LEBANON. - A state that proclaimed itself independent on Nov. 26, 1941, and comprising the southwestern part of Syria. It takes its name from the massif of the same name, which is entirely contained within it.
I. CIVIL HISTORY
As a unitary political state, Lebanon has existed only since 1920. If, therefore, we except the last 30 years, its history must be understood by projecting backward through the millennia the limits, at least approximate, of a recent entity; thus one isolates the vicissitudes of a region which, united in the present, cannot easily be considered such in the past.
If one examines, in fact, the geographical aspect, Lebanon can hardly be dissociated from the remainder of the mountainous strip that separates the Arabian desert from the Mediterranean; and this even though the rivers that cut transversely across the mountain chain, carving their way between the rocks, constitute minor dividing lines. Nor, from the ethnic and religious point of view, can one certainly speak of unity in Lebanon: yet, by a singular paradox, it is precisely the most varied range of ethno-religious communities attested in the region that gives it a typical individuality.
The condition of the land - impervious mountains in a double chain (Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon) sloping toward the coast, broken into fractions by valleys and torrents - is reflected historically in two essential characteristics: the relative autonomy of the inhabitants, under any government; and the progressive taking refuge there and becoming distinct there of minorities of every kind and every origin.
If, therefore, the treatment of a history of Lebanon is legitimate, its typical character requires that it unfold with constant reference to regions more decisively defined in the historical sphere, and within whose vicissitudes those of Lebanon can easily be framed: Phoenicia (v.) first and Syria (v.) afterward. It is above all the history of the latter that must be considered as the guiding thread. And, moreover, one must also follow in parallel the events of the individual cities and of the ethno-religious communities (v. the relevant entries), whose sum ultimately constitutes the very history of Lebanon.
1. Pre-Islamic history
The most ancient history of Lebanon is determined by the interest of the great surrounding powers in the wealth of timber of its forests, which later progressively thinned out. Over the trade in this building material, which was carried on through the coastal cities of Phoenicia, the Egyptians exercised supremacy from the 3rd millennium B.C., and continued it until ca. the 13th century B.C., interrupted only by the period of the Hyksos (v.; ca. 1750-1580). The invasion of the so-called "Sea Peoples" then brought a period of unstable equilibrium, in which the coastal cities assumed greater autonomy. Among them Sidon held primacy until ca. 1000, then Tyre. In the 8th century the region was conquered by the Assyrians and passed successively under the Babylonians, the Persians, Alexander the Great, the Ptolemies, the Seleucids, and finally the Romans, who in 64 B.C. included it in the province of Syria. From then on the history of Phoenicia loses all autonomy and the vicissitudes of Lebanon are better framed within those of Syria.
2. Islamic history
The Arab conquest, begun in 634 A.D., did not immediately extend to the mountain, which remained, as in the past, in a state of partial autonomy. Then, with the Umayyad caliphate (661-750), Arab penetration became more pronounced, meeting however lively resistance. Into the region, impervious and easily defensible, ethnic and religious minorities began to flow, which would then remain until the present era: on the Christian side the Maronites, the most important and numerous community, and only later Melkite, Armenian, Syriac, Chaldean, and Latin groups (among the Catholics); "Orthodox," Armenians, Protestants, Jacobites (among the non-Catholics); on the Muslim side, alongside the Sunnis, Druzes, Musayris, Mutawalis; finally small Kurdish and Jewish groups. To this many-sided fragmentation one must add the traditional division of the Arabs into tribes of the north
(Qaysis) and of the south (Yemenis), strongly felt also in this region.
The various communities organized themselves feudally, under small local dynasties, which in turn depended, more formally than in fact, on the rulers who succeeded one another in the country: after the dismemberment of the caliphate, the principal ones were the Fatimids, the Seljuqs, the Ayyubids, the Crusaders, the Mamluks, and finally the Ottomans (from 1516). Toward these rulers, and often among several at the same time, the local Lebanese chiefs maneuvered with cunning and duplicity, seeking to maintain as much as possible their de facto autonomy.
Among the aforementioned dynasties, that of the "emirs of Garb" should be noted, belonging to the Arab tribe of Tanukh, who around the end of the 9th century constituted a principality around Beirut. In 1305 a revolt of the Muslim sects was suppressed by the Mamluks in central Lebanon; the Maronites took advantage of this to spread into that region. At the end of the 16th century the dynasty of the Tanukh was succeeded by that of the Banu Ma'n, Druzes; its greatest representative was the famous Fakhr ad-Din II (Faccardino: 1585-1635), author of the first great attempt to create an independent state in Lebanon, with a policy of broad scope and intelligent cooperation with the states of Europe. The Banu Ma'n were succeeded in 1679 by the Shihabs, Sunni Muslims. Like their predecessors, they too relied on the Maronites, favoring their immigration into the south. The most important emir of the Shihabs was Bashir II (1788-1840), who again attempted to unify Lebanon under himself; the temporary Egyptian occupation (1831-40), which he favored, proved fatal to him. Upon his fall, the Porte assumed direct control of Lebanon, dividing it into two qa'immaqamates, one Druze and one Maronite. Internal dissensions, sharpened by the Ottomans, culminated in the massacres of the Maronites in 1860: the European powers then intervened and French troops landed in Lebanon; the Porte had to grant the region administrative autonomy, under a Christian governor approved by the European powers.
In 1914, at the outbreak of the First World War, the Ottomans unilaterally abolished Lebanese autonomy. French and English troops, however, liberated the region in 1918.
3. The new Lebanese State
In 1920 the State of "Greater Lebanon" was constituted, including the coastal region from the mouth of the Nahr al-Kabir as far as Ras an-Naqurah, with the cities of Tripoli, Beirut, Sidon, and Tyre, and inland the mountainous zone of Lebanon and part of the Anti-Lebanon, with the intermediate flat strip of al-Biqa'. Over this State the League of Nations officially confirmed the mandate to France in 1922. In 1926 the Constitution of the new State was promulgated: it established itself as a republic, with a president in office for 3 years and after an equal interval of time re-eligible, a Chamber elected by direct universal suffrage for 4 years, and a Senate partly elective and partly appointed by the president for 6 years. The rights of the mandatory power were explicitly provided for. This Constitution subsequently underwent many vicissitudes: it was suspended on two occasions (1932-36 and 1939-43) and often amended, to the point of extending the president's term of office to 6 years, making him re-eligible, and abolishing the Senate by transferring to the Chamber, whose number of members was increased on several occasions, the presidentially appointed deputies. From 1926 to 1933 the president was a Greek Orthodox, Charles Debbas, while the head of government was a Maronite (various persons). Then the presidency passed to the Maronites and the direction of the government to the Sunni Muslims. This situation lasts to our own days.
In 1936 the tendency toward complete autonomy culminated in the Treaty with France, which provided for the end of the mandate within 3 years, with Lebanon's entry into the League of Nations (the same was happening for Syria). However, the Treaty was not ratified by the French side and never entered into force; moreover, in 1939 the Second World War broke out. First under a high commissioner of the Vichy government, in 1941 Lebanon was occupied by de Gaullist and British forces; on that occasion General Catroux solemnly proclaimed the independence of Lebanon (and of Syria). When, however, in 1943 the Lebanese chamber abolished the mandatory rights, the French general delegate Helleu ordered the arrest of the president and of the members of the government. Riots broke out throughout Lebanon; General Catroux, sent urgently, ordered the immediate release of those arrested. In 1945 two important events for Lebanon took place: its accession to the League of Arab States and the Anglo-French agreement for the evacuation of the Levant. On the basis of this agreement the French forces evacuated Lebanon by 31 Aug. 1946. Effective independence was thus achieved.
Among the most recent events, mention should be made of: Lebanese hostility to the plan for "Greater Syria," which would absorb Lebanon into a larger Arab State; the re-election as president on 27 May 1948 of the Maronite Bišārah al-Ḥārī, already in office since 1943; the war against the State of Israel and the armistice signed on 13 March 1949.
Bibliography2 works
Sabatino Moscati
II. LEGAL STATUS OF THE CHURCH
Throughout history Lebanon has been the refuge of Christians. The first to take refuge there were the Maronites (v.), who developed there into an important people. In the 18th century, however, the Catholic patriarchs of the Armenians, the Melkites and the Syrians sought shelter there from the persecutions of their adversaries. Three Catholic patriarchs still reside there: the Maronite at Bekorki, the Armenian and the Syrian at Beirut, and one dissident, Armenian, at Anjelias near Beirut.
The population, according to the most recent statistics, is 1,241,598 and is distributed as follows: Christians
672,888, non-Christians 568,710. Among the Christians, the great majority consists of Catholics, who number 445,379, of whom 355,182 are Maronites, 65,860 Melkites, 13,310 Armenians, 6,420 Syrians (and a few Chaldeans), 4,607 Latins. Among the non-Catholics the most numerous community consists of the "Orthodox," 133,130; then follow the Armenians with 59,120, the Protestants with 25,954 and the Jacobites or Monophysite Syrians with 9,305. All non-Catholic Christians number 227,509. Muslims number 555,827, of whom 252,240 are Sunnis, 224,388 Syrians and 79,219 Druze. There are also 6,677 Jews and 6,226 of other religions.
As can be seen, in Lebanon there is a tangle of various religious communities, and the great difficulty is that of forming from all of these a single people, a difficulty all the more serious in that these communities are not merely different confessions but just as many social groups with different pasts and many historical conflicts. The most serious is the antithesis between Christians and Muslims, which is not only religious but also social, since the Muslims are the descendants of the conquerors of former times and the Christians those of the conquered. Christians and Muslims did indeed fight together for independence, yet mutual distrust has not entirely disappeared (v. also BEIRUT; MARONITES).
Bibliography
Guglielmo de Vries
In Lebanon, as in the other States where the regime of personal status prevails, the juridical condition of the religious communities rests on that status. This is particularly evident in the composition of Parliament, where the seats are distributed by religious confession, in proportion to the numerical size of each community, with the aim of thus ensuring, in the best possible way, the interests of all cults.
This particular confessional structure of Lebanon produces in the country a balance of forces and an atmosphere of tolerance, which makes possible the coexistence on the same territory of groups so diverse ethnically and religiously. Yet apprehensions for the Christian majority have not been lacking, and are not lacking. The Muslim groups, in fact, tend to have the majority and political predominance in the nation, and find an element favorable to this aim of theirs in the migratory movement of Christians. Lebanese emigrants are almost as numerous as those who have remained in the homeland, and in the great majority they are Catholics. If one also considers the demographic factor, likewise favorable to the Muslims, one understands the gravity of the danger. For this reason the Christian communities welcomed with particular satisfaction the decision taken by the government in 1949 to recognize nationality for the 168,000 emigrants who had opted, under the Treaty of Lausanne of June 24, 1923, for Lebanese citizenship. 80% of these emigrants are Christian, and of these 50% are Catholic.
The Church enjoys ample freedom of action, and the exercise of worship, the education of youth in confessional schools, the formation of the clergy, the administration of ecclesiastical property are carried out regularly and freely.
In the school sector, the Lebanese Catholic hierarchy has not lacked grounds for apprehension. In fact, decree no. 7000 of Oct. 1, 1946, in contrast with the Constitution, which guarantees freedom of teaching without special restrictions (part 1, chap. 2, art. 10), subjected every school to strict control and made the opening of schools depend on interminable formalities.
The Lebanese bishops immediately took a stance contrary to the decree, and their efforts were crowned with success, since on March 23, 1950 a decree was issued by the Ministry of Public Instruction which amended the previous one and represented a clear advantage over it, especially if one takes into account the particular difficulty that the confessional composition of Lebanon creates in this matter.
Relations between Lebanon and the Holy See are cordial. On Apr. 8, 1946 there was an exchange of notes between the Lebanese government and the Holy See, by which the former requested official recognition of independence and the establishment of diplomatic relations, and offered assurances and guarantees concerning the full freedom of Catholics; the latter took note of the assurances and recognized the independence of Lebanon. On March 17, 1947 the first plenipotentiary minister of the Republic of Lebanon to the Holy See presented his Letters of credence to the Holy Father, and in the following June the first apostolic nuncio arrived in Beirut.
Ippolito Rotoli
III. LEBANON IN SACRED SCRIPTURE (Heb. Lèbhánôn; Akkadian Labnânu). - A mountain chain between inner Syria and Cilicia. To the north it ends with the Nahr el-Kebîr, to the south with the Nahr el-Litânî (the Leontes river of the ancients). The chain widens more and more from south to north and follows a direction from south-southwest toward north-northeast, reaching a length of about 170 km. The greatest height is in the northern part, with the peaks of the Dahr ed-Dubâb (3066 m.), Gebel Makmal (3126 m.) and Dahr el-Kotib (3063 m.); in the southern zone the average height is lower (Gebel el-Barûk, 2200 m.). The valley of el-Beqâ' separates Lebanon from the Anti-Lebanon (Hebrew Sênîr), which forms an almost parallel chain to the east. The highest peak of this chain is Great Hermon (2760 m.).
In the Bible Lebanon is often mentioned as the northern boundary of Palestine (cf. Deut. 11, 24; Ios. 1, 4) and as a very high mountain (cf. Is. 10, 34; Ier. 22, 6.20; Os. 14, 6), always covered with snow (Ier. 18, 14); but even more often its vegetation is recalled, of which only traces now remain. Among the various precious woods, the cedar (v.) of Lebanon has a very notable part both in the poetic texts (cf. Iudc. 9, 15; Is. 2, 13; 60, 13; Jer. 22, 23; Ez. 17, 3; 27, 5; 31, 3; Zach. 11, 1; Ps. 28, 5; 91, 13, etc.) and in the historical ones (cf. I Reg. 5, 6, 9, 11, 13, etc.) already the Egyptians exploited the famous woods of Lebanon, which they came to take from the port of Byblos. The Assyrians continued the spoliation, as did also the Israelites, as appears from the well-known account of the constructions of King Solomon (cf. I Reg. 5, 6, 9, 11, 13, etc.) and various species of conifers (Is. 60, 13), the Bible also recalls the wine of Lebanon (cf. Os. 14, 8), while poetically it speaks with admiration of the fragrant exhalations (cf. Cant. 4, 11, Hebrew text) of so many trees (Is. 35, 2).
