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International

The 1860 Damascus Massacre was followed by a period of international tensions. Reports of the riots had made the international media, which led to international outrage. The French sent six thousand soldiers to the Levant in order to protect the Syrian Christians and increase their own power in the region. The British sent an investigative team, led by Lord Dufferin, in order to investigate the massacres and prevention of possible repetitions. This forced the Ottomans to take action in order to show the European powers that they were capable of protecting their own minorities. This was necessary so that the Europeans would not use this insurrection as a way to enlarge their power within the Ottoman Empire. The Ottomans sent Fuad Pasha to the region in order to restore order and fend off the European powers. This tactic worked, according to Fawaz, as Fuad Pasha’s swift reaction to the violence conveyed the message that the Ottomans did not need the help of the French or any other European nation.

Local

After the riots the Christian quarter of Damascus was completely destroyed. All inhabitants had either died or fled from the violence towards the city’s citadel. The atmosphere in the city remained tense for weeks after the riots and even after most of the Christian inhabitants had fled to Beirut. Fuad Pasha, after arriving in the city, immediately decided to punish the Druzes for the committed violence in the hopes of restoring order to the city. He quickly had 110 Druze men executed for their role in the riots. The regime of punishment held on for weeks after the riots, until late August. The swift punishment by Fuad Pasha ensured that he was praised even by his harshest European critics for his role in the restoration of order in Damascus. The year after the riots the Ottoman government tried to compensate the victims of the riots. An unexpected consequence of the riots was the increase in historical documentation about Damascus and the violence. To the residents of Damascus, the violence made such an impact that they started documenting the violence en masse. Mostly Christian, but some Muslim, accounts survived the war. Mihayil Misaqa wrote his account of the events, which eventually resulted in him writing a historical work on Syria in the 18th and 19th century. He had experienced the violence himself as he was attacked by an angry mob.