Turks in Egypt
Total population | |
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(100.000[1]-1.500.000[2]) | |
Regions with significant populations | |
Languages | |
Religion | |
Sunni Islam | |
Related ethnic groups | |
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Turkish people |
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Egyptian Turks also referred to as Turco-Egyptians or Egyptian Turkoman,[3] (Turkish: Mısır Türkleri) are Egyptian citizens of Turkish descent, who have been living in the Egypt since the Turkish Mamluk and Ottoman eras. Today their descendants continue to live there and still identify as Turkish, though they are also fully integrated in Egyptian society.
In the years before the Egyptian revolution, the ruling and upper classes were mainly Turkish, or of Turkish descent, which was part of the heritage from the Ottoman rule of Egypt.[4]
History
Turks had formed a part of the state or military apparatus as "Mamluks" in Syria and Egypt since at least the 9th century, during the Tulunid period.[5] Most of the mamluks in the Ayyubids' service were ethnic Kipchak Turks from Central Asia, who, upon entering service, were converted to Sunni Islam and taught Arabic.[6] In 1263, Turks became a power in Egypt and Baybars, founder of the Turkic Bahri dynasty, rebuilt and stringently trained the Mamluk army, which grew from 10,000 cavalry to 40,000, with a 4,000-strong royal guard at its core.[7] The new force was rigidly disciplined and highly trained in horsemanship, swordsmanship and archery.[7] However, Baybars success in establishing centralized rule resulted in the consolidation of the Mamluk Sultanate.[8] Through opening diplomatic channels with the Mongols, Baybars also sought to stifle a potential alliance between the Mongols and the Christian powers of Europe, while also sowing divisions between the Mongol Ilkhanate and the Mongol Golden Horde. In addition, his diplomacy was also intended to maintain the flow of Turkic mamluks from Mongol-held Central Asia.[8]
In 1382 the last Bahri Sultan Hajji II was dethroned and the Sultanate was taken over by the Circassian Emir Barquq. He was expelled in 1389 but returned to power in 1390, setting up the succeeding Burji dynasty.[9]
In 1515 there began the war with the Ottoman sultan Selim I which led to the incorporation of Egypt and its dependencies into the Ottoman Empire. A result of the Circassian Mamluk cavalry charges proving to be no match for the Ottoman artillery and the janissaries. Egyptian sultan Kansuh was charged by Selim with giving the envoys of the Safavid Ismail passage through Syria on their way to Venice to form a confederacy against the Turks, and with harbouring various refugees. At the Battle of Merj Dabik, on August 24, 1515, Kansuh was killed in the fighting. Syria passed into Turkish possession, who were welcomed in many places as deliverance from the Mamelukes.
In 1517 the Ottoman Turks and their sultan Selim I defeated the Mamluks with the capture of Cairo on January 20. The centre of power transferred from Cairo to Constantinople. However, the Ottoman Empire retained the Mamluks as an Egyptian ruling class and the Mamluks and the Burji family succeeded in regaining much of their influence, but remained technical vassals of the Ottomans.
During the Ottomans period, the Turks among them numbered between ten and thirty thousand. A large proportion of these lived in Cairo, with others living in Alexandria; in addition, between twelve and twenty individuals lived in other cities and two or three more lived in the villages.[10][11] they occupied the highest offices and ranks in both military and civilian life, filling, in the first years of Muhammad Ali’s reign, all administrative positions down to the middle levels. We may further claim that Turks held the dominant position among active social groups, especially in the major cities.
Population
There are no clear estimates on the number of Turkmen in Egypt. No official statistics exist: Egypt's population census does not record ethnic origin, language, or religion. Historical estimates from 1833 put the Turkmen population at 30,000.[12] Sunni Islam, the Turkmens' shared religion with the majority of Egyptians, eased Turkmen assimilation in Egyptian society and in certain regions where Turkmens live, they are "almost completely Arabized".[13]
The number of Turks living in Egypt vary considerably with estimates ranging from 100,000[14] to1,500,000.[2]
Notable people
Lists of Turks by country |
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List of Turkish people |
Name | Life | Notability | Turkish link |
---|---|---|---|
Adel Adham | |||
Tatamkulu Afrika | 1920–2002 | Poet | Egyptian-born to a Turkish mother[15] |
Zakariyya Ahmad | 1896–1961 | Musician | Egyptian-born to a Turkish mother[16] |
Leila Ahmed | 1960 | Writer | Egyptian-born to a Turkish mother[17] |
Ismail Mustafa al-Falaki | 1825–1901 | Astronomer and mathematician | Egyptian-born to a family of Turkish origin[18] |
Tawfiq al-Hakim | 1898–1987 | Writer | Egyptian-born to a Turkish mother[19] |
Mustafa Lutfi al-Manfaluti | 1876–1924 | Writer | Egyptian-born to a Turkish mother[20] |
Ayesha Al-Taymuriyya | 1840–1902 | Writer | Egyptian-born to a Turkish father[21] |
Qasim Amin | 1863–1908 | Women's rights activists | Egyptian-born to a Turkish father[22] |
Azza Badr | 1961 | Writer and Journalist | Egyptian-born to a family of Turkish origin[23] |
Ali Bahjat | 1858–1924 | Archaeologist and historian | Egyptian-born to a family of Turkish origin[24] |
Khair Bey | |||
Hussein Bikar | 1912–2002 | Painter | Egyptian-born to a family of Turkish origin[25] |
Abbas II of Egypt | 1874–1944 | Khedive of Egypt | Egyptian-born to a family of Turkish origin[26] |
Abdel Rahman Fahmy | 1924 | Writer | Egyptian-born to a family of Turkish origin[27] |
Mohammad Farid | 1868–1919 | Historian | Egyptian-born to a family of Turkish origin[28] |
Yahya Haqqi | 1905–1992 | Writer | Egyptian-born to a family of Turkish origin[29] |
Aziza Husayn | 1919 | Social welfare expert | Egyptian-born to a Turkish mother[30] |
Ahmed Hussein | 1902-? | Social scientist and reformer | Egyptian-born to a Turkish mother[31] |
Hafez Ibrahim | 1872–1932 | Poet | Egyptian-born to a Turkish mother[32] |
Ekmeleddin İhsanoğlu | 1943 | Secretary-General of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference | Egyptian-born to a family of Turkish origin[33] |
Khalid Islambouli | 1957–1982 | Army officer | Egyptian-born to a Turkish mother[34] |
Shaykh ‘Abd al-’Aziz Jawish | 1872–1929 | Educator | Egyptian-born to a Turkish mother[35] |
Yakup Kadri Karaosmanoğlu | 1889–1974 | Writer | Egyptian-born to a family of Turkish origin[36] |
Ahmad Mazlum | 1858–1928 | Cabinet minister and parliamentary leader | Egyptian-born to a family of Turkish origin[37] |
Abdul Muhammad | 1849-1905 | Religious reformer and writer | Egyptian-born to a family of Turkish origin[38] |
Muhammad Naji | 1888–1956 | Painter | Egyptian-born to a family of Turkish origin[39] |
Wedad Orfi | 1900-1969 | Filmmaker | Egyptian-born to a family of Turkish origin[40] |
Hussein Refki Pasha | 1876-1950 | War Minister and Senator | |
Isma'il Pasha | 1830–1895 | Khedive of Egypt | Egyptian-born to a family of Turkish origin[41] |
Mustafa Fahmi Pasha | 1840–1914 | Prime Minister of Egypt | Cretan-born to a Turkish family[42] |
Shahin Kinjm Pasha | Soldier and Statesman | [43] | |
Muhammad Tawfiq Nasim Pasha | 1875–1938 | Prime Minister of Egypt | Egyptian-born to a family of Turkish origin[44] |
Hussein Rushdi Pasha | 1863–1928 | Prime Minister of Egypt | Egyptian-born to a family of Turkish origin[45] |
Ismail Sadiq Pasha | ?-1876 | Minister of Finance | Egyptian-born to a Turkish father[46] |
Muhammad Said Pasha | 1863–1928 | Prime Minister of Egypt | Egyptian-born to a family of Turkish origin[47] |
Muhammad Sharif Pasha | 1826–1887 | Prime Minister of Egypt | Egyptian-born to a family of Turkish origin[48] |
Muhammed Taher Pasha | |||
Tewfik Pasha | |||
Tusun Pasha | |||
Muhammad Qadir | 1821–1888 | Judge and writer | Egyptian-born to a Turkish father[49] |
Ihsan Abdel Quddous | |||
Bahigah Rashid | ? | Women's rights activists | Egyptian-born to a Turkish mother[50] |
Hind Rostom | 1929–2011 | Actress | Egyptian-born to Turkish parents[51] |
Ali Sabri | 1920–1991 | Prime Minister of Egypt | Egyptian-born to a family of Turkish origin[52] |
Ahmed Shawqi | 1869–1932 | Writer | Egyptian-born to a family of Turkish origin[53] |
Shwikar | |||
Ibn Taghribirdi | |||
Muhammad Wali al-Din Yakan | 1873–1921 | Writer | Istanbul-born Turco-Egyptian[54] |
Safiya Zaghloul | 1876–1946 | Political activist | Egyptian-born to a family of Turkish origin[55] |
Maurice Zilber | 1920–2008 | Horse trainer | Egyptian-born to a Turkish mother[56] |
See also
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Egyptian Turks. |
- History of Ottoman Egypt
- Egypt in the Middle Ages
- Turkish minorities in the former Ottoman Empire
- Iraqi Turkmens
- Syrian Turkmens
- Oghuz Turks
- Egypt–Turkey relations
References
- ↑ Baedeker 2000, lviii.
- 1 2 Akar 1993, 94.
- ↑ Baring 2005, 169.
- ↑ Abdelrazek 2007, 37.
- ↑ Clifford 2013, p. 65.
- ↑ Cummins 2011, p. 94.
- 1 2 Asbridge 2010, p. 95.
- 1 2
- ↑ Al-Maqrizi, pp.140-142/vol.5
- ↑ According to some, the population of Cairo itself at the time of the French occupation numbered around 263,700 persons. E.W. Lane believed that the number was closer to 240,000.
- ↑ John Bowring, Report on Egypt 1828–1839: Under the Reign of Mohamed Ali (London: Triade, 1998).
- ↑ Georges Douin, ed., La mission du Baron de Boislecomte, l’Egypte et la Syrie en 1833 (Cairo: Royal Egyptian Geographical Society, 1927), 110.
- ↑ Khaled Fahmy, “The Era of Muhammad ‘Ali Pasha, 1805–1848,” in The Cambridge History of Egypt, II: Modern Egypt from 1517 to the End of the Twentieth Century, ed. M.W. Daly (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998), 178–79.
- ↑ Baedeker 2000, lviii.
- ↑ Olaussen & Angelfors 2009, 88.
- ↑ Goldschmidt 2000, 17.
- ↑ Abdelrazek 2007, 21.
- ↑ Goldschmidt 2000, 52.
- ↑ Goldschmidt 2000, 67.
- ↑ Moosa 1997, 109.
- ↑ Goldschmidt 2000, 211.
- ↑ Nelson 1996, 27.
- ↑ Brugman 1984, 263.
- ↑ Goldschmidt 2000, 32.
- ↑ Bahaiviews. "On Baha'i Painters: Hussein Bikar and the Treatment of Baha'is in Egypt". Retrieved 2011-02-04.
- ↑ Brugman 1984, 40.
- ↑ Manzalaoui 1986, 193.
- ↑ Iggers, Wang & Mukherjee 2008, 196.
- ↑ Brugman 1984, 263.
- ↑ Goldschmidt 2000, 80.
- ↑ Johnson 2004, 1.
- ↑ Badawī 1975, 42.
- ↑ Organisation of the Islamic Conference. "Biography of Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu". Retrieved 2011-02-04.
- ↑ Goldschmidt 2000, 90.
- ↑ Goldschmidt 2000, 96.
- ↑ Jongerden 2007, 193.
- ↑ Goldschmidt 2000, 128.
- ↑ Carstens 2014, 13.
- ↑ Goldschmidt 2000, 150.
- ↑ Armes 2008, 105.
- ↑ Lababidi 2008, 37.
- ↑ Goldschmidt 2000, 51.
- ↑ Carstens 2014, 612.
- ↑ Goldschmidt 2000, 153.
- ↑ Goldschmidt 2000, 169.
- ↑ Carstens 2014, 358.
- ↑ Goldschmidt 2000, 178.
- ↑ Goldschmidt 2000, 191.
- ↑ Goldschmidt 2000, 159.
- ↑ Badran 1996, 97.
- ↑ The Daily News Egypt (2011-08-09). "Egyptian screen legend, seductress Hind Rostom dies at 82". The Daily News Egypt. Retrieved 2011-08-28.
- ↑ Goldschmidt 2000, 169.
- ↑ Brugman 1984, 35.
- ↑ Goldschmidt 2000, 229.
- ↑ Goldschmidt 2000, 235.
- ↑ Independent (2009-01-30). "Obits in Brief: Maurice Zilber". The Independent. London. Retrieved 2011-02-04.
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