Sidon-Beirut Sanjak was a ''
sanjak
A sanjak or sancak (, , "flag, banner") was an administrative division of the Ottoman Empire. The Ottomans also sometimes called the sanjak a liva (, ) from the name's calque in Arabic and Persian.
Banners were a common organization of nomad ...
'' (district) of
Sidon Eyalet
The Eyalet of Sidon (; ) was an eyalet (also known as a ''beylerbeylik'') of the Ottoman Empire. In the 19th century, the eyalet extended from the border with Egypt to the Bay of Kisrawan, including parts of modern Israel and Lebanon.
Depending ...
(Province of Sidon) of the
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...
. Prior to 1660, the Sidon-Beirut Sanjak had been part of
Damascus Eyalet
Damascus Eyalet (; ) was an eyalet of the Ottoman Empire. Its reported area in the 19th century was . It became an eyalet after the Ottomans took it from the Mamluks following the 1516–1517 Ottoman–Mamluk War. By Gábor Ágoston, Bruce Alan ...
, and for brief periods in the 1590s,
Tripoli Eyalet.
Territory and demographics
The Sidon-Beirut Sanjak consisted of the roughly 60-kilometer-strip of territory between the gorge of al-Muamalatayn (just north of
Juniyah) to the
Zahrani River.
[Abu Husayn 2004, p. 12.] The gorge of al-Muamalatayn marked its northern boundary with Tripoli Eyalet, the Zahrani River marked its southern boundary with
Safed Sanjak
Safed Sanjak (; ) was a ''sanjak'' (district) of Damascus Eyalet ( Ottoman province of Damascus) in 1517–1660, after which it became part of the Sidon Eyalet (Ottoman province of Sidon). The sanjak was centered in Safed and spanned the Galilee, ...
and 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 ...
ridge marked its eastern boundary with Damascus Eyalet. The Sidon-Beirut Sanjak included the coastal towns of
Sidon
Sidon ( ) or better known as Saida ( ; ) is the third-largest city in Lebanon. It is located on the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coast in the South Governorate, Lebanon, South Governorate, of which it is the capital. Tyre, Lebanon, Tyre, t ...
and
Beirut
Beirut ( ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, just under half of Lebanon's population, which makes it the List of largest cities in the Levant region by populatio ...
, both of which were the center of their own ''
nahiya
A nāḥiyah ( , plural ''nawāḥī'' ), also nahiyeh, nahiya or nahia, is a regional or local type of administrative division that usually consists of a number of villages or sometimes smaller towns. In Tajikistan, it is a second-level divisi ...
s'' (subdistricts), and it included the southern
Mount Lebanon
Mount Lebanon (, ; , ; ) is a mountain range in Lebanon. It is about long and averages above in elevation, with its peak at . The range provides a typical alpine climate year-round.
Mount Lebanon is well-known for its snow-covered mountains, ...
range.
Its interior ''nahiyas'' were, from north to south,
Kisrawan and
Matn
Matn () is an Islamic term that is used in relation to Hadith terminology. It means the text of the hadith, excluding the isnad.
Use
A hadith is made of both an isnad (chain of transmission) and a matn.
A hadith would typically adopt the f ...
in the Jabal Sannin mountains, Gharb and Jurd in the Jabal al-Kanisah mountains and
Iqlim al-Kharrub and
Shuf in the Jabal al-Baruk mountains.
The population was religiously diverse, with Sunni Muslims being predominant in Sidon, Beirut and Iqlim al-Kharrub,
Druze
The Druze ( ; , ' or ', , '), who Endonym and exonym, call themselves al-Muwaḥḥidūn (), are an Arabs, Arab Eastern esotericism, esoteric Religious denomination, religious group from West Asia who adhere to the Druze faith, an Abrahamic ...
predominating in Matn, Gharb, Jurd and Shuf and
Shia Muslim
Shia Islam is the second-largest Islamic schools and branches, branch of Islam. It holds that Muhammad in Islam, Muhammad designated Ali ibn Abi Talib () as both his political Succession to Muhammad, successor (caliph) and as the spiritual le ...
s and
Maronite Christians inhabiting Kisrawan.
Maronites and to a lesser extent, other Christians, increasingly immigrated into the Druze-dominated areas throughout the 17th and 18th centuries.
History
After the
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...
conquered Syria from the
Mamluks
Mamluk or Mamaluk (; (singular), , ''mamālīk'' (plural); translated as "one who is owned", meaning "slave") were non-Arab, ethnically diverse (mostly Turkic, Caucasian, Eastern and Southeastern European) enslaved mercenaries, slave-sold ...
in 1516, they formed the
Damascus Eyalet
Damascus Eyalet (; ) was an eyalet of the Ottoman Empire. Its reported area in the 19th century was . It became an eyalet after the Ottomans took it from the Mamluks following the 1516–1517 Ottoman–Mamluk War. By Gábor Ágoston, Bruce Alan ...
(Province of Damascus) out of the Mamluk provinces of central and southern Syria, including the ''wilayas'' (districts) of
Sidon
Sidon ( ) or better known as Saida ( ; ) is the third-largest city in Lebanon. It is located on the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coast in the South Governorate, Lebanon, South Governorate, of which it is the capital. Tyre, Lebanon, Tyre, t ...
and
Beirut
Beirut ( ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, just under half of Lebanon's population, which makes it the List of largest cities in the Levant region by populatio ...
.
[Abu Husayn 2004, p. 11.] The latter two places were administratively merged to form the ''
sanjak
A sanjak or sancak (, , "flag, banner") was an administrative division of the Ottoman Empire. The Ottomans also sometimes called the sanjak a liva (, ) from the name's calque in Arabic and Persian.
Banners were a common organization of nomad ...
'' (district) of Sidon-Beirut.
For much of the 16th and 17th centuries, Sidon-Beirut Sanjak was under the jurisdiction of Damascus and, at times during the 1590s,
Tripoli. Its first ''
sanjak-bey
''Sanjak-bey'', ''sanjaq-bey'' or ''-beg'' () was the title given in the Ottoman Empire to a bey (a high-ranking officer, but usually not a pasha) appointed to the military and administrative command of a district (''sanjak'', in Arabic '' liwa’' ...
'' (district governor) was Ibn al-Hanash, a powerful
Arab
Arabs (, , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world.
Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of years ...
chieftain active under the Mamluks.
[Abu Husayn 1992, p. 667.] He ruled Sidon-Beirut in cooperation with his
Druze
The Druze ( ; , ' or ', , '), who Endonym and exonym, call themselves al-Muwaḥḥidūn (), are an Arabs, Arab Eastern esotericism, esoteric Religious denomination, religious group from West Asia who adhere to the Druze faith, an Abrahamic ...
associates, three of whom came from the
Ma'n clan and the fourth from the
Tanukh clan.
In 1518, Ibn al-Hanash revolted against Ottoman sultan
Selim I
Selim I (; ; 10 October 1470 – 22 September 1520), known as Selim the Grim or Selim the Resolute (), was the List of sultans of the Ottoman Empire, sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1512 to 1520. Despite lasting only eight years, his reign is ...
while he was still in Syria, but was defeated and executed. His associates were arrested and heavily fined.
[Abu Husayn 1992, pp. 667–668.] As a ''sanjak'', Sidon-Beirut ostensibly functioned as a military-administrative unit with its own governor and troops.
However, at the practical level, Sidon-Beirut's governors held little sway in the ''sanjak'', which was dominated by local chieftains.
The latter held ''
iltizam
An iltizam () was a form of tax farm that appeared in the 15th century in the Ottoman Empire. The system began under Mehmed the Conqueror and was abolished during the Tanzimat reforms in 1856.
Iltizams were sold off by the government to wealthy n ...
'' (tax farms) from which they profited, but owing to their autonomous power, they did not pay taxes to the authorities and take part in military duties on behalf of the state.
Until the mid-17th century, Ottoman rule in Sidon-Beirut was largely nominal, especially in the Druze-dominated mountainous areas.
[Abu Husayn 1992, p. 666.] The Druze were a heterodox Muslim sect considered by the Ottoman authorities and the Sunni Muslim ''
ulama
In Islam, the ''ulama'' ( ; also spelled ''ulema''; ; singular ; feminine singular , plural ) are scholars of Islamic doctrine and law. They are considered the guardians, transmitters, and interpreters of religious knowledge in Islam.
"Ulama ...
'' of Damascus as heretics.
[Abu Husayn 1992, pp. 666–667.] Thus, the Druze were officially outside the ''
millet
Millets () are a highly varied group of small-seeded grasses, widely grown around the world as cereal crops or grains for fodder and human food. Most millets belong to the tribe Paniceae.
Millets are important crops in the Semi-arid climate, ...
'' system, neither classified as Muslims nor protected by ''
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 ...
'' (protected) status such as Christians or Jews.
The authorities occasionally levied
poll tax
A poll tax, also known as head tax or capitation, is a tax levied as a fixed sum on every liable individual (typically every adult), without reference to income or resources. ''Poll'' is an archaic term for "head" or "top of the head". The sen ...
es on the Druze, similar to the ''
jizyah
Jizya (), or jizyah, is a type of taxation levied on non-Muslim subjects of a state governed by Islamic law. The Quran and hadiths mention jizya without specifying its rate or amount,Sabet, Amr (2006), ''The American Journal of Islamic Social Sc ...
'' imposed on Christians and Jews.
In general, the Druze utilized the rugged topography in which they lived and their abundant arsenals to stave off Ottoman attempts to impose their authority over the interior regions of Sidon-Beirut.
They revolted numerous times against the Ottoman authorities in Damascus when the latter sought to impose law and order in the ''sanjak''.
In 1523, the Ma'n chieftain revolted against the Ottomans, prompting a punitive expedition by the governor of Damascus,
Khurram Pasha, during which the Ma'n's throne village, Baruk, and forty-three other villages were burned down.
[Abu Husayn 1992, p. 668.] The same governor led a tax collection expedition in 1524, destroying a further thirty villages. Armed conflict continued intermittently, and in 1545, the authorities in Damascus, lured the Ma'n chieftain, Yunis, to Damascus and killed him.
In 1565, the Druze ambushed and routed an Ottoman cavalry regiment sent to collect taxes from Jurd.
[Abu Husayn 1992, p. 669.] For the next two decades, Druze defiance mounted and was successively met with Ottoman attempts to impose their authority.
In 1585, Sultan
Murad III
Murad III (; ; 4 July 1546 – 16 January 1595) was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1574 until his death in 1595. His rule saw battles with the Habsburg monarchy, Habsburgs and exhausting wars with the Safavid Iran, Safavids. The long-inde ...
resolved to launch an all-out war effort to subjugate the Druze of Sidon-Beirut and its environs and commanded the governor of
Egypt Eyalet
Ottoman Egypt was an administrative division of the Ottoman Empire after the Ottoman–Mamluk War (1516–1517), conquest of Mamluk Egypt by the Ottomans in 1517. The Ottomans administered Egypt as a Eyalet, province (''eyalet'') of their empir ...
,
Damat Ibrahim Pasha, to lead the effort.
[Abu Husayn 1992, pp. 669–670.] Ibrahim Pasha's forces, backed by
Janissary
A janissary (, , ) was a member of the elite infantry units that formed the Ottoman sultan's household troops. They were the first modern standing army, and perhaps the first infantry force in the world to be equipped with firearms, adopted dur ...
regiments from Damascus and Anatolia,
defeated the Druze decisively.
The Druze and other rebellious groups in the ''sanjak'' surrendered the bulk of their firearms and made to pay tax arrears in the form of cash or land. The leader of the Ma'n, Qurqmaz, had fled and died in exile.
For a short period in 1614 and then permanently after 1660, Sidon-Beirut and its southern neighbor, Safed Sanjak, became part of the new province of
Sidon Eyalet
The Eyalet of Sidon (; ) was an eyalet (also known as a ''beylerbeylik'') of the Ottoman Empire. In the 19th century, the eyalet extended from the border with Egypt to the Bay of Kisrawan, including parts of modern Israel and Lebanon.
Depending ...
.
Administrative divisions
The Sidon-Beirut Sanjak was administratively divided into the following ''
nawahi'' (sing.: nahiya; subdisticts):
[Abu Husayn 1992, pp. 666, 674.]
*Beirut
*Kisrawan
*Matn
*Gharb
*Jurd
*Iqlim al-Kharrub
*Sidon
*Shuf Ibn Ma'n
*Shuf al-Bayyada
*Shuf al-Harradin
*Iqlim al-Tuffah
References
Bibliography
*
*
{{refend
1516 establishments in the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman period in Lebanon
Sanjaks of Ottoman Syria
States and territories established in 1516