Chouf
| Chouf
جبل الشوف
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 The chouf |
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| location | Lebanon | |
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| Coordinates | 33 ° 42 ' N , 35 ° 35' E | |
The Chouf or Schuf (other spelling Shouf , English Shuf , French Chouf , Arabic جبل الشوف Jebel asch-Schuf , DMG Ǧabal aš-Šūf ) is called the southern foothills of the Lebanon Mountains . This is a historically significant region and also an administrative district in the governorate (Mohafazat) Lebanon Mountain . It is located southeast of Beirut and includes, in addition to the mountainous regions, a narrow coastal strip with the city of Damur .
geography
The region is bordered by the Damour rivers in the north and the Awali in the south (a tributary of the Nahr el-Barouk ). The Chouf is the heartland of the Lebanese Druze . The Druze leader Walid Jumblat has his seat in Moukhtara . The emirs of Lebanon also had their residence in the Chouf. The most famous is the Beit ed-Din palace of Bashir Shihab II from the first half of the 19th century. Another historic town near Beiteddine is Deir el-Qamar .
history
In the 12th century the Chouf was controlled by the Druze and in part by other Muslim tribes. The Maronites and Shiites were outnumbered in the north and enjoyed relative independence. The mountains were a retreat for the minorities, especially since the Druze of Aley pursued a pragmatic double policy: on the one hand, they tried to live in harmony with the rulers of Damascus and Cairo , on the other hand, they came to terms with the crusader states that arose during the crusades . In the 13th century Druze, Shiites, Maronites and some Jacobites , Melkites and Alevis lived in the area. Changes began to emerge when Qalawun destroyed the Crusader states, and in 1305-1306 his son, the Mamluk Bahrite Sultan of Egypt al-Malik an-Nasir Muhammad , repulsed the Mongol invasion . After that he also subjugated all peoples whom he himself regarded as heretics : Shiites, Druze, Alevis. Then the Maronites dispersed and spread over the whole region. At the beginning of the 16th century the emirate of Berg Lebanon was established . Druze emirs from Chouf, the Ma'an under their leader Fakhr-al-Din I, took control of the area with Ottoman support. This mountain region began to play an important political role. Since then it has also been more or less a closed unit. The travel writer Joannes Cotovicus writes about the Druze:
- "They are able mountain people, warlike, full of courage ... Among Turks and Muslims they prefer the Christians ... Even if they are in the heart of the Ottoman Empire, they have received their independence."
Korkmaz I. succeeded his father Fakhr-al-Din I. and came into conflict with the Ottoman central authority. Sultan Murad III. instructed the governor of Egypt, Ibrahim Pasha, to undertake a military expedition to the mountains of Lebanon. The emir then hid in the mountains of Chouf. He died from poisoning. His son Fachr ad-Dīn II took over the emirate of Berg Lebanon (Émirat du Chouf) beyond the mountain region and connected various communities. In this way he created something like a forerunner of today's Lebanon . He made connections with the European powers, went to Florence and enabled the establishment of European Christian missions . In the 18th century, the Ma'an was followed by the Schihab dynasty . Unlike the previous ones, they were Sunnis. They were respected by the Pashas of Tripoli and Saïda and achieved a peaceful balance between Druze and Maronites. Another traveler, Volney , attested the region “a radiance of radiant freedom. There, in contrast to the Turkish country, everyone lives in the security of his property and his life ”. Several of the children of the Emir Melhem Chebab adopted Christianity, and as a result most of the Chehab did likewise, as did the Druze of the Emir family Abillama. Melhem's successors were Maronites since Bachir Chehab II.
In 1842 the Ottoman Empire profited from massacres of Christians and was able to use the area through the establishment of the double Kaymakanat . Two administrative units were introduced: the north, intended as a Maronite area, and the south, intended as a Druze area. However, this division did not succeed in settling religious conflicts and was therefore replaced between 1861 and 1915 by the Mutesarriflik Lebanonberg , in which the Ottoman governor, who was Catholic but not Lebanese, was supported by a multi-denominational council. The first Moutassarrif was Armenian. Between 1861 and 1915 there were 8 governors.
As a result of the Sykes-Picot Agreement of 1916, France tried to gain a foothold in the Levant and benefit from the destruction of the Ottoman Empire. It created a territoire libanais under its control. Part of it was the chouf. It was the time of the League of Nations mandate for Syria and Lebanon . In accordance with the Supreme Council of the Allies and the negotiations on the Treaty of Sèvres , Greater Lebanon was established in 1920 . France played the arbiter for a possible joint settlement of different denominations in accordance with the most important Druze and Maronite communities, but under the political domination of the Maronites. The area gained its independence in World War II and became Lebanon .
In the 1970s, the Druze leader Kamal Jumblat and later his son Walid Jumblat tried to transform the Chouf into a small Druze state, but they did not achieve political recognition. In the 1980s, the situation for Christians in the region became particularly dangerous. The territory was occupied by Israel from September 1982 to September 1983. After the army withdrew, Christian and Druze militias faced each other. During the Lebanese civil war from 1983 to 1984 ( Harb el Jabal - War of the mountain) fled many Christian residents to escape the frequent massacres, and few have returned to rebuild the numerous villages by the guerrillas of the Druze PSP were destroyed . A large number of Christian families decided to emigrate.
Despite its bloody history, the Chouf is one of the most pristine regions in Lebanon. Nature has been spared the construction boom that affected the neighboring districts of al-Mitn and Kesrwan . Extensive forests with Lebanon cedar can be found on the flanks of the Jebel Barouk - the tree population is not as old as the cedars of the Lord near Bscharre in northern Lebanon.
Attractions
Important families in the Chouf
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gallery
Mountains in Chouf, village between Beiteddine and Deir al-Qamar
Inner courtyard of Beiteddine Castle
Moussa Castle
literature
- Wolfgang Gockel , Helga Bruhns: Syria. Lebanon. Nelles Guide. Munich 2010, ISBN 3-88618-824-8 .
- Anke Röhl, Andrea Rosebrock: Lebanon. Travel guide. Stein-Verlag, Kronshagen 1998, ISBN 3-89392-213-X , p. 170 f.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Chronology - Une identité complexe au risque de l'Histoire clio.fr
- ↑ " Ce sont des montagnards actifs, belliqueux, pleinsace accus ... Aux Turcs et aux musulmans, ils préfèrent les chrétiens ... Quoique établis au milieu de l'Empire ottoman, ils ont réussi leur indépendance. »(Joannes Cotovicus: Itinerarium hierosolym et syriacum ).
- ↑ In the region of the region and the rayon de liberté qui y luit. Là, à la difference du pays turc, chacun jouit dans la security de sa propriété et de sa vie ». Volney 1838, p. 223.
- ↑ Pinta 2011, p. 195.
- ↑ Pinta 2011, p. 195.
- ↑ Chipaux 1984; le Monde 1984.