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Yusuf Shihab () (1748–1790) was the autonomous emir of Mount Lebanon between 1770 and 1789. He was the fifth consecutive member of the Shihab dynasty to govern Mount Lebanon.
Also in 1763, a 16-year-old Yusuf, under the mentorship of his Maronite manager Sa'ad al-Khuri and with the political support of Governor Muhammad Pasha al-Kurji of Tripoli Eyalet, led the Sunni Muslim and Maronite peasants of the Tripoli countryside in an uprising that drove out the Hamade landlords, who were Shia Islam. Thereafter, Muhammad Pasha appointed Yusuf as administrator of Batroun and Byblos.Leeuwen, 1994, p. 56 Yusuf's acquisition of Hamade territory not only provided him a solid power base from which to fight against Emir Mansur, but also provided him with the Hamade's former role as patrons of the local Maronite clergy. This further strengthened their relationship with the Maronites since Yusuf already had the support of the Khazen family of Keserwan, a prominent family of the Maronite church.Harris, 2012, pp. 119-120
Emir Yusuf led an offensive against Nasif and Zahir in late 1771, but was decisively defeated. He failed to arrive and support Uthman Pasha when the latter attempted to launch an invasion of Galilee, but was routed by Zahir's forces at the Battle of Hula Valley. Yusuf sought to compensate for this loss by launching a campaign against the Metawalis at Nabatieh, but was routed by the Zaydani-Metawali alliance, losting some 1,500 of his Druze soldiers. Following their victory against Emir Yusuf, the allies captured Sidon from Darwish Pasha.Joudah, 1987, pp. 85–86. Emir Yusuf and Uthman Pasha attempted to wrest back control of Sidon by assembling a troops backed by artillery and commanded by Ottoman officer Jazzar Pasha. The siege failed when the Russian Navy entered the conflict to back their ally Zahir. After Emir Yusuf's troops were bombarded by Russian ships, Zahir and Nasif's troops drove them out of the area and pursued them to Beirut, which the Russians also began to bombard until Emir Yusuf paid their admiral to cease their fire.Harris, 2012, pp. 120-121
By 1772, Zahir and his allies were firmly in control of Sidon. In order to prevent further encroachments in Lebanon by Zahir, Emir Yusuf requested the assistance of Jezzar Pasha, an Ottoman officer. Emir Yusuf turned down a bribe of 200,000 Spanish reales from Abu al-Dahab to betray Jezzar and execute him.Harris, 2012, p. 121 Jezzar Pasha soon consolidated his own rule in Beirut and ignored agreements he had made with Emir Yusuf regarding the latter's authority in the city. Emir Yusuf and his Druze soldiers subsequently tried to dislodge Jezzar Pasha, but were unable to.Philipp, 2013, p. 62. Thus, Emir Yusuf requested help from his erstwhile enemy, Zahir al-Umar, via his uncle Mansur who he had previously struggled against and replaced. Zahir accepted the request and had his Russian allies bombard Beirut by sea on Yusuf's behalf until Jezzar surrendered and fled.Salibi, ed. Brice, 1981, p. 268 Zahir's backing became handy once again when Emir Yusuf's authority over the Beqaa Valley was challenged by the governor of Damascus in 1773.Leeuwen, 1994, p. 57 Emir Yusuf's brother, Sayyid Ahmad, who had been the governor of Beqaa at the time, had robbed traveling merchants from Damascus in the Beqaa village of Qabb Ilyas. Emir Yusuf removed him from the Beqaa and was appointed in his place.Harris, 2012, p. 122
Jezzar Pasha became the governor of Sidon in 1776 after the Ottomans' elimination of Zahir al-Umar. Emir Yusuf was confirmed as the governor of Beirut, Chouf, Beqaa and Jubail. Moreover, Hasan Pasha, the Ottoman Kapudan Pasha (commander of the Ottoman Navy) who led the offensive against Zahir in 1775, declared that Governor of Sidon's authority over Emir Yusuf was limited to the collection of the miri (Hajj tax). However, Jezzar Pasha ignored this order and took over Beirut in 1776 with the demand that Emir Yusuf pay three years worth of miri tax. Jezzar was later driven out by the Ottoman Navy.Leeuwen, 1994, p. 55. Nassar was captured and executed by Jezzar in 1780.
Jezzar then offered Yusuf safe passage if he returned to Beirut, but when the latter returned he was arrested by Jezzar's troops who transported him to Jezzar's headquarters in Acre where he was imprisoned. Sayyid Ahmad and Isma'il offered Jezzar 500,000 qirsh to execute Yusuf, but Yusuf countered with 1,000,000 qirsh to release and return him to Mount Lebanon. Jezzar accepted Yusuf's offer and, upon his return to Mount Lebanon, Yusuf had Isma'il arrested and imposed a large financial penalty on the Jumblatts. Isma'il died in custody shortly after. Around this time, Sa'ad al-Khuri was arrested by Jezzar for ransom, but he too died in custody after becoming sick.
In 1788, Jezzar Pasha demanded that Emir Yusuf pay off the bribe he had promised him in 1783, but Emir Yusuf refused. Consequently, Jezzar threw his support to Ali Shihab, Isma'il's son, in his bid to eliminate Emir Yusuf, who in turn backed an uprising against Jezzar in Acre. After Jezzar suppressed the revolt, Ali launched an offensive against Yusuf's holding in the Beqaa Valley, but was repelled by Yusuf's brother Haydar. However, Jezzar Pasha arrived to support Ali, and their combined 2,000-strong force moved against Haydar, whose forces after the desertion of the Harfush clan consisted of 700 cavalry from the Shihab and Abi Lamas clans and disgruntled mercenaries of Jezzar. Jezzar Pasha decisively defeated Emir Yusuf at Joub Jannine in south Beqaa.Harris, 2012, p. 124
Following his 1788 defeat, Emir Yusuf appealed to the Druze clans for safety in return for surrendering authority over Mount Lebanon. Bashir Shihab II, a distant cousin and ally of Ali al-Shihab, was given official control over Mount Lebanon by Jezzar Pasha in September 1789. Bashir II sought to eliminate Yusuf to remove any potential threats to his position and his forces defeated Yusuf's retinue of supporters in the Munaytara hills of north Lebanon. Yusuf was protected by the governors of Tripoli and Damascus. However, Jezzar Pasha once again offered Yusuf an opportunity to reclaim his emirate, but sometime after he arrived in Acre, Bashir II managed to persuade Jezzar Pasha that Yusuf only sought to sow sedition among the clans of Mount Lebanon. Jezzar then had Yusuf executed in 1790.
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