechmezzine, or Beshmizzine, is a Greek Orthodox village[1] in the Koura district of the North Governorate of Lebanon. It is about 275 meters above sea level. Bishmizzine borders the villages of Afsdik, Kfarhazir, Amioun, Fih, and Btourram.

History

Bishmizzine has a huge historical heritage, starting from the pre-historic period. Archaeological evidence covers a period from the Paleolithic/Mesolithic Age to the Bronze Age and Iron Age, up to the late Ancient/Byzantine Age to the Islamic/Middle Age. The name Bishmizzine is thought to be derived from the Aramaic word “Bit Gismeia”, which dates back to the Neo-Assyrian Empire (911–609 B.C.).[2]

Additionally, one of the several churches of Bishmizzine, Saydeh (Virgin Mary), dates back to the Crusader Era (between 1095 and 1291 AD) and contains the typical ecclesiastical characteristics one would see in Crusader architecture.[3] During the Era of the Crusades in the 13th century, Bishmizzine was called Besmedin.[4]

During World War I, Bishmizzine was one of the many towns in the Mutasarrifate of Mount Lebanon, a semi-autonomous region in the Ottoman Empire and a precursor to modern-day Lebanon, to fall victim to the Great Famine of Mount Lebanon.[5]

In 1953, the town had a population of 998 with 180 households.[6]

Education

Bishmizzine High School was founded in 1937, making it one of the oldest continually operational private schools in North Lebanon. The school offers a full educational program from Nursery to Baccalaureate II designed to be compatible with the requirements of the Lebanese Ministry of Education.[7]

Notable people

  • Adma d'Heurle (1924–2019), American psychologist
  • Nicolas Hayek (1928–2010), Lebanese-Swiss businessman, co-founder and CEO of the Swatch Group; his father was born in Bishmizzine and Hayek spent his childhood holidays and summers in the village[8]
  • Afif I. Tannous (born 1905), Lebanese-American rural sociologist and US Department of Agriculture official, whose 1940 Cornell doctoral thesis on Bishmizzine was the earliest academic study of the village[9][10]

References

  1. ↑ "التوزيع حسب المذاهب للناخبين/ناخبات في بلدة بشمزين، قضاء الكورة محافظة الشمال في لبنان". lub-anan.com (in العربية).
  2. ↑ "Archaeology, University of Udine closes the first campaign in Lebanon". ResearchItaly - Archaeology, University of Udine closes the first campaign in Lebanon.[permanent dead link]
  3. ↑ Ghassan A.Issa; Prepis Alkiviadis (2019). "The morphological characteristics of the old Lebanese churches in Koura, Batroun and Byblos, from the 8th century to the 13th century" (PDF). Lebanese Science Journal.
  4. ↑ Lafleur (Snelders), Bas. "From Cyprus to Syria and Back Again: Artistic Interaction in the Medieval Levant".
  5. ↑ "Un monument pour honorer les victimes oubliées de la grande famine de 1916-1918 bientôt à Beyrouth". L'Orient-Le Jour. November 22, 2016.
  6. ↑ Sawaya, Salah Michel (March 1953). Household Income and Expenditure in Al-Kura, Lebanon (PDF). Scholarworks (M.A.). Beirut, Lebanon: Economics Dept., American University of Beirut, Lebanon. hdl:10938/3411. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 March 2023. Retrieved 2023-03-24.
  7. ↑ "Bishmizzine High School offers t". www.bishmezzine.com. Retrieved 2023-03-25.
  8. ↑ Rifi, Ghassan (29 June 2006). نقولا الحايك "أشهر من رئيس سويسرا" [Nicolas Hayek: "More famous than the president of Switzerland"]. As-Safir (in العربية). No. 10430. Retrieved 17 August 2026.
  9. ↑ Tannous, Afif I. (9 March 1994). "Interview with Dr. Afif I. Tannous" (PDF). Foreign Affairs Oral History Project (Interview). Interviewed by W. Haven North. Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training. Retrieved 17 August 2026.
  10. ↑ Tannous, Afif Ishaq (1940). Trends of Social and Cultural Change in Bishmizzeen, an Arab Village of North Lebanon (PhD). Cornell University.
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This page contains text imported from the English Wikipedia (source revision 1375137534). Its authors are credited under CC BY-SA 4.0: see the attribution record.