Chehab Chronicles
The Chehab Chronicles is an ongoing scholarly project that examines the history of the Chehab Family and Lebanon through careful translation of sources from French and Arabic into English. Beyond mere documentation, this evolving online database reveals the complex interplay of power, memory, class and identity in Lebanese history, providing researchers with continually expanding access to previously inaccessible historical narratives in the lingua universalis.
Lebanon and Syrıa 1845 - 1860
Eugéne Poujade
"Lebanon and Syria: 1845-1860" offers French diplomat Nicolas Poujade's crucial eyewitness account of Lebanon following the Chehab dynasty's fall. As Beirut's Consul, Poujade documents how replacing unified Chehab rule with divided Druze-Maronite governance sparked sectarian violence. The translation reveals France's efforts to restore Chehab authority against British and Ottoman opposition, illustrating how European diplomatic decisions directly shaped Lebanon's long-term regional instability.
To the Governments and Natıons of Europe
Joseph Karam
This memoir documents Joseph Karam (1823-1889), a Sheikh whose family received their title from Emir Bashir II Chehab. Following the 1841 dissolution of the Emirate, Karam sought Maronite leadership during the period preceding the 1860 massacres. Despite opposition from the Maronite Church and French support for Emir Majid Chehab, Karam became a key figure in Lebanon's early national movement. Written in exile, this document combines personal accounts and diplomatic correspondence, revealing both the consequences of the Chehab dynasty's fall and Lebanon's political modernization. Karam's distinct self-presentation to local aristocracy, Ottoman authorities, and European powers offers unique insight into leadership evolution during this critical period.
Hıstorıcal Notıce
on the Orıgıns of the Maronıte Natıon
Nicholas Murad
Archbishop Murad's 1844 treatise documents Lebanon's transformation after the Chehab dynasty's collapse. As Maronite Archbishop of Laodicea, he portrays the Chehabs as legitimate protectors of his community, lamenting a nation "deprived of its protecting princes whose return it ceaselessly solicits." Writing during political upheaval, he appeals to King Louis Philippe I for French intervention while carefully mapping Mount Lebanon's religious demographics and growing tensions.