The Druze power struggle of 1658–1667 was one of the most violent episodes of tribal disputes during Ottoman rule in the Levant. The conflict erupted between rebel and pro- Ottoman

Druze The Druze (; ar, دَرْزِيٌّ, ' or ', , ') are an Arabic-speaking esoteric ethnoreligious group from Western Asia who adhere to the Druze faith, an Abrahamic, monotheistic, syncretic, and ethnic religion based on the teachings of ...

factions over succession of the Maani rule.

Background

In 1624, when the Ottoman Sultan recognized

Fakhr-al-Din II Fakhr al-Din ibn Qurqumaz Ma'n ( ar, فَخْر ٱلدِّين بِن قُرْقُمَاز مَعْن, Fakhr al-Dīn ibn Qurqumaz Maʿn; – March or April 1635), commonly known as Fakhr al-Din II or Fakhreddine II ( ar, فخر الدين ال ...

as Lord of Arabistan (from Aleppo to the borders of Egypt), the

leader made Tiberias his capital. Fakhr ad Din II, one of the most famous Druze

Emirs Emir (; ar, أمير ' ), sometimes transliterated amir, amier, or ameer, is a word of Arabic origin that can refer to a male monarch, aristocrat, holder of high-ranking military or political office, or other person possessing actual or cerem ...

, was succeeded in 1635 by his nephew Mulhim Ma'an, who ruled through his death in 1658. Fakhr ad Din II's only surviving son, Husayn, lived the rest of his life as a court official in Constantinople. Emir Mulhim exercised Iltizam taxation rights in the Chouf, Gharb, Jurd,

Matn Hadith studies ( ar, علم الحديث ''ʻilm al-ḥadīth'' "science of hadith", also science of hadith, or science of hadith criticism or hadith criticism) consists of several religious scholarly disciplines used by Muslim scholars in th ...

, and Kisrawan districts of Lebanon. Mulhim's forces battled and defeated those of Mustafa Pasha,

Beylerbey ''Beylerbey'' ( ota, بكلربكی, beylerbeyi, lit=bey of beys, meaning the 'commander of commanders' or 'lord of lords') was a high rank in the western Islamic world in the late Middle Ages and early modern period, from the Anatolian Seljuks ...

of Damascus, in 1642, but he is reported by historians to have been otherwise loyal to Ottoman rule. Emir Mulhim Ma'an died in 1658, succeeded by two of his sons.

The conflict

Early tensions

Following Mulhim's death in 1658, his sons

Ahmad Ahmad ( ar, أحمد, ʾAḥmad) is an Arabic male given name common in most parts of the Muslim world. Other spellings of the name include Ahmed and Ahmet. Etymology The word derives from the root (ḥ-m-d), from the Arabic (), from the ve ...

and Korkmaz (or Qurqmaz)Harris W. ''Lebanon: A History, 600-2011''. P.109. Oxford University Press

/ref> entered into a power struggle with other Ottoman-backed Druze leaders.

Lebanon and Galilee campaign

In 1660, the Ottoman Empire moved to reorganize the region, placing the sanjaks (districts) of Sidon-Beirut and

Safed Safed (known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as Tzfat; Sephardi Hebrew, Sephardic Hebrew & Modern Hebrew: צְפַת ''Tsfat'', Ashkenazi Hebrew pronunciation, Ashkenazi Hebrew: ''Tzfas'', Biblical Hebrew: ''Ṣǝp̄aṯ''; ar, صفد, ''Ṣafad''), i ...

in a newly formed province of Sidon, a move seen by local Druze as an attempt to assert control. An Ottoman expedition was dispatched to the area following the creation of the new administrative units, initially against the Shihabs and the Shia Hamades. The reformer - grand wazir Köprülü Mehmed Pasha came in person with the expedition. The Shihabs fled to the Hamades in the high Kisrawan, while the Ottoman troops pillaged Wadi al-Taym. Claiming that the Shihabs allied with the Ma'anis, the Ottomans demanded Ahmad and Korkmuz Ma'an to hand over the Shihabs and provide money for the Ottoman army, but the Ma'anis refused and fled to the Kisrawan as well. The Ma'anis lost control and the Druze of the

Galilee Galilee (; he, הַגָּלִיל, hagGālīl; ar, الجليل, al-jalīl) is a region located in northern Israel and southern Lebanon. Galilee traditionally refers to the mountainous part, divided into Upper Galilee (, ; , ) and Lower Galil ...

lost their protection.''A History of the Druzes''. P.45
/ref> Ottoman troops pillaged the area, seeking for the lords of Shihabs, Hamades and Ma'anis, causing "misery" to the peasants. As a result, the pro-Ottoman Druze overran much of the Galilee, most notably destroying the cities of

and Tiberias.

Political plotting

Alternative pro-Ottoman sheikhs - Sirhal Imad and Ali Alam al-Din were briefly installed to rule the Druze country. Contemporary historian Istifan al-Duwayhi reports that Korkmaz was killed in act of treachery by the Beylerbey of Damascus in 1662. His brother Ahmad Ma'an apparently escaped the plotting. In 1666, according to al-Safa, local Shia repulsed the governor of Sidon and a Ma'an force near

Nabatiyeh Nabatieh ( ar, النبطية, links=no, ', ), or Nabatîyé (), is the city of the Nabatieh Governorate, in southern Lebanon. The population is not accurately known as no census has been taken in Lebanon since the 1930s; estimates range from ...

Ahmad's victory

In 1667, Ahmad Ma'an and his supporters defeated the pro-Ottoman Alam al-Din, Sawaf and others, and termed Yamanis near Beirut. Ahmad Ma'an emerged victorious in the power struggle among the Druze in 1667, but the Maʿnīs lost control of Safad and retreated to controlling the iltizam of the Chouf mountains and Kisrawan, answerable to the Ottoman governor of Sidon. According to Abu-Husayn, after 1667 Ahmad Ma'an resumed correspondence with the Tuscans.

Aftermath

Ahmad continued as local ruler through his death from natural causes, without heir, in 1697. During the

Ottoman–Habsburg War (1683–1699) The Great Turkish War (german: Großer Türkenkrieg), also called the Wars of the Holy League ( tr, Kutsal İttifak Savaşları), was a series of conflicts between the Ottoman Empire and the Holy League consisting of the Holy Roman Empire, Polan ...

, Ahmad Ma'n collaborated in a rebellion against the Ottomans which extended beyond his death. Iltizam rights in Chouf and Kisrawan passed to the rising Shihab family through female-line inheritance. Despite conflicts in the 1660s, the Maan family "played the leading role in the management of the internal affairs of this eyalet until the closing years of the 17th century, perhaps because it was not possible to manage the province-certainly not in the sanjak of Sidon-Beirut-without them."