Beirut 1876: The Sursock Family and Lebanon's Silk Empire

Long before the civil war, before the French Mandate, before the silk boom even, there was Beirut's merchant aristocracy. This episode dives into one family: the Sursocks. From their Greek Orthodox roots in Ottoman Beirut to their vast landholdings and silk filatures across Mount Lebanon and the Bekaa, the Sursocks weren't just rich — they were a power unto themselves. We trace how they accumulated land through tax farming and marriage, built the famous Sursock Palace (now a museum), and eventually ran into trouble with a changing world: the silk crash of the 1920s, land reforms, and the rise of a nationalist elite. Along the way, we meet their rivals the Bustros and Khazin families, and see how their story echoes through Lebanon's long arc of commerce and conflict. Expect names like Sursock, Bustros, Khazin, Deir al-Qamar, Bikfaya, and a revealing look at how one family shaped a nation.

#Sursock #Beirut #LebanonHistory #SilkBoom #OttomanEmpire #GreekOrthodox #MerchantElite #SursockPalace #DeirAlQamar #Bikfaya #Bustros #Khazin #TaxFarming #Filature #19thCentury #History #FexingoHistory #Lebanon

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