Misplaced Pages

#731268

70-625: The Grand Serail ( Arabic : السراي الكبير , al-Sarāy al-Kabir ; also known as the Government Palace ) is the headquarters of the Prime Minister of Lebanon . It is situated atop a hill in downtown Beirut a few blocks away from the Lebanese Parliament building . The Grand Serail is a historic building, the most important of three Ottoman monuments on the Serail hill, the others being

140-765: A ceremony in Beirut. Greater Lebanon was created by France to be a "safe haven" for the Maronite population of the mutasarrifia (Ottoman administrative unit) of Mount Lebanon . Mt. Lebanon, an area with a Maronite majority, had enjoyed varying degrees of autonomy during the Ottoman era. However, in addition to the Maronite Mutasarrifia other, mainly Muslim , regions were added, forming "Greater" Lebanon. Those regions correspond today to North Lebanon , South Lebanon , Biqa' valley , and Beirut . The capital of Greater Lebanon

210-637: A drugstore (ajzah). When the French entered the city in 1918, they turned the hospital into a courthouse. Later the courthouse was moved to another location and the building became the Institute of Fine Art of the Lebanese University . however the war that raged through Beirut destroyed most parts of the courthouse and turned them into ruins until prime minister Rafik Hariri donated the sum needed for its reconstruction and renovation. Since its inauguration in 1992,

280-589: A feasibility study of the Union Economique de Syrie the North-East Syrian and the Alawite State were deemed profitable for the cotton cultivation. Investments began in 1924, but it took until the 1930s to produce more than the level reached in 1925. By 1933, Palestine was the largest importer of Syrian goods, while the French held a share of 7.5% of the imports. Between the two World Wars, France became

350-432: A large courtyard which flanked at the center by a limestone and Carrera marble fountain. Both the exterior and interior facades are covered by a total of 588 arches and arcades (282 lobes arches, 197 pointed arches, 6 rounded arches, 11 mandolin arches, 92 pointed arcades). The north gate is constitutes the central structural element of the four facades. It is 11 metres (36 ft) high and 7 metres (23 ft) in width and

420-407: A larger, more functional building. The external walls were completely restored and stone from demolished buildings was used in the additional floor, thereby preserving a homogeneous facade. All contracting and handicrafts, including stone, marble, steel or carpentry works, were carried out by Lebanese firms. The Serail covers 39,700 sq. m of floor space. The Grand Serail's four wings are disposed around

490-412: A majority of Sunni Muslims . It covered northern Syria in addition to the entire fertile basin of river Euphrates of eastern Syria. These regions represented much of the agricultural and mineral wealth of Syria. The autonomous Sanjak of Alexandretta was added to the state of Aleppo in 1923. The capital was the northern city of Aleppo , which had large Christian and Jewish communities in addition to

560-503: A new government headed by Hashim al-Atassi was formed on 7 May 1920. The new government decided to organize general conscription and began forming an army. These decisions provoked adverse reactions by France as well as by the Maronite patriarchate of Mount Lebanon, which denounced the decisions as a " coup d'état ". In Beirut , the Christian press expressed its hostility to the decisions of Faisal's government. Lebanese nationalists used

630-735: A new, mainly Christian, state of Greater Lebanon . A part of France's claim to these territories in the Levant was that France had been acknowledged as a protector of the minority Christian communities by the Ottoman Empire . In March 1920, the Congress in Damascus adopted a resolution rejecting the Faisal-Clemenceau accords. The congress declared the independence of Syria in her natural borders (including Southern Syria or Palestine), and proclaimed Faisal

700-527: A second floor was added and the ground floor repurposed as the cavalry stables. Between 1877 and 1894 major structural modifications were made which gave the Serail its final form. Sultan Abdülaziz (ruled 1861–1876) ordered the building of a hospital (Hastahane in Turkish , usually shortened to Hastane in current modern Turkish), which was built in 1865, people referred to it as the military infirmary. The hospital building included two wings. Its northern wing housed

770-638: A view to the formation of the territories of Greater Lebanon and the Ansarieh Mountains "; where the "Ansarieh Mountains" area was to become the Alawite State. On 31 August 1920, the same day that the decree creating Greater Lebanon was signed, General Gouraud signed Arrêté 319 delimiting the State of Alawites , and Arrêté 317 adding the caza of Massyaf (Omranie) into the new State. The State of Alawites (French: État des Alaouites , Arabic: دولة العلويين )

SECTION 10

#1732848069732

840-568: Is spelled serraglio . It may refer to a wall or structure, either for defence — such as the Serraglio of Villafranca di Verona , a defensive wall built by the Scaligeri — or for containment, for example of caged wild animals. The ghettoes established in many Italian cities following the promulgation by Pope Paul IV in 1555 of the papal bull Cum nimis absurdum were initially called serraglio degli ebrei , lit.   ' enclosure of

910-513: Is the headquarters of the prime minister . It is situated atop a hill in downtown Beirut a few blocks away from the Lebanese Parliament. The hill was the site of an Ottoman army base from the 1840s, which was built up, fortified, and expanded in the 1850s. At first it was known as al quishla , from the Turkish word kışla , meaning barracks. Other examples include: In modern Italian the word

980-749: The Alawite State , and the Jabal Druze State . Hatay State was annexed by Turkey in 1939. The French mandate lasted until 1946, when French troops eventually left Syria and Lebanon, which had both declared independence during World War II . With the defeat of the Ottomans in Syria, British troops, under General Sir Edmund Allenby , entered Damascus in 1918 accompanied by troops of the Arab Revolt led by Faisal , son of Hussein bin Ali, King of Hejaz . Faisal established

1050-789: The Flag of the Arab Revolt , the Grand Serail was turned into the headquarters of the French Governor , who was granted the title of high commissioner of the French Government in the Levant . From then on the Grand Serail was referred to as the High Commission. In 1926 the French introduced changes to the northern facade of the Grand Serail. Thus a lobed arch balcony above the decorated entrance replaced

1120-522: The Golan Region , there was a sizeable Circassian community. For the same reasons as their Assyrian, Kurdish and Bedouin counterparts in Al-Jazira province in 1936–1937, several Circassian leaders wanted a special autonomy status for their region in 1938, as they feared the prospect of living in an independent Syrian republic under a nationalist Arab government hostile towards the minorities. They also wanted

1190-621: The Hatay State became a Turkish province. On 24 October 1922, Arrêté 1641 established the " État autonome du Djebel druze " (" Autonomous State of Jabal Druze ") It was created for the Druze population of southern Syria . It had a population of some 50,000 and its capital in As-Suwayda . In 1936, both Jebel Druze and the Alawite State were incorporated into the State of Syria. In 1936–1937, there

1260-539: The Lebanese Republic . Most Muslims in Greater Lebanon rejected the new state upon its creation. Some believe that the continuous Muslim demand for reunification with Syria eventually brought about an armed conflict between Muslims and Christians in 1958 when Lebanese Muslims wanted to join the newly proclaimed United Arab Republic , while Lebanese Christians were strongly opposed. However, most members of

1330-535: The Selimiye Barracks in Istanbul . The finished structure consisted of two tall floors with the longer façade spreading over 80 metres (260 ft). The eastern façade is adorned by an arcaded protruding portico flanked by two symmetrical wings each divided by three rows of 16 windows. The monumentality of the building was further emphasized in 1861 when the military hospital was constructed. Particularly hit during

1400-772: The Alawite State were incorporated into the State of Syria. On 1 September 1920, the day after the creation of Greater Lebanon and the Alawite State, Arrêté 330 separated out of the previous "Gouvernement de Damas" ("Government of Damascus") an independent government known as the "Gouvernement d'Alep" ("Government of Aleppo"), including the autonomous sandjak of Alexandretta, which retained its administrative autonomy. The terms "Gouvernement d'Alep" "Gouvernement de Damas" were used interchangeably with "l'État d'Alep" and "l'État de Damas" – for example, Arrete 279 1 October 1920 stated in its preamble: "Vu l'arrêté No 330 du 1er Septembre 1920 créant l'État d'Alep". The State of Aleppo (1920–1925, French: État d'Alep , Arabic: دولة حلب ) included

1470-505: The Council for Development and Reconstruction and the Hamidiyyeh clock tower. After its victory over the Ottomans in 1831, an Egyptian military contingent, led by Ibrahim Pasha set up camp on the western slope of the strategic extramural hill overlooking Beirut . The hill overlooked Suq-al Munajjidin (the weavers' bazaar), now replaced with Banks Street, and skirting Tal’at al Amrican and

SECTION 20

#1732848069732

1540-513: The French-Turkish treaty settling the status of the Sanjak was signed on 4 July 1938. On 2 September 1938, the assembly proclaimed the Sanjak of Alexandretta as the Hatay State . The republic lasted for one year under joint French and Turkish military supervision. The name Hatay itself was proposed by Atatürk and the government was under Turkish control. In 1939, following a popular referendum,

1610-727: The Golan region to become a national homeland for Circassian refugees from the Caucasus. A Circassian battalion served in the French Army of the Levant and had helped it against the Arab nationalist uprisings. As in Al-Jazira Province, the French authorities refused to grant any autonomy status to the Golan Circassians. Already in 1921, the French wanted to develop the agricultural sector and over

1680-765: The Italian term. Since the Topkapı Palace's harem (commonly known as "The Seraglio harem" ) grew in prominence and fame, the term saray/serail/seraglio began also being commonly used as a synonym of harem , the sequestered living quarters used by wives and concubines in an Ottoman household. Besides the Topkapı Palace ("The Seraglio"), the most famous seray is the Grand Serail of Beirut ( Arabic : السراي الكبير , romanized :  Al-Sarāy al-Kabir ) in Lebanon, which

1750-601: The Jews ' . Seraglio is also the name of the artificial island on which Mantua is located. In the context of the turquerie fashion, the seraglio became the subject of works of art, the most famous perhaps being Mozart's 1782 Singspiel , Die Entführung aus dem Serail ( The Abduction from the Seraglio ), based on Christoph Friedrich Bretzner 's 1781 libretto Belmont und Constanze, oder Die Entführung aus dem Serail ( Belmonte and Konstanze, or The Abduction from

1820-502: The Lebanese Muslim communities and their political elites were committed to the idea of being Lebanese citizens by the late 1930s, even though they also tended to nurture Arab nationalist sentiments. On 19 August 1920, General Gouraud signed Arrêté 314 which added to the autonomous sandjak of Alexandretta the cazas of Jisr el-Choughour, the madriyehs of Baher and Bujack (caza of Latakia), the moudiriyeh of Kinsaba (caza of Sahyoun) "with

1890-589: The Lebanon ( French : Mandat pour la Syrie et le Liban ; Arabic : الانتداب الفرنسي على سوريا ولبنان , romanized :  al-intidāb al-faransī ʻalā sūriyā wa-lubnān , also referred to as the Levant States ; 1923−1946) was a League of Nations mandate founded in the aftermath of the First World War and the partitioning of the Ottoman Empire , concerning Syria and Lebanon . The mandate system

1960-473: The Seraglio ). In Montesquieu's 1721 Persian Letters , one of the main characters, a Persian from the city of Isfahan , is described as an occupant of a seraglio. Saraya is also used as a military unit title in the Arab world. In this case the Arabic is سرية , a different word from "saraya" ( السرايا ) as in a building. The etymology is also different from the building: سرية is from Arabic and communicates

2030-664: The Serail into the presidential headquarters before moving it to the Qantari Palace in Beirut . The Grand Serail became the headquarters of the Lebanese prime minister Riad as-Solh who was the first Prime Minister of Lebanon (1943–1945), after the country's independence and has been used as the Office of the president of the council of ministers headquarters ever since. The 2020 Beirut explosions occurred about 2 km (1.2 mi) away from

2100-507: The State of Damascus and the State of the Alawis. However, two and a half years later on 5 December 1924, Arrêté 2979 and Arrêté 2980 established the Alawite State as an independent state with Latakia as its capital, and separately unified the States of Aleppo and Damascus into a single State called "État de Syrie" ("State of Syria"), formally established on 1 January 1925. In 1936, both Jebel Druze and

2170-544: The Sunni Muslims. The state also incorporated minorities of Shiites and Alawites. Ethnic Kurds and Assyrians inhabited the eastern regions alongside the Arabs. The General Governors of the state were Kamil Pasha al-Qudsi (1920–1922) Mustafa Bey Barmada (1923) and Mar'i Pasha Al Mallah (1924-1925). The State of Damascus was a French mandate from 1920 to 1925. The capital was Damascus. The primarily Sunni population of

Grand Serail of Beirut - Misplaced Pages Continue

2240-576: The Syrian states. The Maronite Christians of Mount Lebanon , on the other hand, were a community with a dream of independence that was being realized under the French. Therefore, Greater Lebanon was the exception among the newly formed states. It took France three years from 1920 to 1923 to gain full control over Syria and to quell all the insurgencies that broke out, notably in the Alawite territories, Mount Druze and Aleppo . Although there were uprisings in

2310-401: The Turkish military went into the Syrian province and expelled most of its Alawite Arab and Armenian inhabitants. Before this, Alawi Arabs and Armenians were the majority of Alexandretta's population. The allocation of seats in the sanjak assembly was based on the 1938 census held by the French authorities under international supervision. The assembly was appointed in the summer of 1938, and

2380-500: The authority to independently decide policy. The small amount of power that local leaders had could easily be overruled by French officials. The French did everything in their power to prevent people in the Levant from developing self-sufficient governing bodies. On 3 August 1920, Arrêté 299 of the Haut-commissariat de la République française en Syrie et au Liban linked the cazas of Hasbaya, Rachaya, Maallaka and Baalbeck to what

2450-419: The autonomous Sanjak of Alexandretta (1921, modern-day Hatay ), and the State of Greater Lebanon (1920), which became later the modern country of Lebanon. The borders of these states were based in part on the sectarian geography in Syria. Many of the different Syrian sects were hostile to the French mandate and to the division it created, as shown by the numerous revolts that the French encountered in all of

2520-475: The building serves as the headquarters of the Lebanese Council for Development and Reconstruction . In 1897, a clock tower was built near the Grand Serail to celebrate the anniversary of Sultan Abdul Hamid II 's coronation and to make up for the absence of a public clock indicating mandatory Muslim prayer times especially that many foreign institutions had built western style clock towers. The construction of

2590-521: The cabinet room and ministers' offices. The ground floor consists of a banquet hall, two receptions areas, a press room and a courtyard. Finally, an underground level includes a car-park, offices and rooms for the personnel. In all the Grand Serail includes 430 rooms and chambers in addition to the quarters for the maintenance and other service rooms. The Hamidiyyah Clock Tower was designed by Youssef Aftimus , and restored in 1994 to its original condition. The Clock Tower stands 25 metres (82 ft) tall, it

2660-505: The city gate Bab Yaacub. In his book " Taqwim al-Ikbal " Sheik Abdel Basit al-Unsi describes the hill as being "well situated, west of the city, away from the population and overseeing the sea and Beirut". Beirutis customarily referred to the hill as Al-Thakanat . In 1840, the Ottoman Empire with the support of the Prussian , Russian, and English navies, recaptured Syria from Ibrahim Pasha and set up its military base there. The building

2730-480: The civil war, the Serail was a scarred site at the end of the hostilities. Its renovation to its present state of grandeur is a symbol of the vision and challenge involved in the BCD reconstruction. Restoration was completed in less than 3 years in 1998. Today, the Grand Serail is a blend of heritage architecture with a modern interior and high-tech amenities. A faithful adaptation of the original Ottoman structure resulted in

2800-559: The clock tower was approved by the Sultan following a letter of supplication from Beirut's governor Rashid Bey. The ceremonial laying of the first stone took place on 9 January 1897 (the birthday of the Sultan) in the presence of high officials, military representatives and members of the municipality of Beirut. In 1918 after the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in World war one, the Flag of the Arab Revolt

2870-488: The crisis against Faisal's government to convene a council of Christian figures in Baabda that proclaimed the independence of Lebanon on 22 March 1920. On 14 July 1920, General Gouraud issued an ultimatum to Faisal, giving him the choice between submission or abdication. Realizing that the power balance was not in his favor, Faisal chose to cooperate. However, the young minister of war, Youssef al-Azmeh , refused to comply. In

Grand Serail of Beirut - Misplaced Pages Continue

2940-503: The different states, the French deliberately gave different ethnic and religious groups in the Levant their own lands in the hopes of prolonging their rule. The French hoped to fragment the various groups in the region, to mitigate support for the Syrian nationalist movement seeking to end colonial rule. The administration of the state governments was heavily dominated by the French. Local authorities were given very little power and did not have

3010-515: The first new postwar Arab government in Damascus in October 1918, and named Ali Rikabi a military governor . The new Arab administration formed local governments in the major Syrian cities, and the pan-Arab flag was raised all over Syria. The Arabs hoped, with faith in earlier British promises, that the new Arab state would include all the Arab lands stretching from Aleppo in northern Syria to Aden in southern Yemen . However, in accordance with

3080-454: The four large French made clock faces which were especially imported by the Ottoman embassy. (See also: Ottoman architectural decoration ) Saray (building) A seraglio , serail , seray or saray (from Persian : سرای , romanized :  sarāy , lit.   'palace', via Turkish , Italian and French ) is a castle , palace or government building which

3150-599: The idea of a "private group". However the plural is سرايا ( saraya ), indistinguishable from the term "saraya" which is a variant (in the singular) of saray (the building). The normal translation for سرية is company ( military unit ), but in the case of the Lebanese Resistance Saraya the term is often arbitrarily translated as brigades . Another example is the Syrian Defense Saraya . French Mandate of Lebanon The Mandate for Syria and

3220-574: The king of all Arabs. Faisal invited Ali Rikabi to form a government. The congress also proclaimed political and economic union with neighboring Iraq and demanded its independence as well. On 25 April, the supreme inter-Allied council, which was formulating the Treaty of Sèvres , granted France the mandate of Syria (including Lebanon), and granted Britain the Mandate of Palestine (with Trans-Jordan later), and Iraq. Syrians reacted with violent demonstrations, and

3290-544: The local Arab governments in the region. France demanded full implementation of the Sykes–Picot Agreement, with Syria under its control. On 26 November 1919, British forces withdrew from Damascus to avoid confrontation with the French, leaving the Arab government to face France. Faisal had travelled several times to Europe since November 1918, trying to convince France and Britain to change their positions, but without success. France's determination to intervene in Syria

3360-653: The minority included dynamic Arab nationalist figures such as Jamil Mardam Bey , Shukri al-Kuwatli , Ahmad al-Qadri , Ibrahim Hanano , and Riyad as-Solh . The head was moderate nationalist Hashim al-Atassi . In June 1919, the American King–Crane Commission arrived in Syria to inquire into local public opinion about the future of the country. The commission's remit extended from Aleppo to Beersheba . They visited 36 major cities, met with more than 2,000 delegations from more than 300 villages, and received more than 3,000 petitions. Their conclusions confirmed

3430-476: The northern arched gate, which was moved to the southern entrance. The new balcony became a loggia for high commissioners and prime ministers' speeches. The French also removed a crown from over the arch of the northern entrance because it contained an engraved marble tablet showing the symbol of the Ottoman Empire . Sheik Bechara El Khoury , who was the first post-independence President of Lebanon , holding office from 21 September 1943 to 18 September 1952, turned

3500-552: The opposition of Syrians to the mandate in their country as well as to the Balfour Declaration , and their demand for a unified Greater Syria encompassing Palestine. The conclusions of the commission were ignored by both Britain and France. Unrest erupted in Syria when Faisal accepted a compromise with French Prime Minister Clemenceau . Anti- Hashemite demonstrations broke out, and Muslim inhabitants in and around Mount Lebanon revolted in fear of being incorporated into

3570-424: The palace, which sustained some damage. Prime Minister Hassan Diab 's wife and daughter sustained minor injuries, while his health advisor, Petra Khoury, was taken from the palace to the hospital for cuts that required stitching. The Grand Serail followed the architectural design epitomizing the new Ottoman military organization known as the "New Order" (niẓām cedīd). Its elevated location and austere façade copied

SECTION 50

#1732848069732

3640-489: The remaining troops possibly defected. General Goybet captured Damascus with little resistance on 24 July 1920, and the mandate was written in London two years later on 24 July 1922. Arriving in Lebanon , the French were received as liberators by the Christian community, but in the rest of Syria, they faced strong resistance. The mandate region was subdivided into six states. They were the states of Damascus (1920), Aleppo (1920), Alawites (1920), Jabal Druze (1921),

3710-411: The resulting Franco-Syrian War , Syrian troops under al-Azmeh, composed of the little remaining troops of the Arab army along with Bedouin horsemen and civilian volunteers, met the better trained 12,000-strong French forces under General Mariano Goybet at the Battle of Maysaloun . The French won the battle in less than a day and Azmeh died on the battlefield, along with many of the Syrian troops, while

3780-430: The secret Sykes–Picot Agreement between Britain and France, General Allenby assigned to the Arab administration only the interior regions of Syria (the eastern zone). Palestine (the southern zone) was reserved for the British. On 8 October, French troops disembarked in Beirut and occupied the Lebanese coastal region south to Naqoura (the western zone), replacing British troops there. The French immediately dissolved

3850-597: The states of Aleppo and Damascus were strongly opposed to the division of Syria. This resulted in its quick end in 1925, when France united the states of Aleppo and Damascus into the State of Syria. The Sanjak of Alexandretta became an autonomous province of Syria under Article 7 of the French-Turkish treaty of 20 October 1921 : "A special administrative regime shall be established for the district of Alexandretta. The Turkish inhabitants of this district shall enjoy facility for their cultural development. The Turkish language shall have official recognition". In 1923, Alexandretta

3920-428: The war—the British held control of most of Ottoman Iraq (now Iraq ) and the southern part of Ottoman Syria ( Palestine and Transjordan ), while the French controlled the rest of Ottoman Syria (including Lebanon , Alexandretta , and portions of Cilicia ). In the early 1920s, British and French control of these territories became formalized by the League of Nations ' mandate system. And on 29 September 1923 France

3990-406: Was Beirut. The new state was granted a flag, merging the French flag with the cedar of Lebanon . Maronites were the majority in Lebanon and managed to preserve its independence; an independence that created a unique precedent in the Arab world, as Lebanon was the first Arab country in which Christians were not a minority. The State of Greater Lebanon existed until 23 May 1926, after which it became

4060-453: Was assigned the League of Nations mandate of Syria, which included the territory of present-day Lebanon and Alexandretta in addition to modern Syria. The administration of the region under the French was carried out through a number of different governments and territories, including the Syrian Federation (1922–1924), the State of Syria (1925–1930) and the Mandatory Syrian Republic (1930–1946) , as well as smaller states: Greater Lebanon ,

4130-431: Was attached to the State of Aleppo , and in 1925 it was directly attached to the French mandate of Syria, still with special administrative status. The sanjak was given autonomy in November 1937 in an arrangement brokered by the League. Under its new statute, the sanjak became 'distinct but not separated' from the French Mandate of Syria on the diplomatic level, linked to both France and Turkey for defence matters. In 1938,

4200-401: Was briefly hoisted over the Grand Serail until the arrival of the allied forces who entered Lebanon by land and from the sea and occupied Beirut and the entire Lebanese coast on 8 October 1918. French colonel Depiepape was appointed by the commander of the allied forces General Allenby , he took control of the grand Serail and became the military governor of the country. With the removal of

4270-658: Was considered to have particular administrative importance in various parts of the former Ottoman Empire . "The Seraglio" may refer specifically to the Topkapı Palace , the residence of the former Ottoman sultans in Istanbul (known as Constantinople in English at the time of Ottoman rule). The term can also refer to other traditional Turkish palaces (every imperial prince had his own) and other grand houses built around courtyards. The term seraglio , from Italian , has been used in English since 1581. The Italian Treccani dictionary gives two derivations: The term may also be spelt serail , via French influence, based on

SECTION 60

#1732848069732

4340-408: Was first used as the headquarters of military and civilian departments and, after expansion, became the headquarters of Ottoman governors. Beirutis referred to it then as Al-Quishleh (modern Turkish : Kışla ), a Turkish word for "Garrison". The fortification of the barracks began in 1853, and it was further expanded during the Crimean war . The building consisted of a single floor until 1856, when

4410-430: Was inspired by the Beiteddine Palace 's gates. In the middle of entrance's arch a marble tablet was inscribed under the request of prime minister Rafik Hariri which reads: Arabic : لو دامت لغيرك لما اتصلت إليك , romanized :  If political rule lasts perpetually for anyone, it would not have reached you . The two upper floors comprise the Prime Minister's residence and office, offices for his staff, as well as

4480-403: Was located on the Syrian coast and incorporated a majority of Alawites , a branch of Shia Islam . The port city of Latakia was the capital of this state. Initially it was an autonomous territory under French rule known as the "Alawite Territories". It became part of the Syrian Federation in 1922, but left the federation again in 1924 and became the "State of Alawites". On 22 September 1930, it

4550-409: Was renamed the "Independent Government of Latakia ". The population at this time was 278,000. The government of Latakia finally joined the Syrian Republic on 5 December 1936. This state witnessed several rebellions against the French, including that of Salih al-Ali (1918–1920). On 28 June 1922, Arrêté 1459 created a " Federation of the Autonomous States of Syria " which included the State of Aleppo,

4620-399: Was shown by the naming of General Henri Gouraud as high commissioner in Syria and Cilicia . At the Paris Peace Conference , Faisal found himself in an even weaker position when the European powers decided to renege on the promises made to the Arabs. In May 1919, elections were held for the Syrian National Congress , which convened in Damascus. 80% of seats went to conservatives. However,

4690-447: Was some autonomist agitation among Assyrians and Kurds , supported by some Bedouins , in the province of Al-Jazira. Its partisans wanted the French troops to stay in the province in the event of a Syrian independence, as they feared the nationalist Damascus government would replace minority officials by Muslim Arabs from the capital. The French authorities refused to consider any new status of autonomy inside Syria. In Quneitra and

4760-432: Was supposed to differ from colonialism , with the governing country intended to act as a trustee until the inhabitants were considered eligible for self-government . At that point, the mandate would terminate and a sovereign state would be born. During the two years that followed the end of the war in 1918—and in accordance with the Sykes–Picot Agreement signed by the United Kingdom and French Third Republic during

4830-415: Was the tallest structure in Beirut at the time of its completion. It was built of Beiruti sandstone , Jounieh limestone , Damascene Basalt and Deir el Qamar red stone. The clock tower's 300 kg bell, suspended on the third floor was accessible by a set of 125 cast iron steps inside the tower's 4 by 4 metres (13 ft) shaft. This floor has four miniature neo-orientalist style balconies topped by

4900-420: Was then known as the Autonomous Territory of Lebanon. Then on 31 August 1920, General Gouraud signed Arrêté 318 delimiting the State of Greater Lebanon, with explanatory notes stating that Lebanon would be treated separately from the rest of Syria. On 1 September 1920, General Gouraud publicly proclaimed the creation of the State of Greater Lebanon (French: État du Grand Liban , Arabic: دولة لبنان الكبير ) at

#731268