Levant

{{Short description|Region in the Eastern Mediterranean}} {{About|the historical geographical region in the Eastern Mediterranean|Latin Catholics in the Ottoman Empire|Latin Church in the Middle East{{!}}Levantines (Latin Christians)|other uses|Levantine (disambiguation)|and|Levant (disambiguation)}} {{Distinguish|Lavant (disambiguation)|Levante (disambiguation)|Levent}} {{protection padlock|small=yes}} {{Use American English|date=July 2020}} {{Use dmy dates|date=July 2020}} {{Infobox | bodyclass = geography | above = Levant | image = 250px|Levant | captionstyle = text-align:left | caption1 = {{legend|#C6DEBD|Countries and regions of the Levant in its broad, historical meaning (equivalent to the Eastern Mediterranean)<ref>{{harvnb|Gagarin|2009|p=247}}; {{harvnb|Oxford Dictionaries|2015}}.</ref><ref name=Encarta>{{harvnb|''Encarta''|2009|loc="Levant"}}</ref>}}{{legend|#336733|Countries of the Levant in 20th-century usage<ref name=OEAGR>{{harvnb|Gagarin|2009|p=247}}</ref>}}{{legend|#73CD73|Countries and regions sometimes included in 21st-century usage}} | label1 = Countries and regions | data1 = Narrow definition:<br/>{{Plain list| * {{flag|Akrotiri and Dhekelia}} * {{flag|Cyprus}} * {{flagicon|Turkey}} Hatay Province * {{flag|Israel}} * {{flag|Jordan}} * {{flag|Lebanon}} * {{flag|Palestine}} * {{flag|Syria}} }} Broad definition: * {{flag|Egypt}} * {{flag|Greece}} * {{flag|Iraq}} * {{flag|Libya}} * {{flag|Turkey}} | label2 = Population | data2 = Narrow definition: 57,681,876{{efn|Total population by adding the populations of Cyprus, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, Syria, and Turkey's Hatay Province.}} | label3 = Demonym | data3 = Levantine | label4 = Languages | data4 = Arabic, Aramaic<!-- "Aramaic" covers all the dialects of Aramaic which are spoken in this region. -->, Armenian, Circassian, Domari, Greek, Hebrew, Kurdish, Turkish | label5 = Time Zones | data5 = UTC+02:00 (EET) and UTC+03:00 (TRT/AST) | label6 = Largest cities | data6 = {{Collapsible list | list_style = text-align:left; | 1 = {{flagicon|Jordan}} Amman <br /> {{flagicon|Syria}} Aleppo <br /> {{flagicon|Lebanon}} Beirut <br /> {{flagicon|Syria}} Damascus <br /> {{flagicon|Israel}}{{flagicon|Palestine}} Jerusalem }} }}

The '''Levant'''{{efn|{{IPAc-en|l|ə|ˈ|v|æ|n|t}} {{respell|lə|VANT}}, {{IPAc-en|usalso|l|ə|ˈ|v|ɑː|n|t}} {{respell|lə|VAHNT}}}} is a subregion of West Asia along the Eastern Mediterranean that forms part of the Middle East. The term is often used in conjunction with historical or cultural references.

In its narrowest sense, used in archaeology and other contexts, the Levant refers to Cyprus and land bordering the Levantine Sea (Mediterranean) in West Asia<ref name=MG>Gasiorowski, Mark (2016). ''The Government and Politics of the Middle East and North Africa''. p. 5: "... today the term ''Levantine'' can describe shared cultural products, such as Levantine cuisine or Levantine archaeology". {{isbn|081334994X}}.</ref><ref name=OHAL9>Steiner & Killebrew, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=5H4fAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT32 9] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221101142956/https://books.google.com/books?id=5H4fAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT32 |date=1 November 2022 }}: "The general limits ..., as defined here, begin at the Plain of 'Amuq in the north and extend south until the Wâdī al-Arish, along the northern coast of Sinai. ... The western coastline and the eastern deserts set the boundaries for the Levant ... The Euphrates and the area around Jebel el-Bishrī mark the eastern boundary of the northern Levant, as does the Syrian Desert beyond the Anti-Lebanon range's eastern hinterland and Mount Hermon. This boundary continues south in the form of the highlands and eastern desert regions of Transjordan."</ref> that includes Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Palestine, Israel, and south Cilicia (Turkey). In its widest historical sense, the Levant included all the Eastern Mediterranean;<ref name=ODO2015>{{harvnb|Oxford Dictionaries|2015}}.</ref> extending from Greece to Egypt and Cyrenaica (Eastern Libya).<ref name=OEAGR /><ref>Pierre-Louis Gatier, E. Gubel, Philippe Marquis. ''The Levant History and Archaeology in the Eastern Mediterranean,'' Könemann, Page 7</ref> The Levantine corridor represents the land bridge between Africa and Eurasia,<ref name=OHAL9/> has been described as the crossroads of West Asia, Eastern Mediterranean, and Northeast Africa,<ref name=UCL/> and geologically as the "northwest of the Arabian plate".<ref>''Egyptian Journal of Geology'', Volume 42, Issue 1, p. 263, 1998</ref>

In the 13th and 14th centuries, ''levante'' was used for Italian maritime commerce in the Eastern Mediterranean, including Greece, Anatolia, Syria-Palestine, and Egypt, that is the lands east of Venice.<ref name=OEAGR /> It derives from the Italian {{lang|it|levante}}, meaning "rising", implying the rising of the Sun in the east, and is broadly equivalent to the ''Mashriq'',{{efn|{{langx|ar|ٱلْمَشْرِق}}, pronounced {{IPAc-ar|ʔ|a|l|.|m|a|ʃ|.|r|i|q|}}}}<ref>{{harvnb|Gagarin|2009|p=247}}; {{harvnb|Naim|2011|p=921}}</ref> meaning "eastern place, where the Sun rises".{{sfn|Naim|2011|p=921}} Eventually the term was restricted to the Muslim countries of Syria-Palestine and Egypt. The term entered English in the 15th century from French.<ref name=ODO2015/> In 1581, England set up the Levant Company to trade with the Ottoman Empire.<ref name=OEAGR /> The name ''Levant States'' was used to refer to the French mandate over Syria and Lebanon after World War I, so ''Levant'' has come to refer to modern Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, Israel, Jordan, and Cyprus.<ref name=OEAGR />

As a name for the contemporary region, several dictionaries consider ''Levant'' to be archaic.<ref>LEVANT ''archaic'' The eastern part of the Mediterranean with the islands and neighbouring countries. ''New Oxford Dictionary of English'', 2nd ed., revised, 2005.</ref><ref>"LEVANT, THE". "A general term formerly given to the E shores of the Mediterranean Sea from W Greece to Egypt". ''The Penguin Encyclopedia'', revised 2nd ed., 2004.</ref><ref>LEVANT, (''vieilli'') ''Le Levant'': les pays, les régions qui sont au levant (par rapport à la France) et spécialt. les régions de la Méditerrranée orientale. ''Le Nouveau Petit Robert de la langue française'', (1993 revised ed.).</ref> The noun ''Levant'' and adjective ''Levantine'' are sometimes used to describe the ancient and modern culture area formerly called Syro-Palestinian. Archaeologists now speak of the Levant and Levantine archaeology,<ref>Thomas Evan Levy, ''Historical Biblical Archaeology and the Future: The New Pragmatism'', Routledge, 2016 {{isbn|1134937466}}. Thomas E. Levy, "The New Pragmatism", p. 8: "after 1994, it is possible to see an increase in the use of the less geographically specific and more political [sic] neutral words 'Levant' or 'Levantine' in scholarly citations.... It is important to highlight the pedigree of the term 'Syro-Palestinian' and its gradual replacement by the term 'Levant' or 'Levantine' because the latter is a more culturally and politically neutral term that more accurately reflects the tapestry of countries and peoples of the region, without assuming directionality of cultural influence.". Aaron A. Burke, "The Archaeology of the Levant in North America: The Transformation of Biblical and Syro-Palestinian Archaeology" p. 82''ff'': "A number of factors account for the gradual emergence during the past two decades of what is now widely identified as Levantine archaeology in North America... a growing consensus regarding the appropriate terminology... archaeological field research in the Levant"</ref><ref>William G. Dever, ''The Lives of Ordinary People in Ancient Israel: When Archaeology and the Bible Intersect'', 2012, {{isbn|0802867014}}, p. 249: "Today, however, the discipline is often called Palestinian, Syro-Palestinian, or Levantine archaeology."</ref><ref>Steiner & Killebrew (2013). p. 1-2.</ref> food scholars of Levantine cuisine, and Latin Catholics of the Levant are sometimes called ''Levantines'',<ref>Michel Elias Andraos, "Levantine Catholic Communities in the Diaspora at the Intersection of Many Identities and Worlds", in Michael L. Budde, ''Scattered and Gathered: Catholics in Diaspora'', 2017 {{isbn|1532607091}} p. 24: "The word 'Levantine' in the title is used on purpose instead of the 'Middle East' or the 'Near East'.... I use 'Levantine' more than the two other designations, because this is the term being used more often nowadays by Christian communities in the Middle East to describe their shared identity as ''al-maseeheyoun al-mashriqeyoun'', Levantine Christians"</ref> though the term is normally used to describe the Levant population more widely.<ref>Orfalea, Gregory (2006). ''The Arab Americans: A History''. Olive Branch Press. Northampton, MA. Page 249.</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/features/world/asia/israel/ashkelon-text.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080228113259/http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/features/world/asia/israel/ashkelon-text.html |archive-date=28 February 2008 |title=Ancient Ashkelon – National Geographic Magazine |publisher=Ngm.nationalgeographic.com |date=2002-10-17 |access-date=2011-10-17}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-15479879 | work=BBC News | title=The state of Israel: Internal influence driving change | date=2011-11-06 | archive-date=9 July 2020 | access-date=21 June 2018 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200709042802/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-15479879 | url-status=live }}</ref>

==Etymology== {{See also|Names of the Levant}} [[File:Médaille commémorative de Syrie-Cilicie.jpg|thumb|left|upright=0.8|French medal commemorating the Franco–Turkish War in Cilicia, {{Circa|1920}}]] [[File:Constantinople c. 1909.jpg|thumb|1909 postcard depicting Ottoman Constantinople and bearing a French stamp inscribed "Levant"]]

The term ''Levant'' appears in English in 1497, and originally meant "the East" or "Mediterranean lands east of Italy".<ref name=dictionary>{{cite web | url=http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/levant | title=Levant | work=Dictionary.com | author=Douglas Harper, Online Etymology Dictionary | access-date=2012-07-27 | archive-date=4 March 2016 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304215301/http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/levant | url-status=live }}</ref> It is borrowed from the French {{lang|fr|levant}} "rising", referring to the rising of the sun in the east,<ref name=dictionary /> or the point where the sun rises.<ref>''Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd edition''</ref> The phrase is ultimately from the Latin word {{lang|la|levare}}, meaning "lift, raise". Similar etymologies are found in Greek {{lang|grc|Ἀνατολή}} ''Anatolē'' (''cf.'' Anatolia 'the direction of sunrise'), in Germanic ''Morgenland'' ({{lit|morning land}}), in Italian (as in ''Riviera di Levante'', the portion of the Liguria coast east of Genoa), in Hungarian ''Kelet'' ('east'), in Spanish and Catalan ''Levante'' and ''Llevant'' ('the place of rising'), and in Hebrew {{lang|he|מִזְרָח}} ''mizraḥ'' ('east'). Most notably, "Orient" and its Latin source ''oriens'' meaning "east", is literally "rising", deriving from Latin ''orior'' "rise".<ref>{{cite book |last1=Balme |first1=Maurice |last2=Morwood |first2=James |title=Oxford Latin Course Part III |chapter=Chapter 36 |page=19 |edition=2nd}}</ref>

The notion of the Levant has undergone a dynamic process of historical evolution in usage, meaning, and understanding. While the term "Levantine" originally referred to the European residents of the eastern Mediterranean region, it later came to refer to regional "native" and "minority" groups.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.levantine-journal.org/AboutJLS.aspx|title=Journal of Levantine Studies|publisher=The Van Leer Jerusalem Institute|access-date=30 January 2014|archive-date=30 January 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160130211526/http://www.levantine-journal.org/AboutJLS.aspx|url-status=live}}</ref>

The term became current in English in the 16th century, along with the first English merchant adventurers in the region; English ships appeared in the Mediterranean in the 1570s, and the English merchant company signed its agreement ("capitulations") with the Ottoman Sultan in 1579.<ref>{{harvnb|Braudel|1972|p={{page needed|date=April 2017}} }}.<!--Not enough to identify the source, or the page from the source, if cited in something else then WP:SAYWHEREYOUREADIT--></ref> The English Levant Company was founded in 1581 to trade with the Ottoman Empire, and in 1670 the French {{ill|Compagnie du Levant|fr|Compagnie du Levant}} was founded for the same purpose. At this time, the Far East was known as the "Upper Levant".<ref name=OEAGR/>

In early 19th-century travel writing, the term sometimes incorporated certain Mediterranean provinces of the Ottoman Empire, as well as independent Greece (and especially the Greek islands). In 19th-century archaeology, it referred to overlapping cultures in this region during and after prehistoric times, intending to reference the place instead of any one culture. The French mandate of Syria and Lebanon (1920–1946) was called the Levant states.<ref name=OEAGR/><ref name=Encarta/>

==Geography and modern use of the term== [[File:March_2011_Snow_in_Lebanon.jpg|thumb|Satellite view of the Levant including Cyprus, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Palestine, Jordan, Hatay (Turkey) and the Northern Sinai (Egypt).]]

Today, "Levant" is the term typically used by archaeologists and historians with reference to the history of the region. Scholars have adopted the term Levant to identify the region due to its being a "wider, yet relevant, cultural corpus" that does not have the "political overtones" of Syria-Palestine.{{efn|"Nevertheless, despite such a well-reasoned basis for the identification of Levantine archaeology, the adoption of this term by many scholars has been, for the most part, simply the result of individual attempts to consider a wider, yet relevant, cultural corpus than that which is suggested by the use of terms like Canaan, Israel, or even Syria-Palestine. Regardless of the manner in which the term has come into common use, for a couple of additional reasons it seems clear that the Levant will remain the term of choice. In the first place scholars have shown a penchant for the term Levant, despite the fact that the term 'Syria-Palestine' has been advocated since the late 1970s. This is evident from the fact that no journal or series today has adopted a title that includes 'Syria-Palestine'. However, the journal ''Levant'' has been published since 1969 and since 1990, ''Ägypten und Levante'' has also attracted a plethora of papers relating to the archaeology of this region. Furthermore, a search through any electronic database of titles reveals an overwhelming adoption of the term 'Levant' when compared to 'Syria-Palestine' for archaeological studies. Undoubtedly, this is mostly due to the fact that 'Syria-Palestine' was a Roman administrative division of the Levant created by Hadrian (Millar 1993). The term 'Syria-Palestine' also carries political overtones that inadvertently evoke current efforts to establish a full-fledged Palestinian state. Scholars have recognized, therefore, that—for at least the time being—they can spare themselves further headaches by adopting the term Levant to identify this region" {{harv|Burke|2010|p=84}}<!--efn--> }}{{efn|"At the beginning of this Introduction I have indicated how difficult it is to choose a general accepted name for the region this book deals with. In Europe we are used to the late Roman name 'Palestine,' and the designation 'Palestinian Archaeology' has a long history. According to Byzantine usage it included CisJordan and TransJordan and even Lebanon and Sinai. In modern times, however, the name 'Palestine' has exclusively become the political designation for a restricted area. Furthermore, in the period this book deals with a region called 'Palestine' did not yet exist. Also the ancient name 'Canaan' cannot be used as it refers to an older period in history. Designations as: 'The Land(s) of the Bible' or 'the Holy Land' evoke the suspicion of a theological bias. 'The Land of Israel' does not apply to the situation because it never included Lebanon or the greater part of modern Jordan. Therefore I have joined those who today advocate the designation 'Southern Levant.' Although I confess that it is an awkward name, it is at least strictly geographical." {{harv|Geus|2003|p=6}}<!--efn-->}} The term is also used for modern events, peoples, states or parts of states in the same region, namely Cyprus, Egypt, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, Syria, and Turkey are sometimes considered Levant countries (compare with Near East, Middle East, Eastern Mediterranean and West Asia).{{citation needed|date=June 2024}} Several researchers include the island of Cyprus in Levantine studies, including the Council for British Research in the Levant (CBRL),<ref>{{cite web |author=Sandra Rosendahl |url=http://www.cbrl.org.uk/ |title=Council for British Research in the Levant homepage |publisher=Cbrl.org.uk |date=2006-11-28 |access-date=2010-07-05 |archive-date=2 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180602093621/http://cbrl.org.uk/ |url-status=live }}</ref> the UCLA Near Eastern Languages and Cultures department,<ref>[http://www.nelc.ucla.edu/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=70&Itemid=98 Biblical and Levantine studies] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131206044808/http://www.nelc.ucla.edu/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=70&Itemid=98 |date=6 December 2013 }}, UCLA</ref> ''Journal of Levantine Studies''<ref>{{cite journal |title=About JLS |journal=Journal of Levantine Studies |url=http://www.levantine-journal.org/AboutJLS.aspx |date=2022 |access-date=2024-05-18 |archive-date=30 January 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160130211526/http://www.levantine-journal.org/AboutJLS.aspx |url-status=live }}</ref> and the UCL Institute of Archaeology,<ref name="UCL">[https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20060514092649/http://www.ucl.ac.uk/archaeology/ The Ancient Levant], UCL Institute of Archaeology, May 2008</ref> the last of which has dated the connection between Cyprus and mainland Levant to the early Iron Age. Archaeologists seeking a neutral orientation that is neither biblical nor national have used terms such as Levantine archaeology and archaeology of the Southern Levant.<ref name="DeverEncyclopedia">Dever, William G. "Syro-Palestinian and Biblical Archaeology", pp. 1244–1253.</ref><ref name="Sharon">Sharon, Ilan "Biblical archaeology" in ''Encyclopedia of Archaeology'' Elsevier.</ref>

While the usage of the term "Levant" in academia has been restricted to the fields of archeology and literature, there is a recent attempt to reclaim the notion of the Levant as a category of analysis in political and social sciences. Two academic journals were launched in the early 2010s using the word: the ''Journal of Levantine Studies'', published by the Van Leer Jerusalem Institute<ref>Anat Lapidot-Firilla, "Editor's Note", ''Journal of Levantine Studies'' '''1''':1:5-12 (Summer 2011) [https://levantine-journal.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/jls-summer2011_Editor-1.pdf full text] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200919115635/https://levantine-journal.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/jls-summer2011_Editor-1.pdf |date=19 September 2020 }}</ref> and ''The Levantine Review'', published by Boston College.<ref>Franck Salameh, "From the Editors", ''The Levantine Review'' '''1''':1:1-6 (Spring 2012), {{doi|10.6017/lev.v1i1.2154}}, [https://ejournals.bc.edu/index.php/levantine/article/view/2154/1796 full text] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200828033742/https://ejournals.bc.edu/index.php/levantine/article/view/2154/1796 |date=28 August 2020 }}</ref>

The word ''Levant'' has been used in some translations of the term ''ash-Shām'' as used by the organization known as ISIL, ISIS, and other names, though there is disagreement as to whether this translation is accurate.<ref name="BBC2015">{{cite news |last= Irshaid |first= Faisal |title= Isis, Isil, IS or Daesh? One group, many names |publisher= BBC |date= 2 December 2015 |url= https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-27994277 |access-date= 21 July 2018 |archive-date= 15 April 2023 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20230415001421/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-27994277 |url-status= live }}</ref>

===Archaeological definition=== {{further|Levantine archaeology}} In ''The Oxford Handbook of the Archaeology of the Levant: c. 8000–332 BCE'' (OHAL; 2013), the definition of the Levant for the specific purposes of the book is synonymous to that of the Arabic "''bilad al-sham'', 'the land of sham [Syria]'", translating in Western parlance to greater Syria.<ref name=OHAL2>Steiner & Killebrew, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=5H4fAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT26 2] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221101142958/https://books.google.com/books?id=5H4fAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT26 |date=1 November 2022 }}.</ref> OHAL defines the boundaries of the Levant as follows.<ref name=OHAL2/><ref name=OHAL9/> * To the north: the Taurus Mountains<ref name=OHAL2/> or the Plain of 'Amuq<ref name=OHAL9/> * To the east: the eastern deserts, i.e. (from north to south) the Euphrates and the Jebel el-Bishrī area for the northern Levant, followed by the Syrian Desert east of the eastern hinterland of the Anti-Lebanon range (whose southernmost part is Mount Hermon), and Transjordan's highlands and eastern desert (also discussed at Syrian Desert, also known as the Badia region).<ref name=OHAL9/> In other words, Mesopotamia and the North Arabian Desert.<ref name=OHAL2/> * To the south: Wadi al-Arish in Sinai<ref name=OHAL9/> * To the west: the Mediterranean Sea<ref name=OHAL2/>

;Subregions A distinction is made between the main subregions of the Levant, the northern and the southern:<ref name=OHAL9/> * The Litani River marks the division between the Northern Levant and the Southern Levant.<ref name=OHAL9/> The island of Cyprus is also included as a third subregion in the archaeological region of the Levant:<ref name=OHAL9/> * Cyprus, geographically distinct from the Levant, is included due to its proximity and natural resources (copper in particular), which induced close cultural ties.<ref name=OHAL9/>

==History== {{further|Prehistory of the Levant|History of the ancient Levant|Canaan}} {{see also|History of the Middle East|History of Israel|History of Jordan|History of Lebanon|History of Palestine|History of Syria}}

==Demographics== {{see also|Demographics of the Middle East|List of largest cities in the Levant region by population}}The region is inhabited by Levantine Arabs, Jews, Kurds, Assyrians, Armenians, Chechens and Circassians. The population of the modern Levant border is approximately 57.6 million consisting of the populations of Syria, Jordan, Israel, Lebanon and Palestine. {| class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:95%" !State !Population (2023) !Density/km2 (2018) !Life expectancy (2018) |- |{{flagu|Israel}} |10,094,000 |458 |82.5 years |- |{{flagu|Jordan}} |11,484,805 |114 |74.8 years |- |{{flagu|Lebanon}} |5,364,482 |513 |78.7 years |- |{{flagu|Palestine}} |5,483,450 |731 |73.4 years |- |{{flagu|Syria}} |25,255,139 |118.3 |74.8 years |- |'''Total''' |'''57,681,876''' |'''184.2''' |'''76.4''' |}

=== Religious and ethnic groups === {{Historical populations |title=Historical population of the Levant |align=right |14|4300000|164|4800000|500|4127000|900|3120000|1200|2700000|1700|2028000|1897|3231874|1914|3448356|1922|3198951|footnote = Source:<ref>{{cite web|last=Mutlu|first=Servet|title=Late Ottoman population and its ethnic distribution|url=https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/download/article-file/213586|pages=29–31}} Corrected population M8.</ref><ref>Frier, Bruce W. "Demography", in Alan K. Bowman, Peter Garnsey, and Dominic Rathbone, eds., ''The Cambridge Ancient History XI: The High Empire, A.D. 70–192'', (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000), 827–54.</ref><ref>{{Setton-A History of the Crusades|last=Russell|first=Josiah C.|chapter=The Population of the Crusader States|pages=295–314|volume=5}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Syria Population - Our World in Data |url=https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/population?time=0..latest&country=~SYR |website=www.ourworldindata.org |language=en |access-date=11 September 2023 |archive-date=9 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231009154851/https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/population?time=0..latest&country=~SYR |url-status=live }}</ref> }} The majority of Levantines are Muslims. Islam was first introduced into the region following the Muslim conquest of the Levant in the 7th century;<ref>{{cite book |last=Kennedy |first=Hugh N. |author-link=Hugh N. Kennedy |date=2007 |title=The Great Arab Conquests: How the Spread of Islam Changed the World We Live In |url=https://archive.org/details/greatarabconques00kenn_0 |url-access=registration |publisher=Da Capo Press |page=[https://archive.org/details/greatarabconques00kenn_0/page/376 376] |isbn=978-0-306-81728-1}}</ref> however, a Muslim majority was only reached by the 13th century.<ref>{{cite book |last=Lapidus |first=Ira M. |author-link=Ira M. Lapidus |date=13 October 2014 |orig-date=1988 |title=A History of Islamic Societies |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kFJNBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA269 |edition=3rd |publisher=Cambridge University Press |page=269 |isbn=978-0-521-51430-9}}</ref> The majority of Levantine Muslims are Sunnis adhering to the four ''madhhabs'' (Hanafi, Shafi'i, Hanbali, and Maliki). Islamic minorities include the Alawites and Nizari Ismailis in Syria, and Twelver Shiites in Lebanon.

As the birthplace of Christianity, the Levant has many Christians belonging to various churches, mainly the Greek Orthodox (Antiochian), Syriac Orthodox, and various Eastern Catholic (Syriac Catholic, Melkite and Maronite) churches. Armenians mostly belong to the Armenian Apostolic Church. There are also Assyrians belonging to the Assyrian Church of the East and the Chaldean Catholic Church.<ref name=gulf2014>{{cite web |title=Christian Population of Middle East in 2014 |date=2017 |publisher=The Gulf/2000 Project, School of International and Public Affairs of Columbia University |url=http://gulf2000.columbia.edu/images/maps/Christians_Middle_East_2014_lg.png |access-date=2018-08-31 |archive-date=21 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230421220530/http://gulf2000.columbia.edu/images/maps/Christians_Middle_East_2014_lg.png |url-status=live }}</ref>

Other religious groups in the Levant include Jews, Samaritans, Yazidis in Iraq, and Druze in Syria and Lebanon.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SPBfnT_E1mgC&pg=PA16 |title=Ethnic Groups of Africa and the Middle East: An Encyclopedia|access-date=26 May 2014|isbn=978-1-59884-362-0|last1=Shoup|first1=John A|date=2011-10-31|publisher=Abc-Clio }}</ref>

=== Languages === alt=|thumb|Map representing the distribution of the Arabic dialects in the area of the Levant

Most populations in the Levant speak Levantine Arabic ({{lang|ar|شامي}}, {{Transliteration|ar|Šāmī}}), a variety of Arabic descended from the pre-Islamic Arabic dialects of Syria and Hejazi Arabic, but retaining significant influence from Western Middle Aramaic.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Retsö |first1=Jan |title="Aramaic in Levantine Dialects" in "Aramaic/Syriac Loanwords" |website=Encyclopedia of Arabic Language and Linguistics |publisher=Brill Reference Online |access-date=7 February 2024 |url=https://referenceworks.brillonline.com/browse/encyclopedia-of-arabic-language-and-linguistics|quote=The Arabic spoken in Syria and Mesopotamia has replaced Aramaic dialects there and it can be assumed that a bilingual situation existed for a long time and that numerous Aramaic lexemes found their way into Arabic during this period. The presence of Aramaic lexemes is well studied in Lebanese Arabic (Féghali 1918; Freyha 1973) and the dialects spoken in the Anti-Lebanon (Arnold and Behnstedt 1993) but can be found in dictionaries from the entire Syro-Palestinian area (cf. Barbot 1961). The material collected by Féghali and Freyha shows that, unlike in the ʿarabiyya, most borrowings preserve the Aramaic phonology… The Aramaic vocabulary is likely to be the largest foreign element in the Arabic lexicon even if the exact extent is difficult to define.}}</ref> Levantine Arabic is usually classified as North Levantine Arabic in Lebanon, Syria, and parts of Turkey, and South Levantine Arabic in Palestine and Jordan. Each of these encompasses a spectrum of regional or urban/rural variations. In addition to the varieties normally grouped together as "Levantine", a number of other varieties and dialects of Arabic are spoken in the Levant area, such as Levantine Bedawi Arabic (by Bedouins) and Mesopotamian Arabic (in eastern Syria).<ref>{{cite web|access-date=2018-07-21|title=Jordan and Syria|url=https://www.ethnologue.com/map/JOSY|website=Ethnologue|archive-date=30 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190730231539/https://www.ethnologue.com/map/JOSY|url-status=live}}</ref>

Of the languages of Cyprus, the two official languages are Turkish and Greek. The most used languages by population are Greek in the south followed by Turkish in the north. Two minority languages are recognized: Armenian, and Cypriot Maronite Arabic, a hybrid of mostly medieval Arabic vernaculars with strong influence from contact with Turkish and Greek, spoken by approximately 1,000 people.<ref name=Versteegh>{{cite book |last=Versteegh |first=Kees |title=Encyclopedia of Arabic Language and Linguistics |year=2011 |publisher=Brill |isbn=978-90-04-14976-2 |page=541}}</ref>

Concerning the languages of Israel, Modern Hebrew is the country's official language, and almost the entire population speaks it either as a first language or proficiently as a second language. Arabic is used mainly by Israel's Arab minority while English is widely used.

Western Neo-Aramaic is additionally spoken in three villages in Syria: Maaloula, Jubb'adin and Bakhah.<ref>{{cite book |author1=Rafik Schami |title=Märchen aus Malula |date=25 July 2011 |publisher=Carl Hanser Verlag GmbH & Company KG |isbn=978-3-446-23900-5 |page=151 |language=German |quote=Ich kenne das Dorf nicht, doch gehört habe ich davon. Was ist mit Malula?‹ fragte der festgehaltene Derwisch. >Das letzte Dorf der Aramäer< lachte einer der…}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author1=Yaron Matras |author2=Jeanette Sakel |title=Grammatical Borrowing in Cross-Linguistic Perspective |date=2007 |publisher=De Gruyter |isbn=978-3-11-019919-2 |page=185 |doi=10.1515/9783110199192 |url=https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783110199192/html |language=English |quote=The fact that nearly all Arabic loans in Ma'lula originate from the period before the change from the rural dialect to the city dialect of Damascus shows that the contact between the Aramaeans and the Arabs was intimate… |archive-date=26 May 2024 |access-date=12 August 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240526080929/https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783110199192/html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author1=Dr. Emna Labidi |title=Untersuchungen zum Spracherwerb zweisprachiger Kinder im Aramäerdorf Dschubbadin (Syrien) |date=2022 |publisher=LIT |isbn=978-3-643-15261-9 |page=133 |url=https://www.lit-verlag.de/isbn/978-3-643-15261-9 |language=German |quote=Aramäer von Ǧubbˁadīn |archive-date=26 May 2024 |access-date=12 August 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240526080935/https://lit-verlag.de/isbn/978-3-643-15261-9/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author1=Prof. Dr. Werner Arnold |author2=P. Behnstedt |title=Arabisch-aramäische Sprachbeziehungen im Qalamūn (Syrien) |date=1993 |publisher=Harassowitz |isbn=978-3-447-03326-8 |page=42 |language=German |quote=Die arabischen Dialekte der Aramäer}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author1=Prof. Dr. Werner Arnold |author2=P. Behnstedt |title=Arabisch-aramäische Sprachbeziehungen im Qalamūn (Syrien) |date=1993 |publisher=Harassowitz |isbn=978-3-447-03326-8 |page=5 |language=German |quote=Die Kontakte zwischen den drei Aramäer-dörfern sind nicht besonders stark.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author1=Prof. Dr. Werner Arnold |title=Lehrbuch des Neuwestaramäischen |date=2006 |publisher=Harrassowitz |isbn=978-3-447-05313-6 |page=133 |url=https://www.harrassowitz-verlag.de/isbn_978-3-447-05313-6.ahtml |language=German |quote=Aramäern in Ma'lūla |archive-date=26 May 2024 |access-date=12 August 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240526080933/https://www.harrassowitz-verlag.de/isbn_978-3-447-05313-6.ahtml |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author1=Prof. Dr. Werner Arnold |title=Lehrbuch des Neuwestaramäischen |date=2006 |publisher=Harrassowitz |isbn=978-3-447-05313-6 |page=15 |language=German |quote=Viele Aramäer arbeiten heute in Damaskus, Beirut oder in den Golfstaaten und verbringen nur die Sommermonate im Dorf.}}</ref>

Among diaspora communities based in the Levant, Greek, Armenian, and Circassian are also spoken.

=== Genetics === {{further|Genetic history of the Middle East}} thumb|220x220px|Levantine ancestral component highlighted in blue<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Haber |first1=Marc |last2=Gauguier |first2=Dominique |last3=Youhanna |first3=Sonia |last4=Patterson |first4=Nick |last5=Moorjani |first5=Priya |last6=Botigué |first6=Laura R. |last7=Platt |first7=Daniel E. |last8=Matisoo-Smith |first8=Elizabeth |last9=Soria-Hernanz |first9=David F. |last10=Wells |first10=R. Spencer |last11=Bertranpetit |first11=Jaume |last12=Tyler-Smith |first12=Chris |last13=Comas |first13=David |last14=Zalloua |first14=Pierre A. |date=2013-02-28 |title=Genome-Wide Diversity in the Levant Reveals Recent Structuring by Culture |journal=PLOS Genetics |language=en |volume=9 |issue=2 |article-number=e1003316 |doi=10.1371/journal.pgen.1003316 |doi-access=free |pmid=23468648 |pmc=3585000 |issn=1553-7404}}</ref> Ancient DNA analysis has confirmed the genetic relationship between Natufians and other ancient and modern Middle Easterners. The presence of Neolithic Anatolian and Neolithic Iranian ancestry among modern Levantines can be attributed to migrations during the Neolithic and Bronze Ages.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Almarri |first1=Mohamed A. |last2=Haber |first2=Marc |last3=Lootah |first3=Reem A. |last4=Hallast |first4=Pille |display-authors=3 |date=2021 |title=The genomic history of the Middle East |journal=Cell |volume=184 |issue=18 |pages=4612–4625 |doi=10.1016/j.cell.2021.07.013 |pmid=34352227 |pmc=8445022 }}</ref>

According to recent ancient DNA studies, Levantines derive most of their ancestry from ancient Semitic-speaking peoples of the Bronze and Iron age Levant.<ref name="Haber">{{cite journal |title=A Genetic History of the Near East from an aDNA Time Course Sampling Eight Points in the Past 4,000 Years |journal=American Journal of Human Genetics |year=2020 |doi=10.1016/j.ajhg.2020.05.008|last1=Haber |first1=Marc |last2=Nassar |first2=Joyce |last3=Almarri |first3=Mohamed A. |last4=Saupe |first4=Tina |last5=Saag |first5=Lehti |last6=Griffith |first6=Samuel J. |last7=Doumet-Serhal |first7=Claude |last8=Chanteau |first8=Julien |last9=Saghieh-Beydoun |first9=Muntaha |last10=Xue |first10=Yali |last11=Scheib |first11=Christiana L. |last12=Tyler-Smith |first12=Chris |volume=107 |issue=1 |pages=149–157 |pmid=32470374 |pmc=7332655 }}</ref> Other Arabs include the Bedouins of Syrian Desert, Naqab and eastern Syria, who speak Bedouin Arabic. Non-Arab minorities include Circassians, Chechens, Turks, Jews, Turkmens, Assyrians, Kurds, Nawars, and Armenians.

==See also== * Fertile Crescent * French post offices in the Ottoman Empire ("Levant" stamps) * Wildlife of the Levant

== Notes == {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}}

== Citations == {{reflist}}

== References == {{refbegin}} * {{citation |last=Braudel |first=Fernand |author-link=Fernand Braudel |title=The Mediterranean and the Mediterranean World in the Age of Phillip II |date=1972 |location=London |publisher=Collins |isbn=978-0-00-211536-0}} * {{citation |last=Burke |first=Aaron |year=2010 |chapter=The Transformation of Biblical and Syro-Palestinian Archaeology |pages=81–95 |title=Historical Biblical Archaeology and the Future: The New Pragmatism |editor-first=Thomas Evan |editor-last=Levy |location=London |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-315-53963-8}} * {{citation |ref={{harvid|Encarta|2009}} |publisher=Microsoft |title=Encarta |date=2009 |chapter=Levant}} * {{citation |last=Gagarin |first=Michael |date=31 December 2009 |title=Ancient Greece and Rome |volume=1 |publisher=Oxford University Press, Incorporated|isbn=978-0-19-517072-6 |page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=lNV6-HsUppsC&pg=RA3-PA247 247]}} * {{citation|last=Geus|first=C. H. J. de|title=Towns in Ancient Israel and in the Southern Levant |year=2003 |publisher=Peeters Publishers |isbn=978-90-429-1269-4 |page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=IoT6zimQOXMC&pg=PA6 6]}} * {{citation |last=Naim |first=Samia |year=2011 |chapter=Dialects of the Levant |editor-last=Weninger |editor-first=Stefan |display-editors=etal |title=The Semitic Languages: An International Handbook |location=Berlin/Boston |publisher=Walter de Gruyter |page=921}} * {{citation |ref={{harvid|Oxford Dictionaries|2015}} |title=Oxford Dictionaries Online |chapter=Levant |publisher=Oxford University Press }} * {{cite book |author= Steiner, Margreet L. |author2= Killebrew, Ann E. |title= The Oxford Handbook of the Archaeology of the Levant: c. 8000–332 BCE | pages= 2, 9 |year= 2013 |publisher= OUP Oxford |isbn= 978-0-19-921297-2 |doi= 10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199212972.001.0001 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=5H4fAgAAQBAJ}} {{refend}}

==Further reading== * Julia Chatzipanagioti: Griechenland, Zypern, Balkan und Levante. Eine kommentierte Bibliographie der Reiseliteratur des 18. Jahrhunderts. 2 Vol. Eutin 2006. {{ISBN|978-3-9810674-2-2}}. * [http://www.levantineheritage.com/ Levantine Heritage] site. Includes many oral and scholarly histories, and genealogies for some Levantine Turkish families. * Philip Mansel, ''Levant: Splendour and Catastrophe on the Mediterranean'', London, John Murray, 11 November 2010, hardback, 480 pages, {{ISBN|978-0-7195-6707-0}}, New Haven, Yale University Press, 24 May 2011, hardback, 470 pages, {{ISBN|978-0-300-17264-5}}.

==External links== {{Sister project links |auto=yes |wikt=yes}} * [http://www.wdl.org/en/item/11769/ ''France and the Levant''] (Handbook), HMSO, London, 1920

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