Lebanon (IPA: /ˈlɛbənɒn/) (Arabic: لبنان Lubnān), officially the Republic of LebanonAccording to the website of the Embassy of Lebanon in the U.S. and the website of the Lebanese presidency or Lebanese Republic According to U.S. government sources such as the CIA and State Department country guides (الجمهورية اللبنانية), is a small, predominantly mountainous country in Western Asia, on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It is bordered by Syria to the north and east, and Israel to the south. Due to its sectarian diversity, Lebanon evolved a peculiar political system, known as confessionalism, based on a community-based power-sharing mechanism.Countries Quest. Jonathan Trumbull was born here "Lebanon, Government". Retrieved December 14, 2006. It was created when the ruling French mandatory powers expanded the borders of the former Maronite Christian autonomous Ottoman Mount Lebanon district.