Fakhr ad-Din, realizing the need for a strong and disciplined armed force, has channeled his financial resources into building a regular army.

This army proves itself in 1623, when Mustafa Pasha of Damascus, underestimating the capabilities of the Lebanese army, engages it in battle and is decisively defeated at Anjar in the Biqa Valley.

The Ottoman sultan, impressed by the victory of the Lebanese ruler, awards Fakhr ad-Din the title of Sultan al Barr (Sultan of Land).