Lebanon (lĕb'ənən, –nŏn') , officially Republic of Lebanon, republic (2005 est. pop. 3,826,000), 4,015 sq mi (10,400 sq km), SW Asia. The country is bordered on the west by the Mediterranean Sea, on the north and east by Syria and on the south by Israel. The capital is Beirut.

Land and People

Much of the terrain is mountainous; the Lebanon Mts., which run parallel to the coast, reach their highest point at Qurnet as-Sawda (10,131 ft/3,088 m); on the eastern border is the Anti-Lebanon range. Between the two mountain ranges lies the fertile valley of Al Biqa (avg. elev. 3,280 ft/1,000 m). The Orontes in the north and the Litani in the south are the main rivers. In addition to Beirut there are three ports, Tripoli in the north and Sidon (Saida) and Tyre (Sur) in the south.
About 95% of Lebanese are Arabs; Armenians are the principal minority. Arabic is the official language; French, English, and Armenian are also spoken. About 70% of the population is Muslim and about 30% is Christian, and each is divided into a number of sects, including the Druze. Political life is profoundly affected by the country's religious diversity. Political groups that are mainly Christian, especially of the Maronite sect, generally favor an independent course for Lebanon, stressing its ties with Europe. The Muslims, however, favor closer ties with the surrounding Arab countries.

Economy

Until the economy was almost completely destroyed by the civil strife that rent the country from 1975 to 1990, Lebanon was long the distribution center for the Middle East, and commerce was its major industry. Beirut, a free port, was the region's financial and commercial hub. Throughout the 1980s the commercial and industrial life of Lebanon was in severe disarray, but by the 1990s the economy had at least partially revived. Banking, insurance, food processing, and the manufacture of textiles, cement, chemicals, and metal products are now important. Oil refining is also an important industry. Other significant sources of income are a revived tourism industry and remittances from Lebanese working abroad and international aid. The illicit narcotics trade (opium, hashish, heroin) also has a considerable impact on the economy.
Farm products contribute only a small portion of the GDP. The main crops are citrus fruits, vegetables, olives, tobacco, and grapes. Sheep and goats are raised. Lebanon has few minerals. Not many of the famed cedars remain, although oak and pine are exploited.
The annual cost of Lebanon's imports is much greater than its earnings from exports. The country exports paper and paper products, foodstuffs, textiles, jewelry, metals, electrical equipment, and chemicals, largely to other Arab countries. Imports include machinery and transport equipment, grain and other foodstuffs, consumer goods, machinery, and fuels, chiefly from Italy, the United States, Germany, and France.

Government

Lebanon's ethnic and religions diversity has had an enormous impact on its governmental system. Traditionally the president of the country is a Maronite Christian, the prime minister a Sunni Muslim, and the speaker of parliament a Shiite Muslim. The sects are also represented in the legislature, cabinet, and civil service. The country is governed under a 1926 constitution with later amendments. The unicameral legislature (the National Assembly) has 128 members, half Christian and half Muslim, and is elected every four years by universal adult suffrage. Under the constitution, the president, who appoints the prime minister and wields real power, is elected by the legislature for a six-year term and cannot serve consecutive terms. There are independent secular courts based on the French system and religious courts for such issues as marriage, divorce, and inheritance. The Ta'if accord of 1989, which aimed at national reconciliation, gave Muslims a share in governmental power equal to that of Christians. Lebanon is divided into five administrative governorates.

History

Early History to Independence
In ancient times the area of Lebanon and Syria was occupied by the Canaanites, who founded the great Phoenician cities and later established a commercial maritime empire (see Phoenicia). Lebanon's cities as well as its forests and iron and copper mines (since exhausted) attracted the successive dominant powers in the Middle East. The Phoenician cities occupied a favored position in the Persian Empire and were conquered by Alexander the Great. The region came under Roman dominion starting in 64 B.C. (there are notable Roman ruins at Baalbek) and was Christianized before the Arab conquest in the 7th cent. By then the Maronites had established themselves—a cardinal fact in the history of Lebanon, which long remained predominantly Christian while Syria became Muslim. Later (11th cent.) the Druze settled in S Lebanon and in adjacent regions of Syria, and trouble between them and the Christians was to become a constant theme in regional history.
The Crusaders (see Crusades) were active in Lebanon (late 11th cent.) and were aided by the Lebanese Christians. After the Crusaders, Lebanon was loosely ruled by the Mamluks (c.1300). Invasions by Mongols and others contributed to the decline of trade until the reunification of the Middle East under the Ottoman Turks (early 16th cent.). Under Ottoman control, Lebanon had considerable autonomy, and powerful families ruled the country.
Many Western religious missions and businesses were established in the area in the 19th cent. Conflict among the religious communities, culminating in massacres of the Maronites by the Druze in 1860, led to intervention by France (1861), and the Ottoman sultan was forced to appoint a Christian governor for Lebanon. The French were given the mandate of Syria after World War I by the League of Nations; Lebanon was a part of that mandate.
The French, being Catholic, separated Lebanon (home of most of the Maronite Catholics) from Syria, thus creating a new state. There was much discontent and, among the Muslims, a desire for independence within a wider Arab state. In 1926 the mandate was given a republican constitution. A treaty with France in 1936 provided for independence after a three-year transition period, but it was not ratified by France. In World War II the French Vichy government controlled Lebanon until a British–Free French force conquered (June–July, 1941) the Lebanese coast. The Free French proclaimed Lebanon an independent republic. Elections were held in 1943, and, after considerable controversy, Lebanon became independent on Jan. 1, 1944.