Politics Religion and State building (11th – 16th/19th centuries)

A member of the Safavid dynasty, Abbas became shah in 1587, reorganised the army, conquered Afghanistan, forced the Uzbeks back in the North and, in 1606, inflicted a defeat on the Ottomans in the West. His empire stretched from the Caucasus to Baghdad.

Ibn Tumart's successor as Almohad leader. A low-born Berber, he was much taken with the religious approach of that preacher returning from the East. When the former took refuge in the High Atlas and declared himself to be the Mahdi, he came to join him. Having successfully imposed himself as his successor, Abd al-Mumin won a crucial victory against Catalan mercenaries in the Almoravids' pay in 1154. He laid siege to Marrakesh in 1147 and conquered it by eliminating the Almoravids' followers whom he chased right into Andalusia. He also led a victorious conquest of Eastern territories. He moved to centralise power and to get some regularity in the collection of tax revenues. He was capable of leniency as well as of violence. He has left no writing. His reign marked the height of Berber-held power.

Abdallah al-Ghazwani (died in 1528 in Marrakesh was the leader of a foremost religious Jazouli brotherhood. Several of his disciples played a major part in the building of the Saadian state. He is remembered for his mystic devotion and his effort to counter the effects of the crisis that devastated the Moroccan countryside at the beginning of the 16th century.

Hailing from Mesopotamia, the Halabi family settled in Damascus having first lived in Alepo in 1792-93. Abdallah al-Halabi held a teaching position at the Great Mosque of Damascus in 1844, after his father's demise. Appointed rais al ulama head of the Ulama (see this word), he kept open house. Biographers see him as the “leader of the aristocracy who was able to resolve the problems of the people and all the classes”. He had considerable influence over Istanbul's sheikh al Islam (highest religious authority). For the French Consul, he was the most enigmatic and the most compromised figure in the 1860 debacle master-minded by the anti-tanzimat forces in Istanbul. M Outrey avers that “it is materially impossible for a movement to have developed in Damascus without his assent”. An anonymous Christian chronicler wrote that the riots started after a meeting held by Halabi at the Great mosque. Following these events, he was exiled to Izmir (Smyrna). He returned to Damascus after the general amnesty. He died there a few years later and was buried with all due ceremony.

Berber born in what is today Southern Morocco, founder of the Almoravid movement which he built around three lines of conduct: education, science and military training. He took with him a military commander, Yahya ibn Umar from the Lamtuna tribe with a view to create a powerful military force. Fighting first black kingdoms to the south (the “Ghana” Empire from 1054) he later turned northwards fighting those peoples deemed “heretic”.

Born in a wealthy family in Aleppo, he studied philosophy with Boutros al-Toulawi and law with famous Muslim ulama. With three friends from Aleppo, he founded the Lebanese Maronite Order in 1695. He drafted its first rule and a book on spirituality called The Monastic Lamp in which he drew on and quoted from the great spiritual masters both from the Eastern and Western traditions. He wrote two law books which the Maronites adopted as a code that brought them closer to the Muslims alongside whom they had to live.

Emir of Mascara, Algeria, he was educated in a Sufi zawiya, he took up arms to oppose French colonisation until 1847. He was detained in France for five years. In 1853, he settled in Bursa in the Ottoman Empire before finally moving to Damascus in 1855. His intervention in favour of the Christians at the time of the Damascus massacres earned him the gratitude of the European Powers and the churches' authorities.

Second son of Caliph Harun al-Rashid, he seized power after rebelling against his brother whom he had sentenced to death. Supported by the Persians he had to see off much sedition and fought a war against the Byzantines. His reign witnessed a thriving literary and scientific activity based on a body of translations into Arabic of Persian, Aramaic and Greek texts, the commentaries of these works and the organizing of the knowledge available at the time in ad hoc sites such as the mythical Bayt al-Hikma (“house of wisdom”)

The pasha of Acre then of Sidon (1819-1832), he imposed a harsh taxation policy upon Mount Lebanon. Constantly rising the rate of imposition, he created divisions among the ruling clans. He adopted discriminatory measures against the Christians. Taken prisoner by Ibrahim Pasha after the fall of Acre in 1832 he was sent to Egypt, where he was received with due ceremony by Muhammad Ali before setting off for Constantinople.

Noble family with roots in the Arabic Himyar tribe from Yemen. One of its branches migrated towards the Syro-Lebanese regions and took control of the key province of the Matn. The battle of Ain Dare in 1711 reinforced the Shihab dynasty's power and confirmed the ascendency of the Abil Lamas among the aristocratic families as they could henceforth marry in the Shihab clan. In both families conversions to Maronite Christianity took place towards the end of the 18th century. When the emirate fell at the hand of the Ottomans, the Abil Lamas found themselves propelled centre stage to govern the Kaymakamate. They would continue to hold high office during the mutasarrifiyya and within the Lebanese Republic.

Religious leader of the Zawiya of Illigh in the Sous region where he was a key figure.

Trained in the Mutazilah, al-Ash'ari cut himself off from its principles against which he lead the charge, relying on the Hanbalite corpus whose partisans criticize the autonomy of reason. He opposed the doctrine of a created Qu'ran but he also dismissed the position according to which, the sounds and the ink of the text are eternal: for him the uncreated nature of the Qu'ran must be understood as a divine attribute. Major Sunni scholars, such as al-Ghazali took their lead from him.

Brother of Yahya ibn Umar and leader of the Almoravids from 1056 to 1061, he kept up conquest endeavours enrolling his cousin Yûsuf Ibn Tashfîn's support. To him he surrendered his powers and his wife before withdrawing in the desert where he died 25 years later.

Famous Sunni scholar in the Asharite tradition, Ghazali received legal and philosophical training and adhered to Sufism. It is his very knowledge of philosophy and the trends of thought of his times, including those of the Shia Ismaeli doctrine that earned Ghazali's arguments the support of many of his coreligionists. Deliverance from Error and The Incoherence of the Philosophers stand among his most significant works; the latter targeting Avicenna (ibn Sina) was in turn disputed by philosopher Averroes ((Ibn Rushd, 1126-1198) in his Incoherence of the Incoherence.

Moroccan sovereign from 1348 to 1358, remembered for his cultural projects and his foreign policy towards Christendom. His reign enjoyed political and social stability.

Preacher and author, he was the last “Mahdi” to seize power in the Maghreb. He was a fakih, fully versed in Islamic law and an Imam and he authored a collection of manuscripts.

Scholar, jurist, kalam specialist, historiographer and poet born in Cordoba. Having grown up in an Andalusia troubled by inner strife, he evolved a rigorist thinking, centred on the unalterable essence of “Muslim law” while remaining opposed to formalism. His doctrine does not come under any of the four major Sunni schools of legal thought, it belongs with Zahirite law which rejected the use of analogy and personal opinion.

Druze aristocratic family. Scions of the Arab Taghleb tribe, the Nakads are said to have taken part in the conquest of the Maghreb and to have arrived with the Fatimids in Egypt and northern Syria where they adopted the Druze religion. Some sources suggest that they also fought the Franks. Upon the advent of the Shihabs, they became overlords (Muqata'ji) of two sectors: el Manasif where the emirs' residence of Deir al-Qumar was to be found and ech-Chahhar. They held the balance of power between the Jumblatti and the Yazkabi. They joined forces with Emir Yusuf in his fight against Jazzar Pasha. As early as 1797, Emir Bashir II was clipping their wings, first through his centralization drive. They fought back during the Emir's exile and, intent on recovering their privileges, were party to the 1840's conflicts between Druzes and Maronites.

Prior of the Dominicans in Geneva in 1357, he became vicar general to the Bishop of Geneva. On 12 July 1385, he was ordained bishop of Geneva and died in Avignon in 1388. In 1387, he granted the Genevans a Charter of Franchises which he had recorded in writing.

The first Saadian sovereign. He became emir of the Souss (south-western Morocco in 1510 then Sultan of the Southern kingdom. He was deposed by his brother Muhammad ash-Shaykh in 1541.

Ahmad bin Muhamad bin Yusuf al-Khalidi al-Safadi was born in Safad. His date of birth is not known but he is known to have died in 1625. He went to Cairo to study at Al Azhar University: fiqh (jurisprudence), tafsir (the commentary of the Quran), the Hadith (tradition as a record of the deeds and sayings of the Prophet of Islam), history and prosody. Upon his return home, he became a teacher, a judge, a mufti and a writer.

Sixth Saadian Sultan, he seized power after the death of his brother Abd Al Malik at the battle of the Wadi al-Makhāzin (1578) also known as the Battle of the Three kings or the Battle of Ksar el-Kebir. He was nicknamed Eddahbi after his conquest of the Sudan ( which then covered vast tracts of Western Africa). He built a huge kingdom stretching from the Niger River in the south to Tangiers in the north on the strength of his religious policy and his mastery of balance of power diplomacy in his dealings with the Iberian and Ottoman powers. After his conquest of western Soudan, he stated his ambition to create and African caliphate on the eastern model of the Muslim caliphate. Though he failed in this he succeeded in reorganising the Moroccan kingdom. He is famed for the great buildings he had erected such as the al-Badi palace in Marrakesh. Al Mansur's reign marks the cultural and artistic rebirth of a Morocco in the making. Its growth was economically sustained by the cultivation of sugar cane on the one hand and, on the other, by the importation from Western Africa of gold seized after his victory over the Songhai Empire. Al Mansur sensed that it was important for Morocco to look west.

The grand-son of Emir Yunus, Fakhr al-Din's younger brother he was the last Ma'anite emir who reigned from 1658 to 1697. He reinstated the relations with Tuscany, led a revolt against the Ottomans and succeeded in holding on to the throne until his death in 1697. The Ma'an's dynasty died with him.

In 1825, he sided with Sheikh Bashir Jumblatt against Emit Bashir II and escaped to Hauran. He paid a fine upon returning to Lebanon but soon moved away, living in Anatolia, then in Acre by Abdullah Pasha. He opposed Ibrahim Pasha's campaign and fought him at Homs and Konya. Returned to Mount Lebanon in 1840 after the Egyptian army's evacuation, he became the first Kaimakam for the Southern half of the Mountain in 1843, thanks to an agreement with the community's lords. He was able to conciliate them and remained in his post until Shekib Effendi dis missed him because of the 1845 events. He settled in Beirut and died of cholera in 1847.

Abu Abdallah al-Qaim bi Amrillah (died 1518) is the founder of the Saadian dynasty. He is known for instigating the jihad against the Portuguese in the Moroccan south. Originally Mohammad ibn ‘Abd ar-Rahmān, his chosen name, meaning “the one called by God”, reflects a Shia/Mahdist influence.

The second son of Ferdinand I (d. 1065) and was king of Leon (1065-1109) and Castile (1072-1109). He saw in the disintegration of the Cordoban caliphate his opportunity to take advantage of internal divisions in the Muslim camp and to seize Toledo (1085), once the capital city of the Visigoth kingdom where he moved his seat of power.

King of Castile and León (1252-1284). Sovereign known for the many cultural projects he undertook, notably with a view to reinforce royal power. His endeavours in the domain of legislation earned him the byname of “el Sabio” (the “Wise”). But his centralisation drive met with powerful opposition and his reign ended in a civil war.

Cousin and son in law of the Prophet of Islam, Muhammad. He is the fourth “Caliph” for the Sunni and the first “Imam” for the Shiia who did not accept the choice of Abu Bakr as “caliph” in 632. He was murdered in 661 by a member of the Kharajite faction who blamed him for not leading with all possible means the fight against the governor of Damascus Muawiyah who founded the Ummayad dynasty in 661

Son of Yusuf ibn Tashfin, he became the almoravids' leader after his father's death.

Ali Jambulad (Jumblatt) was the Pasha of Aleppo who controlled the sandjaks of Aazaz and Killis. Having forged relations with Persia, Spain and the grand-duchy of Tuscany, he seceded from the Ottoman Empire only to be defeated in 1607 by the Sultan who had him executed in 1611.

Politico-religious movement started in the heart of the Atlas among Berber tribes in 1225 and which dominated the Maghreb and the Iberian peninsula between 1148 and 1269. The dynasty assumed caliphal dignity from the outset with Abd al-Mumin's investiture.

Third son of Bashir II. He undertook several civil and military missions in Mount Lebanon then accompanied his father in exile in Istanbul where he converted to Islam.

Roman Emperor (basileus) of Constantinople from 491 to 518. His advocating a conciliatory approach towards the upholders of the monophysite doctrine, lead to a breach with a Rome unprepared to entertain any compromise.

Arnulf, also known as Arnulf of Carinthia, king of Bavaria: He was the illegitimate son of Carloman, son of Louis the German who had inherited Bavaria at the death of his father. In the eyes of the nobles and of the contemporaries, he remained first and foremost a Carolingian, in the direct descent of Charlemagne.

Druze aristocratic family that moved to the region at the time of the early Abbassid caliphs. They bore the title of emir and took an active part in the Emirate's political life. The Arslan emirs held the position of Kaymakam: (Ahmad 1796-1847), (Amine 1809-1858). Other emirs played an important regional part within or without the borders of today's Lebanon, such were Chakib Arslan (1869-1946), his brother Adel Arslan (1887-1954), Fouad Arslan (1874-1930), Majid Arslan (1908-1983) 13 times elected as an MP and several time a minister, notably of defence.

Wali of Sidon between September 1842 and April 1845. He kept the Kaimakamate regime going with total even-handedness and forced the respect of the populations as well as of the European consuls.

Hailing from Yemen the Ma'qil Arabs moved from Egypt to Ifriqiya under the Fatimids in the 9th century, there to induce diverse revolts so that they were transported on an Almohad decision to the Maghreb al-Aqsa. In the 13th century, having trekked along the northern edge of the Sahara, they reached the Atlantic coast. They destroyed the towns in the hinterlands. The coastal towns alone managed to hold out in that part of what is today Morocco.

A Moroccan dynasty connected to the Marinids who reigned from the middle of the 15th to the middle of the 16th century. It is known for its defence of the land against Iberian (Portuguese or Spanish) inroads.

Founder of a zawyia near Taroudant. He is remembered for his role in the unification of the South Moroccan tribes and his involvement in setting up the Saadians' power.

He was one of the most powerful and wealthy Druze leaders of his age. Emir Bashir involved him in the running of the emirate until 1823. From that date, the Sheikh had other loyalties. Their opposition flared into an armed struggle which the Emir won. As he fled to the Hauran, the Sheikh was captured by the Pasha of Damas who delivered him in the hands of his opposite number in Acre, Abdullah Pasha. He was strangled at the request of Muhammad Ali in 1825.

Count of Armagnac from 1391 to 1418. Through the marriage of his daughter Bonne to Charles of Orléans, he became a leading figure in the Orléans clan that sought to avenge the murder in 1407 of Duke Louis on the orders of the Duke of Burgundy John the Fearless, and gave it his name. In 1415 after the Agincourt rout, he was in charge of the Dauphin's government but in 1418 he was unable to prevent the fall of Paris when he was murdered.

He undertook the Campaign of Egypt to break British domination in Eastern Mediterranean and in India. His military expedition had important scientific fallouts. It gave birth to the new science of Egyptology but more importantly it awoke in the Arab world an interest in European developments be they technical, scientific, cultural or political.

Pope from 1295 to 1303, he vigorously upheld the authority of the papacy over the monarchies, relying to that end on the doctrine of pontifical theocracy according to which the church should be the ultimate political power. More particularly, he stood for pontifical monopoly over church taxation and justice which set him on a collision course with Philip. The king of France used accusations emanating from the pope's personal enemies regarding his election in particular, to call him to trial. This occasioned a scene during which the pope was set about (slapped, according to legend) later referred to as the schiaffio di Anagni ("Anagni slap"). He died soon afterwards.

After studying in Rome, he became Patriarch Yusuf Hubaysh's secretary. He was elected Patriarch in 1854. Constantly pressed to intervene in public affairs, he went and sought support in several capital cities (Rome, Paris, Constantinople).

Born to a noble Homs family converted to (Melkite) Catholicism and settled in Mount Lebanon to escape the animosity of the Greek Orthodox. Boutros Karame made contact with Nicolas al-Turk who introduced him to Bashir II in 1813. He became his respected vizier and went into exile with him. He died in Constantinople in 1851, leaving a book of poetry.

Henry II's wife and mother to kings Francis II, Charles IX, and Henry III of France, she effectively ruled the country during Charles IX's minority; She went to great length to preserve her sons' inheritance, holding a middle-of-the-road policy between Protestant and Catholic forces.

Carolus Magnus, known as Charlemagne sovereign of the Frankish kingdom from 768 to 814. At the death of his father (Pepin III the Short, he accessed  power and promptly sidelined his brother to govern alone. Although he did not found it, he left his name to the Carolingian dynasty because of the prestige associated to his person and reign. Through conquest (Bavaria, Italy, Saxony, Catalonia) he considerably enlarged the kingdom the organisation of which he developed around a royal court which he had soon fixed in Aachen. The imperial coronation in Rome on 25 December 800 consecrated the return of a Christian Empire in the West. This political re-birth of the Christian West was also a cultural revival which saw the thriving of arts and letters. At his death in 814, he left to his son Louis the Pious a prosperous empire, a fitting match for the Eastern Byzantine Empire.

King of Navarre and Earl of Évreux, son of Capetian prince Philip of Évreux and of Joan of Navarre who was the daughter of Louis X the Headstrong he laid claim to the throne of France but was defeated at Cocherel in 1364 by Charles V's army.

King of France from 1364 to 1380. Essentially thanks to the Fabian strategy adopted by Bertrand du Guesclin, Constable of France, he was back in a commanding position against the English foe who, at the end of his reign only controlled a handful of ports in France, Bayonne, Bordeaux, Brest, Cherbourg and Calais.

Holy Roman Emperor. Born in Ghent in 1500, died in Spain in 1558, son of Philip the Handsome, Duke of Burgundy and Joana of Castile, he inherited, as the hazards of biology would have it, from all his grand-parents and thus found himself in charge of Spain and its colonies, the Low Countries, and the hereditary states of the House of Habsburg, Austria and Bohemia. Elected for good measure Emperor in 1519 he was locked in an ongoing but inconclusive conflict with the kingdom of France, which was hemmed in by all his possessions. Often detained by Spanish or Low Countries affairs, he was not able to stem the rise of Lutheranism in the Empire nor could he succeed in centralizing this very loose collection of states.

King of France from 1380 to 1422. A minor until 1388 he thereafter ruled in his own right only to be beset by recurrent bouts of madness from 1392 on. During his long reign, France suffered civil war and further English invasion.

King of France from 1422 to 1461. In the framework of the Hundred Years War, his legitimacy had been disputed, notably by the king of England who laid claim to the French crown and occupied the north of the country. Charles finally succeeded in gaining the upper hand, not least thanks to Joan of Arc's action in 1429.

Pope between 1305 and 1314, He succeeded Boniface VIII whose memory he sought to protect as Philip the Fair had undertaken to have him condemned by religious authorities. French born and bred and willing to compromise he tried in vain to save the Order of the Temple. His ongoing negotiations with the king of France led to his settling down in Avignon in 1309.

Austrian diplomat and statesman. He was ambassador in Paris in 1806-09 then became foreign minister. He aligned Austria against Napoleonic France in the sixth Coalition. The moving force behind the Congress of Vienna (1814-15) he reasserted Austria's power in Germany and in Italy. Chancellor after 1821, he was swept away in the wake of the 1848 Revolutions.

Colonel Rose's military career spans England, Ireland, Malta, Lebanon, Syria, Crimea, India. In 1841, Palmerston appointed him Consul-General in Beirut, a position he held until 1848. He assisted in the establishment of American missionaries in Lebanon, was party to extending British protection to the Druze and was broadly involved in the events of the time. The Foreign Office holds his voluminous correspondence which reflects the British perspective on the “Eastern Question”.

Russian diplomat, writer and Orientalist, born in a well-off family known for its opposition to the Ottomans. In 1772, his grand-father was backing the Albanian uprising and his father supported the Greek movement for independence in 1821. He was appointed minister for Asia at the Russian Foreign Office in 1833 , then, in 1838, consul in Beirut against a background of competition between the Powers for the control of the Ottoman Empire. Basili defended his country's interests and those of his Orthodox coreligionists. He put it to them that only the Russians could protect them and that they must stick together. He remained in post from 1839 to 1845 and handled the Egypto-Ottoman crisis and the prodromes of the Crimean war. He wrote a book about Syria and Palestine under the Ottomans.

Roman emperor (306-337), founder of Constantinople. Converted to Christianity, he notably promulgated in 313 the Edict of Milan, an edict of tolerance putting an end to Christian persecutions.

King of England from 1327 to 1377. Grandson of Philip the Fair by his mother Isabella, he claimed the crown of France starting in 1337, thereby starting the Hundred Years War. Victorious at Crécy in 1346 and at Poitiers in 1356, he acquired through the 1360 Treaty of Brétigny an enlarged Aquitaine free from homage to the king of France. However his reign closed on Charles V's recovery of the ground lost after 1368.

King of England from 1461 to 1483. Having defeated Henry VI at Towton he was crowned in Westminster abbey. In 1470, he was facing a Lancastrian counter-offensive but got the better of it at Tewkesbury in 1471.

Was born in Edde in the province of Byblos. This poet served the Emirs Yusuf and Bashir Shihab but also Jazzar Pasha whom he parted with because of his cruelty. He left one book of poetry. Some of his poems are in print.

Undoubtedly the greatest and best known humanist. He remained faithful to the Roman Church.

Born in Ehden. He was sent to the Maronite College in Rome by Patriarch Gewargios I (George) Omaira (1633-1644). He stayed there for 14 years. A priest in 1656, he was ordained bishop of Cyprus in 1668 then Patriarch in 1670.

In the 19th century, in the context of clashes between Druze and Maronite, Tannous al Shidyac would put a different spin on the story, writing that Qorqmaz' sons were entrusted to Ibrahim Abou Sakr el Khazen, a prominent Kersouan Maronite.

Daughter of the Prophet Muhammad, wife to Ali, mother of Hasan and Husayn, considered as the 2nd and 3rd Imams by the Shia.

Younger brother of Charles V, king of Bohemia from 1526, elected emperor in 1556, he had a sound grasp of German affairs and was the leading architect of the Peace of Augsburg and  its enforcement.

Ferdinand III king of Castile (1217-1252 then of León (1230-1252). Starting in 1225, he conquered Almohad Andalousia thanks to the decisive victory won by his grand-father Alfonso VIII in 1212 at Las Navas de Tolosa. Significant military operations and the handing out of new territories enabled him smoothly to achieve a dynastic union between Castile and León.

Ferdinando I, fifth son of Cosimo de' Medici, he succeeded his brother Francesco as grand-duke of Tuscany. A lay cardinal he attended the pope's court as well as those of several European capital cities before accessing the throne. Among other international projects, Lebanese sources report projects of re-conquest of the Christian Holy sites, including Jerusalem from the Turks.

King of France from 1515 to 1547. Archetypal of the Renaissance prince who lead his troops into combat but was also protector of the arts. He kept up a long fight with Charles V whose ambition for a universal empire he managed to stall, not flinching from an alliance with the Ottomans in order to achieve his aim. He was a chief architect of centralisation in the Kingdom of France and he repressed the first manifestations of the Reformation.

Known as Barbarossa (1152-1190). Son of Frederick, duke of Swabia and Judith daughter of Henry of Bavaria of the house of Welf, he was thus binding together under his name the Staufer, Welf and Salian dynasties. He promptly succeeded his uncle Conrad III (Hohenstaufen) upon his death in 1152. His reign has gone down in history for the resumption of the Investiture Controversy. The election of Alexander III in 1159 triggered the election of antipope Victor IV favoured by the imperial party. Thus started the Victorin schism and the long Italian period in his reign which left the Emperor exhausted. The 1177 peace of Venice forced the Emperor to recognise the validity of papal claims. In 1184 , he had his son Henry elected and crowned and betrothed to Constance of Sicily, aunt and potential heiress to the crown of Sicily, thus rekindling the papacy's concerns. He joined the Third Crusade in 1190 and died that year crossing the Saleph river in Asia Minor.

He was nicknamed stupor mundi (the wonder of the world). Born in 1194 of Constance, heiress to the crown of Sicily and Henry VI, he was given the portentous names of his paternal Grandfather Frederick Barbarossa and his maternal grandfather Roger de Hauteville, first king of Sicily capped off with Constantine. Crowned aged two, he was kept from the throne the following year upon his father's death and restricted to his Sicilian realm. But Pope Innocent III approved of him and crowned him in 1209. He ensured he received a sound education. Multilingual (Sicilian, Latin, Greek, Norse, German, Arabic), intelligent, he established himself as the kingdom's ruler and was crowned again 1212 after a triumphal election by the German princes. In 1220, he had his son Henry, heir to the Sicilian crown, elected as king of the Romans, setting off yet another episode of the struggles of the Empire and the papacy as the latter feared being encircled. Excommunicated in 1227 for failing to depart in time for the crusade, he embarked the following year and received from al-Kamil Sultan of Egypt the city of Jerusalem; he was solemnly crowned king of Jerusalem in 1229 on the strength of his second wife's rights as heiress to the title. Back in Germany, he disavowed his son Henry VII's policy, had him judged and jailed in 1235 after he had rebelled. Dependant on the German princes' support, he surrendered to them in 1220 and 1231, the most part of sovereignty over their principalities and turned his attention to Italian struggles. Excommunicated again in 1245, he died in 1250 having failed to impose his rule either in Germany or in Italy. He was the last Staufer King.

Monk and custos cartarum (keeper of the archive) at the royal Abbey of St Denis near Paris, died in 1300. He is the first author of the Grandes Chroniques de France thus establishing St Denis' historiographic role. This chronicle turns the notion of an official history of the French monarchy into a reality.

In this context, Philip II's successors, all members of the Spanish branch of the House of Habsburg.

Hafiz Ahmed Pasha was governor of Damascus between 1612 and 1615. “Pasha” is an honorary title added after the name of those high ranking Ottoman dignitaries to whom it was granted. This title was not hereditary and became the apanage of provincial governors and central government's viziers.

He wrote a history in three tomes spanning the years 622 to 1827. The last volume is dedicated to his dynasty. This important chronicle was a collective work which Haidar finalised. Though educated and informed of European political developments, notably the French Revolution, Haidar showed little interest in Politics.

First Christian Kaimakam for the Northern part of Mount Lebanon. Haydar was in charge of the Matn and the Keserwan, traditional family fiefs. He took part in the revolt against Muhammad Ali in 1840 and was exiled in the Sudan until 1841. He fought off Ottoman and Druze inroads and combated banditry on the Beirut-Dams highway.

King from 1002 to 1024. He was the last ruling Ottonian, succeeding his cousin Otto III whose closest relation he was. He had no difficulty in prevailing over the nobles, relieved to see the back of Otto III's universalist and imperial dreams and to have one of their number ascend the throne; besides his claims to the crown would have been hard to dispute. His reign marked the narrowing of the political space to the Frankish world, foregoing Otto III's dreams of Roman grandeur and universalist ambitions. Henry II's main claim to fame is his piety (he was known as “the Saint”). Fervent advocate of monastic reform, he made very numerous donations to the church but kept a close control of appointments. Married to Cunigunde, daughter of the Count of Luxembourg, he died without direct heir in 1024, leaving the succession open.

Francis I's son and successor, very hostile to the Reformation also kept up the fight against the Habsburgs. He died accidentally in 1559, plunging the kingdom into an unprecedented crisis as his sons were all very young and the country was split over religious matters.

Eldest son of Henry II, he accessed the throne in 1039 at the age of 22 without any notable opposition: he was the first German king not to have to force part of his vassals to acknowledge him by force of arms. He ruled following in his father's political footsteps fighting against the nobles' drive towards heredity, subsuming the duchies into property to be passed down rather than received from the king. But the main theatre of his reforming action was Italy. In 1046, Henry III arrived in Italy to restore order in papal affairs. In a first synod in Pavia he threw his support behind the programme of pontifical reforms, condemned simony and forbade the traffic of ecclesiastical offices. This done (Synod of Sutri 24 December 1046), he had a close ally, Suidger of Bamberg, elected pope as Clement II, who in return crowned him forthwith. By intervening in Rome, the Emperor fulfilled a role desired by some but criticised by the reformers of a church subject to royal power. Henry III died prematurely at 38 on 5 October 1056 but not before having had his son, three years old Henry safely crowned; his wife Agnes of Poitou would take up the regency.

The authority and legitimacy of Henry IV (1056-1106) were disputed no sooner had he accessed the throne aged 5. His election did not go smoothly and his reign was shaken by multiple princely revolts. Tensions with the papacy culminated during the pontificate of Gregory VII (1073-1085) who was set on opposing Imperial control over Rome. The conflict erupted in January 1076 concerning Episcopal appointments. At first supported by his clergy Henry found himself bereft of this support after his excommunication. The nobles took advantage of the Emperor's weakness to open hostilities. Backed by the papacy, they decided his destitution and elected on 15 March 1077 Rudolf of Rheinfelden, Duke of Swabia. Every attempt to broker peace failed; between the years 1175-1205 the Germanic realm lived through a situation of political turmoil and civil war. Henry's attempt to restore order through the election and coronation of his son Henry V was of no avail.

The first king of France in the Bourbon line. Brought up by a Protestant mother but held hostage at Catherine's court he was forced by circumstances to change faith several times. A Protestant at the time of his unforeseen accession to the throne of France for want of a male successor in the Valois dynasty, he arrived at the conclusion after several years of warfare that he could not become the effective head of the kingdom without converting to Catholicism, which he did in 1593. He thereafter succeeded in defeating the king of Spain and impose the Edict of Nantes (1598) the instrument of “coexistence in intolerance”. He died murdered by a Catholic extremist in 1610.

King of England from 1399 to 1413. First king of the Lancastrian dynasty, he forced Richard II out.

King of England from 1413 to 1422. After his victory at Agincourt in 1415, he entrenched English control over Northern France.

Henry V, son of King Henry IV was elected and crowned as early as 1101 by his father against an oath not to rebel against him. But, with the wind in his sails, Henry did rebel in 1104, locking up his father and forcing him to surrender the insignia of power. At the death of Henry IV in 1106, Henry V found himself at the head of a divided realm torn apart by some 40 years of civil war. Realising that, in an unequal fight with the papacy, he was running out of financial and ideological arguments that may give him the upper hand, he nevertheless embarked on a long negotiation process, made the more difficult by hardened positioning. In 1119, the election of Guy of Burgundy, Archbishop of Vienna (Calixtus II) finally brought about a compromise, the famous Concordat of Worms, signed in that city on 23 September 1122. Henry V died three years later without descent. Upon an initiative of Adalbert of Mainz who played a key role in the negotiations, the princes placed Lothair of Süpplingenburg, the old Duke of Saxony at the head of the realm, thus putting an end to the Salian dynasty.

Born in 1165, king from 1190 to 1197. Son of Frederick Barbarossa, he was associated to his power as early as 1184. He took up the regency when his father set off for the Crusade in 1889 and succeeded him when he died the following year. His marriage to Constance, heiress to the kingdom of Sicily, fuelled pontifical fears as the States of the Church found themselves between the prongs of the Emperor's Italian and Sicilian possessions. The German princes' revolt and the papacy-backed challenge to the Sicilian succession forced him to fight on two fronts. He died in 1197 handing down an unsteady throne to his 3 years old Frederick-Roger.

King of England from 1422 to 1471. From 1455, he had to face the challenge of his cousin Richard of York who claimed regency of the kingdom. Defeated at the battle of Towton by Richard's son, Edward IV, he resumed power in 1470 albeit shortly, before being murdered.

High Atlas tribe. Its sheikh was ruling the city of Marrakesh as the Merinid reign was on the wane.

The Savoys were counts until 1416 then dukes thereafter. From the 18th century the Dukes of Savoy would also bear the titles of kings of Sicily (1713) then Kings of Sardinia (1720) and kings of Italy (1861).

Swiss theologian and churchman, active in Zurich

Swiss theologian and churchman, active in Zurich. Preacher and priest, he converted in 1519; starting in 1524, he introduced reformation in the city of Zurich.

Great Cordoban judge, he is one of the most famous Andalusian scholars, close to the Almoravid dynasty.

Great Muslim scholar, historian considered by many as the father of sociology. Born in Tunis in 1332, died in Cairo in 1406. His best known works are Muqaddimah (Prolegomenon) followed by Kitābu l-ibār, (Book of Lessons).

Abd Allah Asad Ibn Furat Ibn Sinan, Kairouan judge who had studied under Malik ibn Anas.

Mohamed Ibn Abdallah, Berber born in the Sous, in today's southern Morocco. He went to the East for his religious training and went on to found the Almohad movement and became its spiritual leader.

In 1517, the Ottomans conquered Egypt, whereupon the country became an Ottoman province managed in the name of the Sultan by a wali with the Ottoman title of Pasha. During the reign of Sultan Murad III (1574-1595), Egypt was governed by 6 Pashas among whom Ibrahim Pasha (between 1583 and 1585), remembered for his campaign against the Druze in the Chouf after which he resigned

He was Muhammad Ali's adopted son. Having conquered the region of greater Syria (1830-31) which he ruled over until 1840. His repeated victories against the Ottoman army led him to the gates of Constantinople and caused the intervention of the Great Powers anxious to preserve the empire from its imminent collapse. Benign and tolerant to begin with, the Egyptian regime eventually exasperated the populations who rebelled against excessive taxation and conscription. The Quadruple Alliance formed by Great Britain, Austria, Russia and Prussia, took advantage of unrest in the Mountain to repel Ibrahim Pasha. He toured France and died a few months before his father.

Born in Medina and a descendant of Ali, he was a Zaydi Shia who fled Abbasid power and settled in the region of Walili (ancient Volubilis). He founded an embryonic state on which he reigned for about five years (788-793) before dying at the hand of assassins.

Posthumous son of Idris I, he received the bay'ah (oath of allegiance) from the chiefs of the Atlas tribes when he was about 10 years old. He endowed the dynasty with real political and military weight. But his inheritance was divided between his sons who could not see their way to an agreement.

Aristocratic family established in Mount Lebanon. They fought alongside the Shihabs at the battle of Ayin Dara in 1711. Sheikh Abd al-Salam Imad (d. 1788) lead the Yazbaki faction opposed to the Jumblatti. Sheikh Khattar collaborated with Umar Pasha and led the offensive against Zahlé in 1860.

Nephew of al-Ma'mun, he was the 10th Abbasid caliph. He pretended to the title of “Shadow of God on Earth” and went against his uncle's religious stance by liberating a radical opponent to the Mutazzilah trend in the person of Ahmad ibn Hanbal, thus advancing the Hanbilite reading of Sunni Islam. He meant to put an end to the debate on the created/uncreated nature of the Qu'ran. His reign was shaken by numerous troubles and he fell victim to a plot hatched by Turkish officers.

Malekite judge born in Ceuta, he was also a historiographer. Besides his opposition to al-Ghazali, the Qadi is also noted for his opposition to the Almohads against whom he mounted a rebellion. Its failure forced him into banishment in Marrakesh. His most important work is entitled The Healing.

With a military background, he joined in the Young Turk's conspiracy within the Committee of Union and Progress (İttihat ve Terakki Cemiyeti). After the 1908 Revolution he was a member of the executive committee and took part in the repression of the counter-revolution in 1909. He fought in the Balkan wars of 1912 and 1913. He joined Talat Pasha and Enver Pasha to form the officious triumvirate. From November 1914 to December 1917 he commanded the fifth Ottoman Army, governed the Syrian provinces and held the navy portfolio. He is responsible for the famine imposed on Mount Lebanon and for extrajudicial hangings.

French theologian and churchman, active mostly in Geneva. Born in Noyon, he read law and the arts in Paris, Orleans and Bourges. He joined the movement of Reformation in 1533 and wrote theological books. He left France for Basel where his Institutes of the Christian Religion were first published. From 1536 to 1538, Calvin, accompanied by William Farel lived in Geneva where they sought to impose a church reorganisation along Reformation principles. Expelled from Geneva in 1538, he settled down in Strasbourg. He was called back to Geneva in 1541 where he settled down for good until his death in May 1564. Born in Northern France he left the country to escape royal persecutions after adopting Protestantism. After settling in Geneva he turned it into a “Protestant Rome” furnishing France and other reformed regions with pastors. He attempted with a degree of success to turn the city into a kind of model of what a Gospel-observant society should look like.

Notary, partisan of the duke of Savoy, he was Bishop de la Baume's secretary. In February 1534, were discovered at his home draft letters patent for a Genevan government granted by the Bishop and threatening the Commune. He was sentenced and executed in Geneva in 1534.

Jazzar Pasha, Ahmed Pasha, nicknamed al-Jazzar, also Jezzar Ahmed Pasha (1722-1804): His ruthless nature and his numerous crimes earned him the nickname of “butcher” (Jazzar). Bosnian born, he joined a mercenary force in Constantinople at the age of 16. He placed himself in the service of Ali Bey in Egypt where he intrigued with the Mamluks. He fled to Constantinople then settled in Beirut which he defended against the Russians in 1772-73 before taking over the city having driven out its Shihab masters. The Porte appointed him Pasha of Acre in 1787 but he petitioned for and obtained on several occasions the wilayet of Damascus; this gave him a stranglehold on Mount Lebanon which he could subject to ruthless taxation. He imposed a monopoly on the Échelles du Levant (Eastern Ports of Call, French trading centres across the Ottoman Empire that were granted special trading privileges by the sultan) nigh ruining French trade long before Bonaparte's campaign in Egypt. The tyrant's death was greeted with relief by the populations.

A strong personality, Baz had succeeded in maintaining good relationships with all the local Ottoman rulers, Jazzar Pasha included. After the latter had killed Emir Yusuf, Jirjis Baz became the guardian and adviser of his sons. In the bitter struggle for power that ensued, Baz came to an agreement with Bashir II, sharing Mount Lebanon with his rival, leaving him in charge of the Chouf while Emir Yusuf's sons ruled in Byblos. Baz took upon himself the role of first councillor to the Emir. The agreement displeased Jazzar and sundry jealous rivals who plotted his and his brother, Abd al-Ahad's murder in 1807. Blinded and maimed, Emir Yusuf's sons were kept under house arrest in Daroun in the Keserwan.

King of France from 1350 to 1364. Defeated in 1356 at Poitiers by the Black Prince, son of Edward III and taken prisoner to London, he was forced to sign in 1360 the Treaties of Bretigny and Calais that surrendered full sovereignty over greater Aquitaine to the king of England.

(Sometime John V, notably in England)

Duke of Brittany from 1345 to 1399. The son of Joanna of Flanders and John of Montfort, he enjoyed, after the latter's death the support of his mother in the Breton War of Succession that set his pro-English family on a collision course with the pro-French Penthièvres. Victorious at Auray in 1364, he was acknowledged duke of Brittany by the king of France in the Treaties of Guérande of 1365 and 1381.

John of Paris, also known in France as Jean Quidort (who sleeps) or Jean le Sourd (the deaf) (c. 1255-1306) was a friar at the Dominican convent of St James in Paris and he taught theology at the Sorbonne, the University of Paris. At the time of the quarrel between Philip the Fair and Boniface VIII, around 1302, he drafted the “De potestate regia et papali" on temporal and spiritual powers in which he defended the idea,  opposed to that upheld by the Roman Curia, according to which temporal jurisdiction is independent from spiritual jurisdiction, thereby developing a kind of Aristotelianism with a king.

He was educated in Paris, became secretary to Thomas Becket, archbishop of Canterbury before being made bishop of Chartres (1176). His best known work, the Policratus completed circa 1159 and widely read in the Middle ages dedicates a great many pages to the consideration of political praxis.

Also John of Valois, Duke of Burgundy from 1404 to 1419. He led the Burgundian faction in the civil war begun in 1407. Allied to the English, he was murdered in Montereau in the presence of the heir to the crown, later Charles VII.

Aristocratic family of Kurdish origin who sought autonomy in Kills and Aleppo. Members of the family settled in Mount Lebanon in the 17th century, embraced the Druze religion and got embroiled in the power struggles that broke up under the Ma'ans. Sheikh Ali (1690-1778), both a spiritual and political leader achieved regional influence and took sides in the Shihab family's internal conflicts. In 1760, he supported the Prince Emir Mansour against his co-Emir Ahmad only to disown him and promote emir Yusuf, son of Emir Melhem and the former's nephew. He helped Emir Yusuf block Dahir al-Umar's push towards Mount Lebanon aided by his Shia clans, only to be enticed by Jazzar Pasha to fight the Emir. Sheikh Ali died in 1778 and was succeeded by his son Bashir. Sheikh Bashir helped Emir Bashir II to access the throne and had full control of Mountain affairs until 1823. At that point, the Sheikh sought to overthrow the Emir and a merciless struggle was unleashed between the two men which ended with the defeat and death of Sheikh Bashir in Acre in 1825. The Jumblatts remained key players during the troubled period that followed the collapse of the Emirate in 1840. Sheikh Said's prestige grew greater than that of kaymakam Arslan. Implicated in the 1860 troubles he died in prison in 1861. His son Najib (1855-1922) challenged the Arslans for the Kaymakamate of the Chouf. The prestige of the house lived on in the State of Lebanon, upheld by Nazira Jumblatt (1890-1951), Kamal Bey (1917-1977) founder of the Progressive Socialist Party and his son Walid Bey.

Or Qaysites, faction gathering the families who claim origins in the north of the Arabic peninsula.

Or Qaysites and Yemenites refer to the two parties that split apart the Arab tribes according to their Northern or Southern origins in the Arabic peninsula. The division endured into the 19th century. In Mount Lebanon, the Ma'ans and their Shihab successors belonged to the Qaysite party and appeared to have the upper hand throughout the Ottoman period. They trounced the Yemenites at the battle of Ain Dara in 1711. Their coalition, as indeed that of their opponents gathered families belonging to all the religious faiths: Sunni, Shia and Druze Muslims, or Maronite, Melkite, Orthodox and Catholic Christians.

Shia lord, he was in charge of the Baalbek region under the Pasha of Damas.

See Chap. I and Ammiyya in Chap. II part C.

Wali of Sidon in 1860, he belonged to a party opposed to all the reforms implemented in the Tanzimat period.

King of France (1226-1270), known for his contribution to the reinforcement of French kingship, notably through the development of royal justice. He was canonised in 1297 during the reign of his grand-son Philip the Fair. Become “Saint Louis” he stood as a template for kings of France to come.

Thirtieth Ottoman Sultan, he signed in 1812 the Treaty of Bucharest with the Russians, subjugated the Wahhabis in 1811-1819 and forestalled the Greek uprising between 1820 and 1826 thanks to Muhammad Ali's support. Following their rebellion in Constantinople in 1826, he destroyed the Janissaries corps and opened a period of reform (tanzimat). In 1830-31, he was powerless to repel the French from Northern Africa and the Egyptians from the Eastern Mediterranean region.

One of the four Imams who founded schools of jurisprudence recognised throughout Sunni Islam. Malik Ibn Anas is respected for his knowledge of the Hadith, even though he allowed ample room for personal views (ra'y) and reasoning by analogy (qiyas) in the interpretation of the Qu'ran. He is the author of the first formulation of Islamic law: Al-Muwatta .

Dynasty that ruled between 1258 and 1420. Their Zenata Berber tribe originally lived in today's Algeria. Marinid rulers are remembered for their interest in Andalusian architecture and scholarship. They opened the first Islamic schools or madrasas. This interest in learning is also borne out by the works of great Maghreb historians such as Ibn Khaldun, Ibn al-Khatib, Ibn Abi Zar. The dynasty was founded by the tribe chief Abu Yahiya who set up his power centre in Fes in 1248, where they built a new town. But Marrakesh would only come under Marinid control in 1269 under his brother Abu Yusuf (1258-1286). The Marinids supported the kingdom of Granada against the Christians but without succeeding in getting the better of them. They extended their control eastwards by taking over Tlemcen (1337) and Tunis (1347). Defeated in Kerwan, their retreat, at first temporary saw them fall back on their heartlands in North-Western Africa.

Born in Sélestat in Alsace, he became a Dominican friar in his native town before moving in 1517 to the convent of that order in Heidelberg where he met Luther in 1518. Won over to his ideas he left the Dominican order in 1521 and continued his work as a secular priest. He was among the first priests to marry and was excommunicated. He fled to Alsace and eventually settled in Strasbourg where he led the reformation until 1523. Ordered to leave Strasbourg by Charles V, he ended his life in Cambridge where he taught up to his death. He thus took part in the consolidation of the Reformation in England.

German theologian, professor and churchman. A member of the Augustinian religious order he rebelled against the Roman Catholic church for essentially theological and mystical reasons, asserting the primacy of Scripture (the Bible) and of faith. The turning point in his revolt is the publication in 1517 of the 95 new “theses” from which the beginning of the Reformation is dated. Luther's main writings were published in 1520 and his theories spread everywhere in Europe but gained a strong foothold mostly in the Holy Roman Empire's territories. His divergence with Rome mostly revolved around the gratuitousness of divine grace and the understanding of the Last Supper. A range of Protestant trends have their roots in his teaching. In 1525, he did not support the Peasant Revolts which drew their inspiration from his views on Christian freedom and he opposed Erasmus' humanism. From 1530 to his death in 1546, Luther was the guide of Protestant Christendom, way beyond the Holy Roman Empire.

Ancestor of the Alaouites, currently Morocco's ruling family. His original power base was the town of Tafilalt as from 1631. After his defeat at the hand of Abou Hassoun, he decided to abdicate in favour of his son.

Alaouite Sultan and brother to Mawlay Muhammad. He cut short the latter's rule and became the true founder of the Alaouite dynasty when he successfully crossed the Atlas. In 1666 he had achieved the reunification of Morocco.

His reign (1603-1627) was dominated by conflicts with his brothers, sons of the late Sultan al-Mansur. An erudite writer, he managed to hold a fragile balance in spite of powerful tribal movements as the political momentum stalled and economic decline followed upon the growth that had blessed al-Mansur's reign.

Mohammed ash-Sheikh third Saadian sultan, died in 1557.

The Jazoulis are the adepts of a great Sufi, Muhammad ibn Sulayman al-Jazuli al-Simlali, who lived between the end of the 14th century and 1465. His teachings are based on Sufi principles drawn from many schools. He is known for his commitment to Jihad and his involvement during the monarchic crisis of the mid-15th century.

Born in Albania, he founded the dynasty that would govern Egypt between 1805 and 1952. After crushing the Mamluks, he sought to introduce reforms in all sectors of Egyptian activity. Allied to the Sultan to fight the Wahhabi and the Greek independentists, he became his enemy as he asserted his personal domination over the regions of Palestine and Syria between 1832 and 1840, seeking thereby to make up for his losses in Greece and to create an Arab kingdom. The 1840 revolt and the support of the European powers, co-signatories of the Convention of London (15 July 1840), would give the Sultan the chance to drive him out of the invaded territories whilst granting him a hereditary title over Egypt.

Master of the Jazuli brotherhood in the Souss. He was the spiritual guide and founder of the Saadian dynasty. He played a foremost role in the unification of Southern Moroccan tribes lead by his disciple Mohammad ar-Rahmān.

Was wali of Sidon for a short period during the year 1845.

Successor to Mustapha I, he won battles against the Persians and repressed internal unrest. He restored the empire's finance and had no qualms in suppressing any person liable to threaten his position, including several of his brothers.

Wali of Sidon in 1841, he was tasked with restoring order in Mount Lebanon after Bashir II's exile and bringing the Shihab mandate to a close. This task which the soldiers' economic situation made difficult was compounded by the rumour that his presence was designed to help the Druze and weaken the Maronites.

Poet and writer, he studied medicine and music. He started writing poetry at the age of 10. He entered the service of Emir Bashir and was 12 years his adviser. He was a founding member of the Syrian Society for the Arts and Sciences. He kept up a correspondence with such Orientalists as Sylvestre de Sacy and left behind an immense production; He is considered one of the leading lights of the 19th Century literary Arab Awakening, the Nahda.

His father moved to Deir al-Qumar from Constantinople. Bashir entrusted him with several missions in Egypt, especially during Bonaparte's campaign in Egypt and he wrote one of his two history books on Bonaparte, one half of which has been translated into French by Desgranges. His history of Jazzar Pasha has never been published. He also left a book of poetry, published one and a half century later as a distant echo of moments at court or of the poet-advisor-ambassador's missions.

Born in Bosnia under the name of Mihajlo Latas, he converted to Islam and became an Ottoman general. He started a career in the Ottoman administration eventually becoming a governor. He may have been known as al-Namsawi (the Austrian), but Metternich had little time for the man he considered a deserter.

Grand-son of Otto I, he found himself, aged 3, at the head of the kingdom. His legitimacy was at once disputed by the princes. Nevertheless he enjoyed the support of the kingdom's prelates who, keen to secure the legitimacy of royal power, firmly backed the resistance put up by the two empresses dowager, Theophanu, mother of the child, widow of Otto II and Adelaide widow of Otto I with whom he would govern up to his majority in September 994. These strong-willed women took good care of equipping the young king with a thorough education and Greco-Latin grounding. At his majority Otto sidelined his mother's and grandmother's close associates and took the power in hand. Crowned in Rome in 996, he brought in a new conception of imperial power based of the idea of a condominium of the emperor and the pope over Christendom. However Otto's projects were soon thwarted by Italian and German political realities; he died prematurely on 23 January 1002.

Tribal group with Arab roots which arrived from the East in the 13th century and settled in the Bilad Sous (south-western Morocco). This tribe was the portuguese's prop; it provided them with allies against the Saadian movement at the beginning of the 16th century.

Philip. Melanchthon (14-97-1560) Luther's leading intellectual collaborator.

Martin Bucer (1491-1551) Strasbourg former Dominican friar keen on the reunification of the churches (cf Martin Bucer entry).

Franciscan theologian (c1248-1298). Trained in the Thomist school of thought at the Sorbonne, he was to work in the South of France where his thinking was influential.

A Freiburg born canon, he was involved in a brawl between Catholic and reformed priests and canons. Injured, he fled and was found dead on the following day. The action brought by his family resulted in an execution and several acquittals.

Genevan burgher and member of the Little Council from 1512. He clashed with the house of Savoy as early as 1506. In 1517, accused of plotting against the bishop, he fled Geneva for Freiburg where he negotiated a Burgrecht between the two cities. After his return, and although he was cleared of the charges against him, the bishop had him arrested and executed in 1519.

Born in Valladolid, he was given a strict education and is known for his ascetic piety. He shouldered political responsibilities from an early age. In 1556, a few months after his father Charles V's abdication, he inherited an immense empire embracing Spain and its colonies. At home he pushed for centralisation and unification. Abroad he waged war against France, then England and had to quell a rebellion in the Low Countries. He incarnates both the Spanish Golden Age and the weaknesses which were the downside of might: costly wars, population flight to the American continent's colonies, Morisco exodus. King of Spain from 1556, he succeeded his father Charles V of the Holy Roman Empire. During his reign he fought the European Protestant powers, notably England but his attempt to invade the country by sea (with the Invincible Armada) failed.

Son of Charles V, he succeeded his father in Spain and the Low Countries. Styled the Most Catholic Monarch, he defended Catholicism by force of arms in his domains, persecuting Moriscos and Jews in Spain and Portugal and Protestants in the Low Countries, he further supported the extremist Catholic League in France. He may have succeeded in eradicating Protestantism in Spain but in the Low Countries, his policy lead to revolt and the partition of his estates.

Philip IV, king of France 1285-1314. His reign was a milestone in the reinforcement of royal power in France. His quarrel with Pope Boniface VIII, and the important anti-French propaganda it gave rise to, resulted in his being wrongly thought to have worked towards the secularisation of political power. As a mark of the importance he set by the representations of his power, he adopted for official ceremonies a neutral countenance which surprised his contemporaries and earned him the nickname of Philip the fair.

By taking on the Pope and the Flemish inter allia, Philip the Fair was asserting royal authority at hitherto untried levels.

King of France 1328-1350. Capetian king, the first of the house of Valois. Starting in 1337, he clashed with Edward III king of England at the onset of the hundred years war. He met with defeat at the latter's hand at Crecy in 1346.

Royal officer who, during his career served as bailli then seneschal in diverse wards under Saint Louis, Philip the Bold and Philip the Fair. He is the author of a monumental legal compilation, the Coutumes du Beauvaisis (or de Clermont in Beauvaisis) in 1283.

Doctor in theology, counsellor to the duke of Savoy then to Charles V, he succeeded to the see of Geneva in 1522 and to the archdiocese of Besançon in1530. After leaving Geneva never to return in 1533, he resigned his position as Bishop of Geneva in 1543.

French jurist (c. 1255- after 1320). He was a royal advocate in the baillage de Coutances (Normandy) and was to represent that city at the Estates General of 1302. Under Philip the Fair, he wrote a number of political treatises: (abbreviationis guerrarum ac litium, 1300, about the shortening of wars and trials, Supplication du peuple de France au roi contre le pape Boniface, [A plea from the people of France  to the king against pope Boniface VIII], 1302 , "De recuperation Terrae Sanctae", [On the Recovery of the Holy Land],  1305-1307, Pour le fait de la Terre Sainte, further on the Holy land, 1308) all developing a theory of the king of France's political supremacy, going in this well beyond the sovereign's pretensions.

Histories of Qorqmaz' reign are succinct. He ruled the Chouf and its Druze majority from 1544. He led a revolt against the Ottomans who ravaged the area and killed the Emir in 1585. Qorqmaz left two young sons: Fakhr al-Din and Yunus.

This prestigious Arab tribe belongs to the Northern (Kayssiyya) tribal group. It has ramifications in several clans and it drew around it many other tribes. It exercised power through its control of Mecca, the domination of caravan routes in the Nadj and to Taif, and the monopoly on the trade transiting via the Hejaz between the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean. The Prophet of Islam was born to it and it retained the Caliphate up until the emergence of powerful non-Arab Muslim dynasties.

King of England from 1377 to 1399. The reign of this grandson of Edward III began with the quasi regency of his uncle John of Gaunt. Considered weak, he was deposed by Henry, son of John of Gaunt and Blanche of Lancaster.

Youngest son of John Lackland, brother of henry III king of England, he was elected King of the Romans in 1257, the same year as Alfonso X of Castile and did not succeed in being crowned Emperor. He died in 1270.

His diplomatic career took him to Constantinople, Damascus and Tunis before he retired in 1865. Starting in 1832-33, he had built up a sound knowledge of the area and instigated the Lebanese uprising against Muhammad Ali in 1840. His action in favour of Zahlé in 1840 may have contributed to the “subtle diplomat” image he has left in the collective Lebanese mindscape. Because he was a Catholic, Palmerston refused to appoint him to the consulate general in Beirut making him a Consul at Damascus instead. He has left an enormous diplomatic correspondence (published in part) relating his experiences.

Maraboutic movement that succeeded in mobilising the Moroccan South against the Portuguese. Its leaders founded a new dynasty in the Maghreb al-Aqsa (cf. “Political and religious institutions under the Saadians” in I).

One of the most famous Maliki scholars in the Maghreb. Born in Kairouan, he studied there then left for further studying in the East. He then worked at the dissemination of what was to make up the “Maliki school” in Africa and in Andalusia. His most famous text is the Almudawwana al Kubra.

The death of Henry II without direct descent in 1024 left open the question of his succession. The choice of Conrad son of Count Henry of Speyer to the detriment of his cousin did not pass without opposition and he was crowned only in 1028. However, Conrad II instated the Salian dynasty whose name is coined on his paternal ancestry. His appointment appears to have marked the return of the elective principle. Nevertheless, the Salians were closely related to the outgoing Ottonian (or Saxon) dynasty: Conrad was the great-grandson of Liutgarde, daughter of Otto I. His reign established the Germanic kingship: he received King Rudolph III of Burgundy's inheritance when the latter, dying without heir in 1032, transferred the royal insignia to him. He died in 1039 choosing to be buried in Speyer Cathedral which he intended as a dynastic necropolis.

Alfonso X's younger son. His elder brother Ferdinand died in 1275 leaving two young sons, the “infantes de la Cerda”, who became officially the heirs apparent to the throne. As from 1276, and the prescriptions of the law code he himself had compiled notwithstanding, alfonso X nominated Sancho as his heir. In 1281, father and son clashed over the choice of international alliances. In 1282, combined forces opposed to Alfonso and his monarchic inroads rebelled and gave Sancho a powerbase in the north of the country. In spite of Alfonso's curse and his belated attempt to disinherit his younger son in favour of his de la Cerda grand-sons, Sancho secured the crown for himself at his father's death in 1284. He reigned under the name of Sancho IV until 1295 and passed the power on to his son Ferdinand IV.

Sayf al-Din al Tanuki was Fakhr al-Din's maternal uncle. He held control of the Chouf after Emir Qormaz' death, in full agreement with his sister Nassab and the Qaysite clans. In 1550, he handed power over to Fakhr al-Din and helped him deepen his knowledge of the country

Selim II (1524-1574) was Suleiman the Magnificent's son from his wife Roxelana, and his successor as Ottoman Sultan of. He ruled from 1566 to 1574, after sidelining his brothers at the term of internal clashes. His short reign saw the height of Ottoman power. He drank alcohol, was in thrall to the women of his harem and proved unable to curb the power of the Janissaries. He had no interest in government and relinquished effective power in the hands of his vizier and son in law Sokullu Mehmed Pasha. A peace treaty with Austria in 1568 reinforced his power in Moldavia and in Valachia. Friendly relations were established with Tahmasb I, the Safavid ruler of Iran. The Ottoman invasion of Cyprus brought about the league of European states and their 1571 victory over the Turk at Lepanto. However the following year a new Ottoman fleet forced Venice to accept Ottoman hegemony and in 1574, modern Tunisia was recovered at the expenses of Philip II's Spain.

Wali of Sidon in 1841, he handed out arms to Mount Lebanon's population, encouraging discord, worsening the situation and thereby reinforcing the view that an Ottoman presence was essential as direct control alone could secure peace.

The Porte's commissioner in Greece in 1834-35, he was the diplomat who signed the Convention of London on 15 July 1840 in the name of the Ottoman government. He became foreign minister. His name goes down in history associated to the tartibates («arrangements») of 22 June 1845 consolidating a reorganised Kaimakamate regime.

Religious figure from the Mdaghra region in the Tafilalt.

Abu Imran Yaqub al-Fasi, born in Fes, he settled in Kairouan. He is one of the major thinkers of the Malekite School in the Muslim West.

Marabout whose (Arab or Berber origins remain in question). Educated in Salé under the pious ascetic Abu Muhammad ‘Abdallah ibn Hassun. He settled in the region of Azemour and took part in the fights against the Portuguese garrison at Mazagan. He led the fight against the “Infidel” in the Doukkala region. He was driven out by Sultan Mawlay Zidan around 1618 in circumstances still little understood. For a quarter of a century, he continued his activity in the religious, social and military fields. He was murdered in 1641 after an encounter with the Dilaites.

Staufer of Swabian aristocratic stock, the Hohenstaufen dynasty accessed the rank of imperial princes in 1079 when Frederick of Büren was made duke of Swabia. Faithful supporters of Salian Henry IV and Henry V, they were sidelined in 1125 and it is only in 1137 that Conrad son of Frederick of Büren became king, initiating the Hohenstaufen dynasty : Conrad III (1137-1152), Frederick I (1152-1190), Henry VI (1190-1197), Philip of Swabia (1198-1208), Frederick II (1209-1250). It came to an end soon after Frederick's death in 1250.

he succeeded Jazzar Pasha as wali of Sidon; he supported Bashir II and sought to gain control of the wilayet of Damascus with him. The period's chronicles remark on his devotion to justice.

He fought the French navy for the best part of his career and prevented Bonaparte from seizing Acre. He was able, via his brother then the British ambassador in Constantinople, to block any rapprochement between France and the Ottoman Empire. He supported Bashir II and was party to his regaining power after his exile in Egypt. He retired in Paris where he died.

Gerbert of Aurillac, pope under the name of Silvester II (999-1003). Considered by his contemporaries as one of the great minds of his time, he was born in the Auvergne in 940. Early intended for monastic life, he followed in 967 Borrell, Count of Barcelona in Catalonia where he was introduced to Arab science. His knowledge soon earned him great fame. Become Rheims's écolâtre (scholaster, member of the chapter superintendant of schools) in 972, his renowned teaching gave him influence: he would be the right hand man of Archbishop Adalberon and personal tutor to French king Hugh Capet's son, later Robert II the Pious (996-1031) and then, more significantly to Otto III. The latter would make him his secretary before appointing him archbishop of Ravenna in 998, then imposing him on the pontifical throne in 999. The pope maintained a monastic-like life style and spearheaded a root-and-branch reform of the church. Close to the Emperor, his proposals earned him the oppositions of the Roman aristocracy. The first pope to launch an appeal to “free Jerusalem” (sic), he died in 1003 outside Rome which remained in the hands of its hostile aristocracy. His pontifical name of Sylvester II was chosen in reference to Sylvester I, pope under Constantine the Great. Such a choice was a clear indication of the King and the Pope's joint programme: as the new Constantine, Otto III was called to rule Christendom hand in hand with the pope.

Semi-literate, once a muleteer and a blacksmith, he saw himself as a people's Robin Hood fighting feudal lords from the Mountain to the Keserwan. Much has been said of his harsh nature but he remains the herald of a democratic sentiment, asserting that time had come for the people to manage their own affairs and to take part in political life.

French theologian and churchman, active in Geneva where Calvin entrusted him with the running of the Academy in 1559. He is often considered Calvin's successor.

Dominican theologian and philosopher (1224-1274). He taught at the Sorbonne in Paris and in Italy. His name remains associated with a theological approach, Thomism, noted among other things for its critical integration of elements of Aristotelian philosophy into Christian thought. He is the author of the Summa Theologica which he started writing at the end of his life and did not finish.

Wahhabism is a politico-religious movement advocated by Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab (1703-1792). Born in the Najd, Abd al-Wahhab travelled around Iran, Mesopotamia and settled in Arabia where he preached and wrote a book entitled Treatise on Divine Unity, Kitab al-Tawhid. He had no impact on the Shia populations but made a pact with tribal chief Muhammad bin Saud according to which the Emir and the cleric committed to ensure the rule of “God's word”, that is a literal observation of the provisions of the (sharia) law. Wahhabism seeks to establish a state founded in early Islam, free from any of the thinking and living experience added by history. Emir Abd al-Aziz bin Saud undertook to create such a state. He launched attacks on the Ottoman Empire in 1799, occupied Karbala in 1802, Mecca and Medina in 1803 and threatened Damascus in 1811. The sultan then charged Muhammad Ali with the task of fighting Wahhabism. Muhammad Ali's campaign in Arabia lasted seven years and saw his son Ibrahim Pasha occupy the Wahhabi capital of Dariya, though this did not eradicate that religious trend.

Appointed wali of Sidon in 1845, his conservative credentials went before him. He did nothing to stop the Druzo-Maronite conflict started in May 1845 and was suspected of stirring up the strife. The Powers' consuls criticised his conservatism and his bias towards the Druze. He stepped down early in 1846.

Born in the Dauphiné, he studied in Paris from 1509 on. After 1517, he was teaching grammar and philosophy. He was a member of the Cenacle of Meaux and advocated reformation but his rashness led to his leaving the group in 1523. He took refuge in Basel where Œcolampadius (1482-1531; converted to the reformation in 1522; taught at Basel university where he preached the reformation) welcomed him. He then stayed in Montbelliard before taking refuge in Strasbourg. From 1525 to 1530, he worked at the reformation of Bern's French speaking baillages before becoming pastor at Aigle. In 1530, he won Neuchatel over to the Reformation. Still preaching, he took part in Geneva's reformation, staying there with Calvin until 1538. Forced out of Geneva he returned to Neuchatel whence he travelled around to preach. He died in Neuchatel in 1565.

William of Nassau, Prince of Orange, became through inheritance one of the foremost noblemen in the Low Countries. Provoked by the king's intolerance, he lead without great success the revolt against Philip II, trying to confederate Catholics and Protestants. He was murdered in 1584 by an agent of Philip II, an action which did nothing to block the movement towards the Northern Provinces' independence.

Idrissid sovereign reigning from 863 to 866; his utter contempt for religious prescriptions and his immoral behaviour aroused his subjects' anger and he had to flee to Andalusia where he died.

Berber chief who had formed a close alliance with the Portuguese. Still a Muslim, he had no qualms in showing his great gratitude to the king of Portugal who welcomed him to court and showered him with favours. Such attentions did not go without arousing the jealousy of Portuguese courtiers.

Leader of the “Mulathamin”, (people from the Lamtuna tribe), that is of those who mask, or cover their face with a kind of veil (Litam). He was killed at the battle of Tabfarilla.

Or Yemenites faction gathering families who trace their origins to the South of the Arabic peninsula

The Jumblatti-Yazbaki rivalry is a later polarisation appearing in 1750 and adopting the same patterns as the Quaisite-Yemenite divide until 1920. These formations were replaced by the formation of modern parties within the Lebanese Republic. However traces of these antagonisms survive.

Youhanna IX Makhlouf, was elected patriarch of the Maronite in 1608 and occupied the patriarchal see until his death in 1633

Yunus was Fakhr el-Din's younger brother. Born in 1574, he seconded his brother in his political action and the latter left him in charge during his exile (1613-1618), having enjoined him to transfer the seat of power to Deir al-Qamar, deep in the Chouf mountain. After Fakhr el-Din's return, he remained his second in command until his death in 1633, during the Ottoman repression in the Chouf.

He studied at the seminary of Ayn Warqa. He became a patriarch in 1823. He reformed Maronite discipline and liturgy. He took upon himself an arbitration role in the internecine developments affecting his community between 1830 and 1845. He opposed Protestant proselytising and developed an autonomist and far-sighted political project.

The second Almoravid sovereign. Successor of Abu Bakr ibn Umar, he styled himself “Prince of the Muslims”. The empire he founded in the Muslim West, the first of its kind, stretched from Andalusia to the north to present day Ghana and Tunisia.

He was a Kurd emir from the Sayfa family who had settled in the Akkar, north of Tripoli. He was placed in charge of Tripoli with the title of Pasha in 1579 and held on to his post until his death in 1642. He was the leader of the yamanite party and clashed with Fakhar al-Din on several occasions.

He succeeded his uncle Mansur. He achieved the reunion of the northern and southern parts of Mount Lebanon. He ruled amidst constant troubles linked to the prodromes of the Eastern question, the unruliness of overlords like the Jumblatts and the cupidity of Jazzar Pasha who had him executed in 1791.