(2) Definition of the Maradites
Al-Maradah, Al-Jarajimah and the Maradites are synonymous terms. The name Al-Maradah was given to Maronite fighters who later became an organized army and a power to be reckoned with. Strong and invincible, they secured the Maronites independence from all sorts of invaders for centuries. Their strategy of haphazard incursions and attacks on the Arabs baffled the Umayyad Dynasty and annoyed the Arab Caliphs. They were called "the Brass Wall" of the Byzantine Empire because they protected and defended Constantinople from constant Persian and Arab invasions. The following points details the character of the Maradites:

1.Al-Maradah refused to acquiesce to the conflicting requests of the Byzantine Emperor, defied the unrealistic demands of the Arab Caliphs, and adamantly refused to succumb to imposed foreign rule.

2.While Arabs referred to them as Al-Maradah, Byzantine historians called them Al-Jarajimah because they originated from Jarjumah, a strategic city in northern Syria. In order to subdue Antioch, Abu-Ubaydah had to pass through Jarjumah first. He faced there the worst defeat, was forced to sign a peace treaty and to pay to the Maradites a costly tribute. The Maradites achieved an invincible status, and for centuries thereafter they enjoyed sovereignty and independence.

3.In Arabic the word Marid in the singular means a giant. Describing their heroism, toughness and giant statures, a Sumerian poet in 2000 B.C. narrated how the Amorites were able to hold their invincible positions and impenetrable fortresses. The Bible refers to the Amorites, the ancestors of the Maradites, "as tall as the cedars and as strong as the oak trees" (Amos 2:9). They are free heroes and excellent fighters of giant statures. They gave their name to the Phoenician City Marados, which was also called Marathus and Mardu. The Maradites have distinguished themselves as a powerful entity protecting their own religious, cultural, social and political independence.

They appeared on the scene in the second half of the fifth century and remained powerful until the end of the tenth century. They defended the Church dogma which was adopted by the Council of Chalcedon and promoted the interests of the Maronites. They protected Patriarch John Maron from the Byzantine army and helped him move the patriarchal See from Antioch to Lebanon. They laid the solid foundation for the Maronite Church as an independent and sovereign nation in the new homeland, Mount Lebanon.