From Our Heritage: The Battle of Anjar...

From Our Heritage

How Emir Fakhr al-Din worked, by sword and cunning, to consolidate Lebanon's existence and build its sovereignty

The battle of Anjar was one of the great battles in the history of the Lebanese Emirate, and one of the decisive battles in which victory was written for this Emirate's first hero, the builder of the edifice of its power, its glory, and its independence: the great Emir Fakhr al-Din al-Ma'ni II.

By the year 1623, Emir Fakhr al-Din had spread the canopy of his rule over most of the eyalets and sanjaks of Arabistan — the name Arabistan then denoted the lands stretching from Aleppo in the north to al-Arish of Egypt in the south, and from the river Euphrates in the east to the coast of the Mediterranean in the west — and he had come to dream of annexing what remained of these lands to his emirate; and Constantinople was compelled to grant him the title of Sultan of the Land in recognition of him.

It was natural that so great an emir should have rivals and enviers... among them Emir Yunus al-Harfush, lord of Baalbek. It so happened that the latter intrigued with Mustafa Pasha, the wali of Damascus, to remove Fakhr al-Din from the sanjak of Safad and have the governorship of that sanjak assigned to himself; and since the wali hated Fakhr al-Din, he granted him his wish.

Word of this reached Fakhr al-Din, and he wrote to Mustafa Pasha, saying:

"I have learned that Emir Yunus al-Harfush has offered a thousand gold pieces more for the sanjak of Safad; I offer a hundred thousand more for the lands of Baalbek and the Bekaa..." But the wali of Damascus paid no heed to his letter and his offer.

So the Ma'ni Emir had no choice but to let the sword decide... He refused to surrender the sanjak of Safad, and Mustafa Pasha counted this a rebellion against his orders; he gathered his armies from every quarter and marched, making for Lebanon, where Ibn al-Harfush and his partisans had assembled to join him.

Fakhr al-Din did not hesitate to reply in kind. He wrote to his son, Emir Ali, to meet him with his men at Qabb Elias, and likewise to his brother, Emir Yunus, and to the Lam'i muqaddams and other partisans; and they came to him with their men and their arms.

At Qabb Elias was Emir Hasan, son of Emir Yunus al-Harfush, to whom the Emir had married one of his daughters, to strengthen the ties between himself and his family, and to whom he had given a house at Qabb Elias to live in... The young man thought to invite his father-in-law to a banquet held in his honor, and the Emir accepted the invitation with his chief commanders and his retinue. When he had settled in his place, he said to his son-in-law:

— What ails your father, Hasan, that he sets himself against us in enmity?... We have ever sought his friendship, and our daughter, your wife, is nothing but the pledge of our friendship. Can it please him that our fortune should pass away, when we are its rightful people, so that strangers may enjoy it?

When the young Emir made no answer, he went on:

— We, Husayn, care nothing for intrigues... Many have fought us with them, and they were not honorable in their warfare... No — he is no honorable man who leans upon a foreign sword to fight the sons of his own country... And we have never once drawn the sword but to raise the standing of our homeland... Does your father deny that?

Anger showed in his eyes, and he said sharply:

— If he does, the edge of this sword will compel him to acknowledge it.

Emir Husayn had to say something, so he said:

— Pardon, my lord... You have made me hear what I did not need to hear in order to show my loyalty... I remain the captive of your favor, and it is honor enough for me to be your daughter's husband. Has word ever come to you that I thought of rising against you?

But Fakhr al-Din was too shrewd to be taken in by such "loyalty." He said:

— No; and I am certain that you will fight at my side.

At this the Harfush Emir's face went pale, and he said in confusion:

— Does my lord have need of my sword?

Fakhr al-Din smiled and answered:

— To prove your loyalty...

Emir Husayn grew still more confused, and said:

— My lord... to draw the sword in your service is a duty... but there is another duty, a natural duty, which forbids me to draw it.

Fakhr al-Din al-Ma'ni ignored his words, and said:
— And what is that?
He said: It is the duty of regard for my father.
The Emir murmured the murmur of one who assents to this, and said:
— Then you shall go to your father and fight at his side.
Then he said, in a resolute tone:
— This house is our property; we bought it from the heirs of Emir Mansur ibn Assaf and bestowed it upon you, and we now have need of it.
And he turned to his steward, Sheikh Abu Nadir al-Khazin, and said to him:
— Show him the deeds of purchase, and take the house over from him, and let him go to his father at once... As for our daughter, Emira Fakhira, and her son, they shall proceed under the guard of a troop of horsemen to Sidon.

Then there came to him one who said that Mustafa Pasha had defeated the Shihabi emirs in Wadi al-Taym, and that they had fled before him to Majdal Anjar and fortified themselves in its war tower, awaiting his relief.
He ordered the advance at once...

The men with him numbered five thousand in all, whom he divided into three bodies: the right wing under the command of his son, Emir Ali; the left wing with its banner entrusted to his brother, Emir Yunus; while he took command of the center himself. When he reached the Majdal, the Shihabis fortified in its tower joined him. Mustafa Pasha's army was twelve thousand strong, and it had reached Anjar and taken up its position there. When the Emir came within sight of it, he ordered the banners unfurled, and an attack from which there would be no turning back; and behold, his horsemen fell upon the enemy like thunderbolts, and his foot soldiers closed on him from every side, while he himself, in the thick of the battle, cut through the ranks; and wherever he appeared his men cheered his name and pressed the enemy the harder with blow and slaughter.

The surprise was too great for Mustafa Pasha and his men to stand against it... They soon took to flight, with the Emir's men pursuing them, killing some and taking others prisoner... until there came to the Emir one who said:
— A troop of horsemen has captured Mustafa Pasha on the Damascus road.
Fakhr al-Din said gravely:
— Has anyone done him harm?
The bearer of the news answered:
— Our lord Emir Ali would have nothing but that he be treated with honor.
The Emir said:
— And I ask that he be treated so... He is a prisoner of war... and whatever his case may be, he serves his state and his sultan, and sound policy requires that we do him no injury.
And he went to receive him in person... When he met him, he paid him the honor due to him, and said:
— Your pardon, Excellency the Pasha; we did not want war — you declared it, and it fell to us to defend ourselves, and self-defense is a duty.
The Emir's tone moved Mustafa Pasha, and he said:
— Nor did we, Emir, want war with you; our friendship for you is well known, but... God confound the mischief-makers... they pictured it to us that you were preparing to march on Damascus and occupy it.
Fakhr al-Din laughed and said:
— And tomorrow they will say that we are making ready to march on Constantinople... Lebanon, Excellency the Pasha, has no room for all that... We want only to keep our emirate, within borders that assure us a life that serves our good and the good of the state.
Said Mustafa Pasha: — And in that we confirm you... It was Kurd Hamza, and Emir Yunus, and the other talebearers like them, who set us upon you.

Fakhr al-Din seized the opportunity, and said:
— Those men are traitors.
Said Mustafa Pasha:
— It is yours to chastise them... and the sanjak of Safad, and the other sanjaks which the state has confirmed to you, shall be joined to your emirate at once.
Fakhr al-Din had been waiting for this word. He called his son, Emir Ali, and said to him:
— Ali... you will march this very hour with your men to Baalbek, seize the estates of the Banu Harfush, demolish the houses of Kurd Hamza, and subdue by the sword whoever dares to resist you.
And Mustafa Pasha approved this, saying:
— By the Emir's order, and mine.

Thus did our great Emir build, by sword and cunning, to consolidate Lebanon's existence and its sovereignty...