ROMSO Cyprus Knowledge Base

--- CONTENT ---
The Russian occupations of Beirut in June 1772 and from October to August 1773 were part of a military expedition in the Levant in the Russo-Turkish War (1768–1774). In doing so, the Russian Mediterranean Fleet, under the command of Alexei Orlov, tried to support Egyptian governor Ali Bey al-Kabir and several local tribes fighting in open rebellion against the Ottoman Empire.

Prehistory
After initial defeats of the Ottoman Empire in the Caucasus and the Balkans, Ali Bey al-Kabir decided in 1771 to declare the independence of the province of Egypt, which was already a largely autonomous conglomerate of different tribes and ethnic groups such as the Druze. Later that year, he sent a force under Muhammad Bey Abu al-Dhahab to conquer the Ottoman trading towns in the Levant, asking for support from the Russian Navy, which agreed to send six ships to Damiette to assist him. Even before the Russian squadron under Adjutant General Rizo reached Damiette, Ali Bey al-Kabir’s former commander Muhammad Bey Abu al-Dhahab took control of Egypt with his forces. Ali Bey al-Kabir fled to Haifa in the Levant, where Rizo contacted him on June 3. Rizo eventually learned of an Ottoman squadron near Beirut preparing for the bombing of Tyros, a city controlled by Ali Bey al-Kabir’s forces. On June 15, the Russian squadron set off for Beirut.

First occupation

On June 18, Rizo reached Beirut and attacked. On the first day of the attack, several Ottoman ships were destroyed in the port of Beirut, allowing him to land troops off Beirut the next day. Although a Russian ship was sunk on June 20, the land forces managed to capture parts of the city. On June 23, the city was finally completely conquered, the Russian forces remained there until 28. June, before they set course in Cyprus to regroup. Only a small contingent remained. Now that the Ottomans were weakened in the region, Ali Bey al-Kabir urged Egypt to be recaptured from Muhammad Bey Abu al-Dhahab. Russia, however, already had on the 20. In May, a ceasefire was concluded with the Ottomans, about which the Russian Mediterranean fleet was only now informed, which severely limited their support for Ali Bey al-Kabir. His army was defeated on the way to Cairo and Ali Bey al-Kabir died a few days later. His ally Dhaher al-Omar now took over his territories. Beirut was recaptured by independent tribal leaders supported by the Ottomans, who were themselves too weak to intervene directly.

Second occupation
When in 1773, after the end of the armistice, the Russians returned to the Levant under the command of Mikhail Koshuchov, they decided to give way to the