What is 1860 civil conflict in Mount Lebanon and Damascus?
{{orphan|date=March 2025}} The '''1860 civil conflict in Mount Lebanon and Damascus''' (also called the '''1860 Syrian Civil War''') was a civil conflict in Mount Lebanon during [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] rule in 1860–1861, fought mainly between the local [[Druze]] and [[Christian|Christians]]. The Druze are a religious group that incorporate many beliefs from different religions, there are Druze communities across the world, but large numbers are found in [[Israel]], [[Lebanon]] and [[Syria]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Ostrovitz|first=Nina Landfield|date=1983|title=Who Are the Druze?|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/20671992|journal=World Affairs|volume=146|issue=3|pages=272–276|issn=0043-8200}}</ref> The violence was at the beginning of the conflict targeted at the [[Maronites]], but other Christian groups were targeted as well, such as members of the [[Greek Orthodox Church|Greek orthodox church]] in Damascus. Many Christian villages were destroyed in this war, along with their churches and monasteries. People were forced to abandon their homes and villages and became refugees. Also many people were killed. == Historical background == There has been tensions and periods of conflict between the Druzes and Maronites in Mount Lebanon, even before the civil war in 1860 started. The region in Mount Lebanon was divided in a Christian division and a Druze division, with each having their own governor. This all happened under Ottoman rule. The friction started to grow between the two groups, partly because of the involvement of outside powers. The British supported the Druzes and the French supported the Christians, while the Ottomans wanted to maintain its power all the way.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Those ancient differences|newspaper=The Economist|url=https://www.economist.com/erasmus/2013/09/01/those-ancient-differences|access-date=2022-05-18|issn=0013-0613}}</ref> === Peasant uprising in 1859 === The motivation for the Maronite peasant uprising was driven by economic factors and had a class-related struggle for