emirate · Anatolia and the Levant
Mount Lebanon Emirate
Origins
After the Ottoman conquest of 1516, the Druze chiefs of the Shuf mountains were left to govern themselves as tax farmers. The Ma'n family rose to dominate them, and under Fakhr al-Din II (1591-1633) their emirate extended over much of Lebanon, Galilee and the coast.
Rule and society
The emirs ruled a feudal society of Druze and Maronite lords and peasants from Deir al-Qamar. Fakhr al-Din II allied with Tuscany, lived in exile in Italy in 1613-1618 and promoted silk production, but was executed by the Ottomans in 1635. In 1697 the Shihab family succeeded the Ma'ns. Bashir II (1789-1840), who became Christian, built the palace of Beiteddine and sided with Muhammad Ali of Egypt.
Decline and legacy
When the Ottomans and Britain expelled the Egyptians in 1840, Bashir II went into exile. His successor Bashir III was deposed in 1842 amid Druze-Maronite fighting, and the Ottomans replaced the emirate with the Mount Lebanon Double Qaimaqamate.
Lineage
On the connections map
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- Mount Lebanon Emirate was a vassal of Ottoman Empire1516 CE – 1842 CE
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Cite this page
- APA
- The Epoch Institute. (2026). Mount Lebanon Emirate. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/mount-lebanon-emirate
- MLA
- “Mount Lebanon Emirate.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/mount-lebanon-emirate. Accessed .
- Chicago
- The Epoch Institute. “Mount Lebanon Emirate.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/mount-lebanon-emirate.
- Harvard
- The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Mount Lebanon Emirate’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/mount-lebanon-emirate (Accessed: ).
Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻