2- Under The
Ottoman Empire:
3- Modern Times:
Lebanon's long
and often turbulent history reaches back to the dawn of civilization. Its
earliest settlers were the
Phoenicians who came from the Arabian Peninsula
around 3,500 BC. They established cities at Beirut, Byblos,
Tyre, Sidon, and Baalbek and spread their
22-letter Phoenician alphabet throughout the region.
After a succession
of different rulers, they became part of the Roman Empire in 64 BC when
Pomey the Great
conquered the territory that comprises modern
Lebanon and governed it as part of the province of Syria.
Aramaic replaced Phoenician
as the main language and by the 4th century Christianity was firmly established.
During the early years of the Christian era,
when theological differences bred numerous break-away sects,
Lebanon became a refuge for religious minorities
fleeing persecution.
In the 7th century,
the Christian sect that was later to become the Maronite church settled
in the northern districts
of the Lebanese Mountains to avoid conversion
to Islam. The Arabs, inspired by the teachings of the Holy
Prophet Mohammed, had converted most of the
region to Islam. The geographical inaccessibility that made
Lebanon attractive as a religious refuge also
appealed to Muslims; the Shiites found a haven there during the 9th
century and the Druzes in the 11th century.
The mosaic of differing
beliefs in Lebanon gave each religious group a certain amount of autonomy
in specific
areas, but hampered unity for the region as
a whole.
Under Ottoman rule,
Lebanon developed economic and religious ties with Europe. Open to the
West, it became a
hot bed of political strife between various
foreign nations including France, Russia and Britain. These powerful
countries assumed the protection of certain
ethnic- religious groups, with France supporting the Christian
Maronites.
In 1860, at the end
of a bloody civil war that culminated in a massacre of the Maronites by
the Druze, Britain and
France intervened and pressured the Turks
into establishing a new Christian-dominated administration for
Lebanon which lasted until World War I.
After World War I,
Lebanon became a French mandate. During the 1920s the French redefined
Lebanon's
borders, combining the largely Muslim-inhabited
coastal plain with the Christian-dominated mountains to create
the Republic of Lebanon. It remained under
French mandate until 1943, when Lebanon became fully independent
The first cause for
conflict was the unbalanced power-sharing arrangement. Control rested with
the right-wing
Christian part of the population while the
Muslims, who comprised 50% of the population felt excluded from real
government.
A second problem arose
as Lebanon was gradually drawn in to the Arab-Israeli conflict. Although
the country did
not actively participate militarily, displaced
Palestinian Muslim refugees flooded into the country and continued
their attacks on Israel from Lebanese bases.
In 1958 a Muslim rebellion
ended when American marines landed in Beirut, but in the summer of 1975
all-out civil
war broke out between the Muslim coalition
allied with Palestinian groups and the Christian-dominated militias.
In April 1976, an uneasy
cease-fire was forced upon the two sides when Syrian military forces intervened
at the
request of the Lebanese president, Suleiman
Franjieh and with the approval of the Arab League of States.
Nevertheless sporadic violence continued,
and in 1978 Israel invaded southern Lebanon in an attempt to eliminate
Palestinian bases.
Withdrawing three months
later after a United nations peacekeeping force was sent to the area, they
reinvaded in
1982, occupying Beirut and forcing the PLO
to evacuate its head quarters. For seven weeks the Israelis
relentlessly bombed the Muslim half of Beirut
by air, sea and land. The USA arranged for the evacuation of PLO
fighters to other Arab Countries, and a multinational
Force of US and West European troops was deployed to
Beirut to protect Palestinian and Muslim civilians.
After the assassination
of president-elect Bashir Gemayel, Israeli-backed Christian militias massacred
Palestinian
civilians in the Chatila and Sabra camps in
West Beirut. A year later Israeli troops withdrew to southern Lebanon.
No sooner had they left when fighting broke
out between Lebanon's Christian and Druze militias, and terrorist
attacks on the multinational force including
the US marine headquarters at Beirut airport resulted in hundreds of
casualties.
After 300 US and French
troops were killed on October 23, 1983, the Western forces pulled out.
Factional
fighting persisted and Westerners in Beirut
became the targets of radical Shiite Muslims with an allegiance to Iran.
In 1988 a parliamentary
power struggle led to the formation of rival Christian and Muslim governments.
In 1989
the Lebanese parliament accepted an Arab-brokered
peace accord for national reconciliation. MPs elected
Maronite Rene Mooed as president who was assassinated
17 days later.
With the help of the
Syrians, the Lebanese army took control of Beirut and by 1992 under pressure
from Iran and
the US, all the foreign hostages captured
several years earlier were released.
In 1992 Mr Rafik Al
Hariri was appointed Prime Minister of Lebanon. Mr Hariri initiated many
projects to
redevelop war torn Lebanon, especially the
capital Beirut, and bring it back to its former glory. Mr Hariri and
Lebanese President Elias Hrawi strove to develop
the Lebanese economy and moral despite the presence of the
Israeli self styled "security zone" in South
Lebanon.
On November 24th 1998,
army Cmdr. Emile Lahoud was sworn in as the 11th Lebanese President since
Lebanon's independence in 1933. On 3rd of
December 1998, Mr Salim Hoss became Lebanon's new Prime
Minister following Mr Hariri's sudden resignation.
Mr Salim Hoss is no stranger to politics, as this is the fifth time
he holds the position of Prime Minister..
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