Smar could be of Aramaic origin: Shemreho ܫܡܪܚܐ which means the "guardian" or the "protector";[1] Jbeil stands for Byblos, being the nearby coastal famous city.

Given its strategic location on an open hillside, the village and its fort could have served as an advanced position for the defense of Jbeil from its northern side.

Smar Jbeil is one of the oldest villages in Lebanon according to Henri Lammens in his book Tasrīḥ al-abṣār fī mā yaḥtawī Lubnān min al-āthār.

[2] It has a very old castle at the western entrance of the village built on a strategic hill, showing from its western side, the Mediterranean coast from Byblos to Tripoli, and from its eastern side the mountains of Lebanon specially the famous Cedars of God mountain near Bsharri.

The Roman troops conquered the village from its northern side under the leadership of Pompey the Great, probably during his Eastern campaign in 63 BC.

The first Patriarch Saint John Maron (685 CE) lived in Smar Jbeil castle before moving to Kfarhay.

In addition, they remodeled the old church of Saint Nohra (Nuhro meaning the light in Syriac language), which was itself built on the ruins of an old Roman temple.

While it was originally built by the Phoenicians in 500 BC, its existing structure mostly dates to the period of the Crusades, when the area was part of the County of Tripoli.

It is constructed of mixed elements from a Roman temple[citation needed] and some later material, notably from medieval times.

Saint Nohra is a priest form Manhour in Egypt who came to preach in Batroun in the early centuries of Christianity.

[citation needed] Close to Saint Nohra, an old little ruined chapel with a single nave could be seen, Our Lady of Gifts church.