The Great Famine of Mount Lebanon: When War and Nature Collided 1915

In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore one of the most devastating yet often overlooked chapters in Lebanese history: the Great Famine of Mount Lebanon during World War I. Between 1915 and 1918, an estimated 200,000 people — nearly one-third of the population — perished from starvation, disease, and blockade. Lucas traces the causes: the Allied naval blockade of the eastern Mediterranean, the Ottoman government's policy of confiscating food and timber for the war effort, and a plague of locusts that devastated what little crops remained. He describes the remote mountain villages where families resorted to eating grass, bark, and even the dead. The episode highlights the role of Jamal Pasha, the Ottoman governor known as 'the Bloodthirsty,' who deliberately starved the region to suppress potential rebellion. Also featured are the American missionaries and local relief workers who tried to help, and the memory of the famine that still haunts Lebanese collective memory. This is a story of survival, cruelty, and resilience that reshaped Lebanon's identity.

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