| Lebanon Lebanon The Ottomans defeated the Mamluks in northern Syria, establishing Ottoman control over the Arab Levant. The Ottomans dominated this area for the next four centuries. The Ottomans continued the Mamluk policy of recognizing the status quo of semiautonomous rulers. Two great dynasties, the Druze and the Shihabs, reigned in the mountains of Lebanon until 1843. The Druze house of Ma'an was paramount until 1697, reaching its zenith under Fakhr al-Din II (15861635). His efforts to obtain total independence for Lebanon led ultimately to his defeat and execution.Nevertheless, this Druze leader did much for Lebanon by reopening the country to the West, as it had not been since the time of the Crusades. During his exile in Tuscany, Fakhr al-Din II allied himself with the rulers of that Italian State. These ties extended beyond the political realm. The Druze leader emulated his allies in attempting to create a modern army. He also imported engineers and agricultural experts to promote better land use. These efforts however, had only a minimal long-term impact on Lebanon. Of greater significance was Fakhr al-Din's encouragement of the Maronite peasantry to move south.Over the subsequent centuries, the Maronites spread from their northern Lebanese strongholds and slowly expanded their numbers and influence throughout the Lebanon Mountains. In 1697 the Ma'an family was replaced by the Shihabs as emirs (princes) of Mount Lebanon. Under Bashir (1788 -1840), the Shihabs pressed for full independence. The early 19th century was a time when the Ottoman state was being torn apart by local rulers who, playing upon the weakness of the central government, strove to break away from the authorities in Istanbul. Bashir however, made an unfortunate miscalculation by supporting Muhammad Ali of Egypt against the Ottomans, who, in turn, were supported by the British. As a result, when the Egyptian leader was obliged to give up his claims to sovereignty in the Levant, his ally Bashir was forced into exile in 1840. Strife and turmoil marked the next twenty years. Ottoman weakness and European intervention exacerbated internal Lebanese rivalries. During the preceding two centuries, the fundamental economic and political balance of Mount Lebanon had been upset by the rapid growth of the Maronite population and their gradual migration southward from traditional strongholds in North Lebanon. Druze preponderance had been seriously eroded. In 1843 The Ottomans attempted to ward off potential inter-communal difficulties, by dividing Lebanon into two districts (qaim maqamyyah): a northern district was placed under a Christian vice-governor and a southern district in the hands of a Druze. This system proved unsatisfactory. The Druze and Christian populations were already too intermingled and antagonistic to accept such a simple solution. Despite Ottoman efforts, tensions between the communities increased with French protection of the Maronites and British protection of the Druze only serving to aggravate the situation. Moreover, the Ottomans were not satisfied with the status quo. Istanbul desired to limit the traditional autonomous status of the inhabitants of Mount Lebanon and resented European interference in Ottoman internal affairs. Another problem was the growing resentment of the industrious Maronite peasantry toward their oppressive feudal aristocracy. In 1858 a peasant revolt broke out. !n the northern district, the Maronite peasantry turned against Maronite shaykhs; in the southern district, the Maronite peasantry rose against the Druze aristocracy. Because the Druze peasantry in the south felt closer bonds with their coreligionists than with the Maronite peasants, the hostilities south and east of Beirut became more of a religious war than a peasant revolt. Druze and other Muslims massacred thousands of Maronites. Following direct European intervention, Mount Lebanon was reunited and made a semiautonomous governorship (mutasarrifyyah). The governor was a non-Lebanese Ottoman Christian who was appointed by the Ottoman sultan with the consent of the five great European powers. He was aided by an elected administrative council, which ensured representation of each of the major sects, and a locally recruited police force. This system remained in force until World War I. The period from 1860 to 1914 was marked by increasing contacts between the Lebanese and the West. Intellectual activity increased, encouraged by the influence of foreign missionaries. Presbyterians from the United States founded the American University of Beirut in 1866, and French missionaries founded Saint Joseph University in 1875. | |
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