Throughout history, the remarkable aspect of the Druze is their ability to preserve their land and unique identity amidst the geopolitical turbulence. Despite the upheavals, they have not only survived but also coexisted alongside
Sunni and
Shiite Muslims,
Christians, and Jews, maintaining their cultural heritage amidst diverse neighbors. In its emergence and evolution from Muslim soil, Druze doctrine maintained a significant relationship with Christianity, drawing from its historic connections with Christianity and
Oriental Christian sects. Additionally, Druze belief inherited aspects from various
Isma'ili,
Zoroastrian and
Judaeo-Christian sects, along with incorporating teachings from
Islamic,
Hellenistic, and
Persian philosophies. The
Shroud of Turin analysis shows significant traces of mitochondrial DNA unique to the Druze community. Historically the relationship between the Druze and Christians has been characterized by
harmony and
coexistence, According to scholar Pinḥas Artzi of
Bar-Ilan University: "Europeans who visited the area during this period related that the Druze "love the Christians more than the other believers", and that they "hate the Turks, the Muslims and the Arabs [Bedouin] with an intense hatred". Meanwhile, interactions between Jews and Druze were rare before the
establishment of Israel in 1948, as they historically
lived isolated from each other. in
Wadi al-Taym: a town with a mixed population of Druze and Christians The Druze faith extended to many areas in the Middle East, but most of the modern Druze can trace their origin to the
Wadi al-Taym in
Southern Lebanon, which is named after an Arab tribe
Taym Allah (or Taym Allat) which, according to Islamic historian
al-Tabari, first came from the Arabian Peninsula into the valley of the
Euphrates where they had been
Christianized prior to their migration into Lebanon. Many of the Druze feudal families, whose genealogies have been preserved by the two modern Syrian chroniclers Haydar al-Shihabi and
Ahmad Faris al-Shidyaq, seem also to point in the direction of this origin. Arabian tribes emigrated via the
Persian Gulf and stopped in Iraq on their route that would later to lead them to Syria. The first feudal Druze family, the
Tanukhids, which made for itself a name in fighting the
Crusaders was, according to Haydar al-Shihabi, an Arab tribe from
Mesopotamia where it occupied the position of a ruling family and apparently was Christianized. Until the Christian Crusaders arrived in the
Holy Land in 1099, there is scant recorded
history of the Druze. However, when they do emerge in accounts of the
Christian occupation of the Levant, they are depicted as fierce warriors dedicated to repelling the
Crusader armies.
Yahya of Antioch was a
Melkite Christian physician and historian of the 11th century. He was most likely born in
Fatimid Egypt. He became a physician, but the
anti-Christian policies of Caliph
Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah (r. 996–1021) forced him to flee to
Byzantine-held
Antioch. The life of
Hamza ibn Ali and his exact role in the birth of the
Druze movement are not entirely clear, as the chief sources about him—the contemporary Christian chronicler
Yahya of Antioch, the Muslim historian
Ibn Zafir, and Hamza's own epistles—are often contradictory.
Wadi al-Taym in
Wadi al-Taym: a town with a mixed population of Druze and Christians Wadi al-Taym is named after the
Arab tribe of
Taym Allat (later Taym-Allah) ibn Tha'laba. The Taym-Allat entered the
Euphrates Valley and adopted Christianity in the
pre-Islamic period before ultimately embracing Islam after the 7th-century
Muslim conquests. A small proportion of the tribe took up abode in the Wadi al-Taym at some point during the first centuries of Muslim rule. The
Taym Allah, and the largely Christian, core tribes of the Lahazim in general, appear to have fought against the Muslim conquests of eastern Arabia in the
Ridda wars (632–633) and the lower Euphrates in modern Iraq afterward. They embraced
Monophysite Christianity, like many Bakrites, before the advent of Islam in the 620s–630s. This valley became one of the first places where the heterodox
Druze faith, which branched out of
Isma'ili Shia Islam, took root in the 11th century. The Wadi al-Taym was the first area where the Druze appeared in the historical record under the name "Druze". According to many of the genealogical traditions of the Druze feudal families, the feudal Druze clans claimed descent from Arab tribes originally based in
eastern Arabia and which entered Syria after periods of settlement in the Euphrates Valley. According to the historian Nejla Abu-Izzedin, "ethnically", the "Wadi al-Taym has been authoritatively stated to be one of the most Arab regions of [geographical]
Syria". The area was one of the two most important centers of Druze missionary activity in the 11th century. Wadi al-Taym is generally considered the "birthplace of the
Druze faith". For much of the early 12th century, the Wadi al-Taym and the southern
Chouf were the territory of the Jandal, a Druze clan. The leader of the clan, Dahhak ibn Jandal allied with the
Crusaders of the
Kingdom of Jerusalem and engaged in a feud with the
Assassins who ruled the
Banias fortress in the western foothills of
Mount Hermon just south of Wadi al-Taym. Today, the population in the area being predominantly
Druze and
Sunni, with a high number of
Christians, mostly
Greek Orthodox.
Tanukhids domains in
Mount Lebanon under
Mamluk rule The
Tanukhids were Christianised in the 3rd or 4th centuries, likely while in the eastern half of the
Fertile Crescent, and by the 4th century they were described as having a "fanatic zeal for Christianity" and were "zealous Christian soldiers" in the 6th century. In the 7th century, during the
Muslim conquest of the Levant, the Tanukhids fought with the Romans against the Muslims, including in the
Battle of Yarmouk. After Yarmouk, their status as foederati ended. They were described as an "autonomous Christian community in
Bilad al-Sham" up until the reign of the
Abbasid caliph
al-Mahdi (), after which they appear as Muslims. Their conversion to Islam is believed to have been forced upon them by al-Mahdi. They are reported to have been devoted to Christianity,
Thomas the Apostle and
monasticism, with many monasteries associated with the tribe. In the 14th century, the central parts of Mount Lebanon were described as a Tanukhid stronghold, housing both Druze and Shiite Muslims. Members of the Tanukhids in
Mount Lebanon include
Al-Sayyid al-Tanukhi, a prominent 15th century Druze theologian and commentator; and Muhammad bin al-Muwaffaq al-Tanukhi, an emir and
Shiite Muslim who lived in the 13th century.
Kisrawan campaigns : a town predominantly inhabited by Christians, albeit with a significant Druze minority The Kisrawan campaigns were a series of
Mamluk military expeditions against the mountaineers of the
Kisrawan, as well as the neighboring areas of
Byblos and the Jurd, in
Mount Lebanon. The offensives were launched in 1292, 1300 and 1305. The mountaineers were
Shia Muslim,
Alawite,
Maronite and
Druze tribesmen who historically acted autonomously of any central authority. The Maronites in particular had maintained close cooperation with the last
Crusader state, the
County of Tripoli. After the
fall of Tripoli to the Mamluks in 1289, the mountaineers would often block the coastal road between Tripoli and
Beirut, prompting the first Mamluk expedition in 1292 under the
viceroy of Egypt,
Baydara. During that campaign, the Mamluks, spread along the coastal road and cut off from each other at various points, were constantly harried by the mountaineers, who confiscated their weapons, horses and money. Baydara withdrew his men only after paying off the mountain chiefs. In modern Lebanese historical narratives, the Kisrawan campaigns have been a source of controversy by historians from different religious groups. Maronite, Shia and Druze historians have each sought to emphasize the roles of their respective confessional group, over each other, in defending the autonomy of the Kisrawan from Mamluk outsiders. In writings by
Sunni Muslim authors, the Mamluks are portrayed as the legitimate Muslim state working to incorporate Mount Lebanon into the rest of the
Islamic realm. The
Sunni Mamluk campaigns led to the destruction of many Christian churches and monasteries and Druze sanctuaries
khilwat, and caused mass destruction of Maronite and Druze villages and the killings and mass displacement of its inhabitants. In the 12th century Kisrawan had a tribal and religiously mixed population of Maronite Christians,
Twelver Shia Muslims, Alawites and Druze. Information about the Christians of the Kisrawan before the 12th century is scant, though in the 9th century there was evidently an organized Christian, likely Maronite, community governed by village headmen. Under Muslim rule, Christians were mandated to pay the
jizya, a form of
poll tax, though its actual collection in Mount Lebanon was likely done on an inconsistent basis. The Druze religion, which branched off of
Isma'ili Shia Islam in the early 11th century, and separated later from both
Isma'ilism and
Islam altogether, gained adherents among people in Mount Lebanon and its environs, including much of the
Tanukh settlers in the hills east of
Beirut. Certain aspects of the faith, such as
transmigration of souls between adherents and
incarnation, were viewed as
heretical or
kufr (
infidelity) and foreign by Sunni and Shia Muslims, but contributed to solidarity among the Druze, who closed their religion to new converts in 1046 due to the threat of persecution. ,
Kisrawan The historian Ahmed Beydoun describes the efforts by 20th-century Maronite authors to emphasize the
Maronite role in the events as an attempt to prove the community's early presence in the Kisrawan. In this way, the Maronites' abandonment of the region in the aftermath of the campaigns could be described as a "forced exile" and the Maronite settlement of the
Kisrawan in the 16th and 17th centuries as their "return". On the other hand, Beydoun views the narratives of the expeditions by modern
Shia Lebanese historians, which emphasize Shia Muslims' defense of the mountains' autonomy from the Mamluks, as part of an effort to bolster Shia credentials as a core Lebanese community.
Lebanese Sunni authors generally write of the campaigns from a pro-Mamluk stance, seeing in them the legitimate Muslim state's efforts to incorporate Mount Lebanon into the Islamic realm, while Druze authors write with a focus on the Druze community's consistent connection to
Mount Lebanon and defense of its practical autonomy.
Ma'n dynasty in
Deir al-Qamar was rebuilt during the reign of the Druze
Ma'n dynasty.
Fakhr-al-Din II (1572–1635) was a Druze prince and a leader of the
Mount Lebanon Emirate. For uniting modern Lebanon's constituent parts and communities, especially the Druze and the
Maronites, under a single authority for the first time in history, he is generally regarded as the country's founder. Christians prospered and played key roles under his rule, with his main enduring legacy being the symbiotic relationship he set in motion between Maronites and Druze, which proved foundational for the creation of a Lebanese entity. Maronite Abū Nādir al-Khāzin was one of his foremost supporters and served as Fakhr-al-Din's adjutant. Phares notes that "The emirs prospered from the intellectual skills and trading talents of the Maronites, while the Christians gained political protection, autonomy and a local ally against the ever-present threat of direct Ottoman rule. In mid-1609 Fakhr al-Din gave refuge to Maronite Patriarch
Yuhanna Makhlouf upon the latter's flight from northern Mount Lebanon. In a 1610 letter from Pope
Paul V to Makhlouf, the Pope entrusted Fakhr al-Din with the protection of the Maronite community.
Fakhr ad-Din granted the
Franciscans permission to return to
Nazareth and the
church ruins in 1620. Under Fakhr al-Din's overlordship, Maronite,
Greek Orthodox, and
Greek Catholic Christians began migrating to the Druze Mountain in large numbers; the devastation wrought on the Druze peasantry during the punitive government campaigns of the 16th century had likely caused a deficit of Druze farm labor for the Druze landowners, which was partly filled by the Christian migrants. Christians were settled in Druze villages by the Druze tribal chiefs in the days of Fakhr al-Din to stimulate agricultural production, centered on silk, and the chiefs donated land to the Maronite Church and monastic institutions to further facilitate Christian settlement. Fakhr al-Din made the first such donation in 1609. Although the Druze chiefs owned much of the Chouf lands on which the silk crop was grown, Christians dominated every other aspect of the silk economy there, including production, financing, brokerage to the markets of
Sidon and
Beirut and its export to Europe. Toward the close of the 16th century, the
Medici grand dukes of
Tuscany had become increasingly active in the eastern Mediterranean, pushed for a new
crusade in the
Holy Land, and began patronizing the Maronite Christians of Mount Lebanon. The Emir's religious tolerance endeared him to the Christians living under his rule. Fakhr-al-Din II was the first ruler in modern Lebanon to open the doors of his country to foreign
Western influences. Under his auspices the French established a khān (hostel) in Sidon, the
Florentines a consulate, and
Christian missionaries were admitted into the country. According to Duwayhi: Under Emir Fakhr al-Din the Christians could raise their heads high. They built churches, rode horses with saddles, wore turbans of fine
muslin and belts with precious inlays, and carried jeweled rifles. Missionaries from Europe came and established themselves in Mount Lebanon. This was because his troops were Christians, and his stewards and attendants Maronites. in the
Druze town of
Baaqlin in the Chouf In Lebanese nationalist narratives,
Fakhr-al-Din II is celebrated as establishing a sort of
Druzes–
Maronite condominium that is often portrayed as the embryo of Lebanese statehood and national identity. Nationalist narratives by Lebanese Druze and Maronites agree on Fakhr al-Din's "decisive influence and contribution to Lebanon's history", according to the historian Yusri Hazran, though they differ significantly in determining the Emir's motives and the historic significance of his rule. Druze authors describe him as the ideal ruler who strove to achieve strong domestic unity, build a prosperous economy, and politically free Lebanon from Ottoman oppression. Making the case that the Ma'nids worked toward Lebanon's integration into the Arab regional environment, the Druze authors generally de-emphasize his relations with Europe and portray his drive for autonomy as the first forerunning of the
Arab nationalist movement. On the other hand, Maronite authors viewed the legacy of Fakhr al-Din as one of isolation from the Arab–Islamic milieu. Fakhr al-Din himself has been adopted by a number of Maronite nationalists as a member of the religious group, citing the refuge he may have taken with the
Khazens in Keserwan during his adolescence, or claiming that he had
embraced Christianity at his deathbed. According to the historian Christopher Stone, Fakhr al-Din was used by the
Rahbani brothers in their
Lebanese nationalist play,
The Days of Fakhr al-Din, as "a perfect historical predecessor for Lebanon's Christian nationalism of the twentieth century".
Shihab dynasty flag: Many members of the Shihab family converted to Christianity. The
Shihab dynasty was an Arab family whose members served as the paramount tax farmers and local chiefs of
Mount Lebanon from the early 18th to mid-19th century, during
Ottoman rule. Their reign began in 1697 after the death of the last
Ma'nid chief. In 1697, Amir Ahmad died without an heir, and the Druze notables chose his nephew Bashir al-Shihabi as their new ruler. He was succeeded in 1707 by the young Amir Haydar al-Shihabi, grandson of Amir Ahmad al-Ma'ni. Haydar recognized the authority of the Maronite
al-Khazins and the Hubayshis of
Kisrawan and
Ghazir and treated these two families as equal to the feudalistic Druze families. The Shihab family realized the importance of Maronite rule and power, and they and the Maronites became united in a common interest. The family centralized control over Mount Lebanon, destroying the feudal power of the mostly
Druze lords and cultivating the Maronite clergy as an alternative power base of the emirate. During
Yusuf Shihab's rule, many members of the Shihab family converted to Christianity and Yusuf also began to rely on the support of the
Maronite Christians. On 3 September 1840,
Bashir Shihab III, a distant cousin of the once-powerful Emir
Bashir Shihab II, was appointed
emir of
Mount Lebanon by
Ottoman Sultan
Abdulmejid I. Geographically, the Mount Lebanon Emirate corresponded with the central part of present-day
Lebanon, which historically has had a
Christian and Druze majority. In practice, the terms "Lebanon" and "Mount Lebanon" tended to be used interchangeably by historians until the formal establishment of the Mandate.
Yusuf Shihab and
Bashir Shihab II were the only
Maronite rulers of the
Emirate of Mount Lebanon. The Shihab family allied with
Muhammad Ali of
Egypt during his occupation of
Syria, but was deposed in 1840 when the Egyptians were driven out by an Ottoman-European alliance, leading soon after to the dissolution of the Shihab emirate. Despite losing territorial control, the family remains influential in modern
Lebanon, with some members having reached high political office. The
Khazens opposed the creation of the "
Double Qaimaqmate" in Mount Lebanon in the 1840s, which divided Mount Lebanon into Druze and Christian-run sectors, and were incensed at the appointment of a sheikh from the mixed Druze-Christian Abu'l-Lama family as the
qaimaqam (deputy governor) of the Maronite section of the Qaimaqamate. The Khazens feared that such an appointment would formally subordinate them to the Abu'l-Lama sheikhs. Several Khazen family members became destitute in the 1830s and 1840s and Khazen influence over the
Maronite Church waned. To compensate for their economic, social and political stagnation, the Khazens increased their pressure on the peasants of Kisrawan in the late 1850s, while also spending extravagantly. The "Druze-Christian alliance" during this century was the major factor enabling the
Shehab dynasty to maintain power. By the middle years of the eighteenth century, the
Shihabi amirs converted to Christianity, so did several other Druze amirs and prominent Druze clans, like the originally Druze Abi-Lamma clan (a Druze family who was a close ally of the Shihabs) which also converted to Christianity and joined the
Maronite Church. After the Shihab dynasty converted to Christianity, the Druze lost most of their political and feudal powers. Also, the Druze formed an alliance with
Britain and allowed
Protestant Christian missionaries to enter
Mount Lebanon, creating tension between them and the native Maronite Church. Approximately 10,000 Christians
were killed by the Druze during
inter-communal violence in 1860. This bloody conflict led to the destruction of at least 200 villages, with thousands maimed and killed on both sides. During the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, Protestant missionaries established schools and churches in Druze strongholds, with some Druze converting to
Protestant Christianity; yet they did not succeed to convert Druze to Christianity en masse.
Double Qaim-Maqamate of Mount Lebanon overlaid on the modern boundaries of Lebanon The
Double Qaim-Maqamate of Mount Lebanon (1843–1861) was one of the Ottoman Empire's subdivisions following the abolishment of the
Mount Lebanon Emirate. After 1843, there existed an autonomous Mount Lebanon with a Christian and a Druze subdivision,
1860 civil conflict in Mount Lebanon , Christian mountain dweller of
Zgharta, and a
Lebanese Druze man in traditional attire (1873) The
1860 civil conflict in Mount Lebanon and Damascus (also called the
1860 Syrian Civil War) was a civil conflict in
Mount Lebanon during
Ottoman rule in 1860–1861 fought mainly between the local
Druze and Christians. Following decisive Druze victories and massacres against the Christians, the conflict spilled over into other parts of
Ottoman Syria, particularly
Damascus, where thousands of Christian residents (10,0000) were killed by Muslim and Druze militiamen. The fighting precipitated a French-led international military intervention. Bitter conflicts between Christians and Druzes, which had been simmering under
Ibrahim Pasha's rule (mostly centred on the
firmans of 1839 and, more decisively, of 1856, which equalised the status of Muslim and non-Muslim subjects, the former resenting their implied loss of superiority) resurfaced under the new emir (
Bashir Shihab III). The sultan deposed Bashir III on 13 January 1842 and appointed
Omar Pasha as governor of Mount Lebanon. Representatives of the European powers proposed to the sultan that Mount Lebanon be partitioned into Christian and Druze sections. On 7 December 1842, the sultan adopted the proposal and asked the governor of
Damascus to divide the region into two districts: a northern district under a Christian deputy governor and a southern district under a Druze deputy governor. The arrangement came to be known as the "Double
Qaimaqamate". Both officials were to be responsible to the governor of
Sidon, who resided in
Beirut. The Beirut-Damascus highway was the dividing line between the two districts. While the Ottoman authorities pursued a
divide-and-rule strategy, various European powers established alliances with the various religious groups in the region. The
French established an alliance with the Lebanese Christians, while the Druze formalized an alliance with the
British, allowing them to send
Protestant missionaries into the region. The increasing tensions led to an outbreak of conflict between Christians and Druzes as early as May 1845. Consequently, the European
great powers requested for the Ottoman sultan to establish order in Lebanon, and he attempted to do so by establishing a new council in each of the districts. Composed of members of the various religious communities, the councils were intended to assist the deputy governor. Economic and demographic factors also played a role in undermining the peaceful coexistence of the Druze and Christian in this period. The
Maronites benefited from the advantages of
a modernising and
expanding economy, built with French assistance, which was disproportionately accrued to them. Lebanese Christian wealth prospered because of connections with Europe.
Maronite-Druze dualism in Mount Lebanon Mutasarrifate ,
Lebanese Druze woman, and a Christian woman from
Zgharta (1873) After fierce fighting erupted between the Druze and Maronite populations in the Mount Lebanon region in 1860, France and other
Western nations then pressured the Ottomans to set up a semiautonomous region known as a Mutasarrifate. After 1861 there existed an autonomous Mount Lebanon with a Christian
mutasarrıf, which had been created as a homeland for the
Maronites under European diplomatic pressure following the
1860 massacres. Historians link the Maronite ascendancy in the Mutasarrifate to their alliance with the French and their subsequent domination of the
silk trade, through the development of a Maronite
bourgeoisie class. The
Maronite Catholics and the
Druze founded modern
Lebanon in the early eighteenth century, through the ruling and social system known as the "Maronite-Druze dualism" which developed in Ottoman-era Mount Lebanon Mutasarrifate, The working out of this dualism greatly affected the character of independent Lebanon later. In 1870 many
Christian foreign schools were opened in Lebanon, which were among the main centers of the
renaissance (Nahda) and this led to the establishment of schools, universities, theater and printing presses. The remainder of the 19th century saw a relative period of stability, as Druze and Maronite groups focused on economic and cultural development which saw the founding of the
American University of Beirut (Syrian Protestant College) and
Saint Joseph University and a flowering of literary and political activity associated with the attempts to liberalize the Ottoman Empire. == Modern history ==