-Youssef
|Mood: Good
|05.26.04 11:11 am
|The sultans of the Ottoman Empire in the Eighteenth Century: During this century, 7 sultans reigned over the declining empire. Even if the Turks met a relative success against Russia in the beginning of the century, the bleeding continued: loss of Hungary, Armenia, Georgia, Bessarabia, Crimea, revolts, unsuccessful reforms, coups d’état ...
 
The Ottomans were unlucky to have weak sultans in a century of such great names as Peter the Great, Catherine the Great, Joseph II of Austria, Nadir Shah, Napoleon, the future Mehmet Ali of Egypt ... Most of the sultans were either deposed or even killed. By the end of the Century, the House of Osman nearly disappeared.
 
Given the difficult situation in the European and Persian parts of the Empire, the Walis (governors) of Akka and Damascus were administering in complete autonomy the lebanese affairs (the famous Cezzar Ahmet Pacha - the butcher).
 
England started to show more interest for the Levant affairs, after the American Revolution (ended 1783), the French Revolution (1789) and the invasion of Egypt by Napoleon (1798). Till then, France was the main European partner of the Turks. Egypt Mehmet Ali’s role will only grow with a direct intervention in Lebanon in the beginning of the next century.
 
These sultans were : Mustafa II (1695-1703), Ahmed III (1703-1730), Mahmud I (1730-1754), Osman III (1754-1757), Mustafa III (1757-1774), Abdul Hamid I (1774-1789), Selim III (1789-1803)

-Youssef
|Mood: Good
|05.25.04 12:22 pm
|Maronite patriarchs of the 18th Century: After the difficulties of the 17th century and the unfortunate patriarch Douaihy being on the move, exactions on maronites in the 18th century were lesser, especially from 1850 and onwards with the arrival of the Christian Shihabis emirs. The siege of the patriarchate was moved from Qannoubine. The 18th Century saw 10 patriarchs, 4 of them were from Jebbet Bcharri of whom 2 from the Awwad family from Hasroun (related to Abou Youssef Elias one way or the other). The relations with the Vatican were tightened thanks to several Synods.
 
The patriarchs are : Stephen Douaihy of Ehden (1670-1704), Gabriel of Blaouza (1704-1705), Jacob Awad of Hasroun (1705-1733), Joseph Dergham Khazen of Ghosta (1733-1742), Symeon Awad of Hasroun (1743-1756), Toubia El Khazen of Bekaata Kanaan (1756-1766), Joseph Stephan of Ghosta (1766-1793), Michael Fadel of Beirut (1793-1795), Philip Gemayel of Bikfaya (1795-1796), Joseph Tyan of Beirut (1796-1808)

-Youssef
|Mood: Good
|05.23.04 11:00 am
|The Eighteenth Century context in Lebanon:
- the end of the Maans Dynasty (1697) and the beginning of that of the Shihabis: the transition period has been very disturbed. The first Shihabis were busy fighting the Shiites on their South Areas and fighting each other neglecting the North Maronite regions where the Hamadeh governors were relatively strong and independent in Jbeil, Batroun, Jebbet Mnaitrah (Akourah), Jebbet Bcharré and probably Zawié.
- the end of the Shmer of Kfarhata governorship in 1747 on the Zawie (after one century) which left a political vacuum to be filled by Al Daher and Abou Youssef Elias,
- the reign of the Emir Youssef Al Shihabi (1770-1788), having priviliged relationships with the partiarch Youssef Estephan from Ghosta (1766-1793) and having fought successfully the Hamadeh family since he was governor of Jbeil and Batroun in the 1760's with the help of Jebbet Bcharri.
- the formation of the Lebanese Maronite Order in 1699 and its division in 1740's and then the important development in the second half of the Century(especially the development of the convent of Qozhaya and Ain Baqra concerning Kfarsghab)
- The first Maronite Synod in 1736 in Louayze and the role of Bishop Joseph Semaan Al-Semaany.
- Mother Hindiyeh (1727-1798) controversy which resulted in a direct intervention of the Vatican in the Maronite affairs for the first time in History.
- the reign of the Amir Bashir II in 1788