Lebanon Colonial Records

Ottoman Empire Colonization (1516-1918)
The Ottoman sultan, Salim I, invaded Syria and Lebanon in 1516, but allowed the Lebanese Emirs a semi-autonomous status. The Ottomans ruled Lebanon until the middle of the nineteenth century.

French Colonization (1920-1943)
After the collapse of the Ottoman Empire after World War I, the five areas that are now modern Lebanon came under the French Mandate of Lebanon. In November 1943, Lebanon gained its independence from France.