east bank of the Euphrate ̄s, claimed to be the center of the kosmos; made magnificent
by Nebuchadnezzar II (604– 562 BCE); selected as capital by Alexander of Macedon, and
built up by Antiokhos I; declined from 275 BCE; taken by Parthians 129 BCE. OCD3 228,
A.T.L. Kuhrt; BAGRW 91-F5; BNP 2 (2003) 441–442, S. Maul; EJ2 3.23–24, D.C. Snell.
B, D, K, N, S, Z.
Babylo ̄n of Egypt (mod. Fosta/Fustat/Misr al Qadimah, south edge of Cairo; 30 ̊ 01 ’ N,
31 ̊ 14 ’ E): south of He ̄liopolis, where Necho’s canal leaves the Nile to the Red Sea;
fortified legionary camp under A. RE 2.2 (1896) 2699–2700 (#2), H. Sethe;
BAGRW 74-E4.
T.
Bargulia (on mod. Varvil Bay, S of mod Güllük; 37 ̊ 14 ’ N, 27 ̊ 36 ’ E): Karian coastal town
between Iasos and Karuanda, and dedicated to Artemis; allied with Athens in the 5th c.
BCE; allied with Iasos in the 3rd c. BCE (P Book 16, fr.12); winter headquarters of
Philip V of Macedon in 201/200 BCE; declared free by Rome in 196 BCE, and an ally in
133 BCE. PECS 143, G.E. Bean; BAGRW 61-F3; BNP 2 (2003) 509–510, H. Kaletsch.
P.
Ben(e)ventum (mod. Benevento; 41 ̊ 08 ’ N, 14 ̊ 47 ’ E): city of Campania, near the con-
fluence of the Cabre and Sabato, on the Via Appia, north-east of Nola, and south-east of
Arpinum; renamed from Maleventum after the nearby victory over P, 275 BCE.
Under Latin law from 268 BCE, then a municipium from 89 BCE; colonia from 42 BCE.
The northern terminus of the Via Traiana. PECS 149, E.T. Salmon; OCD3 239, Idem and
T.W. Potter; BAGRW 44-G3; BNP 2 (2003) 598, M. Buonocore.
L.
Be ̄rutos (mod. Beirut; 33 ̊ 53 ’ N, 35 ̊ 31 ’ E): ancient port city, north of and allied with
Sido ̄n; annexed by Antiokhos III after he defeated Philip V of Macedon (ca 200 BCE);
sacked ca 140 BCE. Under Rome a colonia from 14 BCE, and became an administrative
center (residence of King Herod and successors). From the 3rd c. CE site of an academy
and a school of law; by ca 400 CE the most important Phoenician city. Earthquakes of 347/
8 and 501/2 CE damaged the city; destroyed by the earthquake and tsunami of 551 CE (cf.
Boio ̄tia); rebuilt by Justinian. PECS 152, J.-P. Rey-Coquais; ODB 284 – 285, M.M. Mango;
OCD3 240, A.H.M. Jones et al.; BAGRW 69-C2; BNP 2 (2003) 610–611, U. Finkbeiner and
T. Leisten.
A, “B” (?), P, S, T.
Be ̄rutos (unlocated): inland site distinct from the coastal city: Souda E-3045; S
B, s.v., describes it as in “Arabia” and called Diospolis (contrast the Diospolis of
Judaea, BAGRW 70-F2).
H.
Bithunia: a mountainous yet fertile and economically rich region of north-west Anatolia,
from the peninsula of Khalke ̄do ̄n eastward to Paphlagonia, and southward along
the Propontis to Mt. Olumpos in Musia/Mysia. OCD3 244 – 245, T.R.S. Broughton and
St. Mitchell.
Sites: Murleia, Nikaia, Nikome ̄deia, Prousias.
People: A, I, I, K (?), O ̄, T
(?), N IV.
Boio ̄tia: fertile and prosperous region of central Greece, north of Attica, and between west
and east Lokris; a populous amphiktionic (temple-centered) league ca 525 – 480 BCE. Under
Athens 457 – 447 BCE; federal state led by The ̄bai 447 BCE and allied with Sparta; briefly
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