Jumblatt family
The Jumblatt family (
History
Origins
The scholarly consensus of the Jumblatts' origins is based on the history of the local, 19th-century chronicler Tannus al-Shidyaq, with some variation. Shidyaq cited genealogical records and oral traditions, sourced mainly to the Druze chief Sheikh Khattar Talhuq.[2] Kamal Jumblatt, the head of the Jumblatt family in the mid-20th century, generally accepts this narrative to be authentic.[3]
In the main, the Jumblatts are regarded as descendants or relatives of
The family's social status was raised when Ali married a woman of the noble
The historian Abdul-Rahim Abu-Husayn has cast doubt about every aspect of the conventional narrative. He cites the existence of a leading Druze sheikh in the Chouf named 'Junblat' around 1614, who is mentioned by
Seeking to bridge the conflicting narratives, Hichi proposes that Sheikh Junblat was an emigrant from the Janbulad family who arrived in the Chouf before his other relatives, the Janbulad ibn Sa'id and Rabah of Shidyaq's chronicle.[5] The historian William Harris notes that there is "no information on the origin" of Sheikh Junblat "or any link" to the Kurdish Janbulads of Aleppo, but that the name 'Junblat' does not surface in the historical record before the Ma'n-backed rebellion of Ali Janbulad.[10]
Regarding their religion, Kamal Jumblatt speculated that the family had already been Druze in the Aleppo region before their arrival in the Chouf and thus did not convert to the Druze religion, which prohibits converts. Abu-Husayn considers this erroneous, as the Kurdish Janbulads were avid
The conventional narrative holds that the Shihabs conferred on the Jumblatts the status of 'sheikh', second to that of 'emir' in the ranking system of Mount Lebanon's feudal nobility. Abu-Husayn also considers this implausible, as the Kurdish Janbulads held princely titles, such as bey or beylerbey (Turkish equivalent to emir or amir al-umara, respectively), which were bestowed or recognized by the Ottoman government. Thus, the Jumblatts, as descendants of this family, would have regarded themselves as emirs, rather than holding the inferior title of 'sheikh'.[4]
Abu-Husayn further notes that neither Khalidi nor the prominent 17th-century Maronite historian and associate of the Ma'ns and Shihabs, Istifan al-Duwayhi, mentions members of the Kurdish Janbulads moving to Mount Lebanon. Abu-Husayn holds it to be unlikely that Sheikh Junblat, had he been a descendant of Janbulad, would have been a major local opponent of Fakhr al-Din, as presented by Khalidi. Rather, as an outsider living under Fakhr al-Din's protection, presumably would have been a natural ally. The high political and social status of Sheikh Junblat already in the early 17th century may negate the notion that marriage into Qabalan's family was the transformative event that elevated the Jumblatts to this status in the 18th century.[12]
Modern
Today,
Cultural references
Samir Habchi's 2003 documentary film Lady of the Palace examines the history of the Jumblatt family from the 17th century onwards. The film focuses on the life of Nazira Jumblatt and the late nineteenth/early twentieth century.[13]
See also
References
- ^ Dictionary of Modern Arab History, p. 219, at Google Books
- ^ a b Abu-Husayn 1999, p. 1.
- ^ a b c d e Abu-Husayn 1999, p. 2.
- ^ a b c d Abu-Husayn 1999, p. 4.
- ^ a b Abu-Husayn 1999, p. 3.
- ^ Abu-Husayn 1999, pp. 2–3.
- ^ a b c d Abu-Husayn 1999, p. 5.
- ^ Abu-Husayn 1999, p. 5 (note 25).
- ^ Abu-Husayn 1999, pp. 3, 5.
- ^ Harris 2012, p. 101.
- ^ Abu-Husayn 1999, pp. 5–6.
- ^ Abu-Husayn 1999, p. 6.
- ^ "Lady of the Palace." https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0794307/. Retrieved 22 August 2013.
Bibliography
- Abu-Husayn, Abdul-Rahim (1985). Provincial Leaderships in Syria, 1575–1650. Beirut: American University of Beirut. OCLC 242675094.
- Abu-Husayn, Abdul-Rahim (1999). "The Junblats and the Janbulads: A Case of Mistaken Identity". In Köhbach, Markus; Procházka-Eisl, Gisela; Römer, Claudia (eds.). Acta Viennensia Ottomanica: Proceedings of the 13th CIEPO-Symposiums, from 21 to 25 September 1998. Vienna: Selbrstverlag des Instituts für Orientalistik. pp. 1–6. ISBN 9783900345051.
- ISBN 978-0-19-518111-1.