Mount Lebanon

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For other uses, see Mount Lebanon (disambiguation)}}}.

Mount Lebanon is the mountain range that extends across the whole country of Lebanon about 160 km (100 mi) parallel to the Mediterranean coast and rising to 3,090 m (10,137 ft). Lebanon has historically been defined by the mountains, which have provided protection for the local population. The snowy peaks may have given Lebanon its name in antiquity; laban is Aramaic for "white". In Lebanon the changes in scenery are not connected to geographical distances, but to altitudes. The mountains are known for their oak and pine forests. Also, in the high slopes of Mount Lebanon are the remaining groves of the famous Cedars of Lebanon (Cedrus libani). The Phoenicians used the forests from Mount Lebanon to build their ship fleet and to trade with their Levantine neighbours.

Before World War I, Mount Lebanon was a semi-autonomous province in the Ottoman Empire. It gained autonomy under international pressure from European powers (mainly France and Britain) to protect its Christian population. It was ruled by a non-Lebanese Christian subject of the Ottoman Empire (known locally as the "Mutassareff"). Maronite Christians formed a majority of the population of Mount Lebanon, with a significant number of Druze.

During the War, the Ottoman Empire blockaded the entire Levantine coast. In Lebanon today it is estimated that half the population of Mount Lebanon died of orchestrated famine during this time. (Sources: [link] [link] [link] [link] [link])

The borders of Mount Lebanon were expanded by France in 1920 to form modern Lebanon.

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