The Brutal Conquest

Lebanon has been conquered by countless empires and nations.  The country developed the name Lebanon by the white snow that covers the beautiful mountains (1).  During the rule under the Roman Empire, ancient ruins were built to honor their Gods.  These ruins still stand to this day and are a grand tourist site.  The Temple of Venus is the most intact and only the columns of the Temple of Jupiter are what remain.  Being one of the tallest columns in the world, the columns of the Temple of Jupiter are 343 feet long and 338 feet wide (2).  Being conquered by multiple nations and empires, Lebanon has altered its cultural and tradition many times.  The Ottoman Empire is amongst these empires that had a significant influence on Lebanon even to this day.  The brutal conquest of Lebanon by the Ottoman Empire was characterized by an imbalance of military technology and the role of an important ruler.

In the fifteenth century, the Ottoman Empire conquered an area that is known as Greater Syria, which consisted of modern day Syria, Lebanon, and Jordan (3).  Before this conquer, the Mamluks had control of the territories of Syria and Lebanon.  In the Ottoman-Mamluk War of 1516, the Mamluks fell to the Ottomans and gave up many provinces which included Syria and Lebanon (4).  The Mamluks were traditional in their techniques of war.  They used heavy cavalry, bows and arrows, and refused the use of firearms, while the Ottomans used a harquebus, a muzzle loaded firearm (5).  This was one of the key reasons why the Mamluks had lost to the Ottomans.   Their military didn’t match up with the superior Ottoman Empire military.  During the Battle of Marj Dabiq, the Ottomans killed the Mamluk ruler Kansuh Al-Ghuri and were triumphant through their strategic military techniques (6).  In addition to the defeat, The Mamluks gave up Syria and Lebanon to the Ottomans.  A Sultan of the Ottoman Empire by the name of Selim I was given the rule over Lebanon in 1516.

            Selim I, or often referred to as Yavuz meaning “the Steadfast”, ruled Lebanon through feudal families (7).  This system was based on fiefdoms.  Tribal chieftains were used to collect taxes for Salim I (8).  Two significant feudal families by the name of the Maans, a Druze family, and the Shihabs, a Sunni Muslim family ruled Lebanon for quite some time (9).  The Maan family ruled Lebanon until 1697.  Through their leader Fakhr EdDine II, Lebanon became more prosperous and nearly gained complete independence from the Ottomans.