Shihab dynasty

The Shihab dynasty (alternatively spelled Chehab; Arabic: شهابيون‎, ALA-LC: Shihābiyūn) were a prominent noble family during the Ottoman era in Mount Lebanon. The Shihabs were the traditional princes of the Wadi al-Taym, who traced their lineage to the Banu Makhzum of the ancient Quraysh tribe. The family inherited control over the Mount Lebanon Emirate from the Ma'an dynasty, their kinsmen through marriage, in 1697. This transfer of leadership was decided by the Qaysi faction of the emirate's Druze feudal chiefs and confirmed by the Ottoman authorities, who conferred to the family authority over the tax farms of Mount Lebanon. Under Emir Haydar Shihab, the Qaysi faction and the Shihab dynasty consolidated their control over Mount Lebanon from their Yamani Druze rivals at the 1711 Battle of Ain Dara. Their victory also precipitated a mass exodus of Druze tenants from Mount Lebanon and their gradual replacement with Maronite and Melkite Christians. During the era of Emir Yusuf Shihab, members of the family, including the latter, began to convert from Sunni Islam to the Maronite Church.

Shahab-2

The Shahab-2 (Persian: Ŝahāb 2, meaning "Meteor-2") is the successor to the Iranian Shahab-1 missile. It is based on the North Korean Hwasong-6.

The missile has a CEP of 50 m.

On November 2, 2006, Iran fired unarmed missiles to begin 10 days of military simulations. Iranian state television reported "dozens of missiles were fired including Shahab-2 and Shahab-3 missiles. The missiles had ranges from 300 km to up to 2,000 km. ... Iranian experts have made some changes to Shahab-3 missiles installing cluster warheads in them with the capacity to carry 1,400 bombs." These launches come after some United States-led military exercises in the Persian Gulf on October 30, 2006, meant to train for blocking the transport of weapons of mass destruction.

Variants

Shahab is the name of a class of Iranian missiles, service time of 1988–present, which comes in six variants: Shahab-1, Shahab-2, Shahab-3, Shahab-4, Shahab-5, Shahab-6.

See also

Shahab-3

The Shahab-3 (Persian: Ŝahāb 3‎‎; shahâb means "meteor") is a medium-range ballistic missile (MRBM) developed by Iran and based on the North Korean Nodong-1. The Shahab-3 has a range of 1,280 kilometres (800 mi); a MRBM variant can now reach 1,930 kilometres (1,200 mi). It was tested from 1998 to 2003 and added to the military arsenal on July 7, 2003, with an official unveiling by Khamenei on July 20.

The forerunners to this missile include the Shahab-1 and Shahab-2. The then-Iranian Defense Minister Admiral Shamkhani has denied that Iran plans to develop a Shahab-4. Some successors to the Shahab have longer range and are also more maneuverable.

Operating under the Sanam Industrial Group (Department 140), which is part of the Defense Industries Organization of Iran, the Shahid Hemmat Industrial Group (SHIG), led the development of the Shahab missile.

Shahab-3B

The Shahab-3B differs from the basic production variant. It has improvements to its guidance system and warhead, a few small changes on the missile body, and a new re-entry vehicle whose terminal guidance system and rocket-nozzle steering method are completely different from the Shahab-3A's spin-stabilized re-entry vehicle.