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WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
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Lebanon
Index
The Maan family, under orders from the governor of Damascus,
came to Lebanon in 1120 to defend it against the invading
Crusaders. They settled on the southwestern slopes of the Lebanon
Mountains and soon adopted the Druze religion. Their authority
began to rise with Fakhr ad Din I, who was permitted by Ottoman
authorities to organize his own army, and reached its peak with
Fakhr ad Din II (1570-1635).
Although Fakhr ad Din II's aspirations toward complete
independence for Lebanon ended tragically, he greatly enhanced
Lebanon's military and economic development. Noted for religious
tolerance and suspected of being a Christian, Fakhr ad Din
attempted to merge the country's different religious groups into
one Lebanese community. In an effort to attain complete
independence for Lebanon, he concluded a secret agreement with
Ferdinand I, duke of Tuscany in Italy, the two parties pledging to
support each other against the Ottomans. Informed of this
agreement, the Ottoman ruler in Constantinople reacted violently
and ordered Ahmad al Hafiz, governor of Damascus, to attack Fakhr
ad Din. Realizing his inability to cope with the regular army of Al
Hafiz, the Lebanese ruler went to Tuscany in exile in 1613. He
returned to Lebanon in 1618, after his good friend Muhammad Pasha
became governor of Damascus.
Following his return from Tuscany, Fakhr ad Din, realizing the
need for a strong and disciplined armed force, channeled his
financial resources into building a regular army. This army proved
itself in 1623, when Mustafa Pasha, the new governor of Damascus,
underestimating the capabilities of the Lebanese army, engaged it
in battle and was decisively defeated at Anjar in the Biqa Valley.
Impressed by the victory of the Lebanese ruler, the sultan of
Constantinople gave him the title of Sultan al Barr (Sultan of the
Mountain).
In addition to building up the army, Fakhr ad Din, who became
acquainted with Italian culture during his stay in Tuscany,
initiated measures to modernize the country. After forming close
ties with the dukes of Tuscany and Florence and establishing
diplomatic relations with them, he brought in architects,
irrigation engineers, and agricultural experts from Italy in an
effort to promote prosperity in the country. He also strengthened
Lebanon's strategic position by expanding its territory, building
forts as far away as Palmyra in Syria, and gaining control of
Palestine. Finally, the Ottoman sultan Murad IV of Constantinople,
wanting to thwart Lebanon's progress toward complete independence,
ordered Kutshuk, then governor of Damascus, to attack the Lebanese
ruler. This time Fakhr ad Din was defeated, and he was executed in
Constantinople in 1635. No significant Maan rulers succeeded Fakhr
ad Din II.
Data as of December 1987
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