DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.4642#0046
GENERAL VIEW OF SIDON, LOOKING TOWARDS LEBANON.
The view of Sidon and the hills from this point is of a very commanding character, and may give some
conception of the " Queen City," in the days of her original opulence and beauty. But the buildings
to which Sidon owes its chief present distinction, the Serail, the Khan, and other stately structures, were
the work of an extraordinary individual, so late as the seventeenth century.
The defeat of the Druses by Amurath III. (a.d. 1588) had changed a nation of free, but rival
tribes, into a dependent government. Fakhr-ed-din, a Druse, was the chief appointed by the Sultan.
He commenced his career by a display of activity and courage. The Arabs, taking advantage of the
war, had covered the country between the mountains and the shore, with blood and plunder. The new
Emir suddenly gathered an army, attacked the invaders, and after a succession of bold encounters, drove
them back into the Desert.
His victory had brought him to the sea-shore; and his views enlarged with his fortunes; the soldier
became a statesman. Venice was then carrying on the richest commerce of the world. Fakhr-ed-din
drove out the Aga of Beyrout; made himself master of the city, and commenced a commerce with the
Venetians. Within the next twenty years he had extended his authority over the principal cities of
Northern Syria. The Pashas of Damascus and Tripoli vainly complained, fought, and intrigued against
him. He beat them both in the field, and bribed higher than either at Constantinople. But at length
the jealousy of the Porte was fully roused; a Turkish force was marched into Syria, and the Emir of
the Druses felt that he must look beyond the barren resources of his principality, or perish in a conflict
with a power which still made Christendom tremble.
Fakhr-ed-din now formed the bold resolution of enlisting his European allies in his cause; and
from Beyrout he put to sea for Italy. The court of the Medici was then in its splendour; he sailed to
Florence, and was received with the pompous hospitality of the Italians, augmented at once by the
gallantry of his achievements, and the mystery of his origin. It had long been a national dream, that a
remnant of the Crusaders had formed a sovereignty among the mountains; and the daring valour and
old independence of the Druses were regarded as proofs of their descent from that noble band. The
Emir also either found or feigned a chivalric connexion with the House of Lorraine, and the priesthood
and poets of Italy were soon enthusiastic in the cause of a prince who had come to restore romance
and religion among the forests and valleys of Lebanon.
Fakhr-ed-din returned, after an absence of nine years. But Florence had been to him what Capua
was to the Carthaginian. The hardy mountaineer returned the Italian voluptuary. He built gilded
palaces and marble baths, planted European gardens, and even adorned his pavilions with pictures, the
abomination of the Koran. He rashly abandoned his stronghold in the hills, and led a life of luxury
among the shades and breezes of the shore.
But his evil day was at hand; his indignant subjects deserted him; his sovereign, Amurath IV.
resolved on his extinction; and the Pasha of Damascus marching a powerful army against the Emir's
troops, after two defeats, gained a third bloody battle, in which Fakhr-ed-din saw his gallant son Ali fall,
and himself undone. Still his spirit was unbroken; he took refuge in one of his mountain fortresses;
and though now deprived of all allies, and advanced in age, he made a daring defence, and after a
year of heroism, saw the enemy retire in exhaustion from the walls. But intrigue accomplished what
could not be done by arms. He was seized by a band of conspirators, and betrayed to the Sultan.
The captive was received at Constantinople with honour, but his fate was already sealed in the Divan;
he was thrown into a dungeon, and after a brief period of confinement, strangled, at the age of seventy
(a.d. 1633).1
t
1 Sandvs's Travels. D'Arvieux, i.
The view of Sidon and the hills from this point is of a very commanding character, and may give some
conception of the " Queen City," in the days of her original opulence and beauty. But the buildings
to which Sidon owes its chief present distinction, the Serail, the Khan, and other stately structures, were
the work of an extraordinary individual, so late as the seventeenth century.
The defeat of the Druses by Amurath III. (a.d. 1588) had changed a nation of free, but rival
tribes, into a dependent government. Fakhr-ed-din, a Druse, was the chief appointed by the Sultan.
He commenced his career by a display of activity and courage. The Arabs, taking advantage of the
war, had covered the country between the mountains and the shore, with blood and plunder. The new
Emir suddenly gathered an army, attacked the invaders, and after a succession of bold encounters, drove
them back into the Desert.
His victory had brought him to the sea-shore; and his views enlarged with his fortunes; the soldier
became a statesman. Venice was then carrying on the richest commerce of the world. Fakhr-ed-din
drove out the Aga of Beyrout; made himself master of the city, and commenced a commerce with the
Venetians. Within the next twenty years he had extended his authority over the principal cities of
Northern Syria. The Pashas of Damascus and Tripoli vainly complained, fought, and intrigued against
him. He beat them both in the field, and bribed higher than either at Constantinople. But at length
the jealousy of the Porte was fully roused; a Turkish force was marched into Syria, and the Emir of
the Druses felt that he must look beyond the barren resources of his principality, or perish in a conflict
with a power which still made Christendom tremble.
Fakhr-ed-din now formed the bold resolution of enlisting his European allies in his cause; and
from Beyrout he put to sea for Italy. The court of the Medici was then in its splendour; he sailed to
Florence, and was received with the pompous hospitality of the Italians, augmented at once by the
gallantry of his achievements, and the mystery of his origin. It had long been a national dream, that a
remnant of the Crusaders had formed a sovereignty among the mountains; and the daring valour and
old independence of the Druses were regarded as proofs of their descent from that noble band. The
Emir also either found or feigned a chivalric connexion with the House of Lorraine, and the priesthood
and poets of Italy were soon enthusiastic in the cause of a prince who had come to restore romance
and religion among the forests and valleys of Lebanon.
Fakhr-ed-din returned, after an absence of nine years. But Florence had been to him what Capua
was to the Carthaginian. The hardy mountaineer returned the Italian voluptuary. He built gilded
palaces and marble baths, planted European gardens, and even adorned his pavilions with pictures, the
abomination of the Koran. He rashly abandoned his stronghold in the hills, and led a life of luxury
among the shades and breezes of the shore.
But his evil day was at hand; his indignant subjects deserted him; his sovereign, Amurath IV.
resolved on his extinction; and the Pasha of Damascus marching a powerful army against the Emir's
troops, after two defeats, gained a third bloody battle, in which Fakhr-ed-din saw his gallant son Ali fall,
and himself undone. Still his spirit was unbroken; he took refuge in one of his mountain fortresses;
and though now deprived of all allies, and advanced in age, he made a daring defence, and after a
year of heroism, saw the enemy retire in exhaustion from the walls. But intrigue accomplished what
could not be done by arms. He was seized by a band of conspirators, and betrayed to the Sultan.
The captive was received at Constantinople with honour, but his fate was already sealed in the Divan;
he was thrown into a dungeon, and after a brief period of confinement, strangled, at the age of seventy
(a.d. 1633).1
t
1 Sandvs's Travels. D'Arvieux, i.