Beirut 1920: The French Mandate That Carved Lebanon

In September 1920, General Henri Gouraud stood on a hill above Beirut and proclaimed the birth of Greater Lebanon. This episode traces the six months that led to that declaration — a period of secret diplomacy, backroom deals, and armed resistance that redrew the map of the Levant. We follow Gouraud's march from Damascus to Maysalun, where Faisal's makeshift army made a doomed last stand. We examine the role of Maronite Patriarch Elias al-Huwayyik in lobbying the French for an expanded state, and the quiet anger of Sunni and Druze communities who suddenly found themselves minority citizens in a Christian-led entity. We also explore the Sykes-Picot legacy, the San Remo conference, and the colonial logic that created a 'Greater Lebanon' with borders that still bleed today. Specifics include: the Battle of Maysalun (24 July 1920), the San Remo Resolution (25 April 1920), the role of Yusuf al-Azma, the shifting allegiances of the Lebanese feudal elite, and the first murmurs of the Lebanese National Movement. This is the forgotten blueprint for Lebanon's fragile century.

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