Circumstances Leading to the Establishment of Al Qa’imaqamiyatein

The history of Mount Lebanon is known to have been a series of ongoing conflicts between the Christians- particularly the Maronite- and the Druze in their race for power. The slightest and most trivial incidents would trigger violent clashes leaving thousands dead and injured and resulting in massive displacement of citizens. Expectedly, the foreign interventions- Ottoman, British, French, Egyptian and Russian- played a significant role in feeding the hostilities and deepening the rifts.

After the defeat that the Emir of Mount Lebanon, Prince Bashir Al-Chebabi II, and his Egyptian ally Mohammad Ali Pasha suffered at the hands of the Ottomans and the British, the emirate of Mount Lebanon was handed down, following Ottoman approval, to Prince Bashir Qassem or Bashir III who was known to have a weak personality. No sooner had he come to power than tensions started to rise between the new ruler and the Druze who sensed that he had preferences for the Maronite. The Druze protested this bias before the Ottoman Sultan urging him to interfere and draw the line for the Prince or else depose him. The rapprochement between the Prince and the British at the expense of the French helped instigating the Christians against him too.

Hence, the two parties agreed on ousting Prince Bashir Qassem but remained divided over who was to succeed him. Highly influential Maronite Patriarch Youssef Houbeish wanted to bring back Prince Bashir Al-Chebabi II to power, while the Druze recommended Sunni Prince Salman Chehab. Disagreement only lead to reinforcing the long-harbored Maronite desire to form a Maronite emirate in Mount Lebanon with French assistance, which was an endeavor challenged staunchly by the Druze and their British allies. The Druze-Maronite disputes served, along with the international conflicts- between the French and the British in particular- as a ground for war. The expected occurred in September 1841 when a Maronite citizen from Deir El-Qamar hunted a partridge in the outskirts of the Druze town of Baaklin, thus infuriating the Druze guards who intercepted the hunter and beat him up. In a retaliatory move, the inhabitants of Deir El-Qamar advanced to Baaklin and killed 17 Druze. The incident paved the way for further violence that reached its peak during the Druze attack on Deir El-Qamar on October 14, 1841, when heinous battles occurred between the Druze and Maronite communities leaving tens if not hundreds dead on both sides. The sectarian war extended to cover the regions of Shouf, Matn, Jezzine and Western Beqa’a and the great powers accused the Ottoman authorities of backing the Druze and fomenting strife.

The Druze achieved a stronger position that allowed them to impose their own terms, ousting Prince Bashir III from power and halting the Chehabi rule officially on January 13, 1892. Later, the Ottomans appointed Serbian Omar Pasha as governor of Mount Lebanon, which practically meant that Mount Lebanon lost its relative autonomy and was annexed to the Ottoman Empire.

Several European countries exerted pressure on the Ottoman Empire in a bid to challenge the measures it had taken, which ushered another round of battles thus entailing the concoction of the Al Qa’imaqamiyatein option.

Al Qa’imaqamiyatein System

On December 7, 1842, the Ottoman Sultan decided, in agreement with the European countries, to partition Mount Lebanon into two administrative districts- Al Qa’imaqamiyatein- a southern district- Qa’imaqamiya- with a Druze majority and a northern district with a Christian majority. The demands to allocate a third district to the Orthodox did not avail and so the Orthodox area of Koura was separated from the Christian district and annexed to the Ottoman province.

The Christian Qa’imaqamiya stretched from the Damascus Road towards the north. It hosted 74,700 people distributed as follows: 56,580 Maronite members, 10,150 Druze, 6,720 Catholic and 1,250 Orthodox. The Maronite Qa’imaqams who succeeded to the rule of this district were:

• Prince Haidar Ismail Abi Lamaa who remained in power until his death (1843-1854)
• Prince Bashir Assaf Abi Lamaa who was deposed the same year he was appointed (1854)
• Prince Bashir Ahmad Abi Lamaa who was also deposed from power (1854- 1858)
• Prince Hassan Ismail Abi Lamaa who was dismissed giving way to Prince Bashir Ahmad Abi Lamaa once again (1858)
• Youssef Bayk Karam who served as Qa’imaqam until the abolishment of Al Qa’imaqamiyatein System.

The Druze Qa’imaqamiya stretched from the Damascus Road towards the south. It had 63,590 people distributed as follows: 25,450 Druze members, 17,350 Maronite 18,590 Catholic and 5,200 Orthodox. The Druze Qa’imaqams who succeeded to the rule of this district were:

• Prince Ahmad Erslan who was deposed from power and replaced by his brother Prince Amin (1843-1845)
• Prince Amin Erslan who remained in power until his death (1845-1858)
• Prince Mohammad Erslan (1858-1861)

The 1845 Amendments

Being that each Qa’imaqamiya hosted minorities belonging to religious groups different from the predominant ruling sect, sectarian discord broke out again. Christians- from Jezzine in particular- advanced towards one of the most significant Druze strongholds, Mukhtara. France assisted Christians in burning down Druze towns and the Druze retaliated in kind thus leading to atrocities and slaughters on both sides that claimed the lives of hundreds of civilians. Against the backdrop of international pressure, the Ottoman Empire dispatched Chakib Effendi to put an end to violence. The Ottoman delegate arrived on September 14, 1845 and arrested the Christian and Druze notables who took part in the fighting. He dismissed both Qa’imaqams and amended the system that was in force, setting up a district council of 6 members representing all 6 major sects in each Qa’imaqamiya. In the Christian Qa’imaqamiya, the district council consisted of 2 Maronite members, 1 Greek Orthodox, 1 Greek Catholic, 1 Sunni and 1 Druze, while it consisted in the Druze Qa’imaqamiya of 2 Druze members, 1 Maronite, , 1 Greek Orthodox, 1 Greek Catholic and 1 Sunni. A 7-member advisory council representing the largest sects along with the Shia’a was also formed.

Abolition of Al Qa’imaqamiyatein System

These arrangements facilitated the representation of people and the retention of the role of minorities in each Qa’imaqamiya, thus cancelling the prerogatives of the feudal lords and passing most of their powers to the district council. In a bid to protect their interests, Druze and Christian feudal families united to fend off the looming threats. The turmoil showed no signs of slowing down and culminated in the 1856 Revolution (Peasant Revolution) lead by Tanios Chahine in Kessrouan against feudal powers. The revolution, backed by Maronite Patriarch Boulos Masaad, managed to expel the El-Khazen family and to confiscate their properties.

However, strife remained dormant until an all-out sectarian war erupted in April 1860. The war dragged on until July and was marked by heinous massacres against the minorities of each Qa’imaqamiya. Thousands of people were displaced and slaughtered until finally the European countries intervened and put an end to the Al Qa’imaqamiyatein System, which had proved to be throughout its 18 years in force a futile option that only lead to reinforcing internal and sectarian divides.