Abdul-Rahim Abu-Hussein, Professor of Ottoman History at the American University of Beirut, wrote in Al-Hayat newspaper in October 2017, as part of a series on the relationship between the Druze and the Ottoman Empire:
It is not necessary here to discuss the subsequent developments such as the Ottoman military campaign against Fakhr al-Din, his escape to Tuscany in 1613, the pardon granted to him, and his return from exile five years later, or the final Ottoman military campaigns against him which ended in his defeat, capture, and subsequent execution.
However, it is worth noting that Fakhr al-Din exploited his time in Europe to mobilize Catholic military power against the Ottomans. Cosimo II wrote on his behalf to the Pope, hoping that the latter would use his authority to persuade Spain to support the efforts of Fakhr al-Din and Tuscany in the Levant and the Holy Land. Fakhr al-Din, becoming increasingly desperate over time, also wrote to the French envoy at the Papal court, Count François Savary de Brèves, attempting to obtain French support to secure an Ottoman pardon. In his letter, he pointed to his good treatment of Christians, especially the Maronites, the facilities he provided to Christian pilgrims and travelers, and his alleged descent from the Crusader leader Godfrey of Bouillon.
Meanwhile, Grand Duke Cosimo II, hoping for the possibility of united Catholic efforts against the Ottomans, had dispatched a mission of experts in 1614 disguised as merchants to report back to him on conditions in the Levant, the strength of Fakhr al-Din's army and his fortifications, the ports within his territories, the Emir's income, and other related matters. Several reports were written by different members of the mission. One of these reports, written by Giovan Battista Santi, repeats the claim of a Crusader origin for the Druze and the Ma'an dynasty.
Fakhr al-Din's and his Tuscan host's efforts to rally a Catholic crusade against the Ottomans in the Levant failed. Therefore, the Grand Duke tried to obtain a pardon from Istanbul for Fakhr al-Din, who had by then become a burdensome guest, offering in return peace between Tuscany and the Ottoman Empire. The response to the offer was a letter from Grand Vizier Nasuh Pasha containing Ottoman conditions for peace with Tuscany and a pardon for Fakhr al-Din. The Ottomans demanded that Tuscany end its naval presence in Ottoman waters to eliminate piracy risks, after which negotiations would take place to regulate an agreement on the number of Tuscan ships allowed to dock annually at the ports of Istanbul, Alexandria, and Iskenderun, with a guarantee that these ships would not stop at any other port or island. They also demanded the return of Ottoman prisoners supposedly captured in previous acts of piracy. As for Fakhr al-Din, the Ottomans refused his return home "because that would be a cause for disturbance," and instead stipulated that he come to Istanbul to provide an accounting of the funds he had collected from the regions under his control. However, due to Tuscany's intercession on his behalf, he would be pardoned and appointed to a Sanjak in Rumeli.
Eventually, a pardon for Fakhr al-Din was indeed issued, and he was allowed to return home, which led to the prosperity of Tuscan commercial interests in the Levant. The Tuscans imported silk, wheat, and other goods from the region, and exported guns, ammunition, and fabrics to it, in addition to sending experts in cannon manufacturing. In fact, contacts between Tuscany, the Papacy, and Spain on one side, and Fakhr al-Din on the other, intensified after the latter's return to Lebanon. The two sides discussed new projects to reopen the Holy Land, and these contacts continued until the final days of Fakhr al-Din as Emir in Lebanon. The Maronite Patriarch and other Maronite notables played an important role in these contacts, sometimes negotiating on behalf of Fakhr al-Din or conveying his letters to the Pope, the King of Spain, or his viceroy in Sicily. Members of the Franciscan mission also supported such projects and testified to the sincerity of Fakhr al-Din's intentions toward them.
The last documented correspondence available took place in 1633, the same year in which Fakhr al-Din was defeated and captured by Küçük Ahmed Pasha, the Ottoman governor of Damascus. In this final exchange of letters, Fakhr al-Din presented, through the Maronite Patriarch, a plan to conquer Cyprus and the Holy Land. Under this plan, the island would come under the control of the brother of Pope Urban VIII, and the plan further stipulated that Ferdinand II, Grand Duke of Tuscany, would be installed as King of Jerusalem in the Holy Land. In the same letter, Fakhr al-Din also promised that he and his family would convert to Christianity and that he would allow all his followers to do the same. Fakhr al-Din also pledged to provide the Christian army with men and provisions, to offer the fleet one or more safe ports from those under his control, to hand over the city of Jerusalem, and to provide all possible means of support. In exchange for all this, in addition to other unspecified commitments, the Pope and the Grand Duke were to send a naval force of no less than fifty vessels to occupy Cyprus, and to provide him with a quantity of military equipment and other war-related materials. The Maronite Bishop in Cyprus appeared before the Pope in early September 1634 to present this proposed alliance.
The offer was well-received by the Pope, but this alliance and its approval came too late, as Fakhr al-Din had, by that time, already fallen into the hands of the Ottomans.
