The 1838 Druze revolt
[Goren, Haim. ''Dead Sea Level: Science, Exploration and Imperial Interests in the Near East.'' p.95-96.] was a
Druze uprising in
Syria against the authority of
Ibrahim Pasha and effectively against the
Egypt Eyalet
The Eyalet of Egypt (, ) operated as an administrative division of the Ottoman Empire from 1517 to 1867. It originated as a result of the conquest of Mamluk Egypt by the Ottomans in 1517, following the Ottoman–Mamluk War (1516–17) and the a ...
, ruled by
Muhammad Ali. The rebellion was led by Druze clans of
Mount Lebanon, with an aim to expel the Egyptian forces, under
Ibrahim Pasha considering them as infidels. The revolt was suppressed with a bitter campaign by
Ibrahim Pasha, after a major Druze defeat in the
Wadi al-Taym Wadi al-Taym ( ar, وادي التيم, Wādī al-Taym), also transliterated as Wadi el-Taym, is a wadi (dry river) that forms a large fertile valley in Lebanon, in the districts of Rachaya and Hasbaya on the western slopes of Mount Hermon. It ad ...
, and the Egyptian rule effectively restored in
Galilee and Mount Lebanon with a peace agreement signed between the Egyptians and Druze leaders on July 23, 1838. Among the major sites of violence was the city of
Safed, where the Jewish community was
attacked by Druze rebels in early July 1838.
Background
The tensions between the
Druze and the Egyptians had been mounting since the 1834
Syrian Peasant Revolt (1834)
Syrians ( ar, سُورِيُّون, ''Sūriyyīn'') are an Eastern Mediterranean ethnic group indigenous to the Levant. They share common Levantine Semitic roots. The cultural and linguistic heritage of the Syrian people is a blend of both indi ...
.
[''One a day: an anthology of Jewish historical anniversaries'', p. 168, Abraham P. Bloch - 198]
/ref> The ruling classes of the region resented Egyptian authority and the Druze in particular resisted the rule of Ibrahim Pasha, who personally considered the Druze as heretics and oppressed them. What sparked the revolt itself, however, was the conscription decree of the Egyptian army.
Revolt
The first reports of the Druze uprising came in January 1838.[Firro, Kais. ''A history of the Druzes, Volume 1.'' pp.70-75] Some 400 troops, led by Ali Agha al-Busayli, governor of Hauran, attacked the Druzes in Tha'la, and suffered the first defeat, as Ali and a large number of his troops were killed.[ The Egyptian troops, dispatched from Damascus were slaughtered by Druze peasants during the night.][ Later, a second force of 6,000 regulars was sent,][ requiring the Druze to reorganize for more serious fighting. The Egyptian army, led by Muhammad Pasha forced the Druze to withdraw but, exhausted from traversing the mountainous terrain, were repelled by the Druze fighters near Smaid. A new Egyptian force, led by Minikly Pasha, Egyptian Minister of War, and Sharif Pasha was again defeated by some 2,000 Druze insurgents.][
The successive defeats prompted Ibrahim Pasha to arrive from Aleppo by himself.][ Ibrahim recruited loyal Albanians and recalled reinforcements from Hama, Acre and Aleppo, creating an army which according to British officials counted some 15,000 men.][ The force blockaded the ]Lajat
The Lajat (/ ALA-LC: ''al-Lajāʾ''), also spelled ''Lejat'', ''Lajah'', ''el-Leja'' or ''Laja'', is the largest lava field in southern Syria, spanning some 900 square kilometers. Located about southeast of Damascus, the Lajat borders the Hau ...
field north of Hauran, while Sharif Pasha began negotiations with the insurgents. The Druze refused to lay down their weapons, but concerned with the size of the amounting armies, tried to enlist additional forces to support the revolt from across Syria and Lebanon.[ The attempt was largely unsuccessful, and effectively failed.
In early April, Shibli al-Aryan attempted to secure more fighters from the supportive villages and succeeded in raising some 8,000 fighters.][ Soon, the Druze of Mount Lebanon began streaming to join the rebel ranks, and from April it seemed the rebellion incorporated the entire Druze community.][ The main roads were cut by the Druze, disrupting the Egyptian army supplies. At this point, Ibrahim Pasha ordered Emir ]Bashir Shihab II
Emir Bashir Shihab II () (also spelled "Bachir Chehab II"; 2 January 1767–1850) was a Lebanese emir who ruled Ottoman Lebanon in the first half of the 19th century. Born to a branch of the Shihab family which had converted from Sunni Islam, th ...
, his ally, to send 1,000 men to Wadi al-Taym Wadi al-Taym ( ar, وادي التيم, Wādī al-Taym), also transliterated as Wadi el-Taym, is a wadi (dry river) that forms a large fertile valley in Lebanon, in the districts of Rachaya and Hasbaya on the western slopes of Mount Hermon. It ad ...
, where the clashes erupted on April 7.[ The Egyptian army was commanded by Ahmad Bek, consisting of an infantry regiment, 300 ]Bedouins
The Bedouin, Beduin, or Bedu (; , singular ) are nomadic Arab tribes who have historically inhabited the desert regions in the Arabian Peninsula, North Africa, the Levant, and Mesopotamia. The Bedouin originated in the Syrian Desert and Ar ...
and 500 irregulars,[ which succeeded to overwhelm the Druzes with 33 dead, scores wounded and four taken prisoner. Egyptian losses were 13 killed, 65 wounded.][
Following the defeat by Ahmad Bek, Shibli occupied Rashayya and killed its governor, while Druze volunteers kept flowing in to join his forces.][ Another reinforcement of 4,000 men was requested by Ibrahim Pasha from Bashir Shihab II, and arrived under the command of Bashir's son. Joined by two sheikhs from Mount Lebanon—Hasan Junbalat and Nasir ad-Din al-Imad—the Druze fighters were led into ]Wadi Bakka
Bakka, Bekka or Beka ( ar, بكّا) is a village and municipality situated east of Beirut in the Rashaya District of the Beqaa Governorate in Lebanon. The population of the village is Sunni.
Wadi Bakka
The Wadi Bakka or Wadi Bekka runs along ...
, where on July 4 they suffered a decisive defeat, losing some 640 men including al-Imad.[
In early July, tensions still mounted as the Druze captured an Egyptian garrison outside of Safed.][Rossoff, David. ''Safed: the mystical city''. p.162-165.] The local Safed militia of several hundred was heavily outnumbered by the Druze, and the city was gripped in despair as the militia eventually abandoned the city and the Druze rebels entered the city on July 5. The resulting plunder by the Druze rebels, which targeted the Jewish community, lasted for three days.[p. 189]
/ref> Much of the local population sought refuge in Acre.[
Subsequently, Shibli moved to southern Wadi al-Taym, where he was attacked by the Christian fighters of Emir Bashir, led by his son Emir Khalil.][ The attack was unsuccessful, and the Druze succeeded in withstanding the pressure until July 17, when Egyptian reinforcements crushed them at ]Shebaa
Shebaa (), also transliterated as Chebaa. is a town on the south-eastern tip of Lebanon. It has a largely Sunni Muslim population of 25,000 people. It is situated at an altitude of approximately above sea level; spread across two steep rocky mo ...
. Shibli and 1,500 of his men fled to Mount Hermon
Mount Hermon ( ar, جبل الشيخ or جبل حرمون / ALA-LC: ''Jabal al-Shaykh'' ("Mountain of the Sheikh") or ''Jabal Haramun''; he, הַר חֶרְמוֹן, ''Har Hermon'') is a mountain cluster constituting the southern end of th ...
, while most of the insurgents in Hauran surrendered and were granted amnesty.[
]
Agreement
The critical points to end the rebellion were the water war, engaged by Egyptian forces upon the Druze population and the effective defeat of the main insurgent force in Wadi al-Taym.[ It persuaded Druze leaders to negotiate peace with Ibrahim Pasha. Sheikh Hasan al-Bitar of Rashaya and the Christian Jiris Abu ad-Dibs mediated the agreement, whereby Ibrahim Pasha agreed to give amnesty to insurgents and to put the Druze into forced labor in lieu of exemption from conscription, in return for the surrender of Druze arms and those seized from Egyptians.][ The agreement was signed on July 23, 1838. At first, the Druze willingly surrendered their arms, but it soon became clear, that those were not the arms that had been used in the fighting,][ prompting Ibrahim Pasha to send his officers with a demand for an immediate surrender of the entire Druze arsenal. The process continued slowly, and lasted until August.][
]
Aftermath
Small groups of insurgents still refused to lay their weapons, including Shibli in Mount Hermon and sheikh Husain Abu Asaf in Lajat.[ Shibli eventually fled to Baalbek, but forced into hiding, he finally surrendered to the Egyptians.][ When Shibli met Ibrahim Pasha, he proposed his services as an irregular, and was accepted into Egyptian service.][ Shibli was later sent out of the country, appointed to Sinar.][ Apparently, Shibli was still in service of Ibrahim by late 1840, when Egyptians began evacuating Syria and Lebanon.][ The last 100 Druze rebels in Lajat were joined by another 400 Druze insurgents by 1839, and were reportedly devastated a village near ]Hasbaya
Hasbeya or Hasbeiya ( ar, حاصبيا) is a town in Lebanon, situated at the foot of Mount Hermon, overlooking a deep amphitheatre from which a brook flows to the Hasbani. In 1911, the population was about 5000.
Hasbaya is the capital of the Wa ...
.[ The dominance of Ibrahim Pasha over Ottoman Syria diminished with the 1840 agreement, which was signed during the Second Egyptian-Ottoman War (1839-1841).
]
See also
*1860 Lebanon conflict
The 1860 civil conflict in Mount Lebanon and Damascus (also called the 1860 Syrian Civil War) was a civil conflict in Mount Lebanon during Ottoman rule in 1860–1861 fought mainly between the local Druze and Christians. Following decisive Druze ...
*Franco-Syrian War
The Franco-Syrian War took place during 1920 between the Hashemite rulers of the newly established Arab Kingdom of Syria and France. During a series of engagements, which climaxed in the Battle of Maysalun, French forces defeated the forces of t ...
*List of conflicts in the Near East
This is a list of conflicts in the Near East arranged; first, chronologically from the epipaleolithic until the end of the late modern period ( – c. AD 1945); second, geographically by sub-regions (starting from east to west; then, south to n ...
References
{{Druze footer, uncollapsed
Conflicts in 1838
Druze revolt
Druze revolt
19th-century rebellions
Rebellions in Ottoman Syria
History of the Druze
Wars involving Ottoman Egypt