Nazira Jumblatt (18901951) () was a

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 ...

leader and the mother of Lebanese politician and Kamal Jumblatt. She was styled ''sitt'' (lady in Arabic).

Biography

HARVEY(1861) p008 PALACE OF SAID BAG JUMBULAH AT MOKTARAH

Nazira was born in 1890, and her parents were Faris and Afrida Said Jumblatt. She was educated at home by her grandmother and private teachers and learned both English and French. She married Fouad Jumblatt in 1905 when she was 15. Their children were Kamal Jumblatt and Linda Al Atrash who was killed in her house in East Beirut 27 May May 1976 during the

civil war A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

. Nazira took on the political role and the leadership of the Jumblatt family upon the assassination of her husband Fouad Jumblatt in 1921. She ran the family affairs until 1943 when her son Kamal took the reins of political and family leadership into his own hands. Unlike her son, she was close to the French authorities. Following the assassination of Fouad Jumblatt, the Jumblatt family groups, the Mukhtara and the Biramiya groups, had internal conflicts. The former was led by Nazira, and the latter by Ali Jumblatt and his son Hikmat who challenged the leadership of Nazira. Nazira managed to end this struggle in 1937 when her daughter Linda married Hikmat. Through Nazira's attempts the Druze rebellion in

Hauran The Hauran ( ar, حَوْرَان, ''Ḥawrān''; also spelled ''Hawran'' or ''Houran'') is a region that spans parts of southern Syria and northern Jordan. It is bound in the north by the Ghouta oasis, eastwards by the al-Safa (Syria), al-Safa ...

occurred between 1925 and 1927 did not expand to other regions. Nazira died on 27 March 1951.

Legacy

French novelist Pierre Benoit used Al-Sitt Nazira as the model for the heroine of his 1924 novel ''La Châtelaine du Liban'' (the

Châtelain Châtelain (from la, castellanus, derived from ''castellum''; pertaining to a castle, fortress. Middle English: '' castellan'' from Anglo-Norman: ''castellain'' and Old French: ''castelain'') was originally the French title for the keeper of a c ...

e of Lebanon). Sitt Nazira was also the main subject of the 2003 Lebanese documentary '' Lady of the Palace''.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jumblatt, Nazira 1890 births 1951 deaths

Nazira Nazira (IPA: nəˈzɪərə) is a town and a municipal board in Sivasagar district in the Indian state of Assam. Nazira is a historical town on the bank of the Dikhow River. It is around 18 km from Sivasagar city, 3 km from Simalugur ...

People from Chouf District Lebanese Druze 20th-century Lebanese politicians 20th-century Lebanese women