Bashir Shihab II
In 1767, Emir Bashir Shihab II was born in Ghazir, where he was also baptized by Capuchin friars based in the town. Emir Bashir would later succeed Emir Yusuf as the ruler of the Mount Lebanon Emirate. As part of Emir Bashir's centralization and reorganization efforts in Mount Lebanon following his destruction of his erstwhile Druze allies' feudal power, he appointed a Maronite bishop as "qadi" (chief judge) and based him in Ghazir. The bishop was one of Bashir's three chief judges, who were given the judicial authority traditionally held by the Druze feudal lords; the other two judges were a Maronite deacon based in Zgharta and a Druze sheikh based in Deir el-Qamar. Emir Bashir's brother, Emir Hasan, initiated the construction of a palace, a "qaysariyah" (silk market) and a "souk" (open-air market) in Ghazir in 1804.