Lebanon, officially the Lebanese Republic, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west; Cyprus lies a short distance from the coastline. Lebanon has a population of more than five million and an area of . Beirut is the country's capital and largest city.
Human habitation in Lebanon dates to 5000 BC. From 3200 to 539 BC, it was part of Phoenicia, a maritime civilization that spanned the Mediterranean Basin. In 64 BC, the region became part of the Roman Empire and the subsequent Byzantine Empire. After the seventh century, it came under the rule of different Arab Islamic caliphates, including the Rashidun, Umayyad and Abbasid caliphates. The 11th century saw the establishment of Christian Crusader states, which fell to the Ayyubids and the Mamluks. Lebanon came under Ottoman rule in the early 16th century. Under Ottoman sultan Abdulmejid I, the first Lebanese proto-state, the Mount Lebanon Mutasarrifate, was established as a home for Maronite Christians, as part of the Tanzimat reforms.
After the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire following World War I, Lebanon came under the Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon, administered by France, which established Greater Lebanon. By 1943, Lebanon had gained independence from Free France and established a distinct form of confessional government, with the state's major religious groups being apportioned specific political powers. The new Lebanese state was relatively stable, but this was ultimately shattered by the outbreak of the Lebanese Civil War (1975–1990). Lebanon was also subjugated by two military occupations: Syria from 1976 to 2005 and Israel from 1985 to 2000. It has been the scene of several conflicts with Israel, of which the ongoing war marks the fourth Israeli invasion since 1978.
Lebanon is a developing country, ranked 102nd on the Human Development Index. It has been classified as a lower-middle-income country. The Lebanese liquidity crisis, coupled with nationwide corruption and disasters such as the 2020 Beirut explosion, precipitated the collapse of Lebanon's currency and fomented political instability, widespread resource shortages, and high unemployment and poverty. The World Bank has defined Lebanon's economic crisis as one of the world's worst since the 19th century. Despite the country's small size, Lebanese culture is renowned both in the Arab world and globally, powered primarily by the large and influential Lebanese diaspora.Abdelhady, Dalia. The Lebanese Diaspora: The Arab Immigrant Experience in Montreal, New York, and Paris. NYU Press, 2011, page 130 Lebanon is a founding member of the United Nations and the Arab League, and a member of the Non-Aligned Movement, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, the , and the Group of 77.
Etymology
The name of Mount Lebanon originates from the Phoenician root (𐤋𐤁𐤍) meaning "white", apparently from its snow-capped peaks. Occurrences of the name have been found in different Middle Bronze Age texts from the library of Ebla, and three of the twelve tablets of the Epic of Gilgamesh. The name is recorded in Egypt as rmnn (; it had no letter corresponding to l). The name occurs nearly 70 times in the Hebrew Bible as Ləḇānon.
Lebanon as the name of an administrative unit (as opposed to the mountain range) that was introduced with the Ottoman reforms of 1861 as the Mount Lebanon Mutasarrifate (; ), continued in the name of Greater Lebanon ( ; ) in 1920, and eventually in the name of the sovereign Republic of Lebanon ( ) upon its independence in 1943.
History
Antiquity
The Natufian culture was the first to become sedentary at around 12000 BC.Lieberman D.E., Seasonality and gazelle hunting at Hayonim Cave : new evidence for "sedentism" during the Natufian, Paléorient, 1991, volume 17, issue 17/1, pp. 47–57
Evidence of early settlement in Lebanon was found in Byblos, considered among the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. The evidence dates back to earlier than 5000 BC. Archaeologists discovered remnants of prehistoric huts with crushed limestone floors, primitive weapons, and burial jars left by the Neolithic and Chalcolithic fishing communities who lived on the shore of the Mediterranean Sea over 7,000 years ago.
Lebanon was part of northern Canaan, and consequently became the homeland of Canaanite descendants, the Phoenicians, a seafaring people based in the coastal strip of the northern Levant who spread across the Mediterranean in the first millennium BC. The most prominent Phoenician cities were Byblos, Sidon and Tyre. According to the Bible, King Hiram of Tyre collaborated closely with Solomon, supplying cedar logs for Solomon's Temple and sending skilled workers. The Phoenicians are credited with the invention of the oldest verified alphabet, which subsequently inspired the Greek alphabet and the Latin one thereafter.A Companion to the Ancient Greek Language, article by Roger D. Woodward (ed. Egbert J. Bakker, 2010, Wiley-Blackwell).
In the 9th century BC, Phoenician colonies, including Carthage in present-day Tunisia and Cádiz in present-day Spain, flourished throughout the Mediterranean. Subsequently, foreign powers, starting with the Neo-Assyrian Empire, imposed tribute and attacked non-compliant cities. The Neo-Babylonian Empire took control in the 6th century BC. In 539 BC, the cities of Phoenicia were then incorporated into the Achaemenid Empire by Cyrus the Great. The Phoenician city-states were later incorporated into the empire of Alexander the Great following the siege of Tyre in 332 BCE.
In 64 BC, the Roman general Pompey had the region of Syria annexed into the Roman Republic. The area was then split into two Imperial Provinces under the Roman Empire, Coele-Syria and Phoenice, the latter which the land of present-day Lebanon was a part of.
The region that is now Lebanon, as with the rest of Syria and much of Anatolia, became a major center of Christianity in the Roman Empire during the early spread of the faith. During the late 4th and early 5th century, a hermit named Maron established a monastic tradition focused on the importance of monotheism and asceticism near the Mediterranean mountain range known as Mount Lebanon. The monks who followed Maron spread his teachings among Lebanese in the region. These Christians became known as Maronites and moved into the mountains to avoid religious persecution by Roman authorities. During the frequent Roman–Persian Wars that lasted for many centuries, the Sasanian Empire occupied what is now Lebanon from 619 till 629.
Middle Ages During the 7th century, Muslims conquered Syria from the Byzantines, incorporating the region, including modern-day Lebanon, under the Islamic Caliphate. In the era of Uthman's caliphate (644–656), Islam gained significant influence in Damascus, led by Mu'awiya, a relative of Uthman, serving as the governor. Mu'awiya sent forces to the coastal region of Lebanon, prompting conversions to Islam among the coastal population.The mountainous areas retained their Christian or other cultural practices. Despite Islam and Arabic becoming officially dominant, the population's conversion from Christianity and Syriac language was gradual. The Maronite community, in particular, managed to maintain a large degree of autonomy despite the succession of rulers over Lebanon and Syria. The relative isolation of the Lebanese mountains meant the mountains served as a refuge in the times of religious and political crises in the Levant. As such, the mountains displayed religious diversity and the existence of several well-established sects and religions, notably, Maronites, Druze, Shiite Muslims, Ismailis, Alawites and Jacobites.
After the Islamic conquest, Mediterranean trade declined for three centuries due to conflicts with the Byzantines. The ports of Tyre, Sidon, Beirut, and Tripoli struggled to recover, sustaining small populations under Umayyad and Abbasid rule. Christians and Jews were often obligated to pay the jizya, or poll tax levied on non-Muslims. During the 980s, the Fatimid Caliphate took control of the Levant, including Mount Lebanon, resulting in the rejuvenation of Mediterranean trade along the Lebanese coast through renewed connections with Byzantium and Italy. This resurgence saw Tripoli and Tyre flourishing well into the 11th century, focusing on exports such as textiles, sugar, and glassware.
During the 11th century, the Druze religion emerged from a branch of Shia Islam. The new religion gained followers in the southern portion of Mount Lebanon. The southern portion of Mount Lebanon was ruled by Druze feudal families till the early 14th century. The Maronite population increased gradually in Northern Mount Lebanon and the Druze have remained in Southern Mount Lebanon until the modern era. Keserwan, Jabal Amel and the Beqaa Valley was ruled by Shia feudal families under the Mamluks and the Ottoman Empire. Major cities on the coast, Sidon, Tyre, Acre, Tripoli, Beirut, and others, were directly administered by the Muslim Caliphs and the people became more fully absorbed by the Arab culture.
Following the fall of Roman Anatolia to the Muslim Turks, the Byzantines put out a call to the Pope in Rome for assistance in the 11th century. The result was a series of wars known as the Crusades launched by the Franks from Western Europe to reclaim the former Byzantine Christian territories in the Eastern Mediterranean, especially Syria and Palestine (the Levant). The First Crusade succeeded in temporarily establishing the Kingdom of Jerusalem and the County of Tripoli as Roman Catholic Christian states along the coast. These crusader states made a lasting impact on the region, though their control was limited, and the region returned to full Muslim control after two centuries following the conquest by the Mamluks.
Among the most lasting effects of the Crusades in this region was the contact between the Franks (i.e., the French) and the Maronites. Unlike most other Christian communities in the Eastern Mediterranean, who swore allegiance to Constantinople or other local patriarchs, the Maronites proclaimed allegiance to the Pope in Rome. As such the Franks saw them as Roman Catholic brethren. These initial contacts led to centuries of support for the Maronites from France and Italy, even after the fall of the Crusader states in the region.
Ottoman rule
In 1516, Lebanon became part of the Ottoman Empire, with governance administered indirectly through local emirs. Lebanon's area was organized into provinces: Northern and Southern Mount Lebanon, Tripoli, Baalbek and Beqaa Valley, and Jabal Amil.
In 1590, Druze tribal leader Fakhr al-Din II succeeded Korkmaz in southern Mount Lebanon and quickly asserted his authority as the paramount emir of the Druze in the Shouf region. Eventually, he was appointed Sanjak-bey, overseeing various Ottoman sub-provinces and tax collection. Expanding his influence extensively, he even constructed a fort in Palmyra.
This expansion raised concerns for Ottoman Sultan Murad IV, leading to a punitive expedition in 1633. Fakhr al-Din II was captured, imprisoned for two years, and subsequently executed in April 1635, along with one of his sons. Surviving members of his family continued to govern a reduced area under closer Ottoman supervision until the late 17th century. On the death of the last Maan emir, various members of the Shihab clan ruled Mount Lebanon until 1830.