1.
Lebanon
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Lebanon, officially known as the Lebanese Republic, is a sovereign state in Western Asia. It is bordered by Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, Lebanons location at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian hinterland facilitated its rich history and shaped a cultural identity of religious and ethnic diversity. At just 10,452 km2, it is the smallest recognized country on the entire mainland Asian continent, the earliest evidence of civilization in Lebanon dates back more than seven thousand years, predating recorded history. Lebanon was the home of the Canaanites/Phoenicians and their kingdoms, a culture that flourished for over a thousand years. In 64 BC, the region came under the rule of the Roman Empire, in the Mount Lebanon range a monastic tradition known as the Maronite Church was established. As the Arab Muslims conquered the region, the Maronites held onto their religion, however, a new religious group, the Druze, established themselves in Mount Lebanon as well, generating a religious divide that has lasted for centuries. During the Crusades, the Maronites re-established contact with the Roman Catholic Church, the ties they established with the Latins have influenced the region into the modern era. The region eventually was ruled by the Ottoman Empire from 1516 to 1918, following the collapse of the empire after World War I, the five provinces that constitute modern Lebanon came under the French Mandate of Lebanon. The French expanded the borders of the Mount Lebanon Governorate, which was populated by Maronites and Druze. Lebanon gained independence in 1943, establishing confessionalism, a unique, foreign troops withdrew completely from Lebanon on 31 December 1946. Lebanon has been a member of the Organisation internationale de la francophonie since 1973, despite its small size, the country has developed a well-known culture and has been highly influential in the Arab world. Before the Lebanese Civil War, the experienced a period of relative calm and renowned prosperity, driven by tourism, agriculture, commerce. At the end of the war, there were efforts to revive the economy. In spite of troubles, Lebanon has the highest Human Development Index and GDP per capita in the Arab world. The name of Mount Lebanon originates from the Phoenician root lbn meaning white, occurrences of the name have been found in different Middle Bronze Age texts from the library of Ebla, and three of the twelve tablets of the Epic of Gilgamesh. The name is recorded in Ancient Egyptian as Rmnn, where R stood for Canaanite L, the name occurs nearly 70 times in the Hebrew Bible, as לְבָנוֹן. The borders of contemporary Lebanon are a product of the Treaty of Sèvres of 1920 and its territory was the core of the Bronze Age Phoenician city-states. After the 7th-century Muslim conquest of the Levant, it was part of the Rashidun, Umyayad, Abbasid Seljuk, with the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire, Greater Lebanon fell under French mandate in 1920, and gained independence under president Bechara El Khoury in 1943
2.
Druze in Lebanon
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Druze in Lebanon refers to adherents of the Druze faith, an ethnoreligious esoteric group originating from the Near East who self identify as unitarians. The Lebanese Druze people are believed to constitute about 5% of the population of Lebanon. The Druze, who refer to themselves as al-Muwahhideen, or believers in one God, are concentrated in the rural, mountainous areas east, under the Lebanese political division the Druze community is designated as one of the five Lebanese Muslim communities. Lebanons constitution was intended to guarantee representation for each of the nations ethno-religious groups. Under the terms of an agreement known as the National Pact between the various political and religious leaders of Lebanon, the Chief of the General Staff must be a Druze. The Druze faith is a monotheistic Abrahamic religion that follows the Five Pillars of Islam, however, certain Muslim groups regard them as Rawafid or Deserters of true Islamic faith. However, other sources claim that the Druze faith does not follow the Five Pillars of Islam, fasting during the month of Ramadan, thus, they are not regarded by Muslims as Islamic and are seen as Rawafid or Deserters of true Islamic faith. The Druze beliefs incorporate elements of Ismailism, Gnosticism, Neoplatonism, the Druze call themselves Ahl al-Tawhid People of Unitarianism or Monotheism or al-Muwaḥḥidūn. The Druze follow a style of isolation where no conversion is allowed, neither out of, or into. When Druze live among people of religions, they try to blend in, in order to protect their religion. They can pray as Muslims, or as Christians, depending on where they are and this system is apparently changing in modern times, where more security has allowed Druze to be more open about their religious belonging. Before and during the Lebanese Civil War, the Druze were in favor of Pan-Arabism, jumblatts post-2005 position diverged sharply from the tradition of his family. He also accused Damascus of being behind the 1977 assassination of his father, Kamal Jumblatt, the BBC describes Jumblatt as the smartest leader of Lebanons most powerful Druze clan and heir to a leftist political dynasty. The second largest political party supported by Druze is the Lebanese Democratic Party led by Prince Talal Arslan, in May 10,2008 as part of the 2008 Conflict, clashes occurred between Hezbollah forces and Druze militias in their mountain resulting is casualties on both sides. The clashes started in Aytat, near Kayfoun and soon expanded to many spots in Mount Lebanon including Baysur, Shuweifat. Most of the fighting was concentrated on Hill 888, after negotiations a ceasefire was called in from outside the country before Hezbollah could call in artillery support. Releases from Hezbollah leaders in 2016 stated that bombing the mountain with close-range artillery from the South, Hill 888 remains under Hezbollahs banner today with reports of heavy artillery pieces being moved in that can strike any point within the mountain. The Druze, who refer to themselves as al-Muwahhideen, or believers in one God, are concentrated in the rural, mountainous areas east and south of Beirut
3.
1860 Mount Lebanon civil war
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It soon spread to the south of the country where the rebellion changed its character, with Druze turning against the Maronite Christians. Around 20,000 Christians were killed by the Druze and 380 Christian villages and 560 churches destroyed, the Druze and Muslims also suffered heavy losses. On 3 September 1840, Bashir Shihab III, a distant cousin of the once-powerful Emir Bashir Shihab II, was appointed emir of Mount Lebanon by Ottoman Sultan Abdülmecid I. Geographically, the Mount Lebanon Emirate corresponded with the part of present-day Lebanon. In practice, the terms Lebanon and Mount Lebanon tend to be used interchangeably by historians until the establishment of the Mandate. Bitter conflicts between Christians and Druzes, which had been simmering under Ibrahim Pashas rule resurfaced under the new emir, hence, the sultan deposed Bashir III, on 13 January 1842, and appointed Umar Pasha as governor of Mount Lebanon. This appointment, however, created more problems than it solved, representatives of the European powers proposed to the sultan that Lebanon be partitioned into Christian and Druze sections. This arrangement came to be known as the Double Qaimaqamate, both officials were to be responsible to the governor of Sidon, who resided in Beirut. The Beirut-Damascus highway was the line between the two districts. This partition of Lebanon was nurtured by outside powers, and animosities between the religious sects increased and these tensions led to conflict between Christians and Druzes as early as May 1845. Consequently, the European powers requested that the Ottoman sultan establish order in Lebanon, composed of members of the various religious communities, these councils were intended to assist the deputy governor. This system failed to keep order when the peasants of Keserwan, overburdened by heavy taxes, in 1858 Tanyus Shahin, a Maronite Christian peasant leader, demanded that the feudal class abolish its privileges. The demand refused, the peasants began to prepare for a revolt, in January 1859, an armed uprising headed by Shahin flared up. The uprising targeted the Maronite Khazen muqatajis of Keserwan, pillaging their land, having driven the Maronite feudal lords out of Keserwan and seizing their land and property, the insurgent peasants set up their own rule. The Keserwan uprising, as it known, had a revolutionary effect on other regions in Lebanon. The disturbances spread to Latakia and to central Lebanon, Maronite peasants, actively supported by their clergy, began to prepare for an armed uprising against their Druze masters. In August 1859, a brawl occurred between Druze and Maronite locals in the Metn area of the Double Qaimaqamates Christian sector, the dispute enabled Maronite Bishop Tobia Aoun to mobilize his Beirut-based central committee to intervene in the matter. The Druze lords began making war preparations, allegedly in coordination with the local Ottoman authorities, in March, the father of a Catholic monastery in Aammiq was killed and the monastery looted, and shortly afterward, a Druze man from Ainab allegedly killed a Christian man from Abadiyeh
4.
Melkite Christians in Lebanon
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The Lebanese Melkite Christians are believed to constitute about 5% of the total population of Lebanon. The Melkite Christians live primarily in the central and eastern parts of the country, members of this rite are concentrated in Beirut, Zahlah, and the suburbs of Sidon. They have a higher level of education than other denominations. Melkite Christians have been able to strike a balance between their openness to the Arab world and their identification with the West, Melkite Christians are estimated to constitute 5% of Lebanons population of approximately 4.3 million, which means they amount to 215,000
5.
Beirut
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Beirut is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. No recent population census has been done but in 2007 estimates ranged from more than 1 million to slightly less than 2 million as part of Greater Beirut. Located on a peninsula at the midpoint of Lebanons Mediterranean coast, Beirut is the countrys largest and it is one of the oldest cities in the world, inhabited more than 5,000 years ago. The first historical mention of Beirut is found in the ancient Egyptian Tell el Amarna letters dating from the 15th century BC, the Beirut River runs south to north on the eastern edge of the city. Beirut is Lebanons seat of government and plays a role in the Lebanese economy, with most banks and corporations based in its Central District, Badaro, Rue Verdun, Hamra. Following the destructive Lebanese Civil War, Beiruts cultural landscape underwent major reconstruction, identified and graded for accountancy, advertising, banking/finance and law, Beirut is ranked as a Beta World City by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network. In May 2015, Beirut was officially recognized as one of the New7Wonders Cities together with Vigan, Doha, Durban, Havana, Kuala Lumpur, and La Paz. Beirut I, or Minet el Hosn, was listed as Beyrouth ville by Louis Burkhalter and said to be on the beach near the Orent, the site was discovered by Lortet in 1894 and discussed by Godefroy Zumoffen in 1900. The flint industry from the site was described as Mousterian and is held by the Museum of Fine Arts of Lyon, Beirut II, or Umm el Khatib, was suggested by Burkhalter to have been south of Tarik el Jedideh, where P. E. Gigues discovered a Copper Age flint industry at around 100 metres above sea level, the site had been built on and destroyed by 1948. Beirut III, Furn esh Shebbak or Plateau Tabet, was suggested to have located on the left bank of the Beirut River. Burkhalter suggested that it was west of the Damascus road, although this determination has been criticized by Lorraine Copeland, P. E. Gigues discovered a series of Neolithic flint tools on the surface along with the remains of a structure suggested to be a hut circle. Auguste Bergy discussed polished axes that were found at this site. The area was covered in red sand that represented Quaternary river terraces, the site was found by Jesuit Father Dillenseger and published by fellow Jesuits Godefroy Zumoffen, Raoul Describes and Auguste Bergy. Collections from the site were made by Bergy, Describes and another Jesuit, a large number of Middle Paleolithic flint tools were found on the surface and in side gullies that drain into the river. They included around 50 varied bifaces accredited to the Acheulean period, some with a lustrous sheen, Henri Fleisch also found an Emireh point amongst material from the site, which has now disappeared beneath buildings. Levallois flints and bones and similar material were found amongst brecciated deposits. The area has now built on
6.
Beit ed-Dine
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Beit ed-Dine, also known as Btaddine is a small town and municipality in the Chouf District of the Mount Lebanon Governorate in Lebanon. It is the capital of the Chouf District. The town is located 45 kilometers southeast of Beirut, and near the town of Deir el-Qamar from which it is separated by a steep valley and it had 1,613 registered voters in 2010 and its inhabitants are predominantly Christians from the Maronite, Melkite and Greek Orthodox denominations. Beit ed-Dines total land area consists of 244 hectares and its elevation is 860 meters above sea level. The town is known for the Beiteddine Palace, which hosts the annual summer Beiteddine Festival. Bashir moved the headquarters of the emirate from Deir al-Qamar to Beit ed-Dine by 1811 and he ruled from the palace he built, known as the Beiteddine Palace, which he supplied with water by building a lengthy canal connecting the palace to the Safa River. After 1840, when Emir Bashir II was sent into exile the palace was used by the Ottomans as a government building, during the French Mandate its role was preserved and it served as a local administrative office. In 1934, it was declared a national monument, during the 1860 Mount Lebanon civil war, around 200 Christians from Deir al-Qamar fled to the Ottoman barracks at Beit ed-Dine to seek shelter before their town was attacked by Druze fighters. After Deir al-Qamar was plundered by the Druze and its inhabitants massacred, the outnumbered Ottoman garrison did not resist and the barracks was assaulted. During the French-led international intervention in the war, the French colonel, dArricau, in the 1860s, the headquarters of the Ottoman deputy governor in Mount Lebanon was relocated to the Beiteddine Palace. A week later, a delegation of the local, reformist Liberal Party issued a set of demands in Beit ed-Dine calling for such as the abolition of new taxes. The governor of Beirut Vilayet, Yusuf Pasha, rejected the demands, however, the Ottoman garrison in Beit ed-Dine sympathized with the demonstrators and refused to disperse them. The governor ultimately acceded to the demonstrators demands, in 1943, Bechara El Khoury, the first Lebanese President, declared it the official presidents summer residence. During the Lebanese Civil War it was heavily damaged, after 1984, when fighting in the area receded, Walid Jumblatt ordered its restoration. Parts of the palace are open to the public while the rest is still the presidents summer residence. Bashir built three more palaces in the town for his sons, till today only Mir Amin Palace survived and is today a luxury hotel, Beiteddine is home to a Lebanese Red Cross First Aid Center. Architecture of Lebanon Text of Beit El Dine and virtual tour image MiddleEast. com LebGuide Official site of the Beiteddine Festival Lebanon, the Cedars Land, Beiteddine
7.
Arabic
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Arabic is a Central Semitic language that was first spoken in Iron Age northwestern Arabia and is now the lingua franca of the Arab world. Arabic is also the language of 1.7 billion Muslims. It is one of six languages of the United Nations. The modern written language is derived from the language of the Quran and it is widely taught in schools and universities, and is used to varying degrees in workplaces, government, and the media. The two formal varieties are grouped together as Literary Arabic, which is the language of 26 states. Modern Standard Arabic largely follows the standards of Quranic Arabic. Much of the new vocabulary is used to denote concepts that have arisen in the post-Quranic era, Arabic has influenced many languages around the globe throughout its history. During the Middle Ages, Literary Arabic was a vehicle of culture in Europe, especially in science, mathematics. As a result, many European languages have borrowed many words from it. Many words of Arabic origin are found in ancient languages like Latin. Balkan languages, including Greek, have acquired a significant number of Arabic words through contact with Ottoman Turkish. Arabic has also borrowed words from languages including Greek and Persian in medieval times. Arabic is a Central Semitic language, closely related to the Northwest Semitic languages, the Ancient South Arabian languages, the Semitic languages changed a great deal between Proto-Semitic and the establishment of the Central Semitic languages, particularly in grammar. Innovations of the Central Semitic languages—all maintained in Arabic—include, The conversion of the suffix-conjugated stative formation into a past tense, the conversion of the prefix-conjugated preterite-tense formation into a present tense. The elimination of other prefix-conjugated mood/aspect forms in favor of new moods formed by endings attached to the prefix-conjugation forms, the development of an internal passive. These features are evidence of descent from a hypothetical ancestor. In the southwest, various Central Semitic languages both belonging to and outside of the Ancient South Arabian family were spoken and it is also believed that the ancestors of the Modern South Arabian languages were also spoken in southern Arabia at this time. To the north, in the oases of northern Hijaz, Dadanitic and Taymanitic held some prestige as inscriptional languages, in Najd and parts of western Arabia, a language known to scholars as Thamudic C is attested
8.
Mount Lebanon Emirate
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The Emirate of Mount Lebanon was an autonomous subdivision in the Ottoman Empire. The Emirate is considered to be a precursor of the Mount Lebanon Mutasarrifate established in 1861, which was, in turn. Historians have given different names to this entity, Shuf Emirate, Emirate of Jabal Druze, Emirate of Mount Lebanon, the boundaries were not well defined. The town of Baakleen was the capital of the emirate during the Maan period until Fakhr-al-Din II chose to live in Dar El Qamar due to a shortage in Baakleen. Dar El Kamar remained the capital until Bashir Shihab II ascended to the throne, Beiteddine remains the capital of the Chouf District today. The emir was thus the dominant warlord in the Lebanese mountains, Fakhr al-Din established a subtle symbiosis between the Maronites of Kisrawan and the Druzes of the Shuf mountains. After his downfall, the Ottomans tried different ways to break up this symbiosis, in the end, they returned power to the Maans in the person of Ahmad al-Maani, the grandnephew of Fakhr al-Din, in 1667. The relations between the Porte and the Shihab emirs revolved around the payment of taxes, and the legitimation of their position as multazims. Bashir Shihab II was also an important prince but he was viewed as a tyrant at the rather than a leader. That led to the 1840 revolution against Bashir and his Egyptian allies, Fakhr al-Din I, was supposedly awarded with the emirate of the Shuf after fighting on the side of Selim I at the Battle of Marj Dabiq. In any case, he emerged soon afterwards as a local force, the Ottomans divided the territories they conquered from the Mamluks into wilayas, sanjaks and nahiyas, and assigned qadis and military governors to the larger administrative divisions. The Maan family holdings were divided among the three wilayas of Damascus, Tripoli, and Sidon. The family had not been prominent under the Mamluks, but was strong enough under the Ottomans to be in charge of dividing the tax-farms assigned to it among a number of local notables. By the end of his reign, Fakhr al-Din Is authority extended from the borders of Jaffa to Tripoli. Fakhr al-Din was succeeded by his son Qurqumaz, who was involved in frequent conflicts both with his neighbours and with the Ottomans, as the system involved constant power struggles. In 1544 the emir Qurqumaz succeeded his father Fakhr al-Din, in 1585, a caravan transporting the taxes collected in Egypt and Syria was plundered at Djun Akkar. The Ottomans, suspecting the Ma‘an of complicity and of having sheltered the criminals, the emir Qurqumaz shut himself up in the inaccessible rock of Shakif Tirun near Jezzine and died there, of chagrin or poison, in 1585. Qurqumaz was succeeded by his son, who became Fakhr al-Din II in 1591
9.
Fakhr-al-Din II
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He is often referred to as Fakhr ad-Din II because of his grandfather Fakhr ad-Din I. He and members of his family were from time to time appointed Sanjakbeyi or governor/tax-farmer of districts like Sidon or Beirut. His period was characterized by economic and cultural prosperity, and he had fought other Lebanese families to unite the people of Lebanon and he is therefore considered by some to be the first Man of Lebanon to seek the sovereignty of modern-day Lebanon. Others consider this to be anachronistic as his aims were more dynastic than national, however, the Ottomans eventually tired of this troublesome vassal. Sultan Murad IV had him executed with one or two of his sons on April 13,1635, born in Baakline to a Druze family, he was according to some accounts raised in the Lebanese village of Abey. There are conflicting versions of his life, but it is certain that his father died when he was 13. One of the accounts of the Maans in general and Fakhr ad-Din in particular is by Abdul-Rahim Abu-Husayn. In 1608 Fakhr-al-Din forged an alliance with the Italian Grand Duchy of Tuscany, the alliance contained both a public economic section and a secret military one. Professor Abu-Husayn has made the Ottoman archives relevant to the emirs career available, faced with Hafizs army of 50,000 men, Fakhr-al-Din chose exile in Tuscany, leaving affairs in the hands of his brother Emir Yunis and his son Emir Ali Beg. They succeeded in maintaining most of the such as Banias. Before leaving, Fakhr ad-Din paid his standing army of two years wages in order to secure their loyalty. Hosted in Tuscany by the Medici Family, Fakhr-al-Din was welcomed by the grand duke Cosimo II and he spent a further three years as guest of the Spanish Viceroy of Sicily and then Naples, the Duke Osuna. The prince eventually gave up the idea, realizing that Europe was more interested in trade with the Ottomans than in taking back the Holy Land and his stay nevertheless allowed him to witness Europes cultural revival in the 17th century, and bring back some Renaissance ideas and architectural features. Under his rule, printing presses were introduced and Jesuit priests, in 1623, the prince angered the Ottomans by refusing to allow an army on its way back from the Persian front to winter in the Bekaa. However, as passed, the Ottomans grew increasingly uncomfortable with the princes increasing powers. This time, the prince had decided to remain in Lebanon and resist the offensive and he later took refuge in Nihas grotto, closely followed by Kuchuk Ahmed Pasha. He surrendered to the Ottoman general Jaafar Pasha, whom he knew well, Fakhr-al-Din was taken to Istanbul and kept in the Yedikule prison for two years. He was then summoned before the sultan, Fakhr-al-Din, and one or two of his sons, were accused of treason and executed there on 13 April 1635
Lebanon
