The Druzes: A New Study of their History, Faith and Society 9004069755, 9789004069756

Table of contents :
Contents
Preface
I. Racial Origins
II. Historical Background
III. Fatimid Beginnings
IV. The Fatimid Caliphate: The State
V. The Fatimid Caliphate: Al-Da’wa (The Mission)
VI. Al-Hakim Bi-Amr Allah
VII. Spiritual Sources
VIII. The Druze Faith
IX. Druze Ethics
X. Druze Habitats
XI. A Glimpse Into Early Druze History
XII. The Tanukh Emirate of South Lebanon and Beirut
XIII. A Druze Sage: al-Amir al-Sayyid Jamal al-Dln ‘Abdallah al-Tanukhi
XIV. Fakhr al-Din Ma’n II
XV. The Druzes 1633-1840
XVI. Druze Society
XVII. The Druze Woman
Bibliography
Index

Citation preview

THE DRUZES

THE DRUZES A NEW STUDY OF T H E IR HISTORY, FAITH AND SOCIETY

BY

NEJLA M. ABU-IZZEDDIN

LEIDEN - E. J . BRILL - 1984

ISBN

90 04 06975 5

Copyright 1984 by E. J . Brill, Leiden, The Netherlands A ll rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or translated in any form, by print, photoprint, microfilm, microfiche or any other means without written permission from the publisher PRINTED IN THE NETHERLANDS BY E. J . BRILL

To the Memory of my Father Mustapha Abu-Izzeddin and of my Uncles Sulayman Abu-Izzeddin and Muhammad Abu-Izzeddin

CONTENTS Preface ................................................................................................. Abbreviations...................................................................................... Map ........................................................................................................ I. II. III. IV. V. VI. VII. VIII. IX. X. XI. XII. X III.

ix xi xii

Racial O rigins....................................................................... Historical Background.......................................................... Fäfimid Beginnings................................................................. The Fäfimid Caliphate: the S ta te .......................................... The Fäfimid Caliphate: al-Dacwa (The Mission)................ Al-Hâkim Bi-Amr Allah....................................................... Spiritual Sources................................................................... The Druze Faith............... Druze E thics.......................................................................... Druze H abitats...................................................................... A Glimpse into Early Druze H istory................................... The Tanûkh Emirate of South Lebanon and Beirut........... A Druze Sage: al-Amîr al-Sayyid Jam âl al-Dln cAbdallah al-T anükhl.......................................................................... Fakhr al-Dïn Macn II.............................................................. The Druzes 1633-1840.......................................................... Druze Society......................................................................... The Druze W om an...............................................................

172 179 198 221 228

Bibliography ........................................................................................

236

XIV. XV. XVI. XVII.

Index ......................................................................................................

1 15 29 40 59 74 87 101 122 127 133 142

247

PREFACE In writing this book I have had two purposes in mind: the first is to place the beliefs of the Druzes in the context of the development of Shftsm in its IsmäcHl-Fätimid form. The second is to describe the role of the Druze community in the history of Lebanon and Syria. In spite of their limited numbers, the Druzes, led by their prominent families, played a dominant part in the affairs of Lebanon during many centuries, and their influence spread beyond Lebanon into the interior. By 1840 their position had begun to change in many ways, and the historical nar­ rative, therefore, ends at that date. Apart from the works mentioned in the bibliography, I have been able to make use of a collection of documents brought together by my uncle Sulayman Abu-Izzeddin, which are now in my possession. He had himself hoped to write a history of the Druzes, but unfortunately he did not live to do so. Acknowledgment is due to the late Kamal Jonblat for recovering im­ portant manuscripts pertaining to the Druze faith which had been con­ sidered lost. Professor Wilferd Madelung’s interest in the publication of the book is a source of deep satisfaction to me, and I sincerely thank him for it. For valuable help I am indebted to the friendship of Albert Hourani, Fellow of Saint Antony's College, Oxford. He gave generously of his time to reading the typescript, discussed it with me at length, made im­ portant comments and suggestions, and through him the book was placed with the right publisher. For all this kind service I express my sincere gratitude.

ABBREVIATIONS BGA: Bibliotheca Geographorum Arabicorum BSOAS: Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies E.I.: Encyclopedia of Islam JAOS: Journal of the American Oriental Society

CHAPTER ONE

RACIAL ORIGINS The Druze community was formed during the first half of the 5th cen­ tury of the Hijra, the 11th A .D .** It came into being in response to a religious call (dacwa) propagated from Cairo in the reign of the sixth Fätimid Caliph, Al-Häkim Bi-Amr Allah. The call went forth in the year 408/1017 and aimed at universal proselytization. Missionaries were sent far and wide, and proselytes joined in large numbers. However, with the reaction against the new sect which set in after Hakim’s disappereance in 411/1021, many reverted to their former beliefs. Proselytization con­ tinued for another twenty-five years, but ceased altogether in 436/1044. Since then the Druzes have been an inbred community. Those who held on to the new faith were concentrated in mountain regions not easily accessible to outsiders. South Lebanon and Wädi alTaym at the foot of Mount Hermon are the principal concentrations, and the oldest, the Druzes having lived there since the first years of the dacwa. At present, more than half the total Druze population live in Jabal alDurüz south of Damascus, above the plain of Hawrän2, but here Druze settlement is of a relatively recent date, beginning in the second decade of the 18th century. Small groups continue to live in villages in al-Jabal alAclä (Jabal al-Summâq), and the neighborhood of Aleppo, in the Ghüfa of Damascus, and in Palestine in the region of $afad and on the slopes of Mount Carmel. The Druzes have attracted the attention of travellers and explorers who admired their robust qualities. Mystified by the secrecy with which the Druzes enveloped their religious beliefs, they sought to explain the “ enigma” and enquire into the origins of these people. About their racial origin as about their religious beliefs, various theories were put forth, some quaint, others absurd, most of them unrelated to historical facts. The present writer, when preparing for the doctorate at the University of Chicago, made an anthropometric study of the Druzes in an attempt to clarify their racial affinities. A comparison with similar studies made on other groups in the area showed dose similarities between the Druzes and their neighbors. It is therefore pertinent to look into the racial com1 Henceforth the date according to the Muslim calender (the Hijra era) and the cor­ responding Christian date will be given separated by a diagonal dash thus 5th/11th cen­ tu ry . * H aw rin is the classical Auranitis, Biblical Bashan.

2

RACIAL ORIGINS

ponents of the wider population in the area where the Druzes constitute part of the inhabitants. Syria, including Palestine and Lebanon, has been from times im­ memorial the highway along which peoples have moved, their cultures and racial types mixing and intermingling. The human reservoir which supplied Syria3 through the ages with the greater part of its inhabitants has been the Arabian Peninsula. Arabia was not always the dry region known in historical times. During the pluvial periods of the Pleistocene age it was covered with vegetation. The Rubc al-Khäl! (Empty Quarter), today as desolate a spot as any on éarth, was in those remote times a fer­ tile plateau through which large streams cut wide and deep wadis.* As desiccation progressed, Arabia could no longer support its inhabitants, great numbers of whom moved to rainfall zones in the north. At intervals through historical times, human waves continued to pour from the desert into the Fertile Crescent. The earliest settled in the plains along the Mediterranean coast, the Canaanites in the south, the Phoenicians in the northern sector of the coastal plain. Later waves, notably Amorites and Aramaeans, made their home in inland Syria. The greatest of these waves from the desert came with the Arab conquest in the 7th century A.D. Other peoples came from the north. The Hittites established prin­ cipalities in north and central Syria. About the beginning of the second millennium B.C., people whose language and portraits point to their Northern origin founded the State of Mitanni in the great bend of the Euphrates. In the beginning of the 12th century B.C. there is a veritable Völker-Wanderung of northern peoples into Asia Minor, Syria and Palestine. Among them were the Palest, known to us as the Philistines, from whom Palestine received its name. These various peoples naturally settled in the more accessible regions: the inland valleys and coastal plains. There is little information in this early period with regard to inhabitants of the mountains. To what extent were the highlands inhabited and by what type of people we do not know. But we know from ancient records that thick forests covered the moun­ tain slopes down to the sea. Forest exploitation, however, began early and was maintained on an extensive scale over a long period of time. The flourishing cities on the Phoenician coast used large quantities of wood for their constructions and their fleets, and for trade with countries which lacked the product. The *4 * By Syria is m eant, throughout this chapter, the geographical unit which extends north to south from the Taurus mountains to Sinai’s northern border, and from the Syrian desert in the east to the M editerranean in the west. 4 Carieton S. Coon, The Raus of Europe, New York, Macmillan, 1948, p. 401.

RACIAL ORIGINS

3

highlands behind the coast are often mentioned in the annals of ancient Egypt and Assyria. Assyrian kings claim dominion over Lebanon and its chiefs.9 Pharaohs led expeditions against the mountains, and subjected their rulers to the payment of tribute. The imposts levied indicate flourishing agricultural centers.6 It is very likely that agricultural setdements existed in very early times, especially along the slopes nearer the coast. Forest exploitation must have engaged large numbers of workers. Roads were necessarily constructed, and shelters for the workmen and their provisions built. Gradually as the trees fell and the land was cleared, settlements appeared, and the once forested slopes were turned into agricultural centers. That the city-states of the coast reached out to the mountains behind them is certain. We read of a Greater and Lesser Sidon from which we may infer that the former represented an extensive state of which the lat­ ter was the capital city. The plateau behind Sidon is dotted with the ruin? of temples and other constructions which extend many miles inland from the shore.7 Religion was another factor connecting the mountain with the coast. High places being sacred to the ancient Semites, they worshipped in sanctuaries built on the hills. The celebrated cult of Tammüz continued to flourish at Afqa until late in Christian times. A sanctuary dedicated to Bacl Markad stood on the mountain behind Beirut. And the numerous tombs of nabis and waits that today dot the mountains and are revered as Christian and Muslim saints, are they not survivals of the ancient cults? The Romans built roads on the mountains for their armies. Fortresses commanded the strategic passes. For the first century A.D. we have the evidence of a contemporary geographer that the slopes were terraced to the tops and planted with vines.** Who were the people who inhabited Lebanon in antiquity? An indica­ tion to their physical type is provided by statuettes of idols with a flattened skull posterior found in southern Lebanon at heights ranging from 400 to 1,200 meters. The skull shape has been tentatively assumed to point to the relation of the people who made the statuettes to the type 5 David Daniel Luckenbill, Ancient Records of Assyria and Babylonia, 2 vols. Chicago, University Press, 1926-1927, Vol. II, p. 230, # 590. * Jam es Henry Breasted, Ancient Records of Egypt, 5 vols. Chicago, University of Chicago Press, 1906-1907. The references are numerous, among them the following: Vol. I I Paragraphs 483, 510, 519, 548, 557, 798A, 858, 888; III # 94. 1 Luckenbill, II; p. 118, # 339; René Dussaud, Topographie Historique de la Syrie Antique et MidrioaJe, Paris, Geuthner, 1927, pp. 39-40; D. Le Lasseur, “ Mission Archéologique à T yr'*, Syria Reoue d ’Art Oriental et d’Archiologie, Vol. III 1922, pp. 120-124. * Strabo, Geography, Loeb Classical Library, 16.2.9.10; DUssaud, Topographie, pp. 43-45, 396 ff.

4

RACIAL ORIGINS

associated with the Anatolian plateau. The approximate date of the statuettes is the first half of the second millennium B.C.9 At what time broad-headed people came to the highlands of Syria is a matter of conjecture. It is known, however, that brachycephals began travelling from this area by sea as early as 2200 B .C .101* The brachycephalic element is believed to have come from the West Asian highlands in contrast to the Semites whose original home was the Arabian Peninsula. The Semites are a branch of the Mediterranean race whose racial zone extends from Morocco, along the south Mediterranean shores, across North Africa, Egypt, Arabia, Mesopotamia, Persia, and across Afghanistan to the Indus valley.11 There are three Mediterranean subraces in this zone. The most widespread and most characteristically Mediterranean is the central Mediterranean form. “ Today the largest unified area in which this moderate-sized, intermediate Mediterranean racial type is found in greatest purity in the Arabian Peninsula“ .13 In Syria, this type is represented by Bedouin tribes of the Syrian desert. Between them and the broadheads of the mountains is an in­ termediate racial zone, that of the desert border population, from Damascus to Aleppo, where mesocephaly predominates.19 The present day inhabitants of the mountain region, Druzes, Shl^a Alawites, and other Lebanese are fully brachycephalic and all very much racially alike.1415 Some physical anthropologists have used the term Armenoid to describe the racial type of these broadheads assuming that in the Armenian is the quintessence of Near East brachycephaly. Others who have made more extensive studies of the various racial groups in the region have found that they do not conform to the usual definition of the Armenoid type. Their physical traits are more akin to those of the Alpine race. The Alpines, so named after the region which they inhabit in Cen­ tral Europe, are brachycephals originating in the Asiatic highlands. The inhabitants of the Syrian and Lebanese mountains are Mediterraneans “ brachycephalized through the agency of the Alpine race.19 Anthropologists who made pioneer studies in the area had suggested that the South Arabs, unlike the Arabs of the North, were * Henri Seyrig, “ Statuettes Trouvées dans les Montagnes du Liban” , Syria Revued’Art Oriental et d’Archhlogie, Vol. XX X, 1953, pp. 24-50. 10 Carleton Coon, The Races oj Europe, p. 624. 11 Ibid., p. 256. 11 Ibid. , p. 481 The other two sub races are the Atlanto-M editerranean and the IranoAfghan, p. 292. 13 William M. Shank!in, “ Anthropometry of Syrian M ales,” Journal o f the Royal An­ thropological Institute, Vol. 68, July-December 1938, pp. 379-414. 14 Coon: The Races of Europe, p. 623. 15 Ibid., p. 624.

RACIAL ORIGINS

5

brachycephalics. But the material available at the time was too scanty to allow the formulation of a definite conclusion.16 More conclusive are the extensive measurements taken by Coon in 1933-4 in Yemen and Hadramaut. These show the tribesmen of the cen­ tral plateau to be similar to the bedouin of the north. Yemenis of the region centered around Sanca represent the smaller variety of the Mediterranean race in its purest form. The heads are of moderate dimen­ sions with a cephalic index (Cl) of 76. As one goes down the plateau south the people grow shorter and the C l rises to 81. West of $anca down the escarpment to the coastal plain—Tibäma—the change is more rapid and the C l goes up to 84. The tribal Hadramis resemble the southern Yemeni highlanders in being short and subbrachycephalic.17 Since the Mediterranean race represented by Arabs and earlier migra­ tions of Semites from the Arabian Peninsula into the Fertile Crescent is predominant in the composition of the area’s population, how did the brachycephals prevalent among the mountain people and not negligible among inhabitants of the plains develop? In the case of the Druzes the known hereditary dominance of brachycephaly is combined with inbreeding. The result is an average cephalic index of 86. External factors also influence the shape of the skull; flattened skulls are in part due to the practice of cradling.18 Environment is a factor in changes occurring in racial characteristics, for a race is an entity *‘which is never static but always in process of change.” Environment has been demonstrated to affect stature. ‘Tt is more than likely that it can affect other racial criteria, including head form” .19 As for brachycephalic dominance in the blending of long-headed and broadheaded peoples, Coon has proposed the formula that “ when Mediterranean racial types are blended in a two to one proportion with Alpines, something totally different from either results...The facial '• C. K. A niens Kappers, "Contributions to the Anthropology of the Near East, II The Spread of Brachycephalic R aces", Koninklijke Akademie van Wetenschappen UAmsterdam, reprinted from Proceedings, Vol. 33, No. 8, 1930; C. G. Seligman, “ The Physical Characters of the A rabs", Journal oj the Royal Anthropological Institute, Vol. 47, 1917, pp. 214-237; Sir A nhur Keith and W. M . Krogman in Bertram Thomas, Arabia Felix, Across the Empty Quarter of Arabia, New York, Jonathan Cape, 1932, Appendix L“ The Racial Characters of the Southern A rabs". 17 Coon, The Races of Europe, pp. 402-407, and The Living Races of Man, New York, Knopf, 1965, pp. 88-93. A niens Kappers, “ Contributions to the Anthropology of the Near E ast", V, reprinted from Proceedings Kôn.Akad. Vol. 34 No. 4, 1931, p. 540. " Coon, The Races of Europe, pp. 10, 11. The Children of die highly brachycephalized Lebanese and Armenians are mesocephalic when bom in the United States and reared without cradling. Coon, The Living Races of Man, p. 74.

6

RACIAL ORIGINS

breadths are Mediterranean, the nose and face are often elongated, the cranial length reduced to an Alpine dimension, and the breadth similarly increased” .20 Since the Mediterranean race is the basic stock in the demographic composition of the Fertile Crescent, and since the Arabs of the Peninsula and its northern fringes belong to the most typical form of the Mediterra­ nean race, an investigation into the Arab presence and its extent in Syria is closely related to our subject. Long before the Muslim conquest in the 7th century A.D., the Arabs had been at home in Syria. At times they came in large tribal formations, but always through seepage and infiltration from the desert into the sown. When strong governments were in power the tribes remained on the fringes of the settled lands. But in times of troubles when authority at the center lost control, tribal chiefs cut kingdoms for themselves. Some of these states enjoyed a high degree of civilization. The most famous of them was the Kingdom of Palmyra in the Syrian desert, which flourished during the first three centuries of the Christian era. The Palmyrenes con­ trolled the trade route across the Euphrates, important to both the Roman and Parthian empires. By maintaining a position of neutrality between the two powers, they kept the flow of trade between East and West upon which their prosperity depended. Palmyra reached the zenith of its power and splendour under its queen Zenobia whose qualities and talents have won the admiration of historians ancient and modem alike. A woman of “ incredible beauty and extraordinary chastity,” she possessed the military virtues of a general and the learning of a scholar. She read history and philosophy with the philosopher Longinus who was her adviser, spoke several languages, and wrote a history of the East. She hunted, rode, and walked for miles with her foot soldiers. Her generals raised a statue to her in 271 A.D. with the inscription “ most illustrious, pious queen” .21 Her kingdom extended from Egypt to Asia Minor as far as Ancyra (Ankara). The ruins of Palmyra, which are among the most magnificent remains of antiquity, bear witness to the splendours of the oasis kingdom. Palmyra succeeded the Nabataean Kingdom whose prosperity likewise rested mainly on the caravan trade across the North Arabian desert. The Nabataeans controlled the route from the head of the Persian Gulf to the Mediterranean along which they built settlements and forts for its protec­ tion. From their capital Petra, whose impressive ruins reflect its ancient10* 10 Coon, The Races of Europe, p. 647. *' Grace H. M acurdy, Vassal Queens and Some Contemporary Women in the Roman Empire, Baltimore, 1937, pp. 111-121.

RACIAL ORIGINS

7

prosperity, their Kingdom extended to Damascus and counted among its important centers Çalhkad and Jerash. They maintained their in­ dependence from the 3rd century B.C. until 106 A.D. when their Kingdom was incorporated in the Roman province of Arabia. A state whose capital was Edessa ruled the Arab tribes of North Syria. Its kings bore Arabic names, most popular being that of Abjar. A quaint legend tells of one of these kings who, being afflicted with an incurable disease, and having heard of Jesus and his miracles, sent a messenger to Jerusalem with a letter begging Jesus to come and cure him. King Abjar had also heard that the Jews were persecuting Jesus, so he wrote: “ I have a small but beautiful city, and it is enough for us both to live in peace and security” . Jesus did not come to Edessa but Abjar’s messenger brought back with him a cloth with which Jesus had wiped his face leaving the im­ pression of his features upon it. The presumed relic with Christ’s portrait impressed upon it was kept in the church of Edessa until 331/943 when it was transferred to Constantinople in return for the release of Muslim prisoners held by the Greeks.22 Arab chieftains controlled the Orontes valley towards the close of the Seleucid age in Syria. The last days of Seleucid rule, tom by dynastic dissensions and civil war, provided a favorable opportunity for the nomads to encroach upon the settled land and in places to establish themselves as masters. O f the Arab tribes who came at this time the Ituraeans were the most redoubtable. The Biqäc (Coele-Syria) was the center of their state with Chalcis (cAnjar) as their capital. A larger area came under their sway, sometimes extending to the Hawrân. They possessed fortresses on Mount Lebanon from which they harassed the cities of the coast until they were defeated by Pompey in 63 B.C. Semi-sedentary Arabs occupied the volcanic region south-east of Damascus, the Syrian harra, where a profusion of inscriptions on rocks has been found, known as Safaitic, after the name of the region on the eastern slope of Jabal al-Durüz. The content of the inscriptions is brief, consisting of names, genealogies, and invocation to the gods. Their language is Arabic written in a form of Aramaic script, the date is the first three centuries A.D. The great number of these inscriptions testifies to a remarkable development of writing among these nomads.22 Thus when Syria became a Roman province in 64 B .C ., practically the whole country was in the hands of Arabs.* ** Rubens Duval, “ Histoire Politique, Religieuse et Littéraire d’Edesse Jusque à la Première Croisade” , Journal Asiatique, 8e Série, Tome X V III, 1891, “ La Légende d ’Abgar” pp. 234-255. Yabya Ibn Sacîd al-Anfalû, Tahikh ed. Kratchkovsky and Vasiliev, pp. 32-34. 15 René Dussaud, Mission dans Us Ripons Désertiques de la Syrie Moyenne, Paris, Im* primérie Nationale, 1903, pp. 53-67.

8

RACIAL ORIGINS

The son of an Arab Shaykh of the Hawrân, Philip the Arab, who became Roman Emperor (243-249 A.D.), is ranked as one of the great Caesars. He is praised as a model ruler by a contemporary of high stand­ ing who contrasts Philip’s justice with conditions prevailing before his reign: *'About his justice let what I have said suffice. What benevolence can be greater and more conspicuous than this? All the provinces lay cowering and enslaved by fear, since many spies went round all the cities listening to what people were saying. It was impossible to think or speak freely, when all temperate and just liberty of speech was destroyed and everyone trembled at his own shadow. From this fear he released the souls of all and set them free, restoring to them their liberty full and complete” . A distinguished modem historian concurs with this eulogy of the Arab emperor.24 The Romans tried to regulate the overflow of desert tribes by main­ taining buffer states on the southern frontier. Several tribal groups, some of whom adopted Christianity, succeeded one another in assuming hegemony, under Roman suzerainty, over the others. One chief, Imru3 ’1-Qays Ibn cAmr assumes the title of “ King of all the Arabs” in a tomb inscription found near Namara in the liana of al-$afa, east of Jabal alDurüz. It is the oldest known inscription in classical Arabic, and is writ­ ten in letters adapted from the Aramaic. Its date is 223 of the era of Boçrâ, 328 A.D.2* During the sixth century A.D. this leadership was ex­ ercised by the tribe of Ghassan. Jawlän (Golan) was the center of the Ghassänid state.26 The Ghassänids were among the many tribes who wandered north following the breakdown of the South Arab social and political structure. South Arabia was during the first millennium B.C. and the early centuries A.D. the seat of a flourishing civilization and a prosperous society.27*The prosperity of the south Arabs—Minaeans, Sabaeans, Himyarites—was largely the outcome of a lucrative caravan trade in incense, spices, gold and other luxuries. Their wealth was pro­ verbial in the ancient world. It was coveted by the Assyrians26 who dispatched expeditions against South Arab colonies in North Arabia in the hope of controlling their flourishing trade. Centuries later, the desire to lay hold on the fabulous wealth of Yemen led to the memorable march 74 M .J. RostovtsefT, The Social and Economic History ofthe Roman Empire, 2 vols. 2nd. edi­ tion, Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1957, II, pp. 454-455. 15 René Dussaud, La pénétration des Arabes en Syrie avant l ’Islam, Pans, Paul Geuthner, 1955. " Theodor Nöldeke, “ Die Ghassanischen Fürsten aus dem Hause Gafinas” , in Abhandlungen der Pr. Ak. der Wissenschaften, 1887. 27 Ditlef Nielsen, Handbuch der altarabischen Altertumskunde, vol. I, Die altarabische Kultur, Copenhagen, Paris, Leipzig, 1927. " Luckenbill, Ancient Records of Assyria and Babylonia, Vol. I, p. 276, II, pp. 7-8.

RACIAL ORIGINS

9

of the Roman army under Aelius Gallus to South Arabia. In the last cen­ turies of the pre-Christian era, important centers of South Arabs were flourishing in North Arabia, and have left us, through their buildings and hundreds of inscriptions, an illuminating record of their language, religion, political organization and other aspects of their life.2* The prosperity of the South Arab states began to dwindle after the diversion of the trade route from the land to the Red Sea, following the discovery of the monsoons in the Ptolemaic period. The caravan trade broke down and with it the social order that rested upon it. Thereupon, South Arabs began to leave their home, and their neglected public buildings and great irrigation constructions began to fall into decay. It is around the collapse of one of these constructions, the dam of M a’rib, that Arab tradition has crystallized the successive migrations from the south. The widespread presence of Arabs in Syria facilitated the Muslim con­ quest, the ethnic bond which the long-settled Arab felt to the bedouin fresh from the desert was not least among the causes which contributed to its swift success. For their part the tribesmen of the Muslim armies pro­ tested, more than once, at being sent to Iraq, and insisted they be dis­ patched to Syria instead, saying: "our ancestors are there".*30 The largest of the tribes was the T&yy, already established in central Syria before Islam31, although its center of concentration was Palestine and the neighboring desert. T ayy was so numerous and powerful, its dispersion so widespread that Syriac authors use the name Taiyaya as synonymous with Arab.32 The Arab element in Syria necessarily increased after the Muslim con­ quest. Indications regarding the extent of the increase could be sought in the size of the Arab armies had the accounts concerning them not been so confused. More reliable information is provided by the soldiers' pension lists. But this source is not available for Syria during this early period. Such lists, however exist for Basra and Küfa. An early and reliable historian, Balâdhurï, gives the number of soldiers in Basra under Ziyäd, M u'äwiya’s viceroy in Iraq, as 80,000 and their families as 120,000. For Küfa the figures are 60,000 and 80,000 respectively.33 We may accept far larger armies for Syria, the seat of the caliphate and the center of distribution of the Arab armies which in a few decades con­ *• The standard work on these records is by the Dominican fathers A. Jaussen and R. Savignac, Mission ArchMogique tn Arabie, 3 vols., Paris, Geuthner, 1909, 1914, 1922. 30 Tabari, Tahikh ai-Rusul wa ’l-Muiäk, cd. De Goeje, I«, pp. 2186-7, 2218, 2222. *> Balâdhurï, Futùh al-Buldän, ed. De Goeje, Leyden, Brill, 1866, pp. 145-146, Yiq&t, M u'jam ai-Buldàn, ed. F. Wustenfeld, Leipzig, Vol. II, p. 186. 32 Michel le Syrien, Chronique, edited and translated b y j. B. Chabot, Paris, 1899-1910, Vol. II, p. 455, III, p. 309. 51 Balâdhurï, Futüh ai-Buldàn, p. 350.

10

RACIAL ORIGINS

quered an empire which extended from central Asia to Spain. Moreover, Syria, which bordered on Byzantine territory along its northern frontier and was exposed, in the west, to Byzantine maritime attacks, was necessarily supplied with large standing armies. Fortresses were con­ structed in strategic positions and the garrisons were rewarded with the distribution of fiefs, a reward which was inducive to permanent settlement. As the conquest progressed and became definitely established, those of the local inhabitants bound by a variety of ties to the defeated Byzan­ tines, left the country. In their place the conquerors were settled. Thus, cUthmän, the third caliph, ordered Mu'âwiya, the governor of Syria, to organize armies in the coast cities and to give the garrisons lands and whatever houses had been vacated by their owners. After which, our source continues, people moved to the coast from all over.94 Among the Arabs, long domiciled and extensively spread in Syria, the Yemenites (South Arabs) were predominant. It is from these southern tribes that the Druzes claim to be descended. Various theories have been advanced with regard to Druze origins. O f the Western scholars and travellers who wrote about the Druzes, the Ger­ man archaeologist, Von Oppenheim, related the story of their origins as he heard it from a Druze authority, namely that they are of south Arab stock with a small admixture of Kurdish blood.” The statement of the British explorers David Hogarth and Gertrude Bell that the Druzes are a mixture of stocks in which the Arab largely predominates “ grafted on to an original mountain population of Aramaic blood” is on the whole sound.36 Others have strayed far and wide in search of Druze origins. Their wanderings have issued in strange notions which need not detain us here. A tradition persistently held by the Druzes traces their origin to Arab tribes settled in Syria, some before Islam, others coming with the Muslim conquest. Let us state at the start that this claim is not related to taqiyya, the prac­ tice of concealing their religious beliefs resorted to by sectarians when liv­ ing under hostile rulers or in the midst of a population with whose beliefs they do not conform. Taqiyya is specifically religious dissimulation. It does not apply to racial identity, since in the multi-racial Muslim society there was no need to simulate with regard to race. Moreover, in the case of the Druzes, their claim to Arab origins was not motivated by considerations of self-interest, for when the Druze com-* 34 Ibid., pp. 127, 128, 133, 144, 148. ** Max Von Oppenheim, Vom MitUlmeer tum persischen Golf, Berlin, 1899, pp. I l l IT. ’* Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th edition, article “ Druzes” .

RACIAL ORIGINS

11

munity was constituted, during the first half of the 5th/11th century, the Arabs were no longer in the ascendant. Non-Arab dynasties ruled Syria. The Ayyübids, of Kurdish origin, succeeded the Fätimids. Even before the Fätimids were finally overthrown, their rule in Syria had been supplanted by Seljuq Turks. The Mamlûks—Turks and Circassians, succeeded the Ayyübids and were themselves defeated by the Ottoman Turks who ruled Syria during four centuries. While tradition may not always represent historical fact, in this case the basis on which it rests is supported by the evidence of recorded history. O f the written sources relevant to our subject, some are of Druze provenance. These we shall look into later. First we shall consult the general sources. Arab geographers of the early Muslim centuries give us ample infor­ mation about the distribution of Arabs in Syria. Their information is usually reliable since they often speak from personal experience and describe countries they actually visited. According to them, Arabs were distributed all over Syria from its southern extremity to the north, from the desert borderland to the Mediterranean, in its plains and mountains, and along its sea-coast. When the Druze community was first formed its members were spread over more extensive areas of Syria than they now occupy. Arab tribes in the north accepted the dacwa. The population of the Jazïra, the area be­ tween the Tigris and Euphrates, was formed by successive tribal migra­ tions at different periods. By the 4th/10th century, the Arab element was preponderant. Arab tribes gave their names to the sectors of the Jazïra where they settled. The northern district, the upper basin of the Tigris, is Diyär Bakr. Diyär R abfo in the east covered the region between the Khäbür river and Mosul and was the largest province in the Jazïra. In the west was Diyär Mudar, the country in the great bend of the Euphrates/37 The Tanükh, who occupy an important place in Druze history, in­ habited the region between Aleppo and Hama. Here the Muslim armies under Abù cUbayda found them established. Lädhiqiyya on the coast came within Diyär Tanükh. Bahrä3 and Tanükh gave their name to the mountain range between the Amanus and the Lebanon mountains.38 At 17 Balidhurï, Futûh al-Buldân, p. 178; Isjakhn, Masälik al-Mamälik, BGA, I, p. 14; M aqdisi, Apsan al-Taqàsim, BGA, III, pp. 137-138; M . Canard, Histoire de ia Dynastie des Hamdanides deJazira et de Syrie, Alger, 1951, p. 77. *' Balâdhurï, Futufi, pp. 144-146; Tabarï, Tà*rikh ai-Rusul wa ’l-M ulûk, ed. De Goeje, Is pp. 2393, 2501 fT; Al-Bakrï, Mu'jam {Das Geographische Wörterbuch) ed. F. Wüstenfeld, Göt­ tingen, 1876, Vol. II, p. 612; al-Ham dànï, Sifat Jaeirat ai-'Arab ed. D. H. M üller, Leyden, 1884, 1891, Vol. I, p. 132; Yacqübl, Buldân, BGA, V II, pp. 324-325; Michel Le Syrien, Chronique, Vol. II, p. 463.

12

RACIAL ORIGINS

its north east extremity is Jabal al-Summäq (or al-Jabal al-Aclä) where a large Druze community once lived of which remnants only are left. In Damascus and the villages in the farmland around it (the Ghü(a), the presence of the Druzes was once much larger than the present day numbers would indicate. This region, with the plains to the south, Bathaniyya and Hawrän had been open to Arab penetration for centuries before Islam. Jawlän was the seat of the Ghassänid Kingdom, the focus of the tribes domiciled in the area. After the Muslim conquest, new com* ers from the desert, tribesmen of north and south Arabs, Qays and Yemen, settled in the city and province of Damascus.39 Tribes penetrated into the mountains. Jabal cÄmil (today the southern most region of Lebanon) is named after the South Arab tribe of Banü cÂmila.40 Further north, the mountain behind Sidon, designated as Lubnän $aydâ, received elements of Quraysh and of Yemenite tribes.41 The most important centres of activity at the time of the propagation of the dacwa were Wadi al-Taym and southern Lebanon, both of which have continued to the present day to be the principal concentrations of the Druze community. The community in Jabal al-Durüz, which today is the largest concentration, migrated, largely from these two centres, at a relatively recent date. Wadi al-Taym, at the foot of mount Hermon, takes its name from Taymallâh b. Thaclaba of the branch of R ab^a b. Nizär, a grandson of cAdnän who was the eponym of the north Arabs. Ethnically, the district of Wadi al-Taym has been authoritatively stated to be one of the most Arab regions of Syria.42 For the population of southern Lebanon, Druze sources contain material not found elsewhere. In a semi-sacred volume we read: when the companions of the Prophet advanced to the conquest of Syria, clans of the Tanükh went forth to their aid. In large numbers and fully armed, they came to Beirut, raised aloft the standards of the faith, and took possession of the Gharb country and the mountain of Beirut where they settled.49 A booklet called the Book of Genealogy44 gives varied accounts of the migration of twelve clans of the Tanükh from north Syria and their settle­ ment in bilid Beirut. It is an anonymous source, poorly written, and con»» Ya'qübï, Buldän, pp. 326-327; Balâdhurï, Futûh, p. 123. 40 Ham dànî,Jazirat al-cArab, pp. 129, 132; Yacqûbï, Buldän, p. 327; Qalqashandf, $ubh al-A'shi Cairo Vol. I, p. 336, IV, p. 86. ♦* Ya)• Their education, in earlier times, was the traditional Arabic instruction. Illiterate folk listened with delight to stories read or related of Arab heroes and their deeds. In their native land the Druzes have participated in important events in Arab history. During the Mid­ dle Ages they steadfastly opposed the Crusaders. In modem times they embraced the cause of Arab nationalism. They spearheaded and formed the backbone of the Syrian revolution in the 1920’s, an outstanding landmark in recent Arab history.

CHAPTER TWO

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND Before we deal specifically with the Druzes, it will be necessary to pay some attention to the development of Sh!*ism, and in particular to Shftsm in its Ismäcffi-Fätimid form, since the religion of the Druzes can only be understood within this context. Shiism began as a political movement. It was the party of CAK (Sh^at cAfi), and had its origin in the dispute over the succession to the Prophet. cAll’s partisans claimed that he was the rightful successor by virtue of his kinship to the Prophet, whose cousin and son-in-law he was, by his precedence over all the other companions in adherence to Islam, and by his personal qualities, piety and learning, and outstanding bravery in defence of the faith. The Prophet had not provided for a successor to lead the community after him. His death cast dismay among the Muslims bereft of their leader. Presently the two groups who formed the basis of the Muslim community, the Muhâjirûn (Emigrants) who accompanied the Prophet from Mecca, and the Ansar (Supporters) who gave him shelter and sup­ port in Medina, put forth their respective claims to the succession. There was fear that the issue might tear the young community apart. The danger was averted by cU m ar’s characteristically decisive action. As he took Abû Bakr’s hand, swearing allegiance to this trusted friend and companion of the Prophet, he was followed by the assembled Companions, all pledging their allegiance, and so resolving the issue of succession. With Abû Bakr began the institution of the Caliphate. The Caliph1 was the Prince of the Faithful, the head of the community, considered both as a religious and temporal entity. Abû Bakr nominated cUmar as his successor, another decisive choice, for cUmar became the second founder of Islam. cUmar designated six of the Prophet's oldest and most prominent Companions to choose one from among themselves to succeed him. They agreed upon cUthmän, a pious man and early adherent to Islam. Under the first two caliphs the partisans of CA1I remained quiet. Abû Bakr and £Umar ruled the community firmly and with justice and so kept the Arabs well under control. 1 Caliph is the English form of the Arabic Khalifa, which means deputy or lieutenant.

16

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

With the expansion of the Muslim conquests and the consequent flow of wealth and the influx of conquered peoples to the community, 'U thm än, a kindly and generous person, was faced with a situation to which he was not equal. cUthman’s partiality to his kinsmen, the Umayyad clan, and their nepotism alienated members of the community in Mecca and Medina.2* The provinces were afflicted with tribal factionalism and the discontent of uprooted peasants. The pious were shocked at the wealth amassed and displayed by some of the Prophet’s Companions, a development contrary to the teachings and precepts of the Prophet still fresh in people’s memory, and a glaring departure from the example set by the first two caliphs. Some owned vast estates, lived in sumptuous houses, and held much silver and gold.2 Such worldliness flouted cherished beliefs and brought forth indignant denunciation. Foremost among the denouncers was Abü Dharr al-Ghifan whose preaching attracted crowds of eager listeners. His influence so disturbed Mucäwiya, cUthmän’s governor of Syria, who feared his presence in Damascus, that he had the caliph recall him to Medina.4 cUthmän was blamed for the ills of his times. The most violent recriminations came from soldiers who resented the contrast between the hard life spent on campaigns or in camp towns and the ease enjoyed by recipients of generous pensions.2 Insurrection broke out and cUthmän was killed. CA1! was proclaimed caliph. The rival contenders to the caliphate, Talhä and Zubayr, led an armed uprising, were defeated and fell in bat­ tle outside Ba$ra. CA1T transferred the seat of government from Medina to Kfifa. CA11 tried to remove Mucâwiya who had been appointed governor of Syria by cUmar and confirmed by cUthmän and who, during twenty years managed the affairs of his province with marked success. M ucâwiya refused to acknowledge CA1I as Caliph. Instead, as cUthm än’s kinsman, he demanded the punishment of the caliph’s assassins. The dispute broke out in armed conflict. The battle in 36/656 at $iffin, on the west bank of the Euphrates, was going against Mucäwiya when among his troops * Al-Balâdhurï, The Ansäb al-Ashräf, Vol. V, ed. S. D. F. Gottein, Jerusalem , Hebrew University Press, 1936, pp. 25-28; Yacqübî, Ta^rikh, ed. Houtsma, Leyden, 1883 Vol. II, pp. 202-204. 9 Al-M as'üdî, Murvj al-Dhahab, ed. De Meynard and De Courteille, vol. IV, pp. 253-5. 4 Balidhuri, Ansäb, V, pp. 65-68; Tabari, Tahikh ed. de Goeje, Vol. Is pp. 2859-2860. 9 Laura V. Vaglieri, “ The Patriarchal and Umayyad Caliphates” , Cambridge History of Islam, Vol. I, p. 68; M. Sprengling, “ From Persian to Arabic” , in American Journal of Semitic Languages and Literatures, Vol. 56, 1939, pp. 180-181.

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

17

copies of the Q ur5än were raised on spears and the cry resounded: "God alone will decide.” The appeal to God's word caused confusion in cAll’s ranks. Against his better judgment, CA11 had to give in to those of his followers who counselled resort to arbitration instead of continuing the war. His decision to do so alienated another group of his followers who argued that, by submitting to arbitration, cAll had compromised his posi­ tion as the duly elected caliph. They, therefore, seceded from his ranks and were henceforth called Khawärij (Seceders). Later, when they rose in armed revolt against him, cAlî inflicted a severe defeat upon them. A member of this group assassinated CA11 in Ramadan 40/January 661. With CA11 ended the age of "the Rightly Guided Caliphs” (alRâshidûn) held up throughout Arab history as model rulers, as is reflected in this eulogy: "Know that this was a state not after the fashion of the states of this world, but rather resembling prophetic dispensation and the conditions of the world to come. And the truth concerning it is that its fashion was alter the fashion of the Prophets, and its conduct after the model of the saints, while its victories were as those of mighty kings” .6 The accession of M ucäwiya inaugurated the reign of a hereditary monarchy. M ucäwiya was the first of a dynasty, the Umayyad, which for close to a century ruled a Muslim world that extended from the Pyrenees in northern Spain to Kashghar in China. The Khawärij (Khärijites) who had opposed CA1I, rebelled against the Umayyads whom they considered illegitimate rulers. Holding to the belief that they alone were true Muslims, they branded all others as unbelievers against whom it was lawful to wage war. Consequently they were in ceaseless rebellion against authority, alike at the centre and in the provinces. With religious intransigence the Khärijites combined democratic prin­ ciples of government, asserting that the Caliph's office was not a prerogative of the Quraysh, but was open to the man best qualified to oc­ cupy it, be he Arab, Persian, Negro or whatever. This democratic bent they inherited from their desert background, for the Khawärij belonged mostly to north Arab tribes. Likewise from desert society they derived their mastery of the Arabic language and their predilection to poetry and oratory.7 From tribal life they also inherited the tendency to factiousness, so that they were ever splitting into rival sects. Today remnants of the Khärijites survive in out of the way places, such as the interior of cUmän. * Ibn al*Tiq|aqa, Al-Fakhri, ed. W. Ahlwardt, Gotha, 1860, p. 89; translation in E. G. Browne, A Literary History o f Persia, Cambridge University Press, 1902, Vol. 1, pp. 182-189. T W. M . W att, “ Kharijite Thought in the Umayyad Period” , Der Islam, Band 36 1961, pp. 215-231; W att, The Formative Period of Islamic Thought, Edinburgh, 1973.

18

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

The issue of the legitimacy of Umayyad rule produced a new sect, the M uiji’ites, i.e. those who postponed judgment. While the Khärijites and Syrian Muslims took opposing positions, the first denouncing the Umayyads as usurpers and consigning them to hell as perpetrators of great sin, the second upholding the legitimacy of their rulers, the Murji’ites accepted the fait accompli, preferring to leave judgment to God who alone knows the hearts. The Umayyads were Muslims, so the Murji’ites reasoned, they were the actual rulers, the good of the community required that they should be obeyed. The religious views of the Murji’ites were congruous with their political moderation. On the question of sin, they distinguished between great and small sins, and held that even great sins, short of polytheism, would not exclude a believer forever from Paradise.* The Shfo continued to deny legitimacy to Umayyad rule which, in their view, was usurped from the rightful heirs to the caliphate, cAlî and his descendants. The tragic death of Husayn, the younger son o fcAll and Fatima, at Karbala in the reign of Yazld, deepened the alienation of the cÄlids from the Umayyads and kept the attachment to cAll’s house alive by the emotional response which the Karbala tragedy evoked. The Umayyad century was the age of Arab dominance. Arab tribesmen were the backbone of Umayyad power and formed the bulk of the armies which carried Muslim arms from the confines of China to the south of France. And Arab governors administered the far flung pro­ vinces. The language of the Arabs also triumphed, and in the heartlands of the Empire permanently supplanted the local languages. But the Arabs’ triumph had within it the seeds of their decline. For, with the expansion of the empire, peoples of all races entered the Muslim fold and became entitled to the same rights and privileges as their con­ querors. These non-Arab Muslims, the Mawâlî, resented Arab dominance and, as their numbers increased, they constituted a challenge to Arab hegemony. The Mawâlî joined the Shfrte revolt in Küfa, in 66/686, led by Mukhtär, an Arab of the tribe of Thaqlf. The revolt was crushed but the Mawâlî emerged as a political force.9 Arab hegemony was undermined even more by the intertribal feuds among the Arabs themselves. The first big conflict occurred early in Umayyad rule after the death of Yazîd, the second caliph. The struggle was over the succession to the caliphate. North Arab tribes, led by Qays, supported Ibn Zubayr who was proclaimed caliph in Hijäz, while Kalb, * D. B. Macdonald, Development of Muslim Theology, Jurisprudence, and Constitutional Theory, New York, Macmillan, 1903, pp. 123-127, L. Gardet and M. Anawati, Introduc­ tion i la Théologie Musulmane, Paris, Vrin, 1948, pp. 32-34. • Tabari, TaMkh, II' pp. 599-750.

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

19

at the head of Yemenite tribes, stood fast by the Umayyads. In the battle fought at M aij Rähif, near Damascus, the Umayyad party won, but the feud between the two groups of Arab tribes was not healed. When the Umayyads fell, it was not the house of ‘All that succeeded to the caliphate, but the cAbbäsids who made use of the Shftte appeal to further their own cause. Under the cAbbäsids, Shiism grew both as an undercurrent of discon* tent and a movement of open revolt. Already in the reign of Man$ür, the second caliph, a descendant o fcAll, Muhammad the Pure Soul, rebelled in Hijäz. A large following of tribesmen and townsmen supported his claim and fought the caliph’s forces sent against him. When he tell in bat­ tle in the neighbourhood of Medina, his brother, Ibrâhîm rebelled in Basra. After his success in lower Iraq and Ahwäz he was defeated near Küfa. A third brother, Yahyä, rebelled in the reign of Hârün al-Rashid. He went to Daylam, the highlands south of the Caspian sea, where the people rallied to him, Shftsm having taken root among them .10 In the reign of M a’mün, a serious Shiite revolt broke out in Küfa led by Abu ’1-Saräya in the name of an cAlid named Ibn Tabäfabä. M aïmün, recognizing the strength of the Shi*a and holding views similar to their with regard to cAlid claims, proclaimed, in 201/816, as his heir to the caliphate, cAlt Rida b. Müsa b. J a cfar al-$âdiq, and ordered that the black color, emblem of the cAbbäsids, be replaced by the cAlid green. The £Abbäsids in Iraq denounced M a’m ün’s decision, and swore allegiance to his uncle, Ibrâhîm b. al-Mahdî. Whereupon, M a’mûn hurried back from Khurasän to Baghdäd. On the way cAlî Ridä, who accompanied him, died suddenly in Tüs, probably poisoned.11 cAlid revolts did not abate. An cAlid state was founded in Tabaristân by Hasan b. Zayd after defeating the cAbbäsid forces in 250/864. It became a refuge to which flocked the sayyids of the house o fcAll and the Banü Häshim from Hijäz, Syria, and Iraq, *‘according to the number of the leaves on the trees” . Shi*ite rule of the Zaydi Sayyids in T&haristän lasted till 316/928.» In a society where religion dominated life, political and social discon­ tent was expressed in the formation of religious sects. Since the official creed was equated with the rulers, sectarianism became the refuge of the underprivileged. The Shl*a, being identified with the discontented since " Ibn al-Tiqfaqa, Al-Fakhri, pp. 35-6, 195*8,231-2, Ma?{üdï, At-Tanbth wa ’l-Ishraf, ed. De Goeje, Leyden, 1893, p. 341. " Ibn Khaldun, Ta^rikh, Cairo, 1284/1867, Vol. IV , p. 9; Y a'qûbî, Ta^nkh, Vol. II, pp. 544-551. '* Isfandiyar, An Abridged Translation of tht History of Tabaristan, E. G. Browne, London, 1905, pp. 158-193.

20

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

its beginning, dissident sects multiplied within its bosom, as we see in an early source, The Sects of the Sht^a by NawbakhtT.*145 Parties of protest rallied around one or other member of the house of CA1I. Through Shftsm they expressed their grievances and aspirations. The grievances reflected the social, economic, and cultural tensions which resulted from the creation of a world empire. The view once cur­ rent among orientalists that Shftsm was predominantly a Persian move­ ment motivated by the national resentment of the Persians against the Arabs has been discredited.14 Shiism was born in an Arab environment, in Medina among the Prophet's companions. Arab tribesmen, especially south Arabs, settled in the camp town of Kûfa and its neighbourhood formed its early following. The tribesmen who fought with CAK in his contest with Mucâwiya championed, after The poet remonstrates with his wife who reproaches him for neglecting prayer. He says: Indeed I shall not pray when I am penniless, prayer befits venerable shaykhs and noble patricians, the powerful and the rich whose cellars are bulging with treasure. Why should I pray? Where is my power, mansion, horses and slaves, rich clothes and golden belts? If I pray when I do not own an inch of earth, I am a hypocrite. I have left prayers to those I have named; whoever blames me is a fool. He promises to pray should God be bountiful to him, and ends with reiterating the theme of the poem that the prayer of the poor is nothing but sham. Between the Qarm atian wars which drained the resources of the state and sapped its energy, the ineptitude of many of the later caliphs, and the misuse of power by viziers and governors, before the middle of the 4th/10th century there was little left of the cAbbäsid caliphate but the name. The outlying provinces of the empire had long since broken away from the central government and were ruled by local dynasties. In the W est, an Umayyad prince, cAbd al-Rafrmân, founded a dynasty in 139/756 and permanently detached Arab Spain from the cAbbäsids who had supplanted his family in the east six years earlier. In Morocco, the Idrisid dynasty was founded in 172/788 by a descen­ dant o f£All who had fled to the West after a S hiite revolt in M edina fail­ ed. The Aghlabids established their rule in Tunisia (Ifrlqiya) in 184/800 which continued for a century until they were overthrown by the Fätimids. Egypt, nearer to the seat of the caliphate, became independent from Baghdad in 254/868 under the Tulûnids and their successors the Ikhshldids, both of whom extended their rule to Syria and Hijäz. In the east the Tâhirids, $aflarids, and Sämänids ruled Persia and the eastern provinces as independent dynasties during the 3rd/9th and 4th/10th centuries. M a3mün had rewarded his commander T ähir Ibn Husayn for leading his forces to victory in the civil war with Amin by granting him hereditary rule in the east. His successor, M ucta$im, partly to offset the power of the T&hirids, formed a private guard in which* *♦ TanûkhI, op. cit. pp. 238-240; De Goeje, Mémoires d ’Histoire et de Géographie Orientales, I. Mémoire sur Us Carmathes de Bahrain et les Fatimides, pp. 221-224. ** T ha'âlibî, Yatânat al-Dahr, 4 volumes, Damascus, vol. IV p. 81.

28

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

Turkish slaves predominated. Presently the caliphs became prisoners of their guard. As the caliphs grew weaker the encroachments of local dynasties came nearer to the seat of the caliphate. All western Persia was under the Buwayhids. Even Iraq, the central province, slipped away from the caliph’s control, with lower Iraq under Band!, and in the north the Hamdänids ruled over Mosul and the Jazïra. In 324/935 the disintegration of the empire was complete. The time was ripe for the new power, the Fafimids, whose star was rising in the West.

C H A PTER T H R E E

FÄTIM ID BEGINNINGS The Fätimid caliphs claim cAlid descent. They trace their genealogy from father to son along the line of Imams descended from Husayn the younger son of CA1I and Fatima. The Ismäc3T Fäfimids agree with the general body of the Shi^a on the succession of the Imams from Husayn, who died in 61/680, to his son cAli Zayn al-‘Äbidin (d.94/713), to M uhammad al-Bäqir (d. 114/732), to J a cfar al-$ädiq (d. 148/765). A controversy arose in the ranks of the S h fa as to the rightful imam after J a cfar al-$âdiq. Imam J a cfar designated his son IsmäcH (sumamed al-W afi) to succeed him, bypassing his eldest son ‘Abdallah al-Aftah. IsmäcH died during the lifetime of his father who did not name a suc­ cessor. Upon J a cfar’s death, some followers recognized al-Aftah a** imam, but as he died soon after, the greater part of the S h fa went over to M usa, smother of J a cfar’s sons. These carried the line of imams to M uhammad b. Hasan al-‘Askan, the twelfth imam, hence their name, the Twelver Shi^a. ‘Askan disappeared in 260/874. His followers await his return as the expected M ahdi. The Ismä‘His hold to the imämate of Ismä‘H who, they claim, ap­ pointed, with J a ‘far’s approval, his own son M uhammad (Abü ‘Abdallah al-Shâkir, d. 180/796) su his successor. W ith M uhammad b. Ismä‘Ü the first heptad of imams doses.1M uhammad b. Ismâ‘ïl left M edina and journeyed east. The ‘Abbäsid search for ‘Alid pretenders to the caliphate forced him and his descen­ dants to go into concealment while their followers csurried out their ac­ tivities in secret. This is the period of occultation(j«/r). The whereabouts of the imams were concealed, even their names were known only to their closest associates. Because of the secrecy with which their movements were enveloped, accounts vary as to the places where they resided. The same confusion surrounds their names, for the imams assumed borrowed names to evade ‘Abbäsid intelligence agents. Sometimes a devoted dä‘I would pose as the imam, exposing his own life to danger while screening his m aster.2 The name of the imam was not revealed to neophytes when

1 According to the Twelver S hfa, who recognize Hasan the elder son of cAlî and Fàfima as imam, J a (far al-§âdiq is the sixth imam. * W. Ivanow, Studies in Early Persian Ismailism, Bombay, 1955, p. 18.

30

FATIMID b e g in n in c s

admitted to the dafwa. The döH took their oath of allegiance on behalf of the Imam of the time without naming him .5 The number of imams in the period of concealment is variously given in the different accounts.34 A generally accepted version and one which appears in reliable sources of an early period counts three hidden imams between Muhammad b. IsmàcH and 'U baydalläh al-M ahdï, founder of the Fätimid dynasty. Their names, however, do not appear in the early sources. IsmäcÜi authors, in tracing the Fätimid lineage, list the imams from cAlï to M uhammad b. IsmäcH by name, followed by the unnamed concealed imams, the last of whom is succeeded by cUbaydallâh alM ahdï. The names are not revealed because of the strong prejudice against "uncovering those whom God has veiled". Into this gap in the genealogical list names of alleged ancestors have been introduced by enemies of the Fätimids. An alleged ancestor was cAbdallah b. M aymün al-Qaddâb, to whom is attributed a gigantic con­ spiracy to undermine Islam. N ow cAbdallah and his father Maymün are historical figures, but the role attributed to them is a fabricated calumny. Far from being the alleged conspirators, they were devout servants of the imams J a cfar al Çâdiq and his son IsmäcÜ. cAbdallâh b. Maymün was a râwî, transm itter of traditions (fiadîth), and is included in notices on traditionists both in Sunni and in Shicl compilations. He is considered a somewhat unreliable râwî, but nowhere are heretical views attributed to him .5 Until the 1930’s, when Fätim id-Ism ä'lll writings hitherto kept secret, began to be published, Fätimid history suffered from the lack of contem­ porary native sources. When the Fätimid dynasty came to an end in 567/1171 a reaction set in against the ideas and beliefs which it had represented. The magnificent libraries collected by the caliphs were recklessly scattered and dispersed. Works written by historians living in Fätimid Egypt have been lost. The little that has survived has come down in extracts included in later writers. O ther sources, some of which are straight polemics, are strongly biassed against the Fätimids and the movement of which they were the leaders. As Ismä'Üls, the Fätimids were considered heretics, and consequently they were slandered freely.6

3 W. Ivanow, IsmaUi Tradition Concerning the Rise of the Fätimids, London, O U P, 1942, p. 249. 4 For the various versions of Fätimid genealogy see Prince P. H. M ainour, Polemics on the Origin of the Fatimi Caliphs, London, 1934. 3 Ivanow, The Alleged Founder of Ismailism, Bombay, 1964, pp. 63*4, 75-6; Dhahabi, M ttm al-Ptidäl, Cairo, 1325/1907, Vol. II, p. 81, No. 595. 4 Carl H. Becker, Beiträge cur Geschichte Ägyptens unter dem Islam, Strasbourg, 1902, pp. 4-5.

FÄ flM ID BEGINNINGS

31

Their detractors impugned their cAlid descent and ascribed to their creed alien origins and sinister designs upon Islam. The alleged Qaddäftid ancestry of the Fätimids was first propagated by Ibn Rizäm who lived in the first half of the 4th/10th century and whose work is lost. Sharif Akhü M uhsin of Damascus composed a polemical work shortly after 372/983 in which he copied Ibn Rizäm .7 Akhü M uhsin became the source of the story which traces the Fäfimid ancestors to Maymün al-Qaddäb and makes his son 'Abdalläh the founder of the IsmäcHl movement whose purpose was to destroy Islam. Later writers simply copied the account. The Ibn Rizäm-Akhü M uhsin story has been accepted by traditionists, prominent among whom are Suyüfl and Ibn Khallikän who, by the nature of their calling, are prejudiced against the sects. Abü Bakr al**BäqilänI, author of a polemical work, Kashf al-Asrär, was personnally involved in the quarrel between the Fätimids and 'Abbäsids, being charged in 401/1010, by the cAbbäsid caliph al-Qädir with the mis­ sion to Qirwäsh, ruler of Mosul, to win him over from his allegiance to the Fäfimid caliph al-Hâkim. W ith cAbd al-Jabbär al-Baçrï, the M uctazilite Qaim spent much of his time in the field at the head of expeditions to subdue rebels in Tripolitania and in the West. He led three campaigns against Egypt, the first in 301/913, the second in 307/919, and the third in 322/934. Like his father before him and his son al-M anfür who succeeded him, al-Qa3im was a builder of cities. O n his return from a campaign in the West he rebuilt Masîla and gave it his name, al-M uhammadiyya, which grew to be an important and prosperous city. Al-Qäcim ordered that it be stocked with supplies to be used in times of crisis.2 The most serious crisis that faced al-Q a'im , and indeed brought the Fätimid state to the brink of collapse, was the rebellion led by the Khäri1 Al-MaqrizI, IttFaf al-tfunaß**, cd. Bunz, p. 43, Ibn Hammàd, Akhbàr Muiük Bam *Ubayd, p. 10; Ibn H&wqal, cd. Kramers, I. p. 71. * Ibn Hammäd, op. d t., pp. 12-15; Ibn cIdhàrî al-M arräkushi, ai-Baym al-Mugfoib, I, pp. 168-209.

THE FATIMID CALIPHATE: THE STATE

41

jite Abu Yazld of the Zanäta tribe, who came down from the Auras mountains at the head of the Ibâçüyya, a sect always restive and refrac­ tory to constituted authority. Abü Yazld seized towns and fortresses and caused havoc throughout the land. His ranks were swelled by followers attracted by the prospect of booty which his raids promised.’ A l-Q icim died in 334/945, the second year of Abü Yazld’s revolt. His successor al-M an?ür continued the war, in the course of which the city built by al-Qacim served to provision his forces in a region near the mountains of Kutäm a where no other city existed. In 336/947 Abü Yazld was defeated after bitterly fought battles in which al-M an?ür’s personal courage shines through the pages of history. Al-Man$ür fought the Khärijites with the ardor and determination bom of a sense of mission. His concept of his mission is reflected in the prayer uttered during a campaign: “ O God, Thou knowest that I am the descendant of Thy Prophet and that I have vowed my life in Thy cause waging holy war against Thy enemy, seeking thereby to do Thy will, so that Thou shalt be worshipped with the adoration worthy of Thee, and that Thy rule shall prevail upon the earth ".4 Al-Man$ür was a wise ruler as well as a valiant soldier. He pardoned the rebels and set free prisoners condemned for life. He applied himself assiduously to the tasks of his office and so left to his successor a secure and stable realm .3 His son and successor al-M ucizz remembered him with filial piety as when he said to al-Qâçlï al-Nucmän: Al-Mangür was the crown of the family of M uhammad, impressive in appearance, incomparable for learning, devoutness, renunciation of the world, integrity, and un­ daunted courage. He departed, may God sanctify his spirit, not having enjoyed pleaures within the reach of a man of simple means. He endured wars, labour, and hardships, as a result we today live in the midst of plenty, tranquility, and safety.* Under al-M ucizz the conquest of North Africa was completed. The Auras mountain which harboured rebels and dissidents was brought under control. The commander Jaw har, later to become famous as Egypt’s conqueror, distinguished himself in campaigns which carried Fätfmid dominion to the Adantic. Having reached the Adantic, Jaw har sent to al-M ucizz fish from the ocean kept alive in jars of water. W ith Fez » Ibn ‘Idhàri, I, pp. 216-218; Ibn al-Athlr, al-Kämüfi ‘l-TaMUt, VIII, pp. 426-430. * Hammâd, op. d t., pp. 22-23. * Al-Jawdhari, Strut al-Ustädh Jawdhar, Cairo, 1954, pp. 45-51; Al-Maqrizi, IttPüf, p. 121; Ibn al-Athlr, al-Kämü, VIII, pp. 436-441; Ibn Hawkal, I, p. 72. * Al-QSdl al-Nucm in, al-Mtgälis wa’l Musäyamt, ms. University of Cairo, vol. II, Sec­ tion 21.

42

THE FÄTIMID CALIPHATE: THE STATE

taken in 349/960, all the Far West (al-M aghrib al-Aq?â), except Tangier and Ceuta (Sabta) came under the Fätimids. M ucizz instructed his deputies to treat the Berber with benevolence. Consequendy they were won over and became recipients of the caliph’s bounties.7 W ar was not the only occupation of the Fätimids in North Africa. In times of peace the country prospered. The products of agriculture in­ creased and a lively trade was carried on with M editerranean countries. There was a flow of contributions from the faithful, adherents of the Fatimid creed, in lands near and far away. An example of sharing the wealth was provided by the occasion of the circumcision of the caliphs sons. M ucizz had it proclaimed in the capital and provincial cities, in the countryside and among nomads, throughout his kingdom and beyond it on the island of Sicily, then a Fätimid dependency, that in the month of Rabi* I (351/962), from the beginning till the end of the month, the people, rich and poor, high and low, might bring their sons to be circumcised, in a general festivity at the caliph’s ex­ pense. Great quantities of gold coin were sent from the capital to the pro­ vinces with loads of clothes and other gifts to be distributed to the boys and their parents. Sicily received fifty loads of dinars, each load the equivalent of ten thousand dinars. Similar amounts and gifts were sent to each governor to distribute among the people in his province. M ucizz himself sat in an open space in front of his palace watching the people pass before him, black and white, free and slave, noble and plebeian. “ And” , writes a contemporary, “ happiness entered into every home” ." W ith North Africa made secure, M ucizz could turn his attention to the east, to the fulfilment of the Fätimid dream of uniting the Muslim world under the House of the Prophet. In 358/969 he dispatched Jaw har to Egypt at the head of a large army and generously supplied with funds. The conquest was preceded by a propaganda campaign, for here as elsewhere the Fätimids had däcis who propagated their creed and won adherents to their cause.9 Egypt was then going through a time of political and economic crisis. It had experienced a period of prosperity and good government under the Tulünids (254-292/868-905) and in the early years of the Ikhshidids (323-358/935-960), virtually independent dynasties under nominal 'A bbäsid suzerainty.10 But the country was weakened by the efforts it had 7 Ibn al-Athlr, al-Kâmü, VIII, pp. 498-9, 524-5; M aqrizi, Khifaf, II, p. 164, /tt% , p. 59; Nucman, al-Majàlis, Vol. II, Section II. * Ibid., Section 27. * M aqrizi, Iuicàf, p. 66; Ibn Taghri Binfi, al-Nujvm al-Zähim, IV, p. 72. 14 Bernard Lewis, "Egypt and Syria to the End of the Fatimid Period” , The Cambridge History of Islam, ed. P.M . Holt and Ann K. S. Lambton, pp. 175-230.

THE FÄTIMID CALIPHATE: THE STATE

43

made to offset the Qarm atian attacks on southern Syria, then ruled from Egypt. The losses suffered in men and means in encounters with the Qarmatians encouraged the cAbbäsid caliph al-M uktafi to try to recover Egypt from the Tulünids, which was achieved for a brief period." During the two decades before Egypt fell to the Fätimids, its economic life was further weakened by a succession of lean years caused by a low Nile and resulting in inflated prices. In 338/949 a riot protesting against the high cost of living prevented the emir from prayer in the Old Mos­ que. In 343/954 inflation was aggravated and rioters broke the platform of the mosque in Old Cairo. In 352/963 began nine successive years of scarcity and high costs accompanied by frequent outbreaks of violence which disrupted normal activities. Villages and agricultural crops were pillaged, the markets in the city were looted, the inhabitants of Mi$r (Old Cairo) seethed with unrest, and army factions fought each other.11 It was in these circumstances that notables and sections in the army wrote to M u'izz calling upon him to send troops to take possession of Egypt, offering their help to ensure that the take over would be without w ar.1* This troubled state is reflected in the proclamation issued by Jaw har upon entering Egypt. The Fätimid commander pledged the Caliph’s word to protect the people’s lives and property, to make roads and highways secure so that provisions could reach the city and people could go about their business in safety; to restore the annual pilgrimage which had been disrupted because of the prevailing insecurity, to put the cur­ rency on a sound basis after it had been tam pered with, to spread justice and equity, succour the oppressed, and deal equal justice to all. And a provision indicative of the tolerance which characterized Fätimid rule is the guarantee that there shall be no interference in religious beliefs, that Muslims and Dhimmis shall continue in their traditional practices.11*14 Jaw har entered Fustät (Old Cairo) in Sha'bän 358/July 969. On the morrow of his arrival he laid the foundations of Cairo to house his troops whom he forbade to live in Fustät. In the following year, on the 24th of Jum ädä I, 359/April 4, 970, he laid the foundation stone for al-Azhar Mosque which, under the Fätimids, was a center for the training of their missionaries, and has survived as the oldest university in the world. 11 Sa'td b. Bifriq, Tahikh, pp. 75*76. M ansur ordered the rebuilding of $abra on the outskirts of Qayrawân where Abu Yazid was defeated and moved his residence to the reconstructed town which he named al-M anfûriyya. 11 Yafeyi B. Sacïd al-Anjâkï, Tairikh, p. 114; Maqrfzî, Ighâtiul ai-Umma, Cairo, 1957, pp. 11*14. 11 Ibid., p. 13; Ibn Taghri Bird!, al-Nujûm al-Zâhira, VI, p. 24. 14 For the text of Jaw har’s proclamation, see Ibn Hammäd, Akhbär Muiük Bam 'Ubayd, pp. 41*44; M aqrizï, Iuicäf, pp. 67*70.

44

THE FATIMID CALIPHATE: THE STATE

During four years Jaw har ruled Egypt while M ucizz remained in North Africa. His rule was just and beneficial. He brought order out of chaos, rehabilitated the country side, reorganized the finances, and restored the country’s prosperity. He brought Hijâz, with the holy cities, Mecca and M edina, under Fätimid rule. In the attem pt to annex Syria he was thwarted by the Q arm atians.19 M ucizz came to Egypt in 362/973. To the notables who met him in Alexandria, he spoke at length, not as a conqueror but as the bearer of a mission. His purpose, he said, was to pursue the jihad, establish the right, and end his days doing righteous works in conformity with the command of the Prophet his ancestor.16 M ucizz made Cairo his capital, the city founded by Jaw har to the north-east of Fusfäf (Migr), itself built by cAmr b. al-cA$ at the time of the Muslim conquest of Egypt in 22/643. For two centuries Cairo was the first city in the Muslim world, the seat during much of this time of a powerful and prosperous state, and the centre of learning and a brilliant civilization. The Fätimids had all along looked upon their acquisition of North Africa as a stepping stone to the conquest of Egypt. Already under the first caliph. cUbaydallâh al-M ahdï, three campaigns were undertaken with this end in view. The conquest of Egypt itself was to be the means of establishing Fätimid rule in Syria and so opening the way to Baghdad and the overthrow of the cAbbäsid caliphate. M ucizz, when on a journey to Biskra in Algeria, sent to Jaw dhar, a trusted official at his court, five dinars minted in Egypt in the caliph’s name, with wishes for a long life so that he might receive dinars minted for Mucizz in Baghdad.17* The poet laureate of the Fätimids, Ibn Häni al-Andalust, wished M ucizz God speed to Baghdäd now that Egypt was in his possession. He envisioned the cavalry of M ucizz crossing the Euphrates and himself standing before the caliph in Baghdäd reciting his poems.1* While still in North Africa, M ucizz told the Byzantine em peror’s en­ voy that he expected to receive him in Egypt. When the same envoy came to him in Cairo, M ucizz reminded him of what he had said in Mahdiyya and added: you shall present yourself before me when I am caliph in Baghdäd.19 '* Ibn Iyäs, BadäH1 al-Zuhür, Bulaq 1311/1893, I, p. 46; Ibn Khallikän, Wafayât alA'yan, Cairo, 1310/1892, I, pp. 118-120. I( Ibn Taghri BirdI, Al-Nujüm al-Zähira, VI, p. 72. 17 Al-Jawdhari, Sirat al-Ustâdh Jawdhar, p. 111. " Ibn Hânl al-Andalusi, Diwan, Beirut, 1964. ** Ibn al-Athïr, al-Kàmil, VIII, pp. 363-365; Baybars al-Dawâdâr, Zubdat al-Fikra f i Ta^rikh al-Hijra, ms. University of Cairo, part 6, p. 229.

THE FÂyiMID CALIPHATE: THE STATE

45

For the Fätimids considered themselve the only rightful heirs to the caliphate and imämate by divine choice, the bearers of a mission devolv­ ing upon them from the Prophet himself.30 Their belief that universal sovereignty was given them by divine decree is expressly stated in a letter from M ucizz to the Byzantine emperor. The occasion for the letter was the Greek invasion of Crete in 350/961, and the C retans’ appeal to M ucizz for help. Crete was a dependency of the 'A bbäsids, but as no succour could be expected from that quarter, they looked to the Fätimid caliph in North Africa. Between M ucizz and the Greeks a five-year truce, concluded in 346/957, was in force. M ucizz demanded that they raise the siege of Crete, failing which he would repudiate the treaty. He told the emperor not to expect that, because the people of Crete were subject to others, they would be left alone to their fate. “ For Crete and all else in the world is ours by virtue of a trust from God” .31 M ucizz sent enforcements to Crete, he repudiated the treaty with the emperor, and took the offensive in Sicily. To the Fätimids the jihad was an integral article of the faith. There was ample scope for the jihad in Syria where the Greeks carried a vigorous of­ fensive. In the middle of the 4th/10th century Syria was a divided coun­ try. Aleppo was under the Hamdänids who, though Sh^Is themselves, had no desire to see the Fätimids in Syria. For his part, M u'izz did not trust them , as is clear from his letter to Jaw har advising him to be wary in his dealings with them .33 The Ham dänid prince Sayf al-Dawla (d. 357/969) has been immortalized in the panegyrics of the great poet alM utanabbi for his campaings against the Greeks. In reality Sayf s ex­ peditions were mere incursions into Greek territory which brought no perm anent gain but resulted in a counter-offensive which reduced Alep­ po and Antioch to vassal states. Besides, Hamdänid rule of their prin­ cipality which included northern Syria and Upper M esopotania was notorious for its extortions, confiscations, oppression of the peasantry, abuses which were combined with incapacity for government.33 Damascus was ruled by the Ikhshïdids, to whose rule in Egypt the Fätimid conquest put an end. To m aintain their precarious position they allied themselves with the Q arm atians, now the enemies of the Fätimids.*

M H . A. R . Gibb. “ The Caliphate and the Arab States,“ K. Setton, ed., A History of the Crusades, Philadelphia, University of Pennsylvania Press, I, 1955, p. 85. *' Al-Qadi al-Nucm än, al-Majälis wa’l-Musâyaràt, m s., section 21; Ibn al-Athtr, alKcoml, V III, pp. 543-5. ** M aqrïzî, luFäf, p. 63; Khifaf, II, p. 165. M Ibn Hawltal, ^ Kramers, I, pp. 177-180; Adam M ez, The Renaissance of Islam. Lon­ don, 1937, p. 16.

46

THE FATIMID CALIPHATE: THE STATE

In central and south Syria the tribes were in a state of chronic tu r­ bulence. There was no power within Syria able to check the Greek ad­ vance. No help was to be expected from the ‘Abbäsid caliph in Baghdad. In 361/971 Greek forces advanced in a destructive campaign into Diyär Bakr and Diyär Rabija. Messengers from the devastated regions came to Baghdad, related to crowds in mosques and sanctuaries what had befallen them , warned that the road to Baghdad lay open before the Greek army, and appealed for help. Riots broke out setting Karkh, a rich commercial quarter, on fire. The caliph al-Mutl** confessed his helplessness; the real ruler, the Buwayhid cIzz al-Dawla Bakhtiyär, was on a hunting trip.*4 This being the situation, the Greeks swept unchecked over Syria. In his campaign in 358/968 Nicephorus Phocas seized eighteen cities and towns in the north and centre and along the coast, burned and destroyed countless villages, devastated the countryside, and took away captives "whose num ber only God knows." His marches became like "pleasure excursions," so litde resistance did he encounter. No one doubted that all Syria, together with Diyär M udär, Diyär R ab fa, and Diyär Bakr would fall into his hands, so wrote Yabyä b. SacTd al-Anfäkl who lived in the years immediately after these events.*4 And another early historian com­ ments: all this because Muslim rulers were occupied with their own petty interests.** Swollen with arrogance over his military successes, Nicephorus Phocas addressed a humiliating letter, bristling with insults and menaces, to the 'A bbäsid caliph al-Mufl*. The Greek emperor now saw himself reducing the entire Muslim world, from Egypt to Khurasän, conquering Jerusalem and Baghdäd and leading his victorious troops to Mecca itself. W ith Nicephorus’ letter, M uffo answer is also preserved. If Mutl* was a powerless ruler, he still could write to Nicephorus in a dignified tone marked with great nobility.*7 Fätimid propaganda made use of the Greek campaings to show that only the Fätimids were capable of repelling the Greeks. The claim was substantiated by the recent Fätimid trium ph over the Greeks in Sicily.** 14 Ibn al-Athir, al-Kâmil, VIII, pp. 618-620; Miskawayh Tajärib al-Umam, II, pp. 303-307. » Yahyâ b. Saa, the faithful are its trees, its fruits are their good works.9 Among Druze notables in Damascus and its environs were men of standing beyond their community. Such was the cAlid Sharif Fakhr alDawla Abü Yacla Hamza, member of a family known for their learning. Fakhr al-Dawla was highly esteemed in his village. Mazzeh, where he had a spacious mansion. According to Ashrafan! he was superintendent of the Umayyad mosque and built, in 417 A .H ., a fountain in Damascus and surrounded it with arches, above them a beautiful dome.10 In Ashrafiyya, a Druze village in the Ghüta (the orchards surrounding Damascus), lived Ismâcll b. Hiläl, a notable and man of wealth, thought to be a descendant of Na?r b. Futüb, head of the dahua in al-Buttän to whom Baha3 al-Dln sent three Epistles (94, 95,107). Ismac!l was the con­ temporary of the Buhturid emir Nâ$ir al-Dîn Husayn (d. 751/1350) to whom he gave his daughter in marriage. When a Mamlük sultan (prob­ ably al-Näfir Muhammad b. Qaläwün) stopped near Ashrafiyya, IsmäcIl entertained him at a regal banquet." In north Syria the Druzes once formed large communities. In a letter from Bahâ3 al-Dln (Epistle 57) sent in 425/1034 to the Unitarians, among the places named are: Jabal al-Summäq (which he calls the Pure and Luminous Mountain), Antioch, Aleppo, and the Jazira, Bälis, the two Raqqas,12 Manbij, Qinnasrîn, al-Jazr, al-Nuqra, cAzäz. • Ibid. • Ibid. *• Ibid. 11 $ilib b. Y ahyi, Td*nkh, pp. 133-134 and notes. Al-Näfir ruled from 1293-4, 12981306, and 1309-1340. 11 Raqqa and R iftqa on the Euphrates.

130

DRUZE HABITATS

During the persecution under the caliph ?âhir, the Druzes in this region suffered more than their co-religionists in other sectors of Syria. The ruler of Aleppo was Sälih b. Mirdas, chief of the Kiläb tribe; like £ähir, his name is anathema to the Druzes for the notorious part he played in the persecution. $älib was killed in 420/1029 in the battle of Uqbüwäna near lake Tiberias fighting the Fäfimid commander Anûshtigïn al-Duzbari. The three tribal confederations in Syria, the North Arab Kiläb, the South Arab Kalb, and T*yy, had been brought under control during Hakim’s reign. In 415/1024 their chiefs agreed to partition Syria: Kiläb in the north, Kalb in the centre, and T&yy in the south. $älib b. Mirdäs took possession of Aleppo. Hassan b. Jarräh rebelled in Palestine; his tribe the T&yy resumed their depredations. The Fäfimid governor of Ramla, Duzbari, was charged with subduing them. In two battles, the Tayy, assisted by $älib b. Mirdäs, defeated Duzbari. In 420, with a strong Fäfimid force and with the help of Räfic b. Abi ’1-Layl b. cUlayyän, chief of Kalb tribe who had succeeded his uncle, Sinän b cUlayyän, the previous year, Duzbari routed the combined forces of Kiläb and Tayy. In 424/1033 he drove the Mirdäsids out of Aleppo where Salih’s son, Na$r, had succeeded him.11*3 Räfic b. Abi ’1-Layl is a Druze hero. In bringing his tribe to Duzbari’s side was he not, at least, partly motivated by the desire to avenge Druze suffering at the hands of Sälib b. Mirdäs? During the persecution, Räfic used his power and wealth to defend and succour the Druzes. In Epistle 59 sent to Arab tribal chiefs in 422/1031, Bahä’eddln praises Räfic for his gallant defense of the oppressed. In 423 the Druzes rebelled in Jabal al-Summäq and were joined by peasants from the vicinity of Aleppo. Again, did they rise against Na?r b. Salih to help Duzbari overthrow the Mirdäsids? As both the Greeks of Antioch and the rulers of Aleppo feared the spread of the rebellion, Na$r b. $älib and Niketas governor of Antioch united in suppressing the rebels.14 Only remnants are left of the once considerable Druze community in north Syria. Over the years they have emigrated to south Lebanon, Wadi al-Taym, Palestine, and Haw ran. The Druze presence in Palestine also goes back to the beginning of the dacwa. Unitarians were living on the coast between Gaza and cAkkä and 11 Yabyä b. Sa'id al-Antàkl, TaMkh, pp. 244. 253; Ibn al-Qalanlsi, Dhayl Ta\xkh Dimashq, p. 73; Ibn al-'Adim , Zubdat al-fialab, I, pp. 223*4, 231; M aqrïzl. Khifaf, II, p. 169: H. A. R. Gibb, "T he Caliphate and the Arab States" inK . M. Setton, A History ofof the Crusades, I, p. 91; Canard, "Fätim ids", E.I. 2nd ed. 14 Anfâkï, Tayrikh, p. 265; Ibn al-'Adim, Zubdat al-Haiab, I, pp. 248-249.

DRUZE HABITATS

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inland from cAkkâ to $afad in Upper Galilee. In Episde 97 from Bahä3al-Din to the community in Palestine, several shaykhs are mention­ ed by name. Their places of residence, not designated in the Episde, are supplied by AshrafanI who may have obtained his information from oral tradition or written sources still available in his time. The chief shaykh of the coast of cAkkä, Abu ’1-Saräyä, came from Yarka village, in the moun­ tain above cAkkä, where his descendants were still living and his tomb was venerated and visited in AshrafanI’s time, the 17th century. All the villages from which the Shaykhs came are in close proximity to each other. Between them was a grove of old olive trees where they used to meet. In the south, Gaza, cÄsqalän, Ashdüd, Ramla were Unitarian cen­ tres. In 427/1036, Bahä3 al-Dln was staying at Ramla where the messenger from Jäta b. Sumar Räja Päl found him and delivered to him the Indian prince’s letter. In Ramla were kept letters and secret docu­ ments, later transferred to 'Asqalan and Gaza, and stored in repositories for books belonging to Bahä3 al-Dîn. After this initial period no more is known of the Druzes in southern Palestine. The community in the north continued to receive newcomers from Mount Lebanon, Wädi al-Taym, and Aleppo region; a large number came in the first decades of the 17th century when the sanjaq of $afad was included in the emirate of Fakhr al-Din Macn II. During the 19th century the Druzes in Palestine were considerably reduced in numbers through emigration to escape the conscription im­ posed under the Egyptian occupation in the 1830’s. Burdensome taxation and exactions were another cause of emigration which continued during the following decades. The number of emigrants was such that many villages were deserted and fell into ruin.19 The emigrants went to Hawrän. When the Druze faith was propagated it reached Hawran. This is in­ dicated in an Epistle (no. 46) in which Bahâ3 al-Dln invests a d&H with authority over the mission in Syria. Among the towns and districts in­ cluded in the diocese are Bathaniyya and Hawrän. If a Druze community lived in Hawrän at this time, no traces have been left of its existence. The settlement of the Druzes in the mountain range south east of Damascus, Jabal al-Durüz (also called Jabal al-cArab), behind the Hawrän plain, is of relatively recent date. The large-scale emigration took place after the battle of cAyn Dära in 1711 between the Qays and Yemen factions when the defeated Yemenis left their villages in south Lebanon and settled in the Hawrän mountains, then uninhabited.1 11 C. R . Conder and H . H . Kitchener, The Survey of Western Palestine, I, pp. 196, 356; Conder, Tent Work in Palestine, pp. 90*91; L. Oliphant, Haifa or Lift in Modem Palestine, 1887, p. 89.

132

DRUZE HABITATS

During the 19th century large numbers moved to Jabal al-Durüz. Some came from north Syria and the Mount Hermon region. The greater part came from Palestine and Mount Lebanon in search of a life free from the burdensome occupation by Ibrahim Päsha and the op­ pressive rule of emir Bashir Shihäb II. In Jabal al-Durüz the immigrants had the double task of cultivating the land and defending themselves against marauding bedouins. They ploughed the soil with the rifle on their shoulder. The empty mountain was peopled and turned into cultivated and fruitful land. The Druzes ex­ tended the cultivated zone to the limits it had reached in the Roman period when Hawrän was a famous granary.16 Druze reputation for courage kept the bedouins at a respectful distance; even the strongest tribes did not venture into the Hawrän mountain.17 The fame of Ismäcil Atrash (d. 1870), chief of Jabal al-Durüz, was such that a person could travel under his protection from Hawrän to Najd or Baghdad without be­ ing molested. '* R. Dussaud, Mission dans Us Régions Désertiques de la Syrie, p. 53. 17 John L. Burckhardt, Travels in Syria and the Holy Land, pp. 212, 217; Oppenheim, Vom Mittelmeer zum Persischen Golf, p. 169.

C H A PTER ELEVEN

A GLIMPSE INTO EARLY DRUZE HISTORY ilic early years of the 5th/l 1th century saw the rise of the Druze com­ munity. Before its close the Crusaders entered Syria, in 490/1096. When the Crusades began, Druzes were living in all parts of Syria, from al-Jabal al-Aclä (Jabal al-Summäq) in the north to the hills and coastal towns of Palestine in the south. The greater number lived in mountain areas, the largest concentrations were located in south Lebanon and in Wad! al-Taym at the foot of mount Hermon. Small numbers continued to live in the cities, namely Damascus and Aleppo, and many more in the villages of the surrounding plains. In one area, that of the hills east of Beirut, the Druzes had an autonomous state under their own chieftains, the Tanûkh emirs, of whom two families first the Arslans, then the Buhturids, were at the head of the community until the Ottoman conquest of Syria in 1516. Tanûkh rule at times reached well beyond the area inhabited by the Druzes. At its height it extended from Tripoli to $afad in Galilee. Later, during the first third of the 17th century, the Druze emir, Fakhr al-Dïn II the Macnid, ruled over a great part of Syria. Historical information about the Druzes is scarce. Living in mountain areas not easily accessible to outsiders, their activities are seldom record­ ed in contemporary sources, whether general or regional chronicles. When the Crusaders entered Syria, the country was divided between conflicting forces: the Fätimid empire, local Arab tribes and princes, Turkish military officers or emirs, and Seljüqid Turkoman princes and tribes.1The Fäfimids had lost inland Syria but retained their hold on the coast. A Turkoman chief, Atslz b. Uväk, was called upon by the Fâjimid government to bring the bedouin of Palestine under control. Atsiz occupied Jerusalem, Palestine, and south Syria on his own. In the north the Sultan Alp Arslan established a Seljûq protectorate over Aleppo. His son Malik Shäh succeeded as sultan of the Seljüqid empire which under him extended from Käshghar to the Mediterranean. He appointed the Turkoman YäghI Slyän as governor of Antioch. The middle Orontes was in the hands of Arab princes, the Banû Munqidh. Tripoli was ruled by a Shiite dynasty, the B anûcAmmär, founded by the city’s QadI, Amin alDawla, a man of learning who, following the example of the Fätimid 1 H . A. R. Gibb, The Damascus Chronicle of the Crusades, (Ibn al-QalanisT), pp. 14-15.

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caliphs, established Dàr al-cIlm in Tripoli and endowed it with a rich library. The Crusaders burned the library when they captured Tripoli. Malik Shäh gave eastern Syria and Palestine to his brother Tâj alDawla Tutüsh who, having got rid of Atsiz, gave Jerusalem as fief to the Seljüq Artuq. In 491/1098, with the Crusaders approaching, the Fätimid commander Afdal recaptured Jerusalem from Artuq’s sons Suqmän and IlghäzI. Tutush died in 488/1095 and was succeeded by his sons Ridwân and Duqäq who ruled in Aleppo and Damascus respectively.12 The Crusaders entered Syria from Asia Minor. After a long and at times desperate siege, they captured Antioch in 491/1098 in the spring. A Frankish force led by Baldwin proceeded east towards the Euphrates. The Armenian population of Edessa rose against its Armenian ruler and delivered the city to Baldwin who became ruler of the county of Edessa. Having secured Antioch, of which Bohemond became overlord, the Crusaders marched down the coast to Palestine. The Muslims had not yet awakened to the scope of the expedition from beyond the sea nor to the objectives of the Crusaders. As they passed by they were supplied with provisions from the fields to spare the coun­ tryside and cities devastation and siege. At Sidon the garrison made a sortie against the Franks encamped nearby. The sortie was repulsed and for their daring the Sidonians saw their orchards pillaged. The presence of the Fäfimid navy made it impossible for the Franks to take the coastal cities on their first march from Antioch to Jerusalem.3 The Holy City was fiercely defended. When it fell in Shacbän 492/July 1099, the conquerors celebrated their victory with a blood-bath related with horror by the contemporary historian of the Crusades, the Arch­ bishop of Tyre.4 Godfrey of Lorraine was raised to the throne of the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem; he assumed the title Defender of the Holy Sepulchre. Tripoli, besieged by the assembled Frankish princes of the east, and cut off by western fleets from reinforcements reaching it by sea, sur­ rendered in the last month of 502/July 1109. Bertrand of Toulouse was installed ruler of the county of Tripoli, the fourth Latin state in the Le­ vant. The Druzes consistently supported the struggle against the Crusaders. Their first encounter with the Franks took place at the Dog River (Nahr al-Kalb) near Beirut, when Druzes from south Lebanon together with 1 Ibn Shaddâd, Al-lÀlàq al-Khafira, vol. II, part 2, p. 107; Ibn al-Qalânisî Dhayl Tahxkh Dimashk, p. 135; Ibn al-Athlr, al-Kämilf i ’l-Ta^nkh, X, p. 283. 5 Steven Runciman, “ The First Crusade; Antioch to Ascalon,” Setton, A History ojthe Crusades, I, p. 330. 4 William of Tyre, History oj Deeds Done Beyond the sea, I, pp. 371-2.

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troops sent from Damascus and Homs tried to intercept Baldwin in 494/1100 as he was on his way from Edessa to Jerusalem to receive the crown of the Kingdom following the death of his brother Godfrey. Baldwin fought his way through and reached his dominion. When the Crusades opened, Beirut and Sidon were within the Tanükhid emirate of south Lebanon. In 503/1110 the Crusaders besieged Beirut by land and sea. Bertrand count of Tripoli sent men to help King Baldwin. Genoese and Pisan ships based on Tripoli blockaded the city. From the pinewood near Beirut, the Franks cut the timber to build the tower, scaling ladders, and hurling engines. During the siege a Fâfimid fleet of nineteen battle ships arrived, got through the blockade, and disembarked supplies to the besieged whose spirits were thereby fortified. But the blockade was not broken. The intensity of the siege and the deter­ mination of the defendants are recorded by two historians of the period. William of Tyre wrote; “ the attack on the city was kept up continuous­ ly that neither by night nor by day were the defenders granted respite even for an hour.” 5 And Ibn al-QalänisI says: “ the Franks never saw before nor were they to see after a battle so fierce as this one.“ 6 The siege lasted from February till mid-May when the city was taken by assault, and an appalling massacre followed.7 Baldwin had laid siege to Sidon in the beginning of 502/August 1108. A powerful Fafimid fleet defeated and drove away Baldwin’s fleet of Italian ships. A vigorous sally from Sidon together with news that Tughtakln of Damascus was coming to relieve the city decided Baldwin to raise the siege.** After the capture of Beirut, Baldwin again besieged Sidon. The Sidonians, to avoid the fate of Beirut, capitulated in 504/December 1110, after a siege of forty-seven days.* Inland, Damascus and Aleppo were feeling the pressure of the Franks upon their territory. Frankish encroachments and internal political con­ ditions led the rulers of the two states to cooperate, albeit briefly, with the Bä finis. North Syria was the centre of Bätinite activity. Ridwan b. Tutush, who ruled Aleppo from 485-507/1095-1113 had, for political motives, looked with favour upon their presence in his territory, and allowed them to establish Där al-Dacwa in Aleppo. Under mounting op­ » Ibid., p. 485. * Dhayl Ta3rikh Dimashq, pp. 167-168. ’ William of Tyre, I, pp. 485-6. ' Ibn al-Qalanisl, Dhayl, p. 162; Stevenson, The Crusaders in the East, p. 50; Runciman, A History oj the Crusades. II, p. 91. * Ibn al-Qalänisi, Dhayl, p. 171.

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position from Sunni opinion he had a number of Bätinis killed but allow* ed their leader and many followers to escape.101That they were still pres­ ent in force in Aleppo is evident from the fact that Ritjwän’s son, Alp Arslan, under order from the Seljüq sultan Muhammad b. Malik Shah, had the Bapnl döH, Abü Tähir al-Säyigh, other leaders and members of the sect killed, after which the rest dispersed.11 In 518/1124 the Franks besieged Aleppo. The Aleppines put a vigorous resistance and asked for protection from Mosul, upon whose quick response the besiegers withdrew, and Aleppo became a dependency of Mosul. Discouraged by the union of Aleppo and Mosul, the Bätinis transferred their activities to Damascus with the consent of its ruler, Tughtakln, atabeg guardian of Duqäq’s infant son, and himself founder of the Bürid dynasty.12 Baldwin II, king of Jerusalem, invaded Damascus territory in the last month of 519/January 1126. The Bätinis cooperated with the army of Damascus. After the indecisive battle, Tugh takln ceded to the Bätinl leader Bahräm the frontier fortress of Bäniyäs. Bäniyäs was in the Druze territory of Wadi al-Taym. In 522/1128 Bahräm set out to occupy the region having treacherously killed the Druze leader, the young and noble Baraq b. J andal. Baraq’s murder ig­ nited the Wadi. When Bahräm and his followers advanced, the Druzes led by Baraq’s brother, Pabbâk b. J andal, rose to meet them like lions defending their cubs, and as eagles flying to pro­ tect their young.1* The encounter resulted in a resounding Druze victory. Baraq’s family was an early adherent to the Druze faith, and remained for centuries prominent in the affairs of the community in Wädi al-Taym. Abu ’1-Khayr Saläma b. J andal was first among the Shaykhs of the Wadi at the time of the dacwa. He is the recipient of an Epistle from Bahä3al-Dïn who refers to him in other Epistles of the Druze Scriptures in terms reflecting the esteem with which he was held. To his piety was join­ ed a high standing in worldly consideration, since he belonged to the leading family of the Wädi, the Barghasheh, a family who have con­ tinued to live in the same region under the same name to the present day. The Epistles mention also Saläma’s brother and a cousin, all praised for their piety. Baraq and Pabbâk, the heroes of the conflict with the Bätinis 10 Ibn al-cAdtm, Zubdat al-Halab min Ta3rikh Halab, II, pp. 145-153. " Ibid. , II, pp. 167-169, Ibn al-QalänisI, pp. 189-190. •* H. A. R . Gibb, “ Zengi and the Fall of Edema,” Setton, History of the Crusades, I, pp. 449-462. 11 Ibn al-QalänisI, Dhayl, pp. 221-2.

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a century later, were probably their descendants. A prominent member of the family, muqaddam (commander) Barghasheh who died in 871/1466 was mourned by the Emir al-SayyidcAbdallah al-Tanükhl as a great loss to the community which was the beneficiary of his wealth and reputation. The family kept its position of leadership in Ottoman times. There is a firman (edict) from Sultan Salim, who conquered Syria in 1516, appointing a member of the Barghasheh family over Wadi alTaym .14 The Bäfinis whom the Druzes fought were Nizârï IsmâcÜls. It will be remembered that after the death of the caliph al-Mustangir the Fafimid dacwa was split following the conflict between Nizär and Mustacli over the succession to the caliphate. The dacwa then followed two separate paths. Nizär’s followers were in the East, their leader was the dreaded Hasan al-Sabbäb, their centre and stronghold was Alamüt, an inaccessi­ ble fortress in the Alburz mountains in north west Persia. They called themselves the new dacwa. The followers of M usta'li were the old da'wa and continued to recognize Cairo as their headquarters. The Druzes appear to have kept in touch with Cairo. Before their defeat by the Druzes the Bäfinis had become a terror in­ side Damascus and in its territory. No one dared come out against them: religious leaders, notables, and commanders alike.15 The Druze victory gave Bürï, who succeeded Tughtakln, the opportunity to root them out of Damascus. Bahram had been killed in the battle with the Druzes, his successor in Bäniyäs delivered the fortress to the Franks in 523/1129.16 Some years after their encounter with the Bätinis, the Druzes were again in the field, this time defending Bäniyäs against the Crusaders. Bäniyäs with its fortress, Q al'at al-$ubayba, was of vital strategic im­ portance to Muslims and Franks. It was “ the bolt of the kingdom of Jerusalem “ , controlling the upper Jordan valley, the slopes of Hermon, and the plain of Maij cUyun. In the hands of the Franks it opened the way to Damascus through Galilee, and to the Biqäc through Wadi alTaym. Besides, it controlled the route connecting Damascus with T yre.17 It was therefore, much prized by the rulers of Damascus and Jerusalem. In 527/December 1132 Bäniyäs was restored to rule from Damascus when it was captured by Shams al-Mulük IsmäcH b. Bûrï.1* In 532/1137 its governor handed it over to cImäd al-Din Zengi of Aleppo who was mar-* 14 A photostat copy of the Firm àn is among our papers. '* Ibn al-Qalânist, op. cit., p. 215. ** Ibn al-Athir, al-Kâmilf i 7 Tahïkh, X , pp. 656-657. IT Nikita ElisslefT, Nur ad-Din un Grund Print» Musulman dt Syrie au Temps des Croisades, Institut Français de Damas, 1967, I, pp. 271-2, II, pp. 478-9. " Ibn al-Qalànisï, Dhajd, pp. 236-7.

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ching to the siege of Damascus and had captured the fortress of cAnjar in the Biqäc. The motive for the governor’s action is not given. Probably he believed Zengi could better safeguard the fortress than the ruler of Damascus, the young Mujlr al-Dln Abaq, the last of the house of Tugh takln. When Zengi besieged Damascus in 534/1139, Unur, the controller of the kingdom in the name of Mujlr al-Dln, sought aid from the Franks pro­ mising to deliver Bäniyäs to them. Unur together with the Franks laid siege to Bäniyäs. The people put up a valiant and determined resistance. The Franks constructed a wooden tower for which Unur ordered beams of great size to be brought from Damascus. From the top of this tower the whole city could be surveyed. Presently a downpour of stones and missiles fell upon the city, where “ the men of Wädl al-Taym” gathered to defend it. The account of the siege in William of Tyre rings with admiration for the defendants. “ T h e besieged, although w earied to the point o f exhaustion by the ceaseless attacks and by the burden o f vigils and excessive toil, still kept up a vigorous resistance. As far as th eir strength perm itted, they m ade every effort to de­ fend th eir wives and children an d , above all, th eir liberty. T he presence o f m isfortune m ade them m ore ingenious, an d every possible m ode o f resistance was trie d .’'"

When Unur secretly sent to the besieged to surrender, they shrank from the idea with abhorrence. They held on until supplies were ex­ hausted. U nur received the surrender and gave Bäniyäs to the Franks. The terms of the surrender befitted the quality of the defense. The people who wished to leave were free to depart with their goods. Those who chose to remain were assured tranquillity and security of possessions.1920 Bäniyäs remained in the hands of the Franks until the end of 559/1167 when it capitulated to Nûr al-Dîn. The Bùrid dynasty, founded by Tughtakln in 498/1104, was over­ thrown by Nûr al-Dln when he took Damascus in 549/1154. Nur al-Dln’s father, cImäd al-Dln Zengi (d. 540/1146) had united Aleppo and Mosul and conducted successful campaigns against the Franks culminating in the fall of Edessa in 539/1144. Nûr al-Dîn captured all the Frankish for­ tresses in the Orontes valley and reduced the principality of Antioch to the plain of Antioch and the coast from Alexandretta to Lädhiqiyya.21 Nûr al-Dïn’s foremost objective was the consolidation of Muslim power, a cornerstone of which was the annexation of Damascus, which he besieged three times, twice raising the siege because of reluctance to shed the blood 19 William of Tyre, History of Deeds Done Beyond the Sea, II, p. 108. M Ibid., II, pp. 109-112; Ibn al-Qalinisl, Dkayl, pp. 271-273; H. A. R . Gibb, The Damascus Chronicle of the Crusades, pp. 239-261. 21 Runciman, A History of the Crusades, pp. 326-328.

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of fellow Muslims. The third time the city was taken by a show of force and the use of a stratagem. With all Muslim Syria under his rule, Nür al-Dln could concentrate on the war with the Franks. In the counter-crusade, the Druze emirate of south Lebanon had an important part, as Nür al-Dïn’s communications with its emir, Buhtür, show.22*24 In 562/1161, after reducing the castle of Hunin, Nür al-Din planned to proceed to Beirut. But the troops alter a long campaign wanted to go home.29 The recovery of Beirut was left to $alâb al-Dïn (Saladin). In Rabl* II, 578/August 1182, Çalâh al-Dïn led his troops from Damascus through the Biqâc to the mountain overlooking Beirut. On the way he gathered additional infantry forces from the local population. The range behind Beirut was Druze country. On the hills overlooking the sea sentinels were stationed to signal the arrival of the fleet which Çalâh al-Dln ordered to be sent from Egypt. Çalâh al-Dïn came down to the plain and invested Beirut while the fleet attacked it from the sea. He had come with light raiding equipment, not with the machines for the assault on a stronghold. The garrison held out until relieved by Baldwin who rushed his army from Galilee. Çalâh al-Dïn seeing that the operation would take a long time, raised the siege and went north to more urgent demands.34 After Nür al-Dïn’s death in 569/1174, Çalâh al-Dïn recognized his young son, al-Çâlih Ismâcïl as his suzerain. Ismâcïl died in Aleppo in 577/1181 at the age of 18. Çalâh al-Dïn besieged Aleppo and received its surrender in Çafar 579/June 1183. The importance of Aleppo is echoed in Çalâh al-Dïn’s words that no other conquest gave him as much satisfaction, for with the possession of Aleppo his rule was securely established.29 The Franks likewise recognized the significance of the event. They had feared the inclusion of Aleppo in Çalâh al-Dïn’s domain for then their “ territory would be as completely encompassed by his power and strength as if it were in a state of siege.” They strengthened the fortifica­ tions of their cities, above all they increased the defenses of Beirut.26 With Aleppo under his control, Çalâh al-Dïn brought together the largest force the Muslims had yet assembled for the war with the Crusaders. The decisive battle was fought at h attin above lake Tiberias and resulted in the annihilation of the Frankish army. 22 See next chapter. 22 Ibn al-Athir, al-Kämil, X I, p. 328. 24 William of Tyre, II, pp. 476-480; H . A. R. Gibb. The Life of Saiadin, Oxford, 1973, pp. 32, 44-5. 22 Abu Shäma, Kitäb al-Rawdatayn, Cairo 1288/1871, II, p. 45. 24 William of Tyre, II p. 490.

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After the victory at Hauln in Rabï* II, 583/July 1187, towns and castles held by the Crusaders submitted one after the other. The ruler of Sidon forsook it, leaving it to surrender to $alâb al-Din upon his arrival. Beirut was one of the most strongly fortified coastal towns. The defenders, relying upon the strength of its fortißcations, fought hard and resolutely. $aläh al-Din encamped on the heights above the city. This time mangonels were brought to the assault. After an eight-day siege the city surrendered on the 7th August. As was his customary treatment of the enemy who seeks safe conduct, $aläfr al-Din allowed the Franks of Beirut to depart safely to Tyre.27 O f the Druzes in Wadi al-Taym and south Lebanon there is some in­ formation, though little, as we have seen. To the Druzes in other parts of Syria there is no reference in the sources of this period. We know, however, that all the regions in Syria where Druzes lived were scenes of battles between Franks and Muslims. It is improbable that the Druzes stood by as onlookers, when not specifically mentioned as participants in the conflict, considering their warrior-like qualities and the fact that they steadfastly upheld the cause of Islam against the Crusaders. It is reasonable to assume that when battles were fought in or near their ter­ ritory the Druzes joined as volunteers or guerrilla fighters, as during the invasion of Damascus by the armies of the second Crusade in 543/1148. The Franks encamped in the orchards (Ghüfä) surrounding Damascus. Many villages in the Ghütä were inhabited by Druzes. Guerrilla fighters harassed the camp. So dangerous were their actions that the Franks decided to evacuate the orchards and move to where guerrillas could not find such cover. Damascus received reinforcements, quarrels broke out between the local Franks and the new comers from Europe, and the expedition ended in failure.2* In 575/1179 and again in 585/1189 $aläh al-Din set up his camp in the neighbourhood of Wadi al-Taym. His nephew, Farrukh Shäh whom he sent to reconnoitre and report on the Franks’ movement, won a brilliant victory. $aläfi al-Din himself inflicted a crushing defeat on the Franks led by Baldwin when the leading knights of the kingdom were killed or taken captive. He besieged the castle built on the upper Jordan to command Jacob’s Ford (The Ford of Sorrows). In the assault, men of the common people (câmma) were first to climb to the bastion, followed by the troops,*•

17 'Im Sd al-Din al-Iffahäni, al-Fath ai-Qusst, pp. 29*32; Ibn al-Athir, al-Kämil, X I, p. 542. *• Runciman, A History of the Crusades, II, pp. 281-284. In north Syria, in Jabal alSummäq and the region of Aleppo, about a dozen towns and villages where Druzes lived exchanged hands more than once between Muslims and Franks.

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as mangonels battered the walls. The castle was razed to the ground.29 Ten years later, Salih al-Dln was again in the vicinity of Bäniyäs, con­ ducting from his camp in the plain of M aij cUyûn the siege of Beaufort castle (Shaqïf Amün). While the siege was in progress small parties raided Frankish territory. On one occasion, some of Salih al-Dïn’s auxiliaries, ghäzis, and common people made an unauthorized attack on the causeway separating Sidon’s territory from the territory of Tyre and suffered heavy losses.10 In July Salih al-Dln came down to cAkkä to inspect and strengthen its defences. Soon after he was back in £Akkä to meet the new Crusade, leaving a small force to blockade Beaufort. Salih al-Dln had entered Jerusalem in Rajab 583/October 1187. The restoration of the Holy City to Islam was the crowning achievement of his career. The fall of Jerusalem sounded the call of the Third Crusade for which the military strength of Europe was brought together led by the three potentates: Frederick Barbarossa, the emperor of Germany, Philip Augustus, king of France, and Richard I, Coeur de Lion, king of England. The siege of cAkkä opened the operations of the Third Crusade. After a two-year siege, cAkkä fell in Jum ädä II, 587/July 1191. With the fiveyear peace treaty signed in Shacbän 588/September 1192 between Salih al-Dln and Richard, the Third Crusade came to an end. Salih al-Dln visited Beirut a third time, then went to Damascus from which he had been absent during the years of the great conquests. There he died in Safar 589/March 1193. cAbd al-Latif al-Baghdidl who knew Salih al-Dln said: “ This was the only instance of a king's death that was truly mourned by the people’’.11*901 ” Abü Shäma, Kitab ai-Rawdatajm, (1288/1871), II, p. 11; Ibn Wâgil, Mufarrij, II, pp. 67-77, 80-81, Gibb, “ The Rise of $alâb al-Din” , Setton, A History of the Crusades, I, pp. 572-3; W . B. Stevenson, The Crusaders in the East, pp. 220-222; William of Tyre, II, pp. 440*444. 90 cImad al-Din, al-Fatft, pp. 127-139, 176; Ibn Shaddâd, Sirat $alàh al-Din, pp. 80-100. 91 Ibn Abi U$aybica, cUjmn al-Anba*, Cairo, 1299/1882, II, p. 206, quoted in Gibb, The Life of SalaJin, 1973, p. 76 and n. 1.

C H A PTER TW ELV E

TH E TANÜKH EMIRATE OF SOUTH LEBANON AND BEIRUT Clans of the Tanükh federation of tribes settled as early as the Arab conquest of Syria in the hills behind Beirut. They continued, until the time of the Crusades, to receive newcomers in successive tribal migra­ tions from the centre of Tanükh settlement in north Syria.1 In the 2nd/8th century, an emirate was established in the coastal region of Beirut and the mountains in the hinterland. Two families assumed the leadership successively, first the Arslans, then the Buhturids. For the period of Arslan hegemony, the primary source is the genealogical Register of the Arslan family, a valuable document contain­ ing information not found elsewhere. The Arslans trace their ancestry to the Lakhmid kings of Hira, to alM undhir son of M ä3 al-Samä3 (Water of Heaven), the name given to his mother because of her beauty. At the time of the Muslim conquest they settled in north Syria, having come from Hira with Khâlid b. al-Walid, and participated with him in several battles againts the Greeks. In the reign of the second cAbbäsid caliph al-Mançür (137-159/ 754-775) and at his order, the emirs Mundhir and his brother Arslan, sons of Mälik, emigrated with their families and clans from M acarrat alNucmän to the mountains of Beirut. Mançür had resumed energetically the policy pursued by the U mayyads of strengthening the defenses of the empire against Greek attacks by land and sea. The settlers were charged with keeping watch from their hills overlooking the sea and defending the coast against enemy raids. After brief stops at Wâdï al-Taym and Mughïthâ heights (today Ipahr al-Baydar) they moved on and were already established, by 142/759, on the mountain and in coastal villages in the neighbourhood of Beirut. In the mountains they built villages and forts, the earliest Tirdla, Sarahmül, cAramün; and just off the coast, Shuwayfat, which became the Arslans' principal residence. At this time there lived in a village near Beirut Abü cAmr al-Awzâcî, the Imam of the Syrians, founder of a school of religious law which prevailed in Syria and al-Maghrib, including al-Andalus (Muslim Spain) before it was superseded by the Mälik! rite in al-Maghrib in the middle of

i

See chapter I.

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the 3rd/9th century, and in Syria towards the end of the 4th/ 10th century.2* Among AwzacI’s disciples was the emir Arslan b. Mälik. The emir's tribute to AwzäcI, spoken at his burial, echoes the high honour with which he was regarded. The guardian of Awzâcls’ tomb, Ishäq b. Hammäd al-Numayri, who wrote the second entry in the Arslan docu­ ment, dated $afar 190/June 806, was present at the burial and heard the emir say: “ May God’s mercy be upon you, Abä cAmr; truly I feared you more than I feared him who appointed m e" (i.e. the caliph). This state­ ment is repeated in an anonymous book on al-Awzäcl. It quotes cAbd al­ i i amid b. Abi T cIshrin, Awzâcïs secretary, who also attended his burial and heard the emir speak the words reported by al-Numayri.5 Well may Arslan have feared Awzâcï's watchfulness over the conduct of those in authority. For besides his reputation for learning and piety, Awzâ£I was forthright and fearless in bringing to account governors who abused their power; an example is the letter he wrote to Çâlib b. CA1I, the governor of Syria, an excerpt of which is preserved in Balädhuri. A revolt had broken out among the Christians in central Lebanon in protest against the fiscal official of the Ba'labakk region. $älih gent a force which punished the inhabitants, among them people who had not taken part in the revolt. AwzäcI rebuked the governor for departing from justice in punishing innocent people, reminded him of the teaching of religion in this respect and of the Prophet’s Sunna with regard to the treatment of Dhimmïs (Christians and Jews).4 That Sälih b. CAK was an uncle of the cAbbäsid caliph did not deter Awzâcl from rebuking him. Confrontation with the Greeks began early. In 185/801, Arslan’s son cAmr was taken prisoner in a raid on the coast near Beirut. He was redeemed with his companions in the first exchange of captives between Muslims and Greeks which took place in 189/805 at Lämish near Tarsus.5 The coast was also raided by the Marada who came down from the mountain. This is an appropriate place to review what is known about this people. The word Marada is the Arabic rendering of the name Mardaltai by which the Greeks knew a warlike people whom they employed as ir­

2 Ibn Khaliikän, Wqfayât, Cairo, 1310/1892, I, p. 275; J . Schacht, “ al-A w zä'i,” E.I. 2nd ed. * Shaklb Arslân, (ed), Mahàsin al-Masà’i, Cairo, 1352/1933, p. 150. 4 al-Balädhuri, Futüh al-BuUàn, p. 162; Ibn (Asäkir, ai-Tahikh al-Kabir, Damascus, 1332/1414, vol. 5, p. 341. 1 Ibn al-Athîr, al-Kamil, V I, p. 193; al-M aqrïzî, Khifai, III, p. 310, cAmr died in 200/815.

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regulars in their wars with the Arabs. The Mardaltes, a Persian tribe whose original home was south of the Caspian sea, were at the time of the Arab conquest in occupation of rugged regions in the mountains between Syria and Cilicia. The Arabs called them Juräjima, from their town Juijûm a. Balâdhurï (d. 279/892) relates their story as he heard it from the elders of Antioch, a city in their neighbourhood. Antioch, having renounced its truce with the Muslims, was conquered a second time by Habib b. Maslama al-Fihrl, the commander sent by Abü cUbayda b. al-Jarräh. Fihri pushed his raid to Jurjüm a, whose in* habitants surrendered, promising to serve the Arabs as auxiliaries and scouts keeping watch on the passes of the Amanus mountain on condition they would be exempted from the poll tax and would share in the spoils of war. The Juräjim a were fickle allies, changing sides between Greeks and Arabs. In the reign of cAbd al-Malik, when the caliph was occupied with the rebellion of Ibn al-Zubayr in Hijäz and Iraq, contingents of Greek cavalry entered Lebanon, accompanied by a crowd of Juräjim a, Anbäf (peasants), and fugitive slaves, which forced cAbd al-Malik to make peace with them, paying them every Friday a thousand dinars, besides a payment to the Byzantine emperor. In doing so cAbd al-Malik was following the example of M ucäwiya. In 89/708 in the reign of Walïd I, the Juräjim a were again causing trouble. The caliph’s brother Maslama b. cAbd al-Malik was sent to sub­ due them. Maslama renewed the agreement made with them earlier regarding exemption from the poll tax, sharing spoils on the battle field, and freedom to keep to their Christian religion. He destroyed their city and transferred them to neighbouring districts, having provided them with money and supplies of wheat and oil.6 O f the modern historians of the early Muslim period, Lammens has presented a more complete picture of the Marada than is found elsewhere. His material drawn from contemporary Byzantine sources corroborates the story related by Balâdhurï. The Mardaltes, an Iranian tribe intermixed with Syrian and Arme­ nian elements, are the Juräjim a of the Arabs. Nominally subject to the Byzantines, they were in every sense irregulars, living by war and raids, ready to fight for whoever paid for their services. Being half nomads they came and went away again like a flash. In 46/666 continues Lammens, the Byzantine emperor sent them on an invasion of Syria, supported by cavalry squadrons and led by officers of the imperial army. They occupied the Lebanon mountain from the * Balâdhurï, Futüfi al-Buldän, pp. 159-162.

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Am anus to Palestine. Inhabitants of the mountain, together with slaves, and other elements discontented with Arab rule rallied around them. The terms upon which the emperor agreed to withdraw his support from the Mardaites included an annual payment by the Umayyad caliph, M uciwiya, of 3000 gold pieces. Withdrawal of Byzantine support, their partial defeat by M ucäwiya, and the settlement of colonies of Zofl in their country, as in Antioch and other towns, kept the Juräjim a quiet until Justin II let them loose again on Syria when cAbd al-Malik was engaged in the war with Ibn Zubayr. As on the previous invasion they were sup­ ported by the Byzantine army and furnished with subsidies and arms. Also as before, their ranks were swollen by slaves, fugitives, and malcontents. Again cAbd al-Malik paid the emperor to secure his aban­ doning the Mardaites. When they resumed their activity in the reign of Walld I, his brother Maslama decided to put an end to them. Their capital was destroyed, thousands of them perished in the campaign, many went to Anatolia. Those who remained did so on the terms they were given at the time of the Arab conquest. The entry of the Mardaites into Lebanon coincided with the emigra­ tion into north Lebanon of the Maronites from their home in the Orontes valley where they were being persecuted by their Jacobite neighbours. In their new home they were joined by remnants of the Mardaites and others living in those highlands at the time.7 Most probably it is this com­ bination of peoples that is meant by the M arada whom the Tanükh fought. The emirs M undhir and Arslan are said to have fought the Marada on several occasions. Mascüd son of Arslan defeated the Marada when they made a surprise attack near his village Sinn al-Fil, east of Beirut. His son HânP was called al-Ghadanfar (the Lion) for his bravery in fighting the Marada. Häni3s grandson, al-Nucmân, fought both Marada and Greeks. His successes against the M arada reached the caliph al-Muctamid (257-279/870-892) who sent him a letter dated Rajab 263/877 confirming him in the emirate, and his heirs after him. In 303/915 when Greek raiders disembarked at Ras Beirut and its vicinity, Nucmän prevented them from spreading along the coast and took eight captives whom he exchanged for captured Muslims. He receiv­ ed a robe of honour from the governor of Damascus and the addition of the district of $afad to his domain. The Tanükh emirate was a hereditary domain. It was either transmit­ ted from father to son or the emirs after consultation among themselves chose the most suitable among them to be their chieftain. Thus when 7 H. Lammen«, “ M ardaites," £ / . first edition; Lammen«, Tasrib al-Abfir, Beirut, 1913, II, pp. 41-45.

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emir Haiti* died, they chose Ibrâhîm b. Ishàq b. Arslan to be at their head since he was the wisest among them. When the caliph alMutawakkil (233-247/847-861) came to Damascus, Ibrâhîm went to see him and was confirmed by a decree in the caliph’s handwriting. Occasionally there was disagreement over the succession. When Mascüd b. Arslan died in 223/838 the emirs and the people agreed that his brother Mälik should succeed him. The choice was contested by Mascûd’s son, Häni*, who claimed the emirate. The followers of the two contenders fought it out, Häni*s party won, and he succeeded to the emirate. Mälik and his family departed, first to al-Lujûn in Palestine, later to Egypt. On another occasion the disagreement was settled peacefully. After the death of the grand emir Mufawwac b. Tamîm in 410/1019, the people of the Gharb were divided, one section favoured the succession of his son cImâdeddîn Müsä, the other Abu ’1-Fawäris Micdäd. The issue was resolved by the former holding the position for one year, then abdicating in favour of the latter. By this time the Druze dacwa had reached the Tanükh in al*Gharb. Abu ’1-Fawäris is the recipient of an Epistle from Bahâ* al-Dîn investing him with authority to watch over the daQwa in the region.* Sometimes the governor of Damascus, of which the Tanükh emirate was a dependency, would appoint the emir. This happened in times of troubles, or when the incumbent emir did not consent to demands made by the governor. It is important to note that no outsider was given authority over the mountain, the appointment remained within the Tanükh family. On the other hand Tanükh emirs were appointed gover­ nors outside their territory. The middle of the 4th/10th century was a time of troubles. The Greeks were invading Syria from the north, the Qarmatians were again on the war path, and the Fä(imids were pushing their conquests from Egypt to fight Greeks and Qarmatians and bring Syria under their control. The Fätimid commander J a cfar b. Falâb, who took possession of Ramla and Tiberias in 358/968, invited the Tanükh emir Sayf al-Dawla Mundhir (d. 360/970) to declare allegiance to the caliph M ucizz. Mundhir, having taken council with his family and clan, sent a non-committal answer while he waited for further developments. When J a cfar occupied Damascus in Mu^arram 359/969, the emir went to him, received a robe of honour, and was confirmed in the governorship of his country. The seventh entry of the Arslan Register begins with the Shfrte formula invoking blessing upon the Prophet and upon £A1I and his descendants, • Epistle 48.

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ancestors of the Prince of the faithful. It bears the date 453/1061 when Syria was under Fätimid rule. The Qâdî in Damascus with whom the genealogy is registered is the deputy of Qâdî al-Qü b. Yabyä, Taynkh Bayrüt, p. 40. Ibid., p. 43. 17 Ibn Sbât, Vatican ms, fol. 13 a.

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department (Diwän al-Istïfë5) the upkeep for 40 horsemen and his needs for the jihäd. Later, Nür al-Dîn further increased Kara ma’s iqfäc. 14 Karäma so worried the Frankish ruler of Beirut by his harassments that he tried to capture his stronghold in Sarahmül and lay hands on him but failed. After Karäma’s death, the Frank took his sons by a ruse. Karäma had four sons. The lord of Beirut cultivated the friendship of the three elder sons whom he often invited to the chase. One day, preten­ ding to invite them to his son's wedding, he lured them to their death. He then devastated the Gharb, burning villages, and after looting the for­ tress of Sarahmül destroyed it. The fourth son, Hajjl, a boy of seven, was hidden by his mother. When $aläb al-Dîn came for the conquest of Beirut in 583/1187, Hajjl who was twenty years old went to meet him in Khaldeh, a few miles south of Beirut, and rode back with him. After the surrender of Beirut, Sälab al-Dîn touched Hajjî’s head and said: "There, we have avenged you from the Franks, be of good cheer, you shall con­ tinue in the place of your father and brothers". $alâh al-Dîn issued a mansh&r to him enumerating the villages included in his iqfic which, it says, belong to him as an inheritance from his father and grandfather. The manshür adds $aläh al-Dln’s satisfaction with Hajjï’s faithful and energetic persuance of the jihäd.19 After $aläb al-Dîn's death, the state which he built up was divided among his sons, his brother cÄdil Sayf al-Dîn and other relatives. O f his sons, the eldest, al-Afdal cAlï ruled in Damascus, al-tAzîz cUthmän in Egypt, al-£ähir GhäzT in Aleppo. Al-Afdal wrote to Jam äl al-Dîn Hajjï,94 on 26 Ramadän, 593/August, 1197, endowing him with the iqtac of the Gharb, so that he may succeed his ancestors in fealty to the Sultan. It seems, Ibn Sbä( says, that when al-£AzIz tried to remove al-Afdal from Damascus, the latter wanted to make certain of the Buhturids* loyalty.91 In another letter, al-Afdal informs Hajjl that he communicated with the Franks, of whom Hajjl had complained, demanding that they should desist from molesting him and his people, who shall continue in their possessions in accordance with their custom. Should the Franks ignore this warning they would have only themselves to blame.99 $aläh al-Dîn had concluded, at the end of the third Crusade, a threeyear peace treaty with the Franks. Al-cÄdil, who assumed the leadership of the Ayyübid house and his successors pursued a policy of peace*201 " $âlU) b. Yabyä, p. 43.

'* Ibid., pp. 45-46. 20 HajjTs honorific substantive is sometimes written Jamâ) al-Dawla. Ibn Sbât, fol. 21a.

21 Ibid., 22 Çâlih b. Y abyi, p. 47.

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towards the Crusaders. Peaceful relations led to a lively trade with the Italian maritime states, and this was reflected in material prosperity and stability. Moreover, the Ayyübids were anxious not to give cause for a new Crusade. But the Crusaders did not wait for a pretext. From the time they set foot in Syria the Franks had looked to the con­ quest of Egypt as a guarantee of their security in Palestine. After they lost Jerusalem and the greater part of their possessions in the Levant, they set their eyes upon Egypt as a stepping stone to the recovery of the Holy Land. Hence they launched the fifth Crusade against Egypt and captured Damietta. (The fourth Crusade fought fellow Christians, the Byzantines). Kämil Muhammad son of ‘Adil was the Sultan in Egypt, his brother M uca??am ruled in Damascus. Muca??am saw the importance of preserving Egypt and tried to bring to the joint effort their brother Ashraf of Jazlra, who had troubles of his own. M uca?;am sought the help of the famous theologian Sibt b. al-Jawzî to prevail upon Ashraf, whose friend he was. Ashraf had come to Salamiyya to meet Muca??am, where Sibt went to see him and said: the Muslims are in trying circumstances. If the Franks seize Egypt, they will extend their possessions to Haçlramawt, including Mecca, Medina and Syria; and you are playing! Get up this moment and go.25 A shraf s response was prompt. He and Muca??am led their forces to Egypt where Kämil had put a stop to the invasion. The fifth Crusade ended in complete failure. The solidarity of the Ayyübids did not survive the fifth Crusade. Muca??am died in November, 1227 and was succeeded by his son Nâçir Däwüd. Kämil and Ashraf divided their nephews inheritance between them. Kämil occupied Jerusalem and western Palestine, Ashraf seized Damascus. Däwüd was left with Transjordan and eastern Palestine. When Frederick II embarked on his Crusade in 1227, Kämil decided to negotiate rather than fight. In the treaty concluded in 626/1229, Frederick received Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Nazareth, and a corridor to the sea at Jaffa. Other concessions were Tibnin fortress, Sidon and part of the surrounding country. Kämil died in 635/1238. His son Çâlib Ayyüb was the last Ayyübid sultan. All this time the Ayyübid princes were occupied with shifting alliances and the transfer of cities and territories among themselves. A prince of Damascus, $älib Ismäc11, alarmed lest Ayyüb should oust him from Damascus, concluded an alliance with the Crusaders and was join­ ed with Däwüd of Karak and Mançür of Homs. The armies of Damascus,* ** Sibf Ibn al-Jawzî, Mirfat al-Zamän, VIII, pp. 619-620; Abù Shâma, al-Dhayl *alâ ’l-Rawfatayn, pp. 128-129.

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Homs, and Karak, together with the Frankish army advanced on Gaza. Ayyüb called on the Khwärizmians for support against the coalition. The Khwärizmians, under the sultan Jalâl al-Dln, had ruled from Adherbayjän to the Indus river. After Jalâl al-Dln’s defeat by the Seljüqs of Rüm and his death in 1231, the Khwärizmians wandered through the Jazlra and north Syria. In response to Ayyüb’s call, ten thousand Khwärizmians swept down through Syria in the summer of 1244, took Jerusalem, occupied southern Palestine, and joined the Egyptian army coming from the south. At Harbiyya (La Forbie) north east of Gaza, the Khwärizmians and Egyptians inflicted, on October 17, 1244 a complete defeat upon the Franks and their allies. The Frankish army was the largest that Outremer put into the field since Hattln. The disaster was such that ‘‘only at Hâttîn had the losses been greater.2425 Damascus was besieged in April 1246 by Ayyüb’s troops and the Khwärizmians. Ismä'll surrendered, after a six months siege, and was assigned to Baclabakk and Hawrän. The Khwärizmians, not rewarded as they expected, turned against Ayyüb. They took service under Ismäcll and besieged, on his behalf, their former allies in Damascus. Homs and Aleppo sent a relief army to Damascus. It met Ismä'll and the Khwäriz­ mians on the road to Homs. Their defeat was such that it was the end of the Khwärizmians as a fighting force; their remnants dispersed.22 While the Ayyübids were occupied with their rivalries, the Buhturids kept their watch over the Crusaders. The Buhturid chief at this time was Jam äl al-Dln Hajjl, emir of the Gharb, whose life extended from Nür al-Dïn’s reign to the days of the last but one Ayyübid sultan, alKämil. There is a manshür from cImäd al-Dln cUthmän, son of cAdil, dated 25 Jum ädä I, 619/July 1222, to Hajjl to continue to rule Jabal Beirut in­ cluding all the places named in the manshür issued to him by $alâh al-Dln. cUthmän, who was governor of Bäniyäs, was casting his eyes upon Damascus, then ruled by his brother M uca??am, and wished to cultivate the good will of the Buhturid emir whose help he might need.26 Two documents are preserved from al-$älih Ayyüb, one to Hajjl’s son, Najm al-Dln Muhammad, the other to his cousin Zayn al-Dln. b. CA1I b. Buhtur. The first is not dated. It is written from Egypt before Ayyüb oc­ cupied Damascus. Najm al-Dln is thanked for his services and allegiance 24 S. Runciman, A History of the Crusades, III, p. 225. 25 H. A. R. Gibb, “ The Aiyubids,” Setton A History of the Crusades, II, pp. 699-712; Ibn W ifil, Mufarrij al-Kurüb, IV, Abu TFidä, al-Mukhtafarfi Akhbär al-Bashar, Cairo, III, pp. 172-182. 24 $älih b. Yabyä, op. cit., p. 47, Ibn Sbât, fol. 29 a.

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and confirmed in his iqfä^. He is told to make ready with all the followers he can bring together to meet the Sultan when he comes to Syria. Clearly Ayyûb was seeking Najm al-DTn’s help against his Ayyùbid rivals.27 The mansh&r to Zayn al-DTn bears the date 19 Rabl* II, 646/August 1248. His iqfäc, which his father held before him, consists of villages in the south and west of Jabal Bairût. His services also on the front with the enemy are recognized.2* Sâlih Ayyûb died in Ramadan 647/November 1249 at his camp in Mançüra fighting the sixth Crusade. His wife Shajar al-Durr (the Pearl Tree) concealed his death, and the war continued. Rukn ai-DTn Baybars al-Bunduqdäri led the counterattack which destroyed the Frankish army and King Louis was taken captive. Shajar al-Durr held the reins of power until Ayyûb’s son, Türân Shah, who was in the eastern provinces returned. Shortly after his arrival in Egypt, Türân Shäh fell out with his father’s mamlüks and was killed. With him the Ayyûbid dynasty in Egypt came to an end. Ayyûbid princes re­ mained for a time in their Syrian principalities, but soon they also disap­ peared from the scene as Mamlüks and Mongols fought over Syria. Only the Ayyûbid house of Hama was spared and continued to rule into the middle of the 8th/14th century. The Mamlûks started as a corps d'elite of Turkish slave soldiers recruited from the steppes of southern Russia. They formed the body guard of the last Ayyûbid sultan, after whose death in 648/1250 power passed into the hands of their commanders who seized the sultanate. Mamlük rule, from 1250-1517 is divided into two periods: the first un­ til about 1380 is the period of the Turks, known as the Bahn Mamlüks, from the location of their barracks on the Nile (Bahr) island al-Rawda, near Cairo. They were succeeded by the Circassian recruits called Buijl Mamlûks, after their headquarters in the towers (sing.Burj) of the Cairo citadel. The sultanate was attainable by any mamlük, its only condition was membership in the mamlük system. The emirs elected the Sultan. When the Sultan named his successor, the appointment had to be approved by the emirs.29 To legitimize their rule, the Mamlüks kept up the fiction of investiture by the ‘Abbâsid caliphs. After the Mongol sack of Baghdad in 658/1260, Baybars brought an cAbbäsid prince to Cairo and proclaimed him caliph. The investiture by the caliph of the Sultan with authority over Muslim ” $ilib, op. cit., pp. 49-50. » Ibid., pp. 72-73. ” William Popper, Egypt and Syria under the Circassian Sultans, Berkeley, 1955, I, p. 4, Gaudefroy-Demombynes, La Syrie i L'Epoque des Mamelouks, Paris, 1923, p. XX I.

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countries was renewed with every incumbent. Although the caliph was a mere figurehead, his presence in Cairo shed an aura of dignity on the Mamluk sultanate. As Ayyübid princes had tried to win the support of Bubturid emirs so now their favour was sought by Aybak, the first Mamlük sultan, in his contest with Nä$ir Yüsuf of Aleppo, who occupied Damascus on hearing of Türän-Shäh’s death. $älih b. Yabyä says there was bitter enmity and war between Aybak and Nâçir, the first trying to extend his rule to Syria, the other to recover Egypt from the Mamlüks. The conflict continued until, through the in­ termediary of Najm al-Dïn Bädirä^I whom the 'A bbisid caliph sent, a set­ tlement was reached in 653/1255 whereby al-Shäm (Syria) to al-cArish was given to Nä$ir, and Egypt to Aybak. Nä?ir and Aybak wrote manshürs to Bubturid emirs. Nadir’s manshûr, dated 25 Safar 650/May 1252 confirmed Hajjï b. Najm al-Dïn Muham­ mad in the iqtä* of the Gharb. His brother, Sa£d al-Dïn Khidr, received from Aybak the iqfic of villages in the Shüf, in Wâdî al-Taym, and in the district of Sidon. The date of Aybak’s manshur is 27 Rabic I, 654/May 1256.»° Towards the end of 653/1255, an army from Damascus with men from the Biqäc and Baclabakk regions raided the Gharb, sent by Nä?ir on the grounds of Bubturid dealings with the Mamlük sultan. The raiders suf­ fered a severe defeat at the hands of the Druzes. The hero of the day was Zayn al-Dïn Salib.’1 Before the Mamlüks conquered Syria, the Mongols invaded the coun­ try, seized Damascus, and captured Nâçir, whom they later killed. When Hajjï came to Damascus he found Nâ?ir already gone. Hajjï met Kitbugha, Hülagü’s deputy, who issued a manshür, dated 7 Rajab, 658/June 1260, confirming Hajjï in the iqtäc he held from Nâçir. In Damascus, Hajjï was joined by Zayn al-Dïn $älib. When the two emirs heard that the Mamlük army was on its way to fight the Mongols they decided that Zayn al-Dïn should go to the Mamlüks while Hajjï remained in Damascus with the Mongols, thereby ensuring that one of them would be on the vic­ tor's side and would intercede for the other, and so secure the interests of their people. While Kitbugha was in Damascus, a Mongol army raided Sidon whose lord, Julian, took the opportunity of wars between the Muslims and Mongols, and raided the Biqäc from Beaufort. Kitbugha sent a small force to punish the raiders; its leader, his nephew, was ambushed and 301 30 $älih b. Yahyä, pp. 51-52, 56, 59, M aqrïzî, al-Sulük, I, pp. 397-398. 31 $älib b. Yabyä, pp. 58-59.

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killed. Kitbugha then sent an army which sacked Sidon and carried away 300 captives.*2 The Mamlüks, under the Sultan Mu?affar Qutuz and with Baybars alBunduqdäri commanding the vanguard, met the Mongols at cAyn Jälüt, west of the Jordan river near Baysân. It was a fierce battle; the sultan and Baybars fought heroically. By the end of the day the Mamlük victory was complete, Kitbugha was captured and put to death.** In the battle Zayn al-Dln Salih distinguished himself as an archer. As the Mongols were routed, a detachment sought refuge on a peak where it was besieged by a Mamlük force among whom was Zayn al-Dln. The Bubturid emir shot at the Mongols arrows with such force and precision that the Sultan’s Mamlüks watched with admiration, supplying him with arrows from their own bags. The Sultan had heard of Zayn al-Dln going to the Mongols. When the emir appeared before him he was forgiven upon the enthusiastic commendation of his comrades.*4 At cAyn Jälüt, the Mongols were for the first time defeated in a pitched battle. The Mamlük victory was epoch-making. It saved Islam from the most dangerous threat it had encountered and led to the Mongols em­ bracing Islam. The Mamlük sultanate emerged the strongest power in the area. Syria and Egypt were united, their union made possible the vic­ tories over the remaining Crusader states and the final expulsion of the Franks from Syria.** At this decisive moment in history, the Druzes had a valiant represen­ tative, the emir Zayn al-Dïn Sälih b. cAli. The Mamlük Sultanate comprised Egypt, Syria, and Hijäz. It was divided into provinces or vice-regencies (niyäbät), also called mamàlik (Kingdoms), each province was divided into governments (wiläyät) and districts (acmäl). The vice regencies in Syria were: Damascus, Aleppo, Tripoli, Hama, Safad, and Karak. The largest and most important was the vice-regency of Damascus (niyäbat Dimashq), sometimes called niyäbai al-Shâm or mamlakai ai-Shäm (Kingdom of Syria), its viceroy (nä*ib) was a “ little Sultan.” It consisted of the capital Damascus and its environs, and four marches (safqa): west, south, north, and east. Among the divisions of the northern march were the wiläyas of Beirut and Sidon which included the Tanükhid emirate.

M Abu Shäma, Dheyl al-Rawdatayn, p. 207, Runciman, A History of the Crusades III, p. 308. » MaqrizI, Suluk, I, pp. 429-434. >« $alib b. Y abyi, p. 60. ss Runciman, III, p. 313.

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Baybars, who became sultan towards the end of 658/1260, achieved spectacular successes in his war with the Crusaders. At his accession, Frankish dominions extended from Gaza to Cilicia with great inland for­ tresses. At his death in 676/1277 the Franks were restricted to a few for­ tresses on the coast. In Palestine itself, all but cAkkä of the remaining Crusader strongholds fell to Baybars. In 1268 Antioch surrendered after a strenuous siege. After the capture of Krac des Chevaliers, several Ismäcm fortresses were reduced. Marqab and Anfarfus made peace. A truce was concluded with the princess of Beirut. The Mamlüks like the Ayyûbids were impressed by the valour of the Druzes and recognized the importance of their role as guardians of the frontier with the Franks. Hence the frequent communications with their emirs enlisting their support and praising their effort in pursuing the jihäd. Soon after his accession, Baybars conferred, in a manshür of 8 Rajab, 659/June 1261, the iqfäc of twenty villages in the Gharb on Jam äl al-Dln HajjT II, known as Jam al al-Dïn al-Kabir (the Great).36 There are two letters from Baybars’ viceroy in al-Shäm, Jam al al-Dln Aqüsh al-Najlbl, to Zayn al-Dln Sälih and H ajjT. After a lengthy saluta­ tion in which they are addressed as the venerable emirs, warriors in the path of God, light of Islam, glory of emirs, and treasure of kings and sultans, he thanks them for their faithful diligence in guarding the fron­ tier, monitoring enemy movements, and assisting the regular army. The emirs had written to the viceroy, apparently worried about accusations brought against them. The viceroy assures them that he heard nothing but what is good about them, and commends them to persist in their customary way for which they are well known. However, in a postscript to one of the letters he says he heard that their followers have been disbanded. He directs them to send their men towards Sidon and diligently watch and guard this frontier.9697 The viceroy’s letters bear the date of the day of the month but not the year. Likewise undated is a communication from Baybars to Jam al al-Dln and Zayn al-Dln, apparently sent before he started on his campaign against the Franks. The Sultan also addresses the emirs in a series of laudatory terms, after which he tells them he has been informed of their letters to the viceroy of Damascus conveying their loyalty, and has receiv­ ed the viceroy’s message commending their faithful service. He has been well pleased with all he heard about them, and bids them to continue in their customary practice.98 96 Çâlilj b. Y abyi, p. 51. 37 Ibid., pp. 61-2. 98 Ibid., pp. 62-3.

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The consideration which sultans and viceroys showed to the Buhturids aroused the jealousy of a rival family, the Banö Abi ’1-Jaysh, one of whom attributed to them forged letters said to be exchanged with the Franks. Baybars, not willing to take any chance while on his campaign against the Crusaders, ordered the imprisonment of Zayn al-Dln $älib, Jam al al-Dln HajjT, and his brother Sacd al-Dïn Khiçlr. When one of the emirs interceded for them, Baybars said he would not harm them nor would he let them free until after he had captured Sidon, Beirut, and Tripoli. The Sultan did not divest them of their iq(äc nor of their private property.*9 When Hajji and his companions were in prison, a mamlük who had received from Bubturid emirs the iq ß c of a village in the Gharb, was kill­ ed when he came to collect its revenue. A Mamlük army raided the Gharb, burned and plundered during seven days, and took away peasants' wives and children. Baraka who succeeded his father Baybars, wrote to his viceroy in Damascus expressing his indignation at the ex­ cesses perpetrated, and ordered that the captured women and children with stolen possessions should be immediately returned, for, he said, we condemn the capture of womenfolk of Muslims and the enslavement of their children. Jam äl al-Dln, Zayn al-Dln, and Sa£d al-Dln were freed by Baraka whose reign was a brief two years. Qaläwün, the ablest of Baybars' generals, was a worthy successor to, and continuator of, Baybars’ war against the Crusaders. He reduced the great casde of the Hospitallers at Marqab. Tripoli was captured and raz­ ed to the ground lest the Crusaders, who had command of the sea, should try to reconquer it. He ordered a new city to be built a few miles inland at the foot of mount Pilgrim. Meanwhile Lädhiqiyya had fallen. Two smaller fortresses south of Tripoli were occupied. The princesses of Beirut and Tyre asked for a truce which was granted. As Qaläwün set out to conquer cAkkä, he died a few miles outside Cairo, having received his son A shrafs promise to proceed with the campaign.*40 Ashraf made great preparations for the siege of cAkkä which began in Rabl* II, 690/April 1291. Six weeks later the city fell into his hands. At cAkkä’s fall, the remaining Crusader towns and fortresses surrendered Tyre, Sidon, Beirut. The Templar castles at Tortosa and cAthlTt were abandoned by their garrisons. The expulsion of the Franks was complete.41

» Ibid., p. 64. 40 Runciman, A History of the Crusades, III, pp. 395-411. 41 Sauvaget, La Chronique d ’al-Jazari, pp. 4-5; Abu TFiqlä, al-MukJilafar IV, pp. 24-25.

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At the time they were fighting the Franks, the Mamlüks were defend­ ing Syria against the Mongols who, though defeated at cAyn Jälüt, returned to the invasion of Syria. In 680/1281 the Mamlüks, under Qaläwün, repelled such an invasion in a battle they won outside Homs. The Mongols, led by Ghäzän, came again in 699, December 1299, in vastly superior numbers to the Mamlük army which they routed near Salamiyya. Damascus surrendered to Ghäzän in the beginning of 1300, but the citadel held out. The Mongols, fearing the return of the Egyptian army, withdrew to Iraq.42* In 702/1302 the Mongols were back in Syria. The armies of Egypt and Syria, led by the Sultan Nä$ir Muhammad b. Qaläwün, met them at Shaqbab, in Maij al-$uffar south of Damascus. The two-day battle was a fiercely fought contest in which the initial success was with the Mongols, but which issued in an overwhelming victory for the Mamlüks.42 It was in connection with the campaigns against the Franks and Mongols that the expeditions against Kisrawän were mounted, to punish the inhabitants for their dealings with the Franks and their maltreatment of fugitive soldiers passing through their territory after the defeat by the Mongols in the region of Salamiyya. There were three expeditions to Kisrawän. The first was planned in 686/1287, but was put off because of Qaläwün’s death and A shrafs occupation with the war against the Crusaders. It took place in 691/1292 after Ashraf had conquered cAkkä, and the remaining Frankish possessions on the coast surrendered. Led by Baydara, the viceroy of Egypt, and other high ranking emirs, it failed to reduce the inhabitants due to the extreme difficulty of the terrain and Baydara’s negligence, if not duplicity of which he was accused.44 The second expedition in 699-700/1300 followed the Mongol invasion of Syria when Damascus was occupied. With Damascus freed and the Mongol danger averted, however temporarily, the Syrian army under Jam äl al-Dln Aqüsh al-Afram was dispatched to Kisrawän and the Jurd. It achieved, through negotiation, a partial subjection of the people.42 As the mountaineers were still causing trouble, a third expedition in 705/1305 had to be sent before they were finally crushed. This last cam­ paign was of exemplary severity: the inhabitants were scattered, a large

41 Ibn Kathlr, al-Bidäya wa’l-Nihäya, XIV, pp. 8*11; M aqrizï, Sulük, I, pp. 888-900. 44 Abu ’l-Ftfâ, al-Mukhtafar, IV, pp. 48-49. 44 H. Laoust, “ Remarques sur les Expéditions du Kasrawan sous les Premiers M amlouks", Bulletin du Musée de Beyrouth, IV, 1940, Paris, pp. 93-115; M aqrizl, Suluk, I, p. 779, Ibn K athir, X III, pp. 327-8. 41 M aqrizl, Sulùk, I, pp. 888-9,902-3; Laoust, Essai sur les Doctrines Sociales et Politiques de Taki-D-Din Ahmed B. Taimiya, Cairo, 1939, p. 125.

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number were put to death, their fields were ravaged and houses destroyed, so the remnants would not return.*44* Ibn Taymiyya, the great puritan theologian, was present at the second and third campaigns, an objective of which was to fight *‘corrupt” beliefs and bring the people into the fold of orthodoxy. The primary objective, however, was political and military, to bring under control a territory of strategic importance, overlooking the Biqàc on one side and the Mediter­ ranean on the other.47 The Druzes, under their Bu^turid emirs, were called upon by Sultans and viceroys to participate in these campaigns fought at a distance from their home. In a communication dated 7 Jum ädä I, 686/June 1287, Qaläwün’s viceroy in Damascus, Läjln, directs Jam äl al-Dln Hajjï and Zayn al-Dîn Sâlih to join, with their forces, Sunqur al-Man$ürï, viceroy of Tripoli, as soon as they hear that he has started on his campaign against Kisrawän. This campaign, as we have seen, was delayed.4* In 705/1305, Nâ?ir al-Dîn Husayn, with other members of his family and a Druze force, took part in the arduous campaign which resulted in the destruction of the Kisräwänis. Two of the emirs and twenty-three of the men fell in the battle near Nibayh village.49 Who were the Kisräwänis? They were all Muslim sectarians. There were no Christians among them. The Maronites first came to Kisrawän in the 16th century.50 Ibn Taymiyya, in his letter to the sultan Nä?ir, sent after the campaign, speaks of them as IsmäcIliyya, Nuçayriyya, Häkimiyya, and Bätiniyya.51 Ibn Kathïr calls them Räfidites and Tayämina.52 Häkimiyya and Tayämina are names used for the Druzes, the first means followers of the caliph al-Häkim, the second refers to Wâdi al-Taym, an early and important Druze centre. The word Druze is specifically used by MaqrizI when he says: in Shawwäl 699 emir Aqüsh al-Afram proceeded from Damascus to invade the Durziyya, inhabitants of the Kisrawän mountains. A similar statement occurs in Ibn Aybak alDawädäri.55 When Ibn Sbät names the Durziyya among the Kisräwänis who were killed or taken captive in the campaign of 705, he is clearly repeating uncritically what he read in earlier accounts.54 44 M aqrizI, Suläk, II, pp. 12-15. 47 Muhammad cAbd aJ-Hädl, al-'-Uqûd al-Durriyya, Cairo, 1356/1938, pp. 182-193; alJazari, Chronique, pp. 17-18. 44 $älib b. Yabyä, pp. 24-26, 53-54. 44 Ibid., pp. 27-28, 95-96. “ H . Lammens, “ Les Nosairis dans le L iban", Revue de L ’Orient Chrétien, V II, 1902, Paris, pp. 452-477; Frère Gryphon et le Liban au XV siècle, IV, 1899. *' cAbd al-Hâdî, al-Wqüd al-Durriyya, p. 193. » Ibn Kathïr, XIV, p. 35. 15 M aqrïzï, Suläk, I, pp. 902-3; Ibn Aybak al-Dawâdârï, Kam al-Durar vol. IX al-Durr al-FakhirJi Sirat al-Malik al-Nàfir, Cairo, 1960, p. 40. 14 Ibn Sbät, fol. 71a and b.

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There is no mention of Druze inhabitants of Kisrawän by $alib b. Yahyä, a dependable author who writes amply about the Mamlûk ex­ peditions to Kisrawän. Nor is there any indication in the Druze Canon, which contains epistles sent to various regions, that the Druzes inhabited Kisrawän pro­ per. The Druzes of Mount Lebanon were concentrated, as we have seen, in the southern part of the mountain. Some Druzes lived in villages far­ ther north, in what today is the northern Matn district, which in earlier times was considered part of outer Kisrawän.99 The appearance of the name Druze among the components of the Kisrawän population may be accounted for by the fact that Sunni writers lump sectarians together as heretics and use the various names inter-, changeably with the designation Bätiniyya. The statement that Nâçir severely chastised the Druzes for harassing his army as it retreated from the Mongols in 699/1300 is not correct.96 While the Kisrawänis and the people of Jazzln, more so the former, plundered and killed fugitive soldiers passing through their territory, even seizing some and selling them to the Franks, the Druzes gave refuge to soldiers who passed through their territory. For his hospitality to, and protection of these refugees, the amir Nâhiçl al-Dïn Buhtun b. Zayn al-Dïn §älih was named amir tablkhäna, the second rank among the emirs of the Mamlük army. He received a robe of honour in a ceremony in Damascus. A notable of the Biqäc, Ibn $ubh, was similarly honoured for his benevolence to the fugitives.97 More likely the raid on Druze villages in the Jurd district of the Gharb emirs was by the Kisrawänis because of Druze participation in the Mamlük expeditions against them. A reconciliation was attempted between the emirs of the Gharb and the Kisrawänis. The mediator was Zayn al-Dïn b. cAdnän who was sent with Ibn Taymiyya to Kisrawän, before the 705/1305 expedition set out, to try and bring the people back to orthodoxy and submission. Zayn al-Dïn came to the Gharb in 704 and stayed with the Arslänid emir Zayn al-Dïn Mufarrij to whom he gave his daughter Nafisa in marriage.96 Zayn al-Dïn was the head of the Sharïfs (Naqtb al-Ashräf) in Damascus. The story99 spread by later historians that Druzes were immured in a cave in the Kisrawän village Nïbayh where they took refuge has no basis, as Lammens correctly points out.556*60 It is a confusion of the incident of 55 $âlih b. Yahyä, TaMkh, p. 9 and note 2. 56 H itti, A History of the Arabs, p. 680. ” $älib b. Yahyä, pp. 77-78. “ The Arslan Genealogical Register. ** Haydar al-Shihàbï, Ta^rikh, I, p. 480. 60 Lammens, Rev. de L ’Orient Chrétien Vil, 1902, p. 468.

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Kisrawänis said to have perished in this cave during the battle which was fought in this village at the time of the destructive campaign of 705.61 After the reduction of Kisrawän, Turkoman tribes under the leader­ ship of Banü cAssäf were setded on the coastal hills and assigned the darak (policing) of the coast from the southern limit of the province of Tripoli at the M ucâmiltayn bridge to the exit of Beirut. They checked permits allowing passage to those only whose papers were signed by the mutawallt (governor) of Beirut or by the emirs of the Gharb.63 Meanwhile, the Bubturids’ iqtäc had been revoked and soon after restored. It was transferred, along with the fiefs of other mountain chief­ tains, into the reserve of land for the fialqa of Tripoli established after the city’s conquest by Qaläwün in 688/1289. The fialga was a special unit of the Mamlük army which consisted of three principal corps: 1. the royal mamluks who were the freed men of the reigning sultan, of former sultans, and of dead or dismissed emirs. 2. the emirs and their mamlüks. 3. ajnâd al-halqa: cavalry of free men in the sultan’s service. Within the halqa is a unit of the free-born sons of mamlük emirs and other mamlüks.63 The royal mamlüks, the emirs, and the knights of the halqa held fiefs (iqfä°) in return for their service. The iqfic was a temporary grant, revocable by the Sultan. It did not carry a title of ownership, but only the right to the fiefs revenue. The Bubturids’ iqfäc was different; it was private property registered with the competent authorities, hence its alienation was in violation of the Shari^a.64 Not long after its confiscation, however, it was restored in the reign of al-Ashraf. Bubturid emirs were created knights of the halqa of Baclabakk, or emirs of specified ranks. A few Bubturid emirs received the rank of emir of forty; several were emirs of ten and of five. The first was entitled to have in his service forty horsemen, sometimes increased to seventy or eighty. He was called amir tablkhäna, after the band which he was entitled to keep. The band, consisting of drums, trumpets, and flutes, played after the evening prayer in front of the emir’s house.63 The real strength and authority of the Bubturid emirs far exceeded the ranks assigned to them by sultans and viceroys. As chieftains of South Lebanon, they commanded the allegiance of the province’s population whose manpower, when called upon, served under their standard. Two other Druze chieftainly families, the Ramtfmis and the Banü Abi ’1-Jaysh*• *' Çâlib b. Yabyä, pp. 95-8; Ibn Sbäf, fol. 71a and b. M $älib b. Yabyä, p. 37. •J A. N. Poliak, Feudalism in Egypt, Syria, Palestine, and Lebanon, 1250-1900, Royal Asiatic Society, 1939, pp. 4-7; David Ayalon, “ Studies in the Structure of the Mamluk Arm y,” Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, XV, 1953, p. 204. 66 Sälib b. Yabyä, pp. 71-72, 84-87. « Ayalon, BSOAS, XV, 1953, pp. 469-470.

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exercised some authority, although to a far lesser extent than the Buhturids. The Bubturid emirs were placed on the darak of Beirut and made responsible for guarding the shores and roads. They served in monthly relays of 30 horsemen each. Monthly relays of the fralqa troops from Ba'labakk worked in close association with the Buhturids.M When Beirut was recovered from the Franks, the Muslims were so few, they did not add up to the forty required to conduct the Friday noon prayer. Sometimes the number was completed by Muslims coming from the suburbs. Presently they began to increase rapidly. A watch-tower was built for ships. Beirut and Damascus were kept in close communication through carrier pigeon post and horse post relay {band) organized in four stages. For news to be transmitted by night, they established a fire relay. The first fire was lit outside Beirut; it was answered by a fire at Paleo-Beirut (today Bayt Miri village); the third was on Jabal Bawârish (Kanlsa mountain) overlooking the Biqäc; thence to Jabal Yabbüs (a summit of Anti-Lebanon) which relayed to Jabal al§älibiyya (Qasiyûn mountain) above Damascus.*67* In 713/1313 occurred the cadastral survey in Syria (rawk) and the redistribution of fiefs. The Buhturids* iqfic was destined for redistribu­ tion along with the rest. Emir Nä?ir al-DTn Husayn wrote to the viceroy of Damascus a plea to be submitted to the Sultan. It expressed their loyalty in the Sultan’s service and their faithful performance of the duties of darak assigned to them in accordance with their iqfäc which was, for the greater part, private property, confirmed under the SharFa. Its alienation would ruin them, the receipt of a substitute will not do them any good, since in this iqfäc is their residence and here reside their clan and their men upon whom they rely in pursuing their service. The viceroy Tanklz wrote to Sultan Nâçir Muhammad pointing to the time-honoured possession of the Gharb emirs of their iqfäc. The Sultan consented that it shall remain in their possession, and not included in the rawk, thereby conferring upon the Buhturids a distinction from other fief holders which enhanced their prestige.66 The Franks, though driven from Syria, continued their raids on the coast from their Kingdom in Cyprus. Usually the raids were for plunder and the seizure of captives for ransom or sale. Others had more ambitious objectives; attempts at landing and creating a foothold on the ** $ilib b. Yahyä, pp. 91-93; Ibn Sbät, fol. 77 a; Kamal S. Salibi, "T he Buhturids of the Garb, Mediaeval Lords of Beirut and Southern Lebanon," Arabica, VIII, 1961, pp. 74-97. 67 Sälih b. Yahyä, pp. 34-35. ** MaqrizI, Suiük, II p. 127; Salih b. Yahyä, pp. 84-87.

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shore. In Shacbän, 698, MaqrïzT wrote, news by horse-post arrived that about thirty large vessels, in each seven hundred men came to the shore of Beirut where they intended to land. The people gathered to fight them. Luckily a wind storm shattered the squadron. The inhabitants of Beirut took the vessels which were not drowned and captured eighty Franks.49 $älib b. Yabyä speaks of a landing by the Franks shortly after the Muslims recovered Beirut. It could refer to the expedition related by Maqrlzl, although the two accounts differ. Ibn Yabyä reports the presence of six large vessels and remarks: it was said that the former lord of Beirut was with them. The Franks landed and a battle ensued, evidently so desperate that its like had not been known.70 Probably remembering this experience, a Frankish naval squadron passed by Beirut in 706/ 1306 but did not attack. It sailed on to Sidon which the Franks plundered, killing and taking captives. The Muslims also killed a number of Franks. The viceroy of $afad, Ibn $ubb, arrived before the Syrian army, caught up with the squadron and ransomed all the captives at a price of 500 dirhams each.71 The price for persons of importance was far greater. In Jum ädä I, 702/January 1302 the Franks raided Damür, on the coast between Beirut and Sidon. Two Bubturid emirs were there with their men, having come to attend to their fields. A party of raiders knocked at their door in the night, and when they opened, one emir was taken captive, the other resisted and was killed. When the raiders later knew who he was they regretted killing him and so losing his ransom, for they received 3,000 dinars in ransom for his brother.73 In 734/1333 Genoese vessels entered Beirut harbour to seize a Catalan ship. They were opposed in a two-day battle fought in the city’s alleys and on the shore. In the end the Genoese went away with the Catalan ship. After this incident emir Nâ$ir al-Din and his relatives were obliged to reside in Beirut.**79 Fifty years later, in 784/1382, a Genoese attempt to take Beirut was vigorously repulsed. The fleet first plundered Sidon, whence news was sent to Damascus. Troops were dispatched to Beirut since Sidon could not be reached in time. When the Genoese approached Beirut the troops were already there. So the fleet sailed to Cyprus as a feint. The troops returned to Damascus, leaving a small detachment with auxiliaries from the Biqäc. The Genoese came back with twelve large ships. In Beirut har­ bour were two Venetian vessels which they seized. From the vessels they ** ’• »' » 79

MaqrïzT, Sulûk, I, p. 875. $älib b. Yabyä, p. 72. Ibid., p. 29. Ibid., p. 95. Ibid, pp. 97-98.

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assailed the defendants with stones and fire darts. Then they constructed gangways from the vessels to the shore. Detachments landed, one after the other, the first carried the flag and proceeded towards the ruins of the old citadel where they intended to raise the flag as a sign of the city’s cap­ ture. Sayf al-Dîn Yahyä, $älih’s father, was in the forefront of the defenders. With him was a party of valiant fighters. They confronted the detachment with the flag, and Yahyä threw the flag bearer down. The at­ tackers who were already on the land were hurled back with vigour. As they rushed to the vessels, the gangways collapsed and many were drowned. The expedition failed dismally. When troops arrived from Damascus in the evening it was too late. Already the fleet with the survivors was out on the sea.7475 The Genoese attack on Beirut is reported by Maqrizi and Ibn Hajar alcAsqalänI. Maqrlzl gives it a mere couple of lines and attributes the vic­ tory to the troops from Damascus.79 Ibn H ajar’s account is longer but confused. He recognizes that the inhabitants of Beirut repelled the attack before the arrival of the troops.76 It is interesting to compare these two accounts with $älib b. Yahyâ’s story. The latter presents a fuller statement, which we may accept as a true picture, since $älib was close to the events he relates and because of his veracity evident throughout his book. Earlier, in 767/1365, the Franks led by Peter Lusignan, King of Cyprus, invaded and sacked Alexandria. Venetians, Genoese, and French participated, together with the Cypriot navy and vessels from Rhodes, in all between 70 and 80 vessels. Alexandria was given up to seven days of massacre, plunder, and burning. "Alexandria’s wealth had been phenomenal, and the victors were maddened at the sight of so much booty.’’77 The Sultan, Shacbän, was a child. Yilbugha, the guardian of the Sultanate, marched on Alexandria. The invaders evacuated the city carrying with them all they could of its wealth and 5,000 captives.78 The sack of Alexandria was impelled by a Crusading spirit. The King of Cyprus demanded the cession of the Holy Land and made raids on the Syrian coast.79 The raid on Tripoli in 769/1367 was repelled by the inhabitants.80 The Genoese raid on Beirut in 806/1403 found the people unprepared. Since 74 Ibid., pp. 31-32.

75 M aqrlzl, Suluk, III, p. 499. 74 Ibn Hajar al-cAsqalanI, Inbä3 al-Ghumr, I, p. 274. 77 Runciman, History of the Crusades, III, p. 446. 7< M aqrizi, Sulük, III, pp. 104-108; A.S. Aliya, Crusade, Commerce, and Culture, 1962, p. 103. ” Runciman III, p. 448. •# M aqrizi, III, p. 149.

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their last defeat, more than twenty years earlier, the Franks had not come near Beirut. Only the emirs of the Gharb and a few of their men were in the city. Presently more began coming in. They fought the invaders in the streets, but before these returned to their ships in the afternoon, they had plundered the city. Among the looted places were the Venetian spice store houses. $älib’s family mansion by the sea was burned down, so was the market near the port.*1 The Genoese fleet sailed towards Sidon. The emirs of the Gharb and their men went parallel to it along the coast. They joined the viceroy of Damascus (later the Sultan al-Mu5ayyad Shaykh) and engaged the at­ tackers who had landed on the shore outside the city. The Genoese returned to their ships and sailed away.** Meanwhile the Gharb district had been ravaged by the Turkomans under their leaders Awläd al-Acmä (the Banü cAssäf of the Ottoman period). It was during the reign of £ähir Barqüq, the first Sultan of the Buijl Mamlüks. Barqüq’s sultanate was disputed by two emirs, Yilbughä al-Näfin and Mintäsh. The Bubturid emirs supported Barqüq. Their rivals, the Turkoman emirs, sided with the rebels. In the absence of the Bubturids who, with their followers were with Barqüq in the battle of Shaqhab, south of Damascus, in which he defeated Mintäsh, the Turkomans raided the Gharb and Beirut. The people of the Gharb refus­ ed to acknowledge Arghün, the wall appointed by Mintäsh. In the battle with the Turkomans they were defeated, and 90 men killed. The Turkomans devastated several villages in the Gharb and looted the Bubturids* property in Beirut.*3 After the sack of Alexandria, activity in the Lebanon redoubled to guard the coast. The emirs of the Gharb had to reside in Beirut, and preparations began for the invasion of Cyprus. Ships were built in Beirut, wood came from the pine forest outside the city and artisans were brought from the various provinces. Troops were sent from Damascus to assist in guarding the coast. Their presence entailed considerable expen­ diture by the Bubturid emirs who were much burdened having to be on the alert day and night.*4 When the invasion of Cyprus was decided upon, the Turkoman emirs offered Baydamur, viceroy of Damascus, to send a thousand armed men on the expedition and promised “ to do many things*’ in return for the transfer to them of the Bubturids’ iqfäc. Baydamur consented and wrote to Cairo where the order was issued to effect the transfer. Two senior •• $ilib b. Yabyä, pp. 32-33. « Ibid., pp. 33-34. ■» Ibid., pp. 210, 214-215. M Ibid., pp. 30, 179; Ibn K athlr, d-Bidàya wa’l-Nihâya, XIV, pp. 315, 320.

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Bubturid emirs came to Cairo and were presented to the guardian of the Sultanate by the Qâdï cAlâ> al-Dïn b. Fadlalläh, chief of the chancellery (Kätib ai-Sirr) who spoke of the favour shown by the previous sultans to the emirs, a favour which it ill-suited the grand emir to revoke. The order for the transfer was tom , and the Bubturids retained their When Baydamur came to Beirut to supervise the ship building, the Turkoman emirs were unable to fulfil their obligations in accordance with their iqfäc and fled to Anatolia. The emirs of the Gharb were praised and thanked.'* Cyprus continued to be a base from which piratical raids went out to the coasts of Syria and Egypt, and to the seizure of Muslim ships on the high seas. The invasion of Cyprus, long since projected, was carried out in three successive campaigns. The first, a reconnaissance expedition, started towards the end of Ramadan, 827/August 1424; its results were encouraging. The following summer, a fleet of forty ships sailed from Tripoli for the invasion of the island. The emirs of the Gharb were called upon to participate in the expedition. $âlifr b. Yabyà was in command of one of the larger ships. The campaign resulted in the surrender of the three coastral towns: Famagusta, Lamaca, Limasol. The captives were so numerous and the booty so great that the ships with difficulty contain­ ed them. The third campaign started from Egypt in 829/1426 and was on a larger scale. It included a fleet of over a hundred ships and troops from Egypt and all the Syrian provinces (mamälik). Çâlifr sailed with a Mamlük emir on a transport vessel built for the expedition in Beirut, and with them three hundred men, among them twenty from the Gharb. They were delayed by a rough sea and contrary winds. When they reached Damietta their vessel was damaged and needed repair, so they were not able to catch up with the expedition which sailed from the mouth of the Rosetta branch of the Nile. The campaign completed the conquest of Cyprus. Nicosia, the capital, was captured and the King Janus was taken captive. Cyprus became a tributary state of Egypt." The Tanûkh emirate under cIzz al-Dïn Sadaqa extended from Tripoli to Safad. Little is known about $adaqa who died in 848/1444, twenty years after the invasion of Cyprus with which $älib b. Yafryä closes his book. $älib says no more about him than that he was mutawalU (governor) of Beirut, and that a feudal family of the Biqâc, Banû Hamrä3, were his enemies, one of whom rebelled and made a surprise raid upon Çadaqa’s residence in Beirut, Ibn al-Hamra was killed by a member of a rival fami-* “ Çâlib b. Yabyâ, p. 180; Laoust, “ Remarques sur les Expeditions du Kasrawan“ , Bulletin du Mutte de Beyrouth, IV, 1940, pp. 106-107, n. 2. ** Çâlifr b. Yafryä, pp. 242-252; Ibn Taghri Bird!, at-Nujüm al-Zähira, XIV, pp. 268-300; A.S. Atiya, Crusade, Commette, Culture, 1962, pp. 140-142.

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ly in the Biqâc, Banû Hanash. The viceroy of Damascus sent his head to Sadaqa.87 Ibn Sbit says more. Çadaqa was a venerable emir, first in rank among all emirs, powerful and of a wide fame, whose word was listened to by kings and viceroys. He was held in especial favour by the viceroy of Damascus. §adaqa firmly held the darak of Beirut, ensuring the safety of the coast against Franks and others. He ruled from the Tripoli frontier to Çafad, both mountain and coast. He neither killed nor did harm to anyone during his rule notwithstanding the extent of his fiefs and the range of his niyäba. Above all, his justice brooked no constraint. Ibn Sbät relates the incident when his son, still a minor, hit a boy and broke his tooth. The emir sent for the boy’s father to whom he offered the choice of pulling out one of his son’s teeth or receiving an indemnity of 500 dirhams for the boy’s broken tooth. The man tried to excuse himself from accepting either offer saying that what happened was common to the con­ duct of young boys. Sadaka insisted and the man accepted the money. $adaqa was fond of horses. In his stables, it was said, there were more than 80 colts not broken by a trainer.'8 One more Buhturid emir, at least* was mutawaiH of Beirut. He is Jam äl al-DTn Hajjl who died shortly after the Ottoman conquest. Though of an awe-inspiring presence, he was easily accessible. Modest when at peace, he was self-restrained in anger. He pacified the coastal districts and reduced to submission rebellious elements. Emirs and notables of districts neighbouring the Gharb feared and respected him. People whom circumstances forced to leave their countries found refuge with him, so did those who feared their rulers find safety under his protection. When viceroys of Damascus required contribution from his province, he paid out of his personal income, and made no demands upon any one in return. Ibn Sbät concludes: he succoured the weak and defended the oppressed." The Bubturid emirate was an autonomous state ruled by its own hereditary emirs. Its revenue was spent in the province itself; only a token payment was sent to Damascus." The Bürid ruler, Mujlr al-Dln Abaq, in his manshür to Buhtur, instructed him to spend the revenue of his iqfäc within it. We have no reason to think it was otherwise with other rulers or viceroys of Damascus. Sometimes a viceroy would impose a new tax or make an extra demand. *’ “ * *°

$ilib b. Y abyi, p. 248. Ibn S bit, fol- 106 a and b. Ibid., fol. 113 a and b. Sâlib b. Y abyi, p. 85, author’s note.

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There are two cases when the fitra, a tax collected at the end of the Ramadan fast, was fanned out to persons from outside the Gharb. The first was in 775/1373, in the days of Zayn al-Dïn Çâlih who worked hard to have it abolished after paying a considerable sum himself, not requiring a single dirham from any one.91*The second time was in the reign of the Sultan Faraj b. Barqüq. Zayn al-Dln’s grandson, Sharaf al-Dïn ‘Isa (d. 826/1422), followed the example of his grandfather, sparing the people from paying the tax by undertaking the payment himself. After this the fitra was abolished.93 Emirs, at intervals, lived in Beirut where some built spacious mansions and owned property; one emir owned a whole street. There was a Druze population in the city, retainers and others. We are told that when the Genoese made a surprise attack on Beirut in 806/1403, the women and children were sent to the mountain. Beirut was a flourishing commercial city. Dues on import and export trade produced a large revenue. When Beirut returned to the Muslims, ships from the West began to come little by little. After a while vessels of the various Frankish nationalities came in large numbers.99 We have seen that the Genoese seized a Catalan ship in Beirut harbour, and on two occasions laid hold on Venetian ships in the harbour. Among the places the Genoese looted in Beirut were the Venetian spice storehouses.94*Some emirs practised commerce. When the Kisrawänis, led by CA1I b. al-Acmâ, attacked the Gharb, they plundered Buhturids’ properties, among them their merchandise: oil, soap, and cloth.99 One emir, because of his extensive commercial activity, was called the merchant of the family.96 The emirate, however, was a predominently rurual community. Its chief occupation was agriculture. We have no information on the nature of land ownership nor on the variety of crops raised. Emirs undoubtedly owned large properties since some of them had considerable wealth, and agriculture was the principal source of wealth. Some emirs attended per­ sonally to the cultivation of their land. In a mountain terrain, large latifundia could not be created. And in a society where slavery is pro­ hibited by the people’s faith, there was no slave labour on the land. The inhabitants of the mountain transformed its slopes into agricultural land, cutting the rocks and building terraces to hold the soil. As for the crops, in the absence of contemporary information, we have to rely on material from earlier or later times. In the centuries im­ 91 99 99 94 99 99

Ibid., p. 178; Ibn Sbât, fol. 93 b. Ibid., fol. 103 b. Çàlib b. Yabyà, p. 35. Ibid., p. 34. Ibid., pp. 214-215. Ibid., p. 158.

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mediately following our period, in the M a'nid age, silk was an important product about which we have ample information from the reign of Emir Fakhr al-Dln II, and it is perhaps therefore possible to assume that it had been introduced earlier. As for the olive, ‘‘the blessed tree” ,*7 it is since days of old part of the landscape, in mountain and coastal plain alike. Olive oil is a staple food in the region and, with soap made of olive oil, it formed an important item of commerce. Another indigenous tree, long known to have been cultivated, is the vine, valued not only for its fresh fruit, but also for raisins and molasses which are consumed all year. Wine, of course, is prohibited. There undoubtedly was some wheat and other grain growing but the mountain lacks the flatlands where extensive agriculture is profitably practised. In a year of scarcity, emir Sharaf al-Dln cîsâ went to Egypt where he bought wheat and shipped it by sea to Beirut, which caused great joy among the people.*8 Beirut and Sidon were surrounded by orchards where a variety of fruit trees grew, principally the orange, banana, and date palm. As to the social and ethical values of the people, our knowledge comes from the precepts enjoined upon them by their faith. In a homogeneous rural community where people know each other and are linked by family and other ties, ethical laws and social customs are more likely to be adhered to, and with more deference, than is the case in the large heterogeneous society of the towns where groups and individuals may be uprooted from their accustomed background. The qualities of the large number of emirs described by $älib b. Yahyà and Ibn Sbä( reflect the norm accepted by their community. Propriety is common to all. Describ­ ing individual emirs, Ibn Sbä( frequently uses the word mufctashim, one who in personal appearance and conduct conforms to accepted principles. It is interesting how many emirs are described as pious, Godfearing (taqt), and spiritually inclined. The emir who dedicated himself to the spiritual life was al-Sayyid Jam äl al-Dln cAbdallah, but to him a special chapter is devoted. Jam äl al-Dln Hajjï II was counted among the Saints {Awliyä7).99 Many learned the Q ur’an by heart and repeated it frequent­ ly. An essential element of their piety was self-discipline (riyäfat al-nafs). Piety also expressed itself in charity, not only to the poor but also to peo­ ple erstwhile of note who fell upon hard times. Two emirs practised medicine and prepared a variety of medicines and ointments which they distributed freely to earn religious m erit.140 " Q ur’an 24: 35. N Ibn Sbât, fol. 103 b. " $älib b. Yabyâ, p. 55. "° Ibid., pp. 184-5; Ibn Sbât, fol. 94 b and 107 b.

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Many emirs excelled in crafts, goldsmithing, delicate carpentry, wood carving and inscrustation. More are said to have excelled in penmanship; some studied with reputed shaykhs. It appears that the Buhturids had a famous collection of the various types of calligraphy, for when the two emirs went to Cairo to see the Qâdï cAlâ>al-Dïn b. Fadlall äh on the sub­ ject of their iqtäc, he asked them to send him all the examples they had of the mansüb type of calligraphy. The Qâdï was himself a well-known calligrapher.101* Young emirs received their education from shaykhs and private tutors. Did children of the common people share in this instruction? We are not told, but in the light of the emphasis in the Druze Canon placed upon the duty of teaching reading to others, it is probable that piety was also expressed in imparting learning. The content of education was simple: grammar and rhetoric, arithmetic and logic. Their favourite reading was history, next only to poetry. Many emirs composed verses. O ur historian, Çâlib b. Yahyä, was fond of sciences, especially astronomy, on which he had a collection of books, as well as many books on history and poetry, among them a volume of the poems of Usäma b. Munqidh in the poet’s handwriting.100 Nâfireddîn Husayn (b. 668/1269, d. 751/1350), one of the great emirs whose days were prosperous and bright, was, among his other interests, a bibliophile. He owned a large collection of books. An admirer of the great poet MutanabbI, he memorized most of his Diwan. He was always asking about old copies of Mutanabbl’s Diwän, and acquired four of the oldest copies. Poets sang Nä$ir al-Dïn’s praises and authors composed books for him. A renowed calligrapher made a scroll in all seven types of calligraphy and presented it to him .109 Several emirs built impressive mansions in cAramün, cAbayh, and Beirut. Nà$ir al-Dïn outdid them all as a builder, spending vast oudays on his buildings.104* Nâ?ir al-Dïn Husayn is the only Buhturid emir of whom a biographical notice is given in the general histories.109 In kinship relation to the Tanükh emirs was the Qâdï family who held the position of judge (qâdï), the office being transmitted from generation to generation in the family. Ibn Sbä; lists the names of qäfis from the early days of the Buhturid emirate to its end at the time of the Ottoman 101 Ibid., fol. 94 a. The two emirs were Sacd al-Dïn Khi^r and Sayf al-Dïn Yahyä, see above. ,#* Çâlib b. Yahya, p. 20. 100 Ibid., pp. 82-3, 117, 131-132. 104 Ibid., pp. 106-109. IM Ibn H ajar al-cAsqalânï, al-Durar al-Kämim, II, pp. 54-55; M aqrizï, Stdûk, II, p. 834; Khifaf, III. pp. 277-279.

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conquest of Syria. According to his description their qualities are those expected in occupants of the position: they are God-fearing, learned, of dignified bearing, deal impartial justice, preach good works and seek conciliation among the people. Some had the means to practice charity on a large scale distributing quantities of wheat and cloth to the needy. One form of charity was the distribution of medicines prepared by themselves. Q ädijam äl al-Din Hasan (d. 768/1366), outstanding for these qualities, is also remembered for building the bridge on the Safa river which to this day is know as Jisr al-Qpfi (the Judge’s Bridge).14* Society in the Bubturid emirate was simple and seems to have been generally contented. If it missed participation in the cultural achievements of the Mamlûk period, the majestic architecture, the fine minor arts, and intellectual productions, it was spared the sufferings caused by the rapaciousness and tyranny of many rulers, and sometimes by scarcities and inflated costs of necessities, and lack of security. The Bubturid emirs remained loyal to the Mamlüks until the end, but they lost their position when the Mamlüks lost their power to a new dynasty. Thanks to their strong army, which had defeated the Crusaders and pushed back the Mongols, for two centuries and a half the Mamlüks had been the strongest power in the Near East. With the beginning of the fourteenth century began the rise of a new force, that of the Ottoman Turks in Anatolia. Gradually they became a mighty power. As long as there were buffer emirates between the Ottoman state and the Mamlüks, the conflict between the two powers was postponed. With the collapse of the buffer zone, war was inevitable for the mastery of the region. At Marj Däbiq, north of Aleppo, on August 24, 1516, the Ottomans defeated the Mamlüks. The use of firearms by the Ottoman army was decisive in their victory. Otherwise the armies were of comparable strength. The Mamlüks had refused to introduce the new weapon to their army deem­ ing its use an unmanly method of warfare. When Sultan Salim came to Cairo after his victory, a valiant Mamlük, Kurt Bey, appeared before him. He praised in resounding eloquence the valour of the Mamlüks and spoke with contempt of the guns which killed so cowardly and like an assassin. He told the sultan how a Mauritanian had offered to arm the Mamlüks with Venetian bullets, but that the Sultan al-Ashraf Qänsüh and the Beys had rejected this innovation in warfare as unworthy of true valour. The Mauritanian cried out: “ Whoever lives shall see this empire perish by these bullets.” *107 After the Ottoman victory over the Mamlüks the leadership passed from the Bubturids to the Macns. "* Ibn Sbâf, fol. 117 a*118 b; $âlib b. Y abyi, p. 223. 107 Hammer, Histoire dt I 'Empin Ottoman, Paris, 1837, IV, p. 309; E. S. Creasy, History of the Ottoman Turks, London, 1878, pp. 144-145, D. Ayalon, Gunpowder and Firearms in the Martduk Kingdom, London, 1956, p. 88.

C H A PTER T H IR T E E N

A DRUZE SAGE: AL-AMÏR AL-SAYYID JAMÄL AL-DÎN «ABDALLAH AL-TANÜKHÏ The Druzes call him Al-Amlr al-Sayyid, or simply al-Sayyid, and always accompany his name with the invocation: “ May God sanctify his soul,” for he is the most deeply revered individual in Druze history after the hudûd who founded and propagated the faith. He was bom in Rabl« 1,820/May, 1417, a descendant in the direct line from the Tanükh emirs whose ancestry goes back to the Lakhmid king of IJïra, al-Mundhir b. Ma5 al-Samä123 who lived in the first half of the sixth century A.D. When he died in Jum ädä II, 884/September, 1479, his family still ruled south Lebanon, a rule that lasted close to four centuries and came to an end with the Ottoman conquest of Syria in 1516. O f his life there are two brief accounts, one written by a disciple, Abü «All Mar«!,1 the other by the historian Ibn Sbâ(2 whose father was in the Sayyid’s service as religious instructor and imam of the mosque in «Abayh.3 Ibn Sbaf himself was brought up in the emir’s house, but was too young when the emir died to be counted among his famous disciples. The life set before us is one of pious devotion, the piety combined spiritual meditation and renunciation of the world’s vanities with a dedication to teaching and guiding his fellow-men. From his early youth al-Sayyid showed an eager desire to learn and an inclination for the company of pious men. He had hardly come of age when he was established in his calling. Soon his reputation spread as a man of God. O f his education we know by inference from the education given to the emirs of his family.4 They were taught by private teachers and studied religious sciences, language, poetry, and history; some of them, like the historian $äüh b. Yahyä, had a disposition for scientific studies. Sayyid «Abdallah left his native country once when he went to Damascus where he stayed several years. There he had access to libraries and pursued studies in religion, language, philosophy, and riyâtfâ, here most probably meaning the works of 3üfis who practised riyafa (spiritual and moral selfdiscipline). He concentrated on the study of the Qui^än 1 This biography was published by A. Nuwayhid. I have used our manuscript of M a li’s account which varies somewhat from the published text. 2 Ibn Sbät, Ta^rikh, folios 118b-125b. 2 ‘Abayh is the Sayyid’s home village. 4 See Chapter X II.

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which he memorized, constantly repeated, and meditated upon so that all its suras and verses were impressed on his heart. Al-Sayyid had a library of 500 volumes, a considerable collection for a library of manuscripts, for which some books were brought from Egypt. When Ibn Sbät wrote about it, the library had already been distributed. Its contents included commentaries on the Q ur’an, books on fiqh accord­ ing to the four Sunni rites, language and grammar, history and biography, poetry and philosophical works among them the Epistles of the Brothers of Purity. That the works of Çûfis figured among the contents of the library is to be expected, for the Sayyid was a Çüfi himself and often quoted $üfîs in his writings and teachings. Teaching others, old and young, occupied Sayyid cAbdallah when he was not absorbed in meditation and prayer. He set a day each week when disciples gathered around him to listen to his explanations and discuss with him the mysteries of their faith. His spacious dtwôn (reception room), well known to notables of the land, was on that day turned into a seminar for advanced religious studies. He commanded his leading disciples, each in his locality, to designate a day in the week to teach the Q ur’an and Sunna, the lives of prophets and pious men, and guide others to the path of righteousness. People hastened to comply with this arrangement. At his order mosques were built and others repaired in the villages. Waqfs were established for religious and charitable purposes. The Sayyid set apart a large proportion of his property for these ends. The Friday prayer was held in every village whose male population furnished the number required for the Friday congregation. And he appointed faqths to teach the children, and himself paid for the instruction of orphans throughout the country, far and near. On the education and upbringing of boys, Sayyid cAbdallah wrote in his commentary on the Fifth Episde of the Scriptures. The child is a trust in his parents hands, his pure heart is a precious jewel, free from all im­ pression, ready to receive any imprint and lean in the direction towards which it is turned. From tender age he should be used to simplicity in food, clothing, and surroundings, and should be warned against the love of silver and gold. “ He should be taught that nobility lies in giving not in taking.” In school he shall apply himself to the study of the Q ur’an and the lives of the elect and holy, so that the love of the godly shall be im­ planted in his heart. His neglect of prayer and purification shall not be condoned. He shall be rewarded for good deeds and not unduly blamed for shortcomings lest words lose their effect on him. After school he should be allowed to play and relax, for denying play to a child and over­ whelming him with studies depress his heart, dull his mind, and take the

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joy out of his life, so that he resorts to tricks to evade learning. Girls as well as boys should be taught to read. Sayyid cAbdallah unequivocally asserts: it is an imperative obligation for the father to teach his child, male and female, reading and writing, and what is lawful and what pro­ hibited; he is most strongly forbidden to neglect teaching reading and writing to his child, male or female. Again in the same commentary he asserts: no one is permitted to neglect acquiring literacy himself, as he is forbidden to leave his child and wife illiterate. On woman’s education, specifically religious instruction, and on her rights and duties al-Sayyid wrote a long treatise. It is a commentary on Epistle 25 in which Hamza defined the mutual obligations of husband and wife. SayyidcAbdallah elaborated the principles set forth in the Epis** tie, emphasizing the equality between husband and wife and the hus* band’s duty to provide the opportunity for his wife to learn and advance in knowledge.3 The Sayyid was always ready to teach whoever sought to learn, be he old or young, imparting knowledge in accordance with the seeker's ability to absorb. For him, learning, like wealth, was to be put in the service of others. Wealth belongs to God; it is a deposit with those who have it; they acquit themselves of the deposit by spending it on God’s children, having pro­ vided for their own moderate needs. As zakät (alms-tax) is required on worldly possessions, so the learned should teach others, a zakät (justifica­ tion) for their learning. The cä/tm (scholar) who thinks that Him (learning, knowledge) is a display of eloquence and cleverness in debate and argumentation is not an cälim but a jähil (ignorant) unless he repent and act in accordance with what he learned. Imparting knowledge to the deserving is a duty commanded by God. Whoever withholds from others his learning is deserving of God’s punishment. O f such a person Aristotle said: a m an’s unwillingness to share knowledge and wisdom which lead to happiness is the utmost tyranny and the greatest sin.6 In a sacred Druze source we read: “ To have litde learning but to act in accordance with it is more profitable than to know much but to do little with it. May God have mercy on him who knows and acts and imparts knowledge, and on him who studies and understands and causes others to understand.” 7 7 See Chapter XV II. * Commentary on Epistle 5. This is the position of Ismäc1fi theosophy: if justice is the disapproval of violence which tyrannises the oppressed, then to make the ignorant arrive at knowledge is certainly to perform the greatest justice, since ignorance is evident tyran­ ny. H . Corbin et M . MocTn, Nâfir-i Khosraw, Küäb-i Ja m * al-Hikmatayn, “ Etude Préliminaire’’, p. 61. 7 al-Shari^a al-Rübänijrya, pp. 134-135.

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The Sayyid's spiritual and moral authority made him the most celebrated and trusted judge though he did not hold the position official­ ly. And he was more feared and obeyed than any ruler, his overwhelming moral force acting as an impetus to right conduct and a deterrent to wrong doing. In performing the function of judge he furthered the cause for which he laboured as teacher and spiritual guide. Litigants came to him from places as far apart as $afad in the south and Aleppo in the north, and from Tripoli to Damascus. After listening to their story he would begin by gende advice and exhortation, then pronounce his deci­ sion which was never gainsaid. The controversy ended in reconciliation, the parties who came as contestants returned as friends. Dhimmis, Chris­ tians and Jews, came to him for the setdement of temporal disputes; they went away satisfied with his judgment and praising his justice. Obedience to the law prevailed under the vigilance of the Sayyid and his many disciples. An effective punishment was banning from majälis atdhikr, the meeting houses which the Sayyid established in various places. Whoever was guilty of lying, stealing even though it be a penny, who drank intoxicants, wronged someone else, or erred in any other way, was forbidden entry to the majälis. The person so chastised was ashamed to be seen by his fellowmen, the penalty was more painful than prison, flog­ ging, or any other punishment that rulers inflicted. If any of the senior disciples committed an injustice he was summoned to appear before the Sayyid, a much dreaded consequence of the error. In demanding strict adherence to standards of equity from disciples in positions of authority the Sayyid was following the example of the imam al-Awzacl who brought to account governors who deviated from the path of justice.' The Sayyid's moral influence was so great because in everything he did or abstained from doing he practiced what he preached. He was a liv­ ing example of his faith, no more so than at the death of his only surviv­ ing child on his wedding day. The son, Sayfeddln £Abd al-Khäliq, was at the age of twenty accomplished in learning, of exemplary piety, and full of promise. Throngs from all over the country came to share with the Sayyid his loss. He stood before them, firm in his faith, humble before God, whom he praised and thanked, and with reverent patience submit­ ted to His will. And he taught and exhorted them as was his wont, repeating the verse: "give thou good tidings unto the patient who, when they are visited by an affliction, say, 'surely we belong to God, and to Him we return’ With the Sayyid teaching, preaching, and implementing the Q ur’an injunction: enjoin that which is right and forbid the evil,10 and his*• * See Chapter X II. * Q ur’an 2:155. •• Qui^àn 3:104, 110, 114, 9:72.

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disciples spreading his teachings, a climate of well being covered the land. In the words of the Sayyid’s biographer: the world was as though a young maiden, the age as though spring-time, its air fragrant, the good thrived, evil withered away in those times, nothing was heard in the land except “ this one has memorized the Holy Book” , and “ that one has acquired knowledge“ , and “ that one has attained to understanding“ . Yet, there were those who opposed the Sayyid through misunderstand­ ing or wilful misrepresentation of his teachings such as attributing to him the order to prevent people from learning the fiikma (Scriptures) which, of course, was a falsehood. In a letter to the elders of Wadi al-Taym, war­ ning them against such rumors, the Sayyid told them that, in accordance with the teachings of religion, the fiikma is for those worthy of it, who abstain from what is forbidden, and are earnest and sincere in their faith. He also wrote to a friend on a pilgrimage to Hijäz about a man of evil who caused dissension in the community. This letter, dated 871/1466, was sent from Damascus where he retired following the circulation of false statements. During his stay in Damascus which lasted twelve years, he was surrounded by disciples who assisted him in spreading the good by word and deed. He returned to his native country before 874/1469, the date of his son's death. Sayyid cAbdalläh composed a number of books and treatises. He wrote Commentaries on three Epistles of the Scriptures: al-Mithäq (No. 5) is the Covenant by which the adherent binds himself to the faith; Kashf alfjaq&iq (No. 13) is on Unitarian theology; and Sharf al-Imàm (No. 25) has been referred to above. There are two treatises, one on the attributes of the Universal Intelligence, the other on the conduct of the Elect. And there are letters written to individual friends or disciples and to com­ munities of believers. He collected a lexicon of the Arabic language, but this work, to the writer’s knowledge, is not extant. It is, however, men­ tioned among the sources used by Ashrafani, author o f cUmdat al-cÄrifin. The Sayyid’s writings are imbued with $üfîsm. He followed the $üfi way to the knowledge of God. Having conquered the passions of the flesh, he realized intimacy with God. In the Mïthâq (Epistle 5) the neophyte surrenders his soul to God. A believer’s first duty, the Sayyid says, is to know the soul and to what purpose it was created. The soul is equally capable at its creation of good and evil. Which of the two eventually dominates is the result of the individual’s conduct over which he has power, being endowed with freedom of choice. The soul was created to worship God and profess His Unity. Before it can fulfil this purpose it must rid itself of its darkness and achieve mastery over the body whose desires are like wild beasts ready to devour it if not

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suppressed. The carnal soul is m an’s worst enemy." Man must be in constant struggle with it, rebuking and chastising it, and not putting aside for one hour the whip of discipline.11*3 He must know that evil comes only from within. The soul thus disciplined is submissive to God, ever conscious of its Creator; no longer disturbed by contending lusts, it is a soul at peace.13 As with the $üfis the path to God consisted of stages achieved through personal effort and of states bestowed upon the traveller by God, so with SayyidcAbdallah personal endeavour aided with God’s grace is the way to God. Commenting on the passage in the Scriptures:14*“ Hold on to what you have learned of the Hikma and with firm belief continually knock at the door of mercy, God shall manifest Himself to your understanding’’, the Sayyid says: Let no one believe that he has attained the truth in this world and earned reward in the next merely by his works or by God’s will alone. Rather attainment of the good in this world and the world to come is realized through righteousness, in word, deed, and intention, aided by God’s help and support and by His volition. The worshipper knocks at the door through learning (ct7m) and doing (camal). God’s manifestation to him is the supreme good.13 In a letter to cAbd al-Qädir Rayyän, the friend of disciple on a pilgrimage to Hijäz, Sayyid cAbdallah wrote: the basis of happiness in this world and the world to come is to be ever conscious of God’s presence. No one knocks at the door with his inmost being but it is open­ ed and he beholds the Majesty. This is achieved when the worshipper has divested himself of all that is other than God (mä siwä AUàh). For Bâyazïd al-Bistâmï this is the first step to God. When the soul has cast away its darkness and has become transubstantiated it takes the second step which is union (ittifäl) with its Creator. Elsewhere the Sayyid wrote: knowledge (nutrifa) of God is the fruit of the purity of the innermost heart (sin), cleansed of every blemish and im­ purity. The soul is then like a clear crystal or a shining mirror receptive to the divine lights; it witnesses its Creator in its pure, shining essence. Like the limpid stream on which the moon and stars are reflected so that they seem indwelling in it, so is God manifested to the believer’s pure heart.16 11 The Prophet said: “ Thy tiaft (soul), which is between they two sides, is they worst enemy.” 11 Bâyazïd al-Bistâmî said: “ I was the smith of my own self” ; he freed himself from all the obstacles that separated him from God. ** Commentary on Epistle 5. 14 Episde 57. 11 Commentary on Episde 13.

•• Ibid.

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A ORUZBSAGE

Again on this theme the Sayyid wrote: the fruit of the knowledge of God is satisfaction (riffa) with all His works in the firm belief that all His works are unmixed wisdom, truth and justice. The devotee’s satisfaction with God’s decree is rewarded with his Creator’s satisfaction with him when He shall manifest to him His Majesty, Beauty, and Light, to witness which is the ultimate aim and desire.17 17 Commentary on Epistle 5.

C H A PTER FO U RTEEN

FAKHR AL-DÏN MACN II With the Ottoman conquest of Syria, a new Druze family came to power, the Macns, a clan of the large tribe of Rab^a whose home was in the Jazira on the upper Euphrates. Macn fought the Crusaders in north Syria with the Artuqid Dghäzl, the ally of Tughtakïn, ruler of Damascus. They had won successes and suf­ fered defeats before Macn moved to the Biqäc which he left, by Tughtakln’s order, to settle in south Lebanon, there to reinforce the Druzes who held Muslim territory against the Franks.*1 Macn and his clan setded in Shüf, then a desolate country. The Macns were welcomed by the Tanükhs with whose help they built houses and gave up tent life. Presently, refugees from territories occupied by the Franks setded in Shüf which became covered with villages. Bcaql!n was built and became an important Druze centre. Emir Macn died in 543/1148 and was succeeded by his son Miindhir. In the struggle against the Crusaders the Macns were the allies of the Tanükhs to whom they became related by marriage. They were known by the name Ramjünî, after the village in south Lebanon which they inhabited.2 After Sultan Salim defeated the Mamlüks at Maij Däbiq near Aleppo in 1516, he came to Damascus where he summoned the emirs of the region to his presence. The Sultan invested emir Qprqmâz, son of emir Yünus b. Macn with the government of Shüf and emir Jam âl al-Din alYamanï (al-Arslânî) with the Gharb.2 That the Sultan appointed Druze emirs over Druze country was a recognition of the old-established tradi­ tion of Druze independence under their own emirs. Before long, the Druzes clashed with Ottoman authorities. Early in 930/1523 the governor of Damascus, Khurräm Pasha, marched against the Druzes, defeated them, and pillaged and burned villages in Shüf. The reason for the expedition was Druze insubordination and the killing 1 A. Ismäfil, Documents Diplomatiques, VIII. "H istoire de la Famille C kehab," pp. 374-376. Forllghâzî’s battles with the Franks see H . A. R. Gibb, "Zengi and the Fall of Edessa” , Setton, a History of the Crusades. I, p. 451. 1 Ibn Sbâf, fol. 116a; A. N. Poliak, “ Le caractère Colonial de l’Etat M amlouk,” Revue des Etudes Islamiques, 1935, p. 247, n. 6. 1 Istffan Duwayhî, Tabtkh al-Azmina, ed. F. Taoutel, p. 326; K. S. $alibî, "T he Secret of the House of Macn " , International Journal of Middle East Studies, vol. 4, 1973, pp. 272-287.

18 0

FAKHR AL-DÏN MACN II

of the governor’s subash* (police officer). We are not told what the in­ subordination was about or what the subash* was doing in Druze country. But we may assume that the governor of Damascus and his agent tried to interfere in Druze affairs and were resisted.4 This incident, occurring at the beginning of Ottoman rule in Syria, foreshadowed what was to follow. For Druze relations with the provincial governors were punc­ tuated by rebellion against encroachments upon their liberty. As the power of the Macn emir grew, the suspicion of the governor of Damascus, whose jurisdiction included the Druze country, also in­ creased. In 1544 Mu$tafa Pasha drew Fakhr al-Dln I to Damascus and treacherously killed him. His son Qprqmäz and grandson Fakhr al-Dîn II were ever wary of being enticed into the presence of an Ottoman gover­ nor or vizier. The Macn emir had to beware of danger not only from the provincial capital but had to guard against the intrigues of neighboring chiefs motivated by jealousy and personal feuds. In 1585 a tribute convoy from Egypt on its way to Istanbul was raided and pillaged near the bay of cAkkär north of Tripoli. Enemies of the M acnids, the Sayfas of cAkkär and Ibn al-Furaykh of the Biqäc, accused the Druzes although the incident took place outside their territory. Ibrâhîm Pasha, viceroy of Egypt, was ordered to punish the Druzes. Emir Qprqmäz refused Ibrahim’s summons to meet him in the Biqäc, remembering his father’s fate when he answered a similar call by another Ottoman Pasha. Ibrâhîm killed the Druze cUqqäl (religious men) who went to meet him at cAyn Çawfar on behalf of their community. He devastated Druze country and took away much wealth. Qprqmäz died a fugitive. Qprqmäz left two young sons, Fakhr al-Dîn and Yünus. Their maternal uncle, the Tanükhid emir Sayf al-Dîn, took them to his care, and with their mother, a remarkable woman, brought them up. The story that their mother entrusted them to the Khäzin family in north Lebanon was invented in the nineteenth century. When Fakhreddîn came of age he acceded to his father’s patrimony. When Fakhr al-Dîn assumed power, the Ottoman Empire had passed its zenith. The last of the great sultans, Sulaymän the Magnificent died in 1566. Fakhr al-Dîn ruled from 1590 to 1633. During this period six sultans succeeded to the imperial throne, one was dethroned, another

4 Henri Laoust, Let Governors de Damas sous Us Mamiouks et Us Premiers Ottomans 658-1156!1260-1744, traduction des Annales d ’Ibn Tulun et i'lbn Gum(a, Institut de Damas, 1952, pp. 162-165, 175, 177.

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181

murdered, and three ruled for five years between them. The only strong sultan among them was Murâd IV who reigned from 1623 to 1639.9 The weakness of the government in Istanbul was reflected in the prov­ inces where governors defied the central authority, local chiefs rebelled, and troops got out of control. A scene of Sipähls addressing the sultan depicts this troubled state. In Rajab 1012/December 1603, the Sipâhl legion requested the sultan to call a general Diwân (Council) to take into consideration the state of the empire everywhere tom and afflicted with rebellion and insubordination. The Diwän was held: the mußt, culama, and others, in all thirty met in council. Representatives of the Sipähls spoke: “ Sire, in consequence of the war which you find necessary to carry on at a distance, the glory of the royal house is impaired, and its dignity is diminished. The empire, from one end to the other, is trampled upon... The insurgents and rebels have seized the whole world” .56 A rebel leader with whom our story is concerned was CA11 Jänbuläd, Fakhr al-Din’s ally. As the Jänbuläds7*later settled in Lebanon where they played a paramount part in Druze history, it is appropriate to introduce them at this point. Their ancestor is Jänbuläd (Soul of Steel), son of amir Qäsim the Kurd sumamed Ibn cArabü. Jänbuläd (d. 1572) was governor of Killis and cAzäz, north of Aleppo, a region infected by robbers and highway men. He suppressed brigandage and brought order and security into the sanjaq under his control.* He took part in the conquest of Rhodes under Sulaymän the Magnificent. He is referred to in laudatory terms in an “ Order to the Beglerbeg of Damascus,” dated 15 Jum ädä 1, 967/12 February, 1560, concerning a former Alay-Beg of Nablus who was hand­ ed over as prisoner to “ the Pride of the honourable Emirs Cänpuläd, may his glory endure.” 9 The author of an llth/17th century geographical dictionary described him as a man of wide renown and lofty purpose.10 Jänbuläd’s son Husayn succeeded his father in the governorship of the sanjaq of Killis and cAzäz. The governor of Aleppo, Na$üb Päshä, called on him for help to put an end to the Janissaries’ turbulence and lawlessness. 5 F. Wüstenfeld, Fachr ed-Din der Drusenßirst und sane Zeitgenossen, Göttingen, 1886, pp. 11-48. * Na'ima, Annals of the Turkish Empirefiom 1591 to 1669, translated from the Turkish by Charles Frazer, I, London, 1832, pp. 212-213. 7 Jonblat is the form under which the name of the family is known after their settlement in Lebanon. ' Najm al-Dfn al-GhazzI, al-Kawàkib al-Sàyira, III, pp. 138-139. * U. Heyd, Ottoman Doatments on Palestine 1552-1615, Oxford, 1961, p. 87. >• Al-MuhibbT, Khalifat al-Athar, III, p. 136.

18 2

FAKHR AL-DÏN MACN II

Originally, the Janissaries were a corps of trained and disciplined soldiers, recruited by the periodical levy of children from among the con­ quered European peoples of the Ottoman Empire. The institution was not open to free-born Muslims. Its members were forebidden to marry before retirement on pension, or to engage in any trade or craft. But they had become undisciplined bands who lost their martial character and whose ranks were drawn from among artisans in the cities.11 By the end of the 16th century, the Janissaries of Damascus dominated Aleppo. The Janissaries stationed in the city were at feud with the local militia. Repeated attempts by the governor to drive them out failed. With Husayn’s help, Na?üb secured their expulsion. Having got rid of the Janissaries, he turned against Husayn. In two encounters between the forces of the two pashas, Na$&b was defeated.,a The Sirdär, Sinän Pasha Öighäla, who was in the east at the head of the Ottoman army sent to fight the Persians, removed Na$üb from the governorship of Aleppo and appointed Husayn in his place. For the ap­ pointment Husayn paid the Sirdar 7000 gold pieces and undertook to send to Istanbul an annual payment of 600,000 gold pieces, and to join the Sirdar in the Persian war. Sinän’s expedition in 1604 met with disaster. Husayn had been slow in marching out to join the expedition. When he went to meet the Sirdär in Van, he expected to be praised for having saved the corps under his com­ mand. But, in an outburst of fury, Sinän killed him. Husayn was warned not to go to the Sirdär, but in the pride of his heart he answered, “ If I sleep Jeghala Oghli will not certainly have the courage to watch” .15 In his biographical Dictionary, MubibbI (d. I l l 1/1699) described H u­ sayn as a man of muruwwa and fiituwwa (honour and chivalry), a friend of ^ulamä and pious men, but an oppressor because of his need to support his troops.11*4 Husayn’s troops and followers rallied to his nephew CA1T who rebelled in Aleppo. The Syrian army sent against him was commanded by Yûsuf Pasha Sayfa, governor of Tripoli, who paid large sums to obtain the com­ mand. In the battle near Hama cAH’s victory was complete. Ibn Sayfa fled; he stopped long enough in Tripoli to collect his treasures, then sailed to Haifa and took refugee with Abmad b. Tarabay.15 11 H. A. R. Gibb and Harold Bowen, Islamic Society and the West, vol. I, part 1, p. 181. 15 Al-Mubibbi, Khulàfat ai-Athar, II, pp. 84-87; K. H. al-Ghazzi, Nahr al-Dhahab f i Tahikh (falab, III, pp. 266-276. 15 Al-Bûrlnî, Taräjim al-A’yän, II, p. 271; Na'ima, Annah oj the Twkith Empire, pp. 304-305. 14 Al-MubibbT, II, pp. 84-7. 15 Al-Bürînî, I, pp. 228-9, II, p. 272.

FAKHR AL-DÏN MACN II

18 3

After his victory, cAli Pasha sought the help of Fakhr al-Din Macn, emir of Shûf and Sidon territory, with whom he claimed kinship, in the next move against Ibn Sayfa. The two emirs met in the Biqäc and decided to proceed to Damascus where Yüsuf Sayfa had gone from Haifa. They camped in the neighbourhood of Damascus, at cArräd. With them were emir Ahmad Shihäb of Wädi al-Taym and emir Yünus Harfush of Bacalbek. While Yüsuf Sayfa stayed inside the city feigning illness, CA1I Jânbulâd was undermining the forces of Damascus through secret ar­ rangements with their leaders. The battle on 15 Jum ädä II, 1015/October 1606 had barely begun when the Damascus ranks broke up, so that CAH said: “ the Damascus troops did not fight us, they came to greet us and went away.” 1* Yüsuf Sayfa slipped out of the city and made his way to Hi?n al-Akräd. cAfi Jânbulâd accused the Damascenes of conniving at his escape although they knew he had no quarrel with them but with Ibn Sayfa who had paid 50,000 gold pieces for the command to fight him. The Damascenes had made Ibn Sayfa deposit with the Qatfi 100,000 piasters to be paid to Jânbulâd before allowing him to depart. CA1! Pasha forbade his troops to enter Damascus but gave them a free hand to pillage its surroundings. £Afi Jânbulâd marched north and encamped opposite Hi?n al-Akräd: he bade Yüsuf Sayfa choose between war and peace. Sayfa chose peace and the payment to Jânbulâd of an agreed sum. The two emirs then sealed their reconciliation by concluding marriages between members of their families.*17 Fakhr al-Din returned to his mountain. His alliance with CAKJânbulâd against Yüsuf Sayfa was prompted by antagonism between the Macns and Sayfas who succeeded the Turkoman 'Assäfs as rulers of Tripoli and cAkkâr. Yüsuf Sayfa was extending his territory southwards too close to the Macns to be left alone. In 1598 Fakhr al-Dfn had defeated him at the Dog River. Earlier, Ibn Sayfa was involved in falsely accusing the Druzes of the raid on the convoy carrying Egypt’s tribute to the Porte which led to the Ottoman campaign into the Druze country. cAlï Jânbulâd returned to Aleppo, his capital as the dominant ruler in Syria. For two years he ruled a virtually independent state which extend­ ed from Adana in Asia minor to H am a." He arrogated to himself the two emblems of royalty in Islam: minting coins and the recitation of his name in the bidding prayer at the Friday service. “ Al-MubibbT, II, pp. 136-137; al-Bürinï, II, p. 276. 17 Al-Muhibbi, III, pp. 138-140; al-Bürïnf, II, pp. 278-282. BQrinl (d. 1024/1615) says: “ His rule was effective from Adana to Gaza, II, p. 282.

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In 1607 Jänbuläd concluded an accord with Ferdinant I, Grand duke of Tuscany, thereby giving further cause to the sultanate to decide on his removal. A large force was sent against him under the grand Vizier Muräd Pasha. The imperial army and Jänbuläd’s forces met near Baghras defile where, after a bloody battle, Jänbuläd was defeated.19 Although Fakhr al-DTn was associated with Jänbuläd’s revolt, he retained his powerful position in Syria. In this time, Syria was organized in three provinces (Turkish, lyälet\ Arabic, Waliyti): Aleppo, Shäm (Damascus), and Tripoli. The Druze country was dependent upon the w ill of Damascus. Fakhr al-Dln began his rule as emir of south Lebanon and Sidon. From this base he aimed to extend his hegemony and influence. Kisrawän in central Lebanon with the littoral was to be the area of his hegemony. For spheres of influence he looked to the mountainous regions of Hawrän, cAjlûn and Nablus, whose populations were loosely controlled by the O t­ toman government.20 In the pursuit of his ambitions, the Shihäbs of Wädi al-Taym were his allies. The Sayfas, whom he sought to supplant, were naturally his enemies. In the Biqäc, the Harfush chiefs vacillated between friendship and enmity. Among the tribal chiefs of the moun­ tainous districts, he had allies and clients. In his relations with the frequently changing Ottoman wilts, as with the government in Istanbul, and with dignitaries of the empire visiting or passing through Syria, Fakhr al-DTn was openhanded in his disbursement of funds and presents. He duly paid his tribute to the Porte where he had a resident agent generously supplied with funds to smooth the way for the emir’s projects. Law and order reigned in the Druze country, and Fakhr al-DTn tried to bring lawless bedouins to heel and so secure communications, especially the pilgrim route, against bedouin raids. Fakhr al-DTn, therefore, was not remiss in discharging his obligations to his suzerain, the sultan. His quarrels with the wilts, and through them with the imperial government, stemmed from their suspicions and jealousy of his growing power. Fakhr al-DTn was ambitious, and was endowned with the qualities re­ quisite for the fulfilment of high ambition: personal valour, a determined will, and tireless energy in the pursuit of his purpose. In 1612, Häfi? Ahmad, the wilt of Damascus, removed the Shaykhs p f Hawrän and cAjlün, Fakhr al-DTn’s clients, andreplaced them by their rivals. The ousted chiefs threw themselves, with their families and 19 J . De Hammer, Histoire de l'Empire Ottoman, Paris, 1837, vol. VIII, pp. 115-121. 20 P. M. Holt, Egypt and the Fertile Crescent, 1516-1922, London, 1966, pp. 115-116.

FAKHR AL-DÎN MACN II

18 5

followers upon Fakhr al-Dln for help. The emir sent with them his son ‘All at the head of a force which met the Damascus army and the govern­ ment’s bedouins at Muzairib, south of Damascus, and defeated them. Hawrän and Jawlän came under Fakhr al-Dfn’s control. Earlier, when Häfi? tried to subdue the Biqäc chief Ibn Harfush, and emir Ahmad Shihâb of Wâdi al-Taym, Fakhr al-Dln gave them effective aid.21 He defeated Yusuf Sayfa and annexed Kisrawân and Beirut. Complaints were sent to the capital that Fakhr al-Din was expanding his dominion, he was repairing fortresses, and building up a large army.22 The grand vizier was Naçûb Pasha, formerly wait of Aleppo, who had not forgiven Fakhr al-Dln for allying himself with cAlï Jänbuläd. Häfi? urged Na$üb to authorize an expedition against Fakhr al-Dln dangling before him the prospect of abundant booty, for he told the vizier: ‘Tbn M a'n ’s country is prosperous and abounding with wealth.” 22 In 1613 a coalition was formed against Fakhr al-Dln: his local enemies, the wait of Damascus, and the government in Istanbul. An imperial army was sent to fight him, and a fleet sailed to the Lebanese coast. Fakhr al-Dln tried unsuccessfully to effect a reconciliation with Hâfi?, and sent a delegation to Damascus to this end, among its members was Fakhr al-Dln’s historian, Ahmad al-Khâlidï.24 Fakhr al-Dln ordered his son £A1T to go to the desert where he intended to join him, there to stay with the bedouins until the crisis was over. He started on the journey when he found that Häfi? had sent troops to hold the roads. He returned, came down to the coast, and embarked for Europe. Even as he descended into the boat he still hesitated.22 Before he left, the emir made arrangements for the defence and ad­ ministration of the country in his absence. He stocked the casdes of Baniyäs and Beaufort (Shaqlf Amftn) with ammunition and supplies and ordered the commanders not to surrender even though submission might redeem him should he fall into the hands of the Ottoman government.26 CAK commanded the castle at Baniyäs and was recognized as the emir. Yünus, Fakhr al-Dln’s brother, administered the Shuf and loyally sup­ ported his nephew. After Fakhr al-Dln’s departure, tfäfi? appointed a governor over Sidon, he restored Beirut and Kisrawân to Yüsuf Sayfa, and gave the Gharb, Jurd, and Matn to Shaykh Mu?affar ‘Alam al-Dln al-Yamänl.27 11 Al-Khâlidi, Ta**nkh al-Armr Fakhr al-Din, Beirut, 1936, pp. 7-9. » Al-Muhibbi, I, p. 385; Bürini, I, pp. 207-209. ” Khâlidi, p. 7. *♦ Ibid., pp. 12-13. « Ibid., pp. 15-18. M Ibid , pp. 12-13. *7 Ism i’O, Documents Diplomatiques, VIII, p. 401.

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Häfi? then besieged Beaufort castle with an army o f50,000, besides his local allies. The castle is on top of a narrow, rocky ridge which descends precipitously over 1000 feet on the east to the Lftäni river. On the west the slope is steep until it reaches the small plain on which Amün village is situated.28 The siege began in mid-October 1613. For sixty days cannon fire did not cease day and night. It was answered by fire from the castle where the defendants resisted stubbornly. From his failure before Beaufort, Hàfi? turned to the Shûf. At Gharifeh village the attackers were repelled and driven away. But the numbers gathered to devastate the Shûf were so overwhelming that the shaykhs and notables advised emir Yünus to send his mother to negotiate with Hâfi? at Beaufort the terms for sparing the district. With the emir’s mother went thirty shaykhs of the citqqäl. Häfi? demanded the payment of 300,000 piasters, half to spare burning the Shûf, and half to raise the siege. As security for the payment, he took with him to Damascus the emir’s mother, surrounded with due honour and respect. The chronicler of this story of war stops to point to a bright spot in the picture: the harvest was abundant, the crops in the villages were beyond measure or limit.29 In September 1614, tfäfi? left Damascus on a new campaign against the Druzes. From his camp in western Biqäc he sent troops to join Shaykh M u ç a ffa r in the attack on Shûf. A battle was fought at Bârûk; by sunset the army of Hafiz and Muzaffar’s men were defeated and routed. In another battle, at BisrI, the Macn forces again won. But they dispersed into Wädi al-Taym when an army of over 12.000 was sent to Shûf; emir Yûnus and his ally emir cAll Shihäb retreated to Bäniyäs castle. The troops, with whom were Shaykh Muzaffar and Ibn Sayfa, burned and pillaged villages in Shûf and destroyed the Ma(n palace at Dayr alQamar. Hafiz went to Nlfta village to look at its castle (Tïrûn); he found it impregnable, against it siege engines had no effect.20 Häfiz set out from his camp in Biqä£ with the intention of besieging Beaufort castle. On the way news reached him that Naçüb was killed. The new Grand Vizier was admiral Muhammed Pasha whom Fakhr al-Dln had served with a handsome present when he was recalled from Egypt. Häfiz, therefore, ordered the troops to return to their homes, and he went to Damascus where he was presently replaced by Tcherkes Muhammad Pasha, a friend of the house of Macn. He immediately set the emir’s mother free and sent to Fakhr al-Dln a letter of amnesty.*10 n C. R. Conder and H. H. Kitchener, The Survey of Western Palestine, I, 1881, pp. 128-130. » Khâlidï, Tahikh, pp. 20-25. 10 Ibid., pp. 35-38; Isma'U, Documents, VIII, pp. 402-403.

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By this time, Fakhr al-DIn had been in Italy for a year, having arrived at Leghorn (Livorno) in the territory of the grand duke of Tuscany, Cosimo II who invited him to Florence. Cosimo received his guest not as a refugee but as head of state and assigned for his residence the majestic Old Palace. Fakhr al-Din’s arrival in Florence aroused much interest in Europe. Speculation spread about the purpose of his visit and its possible consequences for European ambitions in the Levant and the Ottoman empire in general. Ambitions of a crusading nature were revived. At this time the amusing notion was spread that the Druzes take their name from the Comte de Dreux, a crusader who, when the Franks were defeated, took refuge with his followers in the mountains, intermixed with the in­ habitants, and so the Druzes came into being. O f course, the Druze com­ munity was formed a century before the Crusaders set foot in Syria. The community admitted no outsiders when the dafwa was closed about a quarter of a century after it began. European missionaries and clergy to whom Fakhr al-Din was hospitable mistook his tolerance for agreement with their ideas and aims, and in self-delusion spread about that the emir was ready to help in a crusade to conquer the Holy Land from the Turks. In Europe, though the crusading spirit was alive as the expulsion of the Moors from Spain showed and the Holy League, formed in May, 1571, against the Turks expressed, yet Christendom was in no shape to achieve the unity needed for such a project. Shortly after the battle of Lepanto, Venice broke from the Holy League and concluded, in March 1573, a treaty with the Porte. France was rent by internal strife. Spain was more concerned with conquests in North Africa than in adventures farther east. Spanish predominance in Europe was becoming oppressive, even to the Papacy. The Pope, in his capacity as temporal prince, was involved in the political and military struggle around his states and beyond. Presently, the Thirty Years War occupied all western Europe. All the while, the Mediterranean was the arena of piracy which “ consumed the passions that would in other times have gone into a crusade or jihad.”31 Fakhr al-Din considered his departure to Europe as he would have felt about going to the desert or some other remote place, away from the scene of conflict until the crisis was weathered and changes in viziers and wilts brought to positions of authority persons less hostile, or perhaps favourable to him, and so a reconciliation would be achieved.

*' F. Braudel, The Mediterranean and the Mediterranean World in tht Agt of Philip II, vol. II, New York, 1973, pp. 890, 1234; L. Ranke, The History of the Popes, vol. II, London, 1853, pp. 46, 59-60; Fisher, Barbery Legend, War, Trade, and Piracy in North Africa 1415-1830, Ox­ ford, 1957, pp. 69-75.

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Florence was a suitable choice for his stay. Though the Medicis had designs on the Levant, the Grand Duchy of Tuscany was not feared as a greater power might be. It was a prosperous and stable state and formed, with Venice, the two most important commercial states in the Mediterra­ nean. Fakhr al-DTn had already, in 1608, concluded an accord with the grand duke Ferdinand I. A year earlier, Ferdinand had reached an agreement with cAlï Jänbuläd, and the Florentines had a comptoir in Aleppo. Besides commercial advantages, Fakhr al-DTn hoped to obtain arms to strengthen his position in dealing with Ottoman authorities and local enemies, in return for which he would extend trading privileges to the Florentines, give refuge in his harbours to Florentine vessels, and sell wheat to Tuscany, disregarding the sultan’s interdiction of wheat export to Europe. Accounts in which Fakhr al-DTn is portrayed as the agent of Europe for the proposed conquest of Syria and the Holy Land are not to be taken seriously. Early in 1614, Cosimo sent a mission to Lebanon to inquire and report on conditions in the emir’s country. The mission returned in April. With them came Shaykh Yazbak al-cAfïf, a notable of Shüf, sent by the people to convey to the emir their abiding loyalty and to beg him to return to his country. Cosimo’s envoys confirmed the people’s attachment to their emir, and reported that the country was well populated and cultivated. The coasts were held by the Turks. In the interior, the emir’s son cAfi and his brother Yûnus were in control. The envoys were conducted to the forts of Bäniyäs, Beaufort, and Tîrün which they found impregnable.32 That Cosimo sent a mission to investigate the economic, military, and political situation in Lebanon shows that he had ambitions which went beyond the exchange of trade. As for Fakhr al-DTn, in allowing a foreign mission to enquire freely to the extent of surveying his fortresses, he hoped for military aid from Tuscany in the event of war with the O t­ toman government. But in the final contest between the emir and the sultanate, in 1633, no help was asked nor came from beyond the sea. We know little about Fakhr al-DTn’s stay in Italy. If he wrote down his impressions, no record has come down to us. A man of keen intelligence and open mind, he undoubtedly took eager interest in all that he saw. Fakhr al-DTn’s sense of beauty was no doubt nourished by the art treasures of Florence, the city of Lorenzo the Magnificent. He admired the villas and estates of the Tuscan countryside and modelled his palaces and gardens on them. He was impressed by Tuscan agriculture and sought to introduce its ways to his country. And he was interested in Florentine banking as he saw it in the Monti di Pieta bank. ” P. Carali, Fakhr Ad-Din II Principe del Libano e la Corte di Toscana 1605-1635, Rome, 1936, I, pp. 205-224.

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Fakhr al-Din kept a warm memory of Cosimo for the hospitality he received and which he repaid in full measure once he was back in his country. The grand duke’s ministers, however, were not as kindly disposed to the emir as their master. He felt they wanted him to go. When, therefore, he received an invitation to visit the king of Spain’s ter­ ritories in Sicily and Naples, he left Florence. In Sicily anyhow, he would be nearer home. From Sicily, Fakhr al-Din moved to Naples with the duke, the viceroy of the Spanish king. Here the duke tried to find out if he could make use of the emir to whom he sent a delegation of notables to pose certain ques­ tions. They asked: “ if we should go to your country, how many people would be with us?” The emir answered: “ I cannot be sure of anyone, neither my brother nor my son, nor the people of my country.” Question: “ if they do not join us, will they not sell us ammunition?” The emir: “ you know the power of Islam and the Ottomans; whoever seeks to conquer both powers does not depend on others for ammunition.” At this answer, they shook their heads and spoke in their language, then asked: “ How many soldiers did you have in your country?” The emir; “ When I was in power and the government was in my hands I could get together more than 10,000 men, besides those who remained behind in the country. But today I have power only over myself.” They were amazed at his answer and stopped asking. After this they ceased to pay any attention to him or to provide for his needs, so that he resorted to the sale of his belongings, among them his wife’s jewels.” During his stay in Italy, Fakhr al-Din practised the ritual prayer and observed the Ramadan fast. He had an imam to lead the prayer and a mu?adhdhin. One day in Naples, monks and notables came to him and said: “ You pray in congregation and have built a minaret” . The emir answered: “ It is true, we pray” . They said: “ we do not prevent you from your prayer.” Some time later, the duke sent for the shaykh who was with Fakhr al-Din and gave him a letter from the king of Spain saying: “ If the emir wishes to embrace our religion we shall give him a sovereignty equal to that which the sultan of the Muslims gave him and more. If he does not agree, he may stay or return to his country as he wishes. ’’ Fakhr al-Din in­ structed the shaykh to go to the duke, thank the king of Spain and say: “ the emir did nçt come to this country for the sake of religion, nor for government and rule. When an army he could not withstand came upon him, he sought refuge in your country, and for your protection he thanks » Khälidi, TaMkh, pp. 234-235.

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you. If you wish him to stay, he will remain in his present condition with his retainers. If you send him to his country, this is his desire, for he has a family, followers, and a country” .’4 It happened that a ship from Sidon arrived with a letter from Fakhr al-Dïn’s mother urging him to return so she could see him before she died. When the emir conveyed this message to the duke, he consented to issue the permit for him to leave. So eager was Fakhr al-Din to depart that on the next day he put his family on board the vessel, and with them his daughter’s coffin which he had kept in a sealed room. Still the duke delayed. For eight days in the summer heat and with the Ramadan fast they waited in the ship while Fakhr al-Din repeatedly asked for the permit to leave. Before the duke finally gave the permit, the following conversa­ tion took place between him and the emir. The duke: “ Where are you going?” The emir: “ To Sidon” . Q . “ Who rules Sidon?” A. “ My son” . Q, “ How old is he?” A. “ 20 years” . The duke said: “ Are you not afraid of your son, your family, and the people of your country?” The emir answered: “ I did not leave them as enemies” . The duke: “ If you do not fear them, are you not afraid of the sultan?” . The emir: “ What do I ask of the sultan? AU I want is a quiet life and to see my mother and family. If the authorities do not like this, the moun­ tains are large enough for us, and beyond the mountains is the wide world” . The duke: “ Are you going to Istanbul?” The emir: “ If I wanted to go to Istanbul I would not have come to you” .*5 This accound by Khälidi, who was close to Fakhr al-Din, has been given in extenso in order to redress a distorted picture of the emir drawn by zealots dreaming of a crusade. A better understanding of Fakhr al-Din’s relations with Europe awaits the full publication of the relevant documents in the archives of Florence and other European archives. Fakhr al-Dïn returned to his country after an absence of five years, from September 1613 to October 1618. His reception was that of a beloved ruler long separated from his loyal people. During the next fifteen years, till the end of his reign in 1633, Fakhr al-Din built a state, extensive in area, open on the world, its people, under just and stable rule, enjoying the fruit of their labour and living in peace and harmony with one another.14 14 Ibid., p. 236. « Ibid., pp. 237-238.

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During Fakhr al-Din's absence, Ibn Sayfa had joined Hail? in the campaign against Shùf and participated in the burning and pillage of its villages. Fakhr al-Din made haste to repay him. He marched in mid­ winter to north Lebanon, besieged Yüsuf Sayfa in the mountain fortress of cAkkâr, where he took refuge, and forced upon him a settlement which ceded the district of Jubayl and Batrün to the emir. In later campaigns, the emir completed the annexation of the remaining possessions of Yüsuf Sayfa, thereby bringing all mount Lebanon under his rule, and extend­ ing his dominion to Tripoli. When Yünus Harfush, emir of the Biqâc, tried to prevent the people of Shüf from cultivating their lands in the plain, Fakhr al-Din annexed western Biqäc, Yünus having fled before him. Possession of the strategically important village of Qab Ilyas gave him control of the Beirut Damascus road. The Shaykhs of IJawrän and cAjlün again sought Fakhr al-Din's help to regain their positions. This time, rather than repeat sending a force to fight the Damascus authorities to restore them, as on a previous occasion, Fakhr al-Din sent to Istanbul requesting their restitution by imperial order which was granted. In 1623, his possession of $afad, Nablus, and cAjlün was confirmed by the imperial government.*' In this year, Fakhr al-Din's enemies got together and induced Mutfafa Pasha, w ill of Damascus, to march against him. The wilt led an army of 12,000. With him were Yünus Harfush and cUmar Sayfa with their men, and tribesmen with their chiefs. Fakhr al-Din's allies were the emirs Muhammad and Ahmad Shibäb of Wâdi al-Taym. They took up their position a t cAnjar (ancient Chalcis) where they waited for Fakhr al-Din. When he arrived the battle had already begun between the men of Wâdi al-Taym and the Turkish troops. Fakhr al-Din arranged his forces in four divisions. With him were the men of the Gharb and Matn districts, and a contingent of Sukmän (mercnaries). His son, emir cAli, led the men of the Jurd and another group of Sukmän. Fakhr al-Din’s brother, emir Yünus, was at the head of the men of Shüf. Sltfa formed the fourth group and were led by one of Fakhr al-Din’s trusted subordinates. They converged from all sides upon the w ilfs troops and allies. The victory was quick and complete. The wait was taken prisoner, his allies fled, and the troops beat a fast retreat to Damascus. The spoils of the battle were enormous, no one was left without a share in the booty. Fakhr al-Din and his son Ali treated Mustafa Pasha with ceremonious respect and had him escorted to Qab Il­ yas. The wilt confirmed Fakhr al-Din in his possessions and invested him with the district of Gaza. He then returned to Damascus.37 M Ibid., p. 143. » Ibid., pp. 146-156.

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In 1624 Fakhr al-DTn’s paramountcy was recognized by imperial firman addressing him as Sultan al-Barr, to rule over cArabistän from Aleppo to Jerusalem.3* In this year Fakhr al-DTn toured his provinces, built and repaired for­ tresses, and saw that all was in good order. He looked beyond his borders to further conquests, perhaps to the sultanate, for he said: "T he sultanate is the expansion of boundaries, every new conquest increases our strength in men and wealth to move to another.*39 During this year, wheat was scarce in Damascus and the people ap­ pealed to Fakhr al-DTn to help them. The emir sent to Hawràn for supplies of wheat and ordered the price to be fixed at two pennies a rutl. When he came to Damascus, the inhabitants, old and young, went out to meet him, praying for his triumph and long life. Fakhr al-DTn built a strong and disciplined army. Its backbone, and by far the greater number, were the peasants of the mountain. He hired mercenaries so that in time of war enough men would be left on the land for its cultivation. As for arms, we have documents from the years shortly before Fakhr al-DTn’s reign on Druze acquisition of arms and the price they paid for them. Documents from Ottoman archives, dated 985/1577 say the Druzes in Lebanon and Galilee obtained considerable quantities of muskets from Cyprus, from the Janissaries of Damascus, and from fief-holders among whom they had relatives. So much were arms prized that they paid excessive prices for them. In 1577 between 25 and 30 florins were paid for a musket. Druze muskets were superior to those us­ ed by the government forces, their range was beyond the range of the lat­ ter.40 During Ibrahim Pasha’s campaign in the Shüf 800 harquebuses were collected, probably a fraction of the arms in Druze possession; the rest, no doubt, were carefully concealed.41 The army was one pillar of the state. More important for its security and stability was the enlightened rule of the emir. Religious tolerance was the outstanding quality of Fakhr al-Din and his rule. The Maronites were the principle beneficiaries of his tolerance. Not only did they enjoy full liberty in the exercise of their faith, but Fakhr al-DTn allowed them privileges hitherto reserved to Muslims, in­ cluding enlistment in the army. They took refuge in his country from the oppressive rule of the Sayfas in north Lebanon. The Christians called Fakhr al-DTn their protector. It is in his reign that they began to emigrate in large numbers to south Lebanon.42 « Ibid., p. 242. 39 Ibid., p. 244. 40 Uriel Heyd, Ottoman Documents on Palestine, pp. 81, n. 3; 82, n. 2; 94, n. 4. 41 Hammer, Histoire de l ’Empire Ottoman, VII, pp. 167-169. 4* A. Ismâ'îl, Le Liban au Temps de Fakhr-ed-din II, 1590-1633, Paris, 1955, p. 65.

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His tolerance was not religious indifference for he built mosques at his own expense, attended prayers during Muslim feasts, and had culamâ at his court. He often subsidized the pilgrimage to Mecca, and on one occa­ sion stipulated that his son should be the commander of the pilgrim caravan (Amir al-Hajj).45 Fakhr al-Din held the reins of government. On matters of grave con­ cern, he consulted the elders and notables of the land. His closest adviser was his mother, whom he held in great respect, and whose counsel he sought before embarking on any project of importance. The government under his direction was just. An example was the assessment of taxes which were distributed equitably among the various communities, levied in accordance with the people’s ability to pay, and collected at fixed times. Census registers were kept for livestock and orchard trees. The census of inhabitants listed their ages and aptitudes.44 Security prevailed. Fakhr al-Dln’s campaign against marauding bedouins won him praise from the Ottoman government. In an order dated 11 Shawwäl 1013/* March 1605, Fakhr al-Din, Beg of the Sanjak of Safad, is commended for his conduct and enjoined to continue in his ex­ ertions for guarding the country, keeping the bedouins in check, ensuring the welfare and tranquility of the population, promoting agriculture, and increasing prosperity.49 Fakhr al-Dln’s expeditions against the bedouins also served as an excuse for the expansion of his state. For purposes of security as well as to promote trade, Fakhr al-din had fortresses constructed along the principal roads and garrisoned them with troops. Caravanserais were built to accommodate travellers, merchants and their goods. A trade mission sent early in 1631 by the grand duke of Tuscany found Fakhr al-Dln in the Biqäc supervising the construction of a fortress in al-Qac, near Baclabakk, through which pass caravans coming from Persia to Aleppo and Damascus and from Cairo on their way to Aleppo and Constantinople. Here bedouins awaited the caravans to despoil them. The emir was building a large enclosure for camels sur­ rounded by a high wall, a khän to lodge merchants, a mosque, and a for­ tress to protect the highways from bedouin depradations. The water was being brought through an aqueduct from a distant river.44 On another occasion, Verrazzano, the head of the mission, found Fakhr al-Dln laying the foundation stone of a bridge on al-Awwafi river near Sidon. Tuscan engineers built bridges for the emir in Sidon, Beirut, and across the Dog River.47 45 Ibid., pp. 61-62; KhilidI, 7tM U , pp. 87, 198. 44 Puget de Saint Piene, Histoire des Druzes, pp. 28-29. 41 Heyd, Ottoman Documents on Palestine, p. 53. 44 Carali, Fakhr Ad-Din II, vol. I, pp. 58, 333-5. 47 Uni., pp. 372-3; H. MaundreU, A Journeyfrom Aleppo to Jerusalem, 1697, p. 36.

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Fakhr al-Dln looked upon Tuscan agriculture as a model to be copied. He sought to improve local breed of cattle by crossing with the fine, large Tuscan stock. He asked for a gardener, an irrigation engineer, and six or eight families of farmers to come and practice farming as it is done in Tuscany. Each family was to bring its agricultural implements and one or two pairs of cattle, the best that can be found, for which the emir’s agent was instructed to pay. The farmers would be provided with houses, and priests would read mass to them. When they wished to return to their country, the emir would pay their expenses.4* Agriculture was the principal source of the country’s wealth. The plain along the coast abounded in orchards and gardens planted with all varieties of fruit bearing trees. Between Lebanon and anti-Lebanon, the Biqäc valley of ancient fame for fertility, was a grain basket. The moun­ tain terrain was made productive by hard labour and attachment to the soil. Cotton figures among its products. But pride of place belongs to silk produced by the silk worm which feeds on the leaves of the white mulberry tree. Fakhr al-DTn had tens of thousands of mulberry trees planted in the mountain and coastal plains. Olive planting also received great care. The mulberry, olive, and vine trees are the basic components of the mountain’s agriculture. Trade was actively promoted. The security which reigned was a guarantee against the risks of brigandage, and the emir’s equity inhibited official malpractice. Fakhr al-Din’s enlightened policy contrasted with Ibn Sayfa’s conduct. In 1622, the ruler of Tripoli seized two French gallions and executed their crews. French and Venetian merchants abandoned Tripoli. When Tripoli came under Fakhr al-Din’s rule in 1627, trade was revived and the city resumed its place as the port of Aleppo.49*51 The commodities traded were varied, some were produced locally, others brought by caravan from Damascus to Sidon or from Aleppo to Tripoli and thence to Sidon. O f the local products, cotton and silk were by far the most important. Soap was also produced in large quantities. The present sent by Fakhr al-dfn to the Grand Vizier in 1612 included three shiploads of soap.10 Cotton wool and thread were exported.*1 Silk was much sought for the factories of Florence and Lyons. The silk pro­ duced in the Druze country was superior to Persian and Indian silk.52 Other important exports were oil, raisins, ashes of cAkkâ produced from ** Carali, op. cit., pp. 53-54. 4* Iimâc3, Le Liban au Temps de Fakhr-ed-din II, pp. 127, 188-189; Khâlidi, TaMkh, p. 128. ” Khâlidi, Tarikh, p. 8. 51 Ismà'ïl, Documents Diplomatiques, /, p. 27. ** Puget de Saint Pierre, Histoire des Druzes, p. 194.

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a wild plant which at the proper season is cut, heaped in large pits dug in the ground and burned. Stones of different sizes are formed out of the ashes which are used for making soap and fine glass. Sidon was the chief centre of trade in the eastern Mediterranean. Other centres were Beirut, Tripoli, and cAkkä. Trade was largely in the hands of the French who had a resident consul in Sidon. Tuscan and other European commerce was carried under the French flag. Not until 1630 did Florence have a consul in Sidon, but his stay was short and he was not succeeded by another. In Sidon, Fakhr al-din built a large khän for merchants and other Euro­ peans. Around a vast square, the ground floor consisted of store rooms for merchandise. Above was a covered gallery which opened on the rooms to house the residents. In the central square was a large basin to which water was brought by an aqueduct. Many other buildings in the city were also supplied with water from the aqueduct.5354 Fakhr al-Din was a great builder. He built fortresses from one end of his dominion to another, from near Aleppo to $alkhad in Hawrän, and from Palmyra to Antioch. He built caravanserais for overland travellers and a khän for merchants coming from beyond the sea. The palaces he built in Beirut and Sidon reflect a taste for beauty and splendour. His palace in Sidon was, when d ’Arvieux saw it in 1658, the residence and government house of the Turkish wait. It was a vast structure, all built of cut stone, and designed in the traditional oriental style around an open court shad­ ed with trees and embellished with a fountain in the centre. The ground floor apartments had vaulted ceilings. A spacious chamber opened on the court. Its back wall windows looked on the garden of flowers and fruit trees. This was the Dtwän (Council room); along its three sides was a sofa of cut stone covered with fine carpets, with cushions against the wall. The upper floor apartments were decorated with arabesque paintings and with verses from the Qur*än in letters of gold. All around were terraces overlooking the countryside and the sea.34 Fakhr al-Din’s palace in Beirut was apparently the object of the Turks’ destructive antagonism to the emir, for already in 1697, when the English traveller Maundrell passed through Beirut, it was much in ruin. Still it was impressive: the gardens, stables, yards for horses, and dens for lions and other wild animals “ Would not be,’’ in Maundrell’s words, “ un­ worthy of the quality of a prince in Christendom.’’ At the entrance was a marble fountain of unusual beauty. On the east side of the garden, two terrace walks, rising one above the other under spreading orange trees, ” D’Arvieux, Mémoires du Cheoaiier d ’Arvieux, Paris, 1735, I, pp. 312-321. 54 D’Arvieux, Mémoires, I, pp. 303-309.

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led to booths and summer houses and other delightful apartments. In another garden were several pedestals for statues. At one end of the garden stood the watch tower. The most beautiful sight was the orange garden: a large quadrangle divided into sixteen squares, four in each row with walks between them. Every square was bordered with stone in which troughs were cut to convey water all over the garden. ‘'The walks are shaded with orange trees, of a large spreading size, and all of so fine a growth, both for stem and head, that one cannot imagine anything more perfect in this kind” .*9 Fakhr al-Dln’s taste for beautiful surroundings spread to his subjects who imitated him, cultivating with care a soil so fertile and productive. Beirut was then a beautiful city. Years later one could still see the long rows of orange and citron trees which enclosed the inhabitants’ flower gardens.96 With his wide-ranging interest and eager mind, it is reasonable to think that Fakhr al-Dln delighted in perusing books and acquired a collec­ tion of them. The source which indicates that he had a library is a Vatican manuscript which belonged to Fakhr al-Dln and was by his order repaired in 1008/1599. The artist who did the repair wrote inside the frontispiece in gold letters: ‘‘The glory of honoured amirs, the amir Fakhr al-Dln b. Qprqmäs b. Macn ordered the renovation of this Diwan (collection of poems) for his library, may God enrich it by granting him long life. Done by Muhyi al-Dln al-Naqqäsh.” The manuscript is the Diwan of the Lyric poet Bahä9 al-Dln Zuhayr of the Ayyübid age.97 Fakhr al-Dln’s renown attracted to his court poets from all regions. Muhibbl saw a volume of panegyrics of the emir of which the poems were largely long odes.98 The emir’s renown attracted the hostile attention of the Ottoman government. As his power grew, so Ottoman suspicions and fears of Fakhr al-Dln increased. Had he not dotted his country with no less than thirty fortresses? Two of these, the castles near Aleppo and Antioch were viewed with special apprehension. He had become so powerful that nothing was left, says Muhibbl, but for him to claim the sultanate.99 He had recently given proof of his independence when he forbade the O t­ toman army, returning from Persia, to take up winter quarters in his ter­ ritory.60 55 Maundrell, Journey, pp. 39-41. *• D ’Arvieux, Mémoires, II, p. 337. 57 Carali, Fakhr-Ad-Din II, vol. I, pp. 21-22. 88 Mufiibbl, Khuiäsal al-Àlhàr, II, pp. 29-30; III, p. 267. 98 Ibid., I, pp. 385-386. *° Hammer, Histoire de L ’Empire Ottoman, IX, p. 223.

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At this time an emergetic sultan sat on the Ottoman throne after a series of weak incumbents. Muräd IV revived the military vigour of the empire. He planned a campaign against Baghdad which had fallen to the Çafawid Shäh £Abbäs in 1623. Fakhr al-Din, like the Mamlûk sultans a century earlier, had made contact with the $afawids as a counterpoise to the Ottomans. As Muräd made preparations for the campaign in the east, he decided to eliminate the Macnid emir who represented a threat to the Ottoman flank. Hence the great force that was sent against him by land and by sea which brought about his downfall. Fakhr al-Dïn Macn II is the great hero of Lebanon. Lebanese of whatever confessional or political affiliations cherish his memory. He is honoured as the father of Lebanese independence and nationalism. PanArabists hail him as the harbinger of Arab nationalism and defender of Arabism against the Turks. But to attribute nationalist aspirations and achievements, whether Lebanese or Arab, to Fakhr al-D!n is an anachronism. Nationalism is the child of the nineteenth century, it was born in Europe two hundred years after the great Macnid. The great achievement of Fakhr al-DTn was the unification of Mount Lebanon for the first time in its history, and his earnest desire and efforts to fuse the various elements of the population into a harmonious community. Fakhr al-DTn, by his personal valour and astuteness, built an extensive state. Its inhabitants were Arab, its backbone was Mount Lebanon, especially its central and southern section. But it was a Macnid emirate. Jabal al-Shüf, the nucleus of the state, was known as Jabal Macn. To say that Fakhr al-DTn established a personal dominion in no way diminishes from his greatness. His personal ambition, unlike that of many of his con­ temporaries, was united with a genuine concern for the subjects’ welfare; his power was balanced by his justice and benevolence. And he was a humane prince. In an age which had long since lost touch with innovation and in a society confined within a narrowly limited experience and outlook, Fakhr al-DTn was a man of wide horizons. Two centuries before Muham­ mad CA1T, he recognized Europe’s progress and realized the need to learn from the West.

C H A PTER FIFTEEN

TH E DRUZES 1633-1840 Druze power and prosperity attained the zenith under Fakhr al-DTn II. The two centuries that followed saw a shift of power and a decline in prosperity. Two members of Fakhr al-Dln’s family, his nephew Milbim and Milhim’s son Ahmad, ruled, except for brief intervals, during the re­ maining two thirds of the 17th century. After Fakhr al-Din’s departure, the Ottoman authorities appointed over the Mountain emir cAli cAlam al-DTn of the Yemeni Tanükhs. The new emir despoiled and destroyed property belonging to the Qaysl Macns and their followers. He murdered the Bubturid emirs at their home in cAbayh, thereby causing the extinction of this noble house. Qaysis and Yemenis are factions which originally were related to the division of Arab tribes into north and south Arabs. In pre-Islamic Arabia there was no sharp distinction between the two groups, known as cAdnän and Qahfän, and no rivalry between them existed on the basis of this division. Rivalry first emerged in the early days of the Umayyads be­ tween Kalb, a south Arab tribe related to the Umayyads by marriage, and the north Arab Qays who were envious of them. During the civil war which followed the death of the second caliph, Yazld, Qays and Kalb fought each other under the standard of the two rival contenders for the caliphate, Ibn al-Zubayr and the Umayyad Marwän. The battle at Marj Rahil south of Damascus brought victory to the Umayyads, but the hostility engendered between Qays and Yemen shook the foundation on which Umayyad power rested.1 The tribes carried their rivalry to the provinces, as far as Khurasan in the east and Spain in the west. In later times, groups and factions in con­ flict with each other tended to express their rivalry by adopting these names. This was true of the Druze country during the 17th and 18th centuries. The Buhturids were Qaysis; the cAlam al-Dlns, though their relatives, were Yemenis. When the Macns came to power, the Buhturids supported them. The Qays-Yemen partisanship, though Arab in origin, was not restricted to communities of Arab descent. The Kurdish Sayfas of cAkkär 1 Wellhausen, The Arab Kingdom and its Fail, pp. 180-182; W. R. Smith, Kinship and Marriage in Early Arabia, pp. 8 IT, 74 iT.

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and their followers were of the Yemeni party. In 1885 they conspired with the Yemeni Arab tribal chief of the Biqac, Ibn al-Furaykh, against emir Qorqmäz Macn accusing him and the Druzes of plundering the tribute convoy to Istanbul. In 1613 when Hafiz marched against the Druzes, Shaykh Mu?affar cAlam al-Din joined him and, with Ibn Sayfa, burned the Macn’s residence in Dayr al-Qamar and pillaged the Shûf. In 1616, during Fakhr al-Din’s absence in Europe, emir cAlî and his uncle emir Yünus defeated a Yemenite coalition at Näcmeh on the sea-road to Sidon. On the same day three battles between Macnid supporters and their op­ ponents, fought in three villages in mountain districts, were won by the Ma'nids.» When Fakhr al-Din returned he pardoned Shaykh Mu?affar who was living in a village in Sayfa’s territory and restored to him his patrimony in the Jurd district of south Lebanon. At the battle of cAnjar in 1623, Mu?affar and his men fought in Fakhr al-DTn’s ranks. s During the rest of Fakhr al-Din’s reign, the factions were kept under control, with the Qaysis in a preponderant position. When Fakhr al-Din was removed the Ottomans supported the Yemenis whose chief they in­ stalled as ruler. Two years later, in 1635, emir Milhim rallied the Qaysis and displaced cAli cAlam al-Din. The pasha of Damascus accused Fakhr al-Din, who was living in honoured captivity in Istanbul, of stirring up the trouble. The emir was executed with two of his sons. The youngest son, Husayn, survived and later rose to high office in the empire.*4* Emir Milhim kept at peace during twenty years with the wälts in Damascus, a peace disturbed once when Ibshir Pasha, the wäli, at the instigation of cAli cAlam al-Din, marched against the Druzes in 1650 and was defeated by Milhim at Wâdi al-Qam at the eastern entrance to the Biqäc.» In 1660, a year after Milhim’s death, a new pashalik, its seat at Sidon, was formed of the coastal regions of the Damascus pashalik to keep closer watch on the Druze mountains.6 A French traveller who visited Lebanon during Milhim’s rule describes the emir as wise and benevolent. Puget de Saint Pierre’s praise of Milhim sounds not a little like reflections upon the qualities of an ideal ruler. The emir is a just ruler, he personally performs the functions of a * K hâlidî,

TaMkh, pp.

51-52.

1 Ibid., pp. 75-88. 4 Shidyäq, Akhbär, p. 337. * Ibid., p. 338; Mufcibbl, Khulâfat al-Àthâr, IV, pp. 408-409. * A province of Sidon was created in 1614 to limit the power of the Macns, but did not have a long existence. It was revived in 1660 and remained until the 19th century.

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judge, dealing equitable justice to all, rich and poor alike. His deputies in exercising judicial duties are incorruptible. An able administrator himself, he is assisted by men of ability and rectitude. He recognizes merit and encourages it, rewards virtue and punishes vice. His palace is open to all his subjects, anyone of whom may present himself before him. The country was prosperous; a wise government and an industrious people created its riches. The author noted the concord among the inhabitants who lived together as “ one and the same people.” 78 Qays-Yemen feuds broke out again. Emir Ahmad’s important victory over the Yemenis in 1666 near Beirut, when an outstanding Yemenite chief Ibn al-$awwäf was killed and cAlam al-Dln emirs fled to Damascus, greatly reduced the power of this faction.* In the middle of the 17th century, the Chevalier d ’Arvieux, later French consul in Aleppo, spent several years in Sidon staying with his relative the consul there. D’Arvieux wrote of the flourishing state of com­ merce and of the abundant supply of food and its cheap cost.9 Sidon was the principal port for export and import trade. Merchants established here had agents in Beirut and Tripoli, cAkkä and Rama. Three com­ modious khäns lodged the merchants, foreign and native. O f the Euro­ pean nations trading with the Levant the French were preponderant. The commercial houses of Marseilles and Lyons had resident commissioners in Sidon, some of whom kept agents in Beirut. This commerce was so profitable that the commissioners retired after a few years with large for­ tunes. D ’Arvieux himself engaged in trade and made handsome profits. O ther European nations, English, Dutch, Venetians sent ships to Sidon but had neither consuls nor commissioners there.101 Damascus traded by caravan with the coastal cities, Sidon, Beirut, and Tripoli, exchanging its products with goods from overseas. From Damascus came cotton thread and cloth, fine silks and other fabrics, the famous brocade and Damas among a variety of beautiful textiles. The safety of the roads contributed to commercial activity. In 1659 D ’Arvieux took the two and a half day journey from Sidon to Damascus through beautiful country on convenient and safe roads. Security made it possible to travel at one’s convenience without the need to join a caravan." Silk and cotton remained, as in the days of Fakhr al-Dïn, the most im­ portant local products and the principal exports. Cotton wool was sold in the summer immediately after the harvest. The yarn waited for the 7 Puget de Saint Pierre, Histoire des Druzes, 102, 127-160. 8 Shidyäq, Akhbär, p. 343. * D’Arvieux, Mémoires, I, 331, II, p. 355. 10 Ibid., I, pp. 331, 464; II, p. 355; III, pp. 341-345. 11 Ibid., I, p. 465; P. Masson, Histoire du Commerce dans le Levant au X V II ’Siècle, p. 386.

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winter season when women had the time for spinning, the summer being occupied with work in the fields. In Sidon, the cotton market was held on Monday and Tuesday every week in front of the Grand Khan across the city to the sea.*123 Silk worms were raised in the mountain from Kisrawän to Shüf, and all along the coast. A variety of silks came from the different localities, some fine and lustrous, others of a stronger quality. The most beautiful are the “ choufs” named after Shüf where they were produced.'* Before the end of the century, silk exports to France declined because of the growth of silk cultivation in France itself where it was produced at a lower cost than it could be procured in Sidon or Beirut. Still there was a large market for Lebanese silk in Damascus, Aleppo, and Cairo where there were many weaving factories.14 Cotton yam continued to be ex­ ported to France in considerable quantities, the yam spun in France from imported cotton wool was inferior to the yam spun locally, “ so white, soft, and mellow.“ 1* With silk an important source of income to peasants who cultivated the crop, a large proportion of the cultivated land was under mulberry trees. The mulberry's prevalence in the landscape was shared by the olive tree and the vine. On the lower hills and in the plain along the coast the land was covered with fruit gardens. Their sight delighted travellers in the 17th and 18th centuries who described the luxuriant orchards extending over wide areas, the variety of trees, and their abundant fruits. '* There was some extensive farming in the mountain and costal plain. But the wheat produced sufficed only partially the local need. Emir Ahmad was the last of the Macnid rulers. He died in 1697 not leaving a male heir. The elders and notables of the Mountain, met in Simqäniyya in the heart of the Druze country to choose a ruler. They selected emir Bashir Shihäb whose mother was the sister of the last Macnid ruler. The Shihäbs were emirs of Wädi al-Taym whither they moved in the 12th century A.D. from Hawrän where they settled after the Arab conquest.17 The Ottoman government did not endorse the choice, preferring emir Haydar Shihäb, son of Ahmad Macn's daughter. 12 D’Arvieux, I. p. 323. 11 Ismâ‘3, Documents Diplomatiques, 1. p. 16; D’Arvieux I, p. 335. 14 IsmäcU, Documents, I, pp. 21-23. '» Ibid., pp. 25-27. '* J . Doubdan, Le Voyage de la Terre Sainte, Fait l ’A n 1652, Paris, 1657, pp. 263-5; J . Thévenot, Relation d ’un Voyage Fait au Levant, Paris, 1564, p. 441; Puget de Saint Pierre, Histoire des Druzes, pp. 114-119; D’Arvieux, Mémoires, pp. 328-335; R. Pococke, A Descrip­ tion of the East arid Some Other Countries, London, vol. II, 1745, pp. 85-87. Egmont and Heyman, Travels, London, 1759, II, p. 242. 12 IsmäcB, Documents Diplomatiques, VIII, pp. 364, 367, 421, 425; al-Munayyir, al-Durr al-Marfüf in al-Mashriq, 1954.

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The Ottoman choice of Ahmad’s grandson was prompted by emir Husayn Macn, Fakhr al-Dln’s youngest and only surviving son who was a high ranking official of the Ottoman empire. Among the functions he ex­ ercised was the embassy to India. On his way to India, Husayn Macn stopped in Lebanon, was met by emir Ahmad and the Shihäb emirs, who invited him to come to his ancestors’ heritage and assume governorship of the Mountain, an offer which he declined, preferring the life of a notable in Istanbul.1' As for the new ruler of Lebanon, it was agreed that Haydar Shihäb should occupy the post while Bashir should continue as regent during Haydar’s minority. The Shihäbs owed their rule over the Mountain to their kinship to the Macns and to their selection by the country’s notables, at that time preponderantly Druze. To the end of their rule in 1842, the Shihäb ruler bore the title Emir of the Druzes. Haydar succeeded Bashir in 1707. He was soon faced with a Yemenite rebellion led by cAlam al-Dln emirs and their counsellor Mahmüd Abü Harmüsh. For two years Haydar was in hiding in the Hirmil mountain in the north. Meanwhile the Qaysls were gathering their forces and mak­ ing preparations to restore him to the emirate. Haydar came to Ra’s alMatn village and stayed with one of his strong partisans, muqaddam Husayn Abu ’1-Lamac. Here Qaysl chiefs and followers gathered. The Yemenites concentrated their forces at cAyn Dära and appealed to the waits of Sidon and Damascus for reinforcements. The two walls respond­ ed with troops sent to converge, with the Yemenites of cAyn Dära, from different directions on the Qaysls gathered at Ra’s al-Matn. The Qaysls did not wait to be thus hemmed in but launched a vehement attack on cAyn Dära which shattered the Yemenite forces, killing large numbers, among them the cAlam al-Dln emirs. The pashas of Sidon and Damascus, seeing that all was over, returned each to his seat of government.19 The battle of cAyn Dära had far reaching consequences. It eliminated the Yemenis as a political force in Lebanon. It caused the large scale ex­ odus of Yemenite Druzes to Hawrän where they laid the foundation of a community which soon grew in numbers and strength to become a force to be reckoned with by the neighbouring bedouin tribes and the govern­ ment of Damascus. The emigration to Hawrän reduced the size of the Druze community in Lebanon. Into the emigrants’ place moved Maronites from north Lebanon thereby increasing the Maronite numerical strength in the Druze country. Druze political ascendancy, '* Al-Murâdî, Silk al Duras, II, pp. 59-60. '* Haydar al-Shihâbî, Lubnan f i *Ahd al-Umari*al-Shihäbiyyin, Beirut, 1933, Vol. I, pp. 12-14; Haniniyya al-Munayyir, “al-Durr al-M arfüffi Ta*rïkh al-Shûf,’’ al-Mashriq, Vols. 48-51, 1954-1957.

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however, remained. They not only won the battle for the Shihäb emir, but were the land owners, ownership of land being a solid basis for political power. They continued during the next hundred years to be the main source of the rulers’ forces.20 After cAyn Dära, Haydar rewarded the chieftainly families whose vic­ tory restored him to the emirate of Lebanon by appointing them fiefholders (muqifa'jis) over districts (muqäfaca) which were their family seats. The Abu ’1-Lamac of Matn district were raised from the rank of muqaddam to that of emir. To Shaykh Qabalân al-Qâçlî whose lands and seat of authority were in the ShOf was added the district of Jazzln. The Junbläfs who presently succeeded Shaykh Qabalân extended their fiefs to cover the greater part of south Lebanon. The Arslan emirs, who it was claimed had sided with the Yemenis, were deprived of the Upper Gharb district, which was awarded to the Talfiüqs. The Arslans retained the Lower Gharb with the important town of Shuwayfat. The iqfäcs (fief) of the Nakads, cImäds, and cAbd al-Malaks were the districts of Mnäsif, cArqüb, and Jurd respectively. The emir kept for himself several villages: Dayr al-Qamar, cAyn D ira, Batlûn, Nïha, and 'Ammätür, whose taxes were paid directly to him, not through the fief holders. Haydar died in 1732 and was succeeded by his son Milhim who retired in 1754, leaving the emirate to his brothers Mançûr and Ahmad who rul­ ed jointly until 1763, when each tried to wrest sole control. In the contest between the two brothers, Druze leaders took sides. The Qaysl-Yemeni partisanship having faded away after the battle at Ayn D ira, a new fac­ tionalism appeared, the Junbläfi-Yazbak!, named after shaykh cAll Junbläf and Shaykh cAbd al-Saläm Yazbak cImäd, presumably over rivalry between them. Shaykh CA11 supported emir Mançûr, Shaykh Yaz­ bak leaned toward emir Ahmad. Mançûr called upon the w ilt of Sidon who arrived with troops in Beirut ready to help him, whereupon Ahmad fled from Dayr al-Qamar to which Mansur returned. This example of Shihäb emirs contesting the emirate, of factions drawn into the contest, and not infrequently inciting the contenders, and of the w ilts interven­ tion became a pattern which filled the pages of the history of the next fifty years or more. This particular dispute, however, ended more peacefully than many another; cAlT Junbläf and Yazbak cImäd mediated a recon­ ciliation between Mançür and Ahmad. The latter gave up claims to the emirate and lived quietly in Dayr al-Qamar.21 In 1770 Mançür relinguished the emirate in favour of Yüsuf, Milhim’s eldest son. He and Yüsuf came to Bärük where they met with a gathering 20 D. Chevallier, La Société du Mont Liban a l ’Époque de la Révolution Industrielle on Europe, Paris, 1971, pp. 17, 34. 21 Haydar al-Shihâbï, Lubnân, I, pp. 59-60.

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of emirs, chiefs, and religious shaykhs. A petition was drawn up to the wait of Damascus informing him of their agreement upon emir Yüsuf as their ruler.22 During the remainder of the 18th century and the first two decades of the 19th, a paramount occupation of the incumbent emir was to thwart plots by members of his family to seize the emirate, and to neutralize the feudal families who, by supporting rival Shihäb pretenders, were increas­ ing their power at the expense of the ruler. The second equally pressing concern was the procurement of enough taxes to satisfy the demands of the wait, demands which under a wait such as Ahmad Jazzär Pasha (d. 1804), increased inordinately. The wäll had an interest in encouraging factionalism and dissension, for every time an incumbent was removed and a successor installed, a new payment was imposed, its size determined by the recipient. The emir of the Mountain was appointed annually upon the payment of a tribute to the Porte through its representative the wait of Sidon (later of cAkkä where Jazzär transferred the walayet's seat). The greater part of the emirate depended upon Sidon or cAkkä. But as the emir was invested with districts in the walayet of Tripoli, Jubayl and Batrün, part of the tribute went to the pasha of Tripoli. The Biqäc was in the administrative jurisdiction of Damascus. Burckhardt, who visited Lebanon in 1812, wrote that the emir paid 530 purses (265,000 piasters) of which 130 to Tripoli and 400 to cAlckä. This was exclusive of extraordinary demands of pashas which amounted at least to 300 purses more. These sums were paid in lieu of min (land tax) which the emir collected without giving an account for it.23 The emir was the chief tax-farmer of the Mountain. The muqäta^jis or lief holders were sub-farmers collecting the taxes in their respective districts and paying an annual tribute to the emir. M in was the principal tax. Its apportionment among the districts and the proportion retained by the fief-holders depended upon the balance of forces between the emir and his feudatories. The min was not a burdensome tax when not accompanied by abuses. Not infrequently, however, the m iriwas collected twice or more in a year, and sometimes two or three years in advance. To this abuse was added a variety of impositions and irregular levies which weighed heavily on the people. At times the exactions were resisted. Emir Yûsuf having levied a huge tax in 1782 and imposed a tax on mulberry trees early in 1783,*25 " Ibid., p. 88. 25 J . L. Burckhardt, Travels in Syria and the Holy land, London, 1822, p. 194.

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when later in the year he tried to raise a personal tax of two piasters per adult male, the people drove his agents away.34 Abuses accumulated during the latter part of the 18th century after Ahmad Jazzâr was appointed w à lï of Sidon, and throughout the long rule of emir Bashir II who was frequently forced to leave his post, and every time his return was bought from the w à lï at an onerous price. The muqifa'jts, besides levying taxes, attended to the maintenance of order and security in their districts. To the emir was due the military service of the fief-holders and their retainers when called upon. The muqàta*jïs had immunities vis-à-vis the emir who could not imprison nor sentence them to death. They were punished by exile and the confiscation and destruction of property. Usually the chieftainly family in a district was represented by one per­ son recognized as its head. Sometimes the iqf& was shared by two or more branches of the family, in which case the emir when writing on mat­ ters pertaining to the district, addressed his messages to the recognized chiefs. An example of the plural headship of a fief-holding family is a judicial decision signed by the heads of the six branches of the Abu ’1-Lamac family of the Matn district. The decision is endorsed by emir Yftsuf Shihäb who ruled between 1770 and 1788. The judge in this case was Jäbir Ibn Sulaymän Abu cIzz al-Dln.3S Under the Shihäbs, as in the Tanükh period, the office of judge for the Mountain was held by members of one family succeeding one another. The Tanükh judge came from the Qatjl family of Bayçür village in the Gharb. Another Qâçlî family, residing in Dayr al-Qamar, occupied the position during the Shihäbs’ rule. Oral tradition indicates that there was a qâçtf family in the Macnid period, and its seat was Mukhtära. To this family belonged Shaykh Qabalän al-Qätjl, holder of the feudal district of Shüf. Scattered documents bear the signatures of judges in various districts, some of them came from families who exercized judicature in their localities for successive generations. The ruler of the Mountain was the final arbiter, criminal cases came under his sole authority; he alone judged cases in which members of the M Chevallier, La Société du Mont Liban, pp. 110-111. Shihabl, Tahikh, Vol. I, pp. 134-135. ” A photo-copy was made for my unde in 1926 from the original preserved by friends of our family in a neighbouring village. The photo-copy is among our papers. Jâbir b. Sulaymän was in the line of judges which began with Abü cIzz al-Dîn Jâbir, after whom the family is named, and who died in 1717; it continued unbroken till the death in 1917 of my unde Muhammad Abu cIzz al-Din, then president of the Court of Appeal for Mount Lebanon.

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ruling family were involved. In none of the documents26 examined is a judge’s verdict vetoed by the ruler. Documents carrying endorsement bear the signatures of the emirs Ahmad Ma(n, Haydar, Yüsuf, and Bashir Shihäb. The legal system was in accordance with the Hanafite rite of the Sharia. cUrf, local custom, was also taken into consideration in establishing rights and imposing penalties. Matters related to personal status were dealt with in the religious courts of the various sects. In a simple, rural society, law suits were not complicated and legal procedure was simple. Litigants appeared before the judge, each presented his case, and the matter was settled in one sitting unless there was need to call witnesses. Twice under Bashir II the judgeship was withdrawn from the Qâdï family. In 1819 Shaykh Sharaf al-Din b. Muhammad was removed for his involvement in party politics and replaced by Shaykh Ahmad al-Bizn, a Sunni. Soon after, Sharaf al-Dln’s son Muhammad was appointed and re­ mained in the office until the beginning of the Egyptian occupation when he left the country. In 1832 the emir appointed Shaykh Ahmad Taqi al-Din who occupied the office during the remaining years of Bashir’s rule. The jurisdiction of the judge covered the M ountain.27 This is clear from the register of 275 cases judged by Ahmad Taqi al-Din between 1836 and 1840. They concerned litigants of different religious sects, residing in localités from Kisrawän to Jazzin, and covered inheritance, property ownership, and commercial transactions. Shaykh Ahmad, like the judges who preceded him, was known for strict adherence to justice. Once when Bashir II tried to make him revoke a verdict which was not to his liking, he answered: “ As for the right it is this; your excellency has the power to order as you wish.’’ Judicial authority was also exercized by chiefs of feudal districts. A great chief, like Shaykh BashirJunbläf, probably adjudicated more cases than the judge. Other powers were enjoyed by fief holders, as we see in a document dated 1756 in which a Shaykh of the Nakad family donated land for the founding of a monastery. Labourers on the monastery’s property, cultivators by métayage and goatherds, with their draft animals and cat­ tle, were declared free from corvée. All those in the monastery’s service * Documents in our collection. 27 Yacqûb Hubaysh, who later became Maronite Patriarch, stayed around 1811 in Dayr al-Qamar following up a case against a member of the Khäzin family. Mishäqa, Muntakhabät, p. 144.

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were exempted from payment of the min. The monks were put under the Shaykh’s protection, so were fugitives who sought shelter in the monastery.2* The donation of lands by Druze chieftains for the founding of monasteries was one example of the cordial relations which for a long time existed between Druzes and Christians of whom the Maronites formed the largest component. In writing on the relations between Druzes and Maronites I find the statement of Père Henri Lammens, S.J., a distinguished orientalist, an appropriate introduction. Lammens wrote: “ Till the end of the 18th cen­ tury, Druzes and Maronites lived in good understanding, governed by the same emirs, the Tanükh, Macn and Shihäb princes. These emirs treated their Maronite subjects with the greatest tolerance, preferring to choose from among them intendants and managers of their affairs. In civil war among the Druzes, Maronites took part in both camps, an evi­ dent proof that at that time they did not know those struggles of race and religion which flared later. This good harmony, [Lammens goes on], began to change towards 1756 when two emirs of the Shihäb family, then ruling the mountain, became Christian. But it is only in the 19th century, under the pressure of foreign influences that these differences degenerated into fierce struggles, culminating in the 1860 massacres” .29 At the time of the Ottoman conquest in 1516, the number of Christians in south Lebanon was insignificant.30 In the 15th century Maronites had not established themselves beyond Nahr Ibrâhîm. They were in the districts of Batrûn and Jubayl where they lived with the Shfo and Turkomans.31 They began emigrating in large numbers to the Druze Mountain during Fakhr al-Din’s reign, benefiting from his broad tolerance and the security prevalent in his dominions. The Maronite patriarch, Yulianna Makhlûf, left his seat at Dayr Qannubln in north Lebanon, fleeing from oppressive rulers, and sought refuge with Fakhr al-DTn. He setded in Majdal Macûsh, a village which belonged to the emir who had a house and church built for him and where Christians were encouraged to setde.32 Like the Maronites, Greek Orthodox and Greek Catholics, who emigrated from inner Syria, were allowed to settle freely in Druze villages.33 M Louis Blaybil, Ta^rikh al-Rahbâniyya al-Lubnâniyya cd-Màrünijya, II, p. 198-201. ” H. Lammens, “ Frère Gryphon et le Liban au X V siede, Revue de l ’Orient Chrétien, Paris, 1899, pp. 77-78, n. 2. 10 Père Constantin al-Bâshâ, “ The Christians in Lebanon at the Beginning of the O t­ toman Period,” in al-Masarra, July, 1923. 31 Lammens, op. tit. , pp. 82-83. 32 Shidyâq, Akhbâr, p. 254; al-Bâshâ, op. cit. 31 Kamal Salibi, The Modem Histoiy of Lebanon, London, 1965, p. 14.

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Travellers who visited, and foreigners resident in the Druze country agree on the amity which ruled the relations between the various religious communities living under the Druze peace.34 An expression of Druze hospitality to Christians living in their midst is the gift by chieftainly families of land for building churches and monasteries. Shaykh Kancän Abü Nakad in donating the land for a monastery at Näcmeh made one quaint stipulation, that the monastery’s patron saint shall not be a woman nor an old monk but a man of virile qualities. The monks found that Saint George who killed the dragon was the suitable saint, and the Shaykh was pleased with the choice.33 The land for the monastery at Mashmüsheh near Sidon was a gift by Shaykh Qabalän. The historian of the Maronite monastic order assumes that the Shaykh was Qabalän Abü Harmüsh. The more famous name is that of Qabalän al-Qâçlï, the fief-holder of Shüf and owner of vast prop­ erties in and around Mashmüsheh. The confusion in the family name may have resulted from the fact that the monks acquired, at a later date, from the Abü Harmüsh family land in a nearby village. Another donor of property to this monastery is a princess whose name is not given but who is said to be the wife of emir Ahmad, the last Macnid ruler.36 Shaykh Qabalän al-Qâçlï gave the land for the oldest Catholic monastery in south Lebanon, Dayr al-Mukhallis (Couvent SaintSauveur) in Jü n above Sidon. In 1709 and again in 1712 he donated extensive properties for the Dayr and the monks’ maintenance. In the deeds tranferring the property he simply signs Qabalän. Shaykh cAli Junbläf who married shaykh Qabalän’s daughter and in­ herited his iqtäc confirmed the earlier gifts and bestowed further dona­ tions upon the monastery which he placed under his protection. To the present day the monks of Dayr al-Mukhallis cherish with gratitude the memory of the two Shaykhs whose benevolence made possible the foun­ dation and growth of the monastery.37 Dayr al-Mukhallis is the mother convent of the Catholic Monasteries in south Lebanon. On it depend all the others known as the convents of Jabal al-Durûz.38*17 M Puget dc Saint Pierre, Histoire des Druzes, p. 20; Volney, Voyage en Syrie et en Egypte, 1783, 1784, 1785, Vol. I, p. 461; F. Charles-Roux, Les Echelles de Syrie et de Palestine au X V lll ‘Siècle, pp. 63-64; C. H. Churchill, The Druzes and the Maronites under Turkish Rule, from 1840-1860, p. 25; H. H. Jessup, Fifty-three Years in Syria, Vol. I. p. 159; Baron dc Tott, Mémoires, 2 vols., Amsterdam, 1784-85, vol. II, pt. 4, p. 89. M Blaybil, op. cit., pp. 198-201. J‘ Ibid., pp. 239-242. 17 Letters from Père C. al-Bâshâ, historian of the order, to Sulaymän Abü cIzz al-Dln dated 14th February and 28th April, 1925. " Père Constantin al-Bâshâ, Lamha TaMkhiyya f t ’l-Rahbiniyya at-Bäsiliyya alMukhallifiyya, pp. 11-23.

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In line with his family’s tradition, Shaykh Bashir Junbläf assisted in 1799 in the renovation of Dayr Mashmûsheh and in all that promoted its welfare; “ and he was benevolent to this community (the Maronite) in all his districts’’ for which the Pope sent him a letter of thanks.39 The Christians who settled in south Lebanon generally worked on the land, the occupation of most of the population. Cultivation of the land suffered as a result of the Druze exodus to Hawrän after the battle at cAyn Dära. The new immigrants, themselves coming from a peasant background supplied the needed labour and so contributed to greater productivity and prosperity. A large proportion of agricultural land was owned by the leading feudal families, first among them were the Junbläfs. The Junbläfs were, as we have seen, rulers of the sanjaqs of Killis and £Azàz since the beginning of the Ottoman period. One of them, cAIi Pasha, ruled Aleppo and a large part of inland Syria. After his defeat by the Ottoman army, the family was dispersed. One of them, Junblâf b. SacId came with his son Rabäb in 1630 to Beirut where they were welcomed by emir Fakhr al-DTn, the friend and ally of cAli Päshä. Notables of the Mountain came down and invited them to Shüf where they settled in Mazraca village. Rabäb’s son CAH married the daughter of Qabalän al-Qâçtï alTanükhï, the chieftain of the region. Qabälan died in 1715. As he had no male heir, he left his vast properties to the ruler, according to one ac­ count, and according to another he gave three fourths to the emir and one fourth to his daughter. The notables of Shüf petitioned emir Haydar to appoint Shaykh CA1I in Shaykh Qabalän’s place and to make over to him the late chiefs property, for which they offered the emir 50,000 piasters. Haydar accepted half the proffered sum and conferred the iqfâc on CA11, the chief chosen by the people.40 The people’s choice was a fortunate one. Shaykh CA1I Junbläf, by his intrinsic qualities and the importance of his fief, was the most important chief in the mountain during the 18th century. Over and above his world­ ly position, he was one of the euqqäl, a pious man. A contemporary French consul in Sidon calls him “ chef des spirituels” .41 His religious tolerance is all the more noteworthy in the light of his devotion to his own faith. His liberality to monasteries and protection of their property and dwellers is thus seen as an expression of his broad religious outlook. ** Père Rufô’il Karameh, Mafädir Ta*nkhiyya li-fiawädith Lubnän wa Süriyä, 1745-1800, p. 161; Shidyäq, Akhbär, p. 142. ** Haydar al-Shihäbi Lubnân, I, p. 15. Muhammad Äghä Abü Shadid 'Abd al-$amad, ms. Haydar’s date 1711 for Qabalän’s death is not correct. 41 IsmäcQ, Documents Diplomatiques, II, p. 253.

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Shaykh CAK ruled the Shûf for about two thirds of a century, until his death in 1778, living simply and always wearing the garb of the hiqqäl: the white turban, the rustic garment of wool or linen, and the black leather belt. CA1I Junbläf’s property extended from the Mediterranean coast in the region of Sidon to the Biqäc valley between Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon. The Junbläfs’ possessions in the Biqäc date from his time and were, ac­ cording to tradition acquired in this fashion: the w ili of cAkkâ, in need of money as he prepared to leave for Istanbul, sent a delegation to CA11 Junblät to request for him a loan of 30,000 piasters for which they carried a voucher. The shaykh gave the money and returned the voucher, a gesture not lost on the recipient who, not long after, was appointed wäll of Damascus. Remembering the kind deed, he invited Shaykh CA11 to visit him. The Shaykh travelled to Damascus in his habitual dress. The sight of the great chieftain in a hermit’s garb enhanced his renown in the wilVs esteem. When the wilt asked his guest what he could offer him, the shaykh requested the grant in fief of villages in the Biqäc. The request was granted. Presently peasants came in large numbers from the district of Ba'labakk and the Damascus Ghû(â to develop the land under the benevolent administration of cAlîJunblâ{. A number of prominent Druze families asked shaykh CA1! for a share in this boon and were granted several villages.42 Land was not only a source of wealth; it was the base of the chieftain’s power. A contemporary report says that ‘Alljunbläf alone can put under arms more than 13,000 men.43 In 1777 emir Yüsuf imposed an irregular tax which the people oppos­ ed. They sought Shaykh cAlï’s intervention with the ruler to have it abolished. In vain did the shaykh reason with the emir, whereupon CA11 Junblät paid out of his private purse the amount that was to be levied, thereby relieving the people and winning their increased love and respect.44 During the 18th century, life in the Druze country did not differ in essentials from what it had been under the Macnids. Foreign influences: political, economic and cultural had not begun to affect the traditional society. There were small wars and irregular impositions by rulers, but on the whole the people fared well, a fact noted in travellers’ accounts. The most perspicacious European observer, Volney, who visited south Lebanon in the 1780’s estimated the population at 120,000 which he said 4> cÄrif Abü Shaqrä, al-Harakâif i Lubnän, Beirut, 1952, pp. 81-83. 43 Bulletin of the French consul in Sidon on the events in the country, 2-28 June, 1772, Ismà'H, Documents Diplomatiques, II, p. 253. 44 Shidyäq, Akhbär, p. 138.

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was equivalent to that of the best French provinces. Yet the terrain is rough, many summits are uncultivated, there is no industry, and exports are limited to silk and cotton. Whence then, he asks, is this affluence in people? And he finds the answer in the “ ray of liberty“ which shines there.45 During this century there was a shift in the population balance; the Maronites increased so that they outnumbered the Druzes. However, Druze predominance in the M ountain’s affairs continued. The Druze community since its beginning in the early years of the 11th century A.D., had lived under its own laws, was governed by emirs from its midst, its independence was respected through the centuries by the suc­ cessive dynasties who ruled Syria. In the 18th century, the Druze social organization was the norm, their political structure was the law of the land, their feudal chiefs ruled in the name of an emir.46 Such was the force of the Druze personality that the name Druze came to be applied to all the Mountain’s inhabitants irrepective of their religious affiliation.47* The Maronites were considered a Christian section of the Druze nation.46 When Napoleon proceeded from Egypt to conquer Syria, to win the Lebanese to his side, he wrote, as he laid siege to cAkkä, to Bashir II promising independence to the “ brave Druze nation’’.49 The Druzes refused to play Napoleon’s game. They met at the shrine of al-Sayyid 'Abdallah al-Tanükhï and decided to oppose the French.50 Druze mountain, Druze country, and Druze government are names used by travellers and consuls for south Lebanon.51 The last decade of the 18th century and the first quarter of the 19th were dominated by two men: emir Bashir Shihäb II and Shaykh Bashir Junbläf. Emir Bashir became ruler of the mountain in 1788 as the can­ didate of the Junbläfs who led the opposition to emir Yüsuf. To satisfy Jazzär’s insatiable avidity, Bashir imposed ruinous exactions upon the country.52*Yüsuf promised still larger tribute and was reappointed, only to be removed soon after when Bashir undertook to pay what Yüsuf 45 Volney, Voyage en Syrie et en Egypte, Vol. I, p. 460. 4* IsmâMl, Documents Diplomatiques, II, p. 150; Kamâl Salibi, “ The Bubturids of the Gharb” , Arabica, VIII, 1961, p. 74. 47 Ismâcil, Documents, II, 71, n. 2; II. p. 252; IV, pp. 17-21; Lady Hester Stanhope, Travels, London, 1846, p. 333. 4* Charies*Roux, Les Echelles de Syrie et de Palestine au X V llt Siècle, p. 210; Ism i'il, Documents, II, pp. 359-361. 4* I. de Testa, Recueil des Traités de la Porte Ottomane avec la Puissances Etmngèns, Vol. I Paris, 1864, p. 576. M A. L. Tibawi, A Modem History of Syria, 1969, p. 37; Shidyäq, Akhbâr, p. 449. 51 D. Chevallier, La Société du Mont Liban, p. 58. 51 Dispatch of the French consul in Sidon to the Secretary of State, 31 December, 1789, in Ismä'Ü, Documents Diplomatiques, III, p. 29.

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promised. In 1790 a revolt forced emir Bashir to flee to the Jonbläfs, his only friends. When he was reinstated he relied upon the Jonbläts to rein­ force his authority. In 1793, 1794, and 1798 Jazzär recalled Bashir from the emirate and replaced him by three sons of Yüsuf who ruled jointly. During Jazzär’s last four years (he died in 1804), five different Shihäb emirs were invested with the emirate of the Mountain.53 The muqäfacajis had a hand in these frequent changes, supporting one Shihäb aspirant against another. The Nakads had sided with Yüsuf against Bashir II. In 1797 emir Bashir plotted with the Jonbläts and cImäds the destruction of the Nakads. Shortly after, Bashir turned on the cImäds; his attacks and confiscations forced them to leave for Egypt, Syria, and cAkkä. The emir’s attention did not spare the other chieftainly families: Arslâns, Talhüqs, cAbd al-Malaks. Bashir II took care not to confront the muqâfacajts as a group. He opposed them to each other, arous­ ing their jealousies and adividity for each other’s property. As a group, the muqäfacajts were too strong for the emir; divided by their ruinous rivalries, he was able to despoil them of their lands and so break their power.54 The despoiling of the Junbläfs came later, after shaykh Bashir’s fall. Shaykh Bashir was more powerful than emir Bashir in men and money. In 1810 the Shaykh’s annual income was 1,000,000 piasters (2000 purses), the equivalent of/50,000, the emir’s was 200,000 piasters or / 10,000.55 A considerable proportion of the shaykh’s wealth came from silk production. In 1814 the silk his estates produced amounted to 200 quintals or 20,000 kilograms.56 Bashir Junbläf, around whom the Druzes rallied, commanded the mountain’s manpower.57 In 1810 emir Bashir and shaykh Bashir led an attack on Damascus whose wâlî, Yüsuf Kanj, claimed direct control of the Biqäc. Much of this productive valley was in the possession of the Junbläf family. The Biqäc and parts of the districts of BaMabakk and mount Hermon were re-attached to Lebanon.58 ,J Al-Munayyir, “ai-Durr al-Marfüf ’ in al-Mashriq, 1956, pp. 423, 426-7; Shidyiq, Akhbâr, p. 425; Churchill, Mount Lebanon, III, pp. 169-181; Salibi, Modem History of Lebanon pp. 17-21. M Al-Munayyir, “ al-Durr al-M arfüf', in al-Mashriq, 1956, pp. 426-447; 1957, pp. 443-485; R. Karämeh, Mafädir, p. 152; M. Mishäqa, Muntakhabât, pp. 34, 40; W. R. Polk, The Opening of South Lebanon, 1788-1840, pp. 15-17; Salibi, Modem Histoty of Lebanon, p. 22; Chevalier, La Société du Mont Liban, p. 97. 55 Burckhardt, Travels in Syria and the Holy Land, pp. 196-197. *• Dispatch of the French consul in Sidon to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, 18 September, 1814, Ismâ'îl, Documents Diplomatiques, III, p. 114. 17 Dispatch of the French consul in Tripoli to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, 20 November, 1819, Ismâcîl, Documents, V, p. 21. *• MiklütfQ al-Dimashql, Tahnkh Hawädith al-Shâm wa Lubnân, pp. 26-28; Polk, op. cit., p. 19.

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Bashir II depended upon Bashir Junbläj’s support for his tenure to the extent that he shared the functions of government with him. Burckhardt, a discerning observer wrote: “ The power of the emir, however, is a mere shadow, the real government being in the hands of the Druze chief, Shaikh Bashir. The authority exercised by shaykh Bashir induced the popular saying: “ The Shaykh governed, the Emir only held the seal of office.” " Shaykh Bashir kept under his personal surveillance the districts in his iqt&, making annual circuits to the villages to administer justice, correct abuses, and collect his rents.61 He built and repaired bridges and roads and saw that security prevailed. His generosity was in keeping with his wealth and the requirements of his status. His concern extended to Druzes beyond Lebanon. In 1811 Druzes in al-Jabal al-Aclä appealed to him to deliver them from the oppression of an adventurer, Topal CA1I, who set himself as chieftain over a considerable tract of the mountain and plain. Shaykh Bashir consulted with emir Bashir and they sent forty cavalrymen each to fetch those who wished to come. He brought back 400 families whom the shaykh distributed in the Mountain having pro­ vided for their relief.62 Shaykh Bashir built a princely residence in Mukhtära to which he brought a water conduit from the Bärük river through difficult terrain, parts of it were cut in the rock. The palace was the seat of the shaykh’s wide-spread jurisdiction, to which people came from near and far to pre­ sent their cases and seek the settlement of disputes. It was also the scene of recurring festivities and of boundless hospitality. With its halls and courts, its fountains and baths, its hanging gardens, capacious stables, and lordly maydän, the Mukhtära palace outshone the emir’s palace in Bayt al-Dln.62 For the power which he wielded and the splendour of his style, Bashir Junbläf was called cAmüd al-Samä* (the Pillar of Heaven). Beside the palace he built a stately mosque modeled on Jazzâr’s famous mosque at cAkkä, and set apart for its maintenance a generous endowment. The construction of the mosque especially irritated Bashir II who saw in it a sign that Bashir Junbläf was seeking the emirate for himself. When the contest between the two Bashirs came to a head and the shaykh was defeated, the emir had the mosque blasted and the palace razed to the ground. M Burckhardt, op. cit., p. 194. 40 Churchill, Mount Lebanon, III, pp. 295-6; 378-379; Abu Shaqra, al-ffankät, pp. 3-4. 41 Lady Hester Stanhope, Traoth, II, pp. 329-331. 44 Ibid., pp. 241-3; Burckhardt, Traotls, p. 205; Shidyäq, Akhbar, pp. 143-149. 44 Churchill, Mount Lebanon, III, p. 298. Maydm is a large open space.

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Bashir II and Bashir Junbläf worked together for thirty years. The Shaykh’s support was essential for the stability of the emir’s rule; his power and wealth, however, were a source of fear and mortification to the ruler. As for the shaykh, the time came when he felt he could no longer control the emir. The final break was approaching. Rumours of misunderstanding between emir Bashir and Shaykh Bashir were reported in consuls’ dispatches during 1819. The consul in Sidon wrote of the possibility of civil war.64 In 1819 Sulayroän Pasha, the mild wilt of cAkkä died and was succeed­ ed by cAbdalläh Pasha who demanded an exorbitant tribute. In 1820 popular rebellion forced emir Bashir to leave for Hawrän, while two of his cousins were appointed to rule jointly. As the new emirs could not raise the required tribute, Bashir II returned. The wilt kept up his heavy demands. In the beginning of 1821, there was a rupture, followed by reconciliation, between him and emir Bashir. Three districts, Jazzln, Iqllm al-Tuffah, and Jabal al-Rïfoân were detach­ ed from Lebanon. These districts were in shaykh Bashir’s iqfic and con­ tained much of his private property. Their separation was a greater loss to him than to the emir. The French consul in Sidon reported that the emir ceded these districts in order to weaken Shaykh Bashir.66 cAbdallah coveted the pashalik of Damascus. In the conflict with its wait, Darwlsh Pasha, emir Bashir sided with the wilt of cAkkä. The Porte ordered the removal o fcAbdallah and Bashir II, appointed Darwlsh over Sidon and its dependencies, and reinforced him with the wilts of Aleppo and Adana. Shaykh Bashir advised emir Bashir to come to terms with the Ottoman government and so remain in office with its approval. He refus­ ed and departed to Egypt. Shaykh Bashir with the country’s notables chose emir cAbbâs. They all went to the Biqäc to meet Darwlsh Pasha who invested cAbbâs with the emirate.66 cAbdalläh Pasha refused to give up his post. He defended himself in­ side cAkkâ as Darwlsh and the other wilts with him laid siege to the town. Meanwhile, Muhammad CA11, the viceroy of Egypt, intervened with the Porte on behalf of cAbdalläh and Bashir II, who were pardoned. The siege was lifted from cA kkä,cAbdallah retained the pashalik, and Bashir returned to the Mountain. When emir Bashir was in Egypt he came to an agreement with Muhammad CA11 the details of which are not known. A contemporary chronicler wrote: “ To Muhammed CA1I much benefit came from his* 64 Ismâ'îl, Documents Diplomatiques, III, pp. 136-7; V, p. 21. ** Ibid. III. pp. 139, 142-3, 145-6. ** M. al-Dimashql, Tahikh flawâdith al-Shâm wo Lubnàn, pp. 95-6; Hay dar al-Shihäbl, Lubnän, pp.722-725.

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(Bashir’s) stay with him. Perhaps he concluded a secret alliance with him promising his help in the conquest of Syria.” 67 Upon his return, emir Bashir turned on Shaykh Bashir demanding one heavy contribution after another. When the shaykh came to Bayt al-Dln accompanied by a large following, the emir had the palace gates closed. The estrangement was complete and resort to force became inevitable. Bashir II asked cAbdallah Pasha to send him troops from cAkkä, and wrote to his son Amin, who was still in Egypt, to request the viceroy for help. Muhammad cAli ordered the immediate preparation of ten thou­ sand soldiers to be sent with Amin to his father’s aid.6* The battle at Simqäniyya took place in the middle of January 1825. The conflict was decided b y £Abdallah Pasha’s Albanian troops. Armed with artillery and superior in numbers, they defeated the Shaykh’s mountaineers whose arms were muskets and swords.69 Shaykh Bashir left the mountain; on the way to Hawran he was arrested by troops of the Damascus wait and sent to cAkkâ. His presence in cAkkâ, where he was well treated by cAbdallah Pasha, worried emir Bashir who wrote to Muhammad £A1I begging urgently for his death. On the viceroy’s orders the shaykh was strangled incAkkä prison.70 Bashir II took exemplary vengeance upon the Junbläfs and all who supported them. He appropriated the Junbläf property in the mountain and Biqäc. Over the Junbläf iqfäc he appointed his men whose conduct caused much resentment. The Junbläfs had to leave the Shüf and other leaders were exiled.71 The elimination of Bashir Junbläf completed the destruction of Druze feudalism. Large scale confiscations of the properties of Druze shaykhs and burdensome impositions leading to forced sales alienated a great pro­ portion of land owned by Druzes, divested the muqäßacajts of their in­ fluence, and impoverished many families, some of whom emigrated to Harwän. Yet Bashir II did not replace what he destroyed by a new order, he merely distributed the iqfä^s among members of his family and his men. The new holders had no roots in the districts given to them. When the exiled leaders returned after emir Bashir’s fall in 1840, the people rallied around them, receiving them with jubilation. During the last ten years of his long rule, Bashir II became the agent of a will over which he had no control: the will of Muhammad £A1I, the viceroy of Egypt, and of his son Ibrahim. 67 Dimaahql, p. 98. *• Haydar al-Shihâbî, Lubnän, p. 764-765. ** Abu Shaqrâ, al-ffarakäi, pp. 12-24; Polk, The Opening of South Lebanon, pp. 27-28. 70 M. al-Dimashqï, TaMkh tfawâdith al-Shâm wa Lubnän, p. 99. 71 Haydar al-Shihàbî, Lubnän, pp. 776-777; Mishäqa, Muntakhabät, p. 102; Abü Sha­ qrâ, al-ifamkät, pp. 14-16, p. 26.

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Muhammad ‘Ali, the founder of modem Egypt, looked beyond the Nile valley for conquests which would secure his rule in Egypt itself. Syria, throughout history of strategic importance to Egypt, would con* stitute a buffer zone between the viceroy and his suzerain the Ottoman sultan. Egypt and Syria were commercially interdependent, exchanging a variety of products. O f especial importance among Syrian products was timber for the Egyptian navy. Syria and Lebanon were a source of man­ power for Muhammad ‘Alt’s army which had suffered losses, however successful its campaigns in Arabia and the Morea.7* Before the Egyptian expedition to Syria, Bashir II had alienated the Druzes. Since he sided with Muhammad ‘All, the Druzes supported the Ottoman cause. As the Egyptian army moved into Syria there was much agitation in the Mountain. Messages were exchanged between exiled leaders and those still living in Lebanon; their purport was to rally the the Ottomans. At their head was Na‘män Junbläf, son of shaykh Bashir. The commander of the Ottoman forces sent to fight Ibrâhîm Pasha appointed Na‘män Junbläf governor of the Mountain in the place of Bashir Shihäb.7S Towards the end of 1834, Ibrâhîm Pasha asked emir Bashir for 1600 young Druzes to be enrolled in the army. Bashir called upon the district chiefs to provide the required number. This they refused to do. Even the chiefs friendly to Bashir II informed him that they could not proceed with recruiting young men because of the widespread opposition to conscrip­ tion. An envoy of Ibrâhîm Pasha, Bahri Bey, was sent to find out why the Druzes refused to furnish the conscription. The emir spoke to the assembled shaykhs, in Babri’s presence, of the benefits of their com­ pliance with Ibrâhîm Pasha’s orders. They replied that they were willing to offer volunteers but refused to be enrolled in the nizäm (the regular ar­ my). The French consul in Beirut reported the shaykhs’ answer that they were ready to march as partisans any where but would never furnish men to be enrolled; for the viceroy conquered the country not the inhabitants. Bahri Bey returned to Damascus leaving the Mountain in great agita­ tion.*71*74

77 A. J . Rustum, The Royal Archives of Egypt and the Origins of the Egyptian Expedition to Syria 1831-1841, Beirut, 1936, pp. 63-71, 78. 71 A. Rustum, A Calendar of State Papersfrom the Royal Archives of Egypt Relating to the Affairs of Syria, I, No. 748; Rustum, Materialsfor a Corpus ofArabic Documents Related to the History of Syria under Muhammad Ali, I, pp. 117-118; Abü Shaqrâ, al-Horakät, pp. 31-2; Mishaqa, Muntakhabât, pp. 112, 121; Shidyàq, Akhbâr, pp. 569-574. 74 A. Rustum, “ New Evidence on the Druze Revolt, 1834-1838” , vh-Mashriq, 1937, pp. 481-488; Ismi(8, Documents Diplomatiques, V, p. 326.

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Druze opposition to permanent conscription, for that is what enroll* ment in the n ifâ m meant, was partly motivated by concern that the long absence of young men from their homes and background would under* mine their traditional values and beliefs. The departure of Druze youth weakened the community and adversely affected agriculture by depriving the land of cultivators. In essence the Druzes did not admit forced service for a central government far from them.75 Ibrâhîm Pasha commented on the Druze refusal to be drafted into the army saying: "T he Druzes are a brave people and do not evade having to fight".76 However, he was apprehensive of the danger of allowing them to keep their arms. Before they could be drafted the Druzes had to be disarmed. Muhammad cAl! wrote to Ibrâhîm in June 1835 urging the disarma* ment of the M ountain’s inhabitants for refusing to comply with the order for conscription.77 Ibrâhîm concerted with Bashir II measures for the plan to disarm the Druzes. Early in October, Ibrâhîm Pasha with 18,000 troops poured into Dayr al-Qamar and Bayt al*Dm and the surrounding mountain. Bashîr II issued a decree ordering the Druzes to deliver up their arms in three days on pain of having their dwellings burned.76 Ibrâhîm Pasha, knowing Druze valour, expected them to resist disarmament. The sudden ap­ pearance of Ibrahim and his army and the fact that Druze leaders were in exile precluded resistance.79 A few days later, the Christians also were disarmed. After their disarmament, 1200 Druzes were drafted into the army. In levying the conscripts, a certain number was demanded from each village. The villagers joined to collect the money sometimes borrowed at exorbitant interest rates, to pay those who agreed to be drafted.60 In 1837 the government in Damascus demanded 170 Druze conscripts from Hawrän. The demand was rejected and the expedition sent to en­ force it was routed. It is unlikely that a campaign would have been laun­ ched merely to secure this small number of recruits for the army. Rather it was a pretext to establish control over Hawrän where large numbers were emigrating to avoid burdensome taxes and the draft, with conse­ quent loss of revenue and men in the districts abandoned by their ” Rustum, Calendar, III, No*. 4026, 4063. Chevallier, La SocUti du Mont Liban, p. 114. 7' Rustum, “ New Evidence on the Druze Revolt", in al-Maahriq, 1937, p. 479. ” Rustum, Calendar, III, No. 4107. 7* John Bowring, Report on A t Commercial Statistics of Syria, London, 1840. n Stanhope, Memoirs, III, p. 71; Sulaymin Abu cIzz al-Din, Ibrahim Paskaf i Süriyya, Beirut, 1929, pp. 190-192. *° Shidyiq, Akhbär, p. 584; Polk, South Lebanon, pp. 175-6.

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inhabitants. Besides, Haw ran, a wide country, provided shelter for rebels and malcontents.**1 Ibrâhîm Pasha was winning brilliant victories against the Ottoman ar* my. In Hawrän his troops were defeated time and again by the Druzes. After the first expedition, a force of eight thousand was drawn by the Druzes into the Laja (a wilderness of volcanic rock), and there were destroyed and dispersed, leaving great quantities of arms, ammunition, and supplies. Yet another force of nine to ten thousand met the same fate, the Druzes having retreated still farther in the Laja. Druze martial qualities and attachment to their soil were aided by the terrain of the Laja, suitable to guerrilla war, and where the advantages of superior numbers and arms could not be effectively put to use.*2 Elated by their victories, Druze cavalry from Hawrän penetrated the Ghü(a villages and urged the peasants to rise with them and attack Damascus to free their conscripted young men kept in the barracks.** Ibrâhîm Pasha himself came to Hawrän and personally led one of the four divisions in which he arranged the 20,000 troops he brought to fight the Druzes. To reduce the rebels it was necessary to deprive them of the water springs. Fierce battles were fought around the water holes. Rebels and troops fought with tenacity, the troops suffering heavy losses. In one of the fiercest battles, near Dama, the Druzes inflicted a severe defeat upon Ibrâhîm Pasha, who with difficulty extricated the remnants of his army from the Laja.84 Before the Druzes finally laid down their arms poisoning of water sources was resorted to. Druze successes in Hawrän reverberated in Wädi al-Taym at the foot of Mount Hermon where a new front was opened to relieve the Druzes of Hawrän. The rebellion in Wädi al-Taym was led by Shibll al-cAryän who was joined by a thousand Druzes from Lebanon led by H&san Junblät and Nä$ir al-D!n cImäd. Here as in H&wrän the Druzes were many times outnumbered by the troops facing them. Here also Ibrâhîm Pasha was present at the head of contingents. In the battles at Wädi Bakka and Jan cam the Druzes were defeated, but not before they in­ flicted heavy losses on the troops in fiercely contested battles. When they submitted they were allowed to return to their homes having partially surrendered their arms. When the Druzes of Hawrän laid down their arms, they also received generous terms from Ibrâhîm Pasha: they were 11 S. Abü *Izz al-Dïn, Ibrâhîm Pashaf i S&riyya, pp. 198-9. •* Ibid., pp. 203-205. ** Rustum, Calendar, III, No. 5310. *4 Druze exploits are related by shaykh Husayn al-Hajri, a spiritual leader who took part in the battles. His manuscript, a pamphlet, is among our papers; also M ishiqa, Muntakhabât, pp. 123-125; Shidyâq, Akhbàr, pp. 586-7.

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exempted from conscription, corvée, and impositions; they were given the right to carry arms and elect their shaykhs; and they were promised that no fortifications shall be created in their mountains.83 During the campaign in Hawrän, Syria’s governor-general Sharif Pasha, suggested to Ibrahim Pasha the arming of “ seven or eight thou­ sand Christians of Jabal al-Durûz” to march under the command of Khalil, emir Bashir’s son. Ibrahim objected to the suggestion as being in­ compatible with the dignity and prestige of the Egyptian government.86 In the event several thousand Christians were given arms to fight their fellow country men, the Druzes. The actual order either to Bashir II or to Egyptian officials to deliver the arms is not recorded in the Egyptian archives.87 From the text of the order cited in a contemporary source, Mudhakkarät TaMkhiyya,** it is clear that the order is in the words of Bashir II, not of Muhammad CA1I. In Documents, quoting the text of the Mudhakkarät, the phrase which indicates that the order is in Bashir’s words is missing.88 This order was fraught with ill omen for Druze—Christian relations, hitherto the two com­ munities living together in peace. The Egyptian occupation in the beginning brought tangible benefits. Law and order were established in cities and villages and on the highways. Bedouin depradations were suppressed, security of life and property was assured. Bedouins were encouraged to settle and with peasants were given an impetus to reclaim and cultivate the land. Ibrâhîm Pasha planted thousands of mulberry trees in the Biqäc valley; the plain of Antioch was covered with olive trees; and the coast in the en­ virons of Beirut was planted with vine trees. New methods were introduc­ ed into the working of government and the administration of justice and the finances. Religious tolerance and the equality of the inhabitants before the law, whatever their religious affiliation, were of the essence of Ibrahim’s policy in Syria. The country was opened up to western influence with a beneficial result in the spread of education, but with a negative effect on the economic life as foreign goods supplanted the products of native industries.80 •* Mishâqa, pp. 126-7; Sulayman Abü cIzz al-Dïn, pp. 213-220; Cadalvène et Barrault, Deux Années de l ’Histoire d’Orient 1839-40 Paris, 1840, Vol. I p. 139. ** Rustum, Calendar, III, Nos. 5312 and 5321. " Polk, The Opening of South Lebanon, p. 288, n. 4. " Edited by Constantin al-Bâsha from the Berlin ms., no. 9787, pp. 150-151; Tibâwi, op. cil., p. 424, n. 8. ** Rustum, Documents Related to the History ofSyria under Mehemet Ali Pasha, III-IV, p. 231. *° Cadalvène et Barrault, Deux Années de l ’Histoire d’Orient, 1839-1840, I, pp. 9-10; Ed­ ward B. B. Barker, Syria and Egypt, II, pp. 204-206; Douin, La Mission du Baron de Boislecomte, l ’Egypte et la Syrie en 1833, p. 205; Rustum, Documents, III-IV, pp. 73-75; Mishâqa, MunteJchabàt, p. 139.

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Later the demands of the Egyptian occupation outweighed its benefits. Money was in ever increasing demand and so were men for the army. New taxes were imposed and monopolies enforced, notably on the silk crop. Men and their animals were subject to corvée. A personal tax, the far fa, at 12% of the income was demanded of the males, ages 15 to 60, of all communities. At the same time that a maximum of 500 piasters (125 francs) and a minimum of 15 piasters was fixed, a total sum was deter­ mined for each city or district irrespective of the number of inhabitants. Meanwhile, Bashir II, feeling that his political rule was at an end, oc­ cupied himself with amassing riches. When the rebellion broke out in 1840, it involved all the Mountain's inhabitants, Christians and Druzes, and was directed as much against Bashir II as against Egyptian rule.91 Mubammad cAli’s conflict with the sultan had become an interna­ tional question. In 1840 Great Britain actively supported the Sultan while France, though favorably disposed to Mubammad ‘All, did not come to his help. The Lebanese, together with the Turkish army and British navy defeated Ibrahim. Bashir Shihäb II boarded a British ship and went into exile in Malta. To say that emir Bashir II was not a friend of the Druzes is an understatement. Druzes were conscripted and disarmed at his instiga­ tion.92 The property of leading Druze families was confiscated, the com­ munity impoverished by heavy-handed impositions and demands. Bashir’s rule and the Egyptian occupation led to a considerable decline in the Druze population as many chose to emigrate rather than live under a hostile government. Had Bashir’s regime, seconded by Mubammad £All’s government, lasted another twenty years, wrote a French envoy, the Druzes in the mountain would have become a memory.99 The Druzes remained a living force and an influential community in the mountain. An observer, writing about 1840 remarked: “ It is incredi­ ble this moral force, this Druze influence in the mountains.” 94 The Ottoman government appointed Bashir Shihäb III ruler of the mountain. The firman of his investiture, dated 6 Rajab 1256/3 Sept., 1840, refers to the government as the emirate of Jabal al-Durûz and to the ruler as emir of the Druzes." * *' Mishâqa, Mvntakhabât, pp. 145-6; Shidyäq, Akhbär, pp. 602-610; Bowring, Report oh the Commercial Statistics of Syria quoted in Polk, The Opening ofSouth Lebanon, p. 156; Ism4cIl, Documents Diplomatiques, VI, pp. 295-296. ” Salibi, Modem History of Lebanon, p. 47; Churchill, Mount Lebanon, II, p. 304. ” “ Le Comte de Lallemand Chargé de Mission au Liban au Baron de Bourquency Ambassadeur de France à Constantinople, 5 Dec., 1847,“ in IsmâcH, Documents, IX, pp. 131-137. ** F. Perrier, La Syrie sous le Gooemement de Mehemet A lijusqu3au 1940, Paris, 1842,1, p. 312. M Rustum, Documents Related to the History of Syria under Mehemet AU Pasha, V, pp. 172-174.

C H A PTER SIXTEEN

DRUZE SOCIETY The Druzes, a small community, have preserved their identity in the midst of the recurring changes and upheavals around them since their in­ ception about a thousand years ago. A number of factors, religious, social, and geographical have combined to maintain this identity, making of the community a closely integrated society. Religion is the primary bond among its members. It is the cause that brought the community into being and the force that has sustained it throughout its existence. It is the pride of the faithful and their hope, the truth imparted to them as the elect, its keeping entrusted to them. Kinship has re-inforced the religious bond. The Druzes are endogamous, marrying within the community. The greater part of the community have lived in mountainous country, not easily accessible to outsiders, where they could pursue their way of life with freedom and security from outside interference. Independence and attachment to the land are basic to the Druze way of life. In their major centres of concentration, the Druzes have been their own masters, ruled by emirs from among themselves, in full possession of their land, and practising freely their beliefs, laws, and customs. The Druzes have fought persistendy to defend and preserve their in­ dependence. Courage is a conspicuous Druze quality. Religion teaches it: "Whoever fears a human being like himself falls under his sway", says Hamza in Episde 35, and continues: "the Unitarian is valiant by virtue of his faith." Belief that the number of the days of one’s life is fixed, not to be exceeded or diminished by a single day, and that the soul after leaving one body is immediately reborn in another enhances courage and dispels fear of death. The body is a mere robe (Qamif) for the soul. Unitarians are exhorted not to fear the tearing of their robe. Druze courage has won the unstinted admiration of outside observers. "T he bravery of the Druzes is of the very highest order’’ is the tribute of an observer long resident among them .1 Lady Hester Stanhope, who lived and died in Druze country, wrote in June 1838: "T he Druze army, I believe, does not at present exceed two thousand five hundred men: but each man of that two thousand five hun­ dred is singly worth twenty’’.2* 1 Charles Henry Churchill, Mount Ltbanon a Ten Yean' Residence, from 1842-1852, Vol. II, p. 312. * Lady Hester Stanhope, Memoin, III, p. 310.

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Ibrâhîm Pasha who, in his wars with the Ottoman sultanate, defeated one imperial army after another, tasted defeat at the hands of the Druzes of Hawrän where prowess was supported by the formidable terrain which they chose as the battle ground. Whenever the Turks ventured into Hawrän to encroach upon Druze independence they were met by armed rebellion and forced to leave the mountain and its people alone. These wars created stirring traditions of personal valour which were transmitted from generation to generation. The Druze rebellion against the French, which started in 1925 and sparked the Syrian revolution against the mandatory power, was rich in examples of intrepid courage and audacity. At the time France was at the height of its military power. The contrast between the fighting equipment at the disposal of each side was extreme. The French fought with tanks and airplanes, the Druzes were armed with their traditional weapons, rifles and swords. In these circumstances their victories were sensational. They caused the French severe losses before the rebellion was put down two years after it began. A French officer described the Druze as a for­ midable adversary deploying marvellous courage in the defensive and counteroffensive. Captain Bouron was recording his personal experience when he wrote: “ in the Druze, mysticism is joined to a warrior’s muscle; victory is less important for him than the battle itself, for he considers rebellion, even if put down by force, a moral victory, since it is a manifestation in the eyes of the world of his spirit of independence; for the fight he will sacrifice all his possessions without regret” .3 Though watchfulness for their independence kept the Druzes in readiness to fight, warfare was not their only occupation. A mountain community, they depended upon the land for a living. Agriculture, the predominant occupation, they persued with vigour to which the terraced slopes of the mountain testify. By backbreaking labour and with much patience they transformed rocky hills into surfaces of productive soil ar­ ranged in tiers, each supported by a stone wall to hold the soil and keep the water from running wastefully into the valley. The sight of the cultivated terraced slopes has delighted travellers who have admired the industry which surmounted the obstacles of an inhospitable terrain and made use of every scrap of earth. An eighteenth century visitor has remarked that for the Druzes honour is attached to the plough as to arms.4 Accustomed from tender youth to hard work on the land and leading a sober life, alcoholic drinks are forbidden by religious law, the Druzes have a robust physique and vigorous health. 1 N. Bouron, Les Druzes, 1930, pp. 252, 406. 4 Puget de Saint Piene, Histoire des Druzes, p. 162.

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We have noted the unitive forces in Druze society. There have been disruptive elements also such as the Qays-Yemen feuds and the YazbaklJunblafi factions. Clannishness roused violent passions and vindic­ tiveness accompanied family feuds. Nevertheless, solidarity is basic to Druze society and has deep roots. A feeling of brotherhood pervades the community which the Druzes refer to as the community (al-Jamâca). The cuqqäl (sages) are a force working for unity. Druze society is divid­ ed into cuqqdl and juhhäl (ignorant) according to their conformity to the standards of religious behaviour. The name cuqqäl, derived from caql (in­ telligence) given to the spiritual elite reflects the Druze reverence for the Universal Intelligence (al-cAql al-Kullt), the first created being. The ideal cuqqal (sing. cäqil) are distinguished by their piety and life of strict moral virtue. Their appearance is simple; they are reserved, guarded in speech, of marked dignity and serenity. Moderation rules their conduct, excess in every form is eschewed. Self-mastery is an outstanding quality, the sup­ pression of anger and all violent emotion. They are abstemonious, some practice rigid self denial, some lead a life of celibacy or marry but do not cohabit, the prospective wife having consented since she is herself an cäqila. As for the juhhäl they are ignorant not in the sense of being devoid of knowledge but as possessing qualities opposed to those of the cuqqal, for example impetuosity and quickness to anger, undue zeal and lack of selfrestraint. Ignorance (jaht) here corresponds to the qualities associated with the jähiliyya, the heathendom of pre-Islamic Arabia, and is the antithesis of hilm, the quality or combination of qualities which makes a respected and obeyed sayyid.5 The çUqqàl are guardians of the faith for they alone may read and in­ terpret the Scriptures. They guide the juhhäl to a life that would entitle them to access to the Hikma (Scriptures), and to participate in the prayers held in the majlis (house of worship) on the eve of Friday, and attend other gatherings where the Scriptures are read and spiritual matters discussed. Teaching the Hikma is a religious obligation; it is an expres­ sion of the mutual assistance and support which is a precept of the faith. The admission of a jähil to the company of cuqqäl is not a ceremony of in­ itiation as is sometimes wrongly assumed. The person seeking to be ac­ cepted is admitted upon the satisfaction, after a long trial, of local religious opinion that he conforms to the expected pattern of conduct. He is required to observe regularly the dawn and evening prayers, to be truthful and honest, renounce behaviour associated with jahl: blustering1 1 Goldziher, Muhammedanische Studien, I. 1889, p. 221; Ch. Pellat, “ Hilm” , E.I. 2nd ed.

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and bursts of anger, and abstain from alcohol and smoking. Should a person in the ranks of cttqqäl deviate from the established standard, he is forbidden to read the Scriptures and attend religious gatherings. This is called ibcäd (repudiation), and is an effective deterrent against deviation since it carries a moral censure and a stigma to which members of a small compact community are especially sensitive. The cuqqäl exercise con­ siderable influence in Druze society, supervising morals and manners, and having a voice that is listened to in temporal matters. The cuqqäl are peace-makers. Through their intervention disputes are settled, animosities healed, and reconciliation effected between rival families and groups. The conciliatory role of the cuqqäl was often a substitute for recourse to the law courts for the adjustment of conflicting claims regard­ ing property boundaries, irrigation water rights, inheritance, and other family and village affairs. By their active concern for the welfare of the community and the frequent visits among themselves, even to distant localities, the cuqqäl have been a unitive force contributing to the solidari­ ty of the Druze community. Although the cuqqäl are peacemakers, they have fought in the people’s ranks in the wars for liberty and independence. Shaykh Husayn al-Hajri, a leading religious dignitary in Hawrän, was a warrior in the wars with Ibrâhîm Pasha. The influence of the Htqqäl and the respect paid to them have acted as a check upon arbitrary authority of rulers and feudal chiefs. When in 1780 emir Yüsuf Shihäb tried to impose a new tax, over and above taxes already collected, the country’s cuqqäl met at Simqäniyya and led by Shaykh al-cUqqäl Yüsuf Abü Shaqra, marched on Dayr al-Qamar, the emir’s residence. Shaykh Yüsuf remonstrated with the emir, warning that the country was impoverished and the people no longer able to put up with more impositions. The emir, hard pressed, said: “ this country is not big enough for two Yüsufs’’, to which the shaykh answered: “ let the one who feels it is too small for him go away” . He struck the marble floor with his staff, the shaykhs did likewise so that the hall reverberated; they walked out leaving the emir shaken with fear.6 Some cuqqäl withdraw from the world and lead a hermit’s life in retreats called Khalwa. The most famous of these hermits is al-Shaykh alFädil Muhammad Abü Hiläl (d. 1050/1640) of whom a brief biography was written by his disciple who for many years shared his retreat, with a few other recluses, on mount Hermon. In his retreat he was within reach when his help was needed. Whenever there was dissension he intervened in person or through his advice to end the discord and restore harmony.* * Muhammad Abü Shadïd cAbd al-Çamad, ms.

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In summer he would interrupt his solitude to be the guide sought by many eager to see and hear the pious man. They came in groups, from as far away as Aleppo, and were accommodated by the brothers in a quiet village nestled in the mountain. In the daytime, the gatherings were held, morning and afternoon, in the open air, under the trees, in a setting of nature’s beauty and of quiet conducive to meditation and worship. In the evening they met in the majlis of the village. At these gatherings alShaykh al-Fâçlil taught, commended, interpreted, and advised. The con­ gregation listened eagerly. They asked questions of the Shaykh, sought elucidation, and brought problems and difficulties before him. His answers satisfied the enquirers, his settlement of differences was obeyed. Among themselves, while waiting to be joined by the shaykh, the brothers held lively discussions and exchanged ideas and views. These days, wrote the biographer, abounded with the joy of spiritual com­ radeship. When it was time to depart, they carried with them a spiritual provison for the year ahead and the cherished hope to return the following summer.7 There is a khalwa in almost every Druze village. The founder of the khalwa sets apart inalienable property for its upkeep. Often the local khalwa and majlis receive gifts designated in wills. Among wills of people of means there are some which provide for the distribution of gifts among khalwas, majâlis, individuals of known piety, and communities of Hqqäl spread from one end of the country to the other. Such is the will of shaykh Ahmad Amin al-Dfn of cAbayh dated Rajab 1218/1803. It provides for the annual distribution in perpetuity of specified sums of money and quan­ tities of olive oil to the places of worship and to the pious in all the districts of south Lebanon, in Wâdi al-Taym and the Iqlim (Jawlän), and as far as the Ghûtâ of Damascus, about sixty villages in all, besides Damascus and Beirut.** If rugged mountains and lack of roads hindered encroachments from outside, it is clear they were not an obstacle to a live communication between Druze communities, however distant their domiciles from one another. In addition to the distinction between cUqqal and Juhhäl there are also social categories in Druze society: families of shaykhs of whom five held feudal districts, a(y&n (notables) who are not shaykhs, and commoners 1 ‘Ajàj Nuwayhid, ed., Surat al-AmirJamal al-Din '■Abdallah ai- Tanûkhiand Âdâb al-Shaykh al-FSfil, Jerusalem, n.d. * The will dated Rabî* I I 1173/1759 of Sulaymin b. J ib ir Abü cIzz al-Dfn provides for gifts to venerable shaykhs, to Khalwas, and mqfilis in thirty villages in the districts of South Lebanon: Matn, Gharb, Shüf, and Jurd. As pine woods are abundant in Matn and pine seeds are an important crop, pine seeds rather than olive oil, together with sums of money, compose the gifts.

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((imm a). It was customary for each of these groups to marry within their circle. However, because of fundamental unifying forces, all share com­ mon characteristics. Mutual obligations determine the relationship between chiefs and the general body of the community. In time of war the chiefs are at the forefront setting examples of courage and daring. The people follow in strict discipline and obedience, confident in their leaders and conscious of the identity of their interests. Hospitality is required of the chief. It is a common Druze quality. Whoever presents himself at their door, wrote Volney, is sure of shelter and food extended in the most generous and least affected manner.9 Hospitality on a grand scale has been the practice of generations of Junblafs at their residence in Mukhfàra, where the presence of hundreds of guests at a meal was not a rare occurrence. The shaykh sat at the ban­ quet until the last group of guests had been served, only then would he rise. Hospitality extends to giving asylum to those seeking refuge. Protec­ tion of the refugee is a sacred obligation not to be departed from even though the protector may expose his life to danger and his property to destruction at the hands of the protégé’s pursuers. Burckhardt, whom this trait impressed, wrote: ‘T made particular enquiries on this subject, and I am satisfied that no consideration of interest or dread of power will induce a Druze to give up a person who has once placed himself under his protection.” 101 Dignity of bearing is common to Druzes, high and low. It is the quality of a free people upon whom external powers exercised little control, and whose relations with their chiefs were based on mutual interests and reliance, free from subservience. Druzes of all social categories share a politeness and refinement of manners which in other societies are usually associated with the upper social levels. Foreign observers used to rusticity among peasants found the good breeding of Druze peasants surprising." The British explorer, Gertrude Bell, wrote: “ All the Druzes are essentially gentlefolk.” 12 Much importance is attached to decorum, in speech, appearance, and behaviour. It is a common observation that Druze speech is of absolute propriety. A pioneer American educator in Syria, Cornelius van Dyck, who spent a lifetime among Druzes, said he never heard a single Druze utter an improper word. * Volney, Voyage en Syrie et en Egypte, I, p. 463. 10 Burckhardt, Travels in Syria and the Holy Land, p. 203. 11 Volney, op. cit., 462. 12 Gertrude Bell, The Desert and the Sown, London, 1907, p. 102.

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For a rural community, living in relatively isolated areas, Druze affability to strangers is a notable quality. The ease with which they receive foreigners and their cordiality to visiting strangers are qualities of a self-confident people.

C H A PTER SEVENTEEN

TH E DRUZE WOMAN Unitarians are brothers and sisters, a community of the faithful, men and women. Four Epistles in the Druze Canon1 from Hamza and Baha} al-DTn are addressed to women and young maidens. Throughout the Scriptures Unitarian women (muwahhidät) are mentioned jointly with Unitarian men. Epistle 25 by Hamza is concerned with marriage. It was sent to däHs and judges instructing them in the rules that should regulate the rights and duties of husband and wife. The principle of equality is established. "W hen a Unitarian takes to himself a Unitarian sister he shall treat her as his equal and share with her all that he possesses." If separation becomes necessary and it is the wife who wishes to leave her husband, although it is known to trustworthy people that he is fulfilling his obligations towards her, then he is entitled to half of what she owns. If he fails in his obliga­ tions and she chooses to leave him, he has no right to anything that belongs to her. Should the husband decide on the dissolution of the mar­ riage through no fault of the wife, she is entitled to half of all his posses­ sions. The full meaning and significance of this Epistle is elaborated by alSayyidcAbdallah al-Tanükhî.2 The Episde is a covenant, its title Short alImam, emphasizes its binding nature upon Unitarians who shall enter marriage with sincere intent to live in harmony and amity, and in case of separation to act in accordance with justice and the right. Men and women should decide upon marriage entirely free from coercion, with full agreement by both parties. It is forbidden to marry a woman against her will.** On the principle of equality the husband shall treat his wife as his equal sharing with her not only material possessions but more important­ ly, spiritual benefits. He shall guide her to the good, shall teach her to read if she is illiterate, and if she already reads shall encourage and help her to advance in knowledge. If he is not able to do this himself, he shall accompany her to a shaykh to teach them both. It is not permissible that he shall seek learning and leave her in the house occupied with advancing his material welfare. Husband and wife shall go together to acquire 1 Epistles 8, 18, 83, and 84. * ConunenUuy on Epistle 25. 1 The consent of woman to the marriage is stipulated in al-Shari*a al-Rüpâniyya, p. 235.

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knowledge when both are equally capable of this pursuit. If either of them is more able and more eager to learn than the other, the wife as well as the husband shall go to the shaykh for more instruction, the difference be­ ing that the man goes alone, the woman accompanied by a mahram, one in the degree of consanguinity precluding marriage, or in the company of other women, to avoid evil tongues. In the matter of learning, and it is clear that religious instruction is meant, he shall in no way give preference to himself over her. Rather preference is given to the wife when Sayyid cAbdallah says that the illiterate husband should employ to teach his illiterate wife a mahram of hers and spend on her education out of his income. Thus he shall have done his utmost to teach her himself or through others, religion, reading, morals, and duties, thereby he shall be following the right path and conforming to the command to treat her as his equal. Likewise the woman of means and education is commanded to share with her husband her wealth and learning and treat him as her equal. Obedience is a wife's duty to her husband. In the case of separation woman, equally with man, has the right to dissolve the marriage. Whoever of the two is at fault the other is entitled to half his possessions. To leave no doubt as to what a woman is entitled to, Sayyid cAbdallah defines possessions as including silver and gold, clothes, house and furniture, livestock, orchards, vineyeards, shops, khans, and baths, commerce, books and papers. Sayyid cAbdallah emphasizes woman's equality with man by reiterating that husband and wife are bound together by mutual rights and obligations, that woman is m an’s sister in religion and his helper in this world, their life together is one of sharing spirtual advancement and material goods. In none of the conditions set in the Covenant (Sharf), he concludes, are men given an advantage over women. Sayyid cAbdallah again referred to woman’s education in his commen­ tary on another Episde (No. 5) when he said: "the woman who has a real desire and the ability to pursue religious instruction should be relieved from bearing and rearing many children so she can devote herself to the acquisition of spiritual truths (haq&iq). The husband who helps his wife in this endeavour has great m erit.” The Sayyid in his concern for woman’s religious instruction was echo­ ing, with emphasis, the teachings of the Druze faith. From the beginning women were brought into full participation in adherence to, and the propagation of, the dacwa. The Epistles, as they were sent from Hamza and Bahä} al-Dtn were read to congregations of women as of men; däcis were instructed to teach women as well as men; one däH was told to give special care that young maidens learn the (Mona.* * Epistle 47.

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Women, as they listen to the däct should do so with the intent to understand. Hamza bids them listen to the reading in silence, accept it with their heart, and with their mind comprehend its meaning. They may ask the däct to explain obscure passages. The däH explains when he can; if unable to do so he shall refer the matter to his superior, and if need be to the Imam himself or his deputy. He shall then transmit the explana­ tion to the woman who asked for it if she is worthy of the knowledge. Writing again to women Hamza repeats his exhortation that they under­ stand fully what is read to them, and accept it with a grave mind and steadfast heart. The women Hamza addresses had already been in­ structed in the IsmäcÜI-Fätimid doctrine, having attended the lectures on theosophy (majàlis al-hikma) and become familiar with Dat&im al-Isläm and other books by Qâdï Nucm än.s Marriage is monogamous. Polygamy, concubinage and temporary marriage (mufa) are forbidden. Al-Shari^a al-Rübàniyya in making it unlawful for a man to have two wives simultaneously gave the force of law of the advice of Mucizz to the chiefs of Kutäma when he exhorted them to be satisfied with one wife each.6 Druze women have always had the right to own property and dispose of it freely. Inheritance is transmitted in accordance with Muslim law when the person dies intestate; the estate is divided among the heirs in accordance with Sunni practice. The Druzes, however, usually provide for the disposal of their estate by a written will. The Unitarian is required to write a will as a reminder of the transcience of life. Testators generally bestow on women income from property while denying them free-hold ti­ tle. The reason for the practice is concern to preserve the family property from passing to the family into which the woman marries. The transfer of land from one family or clan to another, in a society rooted in the soil, could lead to disputes and end in feuds. Women are legally and morally entitled to support by the nearest male relative. Guardianship of the children and estate is entrusted to the wife if she does not remarry after the husband’s death. Divorce, contrary to the teachings of Sayyid cAbdallah, has been in practice the husband’s privilege. However, inhibitions of kinship and other social considerations have exercised restraint upon its use. Marriages are, as a rule, successful and lasting. The teachings of religion, combined with the status of the Druze com­ munity itself as the dominant element in the Mountain, have given women the self-assurance and self-reliance enjoyed by their people as a • 5 Epistles 8, 12, and 18. • Al-SharPa al-Rübäniyya, p. 238; Maqrïzl, Khifaf, II, p. 164. lttiläf pp. 60-61.

THE ORUZE WOMAN

23 1

whole. It is not by chance that remarkable women in Lebanese society have been Druzes. With the beginning of the daïwa, Sitt**Sarah came into prominence as a peace maker. She was Bahâ’eddïn’s niece and was sent by him at the head of a mission to Wädi al-Taym after the disturbances that were created there by dôHs who had gone astray. The mission, composed of venerable men, saw no cause for dissatisfaction at being led by a woman. Again Bahà3 al-Dïn places his niece at the head of a delegation to the Qarmätian leaders in Bahrayn with a letter reminding them of their ancestors' services in the cause of the dacwa and calling on them to walk in their footsteps. After he wrote the letter, in $afar 430/1038, obstacles arose which hindered the lady from making the journey; the delegation proceeded without her. We are not told what the obstacles were, perhaps insecurity on the road. It was a bold decision to have thought of sending a woman on an important mission across the great distance that separates Cairo from Bahrayn. In view of the scarcity of information on early Druze history it is not surprising that the famous woman we next know about is Sitt Nasab, mother of the celebrated Fakhr al-Dïn Macn II. Her husband, emir Qorqmäz, died when Fakhr al-Dïn and his brother Yünus were minors. With the help of her brother, the Tanükhid emir $ayf al-Dïn, Sitt Nasab brought up her children and preserved their patrimony until Fakhr al-Dïn came of age. Fakhr al-Dïn held his mother in high honour. He was known never to decide on anything of moment without consulting her. Sitt Hbous Arslan was a woman of exceptional intelligence and power­ ful personality. She ruled during the first quarter of the 19th century the Lower Gharb district including the plain of Beirut to the exclusion of several Arslan emirs qualified to occupy the position. Notables of the Mountain came to her residence in Shuwayfat to discuss the weal and woe of the community. Here also came suitors for justice. Sitt Hbous herself adjudicated their cases; her decisions, pronounced with authority, were obeyed.* Junbläf women discharged ably the responsibilities of the mistress in a seigniorial family. At times, after the death of the family's head the mother assumed responsibility for the family’s affairs: the management of their extensive estate and the public functions of a chief.9 In this capacity she received the respect and obedience due to the chief. Shaykh Bashir’s wife and daughter were pious and able women. The shaykh built 7 Sitt is the Arabic word for lady. * C. H. Churchill, Mount Lebanon, III, pp. 237-241. * Lady Burton, The Inner Life of Syria, pp. 275-277; L. Oliphant, The Land of Gilead, London, 1880, p. 372.

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a mosque in the precinct of his palace in Mukhfära and endowed it with a generous waqf (inalienable property) consisting of villages and numerous farms. He appointed his wife trustee, after him, over the mosque and its endowment, a trust usually confided to men. Shaykh Bashir's daughter, Sitt Nayfeh, was married into the promi­ nent Shams family of Hä$bäya in Wädi al-Taym. She was widowed at the age of 30 and assumed undisputed leadership of the region, being en­ dowed with the qualities of mind and character that qualified her for the task. During the troubles of 1860, when Druzes besieged the fortress of Häfbäya, she went to the casde, under batde fire, brought out Christian women and children who had been gathered there, and gave them pro­ tection in her home.10 Her piety was translated in charity, her generosity reached the Hawrän mountain. In times of scarcity she opened a food centre for the poor and needy of all sects. Sitt Nayfeh was highly respected by rulers as by the people, Christians and Muslims. A testimony to her piety is Khalwât al-Bayyâçla, the principal Druze religious retreat which she built on the mountain above Hä?bäya and endowed with property for its upkeep. Sitt Nazira Junblâf was in the tradition of the women of her family when upon her husband's death in 1921, she assumed the responsibility of chieftainship. She was young herself, and her son Kam il, the heir to the distinguished house, was a child. Her leadership coincided with a time of troubles. The French mandate over Syria and Lebanon had recently come into effect, and French rule in Lebanon, as in Syria, was resented by D ruzes.'In her dealings with the French authorities, Sitt Nazira was wise and tactful. She exerted her efforts to avoid a major clash between the Druzes and the mandatory power. In her district, the Shüf, she was in a real sense the ruler. She adjudicated disputes, settled controversies, and adjusted conflicting interests amicably. Her influence with the authorities she used to promote public good and redress grievances. The daily stream of people to Mukhfära, not infrequently delegations filled the spacious halls of the palace, testified to the people’s confidence in her leadership. When in 1943 Kamäl Junblâî took on the responsibilities of the house, he received from his mother a leadership with enhanced prestige. Wise and able women were not rare. Neither was it unusual for men to seek the aid of their advice and judgment on important issues. Many Druze women were reputed for piety. Pious women have been deeply respected by the great in their society and by the common folk. Their blessing was sought by all. 10 H. H. Carnarvon, Recollections of the Druzes of the Lebanon and Notes on their Religion, London, 1860, p. 29.

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Women from childhood were trained in their duties as wives, mothers, and participants with men in family affairs. Little girls helped with their smaller brothers and sisters and did small chores in the house. Their usefulness, begun at a tender age, continued through their life. When it was customary for several generations of one family to live under the same roof, grandparents were at the head of the household. Children were left in the grandmother’s care when the mother was out in the fields or otherwise occupied. Old age is respected, it is associated with wisdom that comes from experience. To the grandmother, as to the grandfather, children and grandchildren come for advice. The elders’ wishes were complied with in the belief that they knew best what was good for the younger generations, a reasonable belief in a society that was traditional and stable. The Druzes being a rural community with farming as their principle occupation, their womenfolk shared with the men hard work and a frugal life. In the days when silk-worm raising was an important activity and the silk produced was a major source of income, it was the women who were principally occupied with the work, tending the worms day and night during forty days in May and June, and vying with one another for the excellence of the crop. Women worked in the fields, growing garden vegetables, picking fruits and gathering olives. Olives and their oil were an essential component of the diet, a supply of which was stored sufficient for a year or even two years. In the days when there was no grocery store around the corner, provi­ sions were stored up for the family’s consumption the year round. Their preparation was woman’s responsibility. Bread is an example of the work involved. The wheat came from the threshing floor; it was sifted, washed in huge brass basins, the water brought from the village spring, and after drying on the roof, small heaps were placed on low round tables when stones and cockle were picked before the wheat was stored away. As flour was needed a load of wheat on donkey or mule was carried to the village mill. Once a week or so, a sufficient quantity of flour was kneaded and baked, sometimes in the village bakery, more often in the back yard on an iron convex tray placed on a semicircle of stones over a brushwood fire. As to women’s education we have to rely on inference. Emphasis in Hamza’s Episdes and SayyidcAbdallah’s Commentaries on the religious instruction of women, on their reading the flikma and understanding it, lead us to assume that there was always an appreciable number of Druze women who could read and write. There are also remarks by outside observers. Puget de Saint Pierre, writing in the middle of the 18th cen­ tury, reported that Druze women were better instructed in religion than

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men, a fact which gives women a great distinction among them. It is they who are charged with teaching other women the content and meaning of their sacred books.11 Colonel Churchill wrote that in the days of the Tanükhid emir Nä?ir al-DTn Husayn (668-751/1269*1350) reading and writing became common, even among females. He continues: “ in this respect, women of Druze shaykhs, even to this day (mid-nineteenth cen­ tury), maintain a marked superiority over the rest of their sex throughout the country” .,J A nineteenth century Lebanese chronicler wrote: “ few are the Druze women who cannot read or are jähilät, i.e. denied access to the Scriptures” .11*13 That few Druze women were jähilät is very probable, but that few could not read is difficult to accept. It is acceptable, however, that literacy among Druze women was not uncommon, perhaps more common in the generations nearer the time of SayyidcAbd­ allah than in later times. It may be of interest to note a woman’s will dated Shacbän 1190/1776 written by a woman o f cAmmäfür village in Shüf, to which another woman wrote a postscript.14*16 We may assume that women began copying the Scriptures at an early date, a practice well known at present. Some women, in a supererogatory act of devotion, refuse to eat except from their earnings in transcribing the Hikma. For this work good penmanship is required. O f women’s moral qualities, courage is conspicuous. It is enjoined by religion on women and men alike, as when Hamza, addressing women, says: “ let no one of you fear anything but her sin and let her place her hope on none but God” .19 Women have steadily supported the men in time of war by their own courage and steadfastness, sometimes accompanying them to the bat­ tlefield. The names of a number of women are associated with batdes fought in Jabal al-Durüz against the Turks and the French. The outstanding female virtue, however, is chastity and its concomi­ tant modesty. M en’s concern for women’s honour is such that in time of war no Druze was ever known to molest the enemy’s women.1* Sobriety, gravity, decorum are qualities expected of, and admired in, women. In joy and in sorrow women should maintain a dignified reserve. Composure and self-restraint, imposed by social standards, are achieved by strict self-discipline and watchfulness. Taqwä, the fear of God, must 11 Histoire des Druzes, p. 167. 11 Mount Lebanon, I, p. 287. 19 M ikhà^ Mishâqa, Muntakhabàt, p. 129. 14 The will is among our papers. 19 Epistle 18. 16 Daniel Bliss, The Reminiscences of Daniel Bliss, New York, 1920, p. 149; Henry Jessup, Fifty-three Years in Syria, 1910, New York, Vol. I, p. 170; Abü Shaqra, (ü-tfarakät, pp. 60-61.

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always be present, a guide to the right and a guardian against error. Pa­ tience (fabr) ranks high among woman’s qualities: the most excellent of Unitarian women are those richest in mind and of an abundant patience.17 In the life of pious Druze women, and reflected on their faces, is a luminous serenity that comes from trust in God and surrender to His will. 17 Al-Sharf-a ai-Rüfiänijya, p. 229.

BIBLIOGRAPHY Manuscripts a. Druze sources in chronological order 1. The Scriptum: 111 Epistles in six Books 2. Newly discovered Arabic mss considered to be part of the lost Canon: Al-Munfarid Bi-Dhâtihil Al-Sharî*a al-Rüfrànÿya1*3 RasàHl al-Hxnd9 Sijill SaraHr al-Awwal wa’l Äkhir4 3. Commentaries on the Scriptures Tanükhl, Sayyid cAbdallah, Commentaries on Epistles 5, 13, 25 Letters and Exhortations* 4. Ibn Sbät (d. 926/1520), Tahikh, Vatican ms 270« 5. Taqiyy al-Dfn, Zayn al-Dfn cAbd al-Ghaffar, Mqjrà al-Zamân (The Course of Time)7* 6. Al-Ashrafanï, cAbd al-Malik (llth/17th century), cUmdat ai-cÄrifin, 3 parts.9 References in the text are to Part III. 7. Al-cId, Näfir al-Dln, al-Durra a!-Mufi*a, 2 vols.9 8. Sijill al-Nasab al-Arslâni (Arslan Genealogical Register)10 1 Al-Munfarid Bi-Dhätihi is mentioned in the present Canon, in Episde 17 dated the sixht month of 410/1019. 3 Al-Sharfa al-Rühâniyya is referred to in Episde 15, not dated, but is one of the earliest of Ham?a’s writings. Among its contents is the “ Epistle to the soul" attributed to Hermes. 9 There are eight letters from Bahä56al-Dfn to jâ tâ b. Sumer Raja Päl, head of the mis­ sion in Sind, sent between 424/1033 and 430/1039. The fourth of the letters, written in 425 A.H., is the same as Episde 61 in the Canon, of the same year. There are also four letters from the Indian prince to Bahä* al-Dfn. The volume contains an Episde, dated 400 A.H., in which Hakim rebukes the accusers of his friends who had given up the outward form of religious observance for the worship of the heart. 4 Mystical meditations dictated by Hakim to Hamza after his departure to the East, and sent by Hamza to Bahä* al-Dfn in 439/1047. 9 See chapter XIII. 6 Hamza b. Ahmad b. Sbät grew up in Sayyid cAbdallah’s household. His father was a faqlh, a disciple of al-Sayyid, and teacher of many of Saÿyid’s disciples. Both Ibn Sbàt’s father and grandfather were imams of the mosque of €Abayh. 7 He lived in the 10th/16th century and was learned in the Druze faith. 9 Among the contents of parts one and two are lives of prophets, ancient philosophers, legendary figures, companions of the Prophet and Imams. Part three is a history of the Dnize faith at the time of its propagation. Ashrafani had access to a wide range of sources, among them some now lost, such as the first volume of Ibn Sbät’s History and an Arabic Lexicon attributed to Sayyid cAbdallah al-Tanükhî. It is interesting to note among his sources collections containing precepts and sayings of Pythagoras, Plato, Hermes, and other sages. He mentions Mukhtär al-Hikam and attributes it to Aristotle. Could it be the same as the book composed in 447/1055 by the Fäpmid philosopher al-Mubashshir b. Fâtik al-cAmïrî and which is the most comprehensive source yet known on the sayings of Greek philosophers and sages (cAbd al-Rahman Badawf, The Role of the Araks m the Forma­ tion of European thought, p. 97, in Arabic). 9 He was Shaykh cUqqäl, d. in 1129/1716. The book is a dictionary of names and ex­ pressions in the Scriptures. 10 The Arslan Genealogical Register covers about 12 centuries. It contains nineteen en-

BIBLIOGRAPHY

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b. Other mas Baybars al-Dawâdâr, Zubdat al-Fikra f i Tayrikh al-Hijra9 vol. 6, University of Cairo ms. Al-Nucmân b. Muhammad b, IJayyûn, al-Mqjâlis wa'l-Musâyarat, School of Oriental and African Studies, London University, Arabic ms 25737; University of Cairo ms. Primary Sources I. Arabic Abu ’l-Fawaris Afcmad b. Ya'qûb, al-Risâlafi 9l-Imâma9ed. Sàml Makärim (The Political Doctrine of the Ismâcîlis), Delmar, N.Y., 1977. Abu ’1-Fidâ, cImâd al-Dîn Ismâc3, Annales Anteislamici, ed. and Latin tr. by H. O. Fleischer, Leipzig, 1831. al-Mukhtofarf i Akhbâr al-Bashar, 4 vols., Cairo, n.d. Abû Shäma, Shihâb al-Dîn, Kitâb al-Rawdatqyn f i Akhbâr al-Dawlatqyn al-Nüriyya wa'l-$atâhiyy*9 2 vols., Cairo, 1287, 1288/1870, 1871. al-Dhqyl cala 'l-Rawdataynt Cairo, 1366/1947. _ Abû Shaqrà, Husayn, al-tfarakàt f i Lubnân, ed. cArif Abû Shaqrâ, Beirut, 1952. Antâkl, Yabyâ b. Sa'îd, TaMkh (Histoire de Yabyâ-Ibn-SaHd d'Antioche Continuateur de SaHdIbn-Bitnq, ed. and French tr. by I.Kratchkovsky and A. Vasiliev, Paris, 1932. cArïb b. Sacd al-Qurfubî, Silat Tabikh al-Tabarït ed. De Goeje, Leiden, 1897. Bahi> al-Dïn, Ibn Shaddâd, Sirat Salah al-Dïn: al-Nawâdir aJ-Sdtàngya wa ’l-Mafrasin alYûsufiyya, Cairo, 1346/1927. Bakri, M ujam (Das Geographische Wörterbuch) ed. F. Wüstenfeld, 2 vols., Göttingen, 1876. Balädhuri, Futüfr al-Buldän, ed. de Goeje, Leiden, 1866. Ansäb al-Ashrâf\ vol. V, ed. Goitein, Hebrew University, Jerusalem, 1936. Bûtinl, Tarâjim al-A*yàn min Abna* al-Zamàn, ed. $. Munajjid, 2 vols., Damascus, 1959, 1963. Dhahabl, Kitâb Mizân al-IHidâl, 3 vols., Cairo, 1325/1907. Dimashql, Mikhâ’il, TaMkh fiawâdith al-Shâm wa Lubnân 1197-1257 A.H. (1782-1841 A.D.), Beirut, 1912. Dimkhqui, Shams al-Dîn, Cosmographie, ed. A. Mehren, Leipzig, 1923. Duwayhï, Isfifan, TqMkh al-Azmina9 ed. F. Taoutel, Beirut, 1951. Fârâbî, Abû Na^r, Àrâ*Ahl al-Madina al-FSdila, ed. F. Dieterici, Leiden, 1895. Kitâb al-Siyâsât al-Madaniyya, Hyderabad, 1346/1927. Ghazâlî, Abû Hâmid, Mishkât al-Anwâr, ed. AfKfi, Cairo, 1964. Maïârîj al-Quds, Cairo, 1927. Ghazzî, Najm al-Dîn, al-Kawâkib ai-Sâhra, ed. J . Jabbur, 3 vols., Beirut, 1945,1949,1958. IJallij, Akhbâr al-flallâj, Recueil d'Oraisons et d'Exhortations du Martyr Mystique de l'Islam Husayn Ibn Mansur Hallqj, 3rd ed. L. Massignon, Paris, Vrin, 1957. Hamdânî, $ifat Jaxîrat al-cArab (Geographie der Arabischen Halbinsel) 2 vols. ed. D. H. Müller, Leiden, 1884, 1891. tries, the first of which was registered in 141 A.H. at-Macarrat al-Nucman in North Syria before the Arslans left it with their clans to setde in the hills behind Beirut and on the coast. The date of the last entry is 1313 A.H. At intervals of 50 years or more the Register was verified at Sharia courts where deaths and births were registered in the presence of attested witnesses. Most of the entries were registered at the Court in Damascus, some in Beirut, one in Sidon, and one in Tripoli. Historical events reported in the Register, the names and dates of caliphs, provincial governors and notables accord with accounts related in general histories and biographical dictionaries. A prominent member of the Arslan family, Emir Shaldb, d. 1946, established by investigations in the works of Ibn Khaliikàn, Yàqût, Dhahabl and others the identity of about forty judges, cUlamà, and notables who signed entries in the Register, and was in process of continuing the verifica­ tion.

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