Ottoman-Druse War (1585)

Ottoman-Druse War (1585)

PRINCIPAL COMBATANTS: Ottoman Turks vs. Lebanese Druse

PRINCIPAL THEATER(S): Lebanon

DECLARATION: None

MAJOR ISSUES AND OBJECTIVES: The Ottomans sought to
suppress rebellion among the Druse.

OUTCOME: The Druse rebellion was suppressed, but, in
Lebanon, the Druse remained an important political force.

APPROXIMATE MAXIMUM NUMBER OF MEN UNDER ARMS:
Unknown

CASUALTIES: Unknown

TREATIES: None

The Islamic sect known as the Druse was small but important
during the 16th century. The Ottoman sultan Selim I
(1467–1520) sought to placate Druse interests by naming
Lebanon’s Fakhr ad-Din (d. 1544) emir of the Ottoman
Empire’s Druse. However, in 1585, the Shi’ite ruler of
Tripoli, Yusuf Sayfa (fl. 1580s), led an insurrection against
the Ottoman sultan. The rebel forces encompassed a number
of religious groups, including Druse led by Korkmaz
(1544–85), the son of Fakhr ad-Din. The Ottomans put
down the rebellion and executed Korkmaz. He was succeeded
first by his uncle and then by Fakhr ad-Din II
(1572–1635), grandson of Fakhr ad-Din. Although nominally
under Ottoman control, the Druse came to dominate
Lebanese politics.

See also MAMLUK-PERSIAN-OTTOMAN WAR (1516–
1517).

Further reading: Jason Goodwin, Lords of the Horizon:
A History of the Ottoman Empire (New York: Picador, 2003);
Colin Imber, Ottoman Empire: 1300–1650 (London: Palgrave
Macmillan, 2003); Halil Inalcik, The Ottoman Empire: The
Classical Age, 1300–1600 (London: Phoenix Press, 2001).