Turks in the Arab world

Last updated

A map of the Arab world. This is based on the standard territorial definition of the Arab world which comprises the states and territories of the Arab League. Arab World Green.svg
A map of the Arab world. This is based on the standard territorial definition of the Arab world which comprises the states and territories of the Arab League.

The Turks in the Arab world refers to ethnic Turkish people who live in the Arab world. There are significant Turkish populations scattered throughout North Africa, the Levant, and the Arabian Peninsula.

Contents

In Libya, some groups identify themselves as Turkish, or descendants of Turkish soldiers who settled in the area in the days of the Ottoman Empire [1] There is also a significant Turkish minority in Egypt. [2]

In the Levant, the Turks live across the region. In Iraq and Syria the Turkish minorities are commonly referred to as "Turkmen", "Turkman" and "Turcoman"; historically, these terms have been used to designate Turkish speakers in Arab areas, or Sunni Muslims in Shitte areas. [3] The majority of Iraqi Turkmen and Syrian Turkmen are the descendants of Ottoman Turkish settlers. [4] [5] [6] [7] and share close cultural and linguistic ties with Turkey, particularly the Anatolian region. [8] [7] There are also Turkish minorities located in Jordan and in Lebanon. The Lebanese Turks live mainly in the villages of Aydamun and Kouachra in the Akkar District, as well as in Baalbek, Beirut, and Tripoli.

In the Arabian Peninsula, there are Turkish minorities who have lived in the region since the Ottoman era. The Turks live predominately in Saudi Arabia and in Yemen.

Population of Turkish minorities

Country Current est. Turkish populationFurther information Lists of Turks
Flag of Egypt.svg  Egypt 1,500,000 (1993 estimate) [9]
(150,000 in Arish, plus 100,000 Cretan Turks) [10]
Approximately 3% of Egyptians originate from Asian Minor (approx. 2.8 million) [11] 		Turks in Egypt
Flag of Iraq.svg  Iraq 3,000,000 (2013 Iraqi Ministry of Planning estimate) [12] [13] Iraqi Turkmens [a]
Flag of Jordan.svg  Jordan 60,000 [9]

plus Palestinian-Turkish refugees:
55,000 in Irbid [14]
5,000 near Amman [14]
5,000 in El-Sahne [14]
3,000 in El-Reyyan [14]
2,500 in El-Bakaa [14]
1,500 in El-Zerkaa [14]
250 in Sahab [14] 		Turks in Jordan
Flag of Lebanon.svg  Lebanon 80,000 [15]
plus 125,000 to 150,000 Syrian Turkmen refugees [16] 		Turks in Lebanon
Flag of Libya.svg  Libya 4.7% of Libya's population (1936 census) [17]
100,000 Cretan Turks only (1971 estimate) [10]
Approximately 350.000 today based on official data from the 1936 census.		 Turks in Libya
Flag of Palestine.svg  Palestinian territories West Bank: 35,000 to 40,000 [18]
Turks in Palestine
Flag of Saudi Arabia.svg  Saudi Arabia 200,000 [19] Turks in Saudi Arabia
Flag of Syria.svg  Syria estimates range from hundreds of thousands to 3.5 million [20] Syrian Turkmens
Flag of Tunisia.svg  Tunisia est. 500,000 [9] -2,000,000 [21] Turks in Tunisia
Flag of the United Arab Emirates.svg  United Arab Emirates 10,000 [22] Turks in the United Arab Emirates
Flag of Yemen.svg  Yemen 10,000 to 100,000 [23] or more than 200,000 [19] Turks in Yemen

See also

Notes

^  a: The Iraqi Turkmen are the descendants of various waves of Turkic migration to Mesopotamia dating from the 7th century until Ottoman rule. Most of today's descendants of the 7th century migrants have been assimilated into the local Arab population. [4] Thus, the majority of today's Iraqi Turkmen are the descendants of the Ottoman soldiers, traders and civil servants who were brought into Iraq during the rule of the Ottoman Empire. [24] [25] [26] [4]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Turkish people</span> Turkic ethnic group primarily living in Turkey and Northern Cyprus

Turkish people or Turks are the largest Turkic people who speak various dialects of the Turkish language and form a majority in Turkey and Northern Cyprus. In addition, centuries-old ethnic Turkish communities still live across other former territories of the Ottoman Empire. Article 66 of the Turkish Constitution defines a "Turk" as: "Anyone who is bound to the Turkish state through the bond of citizenship." While the legal use of the term "Turkish" as it pertains to a citizen of Turkey is different from the term's ethnic definition, the majority of the Turkish population are of Turkish ethnicity. The vast majority of Turks are Muslims and follow the Sunni and Alevi faith.

Minorities in Iraq include various ethnic and religious groups.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anti-Turkish sentiment</span> Hostility, fear or intolerance against Turkish peoples

Anti-Turkish sentiment, also known as Anti-Turkism, or Turkophobia is hostility, intolerance, or xenophobia against Turkish people, Turkish culture and the Turkish language.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kurdification</span> Adoption of Kurdish culture or language

Kurdification is a cultural change in which people, territory, or language become Kurdish. This can happen both naturally or as a deliberate government policy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Turkish diaspora</span> Diaspora of the Turkish people

The Turkish diaspora refers to ethnic Turkish people who have migrated from, or are the descendants of migrants from, the Republic of Turkey, Northern Cyprus or other modern nation-states that were once part of the former Ottoman Empire. Therefore, the Turkish diaspora is not only formed by people with roots from mainland Anatolia and Eastern Thrace ; rather, it is also formed of Turkish communities which have also left traditional areas of Turkish settlements in the Balkans, the island of Cyprus, the region of Meskhetia in Georgia, and the Arab world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Iraqi Turkmen</span> Third largest ethnic group in Iraq

The Iraqi Turkmen, also referred to as Iraqi Turks, Turkish-Iraqis, the Turkish minority in Iraq, and the Iraqi-Turkish minority are Iraq's third largest ethnic group. They make up to 13% of the Iraqi population and are native to northern Iraq. Iraqi Turkmen share ties with Turkish people, and do not identify with the Turkmen of Turkmenistan and Central Asia.

Syrian Turkmen are Syrian citizens of Turkish origin who mainly trace their roots to Anatolia. Turkish-speaking Syrian Turkmen make up the third largest ethnic group in the country, after the Arabs and Kurds respectively.

Kouloughlis, also spelled Koulouglis, Cologhlis and Qulaughlis, but the translation of the word "kul" as slave is misleading since in the Ottoman context, it referred to one’s special status as being in the special service of the sultan. It was a term used during the period of Ottoman influence in North Africa that usually designated the mixed offspring of Ottoman officials and janissaries, and local North African women.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Demographics of the Arab world</span>

The Arab world consists of 22 states. As of 2021, the combined population of all the Arab states was around 475 million people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Turkish communities in the former Ottoman Empire</span> Descendants of Ottoman-Turkish settlers living outside of the modern borders of Turkey

The Turkish communities in the former Ottoman Empire refers to ethnic Turks, who are the descendants of Ottoman-Turkish settlers from Anatolia and Eastern Thrace, living outside of the modern borders of the Republic of Turkey and in the independent states which were formerly part of the Ottoman Empire. Thus, they are not considered part of Turkey's modern diaspora, rather, due to living for centuries in their respective regions, they are now considered "natives" or "locals" as they have been living in these countries prior to the independence and establishment of the modern-nation states.

Turks in Denmark, also referred to as Turkish Danes or Danish Turks refers to ethnic Turkish people living in Denmark. They currently form the largest ethnic minority group in the country; thus, the Turks are the second-largest ethnic group in Denmark, after the ethnic Danish people. The majority of Danish Turks descend from the Republic of Turkey; however, there has also been significant Turkish migration from other post-Ottoman countries including ethnic Turkish communities which have come to Denmark from the Balkans, the island of Cyprus, and more recently Iraq and Syria.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ethnic groups in the Middle East</span>

Ethnic groups in the Middle East, in the 'transcontinental' region which is commonly a geopolitical term designating the intercontinental region comprising West Asia without the South Caucasus, and also comprising Egypt in North Africa. The region has historically been a crossroad of different cultures and languages. Since the 1960s, the changes in political and economic factors have significantly altered the ethnic composition of groups in the region. While some ethnic groups have been present in the region for millennia, others have arrived fairly recently through immigration. The largest socioethnic groups in the region are Arabs, Turks, Persians, Kurds, and Azerbaijanis but there are dozens of other ethnic groups that have hundreds of thousands, and sometimes millions of members.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Turkish population</span>

The Turkish population refers to the number of ethnic Turkish people in the world. During the Seljuk (1037–1194) and Ottoman (1299–1923) eras, ethnic Turks were settled across the lands conquered by the two empires. In particular, the Turkification of Anatolia was the result of the Battle of Manzikert in 1071 and the formation of the Sultanate of Rum. Thereafter, the Ottomans continued Turkish expansion throughout the regions around the Black Sea and the Mediterranean Sea. Consequently, today the Turkish people form a majority in Turkey and Northern Cyprus. There are also significant Turkish minorities who still live in the Balkans, the Caucasus, the Middle East and the Levant, and North Africa.

The Turks in Egypt, also referred to as Egyptian Turks, Turkish-Egyptians and Turco-Egyptians are Egyptian citizens of partial or full Turkish ancestry, who are the descendants of settlers that arrived in the region during the rule of several Turkic dynasties, including: the Tulunid (868–905), Ikhshidid (935–969), Mamluk (1250–1517), and Ottoman eras. Today their descendants continue to live in Egypt and still identify as Egyptians of Turkish or mixed origin, though they are also fully integrated in Egyptian society.

Turks in Jordan, also known as Turkish Jordanians or Jordanian Turks and Jordanian Turkmen, are people of Turkish ancestry living in Jordan. These people have had a thriving presence in Jordan since the rule of the Ottoman Empire. Today, there is a minority of about 60,000 people in the country who are the descendants of the Ottoman-Turkish immigrants. In addition to this, there are also 8,262 Turkish citizens who are recent migrants to Jordan.

Lebanese Turkmen, also known as the Lebanese Turks, are people of Turkish ancestry that live in Lebanon. The historic rule of several Turkic dynasties in the region saw continuous Turkish migration waves to Lebanon during the Tulunid rule (868–905), Ikhshidid rule (935–969), Seljuk rule (1037–1194), Mamluk rule (1291–1515), and Ottoman rule (1516–1918).

Turks in Yemen, also known as Turkish Yemenis and Yemeni Turks, refers to the ethnic Turks who live in Yemen.

Arabs in Romania are people from Arab countries who live in Romania. The first Fellah settlers came in 1831 - 1833 from Ottoman Syria to Dobruja. They assimilated in the Turkish-Tatarian Population. Some of them came to Romania during the Ceaușescu era, when many Arab students were granted scholarships to study in Romanian universities. Most of them were Lebanese, Syrians, Palestinians, Iraqis, Libyans, Egyptians, and Jordanians. Most of these students returned to their countries of origin, but some remained in Romania starting families here. It is estimated that almost half a million Middle Eastern Arabs studied in Romania during the 1980s. A new wave of Arab immigration started after the Romanian Revolution. Many of the newly arrived Arabs came to Romania in the 1990s in order to develop businesses. In addition, Romania has people from Arab countries who have the status of refugees or illegal immigrants, primarily from North Africa, trying to immigrate to Western Europe. In particular, the European migrant crisis lead to Syrian people coming to Romania, although many Syrians were already living in Romania at the time of the crisis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Syrians in Turkey</span>

Syrians in Turkey, includes Turkish citizens of Syrian origin, Syrian refugees, and other Syrian citizens resident in Turkey. As of January 2024, there are more than 3,200,000 registered refugees of the Syrian Civil War in Turkey, which hosts the biggest refugee population in the whole world. In addition, almost 80,000 Syrian nationals reside in Turkey with a residence permit. Apart from Syrian refugees under temporary protection and Syrian citizens with a residence permit; 238,055 Syrian nationals acquired Turkish citizenship as of December 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Turkoman (ethnonym)</span> Medieval ethnohistorical term used for the people of Oghuz Turkic origin

Turkoman, also known as Turcoman, was a term for the people of Oghuz Turkic origin, widely used during the Middle Ages. Oghuz Turks were a western Turkic people that, in the 8th century A.D, formed a tribal confederation in an area between the Aral and Caspian seas in Central Asia, and spoke the Oghuz branch of the Turkic language family.

References

  1. ↑ Malcolm, Peter; Losleben, Elizabeth (2004), Libya, Marshall Cavendish, p. 62, There are some Libyans who think of themselves as Turkish, or descendants of Turkish soldiers who settled in the area in the days of the Ottoman Empire.
  2. ↑ Nkrumah, Gamal (2016). "Did the Turks sweeten Egypt's kitty?". Al-Ahram Weekly . Retrieved 2016-10-30. Today, the number of ethnic Turks in Egypt varies considerably, with estimates ranging from 100,000 to 1,500,000. Most have intermingled in Egyptian society and are almost indistinguishable from non-Turkish Egyptians, even though a considerable number of Egyptians of Turkish origin are bilingual.
  3. ↑ Peyrouse, Sebastien (2015), Turkmenistan: Strategies of Power, Dilemmas of Development, Routledge, p. 62, ISBN   978-0230115521
  4. 1 2 3 Taylor, Scott (2004), Among the Others: Encounters with the Forgotten Turkmen of Iraq, Esprit de Corps, p. 31, ISBN   1-895896-26-6, The largest number of Turkmen immigrants followed the army of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent when he conquered all of Iraq in 1535. Throughout their reign, the Ottomans encouraged the settlement of immigrant Turkmen along the loosely formed boundary that divided Arab and Kurdish settlements in northern Iraq.
  5. ↑ Jawhar 2010: "There’s a strong conflict of opinions regarding the origins of Iraqi Turkmen, however, it is certain that they settled down during the Ottoman rule in the northwest of Mosul, whence they spread to eastern Baghdad. Once there, they became high ranked officers, experts, traders, and executives in residential agglomerations lined up along the vast, fertile plains, and mingled with Kurds, Assyrians, Arabs, and other confessions. With the creation of the new Iraqi state in 1921, Iraqi Turkmen managed to maintain their socioeconomic status."
  6. ↑ International Crisis Group 2008 , [ page needed ]: "Turkomans are descendents of Ottoman Empire-era soldiers, traders and civil servants... The 1957 census, Iraq’s last reliable count before the overthrow of the monarchy in 1958, put the country’s population at 6,300,000 and the Turkoman population at 567,000, about 9 per cent...Subsequent censuses, in 1967, 1977, 1987 and 1997, are all considered highly problematic, due to suspicions of regime manipulation."
  7. 1 2 The New York Times (2015). "Who Are the Turkmens of Syria?". In the context of Syria, though, the term ["Turkmen"] is used somewhat differently, to refer mainly to people of Turkish heritage whose families migrated to Syria from Anatolia during the centuries of the Ottoman period — and thus would be closer kin to the Turks of Turkey than to the Turkmens of Central Asia...Q. How many are there? A. No reliable figures are available, and estimates on the number of Turkmens in Syria and nearby countries vary widely, from the hundreds of thousands up to 3 million or more.
  8. ↑ BBC (June 18, 2004). "Who's who in Iraq: Turkmen" . Retrieved 2011-11-23. The predominantly Muslim Turkmen are an ethnic group with close cultural and linguistic ties to Anatolia in Turkey.
  9. 1 2 3 Akar, Metin (1993), "Fas Arapçasında Osmanlı Türkçesinden Alınmış Kelimeler", Türklük Araştırmaları Dergisi, 7: 94–95, Günümüzde, Arap dünyasında hâlâ Türk asıllı aileler mevcuttur. Bunların nüfusu Irak'ta 2 milyon, Suriye'de 3.5 milyon, Mısır'da 1.5, Cezayir'de 1 milyon, Tunus'ta 500 bin, Suudî Arabistan'da 150 bin, Libya'da 50 bin, Ürdün'de 60 bin olmak üzere 8.760.000 civarındadır. Bu ailelerin varlığı da Arap lehçelerindeki Türkçe ödünçleşmeleri belki artırmış olabilir.
  10. 1 2 Rippin, Andrew (2008). World Islam: Critical Concepts in Islamic Studies. Routledge. ISBN   978-0415456531.
  11. ↑ "National Geographic's DNA Analysis Concludes That Egyptians Are Only 17% Arab". Cairo Scene. January 16, 2017. 68% Native North Africans, 17% Arabs, 4% Jewish Diaspora, 3% Eastern Africa, 3% Asia Minor, 3% Southern Europe
  12. ↑ Bassem, Wassim (2016). "Iraq's Turkmens call for independent province". Al-Monitor. Archived from the original on 2016-10-17. Turkmens are a mix of Sunnis and Shiites and are the third-largest ethnicity in Iraq after Arabs and Kurds, numbering around 3 million out of the total population of about 34.7 million, according to 2013 data from the Iraqi Ministry of Planning.
  13. ↑ Triana, María (2017), Managing Diversity in Organizations: A Global Perspective, Taylor & Francis, p. 168, ISBN   978-1317423683, Turkmen, Iraqi citizens of Turkish origin, are the third largest ethnic group in Iraq after Arabs and Kurds, and they are said to number about 3 million of Iraq's 34.7 million citizens according to the Iraqi Ministry of Planning.
  14. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 El-Hatip, Alyaa (2014), "Filistin Türkmenlerinin Genel Durumu", Ortadoğu Türkmenlerİ Sempozyumu, ORSAM, p. 96
  15. ↑ Al-Akhbar. "Lebanese Turks Seek Political and Social Recognition" . Retrieved 2012-03-02.
  16. ↑ Ahmed, Yusra (2015), Syrian Turkmen refugees face double suffering in Lebanon, Zaman Al Wasl, retrieved 2016-10-11
  17. ↑ Pan, Chia-Lin (1949), "The Population of Libya", Population Studies, 3 (1): 100–125, doi:10.1080/00324728.1949.10416359
  18. ↑ El-Hatip, Alyaa (2014), "Filistin Türkmenlerinin Genel Durumu", Ortadoğu Türkmenlerİ Sempozyumu, ORSAM, p. 95, Batı Şaria Türkmenlerinin sayısı 35-40 bini bulmaktadır.
  19. 1 2 Güzel, Hasan Celâl (2016). "Orta Doğuda Türk/Türkmen Varlığı" (PDF). Yeni Turkiye. p. 150. Bunların dışında, Suudî Arabistan'da 150 bin Türk nüfusu, Mısır'da 150 bin civarında Ariş Türkleri, Yemen'de en az 200 bin Türk, Ürdün'de çok sayıda Türk asıllı nüfus yaşamaktadır. Mısır nüfusunun üçte birinin, yani 25 milyon nüfusun Türk asıllı olduğu ileri sürülmektedir.
  20. ↑ BBC (2015). "Who are the Turkmen in Syria?". There are no reliable population figures, but they are estimated to number between about half a million and 3.5 million.
  21. ↑ Sertoglu, Sedat (1998), Haftaya Bakış, vol. 7, Bakış Basın Yayın Organizasyon, p. 35, Bugün Tunus'ta Türk kökenli 2 milyon insan yaşadığı bildirilmekte ve Dunlardan 60-70 yaşın üzerindekiler Türkçe bilmektedirler..
  22. ↑ Turks living in the UAE vote in presidential elections
  23. ↑ Yemen Raporu, Union of NGOs of The Islamic World, 2014, p. 26, Bu noktadan hareketle, bölgede yaklaşık 10 bin ila 100 bin arasında Türk asıllı vatandaş bulunduğu tahmin edilmektedir..
  24. ↑ International Crisis Group 2008, 16.
  25. ↑ Library of Congress, Iraq: Other Minorities, Library of Congress Country Studies, retrieved 2011-11-24
  26. ↑ Jawhar 2010, 314.

Bibliography

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.