|RNational holiday:|N Independence Day, November 22.
|RNature and climate:|N The two mountainchains Lebanon (Arabian for the White Mountain) and Antilebanon running from north to south dominates. Between them the fertile Bekaa Valley. Highest peak of the Lebanon Mountains reach 3083 m.a.s.l.
There is a narrow coastal strip towards the Mediterranean Sea.
Average temperature in January 13°C, much lower in the mountains that are snowcovered, and 26°C in July.
Percipitation between 500 and 1000 mm.
|RPeople:|N Arabs 93%, Armenians 6%.
|REconomy:|N 11% of the labour force is occupied in agriculture and 79% in industry, commerce and services.
The farms are extremely small but the soil is fertile. Most important crops are fruits, olives, tobacco, grapes, vegetables and grains.
There are few minerals. The only extracted are salt, lignite and iron ore.
Most important industries are food, textiles, cement, furniture and oil products.
Lebanon used to be a financial centre for the Middle East, but the civil war that started in 1975 have stopped the trade.
Tourism was also extensive, but was stopped in 1975.
|RHistory:|N Until 1920 Lebanon was a part of Syria and it is located in an area where nomadic Stone Age people first settled as farmers and was an early centre of civilization. There are rich finds from pre-historic times.
About 1500 BC it was conquered by Egypt and later by Hebrews, Phoenicians and Greeks. In the 4th century BC it belonged to Alexander the Great and after that it became an independent country and was the centre of Seleukid-realm that consisted of Syria, Lebanon, Israel, vast areas of Turkey, Iraq, Iran and Jordan.
63 BC this realm was conquered by the Romans and when the Roman Empire was divided in the 4th century AD, Lebanon/Syria became a part of the Byzantine Empire. During the Roman and Byzantine era it was an important Christian centre, but became one of the first areas won by Islam when it spread over the Arabian peninsula. Islamic rule was established 636 AD and between 661 and 751 the capital Damascus was the residence for the Caliphate, the highest authority of Islam.
In the 10th century it became an independent country, but in the 11th century it was conquered by the crusaders.
In 1260 it became a part of the Mamluk Empire of Egypt and was conquered by the Ottoman Turks in 1516. It remained a Turkish province until after World War I when it was divided in two mandate areas, one British under the name Palestine, which after World War II was divided in Israel and Jordan, and one French area, which after World War II was divided in Lebanon and Syria.
The constitution from 1943 guaranteed all the ethnic groups political influence with Christians in majority. When the Muslims in the 1970:ies became the majority they demanded larger political influence. This caused a civil war in 1975 that cost more than 40 000 people their lives. The large-scale fighting did not end until Syrian forces interfered in 1976.
The Palestinian Liberation Organization had strong bases in Lebanon and made raids into Israel. As punishment Israel performed several raids into Lebanon. In 1978 Israeli troops conquered the southern part of Lebanon and established a security-zone.
In 1982 Israeli troops invaded once again and this time they went all the way to capital Beirut bombarding the PLO-basis and forcing PLO-forces to leave Lebanon.
In 1989 a tentative peace treaty was signed between Christian and Moslem leaders and in 1991 the government, with help from Syria, attempted to regain control over the southern part of the country and to disarm all the private militias and thereby ending the civil war. However Israel refused to leave the security zone and in 1992 there were nationwide riots over the economic plight.
