Druze power struggle (1658–1667)

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Druze power struggle (1658–1667)
Date1658–1667
Location
Mount Lebanon, Galilee, Hauran (Ottoman Syria)
Territorial
changes		 Maʿnīs lost control of
Safad
Belligerents

Ottoman Syria

  • Pro-Ottoman Druze clans
Ma'ani
Druze rebels
Commanders and leaders

Köprülü Mehmed Pasha

  • Sirhal Imad
  • Ali Alam al-Din
  • Sawaf

Ahmad Ma'an

  • Korkmuz Ma'an  †

The Druze power struggle of 1658–1667 was one of the most violent episodes of tribal disputes during Ottoman rule in the Levant. The conflict erupted between rebel and pro-

Maani
rule.

Background

Further information: Battle of Anjar

In 1624, when the Ottoman Sultan recognized

Chouf, Gharb, Jurd, Matn, and Kisrawan districts of Lebanon. Mulhim's forces battled and defeated those of Mustafa Pasha, Beylerbey of Damascus, in 1642, but he is reported by historians to have been otherwise loyal to Ottoman rule.[2] Emir Mulhim Ma'an died in 1658, succeeded by two of his sons.[3]

The conflict

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  • Ahl at-Tawhid
Important figures
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Related topics

Early tensions

Following Mulhim's death in 1658, his sons Ahmad and Korkmaz (or Qurqmaz)[4] entered into a power struggle with other Ottoman-backed Druze leaders.

Lebanon and Galilee campaign

In 1660, the Ottoman Empire moved to reorganize the region, placing the

province of Sidon, a move seen by local Druze as an attempt to assert control.[5] An Ottoman expedition was dispatched to the area following the creation of the new administrative units, initially against the Shihabs and the Shia Hamades.[4] The reformer - grand wazir Köprülü Mehmed Pasha came in person with the expedition.[4] The Shihabs fled to the Hamades in the high Kisrawan, while the Ottoman troops pillaged Wadi al-Taym.[4]

Claiming that the Shihabs allied with the Ma'anis, the Ottomans demanded Ahmad and Korkmuz Ma'an to hand over the Shihabs and provide money for the Ottoman army, but the Ma'anis refused and fled to the Kisrawan as well.[4] The Ma'anis lost control and the Druze of the Galilee lost their protection.[6] Ottoman troops pillaged the area, seeking for the lords of Shihabs, Hamades and Ma'anis, causing "misery" to the peasants.[4] As a result, the pro-Ottoman Druze overran much of the Galilee, most notably destroying the cities of Safed and Tiberias.

Political plotting

Alternative pro-Ottoman

Ali Alam al-Din were briefly installed to rule the Druze country.[4]

Contemporary historian Istifan al-Duwayhi reports that Korkmaz was killed in act of treachery by the Beylerbey of Damascus in 1662.[5] His brother Ahmad Ma'an apparently escaped the plotting.[4]

In 1666, according to al-Safa, local Shia repulsed the governor of Sidon and a Ma'an force near

Nabatiyeh.[4]

Ahmad's victory

In 1667, Ahmad Ma'an and his supporters defeated the pro-Ottoman Alam al-Din,

Yamanis near Beirut.[4]

Ahmad Ma'an emerged victorious in the power struggle among the Druze in 1667, but the Maʿnīs lost control of

Safad[7] and retreated to controlling the iltizam of the Chouf mountains and Kisrawan, answerable to the Ottoman governor of Sidon.[8]
According to Abu-Husayn, after 1667 Ahmad Ma'an resumed correspondence with the Tuscans.

Aftermath

Ahmad continued as local ruler through his death from natural causes, without heir, in 1697.

Shihab family through female-line inheritance.[8] Despite conflicts in the 1660s, the Maan family "played the leading role in the management of the internal affairs of this eyalet until the closing years of the 17th century, perhaps because it was not possible to manage the province-certainly not in the sanjak of Sidon-Beirut-without them."[9]

See also

References

  1. ^ The Druze of the Levant Archived 2012-03-09 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ISBN 978-1-86064-856-4
    .
  3. ^ The View from Istanbul: Ottoman Lebanon and the Druze Emirate. P.22. [1]
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Harris W. Lebanon: A History, 600-2011. P.109. Oxford University Press. [2]
  5. ^
    ISBN 978-1-86064-856-4
    .
  6. ^ A History of the Druzes. P.45
  7. ^
    ISBN 978-1-86064-856-4
    .
  8. ^
    ISBN 978-1-86064-912-7
    .
  9. S2CID 159670509
    . Retrieved 2011-04-11.

Further reading
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