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LEBANON HISTORY
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 the 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 become 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 Shia found a haven
there during the 9th century and the Druze 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.
In 1516 when the Ottoman Turks conquered the entire eastern Mediterranean
coast, Lebanon became part of the Ottoman Empire. For three centuries the
Ottomans granted local leaders relative autonomy; two powerful chieftains
emerged, one Druze and one Maronite, but the intervening years were not
without turmoil.
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 1943, when Lebanon
became fully independent.
For a while after the independence of 1943, independent Lebanon was a
model ecumenical society. Its strategic Middle Eastern locations and
relatively stable government made it a major trade and financial center.
But two fatal flaws marred the country’s chance for lasting peace.
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 the 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
coalitions 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 Franjiyeh 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 multinational Force of US and West European troops was deployed to
Beirut to protect 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 south
Lebanon. No sooner had they left when fighting broke out between Lebanon’s
Christian and Druze militias, and 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-bordered peace accord for national reconciliation. MPs elected
Maronite Rene Moawad 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 May 25, 2000
Israel withdrew from south Lebanon. |
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