Al-Chemor (pronounced ''Ach-Chmorr'', Shammar, Shamir or Shummar in

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

الشمرّ) is an ancient noble

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

Arab clan from

Lebanon 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 ...

History

The family ruled two sheikhdoms in Northern Lebanon, Aqoura from 1211 to 1633 and the Zawyia region of Zgharta from 1641 to 1747. Its lineage traces from

King King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...

Abu Chemor, a

Ghassanid The Ghassanids, also known as the Jafnids, were an Arab tribe. Originally from South Arabia, they migrated to the Levant in the 3rd century and established what would eventually become a Christian kingdom under the aegis of the Byzantine Empi ...

who gave his name to the family. Its sheikhs were the last

princes to rule until the 18th century. They derived from the Yamanis and left Akoura in the 17th century. Some members moved to Jeita in Keserwan where Sleiman Chemor was a prominent land owner. Other family members left Tripoli to inhabit and rule Aradat and Kfarhata. In 1654 Abdallah Bin Chemor Al Akoury was killed by the followers of the Hamadi Cheikhs after they were assigned to rule Jebbet Becharri by the governor of Tripoli, Mouhammad Bacha Al Koubary. When the aggression of the Hamadis increased, the governor launched two battalions against the

Shiite Shia Islam is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that Muhammad designated Ali ibn Abi Talib () as both his political successor (caliph) and as the spiritual leader of the Muslim community (imam). However, his right is understood ...

renegades, one of them headed by Daher El Daher and one by Youssef Chemor. The campaign met its goals but one of the leaders, Bechara Karam, was ambushed and killed in Meghayri, south of Akoura. The Chemors were related by marriage to the Yaghis of Akoura. The Ghassanids are the largest tribe in the Arabic peninsula. During the 2nd century CE they emigrated from

Yemen Yemen, officially the Republic of Yemen, is a country in West Asia. Located in South Arabia, southern Arabia, it borders Saudi Arabia to Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, the north, Oman to Oman–Yemen border, the northeast, the south-eastern part ...

after the

Marib Marib (; Ancient South Arabian script, Old South Arabian: 𐩣𐩧𐩨/𐩣𐩧𐩺𐩨 ''Mryb/Mrb'') is the capital city of Marib Governorate, Yemen. It was the capital of the ancient kingdom of ''Saba’, Sabaʾ'' (), which some scholars beli ...

dam break to

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

in search of water sources. They established themselves near the “Ghassan spring” from which they took their name. The Ghassanids tribe was Christian and allied to the Byzantines. Abou Choummar Jabla was one of the first

kings, ruling around 500. His son was the most prominent Ghassanid King. He was named “the Great Protector” because he defended the Christians against the barbarians with the help and the benediction of Byzantine Emperor

Justinian Justinian I (, ; 48214 November 565), also known as Justinian the Great, was Roman emperor from 527 to 565. His reign was marked by the ambitious but only partly realized ''renovatio imperii'', or "restoration of the Empire". This ambition was ...

. His kingdom included the regions of Houran, Mount Hermon, the

Golan Golan (; ) is the name of a biblical town later known from the works of Josephus (first century CE) and Eusebius (''Onomasticon'', early 4th century CE). Archaeologists localize the biblical city of Golan at Sahm el-Jaulān, a Syrian village eas ...

, the Jordan valley and

Damascus Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Kno ...

. In 635, the Ghassanid kingdom disappeared when the area was conquered by Muslims. The Choummar (from Abou Choummar Jabla) had to flee to Lebanon; their first stay was in the Christian Maronite region of Akoura ( Byblos District) where geological and historical safety was provided. The Choummar inhabited and ruled the rich agricultural region of Akoura in today's Lebanon from 1211 until 1633. They ruled Zawiya from 1641 to 1747 and took Kfarhata near Zgharta as their home town. During this period, many disputes between them and the Daher occurred. One led them to escape the village and take refuge in Beit Habbak, a small hillside village near

Byblos Byblos ( ; ), also known as Jebeil, Jbeil or Jubayl (, Lebanese Arabic, locally ), is an ancient city in the Keserwan-Jbeil Governorate of Lebanon. The area is believed to have been first settled between 8800 and 7000BC and continuously inhabited ...

, where a big ramification of the Chemor family took place (Hobeika...).

References

{{reflist, 30em Arab families Arab Christians Lebanese noble families