 Church historian, the German historian Roehinger, proved that the Christian peoples—later known as al-Marada—have dwelled in this area and built BasKinta, Bikfaya, and Bhersaf starting around the year 679; a short time before building Ehden in north Lebanon.Historians mention as well that Bikfaya and Bhersaf were the headquarters of the Maronite Emirs and Bishops starting from the 7th Century A.D. and the most distinguished of these was Emir Semaan who resided in Bhersaf in the 11th century.The residents of the old Keserwan (which included at the time the Metn area and its surroundings) supported the Crusaders who remained in Lebanon from 1099 to 1291.