Maronite Patriarch Summer Residence in Diman   Before the 18th century, the Maronite Patriarchate in Mount Lebanon was subjected to the rule of  Tripoli’s governors, a reality which forced the Patriarchs to seek protection by migrating towards  the district of Kerserwan, where the Khazens were in power. At the time, the Khazens had vowed […]

  Throughout the next few days, we will be publishing a series of posts on the Khazens and the Maronite Church.  Ever since they moved to Keserwan in the 16th century, the Khazen family and its Cheikhs have shown a unique and unmatched interest in the Church and in helping it prosper and spread out. […]

  Why The Khazen Cheikhs migrated to Keserwan: El Khazen Cheikhs migrated to Keserwan in the 16th century after various economic and political crisis that hit Lebanon due to the Ottoman invasion, forcing them to move to Keserwan which was safer and offered new economic opportunities.    Factors that led to population movements in the […]

Origins of the Family The Origins of the Khazen family are still vague. They might have emerged as nomads from the Ghassanides tribe that start moving between Damascus, Nablus, Houran and Yammoune in the year 1100 before settling in Jaj, a small village above Jbeil. The oldest trace to the Khazen family comes back to […]

  Cheikh Abou-Nawfal el Khazen After the death of Abou-Nader in 1647, the position of Moudabber was taken by his son Abou-Nawfal who was also in charge of collecting the taxes for his district that included Chouf, Keserwan, Batroun, Akkar and Jebbet Becharre. In 1652, Abou-Nawfal welcomed the Jesuites to Lebanon (in Antoura) and Pope […]

  Vengeance Fakhreddine could not take the humiliation of the previous battle and was still decided to take his vengeance and kept planning for it secretly. When the time came, he united his troops and those regrouped by Abou-Nader in Nahr Ibrahim and stormed the Ottoman Saifa stronghold, demolishing his castle and inflicting on him […]

  Abou Nader el Khazen   The Maan and the Khazen (Part1)   Fakhreddine The Great When the situation in Chouf went back to normal, Sitt Nassab left Balloune for her brother’s (Prince Seifeddine al-Tannoukhi) residence in Abey. When the children passed the minor age, which was 14 at the time, their uncle gave them […]

During the 18th and 19th century, under the guidance of the head of the family Cheikh Abou Naufal el Khazen and later on his sons the next consuls combined administrative responsibilities with the function of French consul. The Khazen were successful in spreading the message of the Maronites in Lebanon. They played a unique role […]

Early Life

Patriarch Youssef Dargham El Khazen is also known as Ibin Fayyad (Son of Fayyad) or Abi Kanssouh Ibin Abi Nawfal (Son of Abi Nawfal) Nader El Khazen. Patriarch Dargham was mostly known for being a strong and brave man, who handled his sword and riffle with deadly efficiency. His heroic stories span all across Lebanon, and the most notable incident happened back in 1704, when he was sent to reclaim the Maronite Patriarch’s honor.

Here is a short summary of what happened on that year based on testimonies from historical books and references.

In 1704, a group of Muslim Shiite Sheikhs (Known as Hamadiyyin) headed towards Deir Annoubin in Bcharreh to meet with Maronite Patriarch Estefan Doueihy and ask him for a large amount of money. The Patriarch did not comply with their demands as he did not have the money and as a result was assaulted physically by Sheikh Issa, leader of the Shiite Sheikhs, and then cursed and humiliated publically.  

After the assailants had left, Patriarch Doueihi dispatched a letter to Cheikh Hosn El Khazen informing him of the incident. Upon reading the letter, Sheikh Hosn became furious and quickly ordered his brother Sheikh Dargham and two of his relatives Sheikh Moussa Tarabay and Cheikh Nader Abou Khater to gather an army of 400 men and capture those who dared disrespect the Maronite Patriarch. 

Cheikh Hosn was the son of Fayyad aka Abi Kanssou, grandchild of Abi Nawfal, and whose father occupied many important positions during the rule of Prince Maan.

Khazen Family History and path to Lebanon (scientific results from DNA sample of an el Khazen member)