Fakhr al-Din II


Fakhr-al-Din ibn Maan , also known as Fakhreddine and Fakhr-ad-Din II, was a Druze Ma'an Emir and an early leader of the Mount Lebanon Emirate, a self-governed area subject to the Ottoman Empire.
His rule was characterized by economic and cultural prosperity, and he had fought other Lebanese families to unite the people of Lebanon and seek independence from the Ottoman Empire. He is therefore considered by some to be the first "Man of Lebanon" to seek the sovereignty of modern-day Lebanon, a claim considered by some to be anachronistic as his aims were more dynastic than national. However, the Ottomans eventually tired of this troublesome vassal and in 13 April 1635, Sultan Murad IV had him executed together with his brother and son.

Life and reign

Fakhr al-Din was born on August 6, 1572, in Baakline to Qurqumaz, the Emir of Lebanon and Sit Nasab of the Druze Ma'an family. Fakr-al-Din came into power in 1591 at the age of 19 when his father was killed by the rival Sayfi clan which ruled northern Lebanon from the port city of Tripoli. Following the assassination of his father he was motivated by revenge and the expansion of his family's territory. In order to fulfill his ambition, Fakr-al-Din maintained good relations with the Ottoman authorities. Through his political connections with Ottoman pashas he managed to extend his rule to Beirut, Sidon, northern districts of Mount Lebanon and the fertile Beqaa Valley. By 1607, he controlled most of the modern state of Lebanon and northern Palestine.

Alliance with Tuscany

In order to cement his position, Fakhr al-Din forged an alliance with the Italian Grand Duchy of Tuscany in 1608. The Medici offered guns and assistance to Fakr-al-Din's fortifications in exchange for gaining access to the lucrative Levantine trade. Fakhr al-Din's ambitions, popularity and unauthorized foreign contacts alarmed the Ottomans who authorized Hafiz Ahmed Pasha, governor of Damascus, to mount an attack on Lebanon in 1613 in order to reduce Fakhr al-Din's growing power. Faced with Hafiz's army of 50,000 men, Fakhr al-Din chose exile in Tuscany, leaving affairs in the hands of his brother Yunis and his son Ali Beg. They succeeded in maintaining most of the forts such as in Banias and in Niha which were a mainstay of Fakhr al-Din's power. Before leaving, Fakhr al-Din paid his standing army of soqbans two years wages in order to secure their loyalty.
Hosted in Tuscany by the Medici Family, Fakhr al-Din was welcomed by the grand duke Cosimo II, who was his host and sponsor for the two years he spent at the court of the Medici. He spent a further three years as guest of the Spanish Viceroy of Sicily and then Naples, Pedro Téllez-Girón. Fakhr al-Din had wished to enlist Tuscan or other European assistance in a "Crusade" to free his homeland from Ottoman domination, but was met with a refusal as Tuscany was unable to afford such an expedition. The emir eventually gave up the idea, realizing that Europe was more interested in trade with the Ottomans than in taking back the Holy Land. His stay nevertheless allowed him to witness Europe's cultural revival in the 17th century, and bring back some Renaissance ideas and architectural features.

Return to rule

By 1618, political changes in the Ottoman sultanate had resulted in the removal of many of Fakhr al-Din's enemies from power, allowing his return to Lebanon, whereupon he was able quickly to reunite all the lands of Lebanon beyond the boundaries of its mountains; and having revenge from Emir Yusuf Pasha ibn Siyfa, attacking his stronghold in Akkar, destroying his palaces and taking control of his lands, and regaining the territories he had to give up in 1613 in Sidon, Tripoli, Beqaa among others. Under his rule, printing presses were introduced and Jesuit priests and Catholic nuns encouraged to open schools throughout the land. Sidon became a major trading center as European nations such as France and Genoa constructed commercial buildings.
in Palmyra

Battle of Anjar

In 1623, the prince angered the Ottomans by refusing to allow an army on its way back from the Persian front to winter in the Beqaa. This led Mustafa Pasha, Governor of Damascus, to launch an attack against him, resulting in the battle at Anjar where the Emir's forces although outnumbered managed to capture the Pasha and secure the Lebanese prince and his allies a much needed military victory. By 1628/9, Kuchuk Ahmed Pasha of Albanian origin who used to work as a tax-collector for Fakhr al-Din in southern Lebanon, but later sacked due to financial defalcations, was then named as a governor of Damascus, and he was shortly recalled to Kütahya to suppress the rebels in Anatolia.
By 1629, Fakhr al-Din had extended his territory into the Syrian desert and northwards towards Anatolia. However, as time passed, the Ottomans grew increasingly uncomfortable with the Emir's increasing powers and extended relations with Europe. In 1631, he once again denied an Ottoman army to winter in his territory which resulted in the Ottomans determination to remove him from power. The governor of Damascus, Kucuk Ahmad Pasha was dispached at the head of an army to capture Fakhr al-Din.
, near the Druze shrine of Nabi Shu'ayb, Israel
As the Ottoman army approached, Druze leaders refused to join Fakhr al-Din's call for battle and left him and his family to their own devices. The fugitive emir took refuge deep in the Druze mountain heartlands of Chouf but was captured when the Ottoman generals started fires to smoke him out of his hiding place.

Death

Fakhr al-Din was taken to Constantinople and kept in the Yedikule prison for two years. He was executed on the 13th April 1635 along with his brother Yunus and his son Ali Beg.
After his death, his Druze nephew Mulhim ruled the Shouf heartland of Fakhr al-Din's former domains until his death in 1658 after which a power struggle erupted between his sons which was eventually won by Ahmad, who ruled until 1697. After his death the Shihab family succeeded the Ma'ans as "Emirs of Mount Lebanon".