Beqaa Valley in the context of "Mount Lebanon Mutasarrifate"

Coele-Syria (Ancient Greek: Κοίλη Συρία, romanized: Koílē Syría, lit. 'Hollow Syria') was a region of Syria in classical antiquity. The term originally referred to the "hollow" Beqaa Valley between the Lebanon and the Anti-Lebanon mountain ranges, but sometimes it was applied to a broader area of the region of Syria. The area is now part of modern-day Syria and Lebanon.

The Litani River (Arabic: نهر الليطاني, romanized: Nahr al-Līṭānī), the classical Leontes (Ancient Greek: Λεόντης, romanized: Leóntes, lit. 'lion river'), known in medieval times as Līṭa (Arabic: نهر ليطا, romanized: Nahr Līṭā), is an important water resource in southern Lebanon. The river rises in the fertile Beqaa Valley, west of Baalbek, and empties into the Mediterranean Sea north of Tyre. Exceeding 140 kilometres (87 mi) in length, the Litani is the longest river that flows entirely in Lebanon and provides an average annual flow estimated at 920 million cubic meters (over 240 million Imperial gallons or 243 million U.S. gallons). The Litani provides a major source for water supply, irrigation and hydroelectricity both within Southern Lebanon, and the country as a whole.

The Lebanese Civil War (Arabic: الحرب الأهلية اللبنانية Al-Ḥarb al-Ahliyyah al-Libnāniyyah) was a multifaceted armed conflict that took place from 1975 to 1990. It resulted in an estimated 150,000 fatalities and led to the exodus of almost one million people from Lebanon.

The religious diversity of the Lebanese people played a notable role in the lead-up to and during the conflict: Lebanese Christians and Lebanese Sunni Muslims comprised the majority in the coastal cities; Lebanese Shia Muslims were primarily based throughout southern Lebanon and in the Beqaa Valley in the east; and Druze and Christians populated the country's mountainous areas. At the time, the Lebanese government was under the influence of elites within the Maronite Christian community. The link between politics and religion was reinforced under the French Mandate from 1920 to 1943, and the country's parliamentary structure favoured a leading position for Lebanese Christians, who constituted the majority of the population. However, Lebanon's Muslims comprised a large minority and the influx of thousands of Palestinians—first in 1948 and again in 1967—contributed to Lebanon's demographic shift towards an eventual Muslim majority. Lebanon's Christian-dominated government had been facing increasing opposition from Muslims, pan-Arabists, and left-wing groups. The Cold War also exerted a disintegrative effect on the country, closely linked to the political polarization that preceded the 1958 Lebanese crisis. Christians mostly sided with the Western world while Muslims, pan-Arabists, and leftists mostly sided with Soviet-aligned Arab countries.

Akkar Governorate (Arabic: محافظة عكار) is the northernmost governorate of Lebanon. It comprises the single district of Akkar, which in turn is subdivided into 121 municipalities. The capital is at Halba. It covers an area of 788 km (304 sq mi) and is bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the west, North Governorate to the south, Baalbek-Hermel Governorate to the southeast, and the Syrian governorates of Tartus and Homs to the north and northeast. The governorate's western coastal plain constitutes Lebanon's second largest agricultural region after the Beqaa Valley, while the east features forested mountains that have been considered for protection as a national park.

The UNHCR estimated the population of the governorate at 389,899 in 2015, including 106,935 registered refugees of the Syrian Civil War and 19,404 Palestinian refugees. The population is predominantly Sunni Muslim around 70-75% with a minority of Christian and Alawite communities and very few Shiites. Akkar is Lebanon's least urbanized governorate, with 80% of the population living in rural areas.

Armenians have lived in Lebanon for centuries. According to Minority Rights Group International, there are 156,000 Armenians in Lebanon, around 4% of the population. Prior to the Lebanese Civil War, the number was higher, but the community lost a portion of its population to emigration.

Lebanon experienced a significant migration of Armenian refugees primarily between 1918 and 1920, seeking sanctuary from the Armenian genocide carried out by Ottoman authorities. These refugees established Bourj Hammoud, a suburb east of Beirut, in the site of what was then a swampy marshland. Another wave of migration occurred in 1939, as refugees fleeing the Turkish annexation of Alexandretta founded the town of Anjar in the Beqaa region. The Armenian population gradually grew and expanded until Beirut (and Lebanese towns like Anjar) became a center of Armenian culture. The Armenians became one of Lebanon's most prominent and productive communities.

Baalbek (/ˈbɑːlbɛk, ˈbeɪəlbɛk/; Arabic: بَعْلَبَكّ, romanized: Baʿlabakk; Syriac: ܒܥܠܒܟ) is a city located east of the Litani River in Lebanon's Beqaa Valley, about 67 km (42 mi) northeast of Beirut. It is the capital of Baalbek-Hermel Governorate. In 1998, the city had a population of 82,608. Most of the population consists of Shia Muslims, followed by Sunni Muslims and Christians; in 2017, there was also a large presence of Syrian refugees.

Baalbek's history dates back at least 11,000 years. After Alexander the Great conquered the city in 334 BCE, he renamed it Heliopolis (Ἡλιούπολις, Greek for "Sun City"). The city flourished under Roman rule. However, it underwent transformations during the Christianization period and the subsequent rise of Islam following the Arab conquest in the 7th century. In later periods, the city was sacked by the Mongols and faced a series of earthquakes, resulting in a decline in importance during the Ottoman and modern periods.

Jabal Amil (Arabic: جبل عامل, romanized: Jabal ʿĀmil; also spelled Jabal Amel and historically known as Jabal Amila) is a cultural and geographic region in Southern Lebanon largely associated with its long-established, predominantly Twelver Shia Muslim inhabitants. Its precise boundaries vary, but it is generally defined as the mostly highland region on either side of the Litani River, between the Mediterranean Sea in the west and the Wadi al-Taym, Beqaa and Hula valleys in the east.

The Shia community in Jabal Amil is thought to be one of the oldest in history. In the 10th century, several Yemeni tribes with Shi'ite inclinations, including the 'Amila tribe, had established themselves in the region. 'Amili oral tradition and later writings assert that a companion of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and an early supporter of Ali, Abu Dharr al-Ghifari (d. AD 651), introduced Shi'ism to the area. Although there is frequent occurrence of this account in many religious sources, it is largely dismissed in academia, and historical sources suggest Shia Islam largely developed in Jabal Amil between the mid-8th and 10th centuries (750–900). Twelver Shia tradition in southern Lebanon credits the Amila, as the progenitors of the community, by having sided with the faction of Ali in the mid-7th century.