The Mount Lebanon revolts of 752 and 759 were a series of anti-

Abbasid The Abbasid Caliphate or Abbasid Empire (; ) was the third caliphate to succeed the prophets and messengers in Islam, Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib (566–653 C ...

revolts by the Christian inhabitants of

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 ...

as a response to the Abbasid oppression of the region. The first of these revolts began in the year 752 under the Mardaite prince Elias of Baskinta. Elias battled the Arabs in many parts of the

Beqaa Valley The Beqaa Valley (, ; Bekaa, Biqâ, Becaa) is a fertile valley in eastern Lebanon and its most important farming region. Industry, especially the country's agricultural industry, also flourishes in Beqaa. The region broadly corresponds to th ...

but ultimately met his fate in a town now named after him known as Qabb Ilyas. However the Christians were not discouraged and a new leader known as Simon continued the rebellion, almost taking

Homs Homs ( ; ), known in pre-Islamic times as Emesa ( ; ), is a city in western Syria and the capital of the Homs Governorate. It is Metres above sea level, above sea level and is located north of Damascus. Located on the Orontes River, Homs is ...

and

Hama Hama ( ', ) is a city on the banks of the Orontes River in west-central Syria. It is located north of Damascus and north of Homs. It is the provincial capital of the Hama Governorate. With a population of 996,000 (2023 census), Hama is one o ...

of Syria with the support of the

Byzantine navy The Byzantine navy was the Navy, naval force of the Byzantine Empire. Like the state it served, it was a direct continuation from its Roman navy, Roman predecessor, but played a far greater role in the defence and survival of the state than its ...

. A second rebellion, commonly known as the Munayṭirah Revolt (), occurred in 759 when a man known as Bandar (or Theodore in some sources) declared himself king over all of the Mardaites.

Salih ibn Ali Ṣāliḥ ibn ʿAlī ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-ʿAbbās () (711–769) was a member of the Banu Abbas who served as general and governor in Syria and Egypt. Life Salih and his brother Abd Allah were among the van of the Abbasid forces which ov ...

, the uncle of the Abbasid caliph, ambushed Bandar near

Baalbek Baalbek (; ; ) is a city located east of the Litani River in Lebanon's Beqaa Valley, about northeast of Beirut. It is the capital of Baalbek-Hermel Governorate. In 1998, the city had a population of 82,608. Most of the population consists of S ...

and defeated him. After this the Caliph migrated several Arab tribes to the Christian regions forcing the expulsion of many from their native villages.

Background

In the year 750 the Abbasids overthrew the Umayyad Caliphate and took most of its former territories. This included parts of modern-day Lebanon such as the

. Unlike their predecessors who were more tolerant towards the Christians of Lebanon, at least since Maronite-Byzantine relations deteriorated, the Abbasids were harsh towards the Lebanese Christians harassing and heavily taxing them.

Baskinta revolt

In the year 752 a Mardaite prince known as Elias of Baskinta began to raid the Beqaa region as a response to the oppression of the Abbasids. Elias set up base in a town known as al-Muruj and turned it into his headquarters assuming control of the Beqaa. When the Abbsaid caliph

As-Saffah Abu al-ʿAbbās Abd Allāh ibn Muḥammad ibn ʿAlī ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-ʿAbbās (‎; 721/722 – 8 June 754), known by his ''laqab'' al-Saffah (), was the first caliph of the Abbasid Caliphate, one of the longest and most important c ...

heard about this he sent an envoy bringing a robe of honor and the two sides sat to eat together. However, Elias became drunk and infatuated with a dancing maiden which caused his captains to lose their confidence in him and abandon him. Unbeknownst to Elias or his men, a group of soldiers were following the envoys and attacked Elias while he was drunk, killing him and many of his men. The soldiers then set al-Muruj on fire and retook control of the Beqaa. Elias was buried in this town and it came to be known as Qabb Ilyas which is derived from Qabr Elias meaning "grave of Elias". A Roman

wayside shrine A wayside shrine is a religious image, usually in some sort of small shelter, placed by a road or pathway, sometimes in a settlement or at a crossroads, but often in the middle of an empty stretch of country road, or at the top of a hill or mount ...

carved into a rock above the town is popularly considered to be the grave of the prince. However, not all of the Mardaites were discouraged as a new leader called Simon took control and pushed the Abbasid armies back, going as far as almost taking

and

through aid from the

Munayṭirah revolt

In the year 759 people in Lebanon began to rebel against the

kharaj Kharāj () is a type of individual Islamic tax on agricultural land and its produce, regardless of the religion of the owners, developed under Islamic law. With the first Muslim conquests in the 7th century, the ''kharaj'' initially was synonym ...

tax collector of

. A ''youthful mountaineer of huge physique'' named Bandar, or Theodore in some sources, led the uprising from the Munayṭirah mountain region and declared himself king over all of the Mardaites. The uncle of the caliph

, who was also a general of the Abbasid army, raised many men to confront Bandar. The two sides met and casualties were high on both sides but the Abbasids eventually ambushed and routed the Christians on their way to

, with Bandar fleeing to

Tripoli Tripoli or Tripolis (from , meaning "three cities") may refer to: Places Greece *Tripolis (region of Arcadia), a district in ancient Arcadia, Greece * Tripolis (Larisaia), an ancient Greek city in the Pelasgiotis district, Thessaly, near Larissa ...

(which was under Byzantine control) leaving his companions to be massacred. Asakir, ''Tarikh Dimashq''

Aftermath

Salih then began a reign of terror against the Christians in the region, targeting rebels and

dhimmi ' ( ', , collectively ''/'' "the people of the covenant") or () is a historical term for non-Muslims living in an Islamic state with legal protection. The word literally means "protected person", referring to the state's obligation under ''s ...

s alike. Many Christians were slaughtered or forced to flee their homes in exile. However, not all Muslims supported this persecution of the Christians including the

imam Imam (; , '; : , ') is an Islamic leadership position. For Sunni Islam, Sunni Muslims, Imam is most commonly used as the title of a prayer leader of a mosque. In this context, imams may lead Salah, Islamic prayers, serve as community leaders, ...

al-Awza'i Abū ʿAmr ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn ʿAmr al-Awzāʿī (; 707–774) was a Sunni Muslim ulama, scholar, faqīh, jurist, aqidah, theologian, and the chief representative and eponym of the Awza'i school of Islamic jurisprudence. Biography Awzāʿ ...

who criticized Salih for his commands stating: To ensure that similar revolts would not take place Al-Mansur sent Arab tribes such as the

Tanukhids The Tanukh (, sometimes referred to as the Tanukhids (, ), was an Arab tribal group whose history in the Arabian Peninsula and the Fertile Crescent spanned the 2nd century CE to the 17th century. The group began as a confederation of Arab tribes ...

and

Lakhmids The Lakhmid kingdom ( ), also referred to as al-Manādhirah () or as Banū Lakhm (), was an Arab kingdom that was founded and ruled by the Lakhmid dynasty from to 602. Spanning Eastern Arabia and Sawad, Southern Mesopotamia, it existed as a d ...

to emigrate and settle in Lebanon. The Arab tribes mostly settled south of Beirut in the mountainous and coastal areas notably blocking off the

Afqa Afqa (; also spelled ''Afka'') is a village and municipality located in the Byblos District of the Keserwan-Jbeil Governorate, northeast of Beirut in Lebanon. It has an average elevation of 1,200 meters above sea level and a total land area of ...

corridor from Maronites which was their access to the coastline. This also prevented the Byzantines from sending their ships to the region. This tactic proved effective as the Arabs successfully fended off two Mardaite raids in 791 and 875. Some of the Arab families that migrated to Lebanon during this period would become prominent dynasties such as the Arslans,

Buhturids The Buhturids () or the Tanukh () were a dynasty whose chiefs were the emirs (princes or commanders) of the Gharb area southeast of Beirut in Mount Lebanon in the 12th–15th centuries. A family of the Tanukhid tribal confederation, they were es ...

, and Abi'l-Lama's.

References

{{Reflist 750s conflicts 8th-century rebellions Arab–Byzantine wars History of the Maronites Medieval history of Lebanon Rebellions against the Abbasid Caliphate 8th century in the Abbasid Caliphate

Background

Baskinta revolt

Munayṭirah revolt

Aftermath

See also

References