The Shihabs succeed the Maans as the emirs of Mount Lebanon in 1697.

They originally lived in the Hawran region of southwestern Syria and settled in Wadi at Taim in southern Lebanon.

The most prominent among them is Bashir II, who is much like his predecessor, Fakhr ad Din II.

His ability as a statesman is first tested in 1799, when Napoleon besieges Acre, a well-fortified coastal city in Palestine, about forty kilometers south of Tyre.

Both Napoleon and Al Jazzar, the governor of Acre, request assistance from the Shihab leader; Bashir, however, remains neutral, declining to assist either combatant.

Unable to conquer Acre, Napoleon returns to Egypt, and the death of Al Jazzar in 1804 removes Bashir's principal opponent in the area.