HISTORY | The Village Of Niha

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HISTORY OF NIHA

It is highly likely that Niha has been continuously inhabited since ancient times. The village’s long-standing attraction is explained by several natural advantages: the abundance of Lebanese cedar trees suitable for trade, fertile agricultural land, reliable natural springs, a comfortable mountain climate during the non-winter months, and the extraordinary beauty and strategic isolation of its surrounding alpine landscape.

ORAL HISTORIES – TARABAY LINEAGE

Oral histories, particularly associated with the Tarabay family of the neighbouring village of Tannourine, as well as accounts linked to Dayr al-Ahmar, state that in 1759 A.D. the then occupants of Niha were evicted, and that the current ancestry of the village—linked to the Tarabay line—took possession of the land.

These oral accounts suggest that Antoun Tarabay (born 1691) from Tannourine led forces that took the village by force and established a new settlement lineage.

According to this legend, prior to 1759, parts of the northern mountain villages surrounding Niha consisted of a mixture of Christian and Shiite Muslim settlements. It is said that in 1759, a conflict was organised by Maronite Christian groups to expel Shiite Muslim communities from certain northern mountain villages, including Niha

Formation of Niha’s Major Family Bloodlines

After regaining control of the village, Antoun Tarabay, along with his nephew Karam, is said to have left Tannourine and settled permanently in Niha to cultivate and work the farms. This event is regarded in oral tradition as the beginning of the major ancestry lines of Niha from 1759 onwards.

According to this historical narrative, the families of:

Karam
Tarabay
Swaid

became the foundation of the three principal Niha family bloodlines that remain strongly recognised among Niha descendants today.

While oral histories from Niha families largely support the existence of these three bloodlines, some descendants and researchers have disputed parts of the legend—particularly the claims regarding the previous occupation of the village by Shiite communities—highlighting the complexity and sensitivity of historical memory in Lebanon’s mountain regions.

Additional Oral Histories and Family Origins

Further oral accounts relating to the origins of the Tarabay family suggest that as early as 500 A.D., members of the Tarabay lineage migrated from Iraq to Lebanon, initially settling in the Bekaa region. According to these accounts, the family is believed to have followed a migration pathway through multiple Lebanese settlements, including:

Zahle – Dayr al-Ahmar – Al Yammunah – Tannourine – Niha

It is notable that descendants of the Tarabay lineage are still found today across these villages, supporting the oral tradition of gradual settlement movement through the Lebanese mountain regions over centuries.

The Bou Hassan Narrative

Oral accounts state that the leader of the Niha Shiites during this period was a man known as Bou Hassan, who was killed during fighting led by Antoun Tarabay and his forces. Following Bou Hassan’s death, the Shiite population of Niha is believed to have fled to the village of Al-Hermel in the Bekaa region.
The legend also states that Antoun Tarabay’s brother died in the conflict, leaving behind an infant son named Karam, whom Antoun later raised alongside his two sons, Tarabayand Swaid.

Family Name Variations and Traditional Naming Practices

Variations in family surnames across Niha and surrounding villages are not uncommon. One major reason for this was the desire to avoid large numbers of people carrying the same surname within a small village community.

Additionally, it was historically common for sons to adopt their father’s Christian first name as a form of identification. As a result, it is not unusual for brothers within the same household to carry different surnames, reflecting older naming traditions rather than separate ancestry.

Migration of Other Families into Niha

While Niha’s major ancestry is commonly associated with the three principal bloodlines, other families have migrated into the village over time, including families originating from the Barhallioun and Akourah regions.

Oral accounts also indicate that some families emigrated away from Niha well before the major overseas migration periods. Examples include:

The Wakim family, who are believed to have moved to Baaqafra(the birthplace of Saint Charbel)
The Khalil family, who are believed to have relocated to Bazoun

These movements reflect the historical patterns of internal migration that shaped many Lebanese mountain villages prior to the major waves of international emigration.

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Bloodline – Surname Variations

Karam- Bloodline

The Karam family bloodline includes the following surname variations:

Karam, El Khouri, Rizk, Francis, Gerges

Tarabay / Torbay- Bloodline

The Tarabay (also written as Torbay) bloodline includes the following surname variations:

Tarabay, Torbay, Tarbey, Tabet, Assaf Haykel, Nasif, Roumanous, El Badawi

Swaid – Bloodline

The Swaid family bloodline includes the following surname variations:

Swaid,Daoud,Salim,Asaard,Saoud,Chaben,Abraham,Khalil,AzarGerges,Michel,Mutran,Antoun,Daaybis / Daybis,Davis,Tannous

Other Families and Associated Origins

Fahed Family

The Fahd family is believed to have migrated into Niha from the Barhallioun region.
Surname variations include: Fahd, Nohra, Issa

Simon Family

The Simon family is believed to have origins linked to the Akourah region.
Surname variations include: Simon, Constantine, Yacoub, Hanna, Khouri, Khalil

Deeb Family

The Deeb family is believed to have migrated from Baklik village, located near Mazraat Bani Saab.

PAST HISTORY

Settlement and Cedar Trade Significance

Legend and oral history suggest that Niha and its surrounding highlands supported a long history of settlement and seasonal employment. It is believed that various communities lived and worked in the region across different eras, including Phoenicians, Roman-era temple workers, Jews, and Arab groups, with local oral accounts referencing ancient burial grounds associated with these populations.

Archaeological discoveries in Niha and the adjoining village of Hardine have revealed cemeteries dating back to the first century, reinforcing the likelihood of continuous or recurring human presence in the region for thousands of years. Within the Niha area, an ancient ruin is also known locally as the “Ruin of the Mitwalis”, a term historically associated with Shiite Muslim communities, further highlighting the layered religious and cultural footprint of the village landscape.

Niha Cedar and lumber Trade

Niha may have served as a cedar lumber camp for many centuries, given the village’s proximity to extensive cedar forests and its strategic mountain location and below the snow line, Cedar timber was one of the most valuable natural resources in the ancient world and was sought after by major civilisations for its strength, durability, and natural resistance to weathering and insect infestation.

The Lebanese Cedar (Cedrus libani), regarded as one of the finest cedar species in the world, was used extensively in the construction of major ancient structures and civilisational infrastructure. Historical records note cedar’s use by:

The Pharaohs of Egypt, including the use of cedar oil resin in the preservation of mummies
Greek and Hebrew temples, including King Solomon’s Temple
Shipbuilding, chariots, and structural construction works across the Mediterranean

Phoenician Origins

Historical and geographical evidence suggests that Niha may have been occupied as early as 3300 B.C., during the Phoenician era. The region’s extensive cedar forests would have been of exceptional importance to the Phoenicians, as Lebanese cedar was a highly valued resource and a foundation of their maritime dominance across the Mediterranean.

Phoenician ruins remain visible on a cliff-top peak immediately above Niha, indicating the presence of an ancient temple site and settlement activity in the surrounding highlands.

Roman Period and Temple Conversion

During the Roman era, this Phoenician temple site was later converted into a pagan temple, traditionally linked to the period of Roman Emperor Hadrian (reign 117–138 A.D.). This transformation reflects the wider Roman expansion into Lebanon and the repurposing of existing sacred sites into Roman religious and administrative landscapes.

Strategic and Military Significance –

“Watchtower Effect”

Niha’s location was not only religious and cultural, but also strategic. Geographical studies suggest that the elevated cliff-top Phoenician/Roman temple above Niha functioned as a natural lookout and communications point.

From these high points, clear lines of sight extend toward the Mediterranean coastline and deep into the hinterland. Byzantine-era military accounts indicate that such elevated sites across Mount Lebanon were used for visual telegraphy, including fire signalling, to warn coastal towns such as Batroun and Byblos of movements through the mountains.

On exceptionally clear days, observers positioned at Niha’s high ridges are believed to have been able to see as far north as Tartous in Syria, and even the distant outline of Cyprus, reinforcing the possibility that the site served both religious and defensive functions across successive civilisations.

DIASPORA CONTRIBUTIONS & COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

Over recent decades, Niha has benefited greatly from the generosity of expatriates, private individuals, and community organisations. Donations and community support have contributed significantly to the village’s development, heritage restoration, and social wellbeing.

Key contributions have included:

Rebuilding and restoring the village church, which was shelled during wartime
Upgrading the church and village piazza
Construction of a community hall
Installation of water piping systems from natural springs to the village
Street tree planting and beautification initiatives
Construction of retaining walls and village protection works
Relocation and upgrading of the village cemetery
Development of the access path to Saydet Al-Qalaa
Support for vulnerable individuals, including the elderly and sick, through assistance with daily expenses and medical needs

These collective efforts demonstrate the enduring commitment of Niha’s diaspora and community networks to preserving village heritage and improving living conditions.

KEY DATES IN THE HISTORY OF NIHA & SURROUNDING AREA

The history of Lebanon is almost as old as the earliest evidence of humankind. Its geographic position as a crossroads linking the Mediterranean Basin with the great Asian hinterland has made it a region of continual settlement and conflict.

At different periods of its history, Lebanon has come under the domination of foreign rulers, including Assyrians, Babylonians, Armenians, Persians, Greeks, Romans, Arabs, Ottomans, and the French. Although often conquered, the Lebanese take pride in their rebellions against despotic and repressive rulers. Moreover, despite foreign domination, Lebanon’s mountainous terrain has provided protective isolation, enabling it to survive with an identity all its own.

Pre-historic Man

The surrounding area was inhabited by primitive man in adjoining villages, including caves at Kfarsheefa and Kfarhilda, overlooking the Jawz River. Archaeological discoveries of stone tools and engravings confirm that the region contains a large number of flint tools from the Stone Age, including arrowheads.

Two chains of caves were discovered along the path of Al Jawz River and it is believed they were settlements of early man. One of these chains, and the most famous, exists about a kilometre from the outlet of the Al Jawz River below Tannourine. Plenty of axes, knives, drills, perforators, and granite pieces were retrieved from these caves, verifying early settlement dating back thousands of years B.C.

5000 B.C.

Lebanon is a country where one of the oldest continuously populated cities in the world is located. Byblos (Jbeil), as it is known today, is at least 7,000 years old.

3300 B.C. – 64 B.C.

Canaanites, later called Phoenicians, lived in the area. In 1500 B.C. the Phoenician alphabetic script of 22 letters was used at Byblos. This method of writing was later adopted by the Greeks, who in turn passed on the alphabet to the Romans. It was the Phoenicians’ most remarkable and distinctive contribution to civilisation.

9th Century B.C.

King Solomon of Israel sent thousands of Hebrew soldiers and citizens to the Lebanon mountain range for the logging and shipping of cedar trees to build his Temple. The remote possibility exists that Niha’s cedars were used. In any event, the area then or later would have become part of the leading lumber timber camps in the most important cedar trade during ancient times, as Hebrew graves have been found in Niha.

117 – 138 AD

Adjacent to Niha village, at an altitude of approximately 1,500 metres above sea level, stood a Phoenician temple. During this period it was converted by the Romans to a temple dedicated to the god Mercury (Roman god of trade). It was rebuilt as a pagan temple during the reign of Emperor Hadrian (117–138 AD), consisting of approximately 30 ionic-style pillars.

An expansive courtyard with a coastal view of North Lebanon as far as the ancient Syrian port city of Tartous surrounded it. It was destroyed in the 6th century AD, with only a few columns remaining. Water to service the temple was obtained through terracotta pipes from the natural springs of Niha.

Legend has it that the temple was also the summer castle of the King’s daughter, and that the ruins of its courtyard later became home to the Saint Risha Church and Monastery, which now lies in ruins. Between 1384 and 1598 AD, some accounts suggest the seat of the Syrian Jacobite Christian Archdiocese was also located on the site.

The area was apparently also the scene of a collective sacrifice: thirteen nuns who refused to renounce their Christian faith are said to have thrown themselves from the top of the 700m high cliff.

It is also commented that the neighbouring village of Hardine has over 50 tombs engraved with Latin writings mentioning Emperor Hadrian Augustus who visited the area.

64 B.C. to approx. 636 A.D.

The Roman–Byzantine Period

270 AD

Some suggestions, although not verified, state that the neighbouring village of Hardine was the first village in the Lebanese mountains to adopt Christianity as its religion.

5th Century

Documentary accounts indicate the surrounding mountainous region (including Niha) was converted to Christianity en masse from paganism in the early to mid-5th century via a long stay by a visiting Syrian monk, St Abraham (Ibrahim), and through visits by villagers of the area to the hermit St Simon (The Great) the Stylite near Aleppo in Syria. The area has been known as a Maronite Catholic stronghold and has had a Maronite majority since.

9th Century

The monastery of St Sarkis al-Karim, located on the crest of the mountain below the Temple of the god Mercury overlooking Niha, below Saydet al-Qalaa, is the oldest known ruins in existence of a Maronite monastery in the immediate area dating back to the 9th century AD.

Documentary evidence suggests this was briefly a Maronite Patriarchal residence around this time. Part of the monastery grounds led to a monk’s solitary hermitage of size 4m x 2.7m, overlooking the surrounding area.

Some accounts suggest this was later known as the “Presidential Monastery”, and that Sara, the Hardinian hermit nun (who died in 1199), lived in this hidden monastery.

1104 – 1289 A.D.

The Crusader Period

By the mid-eighth century, the majority of Maronites resided in Lebanon (as well as Cyprus, Syria, modern-day Turkey and Iraq), and established a tightly knit Christian society presided over, even in temporal affairs, by the Patriarch.

The Crusades brought the Maronites into direct contact with Rome in 1215, and from this time onward ties have remained very strong between the Maronites and Rome.

The legend of Saint George, who later became the patron saint of England, may have lived in Lebanon. He fought the famous sea-dragon at the mouth of a river near Beirut. Most likely, the Christian Crusaders took Saint George’s tale back with them to the West.

1267 AD

Towards the end of the 13th century, the Mamelukes of Egypt began to gain the upper hand in the eastern Mediterranean and the Crusaders retreated to other areas such as Cyprus and Rhodes, along with many Maronites.

1283 AD

The first and only mummy of the Maronite people was discovered in the adjoining village of Hadath al-Jibbeh in the post-2000 period.

1297 – 1307

Maronite Patriarchal headquarters located in the adjoining village of Hardine.

1808

Joseph Kassab was born in Hardine adjoining Niha and has now become Saint Nimatallah al-Hardini. Because of close contacts with adjoining villages, Saint Nimatallah may well have visited Niha. He was mentor to Saint Charbel.

1845 – 1918

Between 1845 and 1860, hatred was incited by the Ottomans who ruled Lebanon. They worked hard to break the Maronites’ spirit of independence. Dozens of villages, churches, and monasteries were destroyed. Up to 10,000 were martyred and many more displaced, with thousands emigrating to the Americas and, to a lesser extent, Australia.

The persecution returned between 1914 and 1918 when the Ottomans blocked the roads to the mountains of Lebanon causing a human disaster. Tens of thousands of people died of famine and disease, and thousands emigrated. After the First World War, Lebanon was liberated from the Ottomans by France.

1943

Lebanon gained independence from France on 22 November 1943. Christian and Muslim political leaders forged an unwritten National Pact. The pact stated that Lebanon is an independent country with Arabic and European cultures.

The major administrative positions were distributed among major sects with:

President: Maronite Christian
Prime Minister: Sunni Muslim
Speaker of Parliament: Shiite Muslim

Lebanon is the only country in the Middle East with a Christian leader as head of state.

1860’s – 1925

Niha descendants began migrating to the Americas and Cuba.

Pre-1960

Access to and from the village was by foot and donkey. There was no road access, electricity, television, or telephone until around the 1960s. Many emigrants tell stories of leaving the village by foot or donkey, sometimes walking in hip-deep snow with a bag on their back.

Transport overseas was by boat, often taking up to five weeks.

Local residents of Niha tell stories of discoveries of ancient treasures of gold and jewellery, including in the 1960s at the Phoenician temple above the village.

During this period, the government first surveyed the village to register land under official ownership.

Most village houses were constructed of stone with flat mud roofs, consisting of two rooms for sleeping and living. Most residents relied on agriculture, with the principal commercial crop being silk production.

Children attended the local village school, while some attended coastal schools if their families maintained coastal homes.

A postal service from Douma delivered mail twice a week.

1975 – 1990

The Lebanese Civil War

During the Civil War, Niha became one of the front lines in the northern mountain region and a stronghold for the surrounding area. A Christian militia, with a majority of village men from Niha, occupied the village and its strategic surrounds. Niha became a famous military battle and turning point in the Civil War that stopped the advancing Syrian Army.

In 1979, Niha was shelled for several days by the Syrian Army, which attempted to capture the village due to its strategic mountaintop position. The main church and several houses were damaged. While the men stayed to fight and protect the village, the women and children fled in knee-deep snow and took refuge in Saydet al-Qalaa, a chapel cave in the mountain.

The Syrian army occupied most Christian villages in Northern Lebanon, but this battle stopped further advancement and established Niha as a frontline village that remained free from occupation.

During further fighting in Lebanese coastal towns against the Syrian Army and militia forces, many Christian families fled to northern mountain villages for refuge, and Niha became one of the villages that sheltered displaced families.

The village perimeter was heavily mined during this period. Despite government efforts to remove mines, many areas around the village remain dangerous, with anti-personnel mines still buried in some zones. Today, these areas are generally fenced or signposted.

The only access road to Niha was blocked by land mines from Mazraat Bani Saab, which was an established Syrian checkpoint zone. With this road blocked, the militia constructed a new access road from Kfour al-Arbi to Niha, creating a supply route and restoring access.

Further military roads were built in the alpine and cedar forest areas above the village for strategic lookouts and protection. Roads were also constructed through rugged terrain toward Hadath al-Jibbeh and through the cedar forest to Arz Niha peak. Many of these roads are now in disrepair and some remain land-mined.

After the war ended in 1990, the road to Mazraat Bani Saab was reopened. The Kfour al-Arbi road became neglected as it was not an official government road and had been built on privately owned land. The Lebanese government is currently taking steps to resume land ownership and reopen this road, which would provide improved access to the adjoining historic Christian villages of Kfarhilda, Douma, and Tannourine.

During the war, the village school located above the church near the oak tree was closed and has not reopened. This oak tree remains a famous landmark in the village, where elders share stories and memories of village life.

1999

The Tannourine Cedar Forest Nature Reserve was created under Lebanese law and is one of the largest and densest cedar forests in Lebanon, covering approximately 12 square kilometres with over 70,000 trees. The cedar forest also extends to neighbouring Niha and Hadath al-Jibbeh.

2011

The Lebanese government commenced installation of town water services in Niha. Plans were also underway to construct sewerage discharge lines to be directed to a treatment plant several kilometres away.

Many residents began replanting orchards that had been abandoned during the Civil War. This contributed to the restoration of agriculture and encouraged rebuilding and renovation of houses, including hobby farms established by expatriates.

2026

Niha is a historic alpine mountain village situated within Lebanon’s largest remaining cedar forest landscapes. In 2025, Niha established its first elected municipal council, committed to transparent governance, sustainable rural development, heritage preservation, and international cooperation, with a renewed focus on engaging younger generations of the global diaspora with their ancestral village.

The newly elected Municipal Mayor is as follows:

Youssef Fahd
Municipal Mayor and Head Representative, Municipality of Niha, North Lebanon