Maans

The Banu Ma'an tribe (Arabic: الأسرة المعنية‎) (also Ma'n, ALA-LC: Ma‘nī, adjective:Ma'anid, Ma'nid), were a tribe and dynasty of Qahtani Arab some of which later became Druze and rulers of the Mount Lebanon Emirate in the Lebanon Mountains during a period of the Ottoman Empire, and one of the most successful ruling dynasties in Druze history. They originated from coastal Hadramaut in southern Yemen. They moved into the Levant via Al-Hasa and formed a tribal alliance with the larger Al Azd tribe during the journey.

Their authority began to rise with Fakhr-al-Din I, who was permitted by Ottoman authorities to organize his own army, and reached its peak with Fakhr ad Din II (1572–1635). Fakhr ad Din II's rule extended "from Antioch in the north to Tsfat (Safed) in the south." Although Fakhr ad Din II's aspirations toward complete independence for Lebanon ended in his execution by Ottoman authorities, he greatly enhanced Lebanon's military and economic development. Noted for religious tolerance, Fakhr ad Din attempted to merge the country's different religious groups into one Lebanese community. The dynasty's rule as Druze leaders in the Lebanon Mountains lasted from 1517 to 1697.

The Ma'an family under orders from the governor of Damascus, came to Lebanon in 1120 from Hadramaut in southern Yemen to defend the Levant against the invading Crusaders. It is not entirely clear if the Ma'an tribe, which was part of the large Kahlani tribal federation were already practicing some sort of Ismailism prior to their exodus from coastal Yemen. Originally they did extensive trade with the Indian Subcontinent and Southeast Asia and were in charge of an important Hadrami port city. They finally settled on the southwestern slopes of the Lebanon Mountains and later adopted the Druze religion.

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