In the summer of 1990, the Lebanese Speleology Group found in the grotto of “Aassi al-Hadath” naturally mummified bodies of
five children, three women, a man and a fetus dating back 700 years. This unique historical and archeological discovery confirms
what Dwaihy says about the seven-year siege of the Maronites, who took refuge in the grotto of Aassi al-Hadath as they tried to
escape the Mamlook army.”
Father Michel Awit wrote in his book The Maronite Patriarchate, History & Mission (p. 37-45):
“After the departure of the Crusaders, the Maronites came under attack from the Mamlooks. They suffered every humiliation,
while their Churches were set on fire, their villages plundered, and their vineyards destroyed. “On Monday, the second day of
Muharram, Akush Pasha, governor of Damascus, marched at the head of a military force into the mountains of Keserwan. The
soldiers invested these mountains and, having dismounted scaled the slopes from all sides. “The governor invaded the hills, and
his soldiers trampled underfoot a land whose inhabitants had believed it impregnable. The enemy occupied the heights, destroyed
the villages, and wreaked havoc in the vineyards. They massacred the people and made prisoners of them. The mountains were
left deserted.” (The Annals, 288) The Patriarchs themselves had their share of the general misfortune, suffering as much as any.
One was tortured, another harassed, another compelled to flee, another put on trial, and yet another burnt alive. “In 1283
Patriarch Daniel of Hadsheet in person led his men in their defense against the Mamlook soldiery, after the latter had assaulted
the Jebbet Bsharre. He succeeded in checking their advance before Ehden for forty days, and the Mamlooks captured Ehden only
after they had seized the Patriarch by a ruse. “In 1367, patriarch Gabriel was conveyed from Hjoula, his home district where he
had taken refuge during the persecutions, down to Tripoli, where he was burnt alive at the stake. His tomb still stands in Bab el
Ramel, at the gates of Tripoli.” “In 1402, there was great hardship. Many of the dead remained without burial, many of which died
of hunger. It was a tragedy without parallel.” (Dwaihy, The Annals, 338). However, the Maronites bore their trials patiently. They
looked on the district of Jbeil, which had sheltered their Patriarchs, as a fertile land which by its bounty and situation invited them
to meditation and prayer. They had drawn from its rough roads patience in adversity, from its high mountains the ability to rise
above the outrages inflicted on them, and from the vastness of the sea reflecting the azure vault of heaven the habit of turning
their vision to distant horizons. For them Jbeil was the Garden of Gethsemane, impressing on them its pure spirit and endowing
them with courage, wisdom and peace of mind. They read the Holy Gospel, and in this way they were brought together again, for
they did not give up hope. They put in the balance what they had gained and what they had lost as a result of their alliance with
the Crusaders and realized that God was their only resort. In Him they placed all their trust and gathered round their Patriarch as
their leader, both spiritual and civil. After passing their situation in review, they called on the civil chiefs of the villages, the
muqaddams, to act according to the instructions emanating from the Patriarch, and for their part these notables accepted minor
orders as subdeacons to put themselves at his disposition. These initiatives bore good fruit. The country knew some tranquillity
and order. When they had invaded Keserwan, the main purpose of the Mamlooks, who were Sunni Muslims, had been to eliminate
the Shiites. But this gave the Maronites the opportunity to act as mediators. To a considerable degree they reconciled the
opposing points of view of the two rival communities, acting as Apostles of peace and harmony in all the villages where Sunnites
and Shiites dwelt together, interposing between them. The Churches that have survived from this period are small, but they testify
to the renewal in our mountains of the mission in Our Lord Jesus Christ, which began when he trod the soil of Lebanon. The
priests administered the sacraments and preached the word of God. Miracles followed: wounds were healed, tears were wiped
away, vendettas were settled, and unity was restored. The unity of the Maronites owes much to their parochial life. It was this,
which led them to enter into relationships with the Shiites and the Druze, serving the Sunnites Shehabi dynasty, and working with
all for the common good. All were united when it was a matter of facing a common enemy. When finally they found themselves in
a situation, which knew no other solution, the Maronites moved into the valley of Qannoubine.”
[23] The Ottomans were Turks who served the Abbasids as slaves and soldiers. They became the masters in Baghdad. In 1516,
they defeated the Mamlooks at Marj Dabeq, north of Aleppo. They ruled over Lebanon from 1516 until 1916.
Antoine Khoury Harb wrote in his book The Maronites History and Constants (p. 98):
“In 1550 Patriarch Moussa al-Akkari (1524-1567) petitioned Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent to grant the Maronites internal
autonomy and to relax the Ottomans’ oppression. Most of the local authorities and the Ottomans acknowledged the Patriarch’s
prerogatives within the Maronite community. To that effect, Sultan Suleiman I (1520-1566) issued a decree in which he warned
against any violations or opposition to the Patriarch’s authority, and against any failure to respect the rights of the Maronite
community. The Sultan’s favorable reply can probably be explained in terms of the pact signed in 1535 between Suleiman and
the King of France, Francis I. According to this pact, France was granted certain privileges called the Capitulations, among which
was the protection of western Catholics in the Ottoman Empire. During the reign of Louis XIV (1638-1715), the protection covered
the Maronites. In 1670 Louis XIV sent a letter to his ambassador in Istanbul confirming the French protection of the Maronites.”
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
