The Règlement Organique and the Mount Lebanon Mutasarrifate under Davud Pasha

Background. Following the 1860 Druze–Maronite conflict, European powers pressured the Ottoman government to restructure Mount Lebanon's administration. The resulting Règlement Organique created a semi-autonomous Mutasarrifate, separating it from Syria. This arrangement formalized confessional representation in local administration, marking a shift towards sectarian governance frameworks within the Ottoman Empire's Tanzimat reform era.

Establishment of the Mutasarrifate. An international commission met in September 1860 to investigate the causes of the violence and recommend a new administrative system. The principles reached were formalized in the Protocol of 1861, signed on 9 June. This protocol established Mount Lebanon as a semi-autonomous mutasarrifate ruled by a non-Lebanese Christian mutasarrıf appointed by the Ottoman sultan with European approval.

First Mutasarrif. Garabet Artin Davoudian, an Armenian Catholic diplomat, was appointed as the first Mutasarrıf. He was raised to the rank of vizier and appointed in 1861 for a three-year term. His appointment marked the beginning of the Mutasarrifate era, during which confessional representation became the primary framework for political administration in Mount Lebanon.