The Republic of Lebanon is a west Asian country with a coastline on the Mediterranean Sea and land borders with Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south. Partly because of its geography it has a long, rich and diverse history, culturally and religiously. In New Testament times it was part of the Roman Empire and became a major centre for the early spread of Christianity. Later it succumbed to Muslim conquest and eventually became part of the Ottoman Empire. Following that empire’s collapse at the end of World War I modern day Lebanon came under the French Mandate for Syria and Lebanon. The country gained its independence in 1943.
