Douma () is a village in

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

located 88 km from

Beirut Beirut ( ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, just under half of Lebanon's population, which makes it the List of largest cities in the Levant region by populatio ...

, 30 km from

Byblos Byblos ( ; ), also known as Jebeil, Jbeil or Jubayl (, Lebanese Arabic, locally ), is an ancient city in the Keserwan-Jbeil Governorate of Lebanon. The area is believed to have been first settled between 8800 and 7000BC and continuously inhabited ...

and 45 km from Tripoli. Douma is administratively part of Batroun District and is known for its location in a valley surrounded by mountains. It stands at an altitude of 1070 m. Almost all of its houses are covered in red tiles. It has a temperate climate and an abundance of vineyards and olive and apple groves.

History

Douma was populated since ancient times. In the town square sits a

sarcophagus A sarcophagus (: sarcophagi or sarcophaguses) is a coffin, most commonly carved in stone, and usually displayed above ground, though it may also be buried. The word ''sarcophagus'' comes from the Greek language, Greek wikt:σάρξ, σάρξ ...

, bearing a Greek inscription recording that this was the burial place of Castor, who died in 317 AD. The village was almost abandoned until the 16th century, during Ottoman rule, when the modern village was founded by the

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

clan of the Chalhoub. The family continues to inhabit the village until the present day. In 1880 the Ottoman mutasarrif of Mount Lebanon, Rustum Pasha, appointed a municipal council to administer Douma, the sixth locality to receive a council in Mount Lebanon. The Great Famine of Mount Lebanon during World War I precipitated a wave of emigrants from Douma to the

America The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

s and their remittances significantly contributed to boosting the village's economy. Most infrastructure and houses in Douma were built between 1881 and 1914, largely financed by emigrants from the village in

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

and the

United States of America The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguo ...

. In the 1920s, the leaders of Syria who had just rebelled against the French Mandatory rule, were detained and exiled to Douma of Lebanon. One of those leaders was Sa’dallah al-Jabiri who was destined to become Syria's first Prime Minister after its independence in the 1940s. Another one was a main author of Syria's constitution: lawyer Safadi. Starting even before the 1920s, emigrants from Douma had settled in thirteen countries across five continents.

Name

Douma is also named ''Dūma al-Hadīd'' (literally "Douma of iron" or "Iron Douma") due to the abundance of iron found in its soil and the superior craftsmanship of its blacksmiths. The arming industry established under Ibrahim Pasha's rule encouraged many people from Choueir to come and settle in Douma since opportunities of work were plentiful at the time.

Demographics

In 2014

Christians A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the world. The words '' Christ'' and ''C ...

made up 99.10% of registered voters in Douma. 48.95% of the voters were

Greek Orthodox Greek Orthodox Church (, , ) is a term that can refer to any one of three classes of Christian Churches, each associated in some way with Greek Christianity, Levantine Arabic-speaking Christians or more broadly the rite used in the Eastern Rom ...

, 33.20% were

Roman Catholics The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

and 15.57% were Maronite Catholics.https://lub-anan.com/المحافظات/الشمال/البترون/دوما/المذاهب/

Climate

Douma has a Mediterranean climate. Rainfall is higher in winter than in summer. The Köppen-Geiger climate classification is Csa. The average annual temperature in Douma is . About of precipitation falls annually.

Twin towns

Digne-les-Bains Digne-les-Bains (; Occitan language, Occitan: ''Dinha dei Banhs''), or simply and historically Digne (''Dinha'' in the Franco-Provençal, classical norm or ''Digno'' in the Mistralian norm), is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Alpe ...

, France

References

External links

Duma
Localiban {{Batroun District Populated places in Batroun District