Education in the Beirut province during the late Ottoman Empire from the perspective of the Maarif Yearbooks (1898-1903)

This study aims to examine Muslim and non-Muslim educational activities in the Beirut Vilayet between 1898 and 1903 in light of the Maarif Salnameleri (Ottoman educational yearbooks). The research encompasses rüşdiye (secondary), idadi (high), military schools, madrasas, printing presses, newspapers, and educational institutions for both male and female students. It analyzes their teaching staff, student populations, curricula, and annual changes. The methodology is based on the systematic classification of quantitative and qualitative data derived from the salnames, evaluated through tables and graphs. The findings reveal that Beirut's multi-religious and multicultural structure was reflected in its educational institutions and illustrate how Ottoman modernization efforts were manifested in the provinces. The competition between Muslim and foreign/non-Muslim schools appears to have influenced the formation of state educational policies. In this respect, the thesis contributes to the historiography of Ottoman education and provides a new lens through which to interpret Beirut's socio-cultural fabric via its educational institutions.