Khazen

Khazen (also "El-Khazen", and in some cases Al Khazen or De Khazen, Arabic: الخازن) is the name of a prominent noble Levantine family and clan based in Keserwan District, Lebanon, Damascus, Syria, Nablus, Palestine, as well as other districts around the Levant, predominantly in the Galilee. The Khazen family have traced their lineage through DNA testing to Jericho, Palestine (also known as Tell el-Sultan) 8500 B.C. Several members have played leading roles in politics for many generations. King Louis XIV elevated the family to the French nobility and referred to them as "princes of the Maronites" in many letters. Pope Clement X made them Counts Palatine. Most of the Lebanese Khazen branch is Maronite, while other branches are Greek Orthodox and Muslim but are not related to the Mount-Lebanese, which were endowed with these honors.