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Labib Mansour

Historical Snapshot: When Russia Occupied Beirut

It’s a little-known fact Beirut was actually the first ever Arab city to be under Russian rule. Tsarist Russia, then led by Catherine the Great, managed to occupy the city twice between 1772 and 1774.



The first occupation lasted just 5 days, from June 23 to 28, 1772. The ruler of Egypt, Ali Bey al-Kabir, who was later nicknamed Jinn Ali, had rebelled against the Sultan and the Ottoman Empire with whom the Russians were at war with, so an alliance seemed favorable to all.

However, before this alliance materialized, Ali Bey al-Kabir had already dispatched an army of 40,000 soldiers under the command of his close confidant Muhammad Bey Abu al-Dhahab to the Levant. This strong force was supposed to meet up with the forces of al-Kabir’s new ally Zahir al-Umar in Palestine.

Unfortunately for Ali Bey al-Kabir, Dhahab was convinced by the Ottoman authorities to betray his ruler in exchange for him becoming the ruler of Egypt. Al-Dhahab obliged, leaving both Zahir al-Umar and Ali Bey al-Kabir stranded.



Ali Bey al-Kabir was convinced that he could defeat the Sultan and the treacherous Dhahab through an alliance with Russia. Thus, he sent an envoy to propose this arrangement to Catherine, and the tsarina obliged. Ali Bey al-Kabir had left out a key detail: he was no longer in control of Egypt and hiding with his ally al-Umar in the Levant.

The Russian forces initially sailed for Egypt, but upon learning of Ali Bey al-Kabir’s defeat, sailed up the coast to try and locate him. They eventually found him in Acre and managed to relieve the 6,000 men loyal to al-Umar who were under siege by a 30,000 strong Ottoman army in Saida.

Trying to build on this victory, the Russian fleet then sailed up to Beirut to try and take the last Levant port controlled by the Ottoman Empire. After 5 days and one unsuccessful landing attempt, the Russians eventually managed to land in Beirut, looting 550,000 qirsh worth of goods and cash in the process.



Youssef Chehab, the emir of Mount Lebanon at the time, eventually managed to negotiate a withdrawal with the Russians. In addition to a significant payment, the emir had agreed to join the coalition of Ali Bey al-Kabir in exchange for control of Beirut.

That ends the story of Russia’s first occupation of Beirut, but after much insistence from Ali Bey al-Kabir, the Russians would return a few years later, taking over Beirut a second time.