Garabet Artin Pasha Davoudian (also Garabed Artin Davoudian, Dawud Pasha, ) was an Ottoman

career diplomat A diplomat (from grc, δίπλωμα; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or internatio ...

and the first ''

mutasarrif Mutasarrif or mutesarrif ( ota, متصرّف, tr, mutasarrıf) was the title used in the Ottoman Empire and places like post-Ottoman Iraq for the governor of an administrative district. The Ottoman rank of mutasarrif was established as part of a ...

'' of

Mount Lebanon Mount Lebanon ( ar, جَبَل لُبْنَان, ''jabal lubnān'', ; syr, ܛܘܪ ܠܒ݂ܢܢ, ', , ''ṭūr lewnōn'' french: Mont Liban) is a mountain range in Lebanon. It averages above in elevation, with its peak at . Geography The Mount Le ...

from 1861 to 1868.{{Cite book , last1=A ́goston , first1=Ga ́bor , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QjzYdCxumFcC&dq=Dawud+pasha+Lebanon+1861&pg=PA177 , title=Encyclopedia of the Ottoman Empire , last2=Masters , first2=Bruce Alan , date=2010-05-21 , publisher=Infobase Publishing , isbn=978-1-4381-1025-7 , language=en

Early life

Dawud Pasha was born around 1816 to an

aristocratic Aristocracy (, ) is a form of government that places strength in the hands of a small, privileged ruling class, the aristocrats. The term derives from the el, αριστοκρατία (), meaning 'rule of the best'. At the time of the word's ...

Armenian Catholic Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...

family in

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

. He received his education in French and Ottoman schools.

Career

Dawud Pasha was the first to hold the office of ''mutasarrif'' (governor) of the newly created, semi-autonomous Ottoman administrative sub-division of

Mount Lebanon Mutasarrifate The Mount Lebanon Mutasarrifate (1861–1918, ar, مُتَصَرِّفِيَّة جَبَل لُبْنَان, translit=Mutasarrifiyyat Jabal Lubnān; ) was one of the Ottoman Empire's subdivisions following the Tanzimat reform. After 1861, ther ...

in the aftermath of the

1860 civil conflict in Mount Lebanon and Damascus 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 Druz ...

. Before his tenure as governor, he served as a diplomatic attaché in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

and

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

. He was raised to the rank of ''

vizier A vizier (; ar, وزير, wazīr; fa, وزیر, vazīr), or wazir, is a high-ranking political advisor or minister in the near east. The Abbasid caliphs gave the title ''wazir'' to a minister formerly called ''katib'' (secretary), who was a ...

'' and appointed as ''mutasarrif'' in 1861. The appointment was supposed to last for 3 years, but it was prolonged for another 5 years. The appointment of a foreign ''mutasarrif'' caused widespread resentment in Mount Lebanon, particularly among

Maronites The Maronites ( ar, الموارنة; syr, ܡܖ̈ܘܢܝܐ) are a Christian ethnoreligious group native to the Eastern Mediterranean and Levant region of the Middle East, whose members traditionally belong to the Maronite Church, with the largest ...

feudal lords Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was the combination of the legal, economic, military, cultural and political customs that flourished in medieval Europe between the 9th and 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a way of structur ...

who contested their loss of power and influence. One of his major antagonists was

Youssef Bey Karam Youssef Bey Karam (also Joseph Bey Karam) (May 15, 1823 – April 7, 1889) ( ar, يوسف بك كرم), was a Lebanese Maronite notable for fighting in the 1860 civil war and led a rebellion in 1866–1867 against the Ottoman Empire rule in M ...

, a local Maronite strongman who mounted a rebellion against the Ottomans from 1866 to 1867. Despite the animosity of the local population, Dawud Pasha was credited with implementing a fair rule.

Resignation and exile

The Ottoman foreign ministry was suspicious of Dawud Pasha's direct dealings with the European merchants and diplomatic delegations in Beirut; prerogative traditionally linked to his superior, the provincial governor. In 1868, Dawud Pasha pressured the

Sublime Porte The Sublime Porte, also known as the Ottoman Porte or High Porte ( ota, باب عالی, Bāb-ı Ālī or ''Babıali'', from ar, باب, bāb, gate and , , ), was a synecdoche for the central government of the Ottoman Empire. History The nam ...

for more power by tendering his resignation, which was accepted. He was received back in Istanbul where he was appointed Minister of Public Works. He was later accused of corruption and exiled to France.

References

Governors of the Ottoman Empire 1816 births 1873 deaths