Lebanese Turkmen

Lebanese Turkmen
Lübnan Türkmenleri
Total population
Turkish-Lebanese minority (only immigrants during late Ottoman rule):
80,000 (2011 estimate by Al Akhbar[1])

Plus Syrian Turkmen refugees:
200,000 (2018 estimate[2])

Total: at least 280,000
approximately 4% of Lebanon's population
(excluding recent immigrants from Turkey and Palestinian refugees of Turkish Cypriot or Palestinian Turkmen origin)
Regions with significant populations
Languages
Religion
Majority Sunni Islam
Related ethnic groups
Turkish diaspora
Part of a series of articles on
Turkish people
People
Population
Traditional Areas of Turkish Settlement

Turkish majorities:

  • Turkish minorities in the Balkans:
  • Turkish minorities in the Caucasus:
  • Turkish minorities in the Levant:
  • Turkish minorities in North Africa:
  • Other Turkish minorities:


  • Turkish diasporas in the Americas:
  • Turkish diasporas in Central Asia:
  • Turkish diasporas in Oceania:
  • Other Turkish diasporas:
History
Culture
Languages
Religion

Lebanese Turkmen (Turkish: Lübnan Türkmenleri; Arabic: أتراك لبنان, Atrāk Lubnān), 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).

Today, many of the Turkish Lebanese community are the descendants of the Ottoman Turkish settlers to Lebanon from Anatolia. However, with the declining territories of the Ottoman Empire in the 19th century, ethnic Turkish minorities from other parts of the former Ottoman territories found refuge in Ottoman Lebanon, especially Algerian Turks after the French colonization of North Africa in 1830,[3] and Cretan Turks in 1897 due to unrest in Greece.

Ottoman rule in Cyprus came to an end in 1914, when control of the island passed over the British Empire. In the 1920s, the harsh economic conditions of the Great Depression led some Turkish Cypriot families to "sell" their daughters as brides in Lebanon.[4] Due to the 1947–1949 Palestine war, many of these Turkish Cypriot women were forced to leave Palestine and seek refuge with their families in Lebanon.[4] More recently, since 2011, there has been a substantial wave of Syrian Turks who have fled the Syrian civil war and have taken refuge in Lebanon. They now outnumber the long-established Turkish community which descend from the Ottoman times.

In addition to the descendants of centuries-old Turkish communities, as well as more recent refugees, since the 20th century, Lebanon has attracted Turkish economic workers who have come from the Republic of Turkey.

  1. ^ Al-Akhbar. "Lebanese Turks Seek Political and Social Recognition". Al Akhbar. Archived from the original on 20 June 2018. Retrieved 2012-03-02. Erdogan's envoys were surprised to find out that Turks who immigrated 100 years ago today number nearly 80,000.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference tbmm was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference Kateb 2001 loc=50-51 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Neriman was invoked but never defined (see the help page).