1860 Druze – Maronite conflict The 1860 Druze – Maronite conflict was the culmination of a peasant uprising , which began in the north of Mount Lebanon as a rebellion of Maronite peasants against their Druze overlords and culminated in a massacre in Damascus . It soon spread to the south of the country where the rebellion changed its character , with Druze turning against the Maronite Christians . Around 20 , 000 Christians were killed by the Druzes and 380 Christian villages and 560 churches destroyed . The Druzes and Muslims also suffered heavy losses . Background . On September 3 , 1840 , Bashir III the last Prince of State of Lebanon was appointed amir of Mount Lebanon by the Ottoman sultan . Geographically , Emirate of Lebanon represents the central part of present - day Lebanon , which historically has mostly had a Christian and Druze population . In practice , the terms Lebanon and Mount Lebanon tend to be used interchangeably by historians until the formal establishment of the Mandate . Bitter conflicts between Christians and Druzes , which had been simmering under Ibrahim Pasha ' s rule , resurfaced under the new Prince . Hence , the sultan deposed Bashir III , Bashir II cousin on January 13 , 1842 , and appointed Umar Pasha as governor of Mount Lebanon . This appointment , however , created more problems than it solved . Representatives of the European powers proposed to the sultan that Lebanon be partitioned into Christian and Druze sections . On December 7 , 1842 , the sultan adopted the proposal and asked As ' ad Pasha al - Azm , the governor of Damascus , to divide the region , then known as " State of Lebanon " , into two districts : a northern district under a Christian deputy governor and a southern district under a Druze deputy governor . this arrangement came to be known as the Double Qaimaqamate . Both officials were to be responsible to the governor of Sidon , who resided in Beirut . The Beirut - Damascus highway was the dividing line between the two districts . This partition of Lebanon proved to be a mistake . Nurtured by outside powers , animosities between the religious sects increased . The French , for example , supported the Christians , while the British supported the Druzes , and the Ottomans fomented strife to increase their control on the divided State . Not surprisingly , these tensions led to conflict between Christians and Druzes as early as May 1845 . Consequently , the European powers requested that the Ottoman sultan establish order in Lebanon , and he attempted to do so by establishing a new council in each of the districts . Composed of members of the various religious communities , these councils were intended to assist the deputy governor . Peasant uprising in Keserwan . This system failed to keep order when the peasants of Keserwan , overburdened by heavy taxes , rebelled against the feudal practices that prevailed in Lebanon . In 1858 Tanyus Shahin , a Maronite peasant leader , demanded that the feudal class abolish its privileges . The demand refused , the peasants began to prepare for a revolt . In January 1859 , an armed uprising headed by Shahin flared up . The uprising targeted the shaykhs of Mount Lebanon , pillaging their land and burning their homes . Having driven the Maronite feudal lords out of Kesruan and seizing their land and property , the insurgent peasants set up their own rule . The Keserwan uprising , as it became known , had a revolutionary effect on other regions in Lebanon . The disturbances spread to Latakia and to central Lebanon . Maronite peasants , actively supported by their clergy , began to prepare for an armed uprising against their Druze masters . In turn , the Druze lords began to arm the Druze irregulars . 1860 Druze - Maronite massacre . Tensions escalated when the Maronite Patriarch of the time , Patriarch Paul Peter Massad , threatened the Druze Prince Mustapha that he would displace all the Druze in the Lebanon with 300 , 000 men that he had assembled . Allegedly , the war began with dispute between two children from Deir el Qamar , one Druze and the other Maronite , which spread from their families to their communities . Thus sparked , a torrent of violence swept through Lebanon . In a mere three days , from May 29 to 31 , 1860 , 60 villages were destroyed in the vicinity of Beirut . 33 Christians and 48 Druzes were killed . By June the disturbances had spread to the “ mixed ” neighbourhoods of southern Lebanon and Anti Lebanon , to Saida , Hasbaya , Rasheiya , Deir el Qamar and Zahlé . The Druze peasants laid siege to Catholic monasteries and missions , burnt them and killed the monks . In July 1860 , fighting spilled over into Damascus . With the connivance of the military authorities and Turkish soldiers , Druze and Sunni Muslim paramilitary groups organised pogroms which lasted three days ( July 9 – 11 ) . 25 , 000 Christians were killed , including the American and Dutch consuls . Churches and missionary schools were set on fire . Many Christians were saved through the intervention of the Muslim Algerian exile Abd al - Qadir and his soldiers , who brought them to safety in Abd al - Qadir ' s residence and the Citadel of Damascus . The Christian quarter of the old city ( mostly inhabited by Catholics ) , including a number of churches , was burnt down . The Christian inhabitants of the notoriously poor and refractory Midan district outside the walls ( mostly Orthodox ) were , however , protected by their Muslim neighbours . Most sources put the figure of those killed between 7 , 000 and 11 , 000 , with some claiming over 20 , 000 . A letter in the English " Daily News " in July 1860 states that between 7 , 000 and 8 , 000 had been murdered ; 5 , 000 widowed and 16 , 000 orphaned . James Lewis Farley , in a letter , speaks of 326 villages , 560 churches , 28 colleges , 42 convents , and 9 other religious establishments , having been totally destroyed . Churchill puts the figures at 11 , 000 murdered , 100 , 000 refugees , 20 , 000 widows and orphans , 3 , 000 habitations burnt to the ground , and 4 , 000 perishing from destitution . Other estimates claim 380 Christian villages were destroyed . International intervention . The bloody events led France to intervene and stop the massacre after Ottoman troops had been aiding Islamic forces by either direct support or by disarming Christian forces . France , led by Napoleon III , recalled its ancient role as protector of Christians in the Ottoman Empire which was established in a treaty in 1523 . Following the massacre and an international outcry , the Ottoman Empire agreed on 3 August 1860 to the dispatch of up to 12 , 000 European soldiers to reestablish order . Syrian region was then part of the Ottoman Empire . This agreement was further formalized in a convention on 5 September 1860 with Austria , Great Britain , France , Prussia and Russia . France was to supply half of that number , and other countries were to send supplementary forces as needed . General Beaufort d ' Hautpoul was put in charge of the expeditionary force . d ' Hautpoul was quite experienced and knowledgeable of matters in the Middle East , as he had served during the 1830s as chief of staff for Ibrahim Pasha in the Egyptian campaigns in Southern Syria . The French expeditionary corps of 6 , 000 soldiers , mainly from Châlons - sur - Marne , landed in Beyrouth on 16 August 1860 . Beaufort had instructions to collaborate with the Ottoman authorities in reestablishing order , and especially to maintain contact with the Ottoman minister Fuad Pasha . Although the troubles had already been quelled by the Ottoman Empire , the French expeditionary corps remained in Syria from August 1860 to June 1861 . This was longer than the initially agreed period of 6 months . The prolonged French presence in Syria was soon objected to by the British government , who argued that pacification should be left to Ottoman authorities . An important consequence of the French expedition was the establishment of the autonomy of the Mount Lebanon Mutasarrifate from Ottoman Syria , with the nomination by the Sultan of an Armenian Christian Governor from Constantinople named Daud Pasha on 9 June 1861 . The French intervention has been described as one of the first humanitarian intervention s .