1838 Druze revolt
| 1838 Druze revolt | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Campaigns of Muhammad Ali of Egypt | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
|
Egypt Eyalet  Chehab's forces
supported by:
|
Druze clans
| ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
 Ibrahim Pasha Muhammad Pasha Ahmed Pasha al-Mankili (WIA) Sharif Pasha Bashir Chehab II Khalil Chehab |
Shibly al-Aryan Hasan Junbalat Nasir ad-Din al-Imad | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 15,000[1] | 8,000[1] | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| unknown | unknown | ||||||
The 1838 Druze revolt[2][3] was a Druze uprising in Syria against the authority of Ibrahim Pasha and effectively against the Egypt Eyalet, ruled by Muhammad Ali. The rebellion was led by Druze clans of Mount Lebanon, with an aim to expel the Egyptian forces, under Ibrahim Pasha considering them as infidels. The revolt was suppressed with a bitter campaign by Ibrahim Pasha, after a major Druze defeat in the Wadi al-Taym, and the Egyptian rule effectively restored in Galilee and Mount Lebanon with a peace agreement signed between the Egyptians and Druze leaders on July 23, 1838.
Background
The tensions between the
Revolt
The first reports of the Druze uprising came in January 1838.[1] Some 400 troops, led by Ali Agha al-Busayli, governor of Hauran, attacked the Druzes in Tha'la, and suffered the first defeat, as Ali and a large number of his troops were killed.[1] The Egyptian troops, dispatched from Damascus were slaughtered by Druze peasants during the night.[1] Later, a second force of 6,000 regulars was sent,[1] requiring the Druze to reorganize for more serious fighting. The Egyptian army, led by Muhammad Pasha forced the Druze to withdraw but, exhausted from traversing the mountainous terrain, were repelled by the Druze fighters near Smaid. A new Egyptian force, led by Minikly Pasha, Egyptian Minister of War, and Sharif Pasha was again defeated by some 2,000 Druze insurgents.[1]
The successive defeats prompted Ibrahim Pasha to arrive from Aleppo by himself.[1] Ibrahim recruited loyal Albanians and recalled reinforcements from Hama, Acre and Aleppo, creating an army which according to British officials counted some 15,000 men.[1] The force blockaded the Lajat field north of Hauran, while Sharif Pasha began negotiations with the insurgents. The Druze refused to lay down their weapons, but concerned with the size of the amounting armies, tried to enlist additional forces to support the revolt from across Syria and Lebanon.[1] The attempt was largely unsuccessful, and effectively failed.
In early April, Shibli al-Aryan attempted to secure more fighters from the supportive villages and succeeded in raising some 8,000 fighters.
Following the defeat by Ahmad Bek, Shibli occupied
In early July, tensions still mounted as the Druze captured an Egyptian garrison outside of Safed.[5] The local Safed militia of several hundred was heavily outnumbered by the Druze, and the city was gripped in despair as the militia eventually abandoned the city and the Druze rebels entered the city on July 5. The resulting plunder by the Druze rebels, which targeted the Jewish community, lasted for three days.[6] Much of the local population sought refuge in Acre.[1]
Subsequently, Shibli moved to southern Wadi al-Taym, where he was attacked by the Christian fighters of Emir Bashir, led by his son Emir Khalil.
Agreement
| Part of a series on
Druze |
|---|
 |
The critical points to end the rebellion were the water war, engaged by Egyptian forces upon the Druze population and the effective defeat of the main insurgent force in Wadi al-Taym.[1] It persuaded Druze leaders to negotiate peace with Ibrahim Pasha. Sheikh Hasan al-Bitar of Rashaya and the Christian Jiris Abu ad-Dibs mediated the agreement, whereby Ibrahim Pasha agreed to give amnesty to insurgents and to put the Druze into forced labor in lieu of exemption from conscription, in return for the surrender of Druze arms and those seized from Egyptians.[1] The agreement was signed on July 23, 1838. At first, the Druze willingly surrendered their arms, but it soon became clear, that those were not the arms that had been used in the fighting,[1] prompting Ibrahim Pasha to send his officers with a demand for an immediate surrender of the entire Druze arsenal. The process continued slowly, and lasted until August.[1]
Aftermath
Small groups of insurgents still refused to lay their weapons, including Shibli in Mount Hermon and sheikh Husain Abu Asaf in Lajat.[1] Shibli eventually fled to Baalbek, but forced into hiding, he finally surrendered to the Egyptians.[1] When Shibli met Ibrahim Pasha, he proposed his services as an irregular, and was accepted into Egyptian service.[1] Shibli was later sent out of the country, appointed to Sinar.[1] Apparently, Shibli was still in service of Ibrahim by late 1840, when Egyptians began evacuating Syria and Lebanon.[1] The last 100 Druze rebels in Lajat were joined by another 400 Druze insurgents by 1839, and were reportedly devastated a village near Hasbaya.[1] The dominance of Ibrahim Pasha over Ottoman Syria diminished with the 1840 agreement, which was signed during the Second Egyptian-Ottoman War (1839-1841).
See also
- 1860 Lebanon conflict
- Franco-Syrian War
- List of conflicts in the Near East
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad Firro, Kais. A history of the Druzes, Volume 1. pp.70-75
- ^ Taraze Fawaz, Leila. An occasion for war: civil conflict in Lebanon and Damascus in 1860. p.63.
- ^ Goren, Haim. Dead Sea Level: Science, Exploration and Imperial Interests in the Near East. p.95-96.
- ^ One a day: an anthology of Jewish historical anniversaries, p. 168, Abraham P. Bloch - 1987 [1]
- ^ Rossoff, David. Safed: the mystical city. p.162-165.
- ^ p. 189