25 Facts About Syrian Turkmen

Turkish-speaking Syrian Turkmen make up the third largest ethnic group in the country, after the Arabs and Kurds respectively.

However, most Syrian Turkmen settled in the region after the Ottoman sultan Selim I conquered Syria in 1516.

Migration from Anatolia to Syria was continuous for over 400 years of Ottoman rule, until the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire in 1918; nonetheless, Syrian Turkmen community continued to reside in the region during the French Mandate and the formation of Syrian Republics.

Syrian Turkmen have had a presence in Syria since the 11th century.

Syrian Turkmen came at the request of the Arab Mirdasid emir Atiyya ibn Salih to assist him against his own Banu Kilab tribesmen who backed a rival Mirdasid emir, Mahmud ibn Nasr.

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The Syrian Turkmen were called on to assist in the capture of Margat by the Muslim commander of the Krak des Chevaliers in 1280.

The late Mamluk-era writer Ahmad al-Qalqashandi noted that Syrian Turkmen formed contingents in the regular armies of greater Syria.

The Turkish settlement throughout the rural hinterlands of several Syrian Turkmen cities was a state-organized population transfer which was used to counter the demographic weight and influence of other ethnic groups in the region.

Furthermore, the Syrian Turkmen served as the local gendarmes to help assert Ottoman authority.

Cultural and political rights of the Turkish-speaking minority remaining in Syrian Turkmen territories was not guaranteed under any legal constitution.

Those living in large groups managed to protect their cultural identity, however, Syrian Turkmen living in smaller groups were significantly Arabized.

Since the beginning of the Syrian civil war in 2011, large numbers of Syrian Turkmen have been displaced from their homes and many have been killed due to attacks by President Bashar al-Assad's government, as well as the terrorist attacks carried out by "Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant".

Several Syrian Turkmen parties united under the Syrian Turkmen Assembly, which is affiliated with the National Coalition opposition group.

In 2012 the UN Refugee Agency had stated that Syrian Turkmen formed a significant number of the first wave of refugees who entered Turkey.

Approximately 200 Syrian Turkmen refugees fled to Urfa, in southern Turkey, while 700 more fled to the eastern areas of Tal Abyad, once the YPG seized the town of Tell Hammam al-Turkman from ISIL, and there were claims that the YPG had accused the locals of collaborating with ISIL.

Syrian Turkmen are mostly found in the urban centres and countryside of six governorates of Syria: Aleppo, Damascus, Homs, Hama, Latakia and Quneitra.

In 2020 the Voice of America reported that 1, 000, 000 Syrian Turkmen who are living in Turkey are requesting to become Turkish citizens.

In October 2015, the Syrian independent newspaper Zaman Al Wasl reported that 120, 000 to 150, 000 Syrian Turkmen refugees arrived in Lebanon, and hence they now outnumber the Turkish minority of Lebanon.

Outside the Middle East, Syrian Turkmen refugees have mainly fled to Western Europe, but some have been given refuge in countries as far as Australia.

In particular, the Syrian Turkmen are concentrated in the urban centers and countryside of six governorates of Syria: in the Aleppo Governorate, the Damascus Governorate, the Homs Governorate, the Hama Governorate, the Latakia Governorate and the Quneitra Governorate.

Some Syrian Turkmen living far from the Turkish border, such as in Homs, have managed to preserve their national identity but are more competent in speaking the Arabic language.

Majority of Syrian Turkmen are Sunni Muslims, but there is a small minority of Turkmen who are Shia Muslims.

Many Syrian Turkmen have become Arabized and indistinguishable from the Arabs in areas where they form a minority.

Syrian Turkmen occupied a low rung on the societal ladder, as reported by Al Bawaba, it was stated that Assad always sought to benefit his politically dominant Alawite religious minority.

The report quoted Bayirbucak Syrian Turkmen as highlighting, "They would take Alawites first no matter what, even if they had degrees, Syrian Turkmen couldn't find jobs".

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