Levant: Difference between revisions

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[[JerusalemGaza City|Gaza]] <br />

The '''Levant''' ({{IPAc-en|l|ə|ˈ|v|æ|n|t}} {{respell|lə|VANT}}) is an approximate [[historical geography|historical geographical]] term referring to a large area in the [[Eastern Mediterranean]] region of [[West Asia]] and core territory of the political term ''[[Middle East|]]''Middle East'']]. In its narrowest sense, which is in use today in [[archaeology]] and other cultural contexts, it is equivalent to [[Cyprus]] and a stretch of land bordering the [[Mediterranean Basin|MediterraneanSea]] Sea in western Asia:<ref name=MG>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}}.</ref><ref name=OHAL9>Steiner & Killebrew, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=5H4fAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT32 9] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221101142956/https://books.google.com/books?id=5H4fAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT32 |date=1 November 2022 }}: "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."</ref> i.e. the historical [[Syria (region)|region of Syria]] ("Greater Syria"), which includes present-day [[Israel]], [[Jordan]], [[Lebanon]], [[Syria]], the [[Palestinian territories]] and most of [[Turkey]] southwest of the middle [[Euphrates]]. Its overwhelming characteristic is that it represents the [[land bridge]] between [[Africa]] and [[Eurasia]].<ref name=OHAL9/> In its widest historical sense, the Levant included all of the Eastern Mediterranean with its islands;<ref name=ODO2015>{{harvnb|Oxford Dictionaries|2015}}.</ref> that is, it included all of the countries along the Eastern Mediterranean shores, extending from [[Greece]] in Southern [[Southern Europe]] to [[Cyrenaica]], [[Libya|Eastern Libya]] in [[Northern Africa]].<ref name=OEAGR /><ref name=Encarta/><ref>Pierre-Louis Gatier, E. Gubel, Philippe Marquis. ''The Levant History and Archaeology in the Eastern Mediterranean,'' Könemann, Page 7</ref>

In 1581, [[England]] set up the [[Levant Company]] to trade with the [[Ottoman Empire]].<ref name=OEAGR /> The name ''Levant States'' was used to refer to the [[Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon|French mandate over Syria and Lebanon]] after [[World War I]].<ref name=OEAGR /><ref name=Encarta/> This is probably the reason why the term ''Levant'' has come to be used more specifically to refer to modern Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, Israel, Jordan, and the island of [[Cyprus]].<ref name=OEAGR /> Some scholars mistakenly believed that it derives from the name of Lebanon.<ref name=OEAGR /> Today the term is often used in conjunction with prehistoric or ancient historical references. It has the same meaning as "Syria-Palestine" or ''Ash-[[Shaam]]'' ({{lang-ar|ٱلشَّام}}, {{IPA|/ʔaʃ.ʃaːm/}}), the area that is bounded by the [[Taurus Mountains]] of [[Turkey]] in the north, the [[Mediterranean Sea]] in the west, the north [[Arabian Desert]] and [[Mesopotamia]] in the east, and Sinai in the south (which can be fully included or not).<ref name=OHAL2>Steiner & Killebrew, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=5H4fAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT26 2] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221101142958/https://books.google.com/books?id=5H4fAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT26 |date=1 November 2022 }}.</ref><ref name=OHAL9/> Typically, it does not include [[Anatolia]] (also calledknown as Asia Minor), the [[Caucasus]] Mountains, or any part of the [[Arabian Peninsula]] proper. [[Cilicia]] (in Asia Minor) and the [[Sinai Peninsula]] (Asian Egypt) are sometimes included.

The Levant has been described as the "crossroads of [[Western Asia]], the Eastern Mediterranean, and [[Northeast Africa]]",<ref name=UCL/> and in [[geology|geological]] ([[tectonics|tectonic]]) terms as the "northwest of the [[Arabian Plate]]".<ref>''Egyptian Journal of Geology'', Volume 42, Issue 1, p. 263, 1998</ref> The populations of the Levant<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/features/world/asia/israel/ashkelon-text.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080228113259/http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/features/world/asia/israel/ashkelon-text.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=28 February 2008 |title=Ancient Ashkelon – National Geographic Magazine |publisher=Ngm.nationalgeographic.com |date=2002-10-17 |access-date=2011-10-17}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-15479879 | work=BBC News | title=The state of Israel: Internal influence driving change | date=2011-11-06}}</ref> share not only the geographic position, but [[Middle eastern cuisine|cuisine]], some customs, and [[Ancient Near East|history]]. They are often referred to as ''Levantines''.<ref>Orfalea, Gregory (2006). ''The Arab Americans: A History''. Olive Branch Press. Northampton, MA. Page 249.</ref>

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.{{efn|"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" {{harv|Burke|2010|p=}}{{page needed|date=April 2017}}<!--efn--> }}{{efn|"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." {{harv|Geus|2003|p=6}}<!--efn-->}} The term is also used for modern events, peoples, states or parts of states in the same region,<ref>''e.g.'', "The Levant Crisis: Syria, Iraq, and the Region", Australian National University [http://www.anu.edu.au/events/the-levant-crisis-syria-iraq-and-the-region] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201033410/http://www.anu.edu.au/events/the-levant-crisis-syria-iraq-and-the-region|date=1 December 2017}}; [[Center for Strategic and International Studies]], "Egypt and the Levant", 2017 [https://www.csis.org/programs/middle-east-program/regions/egypt-and-levant] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201041010/https://www.csis.org/programs/middle-east-program/regions/egypt-and-levant|date=1 December 2017}}; Michael Kerr, Craig Larkin, eds., ''The Alawis of Syria'', 2015 {{isbn|9780190458119}}</ref> namely [[Cyprus]], [[Egypt]], [[Iraq]], [[Israel]], [[Jordan]], [[Lebanon]], [[State of Palestine|Palestine]], [[Syria]], and [[Turkey]] are sometimes considered Levant countries (compare with [[Near East]], [[Middle East]], [[Eastern Mediterranean]] and [[West Asia]]).{{cn|date=June 2024}} Several researchers include the island of [[Cyprus]] in Levantine studies, including the [[Council for British Research in the Levant]],<ref>{{cite web|author=Sandra Rosendahl |url=http://www.cbrl.org.uk/ |title=Council for British Research in the Levant homepage |publisher=Cbrl.org.uk |date=2006-11-28 |access-date=2010-07-05}}</ref> the [[UCLA]] Near Eastern Languages and Cultures department,<ref>[http://www.nelc.ucla.edu/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=70&Itemid=98 Biblical and Levantine studies] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131206044808/http://www.nelc.ucla.edu/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=70&Itemid=98 |date=6 December 2013 }}, [[UCLA]]</ref> ''[[Journal of Levantine Studies]]''<ref>{{cite journal |title=About JLS |journal=Journal of Levantine Studies |url=http://www.levantine-journal.org/AboutJLS.aspx |date=2022 |access-date=2024-05-18}}</ref> and the [[University College London|UCL]] Institute of Archaeology,<ref name=UCL>[https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20060514092649/http://www.ucl.ac.uk/archaeology/ The Ancient Levant], [[University College London|UCL]] Institute of Archaeology, May 2008</ref> 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]].<ref name=DeverEncyclopedia>Dever, William G. "Syro-Palestinian and Biblical Archaeology", pp. 1244–1253.</ref><ref name= Sharon>Sharon, Ilan "Biblical archaeology" in ''Encyclopedia of Archaeology'' Elsevier.</ref>

Most populations in the Levant speak [[Levantine Arabic]] ({{lang|ar|شامي}}, {{transl|ar|Šāmī}}), usuallya classifiedvariety asof Arabic descended from the varietiespre-Islamic Arabic dialects of Syria and [[Hejazi Arabic]], but retaining significant influence from [[Western Middle Aramaic]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Retsö |first1=Jan |title="Aramaic in Levantine Dialects" in "Aramaic/Syriac Loanwords" |website=Encyclopedia of Arabic Language and Linguistics |publisher=Brill Reference Online |access-date=7 February 2024 |url=https://referenceworks.brillonline.com/browse/encyclopedia-of-arabic-language-and-linguistics|quote=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.}}</ref> 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).<ref>{{cite web|access-date=2018-07-21|title=Jordan and Syria|url=https://www.ethnologue.com/map/JOSY|website=[[Ethnologue]]}}</ref>

* [http://www.wdl.org/en/item/11769/ ''France and the Levant''] (Handbook), HMSO, London, 1920