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The term Levant, which appeared in English in 1497, originally meant the East in general or "Mediterranean lands east of Italy".[6] It is borrowed from the French levant 'rising', referring to the rising of the sun in the east,[6] or the point where the sun rises.[7] The phrase is ultimately from the Latin word levare, meaning 'lift, raise'. Similar etymologies are found in Greek Ἀνατολή (Anatolē, cf. Anatolia), in Germanic Morgenland (literally, "morning land"), in Italian (as in "Riviera di Levante", the portion of the Liguria coast east of Genoa), in Hungarian Kelet, in Spanish "Levante", (the place of rising), and in Hebrew (mizrah). Most notably, "Orient" and its Latin source oriens meaning "east", is literally "rising", deriving from Latin orior "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.[8] 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 Grand Turk in 1579 (Braudel). The English Levant Company was founded in 1581 to trade with the Ottoman Empire, and in 1670 the French Compagnie du Levant was founded for the same purpose. At this time, the Far East was known as the "Upper Levant".[3] In 19th-century travel writing, the term incorporated eastern regions under then current or recent governance of the Ottoman empire, such as Greece. 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 mandates of Syria and Lebanon (1920–1946) were called the Levant states.[citation needed] Geography and modern day use of the term Satellite view of part of the Levant including Cyprus, Lebanon, Palestinian territories, Israel, Jordan, and southern Syria. Today, "Levant" is typically used by archaeologists and historians with reference to the prehistory and the ancient and medieval history of the region, as when discussing the Crusades. The term is also occasionally employed to refer to modern events, peoples, states or parts of states in the same region, namely Cyprus, Israel, Palestine, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria (compare with Near East, Middle East, Eastern Mediterranean and Western Asia). Several researchers include the island of Cyprus in Levantine studies, including the Council for British Research in the Levant,[9] the UCLA Near Eastern Languages and Cultures department,[10] Journal of Levantine Studies[11] and the UCL Institute of Archaeology,[4] 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 Syro-Palestinian archaeology and archaeology of the southern Levant.[12][13] While the usage of the term "Levant" in academia has been relegated 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 recently launched: Journal of Levantine Studies, published by The Van Leer Jerusalem Institute and The Levantine Review, published by Boston College. People, religion and culture This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (June 2013) The populations of the Levant[14][15][16][17] share not only the geographic position, but cuisine, some customs, and a very long history. The largest religious group in the Levant are the Muslims and the largest cultural-linguistic group are primarily Arab due to Arabization of the region over the centuries, but there are also many other groups. The majority of Levantines are Sunni, Salafi, nondenominational or Shia Muslim. There are also Yazidi Kurds, Alawites, Twelvers, Nizari, Druze and Ismailis. Until the expulsion of the Jews from Arab countries beginning in the 1920s, Jews lived throughout the southern Levant alongside Muslims and Christians; since then, excepting those living in Israel, or the West Bank (including East Jerusalem), only a few hundred remain. There are many Levantine Christian groups such as Greek and Oriental Orthodox, Maronite, Roman Catholic, and Protestant. Armenians mostly belong to the Armenian Apostolic Church. There are Levantines or Franco-Levantines who are mostly Roman Catholic. There are also Circassians, Turks, Samaritans, and Nawars. There are Assyrian peoples belonging to the Assyrian Church of the East (autonomous) and the Chaldean Catholic Church (Catholic). Language Most Levantine populations speak Levantine Arabic, also known as Mediterranean Arabic (شامي). In Israel, the primary language is Hebrew. In Cyprus, the primary languages are Greek and Turkish, although a dialect of Levantine Arabic, Cypriot Maronite Arabic, is the most-spoken minority language. Some communities and populations speak Greek, Armenian, Circassian, French, English or other languages in addition to Levantine Arabic. Dance Palestinian Dabke folk dance being performed by men. A dance native to the Levant is known as the Dabke, a folk dance of possible Canaanite[18] or Phoenician[19] origin. It is marked by synchronized jumping, stamping, and movement, similar to tap dancing. One version is performed by men, another by women. The Levant (/ləˈvænt/), also known as the Eastern Mediterranean, is a geographic and cultural region consisting of the "eastern Mediterranean littoral between Anatolia and Egypt".[2] The Levant today consists of Cyprus, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, Syria, and part of southern Turkey (the former Aleppo Vilayet). Precise definitions have varied over time, and the term originally had a broader and less well-defined usage.[3] The Levant has been described as the "crossroads of western Asia, the eastern Mediterranean and northeast Africa",[4] and the "northwest of the Arabian plate".[5] |
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