Lebanese History

Brief History of Lebanon

Phoenicia, as 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.

The coastal plain of Lebanon is the historic home of a string of coastal trading cities of Semitic culture, which the Greeks termed Phoenicia, whose maritime culture flourished there for more than 5000 years. Ancient ruins in Byblos, Beirut, Sidon, Sarafand, and Tyre. Show a civilized nation, with urban centres and sophisticated arts. Present-day Lebanon was a cosmopolitan centre for many nations and cultures.

During the Middle Ages, Lebanon was heavily involved in the Crusades. Lebanon was in the main path of the First Crusade's advance on Jerusalem. Later, Frankish nobles occupied present day Lebanon as part of the south eastern Crusader States. The southern half of present day Lebanon formed the northern march of the Kingdom of Jerusalem; the northern half was the heartland of the County of Tripoli.

The Ottoman Turks formed an empire starting from the 14th century which came to encompass the Balkans, Middle East and North Africa.
During the conflict between the Mamluks and the Ottomans, the amirs of Lebanon linked their fate to that of Ghazali, The Baashaa of Damascus.
He won the confidence of the Ottomans by fighting on their side at Marj Dabaq and, apparently pleased with the behaviour of the Lebanese amirs, introduced them to Salim the first, when he entered Damascus. Salim the first, moved by the eloquence of the Lebanese ruler Amir Fakhr ad Din (1516--44), decided to grant the Lebanese amirs a semiautonomous status. The Ottomans, through two great Druze feudal families, the Maans and the Shihabs, ruled Lebanon until the middle of the nineteenth century.

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• Lebanese History
• Lebanon
• Lebanese War
• Phoenicia