The 1860 civil conflict in Mount Lebanon and Damascus was a civil conflict in Mount Lebanon during Ottoman rule in 1860–1861 fought mainly between the local Druze and Christians. Following decisive Druze victories and massacres against the Christians, the conflict spilled over into other parts of Ottoman Syria, particularly Damascus, where thousands of Christian residents were killed by Muslim and Druze militiamen. The fighting precipitated a French-led international military intervention.

Tanyus Shahin Saadeh al-Rayfouni was a Maronite muleteer and peasant leader from Mount Lebanon. He led a peasants' revolt in the area of Keserwan in 1859, during which he drove out the area's Maronite nobility, the feudal Khazen lords, and declared a peasants' republic. While he had a reputation as a ruffian and provocateur among members of the Maronite clergy and European consuls, Shahin became a popular figure among Christian commoners, many of whom considered him the guardian of their interests, a view which Shahin promoted.