Fakhr-al-Din II
The Melkite Church was thus split in two factions: the area of central Syria, including Hama, Homs, Paneas, and politically under the authority of Tripoli, recognized the authority of Cyril Dabbas, while the region of Mount Lebanon, under the Emir Fakhr-al-Din II, as well as the Northern region Aleppo, were faithful to Ignatius Atiyah. This split of the Church not only created discord, but also caused a huge expenditure of money, because both part asked for the formal recognition by the Ottoman sultan who granted it successively to the party who paid more.