[21] Father Michel Awit wrote in his book The Maronite Patriarchate, History & Mission (p. 35):
“For three centuries the Maronites were cut off from the rest of the world, blockaded within their mountains; and when the
Crusaders swarmed into the East, their discovery of the Maronites came as a surprise. The Holy See itself was astonished to learn
of their continued existence when their disappearance had been taken for granted. Subsequently there were strong ties formed
between the Maronites and the Crusaders, particularly after the arrival in the East of St Louis, King of France. During the
thirteenth century, Lebanon knew some decades of relative peace. The Maronites were even able to undertake the construction of
a number of Churches, an activity which Patriarch Dwaihy recorded as follows: “At that time, Christianity spread throughout the
East and was openly proclaimed. Bronze bells were rung to summon the faithful to prayer and to the sacred services. Those who
received the outpourings of God’s grace founded convents and built Churches, for the people yearned to serve the Almighty and to
perform good deeds. Father Basil of Bsharre had three daughters: Mariam, Thecla, and Salomeh. Mariam constructed the shrine
of St Saba in Bsharre in Mount Lebanon; Salomeh, that of St Daniel in Hadath; and Thecla, that of St George in Bkerkasha as well
as two churches in Koura...” (The Annals, 104).
Antoine Khoury Harb wrote in his book The Maronites History and Constants (p. 82, 84, 86):
“… The historian Jack de Vitri reports: “Over the Lebanese hills in Phoenicia (near Byblos), there were multitudes of people well
-trained in using bows and arrows. They were called the Maronites”. Guillaume, the Latin Bishop of Tyre, confirmed that the
Maronites were “a great aid to our army (Crusaders) in its war against the enemies”. The Maronites enjoyed a special place in the
Crusader State; “They (the Maronites) were accorded second place after the Franks, and before the Jacobites and Armenians.
They enjoyed the privileges of free men, so they could own land and enjoy some of the privileges of the Franks”.
The Maronites established strong relationships with Rome and France.
Father Michel Awit wrote in his book The Maronite Patriarchate, History & Mission (p. 33):
“Pope Innocent III saw with his own eyes what men of prayer the Maronite Patriarchs were on the day when Patriarch Jeremiah of
Amsheet came to see him during the proceedings of the Latran Council of 1215, in which the latter participated. The Pope ordered
that the Patriarch be depicted in a painting to be made for St. Peter’s. When over the centuries the painting had lost much of its
radiance, Pope Innocent XIII ordered that it be retouched. This painting represents the Patriarch raising the host that had frozen in
his hands while he was celebrating Mass, with the Pope attending”. (Dwaihy, Chronologie des Patriarches Maronites, 24).
These Patriarchs did not leave behind them great works, such as fine Churches or castles or universities. Nevertheless, they
succeeded like the Apostles in watching over their flocks as mothers and fathers do over their children, and to pass on to them the
teachings of Our Lord. They formed a people full of the faith, blessing when insulted and enduring when persecuted. When at
last they had completed their labors in one place, they carried the torch and went elsewhere.”
Antoine Khoury Harb wrote in his book The Maronites History and Constants (p. 86):
“In 1250, when Louis IX landed at Akka, he received a contingent of 25,000 Maronites and beautiful horses from the Prince of the
Mardaites. This was one of the motives that induced the king to write to the Prince a letter expressing his admiration for the
Maronites and for their adhesion to the Catholic faith and their loyalty to the successor of St. Peter in Rome. He closed his letter
by saying: ‘We, and those who follow us on the throne of France, promise to give you and your nation protection equal to that
given to the French, always doing whatever is necessary for your happiness.’”
[22] The Mamlooks were Turkmen and Circassian slaves brought into Egypt to serve as bodyguards. They killed the Ayyubid sultan
in 1252. They ruled over Lebanon from 1282 until 1516.
Antoine Khoury Harb wrote in his book The Maronites History and Constants (p. 88-90):
“In 1268, the Mamlooks conquered Antioch; many thousands were killed and much booty was taken. In the same year, they took
the Castle of Beaufort, and only the coastal region from Tripoli to Akka was left to the Crusaders. In 1277 Baibars died, and was
followed by Sultan Mansur Qalaoun, who decided to defeat the Crusaders in the County of Tripoli before those of Akka. He
realized that he had to get rid of the Maronites, allies of the Crusaders. The historian Patriarch Dwaihy tells us that “in May
1283, an army of the Mamlook Sultan Qalaoun penetrated into the remotest strongholds of the Maronites, Ehden, Bsharre, Hadath
el-Jibbet. They besieged Ehden, which fell after 40 days.” Patriarch Daniel El Hadsheeti led the Maronites who defended Ehden. A
manuscript preserved in the National Library of Paris, gives a description of the Mamlooks’ attack on Ehden and the resistance of
the Maronites led by their Patriarch Daniel El Hadsheeti. It also tells how the Mamlooks resorted to trickery to capture the Patriarch
and to seize el-Jibbet. When the Mamlooks took Ehden, they captured the Maronite Patriarch, who suffered martyrdom, and “they
demolished the fort and the fortress at the top of Ehden Mountain.” Then they conquered Miefook in July, burnt its inhabitants in
their houses and demolished it completely. Horrible massacres ensued in Hasroun and Kfar- Saroun, where the Mamlooks
slaughtered the inhabitants in the church. Then in August 22, they moved to Hadath, whose grotto contained a water reservoir.
After having destroyed Hadath, they built a fort facing the Aassi grotto to blockade its entrance.
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