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History
The village of
tleil was a main post on the historical drayb road between the eastern
mediterranean coast and the syrian hinterland.
Centuries ago, it
was a passageway to many civilizations and historical epochs. Its demography
was deeply influenced by such vicissitudes.
Therefore, it is
very useful to remember the sort of our dear tleil during those periods.
1- tleil was a
passageway to patriarchs:
In 694 ad, the
patriarch john maron passed through drayb area during his migration from
aleppo to the lebanese hinterland.
2- tleil, a battle
ground:
In 1087, tleil saw
the "battle of tleil" between khalaf bin malahib, prince of
homs (emessa), and ibn ammar, prince of tripoli.
3- tleil in the
crusaders era:
In february 1099
ad, the crusaders entered lebanon. Their first booty was their conquest
of the drayb area, at the hands of the spartan legion, which made tleil
its headquarters.
4- tleil in the mamluk
era:
The era saw
persecutions of the tleil inhabitants were persecuted, and churches
deteriorated throughout the surrounding villages.
5- tleil in the
ottoman era:
At the beginning
of the turkish era, the drayb villages were dominated by the sayfa clan.
But as soon as the
opportunity presented itself, prince fakhruddin eliminated youssef sayfa,
the head of the sayfa clan, and annexed the drayb area to his emirate.
In this area, he
resettled some of its christian inhabitants, who were deported from them
during the sayfa clan rule.
The drayb area in
akkar flourished again and became a secure passageway between the
lebanese seashore and the syrian hinterland.
When the authority
of the maan rulers receded from this drayb area, the ottoman state gave
in concession some of akkar villages to the hamidi sheikhs, then to the
merheb clan. The first duty of these concessionaries was to pay
concession taxes to the turkish state, relying most of land reclaiming.
Therefore they brought into these villages christian families from mount
lebanon and from wadi annasara in syria.
Most of the
concessionaries who followed each other on the drayb villages, acted as
feudal lords.
6- tleil during
the first world war:
Like other
villages in this area, tleil was during this period subject to ottoman
oppression and despotism, through military conscription. A main result was
the migration of many families to the americas. In the spring of 1915,
tleil was devastated like all other lebanese villages by swarms of
locusts, which devoured crops and plants. The situation was worsened by
the break out and spread of diseases and epidemics causing innumerable
deaths.
7- tleil during
the french mandate:
In september 1919,
the french authorities appointed a french officer, captain meek, as an
administrator for the district of akkar. He ruled with an iron grip and
wiped out all criminal gangs. The drayb area was positively affected and
life became acceptable. In 1928, work started to build the main road
linking halba to kobayat.
In 1932, the first
census took place for residents and emigrants.
In 1939, the first
regular school throughout the surrounding area was set up in tleil. It
was known as the school of father paul.
8- tleil during
world war ii:
During that war,
tleil lived through a period of cereal crisis, scarcity, fear, and
hunger. The main cause was the closure of sea roads, which prevented
money to come from overseas migrants toward people living in the village.
9- tleil during
the independence era:
After lebanon got
its independence, the people of tleil lived in peace and prosperity. That
was a natural outcome of peace and security reigning in lebanon.
Concrete houses
and building were erected.
The first public
school was opened. It educated generations of young men who joined public
administrations and climbed the stairs up to high positions.
In 1967, tleil was
connected to the electrical grid.
In 1970, all the
lands of tleil were officially surveyed and registered.
In 1970, the
village got drinking water in a new grid of pipes.
In 1972, the first
club was set up in tleil. It was a non profit social club.
10- tleil during the lebanese war:
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