Sidon Province, Ottoman Empire
Encyclopedia
The Eyalet of Sidon was an eyalet
of the Ottoman Empire
. In the 19th century, the eyalet extended from the border with Egypt
to the Bay of Kesrouan, including the Plain of Falastin (the Israeli coastal plain
), the Jezreel Valley
, and the hilly region of Galilee
.
Depending on the location of its capital, it was also known as the Eyalet of Safad, Beirut
or Akka/Acre
.
) were united under the rule of Ma'nid
Emir Fakhr-al-Din ibn Maan
. The Province was briefly created during Fakhr-al-Din's exile in 1614-15, and recreated in 1660. The province continued to be subordinated in some ways, both in fiscal and political matters, to the Damascus province
out of which it was created.
Despite conflicts in the 1660s, the Maan family "played the leading role in the management of the internal affairs of this eyalet until the closing years of the 17th century, perhaps because it was not possible to manage the province-certainly not in the sanjak of Sidon-Beirut-without them." The Maans were succeeded by the Shihab family
in ruling Sidon-Beirut from the final years of the 17th century through the 19th century.
In 1775, when Cezzar Ahmed Pasha received the governorship of Sidon, he moved the capital to Acre
. In 1799, Acre resisted a siege by Napoleon Bonaparte
.
, Ibrahim Pasha of Egypt
took Acre after a severe siege on May 27, 1832. The Egyptian occupation intensified rivalries between Druzes and Maronites
, as Ibrahim Pasha openly favoured Christians in his administration and his army. In 1840, the governor of Sidon moved his residence to Beirut, effectively making it the new capital of the eyalet. After the return to Ottoman rule in 1841, the Druzes dislodged Bashir III al-Shihab, to whom the sultan had granted the title of emir.
In 1842 the Ottoman government introduced the Double Qaimaqamate, whereby Mount Lebanon
would be governed by a Maronite appointee and the more southerly regions of Kisrawan and Shuf
would be governed by a Druze. Both would remain under the indirect rule of the governor of Sidon. This partition of Lebanon proved to be a mistake. Animosities between the religious sects increased, and by 1860 they escalated into a full-blown sectarian violence
. In the 1860 Lebanon conflict
that followed, thousands of Christians were killed in massacres that culminated with the Damascus Riots of July 1860.
Following the international outcry caused by the massacres, the French landed troops in Beirut
, the Ottomans abolished the unworkable system of the Qaimaqamate and instituted in its place the Mutasarrifate, a confessionalist
system that is a direct predecessor of the political system
that continues to exist in Lebanon to this day. The new arrangement ended the turmoil, and the region prospered in the last decades of the Ottoman Empire.
Eyalet
Eyalets were a former primary administrative division of the Ottoman Empire. The term is sometimes translated province or government. Depending on the rank of their commander, they are also sometimes known as pashaliks, beylerbeyliks, and kapudanliks.From 1453 to the beginning of the nineteenth...
of the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
. In the 19th century, the eyalet extended from the border with Egypt
Egypt Eyalet
Egypt was conquered by the Ottoman Empire in 1517, following the Ottoman–Mamluk War and the loss of Syria to the Ottomans in 1516. Egypt was administrated as an eyalet of the Ottoman Empire from 1517 until 1867, with an interruption during the French occupation of 1798 to 1801.Egypt was always a...
to the Bay of Kesrouan, including the Plain of Falastin (the Israeli coastal plain
Israeli Coastal Plain
The Israeli coastal plain is the narrow coastal plain along Israel's Mediterranean Sea coast which houses 70% of the country's population. The plain extends north to south and is divided into a number of areas; the Plain of Zebulun , Hof HaCarmel , the Sharon plain , and the Plain of Judea The...
), the Jezreel Valley
Jezreel Valley
-Etymology:The Jezreel Valley takes its name from the ancient city of Jezreel which was located on a low hill overlooking the southern edge of the valley, though some scholars think that the name of the city originates from the name of the clan which founded it, and whose existence is mentioned in...
, and the hilly region of Galilee
Galilee
Galilee , is a large region in northern Israel which overlaps with much of the administrative North District of the country. Traditionally divided into Upper Galilee , Lower Galilee , and Western Galilee , extending from Dan to the north, at the base of Mount Hermon, along Mount Lebanon to the...
.
Depending on the location of its capital, it was also known as the Eyalet of Safad, Beirut
Beirut
Beirut is the capital and largest city of Lebanon, with a population ranging from 1 million to more than 2 million . Located on a peninsula at the midpoint of Lebanon's Mediterranean coastline, it serves as the country's largest and main seaport, and also forms the Beirut Metropolitan...
or Akka/Acre
Acre, Israel
Acre , is a city in the Western Galilee region of northern Israel at the northern extremity of Haifa Bay. Acre is one of the oldest continuously inhabited sites in the country....
.
History
Ottoman rulers considered creating the Province as early as 1585. The districts of Beirut-Sidon and Safed (encompassing much of the GalileeGalilee
Galilee , is a large region in northern Israel which overlaps with much of the administrative North District of the country. Traditionally divided into Upper Galilee , Lower Galilee , and Western Galilee , extending from Dan to the north, at the base of Mount Hermon, along Mount Lebanon to the...
) were united under the rule of Ma'nid
Maan family
The Banu Ma'an tribe , were a tribe & dynasty of Qahtani Arab some of which later became Druze and rulers of the Lebanon Mountains during a period of the Ottoman Empire, and one of the most successful ruling dynasties in Druze history...
Emir Fakhr-al-Din ibn Maan
Fakhr-al-Din II
Emir Fakhr-al-Din ibn Maan was the 1st prince of the State of Lebanon which has self-governed under the Ottoman Empire between the 17th and 19th centuries. Son of Prince Qorqmaz ibn Maan and Sit Nasab of the Tanukhi family, he was given the title "Emir" or Prince in Arabic because the Maan...
. The Province was briefly created during Fakhr-al-Din's exile in 1614-15, and recreated in 1660. The province continued to be subordinated in some ways, both in fiscal and political matters, to the Damascus province
Damascus Eyalet
Damascus Eyalet was an eyalet of the Ottoman Empire. Its reported area in the 19th century was . It became an eyalet after the Ottomans conquered it from the Mamluks in 1516.-Governors:* Janbirdi al-Ghazali * Ahmad ibn Ridwan...
out of which it was created.
Despite conflicts in the 1660s, the Maan family "played the leading role in the management of the internal affairs of this eyalet until the closing years of the 17th century, perhaps because it was not possible to manage the province-certainly not in the sanjak of Sidon-Beirut-without them." The Maans were succeeded by the Shihab family
Shihab family
The "Shihabs", or "Chehabs" are a prominent Lebanese noble family. The Chehabs were the traditional princes of the Wadi al-Taym, who traced their lineage to the ancient Quraysh tribe from Mecca. The Chehabs descended from the Maans through the female line...
in ruling Sidon-Beirut from the final years of the 17th century through the 19th century.
In 1775, when Cezzar Ahmed Pasha received the governorship of Sidon, he moved the capital to Acre
Acre, Israel
Acre , is a city in the Western Galilee region of northern Israel at the northern extremity of Haifa Bay. Acre is one of the oldest continuously inhabited sites in the country....
. In 1799, Acre resisted a siege by Napoleon Bonaparte
Siege of Acre (1799)
The Siege of Acre of 1799 was an unsuccessful French siege of the Ottoman-defended, walled city of Acre and was the turning point of Napoleon's invasion of Egypt and Syria.-Background:...
.
19th century
As part of the Egyptian–Ottoman War (1831–1833)Egyptian–Ottoman War (1831–1833)
The First Egyptian-Ottoman War, First Turco-Egyptian War or First Syrian War was brought about by Muhammad Ali Pasha's demand to the Ottoman Empire for control of Arab Greater Syria, as reward for his assistance in Crete against Greece...
, Ibrahim Pasha of Egypt
Ibrahim Pasha of Egypt
Ibrahim Pasha was the eldest son of Muhammad Ali, the Wāli and unrecognised Khedive of Egypt and Sudan. He served as a general in the Egyptian army that his father established during his reign, taking his first command of Egyptian forces was when he was merely a teenager...
took Acre after a severe siege on May 27, 1832. The Egyptian occupation intensified rivalries between Druzes and Maronites
Maronites
Maronites , is an ethnoreligious group in the Middle East that have been historically tied with Lebanon. They derive their name from the Syriac saint Mar Maron whose followers moved to Mount Lebanon from northern Syria establishing the Maronite Church....
, as Ibrahim Pasha openly favoured Christians in his administration and his army. In 1840, the governor of Sidon moved his residence to Beirut, effectively making it the new capital of the eyalet. After the return to Ottoman rule in 1841, the Druzes dislodged Bashir III al-Shihab, to whom the sultan had granted the title of emir.
In 1842 the Ottoman government introduced the Double Qaimaqamate, whereby Mount Lebanon
Mount Lebanon
Mount Lebanon , as a geographic designation, is a Lebanese mountain range, averaging above 2,200 meters in height and receiving a substantial amount of precipitation, including snow, which averages around four meters deep. It extends across the whole country along about , parallel to the...
would be governed by a Maronite appointee and the more southerly regions of Kisrawan and Shuf
Chouf District
Chouf is a historic region of Lebanon, as well as an administrative district in the governorate of Mount Lebanon....
would be governed by a Druze. Both would remain under the indirect rule of the governor of Sidon. This partition of Lebanon proved to be a mistake. Animosities between the religious sects increased, and by 1860 they escalated into a full-blown sectarian violence
Sectarian violence
Sectarian violence and/or sectarian strife is violence inspired by sectarianism, that is, between different sects of one particular mode of ideology or religion within a nation/community...
. In the 1860 Lebanon conflict
1860 Lebanon conflict
The 1860 Lebanon conflict was the culmination of a peasant uprising which began in the north of Lebanon as a rebellion of Maronite peasants against their Druze overlords. It soon spread to the south of the country where the rebellion changed its character, with Druze turning against the Maronite...
that followed, thousands of Christians were killed in massacres that culminated with the Damascus Riots of July 1860.
Following the international outcry caused by the massacres, the French landed troops in Beirut
French expedition in Syria
The French expedition in Syria took place between 1860 and 1861. The expedition took place following the killing of thousands of Maronite, Greek Orthodox, and Melkite Greek Catholic Christians by Druzes and Muslims on Mount Lebanon and in Damascus in June–July 1860...
, the Ottomans abolished the unworkable system of the Qaimaqamate and instituted in its place the Mutasarrifate, a confessionalist
Confessionalism (politics)
Confessionalism is a system of government that refers to de jure mix of religion and politics. It can mean distributing political and institutional power proportionally among religious communities.-Debate:...
system that is a direct predecessor of the political system
Politics of Lebanon
Lebanon is a parliamentary republic within the overall framework of confessionalism, a form of consociationalism in which the highest offices are proportionately reserved for representatives from certain religious communities. The constitution grants the people the right to change their government...
that continues to exist in Lebanon to this day. The new arrangement ended the turmoil, and the region prospered in the last decades of the Ottoman Empire.
Administrative divisions
Sanjaks in the early 19th century:- Sanjak of Acre
- Sanjak of BeirutBeirutBeirut is the capital and largest city of Lebanon, with a population ranging from 1 million to more than 2 million . Located on a peninsula at the midpoint of Lebanon's Mediterranean coastline, it serves as the country's largest and main seaport, and also forms the Beirut Metropolitan...
- Sanjak of SidonSidonSidon or Saïda is the third-largest city in Lebanon. It is located in the South Governorate of Lebanon, on the Mediterranean coast, about 40 km north of Tyre and 40 km south of the capital Beirut. In Genesis, Sidon is the son of Canaan the grandson of Noah...
- Sanjak of Tyre
- Sanjak of NazarethNazarethNazareth is the largest city in the North District of Israel. Known as "the Arab capital of Israel," the population is made up predominantly of Palestinian Arab citizens of Israel...
- Sanjak of Tabariah