Lebanon Colonial Records

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Lebanon

Colonial Records

Ottoman Empire Colonization (1516-1918)

The Ottoman sultan Salim I invaded Syria in 1516 and ruled the region of Mount Lebanon indirectly through appointed Lebanese emirs. As a Sunni Muslim empire, Ottoman rulers granted the various religious minority groups of Mount Lebanon relative autonomy in governing their own affairs, allowing Druze, Maronite Christian, and other confessional communities semi-independence in enacting their own laws. The Ottomans controlled Lebanon until the empire splintered at the end of World War I, at which point administration of the region passed to the French Mandate.

Record collection	Years covered	Record type	Language	Who is in the records
Nüfus Registers	1883-1917	Census & population registers	Ottoman Turkish	These Ottoman census registers were taken in 10 districts in what is now Palestine/Israel, Egypt, and Jordan, but contain information on some individuals born in Beirut and other parts of modern Lebanon. For more information, see FamilySearch Catalog, Palestine Census, and Palestine, Ottoman Census and Population Registers. Names are currently searchable only in Arabic and dates are displayed using the Ottoman Rumi calendar. The Turkish website Türk Tarih Kurumu can be used to convert dates from the Rumi to the Gregorian calendar.

French Colonization (1920-1943)

After the collapse of the Ottoman Empire after World War I, the five areas that are now modern Lebanon came under the French Mandate of Lebanon. In November 1943, Lebanon gained its independence from France.

Record collection	Years covered	Record type	Language	Who is in the records
Geneanet	19-20th Centuries	Cemeteries, books, plaques	English, French, Arabic	A small collection of resources related to Lebanon, mostly bulletins from the French administrative delegation. Searching archives/registers/cemeteries requires a free subscription; books require a paid subscription.