Hassan Hallak

Hassan Ali Hallak (; 1946 – 15 May 2023) was a Lebanese historian, academic, and writer, known mostly for his work on the origins of the Beiruti families, and Beirut's history during the Ottoman era.

Biography Hallak was born in Beirut in 1946. He obtained his PhD in history from the University of Alexandria in 1981, then went back to Beirut where he taught Islamic and Arab history at the Lebanese University, and later at Beirut Arab University.

Hallak was noted for being the first person to extract, verify, and publish the records of the Islamic court of Beirut, upon which many of his published books and studies were based. Several of these documents helped in rewriting certain aspects of Beiruti and Lebanese history during the Ottoman era. He was also the first person to extract, verify, and publish the records and documents of the Beirut Municipality. His collection includes about one hundred thousand unpublished documents.

Hallak died on 15 May 2023, at the age of 77.

Works Hallak wrote more than 60 books about Islamic, Arab, Ottoman, Lebanese, and Beiruti histories, many of which were translated into English, French, German, and Turkish.

His most notable works are the large multi-volume Encyclopedia of the Beiruti families , The Attitude of the Ottoman Empire towards the Zionist Movement 1897-1909 , Role of the Jews and International Powers in dethroning Sultan Abdulhamid II 1908-1909 , and Memoirs of Selim Ali Salam .