Introduction
During the Ottoman administration in Mountain Lebanon, there was a civil war in 1860-1861. Following dramatic Druze wins and killings of Christians, the battle expanded to other regions of Ottoman Syria, particularly Damascus, where Muslim and Druze forces slaughtered hundreds of Christian citizens. France spearheaded an international military intervention as a result of the war.
By the end of the conflict, 20,000 people had been slaughtered in Mountain Lebanon and Damascus, predominantly Christians, and 380 Christian communities and 560 churches had been demolished (Fawaz 1994). It is also worth noting that the Druze and Muslims lost many casualties. The cause for the events in Mountain Lebanon might be the territorial split, and the distinguishing feature is the religious aspect.
The Early Collaboration of Bashir II and Muhammad Ali and the Emergence of Bashir III
It is necessary to go back a few years to analyze and comprehend the source of this occurrence in more depth. Bashir II, a Shihab dynasty monarch, collaborated with Egyptian Pasha Muhammad Ali to restrict the power of several local rulers with Egyptian help. With the assistance of British and Austrian soldiers, the Ottomans overcame Muhammad Ali and ousted Bashir II in 1840 (The Cold War 2021).
His successor, Bashir III, could no longer manage the Druze leaders in southern Lebanon and resigned the following year, terminating the Emirate of Lebanon’s existence (Kalawoun 2000). In this region, direct Ottoman rule was never established. The activities of the Maronites to reinstate the emirate raised the suspicions of the Druze, who opposed this political movement.
Sectarian Tensions and the Division of Lebanon
The severe clashes between Christians and Druzes that had erupted under Ibrahim Pasha’s reign resurfaced under the new emir. On January 13, 1842, the Sultan removed Bashir III and installed Omar Pasha as Governor of Mountain Lebanon (Karsh et al. 2013). Representatives of European countries recommended that the Sultan divide Lebanon into Christian and Druze areas. Mountain Lebanon was eventually separated into two administrative districts: a northern district led by a local Christian governor and a southern region administered by the Druze. The Beirut-Damascus highway served as a dividing line between the two areas.
The Christians, who comprised the majority in the south at the time, were opposed to the partition, and war broke out between the Christians and the Druze in 1845. Despite the Ottoman government’s military and political interference, administrative reform was carried out. In 1858, Maronite peasants in North Qaimmakamiya rose against the Maronite nobility and succeeded in eliminating some of their privileges (Fisher, 2023).
The 1860 Massacre and the French Intervention
Encouraged by these occurrences, Christian peasants in the South began to plan an insurrection against the Druze feudal in 1860 (Kalawoun 2000). The Druze answered by staging a massacre in which over 11,000 Christians were slaughtered (Kalawoun 2000). Moreover, the whole dispute was religiously motivated and mostly recurrent.
The violent events compelled France to intervene and put an end to the massacre when Ottoman troops aided local Druze and Muslim forces, either directly or by disarming Christian forces. France, commanded by Napoleon III, was reminded of its traditional position as a defender of Christians in the Ottoman Empire. Following a slaughter and worldwide uproar, the Empire sent soldiers to restore order on August 3, 1860 (Favaz 1994). This arrangement was codified in a convention on September 5, 1860, with Austria, the United Kingdom, France, Prussia, and Russia. France was to furnish half that amount, while the other nations would deploy extra soldiers as needed.
The Organic Statute and the Formation of Mutasarrifiyya
Following the events and under pressure from European powers, particularly France, who had historically defended the Maronites, the Ottoman authority enacted the Organic Statute in Mountain Lebanon in 1861. Mountain Lebanon was incorporated into a single autonomous region – Mutasarrifiyya, led by an Ottoman Christian governor, or mutasarrif, selected by the Sultan with the support of European powers.
An administrative council was formed as an advisory body to the Governor, with members elected from the different Lebanese communities in proportion to their numbers. The basis of the feudal system was destroyed, and all people were granted civic liberty. The new government was tasked with administering justice and enforcing the law. With modest revisions in 1864, this system proved successful and lasted until 1915 (Ough 2022).
The Prosperity of Lebanon Under Mutasarrifiyya Rule
Lebanon thrived and prospered under the leadership of the Mutasarrifs. Catholic missionaries from France and Protestant missionaries from the United States and the United Kingdom created a network of art schools and universities throughout the nation, establishing Beirut as one of the Ottoman Empire’s premier educational and cultural hubs. The advent of printing and the distribution of newspapers signaled the beginning of the rebirth of Arabic literature.
Conclusion
Thus, in 1860, a civil war broke out between the Druze and the Maronites in the Ottoman Mutasarrifat of Mount Lebanon, which had been split between them in 1842. The split of Mount Lebanon precipitated the incident. The religious aspect of the struggle is what sets it apart. Mountain Lebanon was merged into a single autonomous territory, the Mutasarrifiya. Lebanon thrived and succeeded under the Mutasarrifians’ rule with this new structure. As a result, international involvement might be seen as highly effective in this regard.
References
The Cold War. 2021. Lebanese Civil War of 1958 – Lebanon Crisis Documentary. YouTube. Web.
Fawaz, Leila Tarazi. 1994. An Occasion for War: Civil Conflict in Lebanon and Damascus in 1860. Univ of California Press.
Fisher, Max. 2023. “40 Maps That Explain the Middle East.” Vox. Web.
Kalawoun, Nasser. 2000. The Struggle for Lebanon: AModern History of Lebanese-Egyptian Relations. I.B. Tauris Publishers.
Karsh, Efraim, Kerr, Michael, & Miller, Rory (Eds.). 2013. Conflict, Diplomacy and Society in Israeli-Lebanese Relations. Routledge.
Ough, Charles. 2022. “Amid Rebellion, Invasion and Revolution: Ottoman Centralisation in Lebanon, 1861–1915.” Reinvention: An International Journal of Undergraduate Research 15 (1). Web.