Nabataeans or Ituraeans in Mount Lebanon? About the Aramaic inscription of Yanouḥ

Abstract

This article presents the Aramaic inscription found in Yanouḥ, high mountains of Byblos – Lebanon, in the year sixties of the last century. I try to highlight the cultural influence of the Nabataeans who extended to Hauran and around Damascus during the Greco-Roman period. The article treat various questions: How does one explain the unique presence of this inscription in Mount Lebanon? What was the cultural and political influence of the Nabataeans towards north-west Syria? Has this inscription been written by Nabataeans, or by other populations: Did the Ituraeans use or adopt their writing system?