The history of Lebanese stamps includes that of Syria and of France; the French were awarded control over Syria after World War I, which at the time included the modern state of Lebanon. Overprinted stamps were used on and off in Lebanon for much of its early history.
The earliest stamps used in Lebanon, however, were Turkish; Lebanon was part of the Ottoman empire for several hundred years. The first stamps were issued in 1883 and can be difficult to find for interested buyers and collectors these days.
State of Greater Lebanon
When France was awarded Syria by the League of Nations in 1918, they used regular French stamps with a variety of overprints. Some of these stamps/overprints were especially for the area of Syria, while other were generally used for French overseas territories. Overprints for Syria and/or Lebanon (and related areas) included T.E.O. (Territoires Ennemis Occupes, or Occupied Enemy Territories — printed on French and French/Turkish stamps), O.M.F. (Occupation Militaire Francaise, or French Military Occupation — printed on French stamps), and Syrie-Grand Liban (for this area only — printed on French stamps).
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Independence
The postal history and the history of independence and official name do not always match up exactly; from 1918 to 1943 Lebanon was named State of Greater Lebanon; Lebanon declared independence in 1941, and this was recognized officially in 1943. French troops finally left in 1946. The generally cited date of independence is 1943, though you could, for stamp-collecting purposes, consider it to be on either side of that year.
So, since 1943, the Republic of Lebanon has been independent and has issued its own stamps. The official language of the country is Arabic, although French is sometimes used in a semi-official capacity. On modern stamps, generally Arabic is used as well as French — the French name for Lebanon is Liban.
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The Lebanese stamps for sale listings in this section are subject to constant change — even though we list a lot of great stamps, the selection is changed several times a day, so keep checking back to make sure you see all the new stuff before others do!
(Note: Lebanon in Arabic is لُبْنَان.)
