Introduction

"There is in Syria a small country of rocks and snow, without port, although the sea bathes it, without plain, although its ruffled dress a black train, torn off, seems to await its natural and logical destination. One wonders how he lives. Therefore, he does not live; he dies.[1] After four centuries of Ottoman hegemony and the end of World War One, the state of Greater Lebanon was proclaimed by General Gouraud, on September 1, 1920 under the guardianship of the League of Nations. The primary sources displayed in this online exhibition were retrieved from the French Diplomatic Archives, donated by Hikmat Kassir to the University Libraries. Showcased are documents related to the Peace Conference. Also, in an attempt to focus on the few days before and after the declaration, Claims for Territorial Attachment and Independence and other documents from the Arab World towards Tutorship are showcased, along with the Reactions after the Declaration of Greater Lebanon. Also in this exhibition are some documents related to the Beirut-Damascus Railway Company, during the same period, a series of Stamps, and a movie that also illustrate the period. Originally planned as a physical exhibition to support a conference on Greater Lebanon at AUB, it was decided to showcase some of its content virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the temporary closure of the Library.

Exhibit Curator: Mariette Atallah.
Acknowledgments: With much appreciation to Sahar Ghandour for text editing, Mona Assi and Maher Kassab for technical support, Dima Ahmadieh for feedback, Mirna Kalash for developing the Online Exhibition, and Sara Jawad for design.

1- Ghanem, C.( 1912, December 29). L’agonie du Liban. Le Matin (10531), 1. Doi: https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k570383h/f1.item [translated by AUB libraries]. Chukri Ghanem, President of the Syrian Central Committee in Paris.