Mount Lebanon is well-known for its snow-covered mountains, home to survivingLebanese cedar forests and diverse high-altitude flora and fauna. The name Lebanon itself originates from the white, snow-covered tops of this mountain range.[3]
The Mount Lebanon range extends along the entire country for about 170 km (110 mi), parallel to theMediterranean coast.[1] The highest peak isQurnat as Sawda', at 3,088 m (10,131 ft). The range receives a substantial amount of precipitation, including snow, which averages around 4 m (13 ft) in depth.[1]
ThePhoenicians used the forests of Mount Lebanon to build their ship fleet and to trade with their neighbors. The most notable example is theFirst Temple built byKing Solomon who used cedar wood sent byHiram ofTyre . Phoenicians and successor rulers consistently replanted and restocked the range; even as late as the 16th century, its forested area was considerable.[4]
The nameMount Lebanon traces back to theSemitic rootLBN, meaning "white", likely a reference to the snow-covered mountains.[5] InStrabo's Geography, the mountain range is known as Libanus.[6]
Mount Lebanon is mentioned in theOld Testament 103 times.King Hiram I of Tyre sent engineers with cedar wood, which was abundant in Mount Lebanon, to build theSolomon's Temple inJerusalem. Since then, the cedar species known scientifically asCedrus libani is often associated with Mount Lebanon. ThePhoenicians used cedar to build ships in which they sailed the Mediterranean, thus they were the first to establish villages in Mount Lebanon and would live from cutting down cedars and sending them to the coast.[4]
Eusebius records that the EmperorConstantine destroyed a temple ofVenus on the summit of Mount Lebanon.[7] After the 5th century AD, Christian monks who were followers of a hermit namedMaron, arrived from theOrontes valley in NorthernSyria and began preaching their religion to the inhabitants of the northernmost parts of the mountain range.[8] In the late 8th century a group known as theMardaites (also Jarajima) settled in North Lebanon following the order of theByzantine Emperor; their mission was to raid Islamic territories in Syria. They merged with the local population, refusing to leave after the emperor struck a deal with the Muslim Caliph ofDamascus; thus, they became part of theMaronite society.[9] In 1291 afterthe fall of Acre, the last crusader outpost in theLevant, remnants of the European settlers who succeeded in escaping capture by theMamelukes settled in the Northern part of Lebanon and become part of the Maronite society.[10]
Mount Lebanon has been visited and called home by manyMuslim ascetics andSufis since the 7th century, mentioned by many travelers to the region, few of which are known by name such as Shiban al-Muallah and Abbas al-Majnun.[11] In the 10th century,TwelverShia Muslim communities were likely established inKeserwan and the adjacent area to the north whenShia Islam was in the ascendant inTripoli and the Islamic world at large.[12] In the 13th century, a significant Shia population dominated Keserwan stretching out as far north asDinniyeh, where reportedly the Shia feudal lord family, the Hamadas, were entrusted with tax-collection in 1470.[13] Subject to harsh military campaigns and state policies put forth by theMamluks andOttomans over the centuries, this Shia population decreased over time and was driven to settle inSouthern Lebanon and theBekaa valley, becoming a small minority in Mount Lebanon by the 19th century.[14][15]
In the 9th century, tribes from the "Jabal el Summaq" area north ofAleppo in Syria began settling the southern half of the mountain range. These tribes were known as theTanoukhiyoun and in the 11th century they converted to theDruze faith and ruled the areas of Mount Lebanon stretching fromMetn in the north toJezzine in the south. This entire area became known as the 'Jabal ad-Duruz'. In the early 17th century, EmirFakhr-al-Din II was entrusted as the main tax-collector and land-assigner in the Druze part of the mountains known as theChouf. In an effort to re-populate the Chouf after the1585 Ottoman expedition, Fakhreddine opened the door to Christians and in particular the Maronite settlement of the Chouf and Metn.[4]
During the Ottoman era, theQays–Yaman rivalry saw a resurgence in Mount Lebanon. Thefeud was mostly fought out between different Druze clans until theBattle of Ain Dara in 1711 led to the near complete exodus ofYamani Druze.[16]
Snow on Mount Lebanon
Throughout the 18th century and into the 19th century more and more Maronites settled in the Druze regions of the Mount. The Druze viewed these Maronite settlements as a threat to their power in Mount Lebanon and in a series of clashes in the 1840s and 1860s, a miniature civil war erupted in the area resulting in the massacre of thousands of Christians.[17] The Druze won militarily, but not politically, because European powers (mainlyFrance andBritain) intervened on behalf of the Maronites and divided Mount Lebanon into two areas; Druze and Maronite. Seeing their authority decline in Mount Lebanon, a few Lebanese Druze began migrating to the newJabal ad-Duruz in southernSyria. In 1861, the "Mount Lebanon" autonomous district was established within theOttoman system, under an international guarantee.[4]
For centuries, the Maronites of the region have been protected by the nobleKhazen family, which was endowed the responsibility byPope Clement X andKing Louis XIV and givenCheikh status in return for guarding the princesFakhr-al-Din II and Younès al-Maani.[18][19][20] The Khazen crest reflects the family's special closeness to Mount Lebanon, with snowy mountains and a cedar tree depicted.[18][21][22]
During theLebanese Civil War of 1983-84, Mount Lebanon became the site of theMountain War. The sub-conflict resulted in a victory for theLNRF, causing factors of theLebanese Armed Forces to withdraw from the southern summit.
The Christian and Druze communities have a long history of interaction dating back roughly a millennium, particularly in Mount Lebanon.[24] Over the centuries, they have peacefully interacted and lived together, sharing common social andcultural landscapes, although occasional exceptions have occurred. This interaction been marked by shared economic activities, cultural exchange, and even political alliances in some cases.[25] The two communities lived among each other and interacted socially on an everyday basis. The close bonds between Christian and Druze neighbors led to Christian communities thriving in some Druze towns.[26]
According to some scholars, historically, Druze communities had better relationships with Christians than with Muslims.[27][24] They also points out that Christians tended to show more tolerance towards the Druze community and their religion compared to Muslims.[24][28] Traditionally, Druze settlements in theLevant often included Christian families and communities, while Muslim presence was rare.[24]
For decades, the Christians pressured the European powers to award themself determination by extending their small Lebanese territory to what they dubbed "Greater Lebanon", referring to a geographic unit comprising Mount Lebanon and its coast, and theBeqaa Valley to its east. After theFirst World War, France took hold of the formerly Ottoman holdings in the northernLevant, and expanded the borders of Mount Lebanon in 1920 to formGreater Lebanon, which was to be populated by remnants of the Middle Eastern Christian community. The Christians ended up gaining territorially, but the new borders merely ended the demographic dominance of Christians in the newly created territory ofLebanon.[4]
^abcJin and Krothe.Hydrogeology: Proceedings of the 30th International Geological Congress, p. 170
^McColl, R. W. (14 May 2014).Encyclopedia of World Geography - Volume 1. Facts On File, Incorporated. p. 537.ISBN9780816072293.
^Najem, Tom; Amore, Roy C.; Abu Khalil, As'ad (2021).Historical Dictionary of Lebanon. Historical Dictionaries of Asia, Oceania, and the Middle East (2nd ed.). Lanham Boulder New York London: Rowman & Littlefield. p. 216.ISBN978-1-5381-2043-9.
^abcdefAn Occasion for War, Civil Conflict in Lebanon and Damascus in 1860, Leila Tarazi Fawaz.ISBN0-520-20086-1
^Room, Adrian (2006).Placenames of the World: Origins and Meanings of the Names for 6,600 Countries, Cities, Territories, Natural Features and Historic Sites (2nd ed.). McFarland. pp. 214–215.ISBN978-0-7864-2248-7.
^Strabo (2019) [First century AD]."Geography".topostext.Archived from the original on 17 August 2022. Retrieved12 November 2024.
^Najem, Tom; Amore, Roy C.; Abu Khalil, As'ad (2021).Historical Dictionary of Lebanon. Historical Dictionaries of Asia, Oceania, and the Middle East (2nd ed.). Lanham Boulder New York London: Rowman & Littlefield. p. 50.ISBN978-1-5381-2043-9.
^abcdMackey, Sandra (2006).Lebanon: A House Divided. W. W. Norton. p. 62.ISBN9780393352764.
^Hitti, Philip (2010).Lebanon in History: From the Earliest Times to the Present. University of Michigan Press. p. 408-410.ISBN9789004129382.
^Hitti, Philip (2010).Lebanon in History: From the Earliest Times to the Present. University of Michigan Press. p. 408-410.ISBN9789004129382.
^Artzi, Pinḥas (1984).Confrontation and Coexistence. Bar-Ilan University Press. p. 166.ISBN9789652260499... Europeans who visited the area during this period related that the Druze "love the Christians more than the other believers," and that they "hate the Turks, the Muslims and the Arabs [Bedouin] with an intense hatred.
^Elham, Manea (2012).The Arab State and Women's Rights. Taylor & Francis. p. 42.ISBN9781136663109.
^Deeb, Marius (2013).Syria, Iran, and Hezbollah: The Unholy Alliance and Its War on Lebanon. Hoover Press.ISBN9780817916664.the Maronites and the Druze, who founded Lebanon in the early eighteenth century.
