Bei·rut  (b ā-r t )
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The capital and largest city of Lebanon, in the western part of the country on the Mediterranean Sea. Founded by the Phoenicians, it was an important Greek and Roman trade center. Beirut was the scene of bitter factional fighting between Christians and Muslims after the outbreak of the Lebanese civil war in 1975 and was further damaged by an Israeli siege in 1982. |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2018 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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