Timeline of Lebanese history
Encyclopedia
Since its early history, Lebanon
has come under the domination of several foreign rulers, however, despite this fact, Lebanon's mountainous terrain has provided it with a certain protective isolation, enabling it to create its own and unique identity. Its proximity to the sea has ensured an important position as a trading centre which developed a tradition of commerce that began with the Phoenicians and continued throughout the centuries, remaining almost unaffected by foreign rule and the worst periods of internal strife.
Neolithic
Byblos
, believed to be the oldest continuously inhabited city in the world, has remnants of prehistoric huts with crushed limestone floors, primitive weapons, and burial jars as evidence of Neolithic fishing communities who lived on the shore of the Mediterranean Sea
from approximately 5000 BC.
Chalcolithic Age
Metallurgy
was introduced to the region in the late Chalcolithic age.
Amorites and Canaanites (later called Phoenicia
ns) settle on Syria
n coast, with centres at Tyre and Sidon
. Innovations such as the wheel and writing were introduced.
Canaan became under Egyptian
rule after the campaigns of Tuthmosis I and his grandson Tuthmosis III. The rise of the kingdom of Qatna
on the Orontes.
The beginning of the early Aramean influences in the region with the establishment of kingdoms such as Aram Rehob
in central Canaan.
1400s BC — The height of the Canaanite town of Ugarit
.
1200s BC — Phoenicians invent the alphabet
and the Tyrian Purple
which was a major component in their trade.
1200s BC — A crisis led to the Bronze Age collapse
. Cities all around the eastern Mediterranean were sacked within a span of a few decades by assorted raiders.
Iron Age
The Sea Peoples
and the related Philistines
are associated with the introduction of iron technology into Asia.
devastates the territory of Damascus
; Israel
and the Phoenician cities send tribute.
813 BC — Carthage
is founded by Phoenicians.
774 BC — The reign of king Pygmalion
of Tyre ends.
739 BC — Hiram II becomes king of Tyre.
730 BC — Mattan II succeeds Hiram II as king.
724 BC — The Assyria
ns under king Shalmaneser V
start a four-year siege of Tyre that ends in 720 BC.
710s BC — Judah
, Tyre and Sidon revolt against Assyria.
701 BC — The Assyrian siege of Tyre by king Sennacherib
.
663 BC — The Assyrian siege of Tyre by king Ashurbanipal
.
587 BC — The region is annexed to the Babylonian empire, while Jerusalem fell into their hands.
586-573 BC — The Babylonia
ns under king Nebuchadnezzar II sieged Tyre for thirteen years without success. Later a compromise peace was made in which Tyre had to pay tribute to the Babylonians.
Iron age III – Persian
539 BC — Cyrus the Great
conquered Phoenicia.
350–345 BC — A rebellion in Sidon
led by Tennes was crushed by Artaxerxes III, and its destruction was dramatically described by Diodorus Siculus
.
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(323 BC), Ptolemy I (320 BC), Antigonus II (315 BC), Demetrius
(301 BC), and Seleucus
(296 BC).
315 BC — Alexander's former general Antigonus begins his own siege of Tyre, taking the city a year later.
286-197 BC — Phoenicia (except for Aradus
) fell to the Ptolemies
of Egypt
, who installed the high priests of Astarte
as vassal rulers in Sidon (Eshmunazar I, Tabnit, Eshmunazar II).
197 BC — Phoenicia along with Syria reverted to the Seleucids, and the region became increasingly Hellenized
, although Tyre actually became autonomous in 126 BC, followed by Sidon in 111 BC.
140 BC — Beirut
was taken and destroyed by Diodotus Tryphon
in his contest with Antiochus VII Sidetes
for the throne of the Seleucid monarchy. It was later named Laodicea in Phoenicia .
82-69 BC — Syria, including Phoenicia, were seized by king Tigranes the Great
who was later defeated by Lucullus
.
65 BC — Pompey
finally incorporated Phoenicia as part of the Roman province of Syria
.
Roman
64 BC — Beirut was conquered by Agrippa and the city was renamed in honour of the emperor's daughter, Julia; its full name became Colonia Julia Augusta Felix Berytus.
27 BC-180 AD — the Pax Romana
period, inhabitants of the principal Phoenician cities of Byblos
, Sidon
, and Tyre were granted Roman citizenship, while economic and intellectual activities flourished.
20s AD—Beirut's school of law was founded, it later became widely known in the surrounding region. Two of Rome's most famous jurists, Papinian and Ulpian
(both natives of Phoenicia), were taught at the law school under the Severan
emperors.
50s AD—Saint Paul of Tarsus
begins his third mission and preaches in Tyre.
Byzantine
451 AD—The Maronites
, a Christian community named after Saint John Maron
sought refuge in the mountains of Lebanon.
551 AD—Beirut is destroyed by an earthquake and tsunami
. About 30,000 were killed in the city alone and, along the Phoenician coast, total casualties were close to 250,000.
630s — The Marada, a group of autonomous Maronite communities, settled in Mount Lebanon
and the surrounding highlands following the conquest of Syria by the Arab caliphate
.
Rashidun
632–634—Calling for a jihad
against non-Muslim
s, Muhammad
's successor, Caliph
Abu Bakr
, brought Islam
to the area surrounding Lebanon.
Umayyad
661—After the Battle of Yarmuk, Caliph Umar
appointed the Arab Muawiyah I
, founder of the Umayyad dynasty, as governor of Syria
, an area that included present-day Lebanon.
667—Muawiyah negotiated an agreement with Constantine IV
, the Byzantine emperor, whereby he agreed to pay Constantine an annual tribute in return for the cessation of Marada incursions.
670 — Callinicus
of Heliopolis
, a Byzantine chemist
from Heliopolis, invents the Greek fire
in Constantinople
.
Abbasid
759—An abortive rebellion of Lebanese mountaineers against the Abbasid rule after the harsh treatment of people living in the Lebanese-Syrian region.
960s — Prince 'Allaqa of Tyre proclaimed his independence from the Abbasids and coined money in his own name.
Fatimid
970s — The Fatimides settled in Egypt
and extended their authority to the costal region of Bilad al-Sham and Damascus
.
986—Under the Fatimid Caliph Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah
, a new religion was born and spread by a man called Ad-Darazi. This was the beginning of the Druze
religion and its expansion in several Lebanese regions.
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Crusades
1109—The Crusaders
capture Tripoli
and transform the city and its surrounding regions into a county
. It was originally held by Bertrand of Toulouse
as a vassal of Baldwin I of Jerusalem
.
1110 — Beirut
and Sidon
are captured.
1124—Tyre resisted the raids but finally capitulated after a long siege.
1192 — Richard the Lionheart
signed a treaty with Saladin
, restoring the Kingdom of Jerusalem
to a coastal strip between Jaffa
and Beirut
.
1260—The county of Tripoli becomes a vassal state of the Mongol Empire
.
1289—The county of Tripoli falls
into the hands of the Mamluk
s after the attack of Egypt
ian Sultan
Qalawun
in March.
took place on 10 June, where an Ayyubid army commanded by Saladin defeated a Crusader army led by King Baldwin IV of Jerusalem
.
1182—The Battle of Belvoir Castle
in which a Crusader force led by King Baldwin IV of Jerusalem sparred inconclusively with an Ayyubid army from Egypt commanded by Saladin. The theatre of operations included Eilat, the Transjordan
, Galilee
and Beirut
(which witnessed a siege by Saladin that ended in August of the same year).
1187—Saladin conquers virtually all of the Kingdom of Jerusalem with the exception of Tyre, which held out under Conrad of Montferrat
.
Mamluk
1291—The Shia Muslims and Druze
, in Lebanon, rebelled against the Mamluks who were busy fighting the European Crusaders and Mongols.
1308—The rebellion was crushed by the Mamluks.
Ottoman
1516—The Ottoman Sultan Selim I
grants Emir
Fakhr ad-Din I a semi-autonomous reign in Lebanon.
1570 -1635—The Maanid period reaches its peak with the reign of Fakhr ad-Din II.
1613—Fakhr ad-Din II is exiled to Tuscany
after his inability to defeat the army of Ahmad al Hafiz, the governor of Damascus
.
1618—Fakhr ad-Din II returns to Lebanon with the beginning of Muhammad Pasha's reign as the new governor of Damascus.
1622—The Battle of Anjar
took place on 31 October, near Majdal Anjar between the army of Fakhr ad-Din II and an Ottoman army led by the governor of Damascus Mustafa Pasha.
1635—By the orders of Murad IV
, Kutshuk, the governor of Damascus, defeats Fakhr ad-Din who was later executed in Constantinople
.
1799 — Bashir II
declines to assist the siege of Acre
by Napoleon
and Jezzar Pasha
. Unable to conquer Acre, Napoleon returned to Egypt
, and the death of Jezzar Pasha in 1804 removed Bashir's principal opponent in the area.
1831—Bashir II breaks away from the Ottoman Empire, allies with Muhammad Ali of Egypt
and assists Muhammad Ali's son, Ibrahim Pasha
, in another siege of Acre. This siege lasted seven months, the city falling on 27 May 1832. The Egyptian army, with assistance from Bashir's troops, also attacked and conquered Damascus on 14 June 1832.
1840—After Muhammad Ali's rejection of the requests of the London treaty signed on 15 June 1840, Ottoman and British troops landed on the Lebanese coast on 10 September 1840. Faced with this combined force, Muhammad Ali retreated, and on 14 October 1840, Bashir II surrendered to the British and went into exile.
1841—Conflicts between the Druze
and the Maronite
Christians exploded. A Maronite revolt against the Feudal class erupted, and lasted until 1858.
sent 7,000 troops to Beirut
and helped impose a partition: The Druze control of the territory was recognised as the fact on the ground, and the Maronites were forced into an enclave
, arrangements ratified by the concert of Europe in 1861.
ic, Druze and Maronite groups focused on economic and cultural development which saw a flourishing of literary and political activity associated with the attempts to liberalise the Ottoman Empire
.
1915—Jamal Pasha initiates a blockade of the entire eastern Mediterranean
coast. Lebanon witnessed thousands of deaths from widespread famine
and plagues.
1916 — Turkish
authorities publicly executed 21 Syrians and Lebanese in Damascus
and Beirut
, respectively, for alleged anti-Turkish activities.
The state of Great Lebanon
1918 — British general Edmund Allenby
and Faysal I
, son of Sharif Hussein of Mecca
, moved into Palestine
with British and Arab forces, thus opening the way for the occupation of Lebanon.
1920—France takes control over Lebanese territory after the San Remo conference
.
after national and international pressure following the imprisonment of president Bechara El Khoury
and other parliament members by the French.
1958—A civil war erupts but short lived after the intervention of 5,000 US Marines
ordered by President Eisenhower
upon the request of the Lebanese president Camille Chamoun
.
1975–1990—The Lebanese Civil War
.
1990–2005—A period of fifteen years of Syrian occupation starts when Syrian troops invade the Baabda residential Palace on 13 October 1990 and overthrow then Prime Minister General Michel Aoun, and ends with the peaceful revolution of more than one million protesters in Beirut central district, following the assassination of the Lebanese PM
Rafik Hariri
and the withdrawal of the Syrian troops.
2006—The July War takes place between Hezbollah and Israel, with Israel launching a major military attack, bombing the southern suburbs of Beirut, the Lebanese airport and parts of southern Lebanon, in response to the capture of 2 Israeli soldiers by Hezbollah on 12 July.
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
has come under the domination of several foreign rulers, however, despite this fact, Lebanon's mountainous terrain has provided it with a certain protective isolation, enabling it to create its own and unique identity. Its proximity to the sea has ensured an important position as a trading centre which developed a tradition of commerce that began with the Phoenicians and continued throughout the centuries, remaining almost unaffected by foreign rule and the worst periods of internal strife.
NeolithicNeolithicThe Neolithic Age, Era, or Period, or New Stone Age, was a period in the development of human technology, beginning about 9500 BC in some parts of the Middle East, and later in other parts of the world. It is traditionally considered as the last part of the Stone Age...
(7500 BC – 4500 BC)
ByblosByblos
Byblos is the Greek name of the Phoenician city Gebal . It is a Mediterranean city in the Mount Lebanon Governorate of present-day Lebanon under the current Arabic name of Jubayl and was also referred to as Gibelet during the Crusades...
, believed to be the oldest continuously inhabited city in the world, has remnants of prehistoric huts with crushed limestone floors, primitive weapons, and burial jars as evidence of Neolithic fishing communities who lived on the shore of the Mediterranean Sea
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...
from approximately 5000 BC.
Chalcolithic AgeCopper AgeThe Chalcolithic |stone]]") period or Copper Age, also known as the Eneolithic/Æneolithic , is a phase of the Bronze Age in which the addition of tin to copper to form bronze during smelting remained yet unknown by the metallurgists of the times...
(4500 BC – 3500 BC)
MetallurgyMetallurgy
Metallurgy is a domain of materials science that studies the physical and chemical behavior of metallic elements, their intermetallic compounds, and their mixtures, which are called alloys. It is also the technology of metals: the way in which science is applied to their practical use...
was introduced to the region in the late Chalcolithic age.
Antiquity
Early Bronze (2500 BC – 2000 BC)
Amorites and Canaanites (later called Phoenicia
Phoenicia
Phoenicia , was an ancient civilization in Canaan which covered most of the western, coastal part of the Fertile Crescent. Several major Phoenician cities were built on the coastline of the Mediterranean. It was an enterprising maritime trading culture that spread across the Mediterranean from 1550...
ns) settle on Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
n coast, with centres at Tyre and Sidon
Sidon
Sidon or Saïda is the third-largest city in Lebanon. It is located in the South Governorate of Lebanon, on the Mediterranean coast, about 40 km north of Tyre and 40 km south of the capital Beirut. In Genesis, Sidon is the son of Canaan the grandson of Noah...
. Innovations such as the wheel and writing were introduced.
Middle Bronze (2000 BC – 1600 BC)
Canaan became under Egyptian
Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt was an ancient civilization of Northeastern Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. Egyptian civilization coalesced around 3150 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh...
rule after the campaigns of Tuthmosis I and his grandson Tuthmosis III. The rise of the kingdom of Qatna
Qatna
Qatna is an archaeological site in the Wadi il-Aswad, a tributary of the Orontes, 18 km northeast of Homs, Syria. It consists in a tell occupying 1 km², which makes it one of the largest Bronze Age towns in western Syria...
on the Orontes.
Late Bronze (1600 BC – 1200 BC)
The beginning of the early Aramean influences in the region with the establishment of kingdoms such as Aram Rehob
Aram Rehob
Aram Rehob was an early Aramaean kingdom, of which the chief city was Rehob or Beth-Rehob, associated with Aram-Zobah as hostile to King David. Num. xiii.21 and Judges xviii.28 place a Beth-Rehob in the Lebanon region near Tel Dan. Moore conjecturally identifies it with Paneas....
in central Canaan.
1400s BC — The height of the Canaanite town of Ugarit
Ugarit
Ugarit was an ancient port city in the eastern Mediterranean at the Ras Shamra headland near Latakia, Syria. It is located near Minet el-Beida in northern Syria. It is some seven miles north of Laodicea ad Mare and approximately fifty miles east of Cyprus...
.
1200s BC — Phoenicians invent the alphabet
Phoenician alphabet
The Phoenician alphabet, called by convention the Proto-Canaanite alphabet for inscriptions older than around 1050 BC, was a non-pictographic consonantal alphabet, or abjad. It was used for the writing of Phoenician, a Northern Semitic language, used by the civilization of Phoenicia...
and the Tyrian Purple
Tyrian purple
Tyrian purple , also known as royal purple, imperial purple or imperial dye, is a purple-red natural dye, which is extracted from sea snails, and which was possibly first produced by the ancient Phoenicians...
which was a major component in their trade.
1200s BC — A crisis led to the Bronze Age collapse
Bronze Age collapse
The Bronze Age collapse is a transition in southwestern Asia and the Eastern Mediterranean from the Late Bronze Age to the Early Iron Age that some historians believe was violent, sudden and culturally disruptive...
. Cities all around the eastern Mediterranean were sacked within a span of a few decades by assorted raiders.
Iron AgeIron AgeThe Iron Age is the archaeological period generally occurring after the Bronze Age, marked by the prevalent use of iron. The early period of the age is characterized by the widespread use of iron or steel. The adoption of such material coincided with other changes in society, including differing...
– PhoeniciaPhoeniciaPhoenicia , was an ancient civilization in Canaan which covered most of the western, coastal part of the Fertile Crescent. Several major Phoenician cities were built on the coastline of the Mediterranean. It was an enterprising maritime trading culture that spread across the Mediterranean from 1550...
n Period (1200 BC – 333 BC)
Iron age I (1200 BC – 900 BC)
Some Phoenician ports in Canaan, that escaped the destructive raids, developed into great commercial powers.The Sea Peoples
Sea Peoples
The Sea Peoples were a confederacy of seafaring raiders of the second millennium BC who sailed into the eastern Mediterranean, caused political unrest, and attempted to enter or control Egyptian territory during the late 19th dynasty and especially during year 8 of Ramesses III of the 20th Dynasty...
and the related Philistines
Philistines
Philistines , Pleshet or Peleset, were a people who occupied the southern coast of Canaan at the beginning of the Iron Age . According to the Bible, they ruled the five city-states of Gaza, Askelon, Ashdod, Ekron and Gath, from the Wadi Gaza in the south to the Yarqon River in the north, but with...
are associated with the introduction of iron technology into Asia.
Iron age II (900 BC – 555 BC)
842 BC — Shalmaneser IIIShalmaneser III
Shalmaneser III was king of Assyria , and son of the previous ruler, Ashurnasirpal II....
devastates the territory of Damascus
Damascus
Damascus , commonly known in Syria as Al Sham , and as the City of Jasmine , is the capital and the second largest city of Syria after Aleppo, both are part of the country's 14 governorates. In addition to being one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, Damascus is a major...
; Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
and the Phoenician cities send tribute.
813 BC — Carthage
Carthage
Carthage , implying it was a 'new Tyre') is a major urban centre that has existed for nearly 3,000 years on the Gulf of Tunis, developing from a Phoenician colony of the 1st millennium BC...
is founded by Phoenicians.
774 BC — The reign of king Pygmalion
Pygmalion of Tyre
Pygmalion was king of Tyre from 831 to 785 BC and a son of King Mattan I .During Pygmalion's reign, Tyre seems to have shifted the heart of its trading empire from the Middle East to the Mediterranean, as can be judged from the building of new colonies including Kition on Cyprus, Sardinia , and,...
of Tyre ends.
Assyrian period (745 BC – 612 BC)
739 BC — Hiram II becomes king of Tyre.
730 BC — Mattan II succeeds Hiram II as king.
724 BC — The Assyria
Assyria
Assyria was a Semitic Akkadian kingdom, extant as a nation state from the mid–23rd century BC to 608 BC centred on the Upper Tigris river, in northern Mesopotamia , that came to rule regional empires a number of times through history. It was named for its original capital, the ancient city of Assur...
ns under king Shalmaneser V
Shalmaneser V
Shalmaneser V was king of Assyria from 727 to 722 BC. He first appears as governor of Zimirra in Phoenicia in the reign of his father, Tiglath-Pileser III....
start a four-year siege of Tyre that ends in 720 BC.
710s BC — Judah
Kingdom of Judah
The Kingdom of Judah was a Jewish state established in the Southern Levant during the Iron Age. It is often referred to as the "Southern Kingdom" to distinguish it from the northern Kingdom of Israel....
, Tyre and Sidon revolt against Assyria.
701 BC — The Assyrian siege of Tyre by king Sennacherib
Sennacherib
Sennacherib |Sîn]] has replaced brothers for me"; Aramaic: ) was the son of Sargon II, whom he succeeded on the throne of Assyria .-Rise to power:...
.
663 BC — The Assyrian siege of Tyre by king Ashurbanipal
Ashurbanipal
Ashurbanipal |Ashur]] is creator of an heir"; 685 BC – c. 627 BC), also spelled Assurbanipal or Ashshurbanipal, was an Assyrian king, the son of Esarhaddon and the last great king of the Neo-Assyrian Empire...
.
Neo-Babylonian period (587 BC – 555 BC)
587 BC — The region is annexed to the Babylonian empire, while Jerusalem fell into their hands.
586-573 BC — The Babylonia
Babylonia
Babylonia was an ancient cultural region in central-southern Mesopotamia , with Babylon as its capital. Babylonia emerged as a major power when Hammurabi Babylonia was an ancient cultural region in central-southern Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq), with Babylon as its capital. Babylonia emerged as...
ns under king Nebuchadnezzar II sieged Tyre for thirteen years without success. Later a compromise peace was made in which Tyre had to pay tribute to the Babylonians.
Iron age III – PersianPersian peopleThe Persian people are part of the Iranian peoples who speak the modern Persian language and closely akin Iranian dialects and languages. The origin of the ethnic Iranian/Persian peoples are traced to the Ancient Iranian peoples, who were part of the ancient Indo-Iranians and themselves part of...
period (555 BC – 333 BC)
539 BC — Cyrus the GreatCyrus the Great
Cyrus II of Persia , commonly known as Cyrus the Great, also known as Cyrus the Elder, was the founder of the Achaemenid Empire. Under his rule, the empire embraced all the previous civilized states of the ancient Near East, expanded vastly and eventually conquered most of Southwest Asia and much...
conquered Phoenicia.
350–345 BC — A rebellion in Sidon
Sidon
Sidon or Saïda is the third-largest city in Lebanon. It is located in the South Governorate of Lebanon, on the Mediterranean coast, about 40 km north of Tyre and 40 km south of the capital Beirut. In Genesis, Sidon is the son of Canaan the grandson of Noah...
led by Tennes was crushed by Artaxerxes III, and its destruction was dramatically described by Diodorus Siculus
Diodorus Siculus
Diodorus Siculus was a Greek historian who flourished between 60 and 30 BC. According to Diodorus' own work, he was born at Agyrium in Sicily . With one exception, antiquity affords no further information about Diodorus' life and doings beyond what is to be found in his own work, Bibliotheca...
.
Hellenistic period (333 BC – 64 BC)
332 BC — Alexander the Great took Tyre following the city's siege. After Alexander's death Phoenicia witnessed a succession of Hellenistic rulers: LaomedonLaomedon
In Greek mythology, Laomedon was a Trojan king, son of Ilus, brother of Ganymede and Assaracus, and father of Priam, Astyoche, Lampus, Hicetaon, Clytius, Cilla, Proclia, Aethilla, Medesicaste, Clytodora, and Hesione...
(323 BC), Ptolemy I (320 BC), Antigonus II (315 BC), Demetrius
Demetrius
Demetrius, also spelled as Demetrios, Dimitrios, Demitri, and Dimitri , is a male given name.Demetrius and its variations may refer to the following:...
(301 BC), and Seleucus
Seleucus
-Monarchs and relations of the Seleucid Empire:* Seleucus I Nicator , son of Antiochus and founder of the Seleucid Empire* Seleucus II Callinicus * Seleucus III Ceraunus...
(296 BC).
315 BC — Alexander's former general Antigonus begins his own siege of Tyre, taking the city a year later.
286-197 BC — Phoenicia (except for Aradus
Arwad
Arwad – formerly known as Arado , Arados , Arvad, Arpad, Arphad, and Antiochia in Pieria , also called Ruad Island – located in the Mediterranean Sea, is the only inhabited island in Syria. The town of Arwad takes up the entire island...
) fell to the Ptolemies
Ptolemaic dynasty
The Ptolemaic dynasty, was a Macedonian Greek royal family which ruled the Ptolemaic Empire in Egypt during the Hellenistic period. Their rule lasted for 275 years, from 305 BC to 30 BC...
of Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
, who installed the high priests of Astarte
Astarte
Astarte is the Greek name of a goddess known throughout the Eastern Mediterranean from the Bronze Age to Classical times...
as vassal rulers in Sidon (Eshmunazar I, Tabnit, Eshmunazar II).
197 BC — Phoenicia along with Syria reverted to the Seleucids, and the region became increasingly Hellenized
Hellenization
Hellenization is a term used to describe the spread of ancient Greek culture, and, to a lesser extent, language. It is mainly used to describe the spread of Hellenistic civilization during the Hellenistic period following the campaigns of Alexander the Great of Macedon...
, although Tyre actually became autonomous in 126 BC, followed by Sidon in 111 BC.
140 BC — Beirut
Beirut
Beirut is the capital and largest city of Lebanon, with a population ranging from 1 million to more than 2 million . Located on a peninsula at the midpoint of Lebanon's Mediterranean coastline, it serves as the country's largest and main seaport, and also forms the Beirut Metropolitan...
was taken and destroyed by Diodotus Tryphon
Diodotus Tryphon
Diodotus Tryphon was king of the Hellenistic Seleucid kingdom. As a general of the army, he promoted the claims of Antiochus VI Dionysus, the infant son of Alexander Balas, in Antioch after Alexander's death, but then in 142 deposed the child and himself seized power in Coele-Syria where Demetrius...
in his contest with Antiochus VII Sidetes
Antiochus VII Sidetes
Antiochus VII Euergetes, nicknamed Sidetes , ruler of the Hellenistic Seleucid Empire, reigned from 138 to 129 BC. He was the last Seleucid king of any stature....
for the throne of the Seleucid monarchy. It was later named Laodicea in Phoenicia .
82-69 BC — Syria, including Phoenicia, were seized by king Tigranes the Great
Tigranes the Great
Tigranes the Great was emperor of Armenia under whom the country became, for a short time, the strongest state east of the Roman Republic. He was a member of the Artaxiad Royal House...
who was later defeated by Lucullus
Lucullus
Lucius Licinius Lucullus , was an optimate politician of the late Roman Republic, closely connected with Sulla Felix...
.
65 BC — Pompey
Pompey
Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus, also known as Pompey or Pompey the Great , was a military and political leader of the late Roman Republic...
finally incorporated Phoenicia as part of the Roman province of Syria
Syria (Roman province)
Syria was a Roman province, annexed in 64 BC by Pompey, as a consequence of his military presence after pursuing victory in the Third Mithridatic War. It remained under Roman, and subsequently Byzantine, rule for seven centuries, until 637 when it fell to the Islamic conquests.- Principate :The...
.
RomanRoman EmpireThe Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
period (64 BC – 399 AD)
64 BC — Beirut was conquered by Agrippa and the city was renamed in honour of the emperor's daughter, Julia; its full name became Colonia Julia Augusta Felix Berytus.27 BC-180 AD — the Pax Romana
Pax Romana
Pax Romana was the long period of relative peace and minimal expansion by military force experienced by the Roman Empire in the 1st and 2nd centuries AD. Since it was established by Caesar Augustus it is sometimes called Pax Augusta...
period, inhabitants of the principal Phoenician cities of Byblos
Byblos
Byblos is the Greek name of the Phoenician city Gebal . It is a Mediterranean city in the Mount Lebanon Governorate of present-day Lebanon under the current Arabic name of Jubayl and was also referred to as Gibelet during the Crusades...
, Sidon
Sidon
Sidon or Saïda is the third-largest city in Lebanon. It is located in the South Governorate of Lebanon, on the Mediterranean coast, about 40 km north of Tyre and 40 km south of the capital Beirut. In Genesis, Sidon is the son of Canaan the grandson of Noah...
, and Tyre were granted Roman citizenship, while economic and intellectual activities flourished.
20s AD—Beirut's school of law was founded, it later became widely known in the surrounding region. Two of Rome's most famous jurists, Papinian and Ulpian
Ulpian
Gnaeus Domitius Annius Ulpianus , anglicized as Ulpian, was a Roman jurist of Tyrian ancestry.-Biography:The exact time and place of his birth are unknown, but the period of his literary activity was between AD 211 and 222...
(both natives of Phoenicia), were taught at the law school under the Severan
Severan dynasty
The Severan dynasty was a Roman imperial dynasty, which ruled the Roman Empire between 193 and 235. The dynasty was founded by the Roman general Septimius Severus, who rose to power during the civil war of 193, known as the Year of the Five Emperors....
emperors.
50s AD—Saint Paul of Tarsus
Paul of Tarsus
Paul the Apostle , also known as Saul of Tarsus, is described in the Christian New Testament as one of the most influential early Christian missionaries, with the writings ascribed to him by the church forming a considerable portion of the New Testament...
begins his third mission and preaches in Tyre.
ByzantineByzantine EmpireThe Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
period (399 AD – 636 AD)
451 AD—The MaronitesMaronite Church
The Syriac Maronite Church of Antioch is an Eastern Catholic Church in full communion with the Holy See of Rome . It traces its heritage back to the community founded by Maron, a 4th-century Syriac monk venerated as a saint. The first Maronite Patriarch, John Maron, was elected in the late 7th...
, a Christian community named after Saint John Maron
John Maron
John Maron , died 707 was a Syriac monk, and the first Maronite Patriarch. He is revered as a saint by the Catholic Church, and celebrated on March 2.-Early life:...
sought refuge in the mountains of Lebanon.
551 AD—Beirut is destroyed by an earthquake and tsunami
551 Beirut earthquake
The 551 Beirut earthquake occurred on 9 July of 551 AD. It had an estimated magnitude of about 7.6 on the moment magnitude scale and a maximum felt intensity of X on the Mercalli intensity scale. It triggered a devastating tsunami which affected the coastal towns of Phoenicia, causing great...
. About 30,000 were killed in the city alone and, along the Phoenician coast, total casualties were close to 250,000.
630s — The Marada, a group of autonomous Maronite communities, settled in Mount Lebanon
Mount Lebanon
Mount Lebanon , as a geographic designation, is a Lebanese mountain range, averaging above 2,200 meters in height and receiving a substantial amount of precipitation, including snow, which averages around four meters deep. It extends across the whole country along about , parallel to the...
and the surrounding highlands following the conquest of Syria by the Arab caliphate
Caliphate
The term caliphate, "dominion of a caliph " , refers to the first system of government established in Islam and represented the political unity of the Muslim Ummah...
.
RashidunRashidun EmpireThe Rashidun Caliphate , comprising the first four caliphs in Islam's history, was founded after Muhammad's death in 632, Year 10 A.H.. At its height, the Caliphate extended from the Arabian Peninsula, to the Levant, Caucasus and North Africa in the west, to the Iranian highlands and Central Asia...
period (632–661)
632–634—Calling for a jihadJihad
Jihad , an Islamic term, is a religious duty of Muslims. In Arabic, the word jihād translates as a noun meaning "struggle". Jihad appears 41 times in the Quran and frequently in the idiomatic expression "striving in the way of God ". A person engaged in jihad is called a mujahid; the plural is...
against non-Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
s, Muhammad
Muhammad
Muhammad |ligature]] at U+FDF4 ;Arabic pronunciation varies regionally; the first vowel ranges from ~~; the second and the last vowel: ~~~. There are dialects which have no stress. In Egypt, it is pronounced not in religious contexts...
's successor, Caliph
Caliph
The Caliph is the head of state in a Caliphate, and the title for the ruler of the Islamic Ummah, an Islamic community ruled by the Shari'ah. It is a transcribed version of the Arabic word which means "successor" or "representative"...
Abu Bakr
Abu Bakr
Abu Bakr was a senior companion and the father-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. He ruled over the Rashidun Caliphate from 632-634 CE when he became the first Muslim Caliph following Muhammad's death...
, brought Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
to the area surrounding Lebanon.
UmayyadUmayyadThe Umayyad Caliphate was the second of the four major Arab caliphates established after the death of Muhammad. It was ruled by the Umayyad dynasty, whose name derives from Umayya ibn Abd Shams, the great-grandfather of the first Umayyad caliph. Although the Umayyad family originally came from the...
period (661–750)
661—After the Battle of Yarmuk, Caliph UmarUmar
`Umar ibn al-Khattāb c. 2 November , was a leading companion and adviser to the Islamic prophet Muhammad who later became the second Muslim Caliph after Muhammad's death....
appointed the Arab Muawiyah I
Muawiyah I
Muawiyah I was the first Caliph of the Umayyad Dynasty. After the conquest of Mecca by the Muslims, Muawiyah's family converted to Islam. Muawiyah is brother-in-law to Muhammad who married his sister Ramlah bint Abi-Sufyan in 1AH...
, founder of the Umayyad dynasty, as governor of Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
, an area that included present-day Lebanon.
667—Muawiyah negotiated an agreement with Constantine IV
Constantine IV
Constantine IV , , sometimes incorrectly called Pogonatos, "the Bearded", by confusion with his father; was Byzantine emperor from 668 to 685...
, the Byzantine emperor, whereby he agreed to pay Constantine an annual tribute in return for the cessation of Marada incursions.
670 — Callinicus
Callinicus
Callinicus or Kallinikos is a first name or surname for a male. The female name is a first name which is Kalliniki, Callinici or Callinica...
of Heliopolis
Baalbek
Baalbek is a town in the Beqaa Valley of Lebanon, altitude , situated east of the Litani River. It is famous for its exquisitely detailed yet monumentally scaled temple ruins of the Roman period, when Baalbek, then known as Heliopolis, was one of the largest sanctuaries in the Empire...
, a Byzantine chemist
Chemist
A chemist is a scientist trained in the study of chemistry. Chemists study the composition of matter and its properties such as density and acidity. Chemists carefully describe the properties they study in terms of quantities, with detail on the level of molecules and their component atoms...
from Heliopolis, invents the Greek fire
Greek fire
Greek fire was an incendiary weapon used by the Byzantine Empire. The Byzantines typically used it in naval battles to great effect as it could continue burning while floating on water....
in Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
.
AbbasidAbbasidThe Abbasid Caliphate or, more simply, the Abbasids , was the third of the Islamic caliphates. It was ruled by the Abbasid dynasty of caliphs, who built their capital in Baghdad after overthrowing the Umayyad caliphate from all but the al-Andalus region....
period (750–969)
759—An abortive rebellion of Lebanese mountaineers against the Abbasid rule after the harsh treatment of people living in the Lebanese-Syrian region.960s — Prince 'Allaqa of Tyre proclaimed his independence from the Abbasids and coined money in his own name.
FatimidFatimidThe Fatimid Islamic Caliphate or al-Fāṭimiyyūn was a Berber Shia Muslim caliphate first centered in Tunisia and later in Egypt that ruled over varying areas of the Maghreb, Sudan, Sicily, the Levant, and Hijaz from 5 January 909 to 1171.The caliphate was ruled by the Fatimids, who established the...
period (969–1169)
970s — The Fatimides settled in EgyptEgypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
and extended their authority to the costal region of Bilad al-Sham and Damascus
Damascus
Damascus , commonly known in Syria as Al Sham , and as the City of Jasmine , is the capital and the second largest city of Syria after Aleppo, both are part of the country's 14 governorates. In addition to being one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, Damascus is a major...
.
986—Under the Fatimid Caliph Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah
Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah
Abu ‘Ali Mansur Tāriqu l-Ḥākim, called Al-Hakim bi Amr al-Lāh , was the sixth Fatimid caliph and 16th Ismaili imam .- History :...
, a new religion was born and spread by a man called Ad-Darazi. This was the beginning of the Druze
Druze
The Druze are an esoteric, monotheistic religious community, found primarily in Syria, Lebanon, Israel, and Jordan, which emerged during the 11th century from Ismailism. The Druze have an eclectic set of beliefs that incorporate several elements from Abrahamic religions, Gnosticism, Neoplatonism...
religion and its expansion in several Lebanese regions.
CrusadesCrusadesThe Crusades were a series of religious wars, blessed by the Pope and the Catholic Church with the main goal of restoring Christian access to the holy places in and near Jerusalem...
period (1099–1291)
1109—The CrusadersCrusades
The Crusades were a series of religious wars, blessed by the Pope and the Catholic Church with the main goal of restoring Christian access to the holy places in and near Jerusalem...
capture Tripoli
Tripoli
Tripoli is the capital and largest city in Libya. It is also known as Western Tripoli , to distinguish it from Tripoli, Lebanon. It is affectionately called The Mermaid of the Mediterranean , describing its turquoise waters and its whitewashed buildings. Tripoli is a Greek name that means "Three...
and transform the city and its surrounding regions into a county
County of Tripoli
The County of Tripoli was the last Crusader state founded in the Levant, located in what today are parts of western Syria and northern Lebanon, where exists the modern city of Tripoli. The Crusader state was captured and created by Christian forces in 1109, originally held by Bertrand of Toulouse...
. It was originally held by Bertrand of Toulouse
Bertrand of Toulouse
Bertrand of Toulouse was count of Toulouse, and was the first count of Tripoli to rule in Tripoli itself....
as a vassal of Baldwin I of Jerusalem
Baldwin I of Jerusalem
Baldwin I of Jerusalem, formerly Baldwin I of Edessa, born Baldwin of Boulogne , 1058? – 2 April 1118, was one of the leaders of the First Crusade, who became the first Count of Edessa and then the second ruler and first titled King of Jerusalem...
.
1110 — Beirut
Beirut
Beirut is the capital and largest city of Lebanon, with a population ranging from 1 million to more than 2 million . Located on a peninsula at the midpoint of Lebanon's Mediterranean coastline, it serves as the country's largest and main seaport, and also forms the Beirut Metropolitan...
and Sidon
Sidon
Sidon or Saïda is the third-largest city in Lebanon. It is located in the South Governorate of Lebanon, on the Mediterranean coast, about 40 km north of Tyre and 40 km south of the capital Beirut. In Genesis, Sidon is the son of Canaan the grandson of Noah...
are captured.
1124—Tyre resisted the raids but finally capitulated after a long siege.
1192 — Richard the Lionheart
Richard I of England
Richard I was King of England from 6 July 1189 until his death. He also ruled as Duke of Normandy, Duke of Aquitaine, Duke of Gascony, Lord of Cyprus, Count of Anjou, Count of Maine, Count of Nantes, and Overlord of Brittany at various times during the same period...
signed a treaty with Saladin
Saladin
Ṣalāḥ ad-Dīn Yūsuf ibn Ayyūb , better known in the Western world as Saladin, was an Arabized Kurdish Muslim, who became the first Sultan of Egypt and Syria, and founded the Ayyubid dynasty. He led Muslim and Arab opposition to the Franks and other European Crusaders in the Levant...
, restoring the Kingdom of Jerusalem
Kingdom of Jerusalem
The Kingdom of Jerusalem was a Catholic kingdom established in the Levant in 1099 after the First Crusade. The kingdom lasted nearly two hundred years, from 1099 until 1291 when the last remaining possession, Acre, was destroyed by the Mamluks, but its history is divided into two distinct periods....
to a coastal strip between Jaffa
Jaffa
Jaffa is an ancient port city believed to be one of the oldest in the world. Jaffa was incorporated with Tel Aviv creating the city of Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel. Jaffa is famous for its association with the biblical story of the prophet Jonah.-Etymology:...
and Beirut
Beirut
Beirut is the capital and largest city of Lebanon, with a population ranging from 1 million to more than 2 million . Located on a peninsula at the midpoint of Lebanon's Mediterranean coastline, it serves as the country's largest and main seaport, and also forms the Beirut Metropolitan...
.
1260—The county of Tripoli becomes a vassal state of the Mongol Empire
Mongol Empire
The Mongol Empire , initially named as Greater Mongol State was a great empire during the 13th and 14th centuries...
.
1289—The county of Tripoli falls
Fall of Tripoli
The Fall of Tripoli was the capture and destruction of the Crusader state, the County of Tripoli , by the Muslim Mamluks...
into the hands of the Mamluk
Mamluk
A Mamluk was a soldier of slave origin, who were predominantly Cumans/Kipchaks The "mamluk phenomenon", as David Ayalon dubbed the creation of the specific warrior...
s after the attack of Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
ian Sultan
Sultan
Sultan is a title with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic language abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", and "dictatorship", derived from the masdar سلطة , meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it came to be used as the title of certain rulers who...
Qalawun
Qalawun
Saif ad-Dīn Qalawun aṣ-Ṣāliḥī was the seventh Mamluk sultan of Egypt...
in March.
Ayyubid period (1169–1250)
1179—The Battle of Marj AyyunBattle of Marj Ayyun
In the Battle of Marj Ayyun, alternately Marj Ayyoun, an Ayyubid army commanded by Saladin defeated a Crusader army led by King Baldwin IV of Jerusalem on June 10, 1179. The Christian king, who was crippled by leprosy, narrowly escaped being captured in the rout.-Background:In 1177 Saladin's...
took place on 10 June, where an Ayyubid army commanded by Saladin defeated a Crusader army led by King Baldwin IV of Jerusalem
Baldwin IV of Jerusalem
Baldwin IV of Jerusalem , called the Leper or the Leprous, the son of Amalric I of Jerusalem and his first wife, Agnes of Courtenay, was king of Jerusalem from 1174 to 1185. His full sister was Queen Sibylla of Jerusalem and his nephew through this sister was the child-king Baldwin V...
.
1182—The Battle of Belvoir Castle
Battle of Belvoir Castle (1182)
In the campaign and Battle of Belvoir Castle , a Crusader force led by King Baldwin IV of Jerusalem sparred inconclusively with an Ayyubid army from Egypt commanded by Saladin. The theatre of operations included Eilat, the Transjordan, Galilee and Beirut.-Background:Saladin seized control of Egypt...
in which a Crusader force led by King Baldwin IV of Jerusalem sparred inconclusively with an Ayyubid army from Egypt commanded by Saladin. The theatre of operations included Eilat, the Transjordan
Transjordan
The Emirate of Transjordan was a former Ottoman territory in the Southern Levant that was part of the British Mandate of Palestine...
, Galilee
Galilee
Galilee , is a large region in northern Israel which overlaps with much of the administrative North District of the country. Traditionally divided into Upper Galilee , Lower Galilee , and Western Galilee , extending from Dan to the north, at the base of Mount Hermon, along Mount Lebanon to the...
and Beirut
Beirut
Beirut is the capital and largest city of Lebanon, with a population ranging from 1 million to more than 2 million . Located on a peninsula at the midpoint of Lebanon's Mediterranean coastline, it serves as the country's largest and main seaport, and also forms the Beirut Metropolitan...
(which witnessed a siege by Saladin that ended in August of the same year).
1187—Saladin conquers virtually all of the Kingdom of Jerusalem with the exception of Tyre, which held out under Conrad of Montferrat
Conrad of Montferrat
Conrad of Montferrat was a northern Italian nobleman, one of the major participants in the Third Crusade. He was the de facto King of Jerusalem, by marriage, from 24 November 1190, but officially elected only in 1192, days before his death...
.
MamlukMamlukA Mamluk was a soldier of slave origin, who were predominantly Cumans/Kipchaks The "mamluk phenomenon", as David Ayalon dubbed the creation of the specific warrior...
period (1250–1516)
1291—The Shia Muslims and DruzeDruze
The Druze are an esoteric, monotheistic religious community, found primarily in Syria, Lebanon, Israel, and Jordan, which emerged during the 11th century from Ismailism. The Druze have an eclectic set of beliefs that incorporate several elements from Abrahamic religions, Gnosticism, Neoplatonism...
, in Lebanon, rebelled against the Mamluks who were busy fighting the European Crusaders and Mongols.
1308—The rebellion was crushed by the Mamluks.
Modern Times
OttomanOttoman EmpireThe Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
period (1516–1914)
1516—The Ottoman Sultan Selim ISelim I
Selim I, Yavuz Sultân Selim Khan, Hâdim-ül Haramain-ish Sharifain , nicknamed Yavuz "the Stern" or "the Steadfast", but often rendered in English as "the Grim" , was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1512 to...
grants Emir
Emir
Emir , meaning "commander", "general", or "prince"; also transliterated as Amir, Aamir or Ameer) is a title of high office, used throughout the Muslim world...
Fakhr ad-Din I a semi-autonomous reign in Lebanon.
The Maanid Dynasty (1544–1698)
1570 -1635—The Maanid period reaches its peak with the reign of Fakhr ad-Din II.
1613—Fakhr ad-Din II is exiled to Tuscany
Tuscany
Tuscany is a region in Italy. It has an area of about 23,000 square kilometres and a population of about 3.75 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence ....
after his inability to defeat the army of Ahmad al Hafiz, the governor of Damascus
Damascus
Damascus , commonly known in Syria as Al Sham , and as the City of Jasmine , is the capital and the second largest city of Syria after Aleppo, both are part of the country's 14 governorates. In addition to being one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, Damascus is a major...
.
1618—Fakhr ad-Din II returns to Lebanon with the beginning of Muhammad Pasha's reign as the new governor of Damascus.
1622—The Battle of Anjar
Battle of Anjar
The Battle of Anjar took place on 31 October 1622 near Majdal Anjar in the modern day Lebanon between the army of Fakhr ad-Din II al-Ma'ni and an Ottoman army led by the governor of Damascus Mustafa Pasha....
took place on 31 October, near Majdal Anjar between the army of Fakhr ad-Din II and an Ottoman army led by the governor of Damascus Mustafa Pasha.
1635—By the orders of Murad IV
Murad IV
Murad IV Ghazi was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1623 to 1640, known both for restoring the authority of the state and for the brutality of his methods...
, Kutshuk, the governor of Damascus, defeats Fakhr ad-Din who was later executed in Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
.
The Shehab Dynasty (1698–1842)
1799 — Bashir II
Bashir Shihab II
Bashir Chehab II was a Lebanese emir who ruled Lebanon in the first half of the 19th century.-Life:Bashir was born 2 January 1767 , son of Emir Qasim ibn Umar Chehab of the noble Chehab family which had came to power in 1697...
declines to assist the siege of Acre
Acre, Israel
Acre , is a city in the Western Galilee region of northern Israel at the northern extremity of Haifa Bay. Acre is one of the oldest continuously inhabited sites in the country....
by Napoleon
Napoleon I of France
Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military and political leader during the latter stages of the French Revolution.As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1815...
and Jezzar Pasha
Jezzar Pasha
Ahmed al-Jazzar was the Ottoman ruler of Acre and the Galilee from 1775 until his death.-Biography:...
. Unable to conquer Acre, Napoleon returned to Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
, and the death of Jezzar Pasha in 1804 removed Bashir's principal opponent in the area.
1831—Bashir II breaks away from the Ottoman Empire, allies with Muhammad Ali of Egypt
Muhammad Ali of Egypt
Muhammad Ali Pasha al-Mas'ud ibn Agha was a commander in the Ottoman army, who became Wāli, and self-declared Khedive of Egypt and Sudan...
and assists Muhammad Ali's son, Ibrahim Pasha
Ibrahim Pasha of Egypt
Ibrahim Pasha was the eldest son of Muhammad Ali, the Wāli and unrecognised Khedive of Egypt and Sudan. He served as a general in the Egyptian army that his father established during his reign, taking his first command of Egyptian forces was when he was merely a teenager...
, in another siege of Acre. This siege lasted seven months, the city falling on 27 May 1832. The Egyptian army, with assistance from Bashir's troops, also attacked and conquered Damascus on 14 June 1832.
1841—Conflicts between the Druze
Druze
The Druze are an esoteric, monotheistic religious community, found primarily in Syria, Lebanon, Israel, and Jordan, which emerged during the 11th century from Ismailism. The Druze have an eclectic set of beliefs that incorporate several elements from Abrahamic religions, Gnosticism, Neoplatonism...
and the Maronite
Maronite Church
The Syriac Maronite Church of Antioch is an Eastern Catholic Church in full communion with the Holy See of Rome . It traces its heritage back to the community founded by Maron, a 4th-century Syriac monk venerated as a saint. The first Maronite Patriarch, John Maron, was elected in the late 7th...
Christians exploded. A Maronite revolt against the Feudal class erupted, and lasted until 1858.
The Two Qa'im-makam (1842–1861)
1860—A full scale war erupted between Maronites and Druze. Napoleon IIINapoleon III of France
Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte was the President of the French Second Republic and as Napoleon III, the ruler of the Second French Empire. He was the nephew and heir of Napoleon I, christened as Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte...
sent 7,000 troops to Beirut
Beirut
Beirut is the capital and largest city of Lebanon, with a population ranging from 1 million to more than 2 million . Located on a peninsula at the midpoint of Lebanon's Mediterranean coastline, it serves as the country's largest and main seaport, and also forms the Beirut Metropolitan...
and helped impose a partition: The Druze control of the territory was recognised as the fact on the ground, and the Maronites were forced into an enclave
Enclave and exclave
In political geography, an enclave is a territory whose geographical boundaries lie entirely within the boundaries of another territory.An exclave, on the other hand, is a territory legally or politically attached to another territory with which it is not physically contiguous.These are two...
, arrangements ratified by the concert of Europe in 1861.
The Mutasarrifate (1861–1914)
The remainder of the 19th century saw a relative period of stability, as IslamIslam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
ic, Druze and Maronite groups focused on economic and cultural development which saw a flourishing of literary and political activity associated with the attempts to liberalise the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
.
World War I (1914–1918)
1914—After the abolishment of Lebanon's semiautonomous status, Jamal Pasha militarily occupies Lebanon.1915—Jamal Pasha initiates a blockade of the entire eastern Mediterranean
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...
coast. Lebanon witnessed thousands of deaths from widespread famine
Famine
A famine is a widespread scarcity of food, caused by several factors including crop failure, overpopulation, or government policies. This phenomenon is usually accompanied or followed by regional malnutrition, starvation, epidemic, and increased mortality. Every continent in the world has...
and plagues.
1916 — Turkish
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
authorities publicly executed 21 Syrians and Lebanese in Damascus
Damascus
Damascus , commonly known in Syria as Al Sham , and as the City of Jasmine , is the capital and the second largest city of Syria after Aleppo, both are part of the country's 14 governorates. In addition to being one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, Damascus is a major...
and Beirut
Beirut
Beirut is the capital and largest city of Lebanon, with a population ranging from 1 million to more than 2 million . Located on a peninsula at the midpoint of Lebanon's Mediterranean coastline, it serves as the country's largest and main seaport, and also forms the Beirut Metropolitan...
, respectively, for alleged anti-Turkish activities.
The state of Great LebanonFrench Mandate of LebanonThe state of Greater Lebanon, the predecessor of modern Lebanon, was created in 1920 as part of the French scheme of dividing the French Mandate of Syria into six states....
(1918–1920)
1918 — British general Edmund AllenbyEdmund Allenby, 1st Viscount Allenby
Field Marshal Edmund Henry Hynman Allenby, 1st Viscount Allenby GCB, GCMG, GCVO was a British soldier and administrator most famous for his role during the First World War, in which he led the Egyptian Expeditionary Force in the conquest of Palestine and Syria in 1917 and 1918.Allenby, nicknamed...
and Faysal I
Faisal I of Iraq
Faisal bin Hussein bin Ali al-Hashemi, was for a short time King of the Arab Kingdom of Syria or Greater Syria in 1920, and was King of the Kingdom of Iraq from 23 August 1921 to 1933...
, son of Sharif Hussein of Mecca
Hussein bin Ali, Sharif of Mecca
Sayyid Hussein bin Ali, GCB was the Sharif of Mecca, and Emir of Mecca from 1908 until 1917, when he proclaimed himself King of Hejaz, which received international recognition. He initiated the Arab Revolt in 1916 against the increasingly nationalistic Ottoman Empire during the course of the...
, moved into Palestine
Palestine
Palestine is a conventional name, among others, used to describe the geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands....
with British and Arab forces, thus opening the way for the occupation of Lebanon.
1920—France takes control over Lebanese territory after the San Remo conference
San Remo conference
The San Remo Conference was an international meeting of the post-World War I Allied Supreme Council, held in Sanremo, Italy, from 19 to 26 April 1920. It was attended by the four Principal Allied Powers of World War I who were represented by the prime ministers of Britain , France and Italy and...
.
French Mandate period (1920–1943)
1943—On 22 November, Lebanon gains its independenceLebanese Independence Day
The Lebanese Independence Day, on November 22, 1943, is a national day celebrated in remembrance of the liberation from the French Mandate which was exercised over Lebanese soil for over 23 years.-Pre-Independence period:...
after national and international pressure following the imprisonment of president Bechara El Khoury
Bechara El Khoury
Bechara El Khoury was the first post-independence President of Lebanon, holding office from 21 September 1943 to 18 September 1952, apart from an 11-day interruption in 1943...
and other parliament members by the French.
Independent Lebanon (1943 – present)
1948—The state of Israel was declared. Palestinian refugees begin arriving in Lebanon.1958—A civil war erupts but short lived after the intervention of 5,000 US Marines
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
ordered by President Eisenhower
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower was the 34th President of the United States, from 1953 until 1961. He was a five-star general in the United States Army...
upon the request of the Lebanese president Camille Chamoun
Camille Chamoun
Camille Nimr Chamoun was President of Lebanon from 1952 to 1958, and one of the country's main Christian leaders during most of the Lebanese Civil War ....
.
1975–1990—The Lebanese Civil War
Lebanese Civil War
The Lebanese Civil War was a multifaceted civil war in Lebanon. The war lasted from 1975 to 1990 and resulted in an estimated 150,000 to 230,000 civilian fatalities. Another one million people were wounded, and today approximately 350,000 people remain displaced. There was also a mass exodus of...
.
1990–2005—A period of fifteen years of Syrian occupation starts when Syrian troops invade the Baabda residential Palace on 13 October 1990 and overthrow then Prime Minister General Michel Aoun, and ends with the peaceful revolution of more than one million protesters in Beirut central district, following the assassination of the Lebanese PM
Prime minister
A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...
Rafik Hariri
Rafik Hariri
Rafic Baha El Deen Al-Hariri , was a business tycoon and the Prime Minister of Lebanon from 1992 to 1998 and again from 2000 until his resignation, 20 October 2004.He headed five cabinets during his tenure...
and the withdrawal of the Syrian troops.
2006—The July War takes place between Hezbollah and Israel, with Israel launching a major military attack, bombing the southern suburbs of Beirut, the Lebanese airport and parts of southern Lebanon, in response to the capture of 2 Israeli soldiers by Hezbollah on 12 July.