Lebanon

Lebanon is a country in the Middle East. It borders Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Its official languages are Arabic and French. Lebanon was created in its present form after World War I and administered by the French as a mandated territory until World War II. Lebanon a religiously diverse country,containing Sunni Muslims, Shia Muslims, Maronite Christians, Druze, and various smaller religions. Lebanon went through a long civil war from the 1970's until the 1990's that was caused by differances among its religious groups and tensions between Syria and Israel. It was further damaged by a war in 2006 between Israel and Hezbollah, an Islamist terrorist organization. The war ended with both sides claiming victory, and many issues in Lebanon's politics are still unresolved.

History

In antiquity, Lebanon was the homeland of the Phoenicians. They probably first came into Lebanon from south of the area sometime around 3500 BC. The Phoenicians were known for their sailing skills and established a network of trading centers that spanned the entire Mediterranean, some of which (Carthage, for instance) eventually became great powers in their own right. In about 1800 BC, Phoenicia was conquered by the Egyptians. Over the ensuing centuries, the region would be fought over by empires such as the Babylonians and Assyrians. Eventually it was conquered by the Persians. In 332 BC, Lebanon, along with the rest of Persia, fell to Alexander the Great. Alexander's empire broke up after his death. In 64 BC, the Romans took control of Lebanon. It would remain a province of the Romans, and later the Byzantines, for many centuries. Christianity was established in Lebanon by 395.

In 640, Lebanon fell to the newly Muslim Arabs, whose language and culture became dominant. Lebanon was a province in the Sunni Umayyad and Abbasid empires, and later the Shia Fatimid Empire. In 975 it was briefly recaptured by the Byzantines, but soon fell back into Fatimid hands. This era established three major religious communities. The Maronite Christians lived mostly in Mount Lebanon, where they existed largely independently from the Muslim Empires swirling around them, although they gradually adopted the Arab language. The coastal cities, such as Beirut, Tripoli, and Tyre, were inhabited by Orthodox Christians and Sunnis. A mostly Shia population inhabited the south. Starting in 1021, these groups were joined by communities of Druze refugees fleeing persecution in their native land of Egypt. The Druze settled in the south of Mount Lebanon (replacing Shia as the local majority) and elsewhere in the Levant.

Parts of Lebanon were occupied by the Crusaders in 1098. Lebanon was divided between two crusader states-the County of Tripoli and the northern part of the Kingdom of Jerusalem. The crusaders built several fortresses, including Gibalcar Castle, Beaufort and Cave de Tyron. The crusaders failed to hold anything east of Mount Lebanon, so the Bequaa region remained free. During the Crusader era, the Maronite Church recognized the superiority of Rome and became a Uniate church within Catholicism, which it remains to this day.

The Crusaders were driven out by the Egyptian Mamluks starting with the fall of Beaufort and Cave de Tyron in the 1260's. The last Crusader stronghold, Acre, fell in 1291. The Mamluks were driven out by the Ottomans in 1516. However Mount Lebanon was in reality controlled by local Christian and Druze lords who ruled over it and some of the surrounding area in the name of the dominant power. In 1861, the Ottomans under European pressure formalized this arrangement, creating a semi-autonomous province known as the Mutasarrifiya. It included Mount Lebanon and the adjacent coast (except Beirut). The Bequaa valley, the area north of Mount Lebanon including Tripoli, the area south of it including the Litani river valley and Tyre, and Beirut were all under the Ottoman central government.

Politics

Political power in Lebanon is shared among the country's many religious groups(confessionalism). Specifically, the President is always a Maronite Christian, the Prime Minister is always a Sunni, and the Speaker of Parlament is always a Shia. Additionally, all of the religions are guaranteed a fixed number of seats in the Lebanese parliament.

Culture

Section will contain information on the culture of Lebanon.

Demographics

Section will contain information about the population and population makeup of Lebanon

Economy

Section will contain information about the Lebanese economy.