Beirut, the capital of Lebanon, is also the largest city in the country. Located on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean at the foot of the Lebanon Mountains, it is also one of the oldest cities in the region, having been inhabited for more than 5,000 years.  Beirut is mentioned in Egyptian records dated back to the 2nd millennium BCE, but it first rose to prominence as a Roman colony in the 14th c. BCE, with the original city built between the hills of al-Ashrafiyyah and al-Muṣayṭibah.  This city was largely destroyed by the earthquake and tidal wave that occurred in the region in 551 CE.  By the time the Muslims occupied Beirut in 635/14 AH, they essentially needed to build it anew.