Maronite Historians of Medieval Lebanon (Publication of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences. Oriental Series, No. 34.) (Hardcover)

by Kamal Suleiman Salibi (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 262 pages
• Publisher: Ams Pr Inc (June 1959)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0404170358
• ISBN-13: 978-0404170356
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.8 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #5,610,358 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Just another masterpiece from Salibi, June 17, 2005

By	Hussain Abdul-Hussain (Washington,DC USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

When this book appeared in 1959, it revolutionized the writing of Lebanese history as it offered a revised version of the history of Maronites, a Christian sect originally following the Eastern rite but switching later to follow the Roman Catholic Church. The topic was the subject of Salibi's PhD dissertation at the University of London.
According to Salibi, the first account of Maronite history came in the form of popular poetry when a certain 15th century Maronite poet/historian with a name Ibn al-Qilaii provided the first such verion of his community's roots and origin. The second more interesting and more controversial Maronite historian was the community's patriarch, Estfan Duweihi.
According to Duweihi, the Maronites were never of an origin stock. Duweihi, the 18th century Maornite patriarch, claimed that Saint Maron, the presumed 5th century founder of the sect, was the nephew of 9th century French King Charlemagne. Apparently, the confusion in establishing dates never occurred to Duweihi who for most probably political reasons, rewrote his community's account in a way that best fit it politically at the time. This was the time when the Maronites were seeking foreign French support facing the Middle East's Muslim majority.
Salibi argues with skill that most of the Maronites who documented the history of their community did so with a political agenda in the back of their minds, rendering their accounts mostly inaccurate. Instead, Salibi believes that the Maronites come from a pure Arab stock and had, in ancient times, emigrated from the southern region of Yemen heading to the Syrian coast (which includes Syrian, Lebanon and Palestine).
Salibi's version of the Maronite history was seen unfavorable by the Maornite church. Salibi's debates with religious scholars on this and other similar issues are well known.