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Chapter 27: Prosperity Beneath the Cedars
Further north lies the Phoenician coast: a region which was in the 9th century home to a number of merchant republics in the maritime cities. Politically, the area was divided among the the Republics of Beirut, Sidon and Tyre; to the north lay tge County of Tripoli and to the south the Duchy of Galilee, which emerged in the 820s after the City of Acre conquered most of Galilee.
The commander of the Acrian army titled himself Duke of Galilee and declared Nazareth as his seat; confirming the privileges of the citizens of Acre in political and commercial spheres.
The result was, that the citizens were not rebelling; after all it was at that time seen rather unrealistic to have a republic ruling over such a large area.
The upper parts of the valleys on the western side of the Lebanon mountains had by now becoem fully incorporated into the maritime republics. They provided cedar wood, livestock and recruits to the republics; the cities themselves focused on mainly on maritime trade and manufacturing , or making high quality or luxury goods. Lebanese merchants have come to dominate trade across much of the eastern Mediterranean: Lebanese merchants were often seen in Egypt and Cyprus. As with Rhomania, markets were open during the first half of the 9th century. However, the region of Phoenicia has been viewed by some of the Rhomaic emperors as de iure rightfully Rhomaic lands. This pressure resulted in the County of Tripoli placing itself under Rhomaic suzerainty in 863.
The weakening of the Ghassanid realm continued. The Bekaa valley, comprising the upper reaches of the Orontesriver is bound by the Lebanon mountains to the west and the Antilebanon range to the east. The valley was viewed of strategic importance by the merchants of the Lebanese states, and therefore, when the Count of Zahle, Mkhayel, revolted against his liege, the Ghassanid king in Damascus. He was soon aided by all the Phoenician cities, and was able, with Beirutian, Sidonian and Tyrean aid, to defeat the Ghassanids. In the war it proved that the forces recruited from the valleys, used to and trained for mountain warfare, managed to defeat the Ghassanid forces, which put too much emphasis on mobile cavalry, which in the hilly terrain of Lebanon showed not to be the best idea
The commander of the Acrian army titled himself Duke of Galilee and declared Nazareth as his seat; confirming the privileges of the citizens of Acre in political and commercial spheres.
The result was, that the citizens were not rebelling; after all it was at that time seen rather unrealistic to have a republic ruling over such a large area.
The upper parts of the valleys on the western side of the Lebanon mountains had by now becoem fully incorporated into the maritime republics. They provided cedar wood, livestock and recruits to the republics; the cities themselves focused on mainly on maritime trade and manufacturing , or making high quality or luxury goods. Lebanese merchants have come to dominate trade across much of the eastern Mediterranean: Lebanese merchants were often seen in Egypt and Cyprus. As with Rhomania, markets were open during the first half of the 9th century. However, the region of Phoenicia has been viewed by some of the Rhomaic emperors as de iure rightfully Rhomaic lands. This pressure resulted in the County of Tripoli placing itself under Rhomaic suzerainty in 863.
The weakening of the Ghassanid realm continued. The Bekaa valley, comprising the upper reaches of the Orontesriver is bound by the Lebanon mountains to the west and the Antilebanon range to the east. The valley was viewed of strategic importance by the merchants of the Lebanese states, and therefore, when the Count of Zahle, Mkhayel, revolted against his liege, the Ghassanid king in Damascus. He was soon aided by all the Phoenician cities, and was able, with Beirutian, Sidonian and Tyrean aid, to defeat the Ghassanids. In the war it proved that the forces recruited from the valleys, used to and trained for mountain warfare, managed to defeat the Ghassanid forces, which put too much emphasis on mobile cavalry, which in the hilly terrain of Lebanon showed not to be the best idea
- Tomislav Addai
- Word Count: 380