The Origins of the Druze People and Religion

CHAPTER II

SOCIAL AND HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT

Feudal Organization:—When we first see the Druze people clearly in history, we find them living—as they still do today—in small village communities in Wādi-al-Taym A valley in modern-day Lebanon and Syria. and southern Lebanon, organized into a feudal society. These village communities were controlled by local sheikhs Tribal or communal leaders., who were themselves subordinate to one or more amīrs original: "amīrs" (princes)., with the whole system bound together under a unique form of theocracy A system of government in which priests or religious leaders rule in the name of God.. This remains a defining feature of Druze national life.

The early Druze communities thrived at the foot of Mount Hermon and in the southern part of Western Lebanon, overlooking Beirut and Sidon. These communities were entirely agricultural and lived solely on what the land produced. They were not interested in commerce or industry. These same conditions have remained almost unchanged among the Druze to this day. If you searched the lists of leading merchants in Aleppo, Damascus, Beirut, and Sidon, you would not find a single Druze name. Perhaps the most successful merchants the Druze nation has ever produced are those who immigrated to the United States.

Role During the Crusades:—In the early years of the Crusades, Druze feudal power was held by two families: the Tanūkhs and the Arislāns. From their fortresses in the Gharb district The district located to the west of Beirut. of southern Lebanon, the Tanūkhs led their raids into the Phoenician coast. They eventually succeeded in holding Beirut and the coastal plain against the Franks The name commonly used in the Middle East for the Western European Crusaders..

After the middle of the twelfth century, the Ma'n family replaced the Tanūkhs as the leaders of the Druze. The origin of the—

The ruins of one of these fortresses still sit atop a small hill near Sarahmūl.