Editing Lebanon (section)

=== Middle Ages ===
During the 7th century, [[Muslim conquest of the Levant|Muslims conquered Syria]] from the Byzantines, incorporating the region, including modern-day Lebanon, under the [[Rashidun Caliphate|Islamic Caliphate]].<ref name=":42">{{Cite book |last=Harris |first=William W. |title=Lebanon: A History, 600–2011 |date=2015 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-518111-1 |edition= |series=Studies in Middle Eastern history |location=New York, N.Y |pages=3–28, 232, 247}}</ref> In the era of [[Uthman]]'s caliphate (644–656), Islam gained significant influence in Damascus, led by [[Mu'awiya I|Mu'awiya]], a relative of Uthman, serving as the governor. Mu'awiya sent forces to the coastal region of Lebanon, prompting conversions to Islam among the coastal population. However, the mountainous areas retained their Christian or other cultural practices.<ref name=":10" /> Despite Islam and Arabic becoming officially dominant, the population's conversion from Christianity and [[Syriac language]] was gradual. The Maronite community, in particular, managed to maintain a large degree of autonomy despite the succession of rulers over Lebanon and Syria. The relative  isolation of the Lebanese mountains meant the mountains served as a refuge in the times of religious and political crises in the [[Levant]]. As such, the mountains displayed religious diversity and the existence of several well-established sects and religions, notably, [[Maronites]], [[Druze]], [[Shia Islam|Shiite Muslims]], [[Isma'ilism|Ismailis]], [[Alawites]] and [[Syriac Orthodox Church|Jacobites]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Hitti|first=Philip|author-link=Philip K. Hitti|date=1957|title=Lebanon in History|url=https://archive.org/details/dli.ernet.53848|location=|publisher=Macmillan and Co Ltd|pages=246}}</ref> 

After the Islamic conquest, Mediterranean trade declined for three centuries due to conflicts with the Byzantines. The ports of Tyre, Sidon, Beirut, and Tripoli struggled to recover, sustaining small populations under [[Umayyad Caliphate|Umayyad]] and [[Abbasid Caliphate|Abbasid]] rule. Christians and Jews were often obligated to pay the ''[[jizya]]'', or poll tax levied on non-Muslims.<ref name=":42" /> During the 980s, the [[Fatimid Caliphate]] took control of the Levant, including Mount Lebanon, resulting in the rejuvenation of Mediterranean trade along the Lebanese coast through renewed connections with Byzantium and Italy. This resurgence saw Tripoli and Tyre flourishing well into the 11th century, focusing on exports such as textiles, sugar, and glassware.<ref name=":42" />

During the 11th century, the [[Druze in Lebanon|Druze]] religion emerged from a branch of [[Shia Islam]]. The new religion gained followers in the southern portion of Mount Lebanon. The southern portion of Mount Lebanon was ruled by Druze feudal families till the early 14th century. The Maronite population increased gradually in Northern Mount Lebanon and the Druze have remained in Southern Mount Lebanon until the modern era. [[Keserwan District|Keserwan]], [[Jabal Amel]] and the [[Beqaa Valley]] was ruled by Shia feudal families under the Mamluks and the Ottoman Empire. Major cities on the coast, [[Sidon]], [[Tyre, Lebanon|Tyre]], [[Acre, Israel|Acre]], [[Tripoli, Lebanon|Tripoli]], [[Beirut]], and others, were directly administered by the Muslim Caliphs and the people became more fully absorbed by the Arab culture.[[File:Siege of Tripoli Painting (1289).jpg|thumb|upright|The [[Fall of Tripoli (1289)|Fall of Tripoli]] to the Egyptian [[Mamluk]]s and destruction of the Crusader state, the County of Tripoli, 1289]]

Following the fall of Roman [[Anatolia]] to the Muslim Turks, the Byzantines put out a call to the Pope in Rome for assistance in the 11th century. The result was a series of wars known as the [[Crusades]] launched by the [[Frankish Empire|Franks]] from Western Europe to reclaim the former Byzantine Christian territories in the Eastern Mediterranean, especially [[Syria]] and [[Palestine (region)|Palestine]] (the ''[[Levant]]''). The [[First Crusade]] succeeded in temporarily establishing the [[Kingdom of Jerusalem]] and the [[County of Tripoli]] as Roman Catholic Christian states along the coast.<ref>{{cite book | author=Hillenbrand, Carole | publisher=Psychology Press | year=2000 | title=The Crusades: Islamic Perspectives | isbn=978-1-57958-354-5 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UalnoF5MBHMC | pages=20–21 | access-date=20 June 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150905174853/https://books.google.com/books?id=UalnoF5MBHMC | archive-date=5 September 2015 | url-status=live | df=dmy-all}}</ref> These crusader states made a lasting impact on the region, though their control was limited, and the region returned to full Muslim control after two centuries following the conquest by the Mamluks.

Among the most lasting effects of the Crusades in this region was the contact between the Franks (i.e., the French) and the Maronites. Unlike most other Christian communities in the [[Eastern Mediterranean]], who swore allegiance to [[Constantinople]] or other local patriarchs, the Maronites proclaimed allegiance to the Pope in Rome. As such the Franks saw them as Roman Catholic brethren. These initial contacts led to centuries of support for the Maronites from France and Italy, even after the fall of the Crusader states in the region.