caption death_date death_place home_town birth_place religion house children image_size title relatives parents birth_date image article_title name
fakhr-al-din ii 13 april 1635 istanbul , ottoman empire baakleen baakleen , mount lebanon emirate -lrb- ottoman empire -rrb- druze ma'an ali haidar mansour buluk hassan hussein 200px the of arabstan big , sultan of the lands , prince fakhreddine ibn-maan i -lrb- grandfather -rrb- korkmaz ibn-maan 6 august 1572 emir_faḫereddin_ibn_ma . png ` n _ -lrb- _ faḫereddin_ii -rrb- -2 fakhr-al-din ii
 fakhr-al-din ibn maan ii
fakhr-al-din ii

emir fakhr-al-din ibn maan -lrb- august 6 , 1572 -- april 13 , 1635 -rrb- -lrb- -rrb- , also transliterated fakhreddine , was a druze ma'ani prince and an early leader of the emirate of chouf , a self-governed area under the ottoman empire between the 17th and 19th centuries .
son of prince qorqmaz ibn maan -lrb- -rrb- and sit nasab -lrb- -rrb- of the tanukhi family , he was given the title `` emir '' or prince in arabic because the maan family was pre-eminent in the shouf and , periodically , a larger area .
he is often referred to as `` fakhr ad-din ii '' because of his grandfather fakhr ad-din i .
he and members of his family were from time to time appointed sanjakbeyi or governor/tax-farmer of districts -lrb- sanjaks -rrb- like sidon or beirut .
his period was characterized by economic and cultural prosperity , and he had fought other lebanese families to unite the people of lebanon and seek independence from the ottoman empire .
he is therefore considered by some to be the first `` man of lebanon '' to seek the sovereignty of modern-day lebanon .
others consider this to be anachronistic as his aims were more dynastic than national .
however , the ottomans eventually tired of this troublesome vassal .
sultan murad iv had him executed with one or two of his sons on april 13 , 1635 .
born in baakline to a druze family , he was according to some accounts raised in the lebanese village of abey .
there are conflicting versions of his early life , but it is certain that his father died when he was 13 .
one of the better accounts of the maans in general and fakhr ad-din in particular is by abdul-rahim abu-husayn .
in 1608 fakhr-al-din forged an alliance with the italian grand duchy of tuscany .
the alliance contained both a public economic section and a secret military one .
fakhr-al-din 's ambitions , popularity and unauthorized foreign contacts alarmed the ottomans who authorized hafiz ahmed pasha , muhafiz of damascus , to mount an attack on lebanon in 1613 in order to reduce fakhr-al-din 's growing power .
professor abu-husayn has made the ottoman archives relevant to the emir 's career available .
faced with hafiz 's army of 50,000 men , fakhr-al-din chose exile in tuscany , leaving affairs in the hands of his brother emir yunis and his son emir ali beg .
they succeeded in maintining most of the forts such as banias -lrb- subayba -rrb- and niha which were a mainstay of fakhr ad-din 's power .
before leaving , fakhr ad-din paid his standing army of `` soqban `` s -lrb- mercenaries -rrb- two years wages in order to secure their loyalty .
hosted in tuscany by the medici family , fakhr-al-din was welcomed by the grand duke cosimo ii , who was his host and sponsor for the two years he spent at the court of the medici .
he spent a further three years as guest of the spanish viceroy of sicily and then naples , the duke osuna .
fakhr-al-din had wished to enlist tuscan or other european assistance in a `` crusade '' to free his homeland from ottoman domination , but was met with a refusal as tuscany was unable to afford such an expedition .
the prince eventually gave up the idea , realizing that europe was more interested in trade with the ottomans than in taking back the holy land .
his stay nevertheless allowed him to witness europe 's cultural revival in the 17th century , and bring back some renaissance ideas and architectural features .
by 1618 , political changes in the ottoman sultanate had resulted in the removal of many of fakhr-al-din 's enemies from power , allowing fahkr-al-din 's return to lebanon , whereupon he was able quickly to reunite all the lands of lebanon beyond the boundaries of its mountains ; and having revenge from emir yusuf pasha ibn siyfa , attacking his stronghold in akkar , destroying his palaces and taking control of his lands , and regaining the territories he had to give up in 1613 in sidon , tripoli , bekaa among others .
under his rule , printing presses were introduced and jesuit priests and catholic nuns encouraged to open schools throughout the land .
in 1623 , the prince angered the ottomans by refusing to allow an army on its way back from the persian front to winter in the bekaa .
this -lrb- and instigation by the powerful janissariy garrison in damascus -rrb- led mustafa pasha , governor of damascus , to launch an attack against him , resulting in the battle at majdel anjar where fakhr-al-din 's forces although outnumbered managed to capture the pasha and secure the lebanese prince and his allies a much needed military victory .
the best source -lrb- in arabic -rrb- for fakhr ad-din 's career up to this point is a memoir signed by al-khalidi as-safadi , who was not with the emir in europe but had access to someone who was , possibly fakhr ad-din himself .
however , as time passed , the ottomans grew increasingly uncomfortable with the prince 's increasing powers and extended relations with europe .
in 1632 , kuchuk ahmed pasha was named muhafiz of damascus , being a rival of fakhr-al-din and a friend of sultan murad iv , who ordered kuchuk ahmed pasha and the sultanate 's navy to attack lebanon and depose fakhr-al-din .
this time , the prince had decided to remain in lebanon and resist the offensive , but the death of his son emir ali beik in wadi el-taym was the beginning of his defeat .
he later took refuge in niha 's grotto , closely followed by kuchuk ahmed pasha .
he surrendered to the ottoman general jaafar pasha , whom he knew well , under circumstances that are not clear .
fakhr-al-din was taken to istanbul and kept in the yedikule -lrb- seven towers -rrb- prison for two years .
he was then summoned before the sultan .
fakhr-al-din , and one or two of his sons , were accused of treason and executed there on 13 april 1635 .
there are unsubstantiated rumors that the younger of the two boys was spared and raised in the harem , later becoming ottoman ambassador to india .
after his death , his nephew ahmed maan ruled the shouf heartland of fakhr ad-din 's former domains .
on ahmed 's death in 1697 , the shihab family succeeded the maans as `` emirs of mount lebanon '' .
rumors have it that fakhr-al-din had secretly adopted the christian faith .
those rumors , first reported in the memoirs of fakhr ad-din 's personal physician , the franciscan etienne roger , are not corroborated by any other independent source .
in addition , during his time in italy , many priests tried to convert him to christianity but he refused to change his religion and said : `` we came here to talk politics and not to change our religion '' .
thus historians agree that fakhreddine lived and died as a druze .
