Why do the English call Lebanon "The Lebanon"?

Answers

Gypsyfish

The Levant. A lot of places used to be known by their region. Country boundaries are relatively recent, and change a lot. Spain and Portugal are on the Iberian peninsula, Sudan used to be The Sudan, Ukraine used to be The Ukraine. English explorers went places and wrote about them before the modern countries were established.

L. E. Gant

Usually, it's Lebanon or the Levant