Ethnic groups in Syria

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Ethnic groups of Syria
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See also: Languages of Syria and Religion in Syria

Arabs represent the major ethnicity in Syria, in addition to the presence of several, much smaller ethnic groups.

Ethno-religious makeup of Syria, 1935.
Map from La cartothèque de l'Ifpo (Institut français du Proche-Orient)

Ethnicity, religion and national/ideological identities

Ethnicity and religion are intertwined in Syria as in other countries in the region, but there are also nondenominational,

supraethnic and suprareligious political identities, like Syrian nationalism
.

Counting the ethnic or religious groups

Since the 1960 census there has been no counting of

Alawis.[1][2][3]

Ethnic and religious groups

The majority of Syrians speak

Sunni Muslims form ~70-75% of the populace, Christians altogether around 10%, Alawites at less than 10%, and the remaining ~5-10% consist of minor ethnoreligious groups including the Druze, Isma'ilis, and Twelver Shiite Muslims
. However, these percentages are only indicative.

Arabs

The majority of Syrian Arabs speak a variety of dialects belonging to Levantine Arabic. Arab tribes and clans of Bedouin descent are mainly concentrated in the governorates of al-Hasakah, Deir ez-Zor, Raqqa and eastern Aleppo, forming roughly 20 to 30% of the total population and speaking a dialect related to Bedouin and Najdi Arabic. In

Mongol invasions in 1258.[4]

Non-Arabs

Syrian Kurds form 5 to 10% of the Syrian population, the largest non-Arab minority. Other non-Arabic-speaking Muslim groups include Syrian Turkmen, who had settled Syria in Mamluk and Ottoman times, Syrian Circassians and Syrian Chechens who settled in the 19th century, and Greek Muslims who were resettled in Syria following the Greco-Turkish War of 1897. Assyrians/Syriacs in Syria form a small minority and mainly speak Eastern Aramaic dialects.

See also

References

  1. ^ Hourani, Albert Habib (1947). Minorities in the Arab World. London: Oxford University Press. pp. 76.
  2. Annales de géographie
    , Année 1955, Vol. 64, n° 341, p.74
  3. ISBN 9782709905008 table p.9
  4. ISBN 978-3-11-019987-1
    .
  5. ^ "Syrian Alawites, referred to by AKP officials as Nusayris — a derogatory term not accepted by most Alevis in Turkey or Alawites in Syria — indeed can briefly be explained as follows. Some are Turkmen. They speak Turkish (...)" cf. Pinar Tremblay, "Syrian Alawites hope for change in Turkey", Al-Monitor, November 15, 2013
  6. ^ Dzutsati, Valery (2013). "First Ethnic Ossetian Refugees from Syria Arrive in North Ossetia". Eurasia Daily Monitor. 10 (65).
  7. ^ Izvestia, Yuri Matsarsky (2012). "Syrian Ossetians seek to return to Russia". Russia Beyond.
  8. ^ The Semitic Heritage of Northwest Syria, p. 271
  9. ^ “…Maaloula Syriacs have maintained their Syriac identity since ancient times, and there is ample evidence of their Syriac heritage, especially in Maaloula, Ain Tineh, Bakhah, and Jubaadin…“, translated quote from the book إلياس أنطون نصر الله في معلولا, p. 45
  10. ^ "Hilfe für das Aramäerdorf Maaloula e.V. | an aid project in Syria".
  11. ^ ”…The city of Jubaadin in Syria, which is close to Maaloula, is inhabited by Aramaic-speaking people who are Syriac Arameans…“, translated quote from the Arabic book (Atlas of Religions) معلولا السريان

External links

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