Beirut

a seaport in and the capital of Lebanon.
a republic at the E end of the Mediterranean, N of Israel. 3927 sq. mi. (10,170 sq. km).
Capital: Beirut.
a city in SE Pennsylvania.
a city in N central Tennessee.
a town in central Indiana.
a town in W New Hampshire.
a town in W Oregon.
Contemporary Examples

Elias Khoury: Profile of the Essential Arab Novelist Today Jacob Silverman August 2, 2012
Syrian Refugees in Lebanon: Bordering on Disaster Jamie Dettmer November 10, 2012
30 Years After the Beirut Bombing We Have Learned Nothing Christopher Dickey October 22, 2013
Why Geneva 2 Won’t Stop Syria’s War Jamie Dettmer January 21, 2014
Video: Chaotic Aftermath of Beirut Twin Bombings The Telegraph November 18, 2013

Historical Examples

The Red Rugs of Tarsus Helen Davenport Gibbons
The Book of Khalid Ameen Rihani
With the Turks in Palestine Alexander Aaronsohn
The Book of Khalid Ameen Rihani
The Worlds of If Stanley Grauman Weinbaum

noun
the capital of Lebanon, a port on the Mediterranean: part of the Ottoman Empire from the 16th century until 1918; many universities (including Lebanese, American, French, and Arab). Pop: 1 875 000 (2005 est)
noun
the Lebanon, a republic in W Asia, on the Mediterranean: an important centre of the Phoenician civilization in the third millennium bc; part of the Ottoman Empire from 1516 until 1919; gained independence in 1941 (effective by 1945). Official language: Arabic; French and English are also widely spoken. Religion: Muslim and Christian. Currency: Lebanese pound. Capital: Beirut. Pop: 4 131 583 (2013est). Area: 10 400 sq km (4015 sq miles)
Beirut [(bay-rooht)]

Note: Often called “the Paris of the Middle East,” the city was badly damaged during Lebanon’s civil war in the 1970s and 1980s. It is now being rebuilt.

Note: Lebanon was established in 1920 from remnants of the Ottoman Empire. Its mixed Christian and Muslim population generally lived peacefully under a weak central government until the 1970s. Israel invaded in 1978 to challenge the Palestine Liberation Organization’s (PLO) influence in Lebanon and to stop PLO raids on Israel. During the 1980s Lebanon became the scene of intense fighting between PLO, Syrian, and Israeli forces, as well as indigenous Christian and Muslim factions. Terrorist bombings and the taking of foreign nationals (including American citizens) as hostages became common events. By 1992, Syria had emerged as the dominant influence in Lebanon. Democratic elections were held in the mid-1990s.