Levant

The Levant (/ləˈvænt/ lə-VANT, US also /ləˈvɑːnt/ 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 Mediterranean Sea in West Asia[1][2] that includes the Syria region, Lebanon, Jordan, Palestine, Israel, and south Cilicia (Turkey). In its widest historical sense, the Levant included all the Eastern Mediterranean;[3] extending from Greece to Egypt and Cyrenaica (Eastern Libya).[4][5] The Levant represents the land bridge between Africa and Eurasia,[2] has been described as the crossroads of West Asia, Eastern Mediterranean, and Northeast Africa,[6] and geologically as the "northwest of the Arabian plate".[7]

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.[4] It derives from the Italian levante, meaning "rising", implying the rising of the Sun in the east, and is broadly equivalent to Mashriq (Arabic: ٱلْمَشْرِق, [ʔal.maʃ.riq]),[8] meaning "eastern place, where the Sun rises".[9] Eventually the term was restricted to the Muslim countries of Syria-Palestine and Egypt. The term entered English in the 15th century from French.[3] In 1581, England set up the Levant Company to trade with the Ottoman Empire.[4] 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.[4]

As a name for the contemporary region, several dictionaries consider Levant to be archaic.[10][11][12] 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,[13][14][15] food scholars of Levantine cuisine, and Latin Catholics of the Levant are sometimes called Levantines,[16] though the term is normally used to describe the Levant population more widely.[17][18][19]

## Contents

* 1 Etymology
* 2 Geography and modern-day use of the term
* 2.1 In archaeology: a definition
* 3 History
* 4 Demographics
* 4.1 Religious and ethnic groups
* 4.2 Languages
* 4.3 Genetics
* 5 See also
* 6 Explanatory notes
* 7 Citations
* 8 General and cited references
* 9 Further reading
* 10 External links

## Etymology

French medal commemorating the Franco-Turkish War in Cilicia, c. 1920

The term Levant appears in English in 1497, and originally meant 'the East' or 'Mediterranean lands east of Italy'.[20] It is borrowed from the French levant 'rising', referring to the rising of the sun in the east,[20] or the point where the sun rises.[21] The phrase is ultimately from the Latin word levare, meaning 'lift, raise'. Similar etymologies are found in Greek 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 מִזְרָח mizraḥ ('east'). Most notably, "Orient" and its Latin source oriens meaning 'east', is literally "rising", deriving from Latin orior 'rise'.[22]

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.[23]

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.[24] The English Levant Company was founded in 1581 to trade with the Ottoman Empire, and in 1670 the French Compagnie du Levant (fr) was founded for the same purpose. At this time, the Far East was known as the "Upper Levant".[4]

1909 postcard depicting Ottoman Constantinople and bearing a French stamp inscribed "Levant"

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.[4][25]

## Geography and modern-day use of the term

Satellite view of the Levant including Cyprus, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Palestine, Jordan 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.[lower-alpha 1][lower-alpha 2] 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). Several researchers include the island of Cyprus in Levantine studies, including the Council for British Research in the Levant,[26] the UCLA Near Eastern Languages and Cultures department,[27] Journal of Levantine Studies[28] and the UCL Institute of Archaeology,[6] 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.[29][30]

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[31] and The Levantine Review, published by Boston College.[32]

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.[33]

### In archaeology: a definition

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.[34] OHAL defines the boundaries of the Levant as follows.[34][2]

* To the north: the Taurus Mountains[34] or the Plain of 'Amuq[2]
* 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).[2] In other words, Mesopotamia and the North Arabian Desert.[34]
* To the south: Wadi al-Arish in Sinai[2]
* To the west: the Mediterranean Sea[34]

Subregions

A distinction is made between the main subregions of the Levant, the northern and the southern:[2]

* The Litani River marks the division between the Northern Levant and the Southern Levant.[2]

The island of Cyprus is also included as a third subregion in the archaeological region of the Levant:[2]

* Cyprus, geographically distinct from the Levant, is included due to its proximity and natural resources (copper in particular), which induced close cultural ties.[2]

## History

See also: Place:History of the Middle East, History of Israel, History of Jordan, History of Lebanon, History of Palestine, and History of Syria

## Demographics

See also: Demographics of the Middle East and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population

The region is inhabited by Levantine Arabs, Bedouins, Jews, Kurds, Maronites, 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.

State  | Population (2023)  | Density/km2 (2018)  | Life expectancy (2018)

|
|
|

Israel  | 10,094,000  | 458  | 82.5 years
Jordan  | 11,484,805  | 114  | 74.8 years
Lebanon  | 5,364,482  | 513  | 78.7 years
Palestine  | 5,483,450  | 731  | 73.4 years
Syria  | 25,255,139  | 118.3  | 74.8 years
Total | 57,681,876 | 184.2 | 76.4

### Religious and ethnic groups

Historical population of the Levant

Year| Pop.| ±%
14| 4,300,000| —
164| 4,800,000| +11.6%
500| 4,127,000| −14.0%
900| 3,120,000| −24.4%
1200| 2,700,000| −13.5%
1700| 2,028,000| −24.9%
1897| 3,231,874| +59.4%
1914| 3,448,356| +6.7%
1922| 3,198,951| −7.2%
Source:[35][36][37][38]

The majority of Levantines are Muslims. Islam was first introduced into the region following the Muslim conquest of the Levant in the 7th century;[39] however, a Muslim majority was only reached by the 13th century.[40] 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.[41]

Other religious groups in the Levant include Jews, Samaritans, Yazidis in Iraq, and Druze in Syria and Lebanon.[42]

### Languages

Map representing the distribution of the Arabic dialects in the area of the Levant

Most populations in the Levant speak Levantine Arabic (شامي, 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.[43] 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).[44]

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.[45]

In Israel, the official language is Hebrew, which is spoken by the majority of its population. Its Arab minority speaks the Arabic language.

Western Neo-Aramaic is additionally spoken in three villages in Syria: Maaloula, Jubb'adin and Bakhah.[46][47][48][49][50][51][52]

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

### Genetics

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.[53]

According to recent ancient DNA studies, Levantines derive most of their ancestry from ancient Semitic-speaking peoples of the Bronze and Iron age Levant.[54] 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

Overlapping regional designations

* Bilad al-Sham
* Fertile Crescent
* Levantine corridor
* Mashriq
* Mesopotamia
* Middle East
* Near East
* West Asia

Subregional designations

* Southern Levant

Others

* French post offices in the Ottoman Empire ("Levant" stamps)
* History of the Levant
* Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Referred to in current events as ISIL or ISIS)
* Levantine Sea
* Levantines (Latin Christians), Catholic Europeans in the Levant
* Wildlife of the Levant

Other places in the east of a larger region

* Levante, Spain
* Riviera di Levante, Italy

## Explanatory notes

1. ↑ "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" (Burke 2010)
2. ↑ "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." (Geus 2003)

## Citations

1. ↑ 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.
2. ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 Steiner & Killebrew, p. 9 : "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."
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Oxford Dictionaries 2015.
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `OEAGR`
5. ↑ Pierre-Louis Gatier, E. Gubel, Philippe Marquis. The Levant History and Archaeology in the Eastern Mediterranean, Könemann, Page 7
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 The Ancient Levant, UCL Institute of Archaeology, May 2008
7. ↑ Egyptian Journal of Geology, Volume 42, Issue 1, p. 263, 1998
8. ↑ Gagarin 2009, p. 247; Naim 2011, p. 921
9. ↑ Naim 2011, p. 921.
10. ↑ LEVANT archaic The eastern part of the Mediterranean with the islands and neighbouring countries. New Oxford Dictionary of English, 2nd ed., revised, 2005.
11. ↑ "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.
12. ↑ 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.).
13. ↑ 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. 82ff: "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"
14. ↑ 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."
15. ↑ Steiner & Killebrew (2013). p. 1-2.
16. ↑ 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"
17. ↑ Orfalea, Gregory (2006). The Arab Americans: A History. Olive Branch Press. Northampton, MA. Page 249.
18. ↑ "Ancient Ashkelon – National Geographic Magazine". Ngm.nationalgeographic.com. 2002-10-17. http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/features/world/asia/israel/ashkelon-text.html.
19. ↑ "The state of Israel: Internal influence driving change". BBC News. 2011-11-06. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-15479879.
20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 Douglas Harper, Online Etymology Dictionary. "Levant". Dictionary.com. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/levant.
21. ↑ Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd edition
22. ↑ Balme, Maurice; Morwood, James. "Chapter 36". Oxford Latin Course Part III (2nd ed.). p. 19.
23. ↑ "Journal of Levantine Studies". The Van Leer Jerusalem Institute. http://www.levantine-journal.org/AboutJLS.aspx.
24. ↑ Braudel 1974, p. [page needed].
25. ↑ Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `Encarta`
26. ↑ Sandra Rosendahl (2006-11-28). "Council for British Research in the Levant homepage". Cbrl.org.uk. http://www.cbrl.org.uk/.
27. ↑ Biblical and Levantine studies , UCLA
28. ↑ "About JLS". Journal of Levantine Studies. 2022. http://www.levantine-journal.org/AboutJLS.aspx. Retrieved 2024-05-18.
29. ↑ Dever, William G. "Syro-Palestinian and Biblical Archaeology", pp. 1244–1253.
30. ↑ Sharon, Ilan "Biblical archaeology" in Encyclopedia of Archaeology Elsevier.
31. ↑ Anat Lapidot-Firilla, "Editor's Note", Journal of Levantine Studies 1:1:5-12 (Summer 2011) full text
32. ↑ Franck Salameh, "From the Editors", The Levantine Review 1:1:1-6 (Spring 2012), doi:10.6017/lev.v1i1.2154, full text
33. ↑ Irshaid, Faisal (2 December 2015). "Isis, Isil, IS or Daesh? One group, many names". BBC. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-27994277.
34. ↑ 34.0 34.1 34.2 34.3 34.4 Steiner & Killebrew, p. 2 .
35. ↑ Mutlu, Servet. "Late Ottoman population and its ethnic distribution". pp. 29–31. https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/download/article-file/213586. Corrected population M8.
36. ↑ 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.
37. ↑ Template:Setton-A History of the Crusades
38. ↑ "Syria Population - Our World in Data" (in en). https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/population?time=0..latest&country=~SYR.
39. ↑ Kennedy, Hugh N. (2007). The Great Arab Conquests: How the Spread of Islam Changed the World We Live In. Da Capo Press. p. 376. ISBN 978-0-306-81728-1. https://archive.org/details/greatarabconques00kenn_0.
40. ↑ Lapidus, Ira M. (13 October 2014). A History of Islamic Societies (3rd ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 70. ISBN 978-0-521-51430-9. https://books.google.com/books?id=kFJNBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA70.
41. ↑ "Christian Population of Middle East in 2014". The Gulf/2000 Project, School of International and Public Affairs of Columbia University. 2017. http://gulf2000.columbia.edu/images/maps/Christians_Middle_East_2014_lg.png.
42. ↑ Shoup, John A (2011-10-31). Ethnic Groups of Africa and the Middle East: An Encyclopedia. Abc-Clio. ISBN 978-1-59884-362-0. https://books.google.com/books?id=SPBfnT_E1mgC&pg=PA16. Retrieved 26 May 2014.
43. ↑ Retsö, Jan. ""Aramaic in Levantine Dialects" in "Aramaic/Syriac Loanwords"". Brill Reference Online. https://referenceworks.brillonline.com/browse/encyclopedia-of-arabic-language-and-linguistics. "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."
44. ↑ "Jordan and Syria". https://www.ethnologue.com/map/JOSY.
45. ↑ Versteegh, Kees (2011). Encyclopedia of Arabic Language and Linguistics. Brill. pp. 541. ISBN 978-90-04-14976-2.
46. ↑ Rafik Schami (25 July 2011) (in German). Märchen aus Malula. Carl Hanser Verlag GmbH & Company KG. p. 151. ISBN 9783446239005. "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…"
47. ↑ Yaron Matras; Jeanette Sakel (2007) (in English). Grammatical Borrowing in Cross-Linguistic Perspective. De Gruyter. p. 185. doi:10.1515/9783110199192. ISBN 9783110199192. https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783110199192/html. Retrieved 12 August 2024. "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…"
48. ↑ Dr. Emna Labidi (2022) (in German). Untersuchungen zum Spracherwerb zweisprachiger Kinder im Aramäerdorf Dschubbadin (Syrien). LIT. p. 133. ISBN 9783643152619. https://www.lit-verlag.de/isbn/978-3-643-15261-9. Retrieved 12 August 2024. "Aramäer von Ǧubbˁadīn"
49. ↑ Prof. Dr. Werner Arnold; P. Behnstedt (1993) (in German). Arabisch-aramäische Sprachbeziehungen im Qalamūn (Syrien). Harassowitz. p. 42. ISBN 9783447033268. "Die arabischen Dialekte der Aramäer"
50. ↑ Prof. Dr. Werner Arnold; P. Behnstedt (1993) (in German). Arabisch-aramäische Sprachbeziehungen im Qalamūn (Syrien). Harassowitz. p. 5. ISBN 9783447033268. "Die Kontakte zwischen den drei Aramäer-dörfern sind nicht besonders stark."
51. ↑ Prof. Dr. Werner Arnold (2006) (in German). Lehrbuch des Neuwestaramäischen. Harrassowitz. p. 133. ISBN 9783447053136. https://www.harrassowitz-verlag.de/isbn_978-3-447-05313-6.ahtml. Retrieved 12 August 2024. "Aramäern in Ma'lūla"
52. ↑ Prof. Dr. Werner Arnold (2006) (in German). Lehrbuch des Neuwestaramäischen. Harrassowitz. p. 15. ISBN 9783447053136. "Viele Aramäer arbeiten heute in Damaskus, Beirut oder in den Golfstaaten und verbringen nur die Sommermonate im Dorf."
53. ↑ Almarri, Mohamed A.; Haber, Marc; Lootah, Reem A. et al. (2021). "The genomic history of the Middle East". Cell 184 (18): 4612–4625. doi:10.1016/j.cell.2021.07.013. PMID 34352227.
54. ↑ Haber, Marc; Nassar, Joyce; Almarri, Mohamed A.; Saupe, Tina; Saag, Lehti; Griffith, Samuel J.; Doumet-Serhal, Claude; Chanteau, Julien et al. (2020). "A Genetic History of the Near East from an aDNA Time Course Sampling Eight Points in the Past 4,000 Years". American Journal of Human Genetics 107 (1): 149–157. doi:10.1016/j.ajhg.2020.05.008. PMID 32470374.

## General and cited references

* Braudel, Fernand (1974), "The Mediterranean and the Mediterranean World in the Age of Phillip II", Geographical Review 64 (4): 596, doi:10.2307/213716, Bibcode: 1974GeoRv..64..596S * Burke, Aaron (2010), "The Transformation of Biblical and Syro-Palestinian Archaeology", in Levy, Thomas Evan, Historical Biblical Archaeology and the Future: The New Pragmatism, London: Routledge, ISBN 9781315539638
* "Levant", Encarta, Microsoft, 2009
* Gagarin, Michael (31 December 2009), Ancient Greece and Rome, 1, Oxford University Press, Incorporated, p. 247, ISBN 978-0-19-517072-6
* Geus, C. H. J. de (2003), Towns in Ancient Israel and in the Southern Levant, Peeters Publishers, p. 6, ISBN 978-90-429-1269-4
* Naim, Samia (2011), "Dialects of the Levant", in Weninger, Stefan, The Semitic Languages: An International Handbook, Berlin/Boston: Walter de Gruyter, p. 921
* "Levant", Oxford Dictionaries Online, Oxford University Press
* Steiner, Margreet L.; Killebrew, Ann E. (2013). The Oxford Handbook of the Archaeology of the Levant: c. 8000–332 BCE. OUP Oxford. pp. 2, 9. doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199212972.001.0001. ISBN 978-0-19-921297-2. https://books.google.com/books?id=5H4fAgAAQBAJ.

## 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.
* 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

* France and the Levant (Handbook), HMSO, London, 1920

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* Caspian Sea
* Dead Sea
* Sea of Galilee
* Tartary
* Transoxiana
* Turan
* Greater Khorasan
* Ariana
* Arachosia
* Khwarazm
* Sistan
* Kazakhstania
* Kazakh Steppe
* Betpak-Dala
* Eurasian Steppe
* Asian Steppe
* Kazakh Steppe
* Pontic–Caspian steppe
* Mongolian-Manchurian grassland
* Wild Fields
* Yedisan
* Muravsky Trail
* Ural
* Ural Mountains
* Volga region
* Idel-Ural
* Pryazovia
* Bjarmaland
* Kuban
* Zalesye
* Ingria
* Novorossiya
* Gornaya Shoriya
* Tulgas
* Iranian Plateau
* Altai Mountains
* Pamir Mountains
* Tian Shan
* Badakhshan
* Wakhan Corridor
* Wakhjir Pass
* Mount Imeon
* Mongolian Plateau
* Western Regions
* Taklamakan Desert
* Karakoram
* Trans-Karakoram Tract
* Siachen Glacier

North|

* Arctic
* Arctic Circle
* Inner Asia
* Northeast
* Ural
* Ural Mountains
* Far East
* Russian Far East
* Okhotsk-Manchurian taiga
* Beringia
* Chukchi Peninsula
* Kamchatka Peninsula
* Extreme North
* Tartary
* Siberia
* Baikalia (Lake Baikal)
* Baraba steppe
* Khatanga Gulf
* Transbaikal
* West
* Amur Basin
* Yenisei Gulf
* Yenisei Basin
* Sikhote-Alin
* Kolyma
* Bering Strait
* Ring of Fire
* Asia-Pacific

East|

* Orient
* Japanese archipelago
* Northeastern Japan Arc
* Sakhalin Island Arc
* Korean Peninsula
* Gobi Desert
* Taklamakan Desert
* Greater Khingan
* Mongolian Plateau
* Inner Asia
* Inner Mongolia
* Outer Mongolia
* China proper
* Manchuria
* Outer Manchuria
* Inner Manchuria
* Northeast China Plain
* Mongolian-Manchurian grassland
* North China Plain
* Yan Mountains
* Kunlun Mountains
* Liaodong Peninsula
* High-mountain Asia
* Himalayas
* Tibetan Plateau
* Tibet
* Karakoram
* Tarim Basin
* Sichuan Basin
* Northern Silk Road
* Hexi Corridor
* Nanzhong
* Lingnan
* Liangguang
* Jiangnan
* Jianghuai
* Guanzhong
* Huizhou
* Wu
* Jiaozhou
* Zhongyuan
* Shaannan
* Ordos Loop
* Loess Plateau
* Shaanbei
* Hamgyong Mountains
* Central Mountain Range
* Japanese Alps
* Suzuka Mountains
* Leizhou Peninsula
* Gulf of Tonkin
* Yangtze River
* Yangtze River Delta
* Yellow River
* Pearl River Delta
* Yenisei Basin
* Altai Mountains
* Wakhan Corridor
* Wakhjir Pass
* Far East
* Ring of Fire
* Asia-Pacific
* Tropical Asia

West|

* Greater Middle East
* MENA
* MENASA
* Middle East
* Red Sea
* Hanish Islands
* Caspian Sea
* Mediterranean Sea
* Zagros Mountains
* Elam
* Persian Gulf
* Pirate Coast
* Strait of Hormuz
* Greater and Lesser Tunbs
* Al-Faw Peninsula
* Gulf of Oman
* Gulf of Aqaba
* Gulf of Aden
* Balochistan
* Arabian Peninsula
* Najd
* Al-Yamama
* Hejaz
* Tihamah
* Eastern Arabia
* South Arabia
* Hadhramaut
* Arabian Peninsula coastal fog desert
* Al-Sharat
* Tigris–Euphrates
* Mesopotamia
* Upper Mesopotamia
* Lower Mesopotamia
* Sawad
* Nineveh plains
* Akkad (region)
* Babylonia
* Canaan
* Aram
* Aram-Naharaim
* Eber-Nari
* Suhum
* Eastern Mediterranean
* Mashriq
* Kurdistan
* Levant
* Southern Levant
* Transjordan
* Jordan Rift Valley
* Levantine Sea
* Holy Land
* Palestine
* Land of Israel
* Golan Heights
* Hula Valley
* Galilee
* Gilead
* Judea
* Samaria
* Arabah
* Anti-Lebanon Mountains
* Sinai Peninsula
* Arabian Desert
* Syrian Desert
* Fertile Crescent
* Azerbaijan
* Syria
* Hauran
* Iranian Plateau
* Dasht-e Kavir
* Armenian Highlands
* Caucasus
* Caucasus Mountains
* Greater Caucasus
* Lesser Caucasus
* North Caucasus
* South Caucasus
* Shirvan
* Kur-Araz Lowland
* Lankaran Lowland
* Alborz
* Absheron Peninsula
* Kartli
* Anatolia
* Taurus Mountains
* Aeolis
* Paphlagonia
* Phasiane
* Isauria
* Ionia
* Bithynia
* Cilicia
* Cappadocia
* Caria
* Corduene
* Chaldia
* Doris
* Lycaonia
* Lycia
* Lydia
* Galatia
* Pisidia
* Pontus
* Mysia
* Arzawa
* Speri
* Sophene
* Biga Peninsula
* Troad
* Tuwana
* Alpide belt

South|

* Orient
* Greater India
* Indian subcontinent
* Himalayas
* Hindu Kush
* Bactria
* Carnatic region
* Tamilakam
* Western Ghats
* Eastern Ghats
* Ganges Basin
* Ganges Delta
* Guzgan
* Pashtunistan
* Punjab
* Balochistan
* Gedrosia
* Makran
* Marathwada
* Kashmir
* Kashmir Valley
* Pir Panjal Range
* Thar Desert
* Indus Valley
* Indus River Delta
* Indus Valley Desert
* Indo-Gangetic Plain
* Eastern Coastal Plains
* Kalinga
* Western Coastal Plains
* Meghalaya subtropical forests
* MENASA
* Lower Gangetic plains moist deciduous forests
* Northwestern Himalayan alpine shrub and meadows
* Doab
* Bagar tract
* Great Rann of Kutch
* Little Rann of Kutch
* Deccan Plateau
* Coromandel Coast
* Konkan
* False Divi Point
* Hindi Belt
* Ladakh
* Aksai Chin
* Gilgit-Baltistan
* Baltistan
* Shigar Valley
* High-mountain Asia
* Karakoram
* Saltoro Mountains
* Siachen Glacier
* Bengal
* Bay of Bengal
* Gulf of Khambhat
* Gulf of Kutch
* Halar
* Gulf of Mannar
* Trans-Karakoram Tract
* Wakhan Corridor
* Wakhjir Pass
* Lakshadweep
* Laccadive Islands
* Amindivi Islands
* Paropamisadae
* Andaman and Nicobar Islands
* Andaman Islands
* Nicobar Islands
* Maldive Islands
* Alpide belt
* Asia-Pacific
* Tropical Asia

Southeast|

* Orient
* Sundaland
* Mainland
* Indochina
* Malay Peninsula
* Northern Triangle temperate forests
* Maritime
* Peninsular Malaysia
* Sunda Islands
* Greater Sunda Islands
* Lesser Sunda Islands
* Indonesian Archipelago
* Wallacea
* Timor
* Philippine Archipelago
* Luzon
* Visayas
* Mindanao
* Leyte Gulf
* Gulf of Thailand
* East Indies
* Nanyang
* Alpide belt
* Far East
* Ring of Fire
* Asia-Pacific
* Tropical Asia

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Original source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Levant. Read more

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