Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west; Cyprus lies a short distance from the coastline. Lebanon has a population of more than five million and an area of 10,452 square kilometres (4,036 sq mi). Beirut is the country's capital and largest city.
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Extent of Ali Bey and Zahir's territory between 1768 and 1774 and Russian naval movements in the Levant, based on the accounts of Sauveur Lusignan, a contemporary historian
Beirut was twice occupied during the Russo-Turkish War of 1768–1774 by squadrons of the Imperial Russian Navy's Mediterranean Fleet, first in June 1772 and second from October 1773 to early 1774, as part of its Levant campaign. Russia's main objective in this campaign was to assist local forces led by Egypt's autonomous ruler, Ali Bey al-Kabir, who was in open rebellion against the Ottoman Empire.
Russia, led by Catherine the Great, was pressing the Ottomans in Europe. Ali took advantage of the Empire's preoccupation with Russia to declare Egypt's independence; in 1771 he sent an army led by Muhammad Bey Abu al-Dhahab to occupy Ottoman territory in the Levant. Abu al-Dhahab unexpectedly returned to challenge Ali for control of Egypt. Ali requested Russian military assistance against both his rival and the Ottomans. When this aid, in the form of a small Russian squadron, arrived in the region, Ali had already fled Egypt and taken refuge in Acre, the power base of his ally, Zahir al-Umar. After helping repel an Ottoman offensive on Sidon, the Russian squadron sailed for Beirut. They bombarded the town in June 1772 and occupied it from 23 to 28 June.
Ali requested further assistance from Russia to recover Egypt from Abu al-Dhahab. The Russians had recently entered a period of truce with the Ottomans, constraining their involvement in the region. They did, however, promise Ali a large squadron. Impatient, Ali set out for Egypt with a small force that was defeated near Cairo; he was imprisoned and died a few days later. When the Russian squadron arrived in June 1773 and learned of Ali's fate, its commander allied with Zahir and the Druze chieftain Yusuf Shihab. The latter had agreed to pay the Russians a tribute in exchange for their liberation of Beirut from Jazzar Pasha, Shihab's insubordinate vassal whom he had recently appointed as governor of the town. The bombardment of the town began on 2 August, and Jazzar surrendered after two months, on October10. A few hundred Albanian mercenaries were left as occupiers. (Full article...)
... that the French Jesuit priest and archaeologist René Mouterde contributed to the documentation of 3,405 Greek and Latin inscriptions from Lebanon, Jordan, and Syria?
... that Gigarta, a settlement mentioned by Strabo and Pliny the Elder, is believed to have been located on the slopes of Mount Lebanon, although its exact location remains under debate?
Hezbollah was founded in 1982 by Lebanese clerics in response to the Israeli invasion of Lebanon. Inspired by the Iranian Revolution of 1979 and Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini's model of Islamic governance, Hezbollah established strong ties with Iran. The group was initially supported by 1,500 Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) instructors, who helped unify various Lebanese Shia factions under Hezbollah's leadership. Hezbollah's 1985 manifesto outlined its key objectives, which include expelling Western influence from the region, destroying Israel, pledging allegiance to Iran's supreme leader, and establishing an Islamic government influenced by Iran's political ideology. However, the manifesto also emphasized Lebanese self-determination. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Hezbollah fought against Israeli forces and the South Lebanon Army (SLA), eventually leading to Israel's withdrawal from southern Lebanon in 2000. Hezbollah also played a prominent role in the 2006 Lebanon War and later became involved in the Syrian civil war, where it fought alongside the Syrian government against rebel forces.
In 2009, Hezbollah updated their manifesto to oppose political sectarianism, appeal to non-Islamic movements, and promote a national unity government. The updated manifesto has the same basic approach to foreign policy, emphasizing the hegemonic strategies of the US and Israel's role in the region as a forward base for colonizing the region. (Full article...)
Image 2Map showing power balance in Lebanon, 1976: Dark Green – controlled by Syria; Purple – controlled by Maronite groups; Light Green – controlled by Palestinian militias (from History of Lebanon)
Image 3Csontváry Kosztka, Tivadar - Pilgrimage to the Cedars of Lebanon (from Culture of Lebanon)
Image 12Portrait of Fakhreddine while he was in Tuscany, stating "Faccardino grand emir dei Drusi" translated as "Fakhreddine: great emir of the Druze" (from History of Lebanon)
Image 18Map showing power balance in Lebanon, 1983: Green – controlled by Syria, purple – controlled by Christian groups, yellow – controlled by Israel, blue – controlled by the United Nations (from History of Lebanon)
Image 19Sidewalk Cafes are a trademark of the BCD (from Culture of Lebanon)
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