Levant

TheLevant(/ləˈvænt/lə-VANT) is the subregion that borders theEastern Mediterranean seato the west and coreWest Asia, or by the political term,Middle East, to the east. In its narrowest sense, which is in use today inarchaeologyand other cultural contexts, it is equivalent toCyprusand a stretch of land bordering theMediterranean Seain western Asia:i.e. the historicalregion of Syria("Greater Syria"), which includes present-dayIsrael,Jordan,Lebanon,Syria, thePalestinian territoriesand theNorthern Syrian Regions. Its overwhelming characteristic is that it represents theland bridgebetweenAfricaandEurasia.In its widest historical sense, the Levant included all of the Eastern Mediterranean with its islands;that is, it included all of the countries along the Eastern Mediterranean shores, extending fromGreeceinSouthern EuropetoEgyptandCyrenaica (Eastern Libya)inNorthern Africa.
In the13thand14thcenturies, the termlevantewas used for Italian maritime commerce in the Eastern Mediterranean, including Greece,Anatolia,Syria-Palestine, andEgypt, that is, the lands east ofVenice.Eventually the term was restricted to the Muslim countries of Syria-Palestine and Egypt.The term entered English in the late15th centuryfrom French.It derives from the Italianlevante, meaning "rising", implying the rising of the Sun in the east,and is broadly equivalent to the termal-Mashriq(Arabic:ٱلْمَشْرِق,[ʔal.maʃ.riq]),meaning "the eastern place, where the Sun rises".
In 1581,Englandset up theLevant Companyto trade with theOttoman Empire.The nameLevant Stateswas used to refer to theFrench mandate over Syria and LebanonafterWorld War I.This is probably the reason why the termLevanthas come to be used more specifically to refer to modern Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, Israel, Jordan, and the island ofCyprus.Some scholars mistakenly believed that it derives from the name of Lebanon.Today the term is often used in conjunction with prehistoric or ancient historical references.
Another term for "Syria-Palestine" isAsh-Shaam(Arabic:ٱلشَّام,/ʔaʃ.ʃaːm/), the area that is bounded by theTaurus Mountainsof Turkey in the north, theMediterranean Seain the west, the northArabian DesertandMesopotamiain the east, and Sinai in the south (which can be fully included or not).Typically, it does not includeAnatolia(also known as Asia Minor), theCaucasusMountains, or any part of theArabian Peninsulaproper.Cilicia(in Asia Minor) and theSinai Peninsula(Asian Egypt) are sometimes included.
As a name for the contemporary region, several dictionaries considerLevantto be archaic today.Both the nounLevantand the adjectiveLevantineare now commonly used to describe the ancient and modern culture area formerly called Syro-Palestinian or Biblical: archaeologists now speak of the Levant and ofLevantine archaeology,food scholars speak ofLevantine cuisine,and theLatin Christiansof the Levant continue to be calledLevantine Christians.
The Levant has been described as the "crossroads ofWestern Asia, the Eastern Mediterranean, andNortheast Africa",and ingeological(tectonic) terms as the "northwest of theArabian Plate".The populations of the Levantshare not only geographic position, butcuisine, customs, andhistory. They are often referred to asLevantines.
The termLevantappears in English in1497, and originally meant 'theEast' or 'Mediterranean lands east of Italy'.It is borrowed from the Frenchlevant'rising', referring to the rising of the sun in the east,or the point where the sun rises.The phrase is ultimately from the Latin wordlevare, meaning 'lift, raise'. Similar etymologies are found in GreekἈνατολήAnatolē(cf.Anatolia'the direction of sunrise'), inGermanicMorgenland(lit.'morning land'), in Italian (as inRiviera di Levante, the portion of the Liguria coast east ofGenoa), inHungarianKelet('east'), inSpanishandCatalanLevanteandLlevant, ('the place of rising'), and inHebrewמִזְרָחmizraḥ('east'). Most notably, "Orient" and itsLatinsourceoriensmeaning 'east', is literally "rising", deriving fromLatinorior'rise'.
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.
The term became current inEnglishin 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 theOttoman Sultanin 1579.The EnglishLevant Companywas founded in 1581 to trade with theOttoman Empire, and in 1670 the FrenchCompagnie du Levant[fr]was founded for the same purpose. At this time, theFar Eastwas known as the "Upper Levant".
In early 19th-centurytravel writing, the term sometimes incorporated certain Mediterranean provinces of theOttoman Empire, as well as independentGreece(and especially theGreek 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. TheFrench mandate of Syria and Lebanon(1920–1946) was called the Levant states.
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.The term is also used for modern events, peoples, states or parts of states in the same region, namelyCyprus,Egypt,Iraq,Israel,Jordan,Lebanon,Palestine,Syria, andTurkeyare sometimes considered Levant countries (compare withNear East,Middle East,Eastern MediterraneanandWest Asia).Several researchers include the island ofCyprusin Levantine studies, including theCouncil for British Research in the Levant,theUCLANear Eastern Languages and Cultures department,Journal of Levantine Studiesand theUCLInstitute of Archaeology,the last of which has dated the connection between Cyprus and mainland Levant to the earlyIron Age. Archaeologists seeking a neutral orientation that is neither biblical nor national have used terms such asLevantine archaeologyand archaeology of theSouthern Levant.
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: theJournal of Levantine Studies, published by theVan Leer Jerusalem InstituteandThe Levantine Review, published byBoston College.
The wordLevanthas been used in some translations of the termash-Shāmas used by the organization known asISIL, ISIS, and other names, though there is disagreement as to whether this translation is accurate.
InThe 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 togreater Syria.OHAL defines the boundaries of the Levant as follows.
A distinction is made between the main subregions of the Levant, the northern and the southern:
The island of Cyprus is also included as a third subregion in the archaeological region of the Levant:
The vast majority of Levantines areMuslims. After theMuslim conquest of the Levantin the 7th century,Islamwas first introduced into the region. However, a Muslim majority in the Levant is presumed to have been reached by the 13th century.The majority of Levantine Muslims areSunnisadhering to the fourmadhhabs(Hanafi,Shafi'i,HanbaliandMaliki). Islamic minorities include theAlawitesandNizari Ismailisin Syria, andTwelver ShiitesinLebanon.
Levantine Christian groups includeGreek Orthodox(Antiochian Greek),Syriac Orthodox,Eastern Catholic(Syriac Catholic,MelkiteandMaronite),Roman Catholic(Latin),Nestorian, andProtestant.Armeniansmostly belong to theArmenian Apostolic Church. There are alsoLevantines or Franco-Levantineswho adhere toRoman Catholicism. There are alsoAssyriansbelonging to theAssyrian Church of the Eastand theChaldean Catholic Church.
Other religious groups in the Levant includeJews,Samaritans,YazidisandDruze.
Most populations in the Levant speakLevantine Arabic(شامي,Šāmī), a variety of Arabic descended from the pre-Islamic Arabic dialects of Syria andHejazi Arabic, but retaining significant influence fromWestern Middle Aramaic.Levantine Arabic is usually classified asNorth Levantine Arabicin Lebanon, Syria, and parts of Turkey, andSouth Levantine Arabicin 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 asLevantine Bedawi Arabic(byBedouins) andMesopotamian Arabic(in eastern Syria).
Of thelanguages 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, andCypriot Maronite Arabic, a hybrid of mostly medieval Arabic vernaculars with strong influence from contact with Turkish and Greek, spoken by approximately 1,000 people.
InIsrael, the official language isHebrew, which is spoken by the majority of its population. Its Arab minority speaks the Arabic language.
Western Neo-Aramaicis additionally spoken in three villages in Syria:Maaloula,Jubb'adinandBakhah.
Among diaspora communities based in the Levant,Greek,ArmenianandCircassianare also spoken.
According to recentancient DNAstudies, Levantines derive most of their ancestry fromancient Semitic-speaking peoplesof theBronzeandIronage Levant.Other Arabs include theBedouinsofSyrian Desert, Naqab andeastern Syria, who speakBedouin Arabic. Non-Arab minorities includeCircassians,Chechens,Turks,Jews,Turkmens,Assyrians,Kurds,NawarsandArmenians.
Overlapping regional designations
Subregional designations
Others
Other places in the east of a larger region