User:Red Phoenician/Tur Lebnon
Syriac Maronite confederacy / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The name Tur Lebnon (Syriac: ܛܘܪ ܢܒ݂ܢܢ, Ṭūr Leḇnān, Syriac pronunciation: [tˤur lewˈnɔn], Ṭūr Lewnōn) refers to an autonomous confederation of Maronite principalities in Mount Lebanon from the late-7th century to the early-14th century.
Tur Lebnon | |||||||||
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676–1382 | |||||||||
Flag of Prince Ibrahim | |||||||||
Motto: Bokh ndaqar lab‘eldvovayn – wmétoul shmokh ndoush lsonayn (Syriac) (English: “Through you, we push back our enemies – and through your name we trample our foes”)[3][4] | |||||||||
Status | Vassal of the Byzantine Empire (676-685) Autonomous confederation (685-1109/1289-1382) Semi-vassal of the County of Tripoli (1109-1289) | ||||||||
Capital | Baskinta and Byblos | ||||||||
Common languages | Lebanese Aramaic[5] Syriac (Liturgical and literary)[6][7] | ||||||||
Religion | Maronite Catholicism | ||||||||
Demonym(s) | Maronite | ||||||||
Government | Theocratic confederation | ||||||||
Prince/King | |||||||||
• 694 | Ibrahim | ||||||||
• 759 | Banadar | ||||||||
• c. 1140 | Kisra | ||||||||
Historical era | Middle Ages | ||||||||
• Mardaites enter Mount Lebanon | 676 | ||||||||
694 | |||||||||
• Muneitra Revolution | 759 | ||||||||
• Maronites establish contact with crusaders | 1098 | ||||||||
12 July 1109 | |||||||||
1305 | |||||||||
• Martyrdom of Patriarch Gabriel of Hjoula | 1367 | ||||||||
• Mamluk deacon | 1382 | ||||||||
Population | |||||||||
• c. Late 12th century | 80,000[8] | ||||||||
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Today part of | Lebanon |
Originally intended as a buffer state created by the Byzantine Empire against Umayyyad incursions the entity fell out of the favor due to a peace agreement between the Byzantines and Arabs which stipulated the withdrawl of Mardaite troops from the region. This coupled with the election of the Maronite bishop of Batroun, John Maroun, as Patriarch of Antioch without approval of the Byzantine emperor led to a failed invasion by the former suzerain against the inhabitants of Mount Lebanon.
The Maronites then led an uneasy autonomous status from the major powers of the region but were not spared from assaults and raids against their villages. This led to the Maronites to increase further and further within the hinterlands of Mount Lebanon and mainly abandon the coastal cities of Lebanon.
The Maronites remained culturally and religiously isolated until the late-10th century when the Crusaders arrived in the Levant allowing the Maronites to restablish contact with the rest of Christendom and Europe. Under the Crusaders the Maronites prospered and were treated as equals among the Franks however Latinization efforts from the Europeans led to conflicts between the Europeans and Maronites as well as internal divisions among the Maronites themselves. When the Crusaders left the region in defeat many Maronites followed them to Cyprus, Rhodes and Malta.[9]
The Maronites again remained autonomous outside of Islamic domain until the Mamluks finally subjugated them in 1367, allowing them to keep their self-goverance but with the penalty of a tribute. This period was marred with continual persecution which forced the Maronites to retreat even further into the Qadisha Valley where many of them and their Patriarch remained until the mid-19th century.