Postage stamps and postal history of Lebanon
This is a survey of the postage stamps and postal history of Lebanon, formerly known as Liban. Lebanon is a country in Western Asia, on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It is bordered by Syria to the north and east, and Israel to the south. Early postal arrangements. The Turkish postal system had around 200 post offices in the region and foreign post offices were run by Austria, Great Britain, Egypt, France, Germany, Italy and Russia. Lebanon used the stamps of Turkey until 1917. Egyptian Expeditionary Force. Stamps of the British  Egyptian Expeditionary Force were available in Lebanon between 21 October 1918 and September 1920. French military occupation. Following the mandate given to France in 1920 and the defeat of Syrian forces in May 1920 at the Battle of Maysalun, Syria was divided in two countries, Syria and Lebanon; and both were under French military occupation. Stamps of France overprinted for use in Syria were used between 1919 and 1923 overprinted "T.E.O." (Territoires Ennemis Occupés) or "O.M.F." (Occupation Militaire Francaise). French Mandate. As a League of Nations mandate, Lebanon used the stamps of France, overprinted "Syrie Grand Liban" in 1923. The  postal administrations for Syria and Lebanon were separated in 1924, and the stamps of France overprinted "Grand Liban" were issued for Lebanon. From 1925 Lebanon had its own stamps marked "Grand Liban". Lebanese Republic. The Lebanese Republic was formed on 23 May 1926. At first, stamps were overprinted "Republique Libanaise". Later stamps were prepared in the name of the new republic. Independence. Lebanon proclaimed independence in November 1941. The French government accepted the independence of Lebanon on November 22, 1943. From the 1940s the term "Liban" started to be used, which is in French. Today all stamps of Lebanon are  marked simply "Liban".