Greek Muslims
Encyclopedia
Greek Muslims, also known as Greek-speaking Muslims, are Muslim
s of Greek
ethnic origin, nowadays found mainly in Turkey
, although migrations to Lebanon
and Syria
have been reported. Historically, Greek Orthodoxy has been associated with being Romios, i.e. Greek
, and Islam
with being Turkish
, despite ethnic or linguistic references.
Most Greek-speaking Muslims in Greece left for Turkey during the 1920s population exchanges under the Treaty of Lausanne
(sometimes in return for Turkish-speaking Christians), with the exception of the Muslims in Thrace, who are officially recognized as a minority.
In Turkey, where most Greek-speaking Muslims live, there are various groups of Greek-speaking Muslims, some autochthonous, some from parts of present-day Greece and Cyprus who migrated to Turkey under the population exchanges or immigration.
did not require the Greeks to become Muslim
s, although many did so in order to avert the socioeconomic hardships of Ottoman rule, take advantage of greater employment prospects and possibilities of advancement in the Ottoman government bureaucracy and military, or simply because of the corruption of the Greek clergy. Thomas Walker Arnold
noted that the Greek Church hierarchy burdened Christians with extraordinary tax, and made them purchase, at high rates, the right of a Christian burial as well as other sacrament
s.
origins, speakers of the Pontic language
(named Ρωμαίικα Roméika, not Ποντιακά Pontiaká as it is in Greece
), which is spoken by some people in Tonya
, Maçka
, Sürmene
, Çaykara
, the Dernekpazarı
districts of Trabzon
, and Mesudiye districts of Ordu
and the province of Kars. Due to mass migration from the region, high linguistic assimilation to Turkish
, and the fact that the language has no official status, the total number of the speakers may be guessed; roughly 2,000 mainly elderly speakers. According to Heath W. Lowry's great work about Ottoman tax books (Tahrir Defteri) with Halil İnalcık it is claimed that most Turks of Trabzon city are of Greek origin. The community is usually considered deeply religious Sunni Muslims of Hanafi
madh'hab. Sufi orders such as Qadiri and Naqshbandi
have a great impact.
or Cretan Muslims cover Muslims who arrived in Turkey after or slightly before the start of the Greek rule in Crete
in 1908 and especially in the framework of the 1923 agreement for the Exchange of Greek and Turkish Populations and have settled on the coastline stretching from the Çanakkale
to İskenderun
. Today, only elderly women may be found to be fluent in Cretan Greek
and only estimates can be made regarding their number. They often name the language as Cretan (Kritika or Giritçe) instead of Greek. The Cretan Turks are Sunni (Hanafi) with a highly influential Bektashi
minority that helped shape the folk Islam
and religious tolerance of the entire community. Significant numbers of Cretan Muslims also settled in Libya
especially in the east side cities like Susa
and Benghazi
, where they are distinguishable by their Greek surnames. Many of the older members of this community still speak Cretan Greek in their homes.
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, known collectively as Yanyalılar (Yanyalı in singular, meaning "person from Ioannina
") in Turkish
and Τουρκογιαννιώτες Turkoyanyótes in Greek
(Τουρκογιαννιώτης Turkoyanyótis in singular, meaning "Turk from Ioannina
"), who had arrived in Turkey in two waves of migration in 1912 and after 1923. Although majority of the Epirote Muslim population was of Albanian origin, Greek Muslim communities existed in the towns of Souli
, Margariti
(both majority-Muslim), Ioannina
, Preveza
, Louros
, Paramythia
, and Konitsa
. Hoca Es'ad Efendi, a Greek-speaking Muslim from Ioannina who lived in the eighteenth century, was the first translator of Aristotle
into Turkish. The community now is fully integrated into Turkish culture.
valley of Central Macedonia
were Greek-speaking. They were known collectively as Vallahades
. They arrived in Turkey after 1923 and became gradually assimilated into Turkish Muslim mainstream. According to Todor Simovski's assessment (1972), in 1912 in the region of Macedonia in Greece there were 13,753 Muslim Greeks.
(constituting about 1/3 of the island's population, which then numbered 40,000 inhabitants) were classified as being either Turkish or "neo-Muslim." The latter were of Greek origin, Islamised but speaking Greek, and similar in character to the local Christians.The last of such groups was reported to arrive at Antalya
in 1936. These communities are thought to have abandoned Greek in the course of integration.
traditionally adhered to Eastern Orthodox Christianity, even despite undergoing linguistic assimilation by the local Crimean Tatars
. In 1777–1778, when Catherine the Great of Russia conquered the peninsula from the Ottoman Empire
, the local Orthodox population was forcibly deported and settled north of the Azov Sea. In order to avoid deportation, some Greeks chose to convert to Islam. Crimean Tatar
-speaking Muslims of the village of Kermenchik (renamed to Vysokoe in 1945) kept their Greek identity and were practising Christianity in secret for a while. In the nineteenth century the lower half of Kermenchik was populated with Christian Greeks from Turkey, whereas the upper remained Muslim. By the time of the Stalin
ist deportation of 1944, the Muslims of Kermenchik had already been identified as Crimean Tatars, and were forcibly expelled to Central Asia together with the rest of Crimea's ethnic minorities.
, Lebanon
and about 8,000 in Al Hamidiyah
, Syria
. The majority of them are Muslims of Cretan origin. Records suggest that the community left Crete between 1866 and 1897, on the outbreak of the last Cretan uprising against the Ottoman empire, which ended the Greco-Turkish War of 1897
. Sultan Abdul Hamid II
provided Cretan Muslim families who fled the island with refuge on the Levant
ine coast. The new settlement was named Hamidiye after the sultan.
Many Greek Muslims of Lebanon somewhat managed to preserve their identity and language. Unlike neighbouring communities, they are monogamous
and consider divorce a disgrace. Until the Lebanese Civil War
, their community was close-knit and entirely endogamous
. However many of them left Lebanon during the 15 years of the war.
Greek Muslims constitute 60% of Al Hamidiyah
's population. The percentage may be higher but is not conclusive because of hybrid relationship in families. The community is very much concerned with maintaining its culture. The knowledge of the spoken Greek language is remarkably good and their contact with their historical homeland has been possible by means of satellite television and relatives. They are also known to be monogamous.
, after the Seljuq
victory over the Byzantine
Emperor Romanus IV, many Byzantine Greeks
were taken as slaves to Central Asia. The most famous among them was Al-Khazini
, a Byzantine Greek slave taken to Merv
, then in the Khorasan
province of Persia but now in Turkmenistan
, who was later freed and became a famous Muslim scientist.
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
s of Greek
Greeks
The Greeks, also known as the Hellenes , are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighboring regions. They also form a significant diaspora, with Greek communities established around the world....
ethnic origin, nowadays found mainly in Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
, although migrations to Lebanon
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
and Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
have been reported. Historically, Greek Orthodoxy has been associated with being Romios, i.e. Greek
Greeks
The Greeks, also known as the Hellenes , are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighboring regions. They also form a significant diaspora, with Greek communities established around the world....
, and Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
with being Turkish
Turkish people
Turkish people, also known as the "Turks" , are an ethnic group primarily living in Turkey and in the former lands of the Ottoman Empire where Turkish minorities had been established in Bulgaria, Cyprus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Greece, Kosovo, Macedonia, and Romania...
, despite ethnic or linguistic references.
Most Greek-speaking Muslims in Greece left for Turkey during the 1920s population exchanges under the Treaty of Lausanne
Treaty of Lausanne
The Treaty of Lausanne was a peace treaty signed in Lausanne, Switzerland on 24 July 1923, that settled the Anatolian and East Thracian parts of the partitioning of the Ottoman Empire. The treaty of Lausanne was ratified by the Greek government on 11 February 1924, by the Turkish government on 31...
(sometimes in return for Turkish-speaking Christians), with the exception of the Muslims in Thrace, who are officially recognized as a minority.
In Turkey, where most Greek-speaking Muslims live, there are various groups of Greek-speaking Muslims, some autochthonous, some from parts of present-day Greece and Cyprus who migrated to Turkey under the population exchanges or immigration.
Reasons for conversion to Islam
As a rule, the OttomansOttoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
did not require the Greeks to become Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
s, although many did so in order to avert the socioeconomic hardships of Ottoman rule, take advantage of greater employment prospects and possibilities of advancement in the Ottoman government bureaucracy and military, or simply because of the corruption of the Greek clergy. Thomas Walker Arnold
Thomas Walker Arnold
Sir Thomas Walker Arnold was an eminent British orientalist and historian of Islamic art who taught at MAO College, Aligarh Muslim University, then Aligarh College, and Government College University, Lahore. He was a friend of Sir Syed Ahmed Khan, and wrote his famous book "The preaching of Islam"...
noted that the Greek Church hierarchy burdened Christians with extraordinary tax, and made them purchase, at high rates, the right of a Christian burial as well as other sacrament
Sacrament
A sacrament is a sacred rite recognized as of particular importance and significance. There are various views on the existence and meaning of such rites.-General definitions and terms:...
s.
Pontic Greek Muslims
Muslims of Pontic GreekPontic Greeks
The Pontians are an ethnic group traditionally living in the Pontus region, the shores of Turkey's Black Sea...
origins, speakers of the Pontic language
Pontic language
Pontic Greek is a form of the Greek language originally spoken in the Pontus area on the southern shores of the Black Sea, northeastern Anatolia, Eastern Turkish/Caucasus province of Kars, southern Georgia, and today mainly in northern Greece...
(named Ρωμαίικα Roméika, not Ποντιακά Pontiaká as it is in Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
), which is spoken by some people in Tonya
Tonya
Tonya is a town and district of Trabzon Province in the Black Sea region of Turkey. The mayor is Ahmet Kurt .-External links:* *...
, Maçka
Maçka
Maçka is a town and district of Trabzon Province in the Black Sea region of Turkey. The mayor is Ertuğrul Genç .-External links:* *...
, Sürmene
Sürmene
Sürmene is a town and a district of Trabzon Province in the Black Sea region of Turkey. In ancient times it was also known as Hyssus or Hyssos and Issiporto. The mayor is Fikri Usta ....
, Çaykara
Çaykara
Çaykara is a town and district of Trabzon Province in the Black Sea region of Turkey. The mayor is Namık Kemal Gedikoğlu .-External links:* *...
, the Dernekpazarı
Dernekpazari
Dernekpazarı is a town and district of Trabzon Province in the Black Sea region of Turkey. The mayor is Cevdet Cemal Cansız .-Villages:*Akköse*Çalışanlar*Çayırbaşı*Gülen*Günebakan*Ormancık*Taşçılar*Tüfekçi *Yenice*Zincirlitaş...
districts of Trabzon
Trabzon Province
Trabzon Province is a province of Turkey on the Black Sea coast. Located in a strategically important region, Trabzon is one of the oldest trade port cities in Anatolia. Neighbouring provinces are Giresun to the west, Gümüşhane to the southwest, Bayburt to the southeast and Rize to the east. The...
, and Mesudiye districts of Ordu
Ordu Province
Ordu Province is a province of Turkey, located on the Black Sea coast. Its adjacent provinces are Samsun to the northwest, Tokat to the southwest, Sivas to the south, and Giresun to the east. Its traffic code is 52...
and the province of Kars. Due to mass migration from the region, high linguistic assimilation to Turkish
Turkish language
Turkish is a language spoken as a native language by over 83 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Northern Cyprus with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo,...
, and the fact that the language has no official status, the total number of the speakers may be guessed; roughly 2,000 mainly elderly speakers. According to Heath W. Lowry's great work about Ottoman tax books (Tahrir Defteri) with Halil İnalcık it is claimed that most Turks of Trabzon city are of Greek origin. The community is usually considered deeply religious Sunni Muslims of Hanafi
Hanafi
The Hanafi school is one of the four Madhhab in jurisprudence within Sunni Islam. The Hanafi madhhab is named after the Persian scholar Abu Hanifa an-Nu‘man ibn Thābit , a Tabi‘i whose legal views were preserved primarily by his two most important disciples, Abu Yusuf and Muhammad al-Shaybani...
madh'hab. Sufi orders such as Qadiri and Naqshbandi
Naqshbandi
Naqshbandi is one of the major Sufi spiritual orders of Sufi Islam. It is considered to be a "Potent" order.The Naqshbandi order is over 1,300 years old, and is active today...
have a great impact.
Cretan Muslims
Cretan TurksCretan Turks
The Cretan Turks, Turco-Cretans , or Cretan Muslims were the Muslim inhabitants of Crete and now their descendants, who settled principally in Turkey, the Levant, and Egypt as well as in the larger Turkish diaspora.After the Ottoman conquest of Crete...
or Cretan Muslims cover Muslims who arrived in Turkey after or slightly before the start of the Greek rule in Crete
Crete
Crete is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, and one of the thirteen administrative regions of Greece. It forms a significant part of the economy and cultural heritage of Greece while retaining its own local cultural traits...
in 1908 and especially in the framework of the 1923 agreement for the Exchange of Greek and Turkish Populations and have settled on the coastline stretching from the Çanakkale
Çanakkale
Çanakkale is a town and seaport in Turkey, in Çanakkale Province, on the southern coast of the Dardanelles at their narrowest point. The population of the town is 106,116 . The mayor is Ülgür Gökhan ....
to İskenderun
Iskenderun
İskenderun is a city and urban district in the province of Hatay on the Mediterranean coast of Turkey. The current mayor is Yusuf Hamit Civelek .-Names:...
. Today, only elderly women may be found to be fluent in Cretan Greek
Cretan Greek
Cretan Greek is a dialect of the Greek language, spoken by more than half a million people in Crete and many thousands in the diaspora....
and only estimates can be made regarding their number. They often name the language as Cretan (Kritika or Giritçe) instead of Greek. The Cretan Turks are Sunni (Hanafi) with a highly influential Bektashi
Bektashi
Bektashi Order or Bektashism is an Islamic Sufi order founded in the 13th century by the Persian saint Haji Bektash Veli. In addition to the spiritual teachings of Haji Bektash Veli the order was significantly influenced during its formative period by both the Hurufis as well as the...
minority that helped shape the folk Islam
Folk religion
Folk religion consists of ethnic or regional religious customs under the umbrella of an organized religion, but outside of official doctrine and practices...
and religious tolerance of the entire community. Significant numbers of Cretan Muslims also settled in Libya
Libya
Libya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....
especially in the east side cities like Susa
Susa, Libya
Susa or Soussa is a town and seaside resort in the District of Jabal al Akhdar in north-eastern Libya. Susa stands by the ruins of Apollonia, Cyrenaica.The town contains the Apollonia Museum. It is located about 30 km northeast of Bayda....
and Benghazi
Benghazi
Benghazi is the second largest city in Libya, the main city of the Cyrenaica region , and the former provisional capital of the National Transitional Council. The wider metropolitan area is also a district of Libya...
, where they are distinguishable by their Greek surnames. Many of the older members of this community still speak Cretan Greek in their homes.
Epirote Muslims
Muslims from the region of EpirusEpirus
The name Epirus, from the Greek "Ήπειρος" meaning continent may refer to:-Geographical:* Epirus - a historical and geographical region of the southwestern Balkans, straddling modern Greece and Albania...
, known collectively as Yanyalılar (Yanyalı in singular, meaning "person from Ioannina
Ioannina
Ioannina , often called Jannena within Greece, is the largest city of Epirus, north-western Greece, with a population of 70,203 . It lies at an elevation of approximately 500 meters above sea level, on the western shore of lake Pamvotis . It is located within the Ioannina municipality, and is the...
") in Turkish
Turkish language
Turkish is a language spoken as a native language by over 83 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Northern Cyprus with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo,...
and Τουρκογιαννιώτες Turkoyanyótes in Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
(Τουρκογιαννιώτης Turkoyanyótis in singular, meaning "Turk from Ioannina
Ioannina
Ioannina , often called Jannena within Greece, is the largest city of Epirus, north-western Greece, with a population of 70,203 . It lies at an elevation of approximately 500 meters above sea level, on the western shore of lake Pamvotis . It is located within the Ioannina municipality, and is the...
"), who had arrived in Turkey in two waves of migration in 1912 and after 1923. Although majority of the Epirote Muslim population was of Albanian origin, Greek Muslim communities existed in the towns of Souli
Souli
Souli is a municipality in Epirus, northwestern Greece. It was originally settled by both Greek and Albanian refugees who were hunted by the Ottomans in Thesprotia, Greece and Laberia, Albania. In early modern times, it was inhabited by about 12,000 Souliotes. After their expulsion the population...
, Margariti
Margariti
Margariti is a village and a former municipality in Thesprotia, Epirus, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Igoumenitsa, of which it is a municipal unit. Population 3,032 .-History:...
(both majority-Muslim), Ioannina
Ioannina
Ioannina , often called Jannena within Greece, is the largest city of Epirus, north-western Greece, with a population of 70,203 . It lies at an elevation of approximately 500 meters above sea level, on the western shore of lake Pamvotis . It is located within the Ioannina municipality, and is the...
, Preveza
Preveza
Preveza is a town in the region of Epirus, northwestern Greece, located at the mouth of the Ambracian Gulf. It is the capital of the regional unit of Preveza, which is part of the region of Epirus. An immersed tunnel, completed in 2002 which runs between Preveza and Actium, connects the town...
, Louros
Louros
Louros is a town and a former municipality in the Preveza peripheral unit, Epirus, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Preveza, of which it is a municipal unit. The seat of the municipality was the small town of Louros . The area of the municipal unit is...
, Paramythia
Paramythia
Paramythia is a village and a former municipality in Thesprotia, Epirus, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Souli, of which it is the seat and a municipal unit. Population 7,859 .-Name:...
, and Konitsa
Konitsa
Konitsa is a town in Epirus, Greece, near the Albanian border. It lies amphi-theatre shaped on a mountain slope of the Pindos mountain range, overlooking the valley where the river Aoos meets the river Voidomatis. The valley is used for farming. Konitsa is a regional centre for many small Pindos...
. Hoca Es'ad Efendi, a Greek-speaking Muslim from Ioannina who lived in the eighteenth century, was the first translator of Aristotle
Aristotle
Aristotle was a Greek philosopher and polymath, a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. His writings cover many subjects, including physics, metaphysics, poetry, theater, music, logic, rhetoric, linguistics, politics, government, ethics, biology, and zoology...
into Turkish. The community now is fully integrated into Turkish culture.
Macedonian Greek Muslims
Muslims living in HaliacmonHaliacmon
The Haliacmon is the longest river in Greece, with a total length of . Haliacmon is the traditional English name for the river, but many sources cite the formerly official Katharevousa version of the name, Aliákmon...
valley of Central Macedonia
Central Macedonia
Central Macedonia is one of the thirteen regions of Greece, consisting of the central part of the region of Macedonia. With a population of over 1.8 million, it is the second most populous in Greece after Attica.- Administration :...
were Greek-speaking. They were known collectively as Vallahades
Vallahades
The Vallahades or Valaades were a Greek-speaking, Muslim population who lived along the river Haliacmon in southwest Macedonia, in and around Anaselitsa and Grevena. They numbered about 12,000.-History and culture:...
. They arrived in Turkey after 1923 and became gradually assimilated into Turkish Muslim mainstream. According to Todor Simovski's assessment (1972), in 1912 in the region of Macedonia in Greece there were 13,753 Muslim Greeks.
Cypriot Muslims
In 1878 the Muslim inhabitants of CyprusCyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
(constituting about 1/3 of the island's population, which then numbered 40,000 inhabitants) were classified as being either Turkish or "neo-Muslim." The latter were of Greek origin, Islamised but speaking Greek, and similar in character to the local Christians.The last of such groups was reported to arrive at Antalya
Antalya
Antalya is a city on the Mediterranean coast of southwestern Turkey. With a population 1,001,318 as of 2010. It is the eighth most populous city in Turkey and country's biggest international sea resort.- History :...
in 1936. These communities are thought to have abandoned Greek in the course of integration.
Crimea
In the Middle Ages the Greek population of CrimeaCrimea
Crimea , or the Autonomous Republic of Crimea , is a sub-national unit, an autonomous republic, of Ukraine. It is located on the northern coast of the Black Sea, occupying a peninsula of the same name...
traditionally adhered to Eastern Orthodox Christianity, even despite undergoing linguistic assimilation by the local Crimean Tatars
Crimean Tatars
Crimean Tatars or Crimeans are a Turkic ethnic group that originally resided in Crimea. They speak the Crimean Tatar language...
. In 1777–1778, when Catherine the Great of Russia conquered the peninsula from the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
, the local Orthodox population was forcibly deported and settled north of the Azov Sea. In order to avoid deportation, some Greeks chose to convert to Islam. Crimean Tatar
Crimean Tatar language
The Crimean Tatar language is the language of the Crimean Tatars. It is a Turkic language spoken in Crimea, Central Asia , and the Crimean Tatar diasporas in Turkey, Romania, Bulgaria...
-speaking Muslims of the village of Kermenchik (renamed to Vysokoe in 1945) kept their Greek identity and were practising Christianity in secret for a while. In the nineteenth century the lower half of Kermenchik was populated with Christian Greeks from Turkey, whereas the upper remained Muslim. By the time of the Stalin
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
ist deportation of 1944, the Muslims of Kermenchik had already been identified as Crimean Tatars, and were forcibly expelled to Central Asia together with the rest of Crimea's ethnic minorities.
Lebanon and Syria
There are about 7,000 Greeks living in TripoliTripoli
Tripoli is the capital and largest city in Libya. It is also known as Western Tripoli , to distinguish it from Tripoli, Lebanon. It is affectionately called The Mermaid of the Mediterranean , describing its turquoise waters and its whitewashed buildings. Tripoli is a Greek name that means "Three...
, Lebanon
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
and about 8,000 in Al Hamidiyah
Al Hamidiyah
Al Hamidiyah is a town on the coastal Syrian line about 3km from the Lebanese border. The town was founded in a very short time on direct orders from the Turkish Sultan ‘Abdu’l-Hamid II circa 1897, to serve as refuge for the Muslim Cretans, be they Muslim Greeks or Cretan Turks, who were forced to...
, Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
. The majority of them are Muslims of Cretan origin. Records suggest that the community left Crete between 1866 and 1897, on the outbreak of the last Cretan uprising against the Ottoman empire, which ended the Greco-Turkish War of 1897
Greco-Turkish War (1897)
The Greco-Turkish War of 1897, also called the Thirty Days' War and known as the Black '97 in Greece, was a war fought between the Kingdom of Greece and Ottoman Empire. Its immediate cause was the question over the status of the Ottoman province of Crete, whose Greek majority long desired union...
. Sultan Abdul Hamid II
Abdul Hamid II
His Imperial Majesty, The Sultan Abdülhamid II, Emperor of the Ottomans, Caliph of the Faithful was the 34th sultan of the Ottoman Empire...
provided Cretan Muslim families who fled the island with refuge on the Levant
Levant
The Levant or ) is the geographic region and culture zone of the "eastern Mediterranean littoral between Anatolia and Egypt" . The Levant includes most of modern Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Israel, the Palestinian territories, and sometimes parts of Turkey and Iraq, and corresponds roughly to the...
ine coast. The new settlement was named Hamidiye after the sultan.
Many Greek Muslims of Lebanon somewhat managed to preserve their identity and language. Unlike neighbouring communities, they are monogamous
Monogamy
Monogamy /Gr. μονός+γάμος - one+marriage/ a form of marriage in which an individual has only one spouse at any one time. In current usage monogamy often refers to having one sexual partner irrespective of marriage or reproduction...
and consider divorce a disgrace. Until the Lebanese Civil War
Lebanese Civil War
The Lebanese Civil War was a multifaceted civil war in Lebanon. The war lasted from 1975 to 1990 and resulted in an estimated 150,000 to 230,000 civilian fatalities. Another one million people were wounded, and today approximately 350,000 people remain displaced. There was also a mass exodus of...
, their community was close-knit and entirely endogamous
Endogamy
Endogamy is the practice of marrying within a specific ethnic group, class, or social group, rejecting others on such basis as being unsuitable for marriage or other close personal relationships. A Greek Orthodox Christian endogamist, for example, would require that a marriage be only with another...
. However many of them left Lebanon during the 15 years of the war.
Greek Muslims constitute 60% of Al Hamidiyah
Al Hamidiyah
Al Hamidiyah is a town on the coastal Syrian line about 3km from the Lebanese border. The town was founded in a very short time on direct orders from the Turkish Sultan ‘Abdu’l-Hamid II circa 1897, to serve as refuge for the Muslim Cretans, be they Muslim Greeks or Cretan Turks, who were forced to...
's population. The percentage may be higher but is not conclusive because of hybrid relationship in families. The community is very much concerned with maintaining its culture. The knowledge of the spoken Greek language is remarkably good and their contact with their historical homeland has been possible by means of satellite television and relatives. They are also known to be monogamous.
Central Asia
In the Middle AgesMiddle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
, after the Seljuq
Seljuq dynasty
The Seljuq ; were a Turco-Persian Sunni Muslim dynasty that ruled parts of Central Asia and the Middle East from the 11th to 14th centuries...
victory over the Byzantine
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
Emperor Romanus IV, many Byzantine Greeks
Byzantine Greeks
Byzantine Greeks or Byzantines is a conventional term used by modern historians to refer to the medieval Greek or Hellenised citizens of the Byzantine Empire, centered mainly in Constantinople, the southern Balkans, the Greek islands, Asia Minor , Cyprus and the large urban centres of the Near East...
were taken as slaves to Central Asia. The most famous among them was Al-Khazini
Al-Khazini
Abu al-Fath Abd al-Rahman Mansour al-Khāzini or simply Abu al-Fath Khāzini was a Muslim astronomer of Greek ethnicity from Merv, then in the Khorasan province of Persia .-References:...
, a Byzantine Greek slave taken to Merv
Merv
Merv , formerly Achaemenid Satrapy of Margiana, and later Alexandria and Antiochia in Margiana , was a major oasis-city in Central Asia, on the historical Silk Road, located near today's Mary in Turkmenistan. Several cities have existed on this site, which is significant for the interchange of...
, then in the Khorasan
Greater Khorasan
Greater Khorasan or Ancient Khorasan is a historical region of Greater Iran mentioned in sources from Sassanid and Islamic eras which "frequently" had a denotation wider than current three provinces of Khorasan in Iran...
province of Persia but now in Turkmenistan
Turkmenistan
Turkmenistan , formerly also known as Turkmenia is one of the Turkic states in Central Asia. Until 1991, it was a constituent republic of the Soviet Union, the Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic . Turkmenistan is one of the six independent Turkic states...
, who was later freed and became a famous Muslim scientist.
Notable Muslims of partial Greek descent (non-conversions)
- Ahmed IAhmed IAhmed I or Ahmed Bakhti was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1603 until his death in 1617.-Biography:...
- (1590–1617), Ottoman sultan, Greek mother Handan SultanHandan SultanHandan Sultâna or Devletlu İsmetlu Handan Valide Sultan Aliyyetü'ş-Şân Hazretleri was the mother of the Ottoman Sultan Ahmed I and his Valide Sultan from 21 December 1603 until 26 November 1605...
(originally named Helena (Eleni)) - wife of Ottoman Sultan Mehmed IIIMehmed IIIMehmed III Adli was sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1595 until his death.-Biography:... - Ahmed IIIAhmed IIIAhmed III was Sultan of the Ottoman Empire and a son of Sultan Mehmed IV . His mother was Mâh-Pâre Ummatullah Râbi'a Gül-Nûş Valide Sultan, originally named Evmania Voria, who was an ethnic Greek. He was born at Hajioglupazari, in Dobruja...
- (1673–1736), Ottoman sultan, Greek mother (Emetullah Rabia Gülnûş SultanEmetullah Rabia Gülnûş SultanEmetullah Râbi'a Gülnûş Sultan was the wife of Ottoman Sultan Mehmed IV and Valide Sultan to their sons Mustafa II and Ahmed III.-Biography:...
), originally named Evemia, who was the daughter of a Greek Cretan priest - Bayezid IBayezid IBayezid I was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, from 1389 to 1402. He was the son of Murad I and Valide Sultan Gülçiçek Hatun.-Biography:Bayezid was born in Edirne and spent his youth in Bursa, where he received a high-level education...
- (1354–1403), Ottoman sultan, Greek mother (Gulcicek Hatun or Gülçiçek Hatun) wife of Murad IMurad IMurad I was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, from 1361 to 1389... - Bayezid IIBayezid IIBayezid II or Sultân Bayezid-î Velî was the oldest son and successor of Mehmed II, ruling as Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1481 to 1512...
- (1447–1512), Ottoman sultan, Greek mother (Amina Gul-Bahar or Gulbahār Khātun, tr:I. Gülbahar Hatun), a Greek Orthodox woman of noble birth from the village of Douvera, TrabzonTrabzonTrabzon is a city on the Black Sea coast of north-eastern Turkey and the capital of Trabzon Province. Trabzon, located on the historical Silk Road, became a melting pot of religions, languages and culture for centuries and a trade gateway to Iran in the southeast and the Caucasus to the northeast... - Hasan Pasha (son of Barbarossa)Hasan Pasha (son of Barbarossa)Hasan Pasha was the son of Hayreddin Barbarossa and three-times Beylerbey of Algiers, Algeria. His mother was a Morisco. He succeeded his father as ruler of Algiers, and replaced Barbarossa's deputy Hasan Agha who had been effectively holding the position of ruler of Algiers since 1533.-Ruler of...
(c. 1517-1572) was the son of Hayreddin Barbarossa and three-times BeylerbeyBeylerbeyBeylerbey is the Ottoman and Safavid title used for the highest rank in the hierarchy of provincial administrators It is in western terms a Governor-general, with authority...
of AlgiersAlgiers' is the capital and largest city of Algeria. According to the 1998 census, the population of the city proper was 1,519,570 and that of the urban agglomeration was 2,135,630. In 2009, the population was about 3,500,000...
, AlgeriaAlgeriaAlgeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...
. His mother was a MoriscoMoriscoMoriscos or Mouriscos , meaning "Moorish", were the converted Christian inhabitants of Spain and Portugal of Muslim heritage. Over time the term was used in a pejorative sense applied to those nominal Catholics who were suspected of secretly practicing Islam.-Demographics:By the beginning of the...
. He succeeded his father as ruler of Algiers, and replaced Barbarossa's deputy Hasan AghaHasan AghaHasan Agha or Hadim Hassan Agha, also Hassan the eunuch , was a Sardinian renegade and effective ruler of the Regency of Algiers from 1533 to 1545...
who had been effectively holding the position of ruler of Algiers since 1533. - Hayreddin Barbarossa, (c. 1478–1546), privateer and Ottoman admiral, Greek mother, Katerina from MytileneMytileneMytilene is a town and a former municipality on the island of Lesbos, North Aegean, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Lesbos, of which it is a municipal unit. It is the capital of the island of Lesbos. Mytilene, whose name is pre-Greek, is built on the...
on the island of Lesbos - Ibrahim IIbrahim IIbrahim I was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1640 until 1648. He was born in Istanbul the son of Ahmed I by Valide Sultan Kadinefendi Kösem Sultan, an ethnic Greek originally named Anastasia...
, (1615–1648), Ottoman sultan, Greek mother (Mahpeyker Kösem Sultan), the daughter of a priest from the island of TinosTinosTinos is a Greek island situated in the Aegean Sea. It is located in the Cyclades archipelago. In antiquity, Tinos was also known as Ophiussa and Hydroessa . The closest islands are Andros, Delos, and Mykonos...
; her maiden name was Anastasia and was one of the most powerful women in Ottoman history - Muhammad al-MahdiMuhammad al-MahdiMuḥammad ibn al-Ḥasan al-Mahdī is believed by Twelver Shī‘a Muslims to be the Mahdī, an ultimate savior of humankind and the final Imām of the Twelve Imams...
(الإمام محمد بن الحسن المهدى) also known as Hujjat ibn al-Hasan, final Imām of the Twelve ImamsTwelve ImamsThe Twelve Imams are the spiritual and political successors to Muhammad, the Prophet of Islam, in the Twelver or Ithna-‘ashariyyah branch of Shī‘ah Islam....
Shi'a, Greek mother, Her Greatness NarjisNarjisNarjis was the mother of Muhammad al-Mahdi the twelfth and last Imam of Shi'a Islam and the grand-daughter of Bardas .There are two traditions regarding her ancestry, one saying that she is African while the other saying she is Greek ....
(Melika), was a Byzantine princess who pretended to be a slave so that she might travel from her kingdom to Arabia - Murad IMurad IMurad I was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, from 1361 to 1389...
, (1360–1389) Ottoman sultan, Greek mother, (Nilüfer HatunNilüfer HatunNilüfer was a Valide Sultan; the wife of Orhan I, the second sultan of the Ottoman Empire. She was mother of the next sultan, Murad I. Her other son was Kasim...
(water lilyNymphaeaceaeNymphaeaceae is a family of flowering plants. Members of this family are commonly called water lilies and live in freshwater areas in temperate and tropical climates around the world. The family contains eight genera. There are about 70 species of water lilies around the world. The genus...
in Turkish), daughter of the Prince of Yarhisar or Byzantine Princess Helen (Nilüfer)) - Murad IVMurad IVMurad IV Ghazi was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1623 to 1640, known both for restoring the authority of the state and for the brutality of his methods...
(1612–1640), Ottoman sultan, Greek mother (Valide Sultan, Kadinefendi Kösem Sultan or Mahpeyker, originally named Anastasia) - Mustafa IMustafa IMustafa I Deli , son of Mehmed III, was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1617 to 1618 and from 1622 to 1623. His mother was Valide Sultan Handan Sultan, an ethnic Greek originally named Helena....
- (1591–1639), Ottoman sultan, Greek mother (Valide Sultan, Handan Sultan, originally named Helena (Eleni)) - Mustafa IIMustafa IIMustafa II Ghazi was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1695 to 1703.-Life:...
- (1664–1703), Ottoman sultan, Greek Cretan mother (Valide Sultan, Mah-Para Ummatullah Rabia Gül-Nush, originally named Evemia) - Oruç Reis, (also called Barbarossa or Redbeard), privateer and Ottoman Bey (Governor) of AlgiersAlgiers' is the capital and largest city of Algeria. According to the 1998 census, the population of the city proper was 1,519,570 and that of the urban agglomeration was 2,135,630. In 2009, the population was about 3,500,000...
and Beylerbey (Chief Governor) of the West Mediterranean. He was born on the island of Midilli (Lesbos), mother was Greek (Katerina) - Osman IIOsman IISultan Osman II or Othman II was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1618 until his death on 20 May 1622...
- (1604–1622), Ottoman sultan, Greek mother (Valide Sultan, Mahfiruze Hatice Sultan, originally named Maria) - Selim ISelim ISelim I, Yavuz Sultân Selim Khan, Hâdim-ül Haramain-ish Sharifain , nicknamed Yavuz "the Stern" or "the Steadfast", but often rendered in English as "the Grim" , was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1512 to...
, Ottoman sultan, Greek mother (Gulbahar SultanGülbahar SultanKül-Bahār Sultan , was the wife of Ottoman Sultan Bayezid II and the mother of Selim I. Little is known of her family background, apart from the fact that an Ottoman inscription describes her as Khātun binti Abd-us-Samed , which implied that her father had possibly converted to Islam Kül-Bahār...
, also known by her maiden name Ayşe Hatun); his father, Bayezid II, was also half Greek through his mother's side (Valide Sultan Amina Gul-Bahar or Gulbahar Khatun - a Greek convert to Islam) - this made Selim I three-quarters Greek - Suleiman I (Suleiman the Magnificent), Ottoman sultan, his father Bayezid II was three-quarters Greek; (Suleiman's mother was of Georgian origin).
- Shah Ismail I, the founder of Turkic-Persian Safavid Dynasty of Iran: Ismā'il's mother was an Aq Qoyunlu (Turkmen) noble, Martha, the daughter of Turkmen Uzun Hasan by his Pontic Greek wife Theodora Megale Comnena, better known as Despina Hatun. Theodora was the daughter of Emperor John IV of TrebizondJohn IV of TrebizondJohn IV Megas Komnenos , was Emperor of Trebizond from 1429 to 1459. He was a son of Emperor Alexios IV of Trebizond and Theodora Kantakouzene....
whom Uzun Hassan married in a deal to protect TrebizondEmpire of TrebizondThe Empire of Trebizond, founded in April 1204, was one of three Byzantine successor states of the Byzantine Empire. However, the creation of the Empire of Trebizond was not directly related to the capture of Constantinople by the Fourth Crusade, rather it had broken away from the Byzantine Empire...
from the Ottomans. - Kaykaus IIKaykaus IIKaykaus II or Kayka'us II was the eldest of three sons of Kaykhusraw II. He was a youth at the time of his father’s death in 1246 and could do little to prevent the Mongol subjugation of Anatolia. For most of his tenure as the Seljuq Sultan of Rûm, he shared the throne with one or both of his...
, Seljuq Sultan. His mother was the daughter of a Greek priest; and it was the Greeks of NicaeaEmpire of NicaeaThe Empire of Nicaea was the largest of the three Byzantine Greek successor states founded by the aristocracy of the Byzantine Empire that fled after Constantinople was occupied by Western European and Venetian forces during the Fourth Crusade...
from whom he consistently sought aid throughout his life. - Osman Hamdi BeyOsman Hamdi BeyOsman Hamdi Bey was an Ottoman statesman, intellectual, art expert and also a prominent and pioneering Turkish painter. He was also an accomplished archaeologist, and is considered as the pioneer of the museum curator's profession in Turkey...
- (1842 – 24 February 1910), Ottoman statesman and art expert and also a prominent and pioneering painter, the son of Edhem Pasha, a Greek by birth abducted as a youth followong the Massacre of Chios. He was the founder of the Archaeological Museum of Istanbul. - Ibn al-RumiIbn al-RumiAli ibn Al-Abbas ibn Jurayj, also known as Ibn al-Rumi was the son of a Persian mother and a half-Greek father. By the age of twenty he earned a living from his poetry which would culminate in his masterpiece Diwan...
- Arab poet was the son of a Persian mother and a half-Greek father. - Sheikh Bedreddin - (1359–1420) Revolutionary theologian, Greek mother named "Melek Hatun".
Notable Muslims of Greek descent (non-conversions)
- Ibrahim Pasha of EgyptIbrahim Pasha of EgyptIbrahim Pasha was the eldest son of Muhammad Ali, the Wāli and unrecognised Khedive of Egypt and Sudan. He served as a general in the Egyptian army that his father established during his reign, taking his first command of Egyptian forces was when he was merely a teenager...
(Arabic: إبراهيم باشا) (1789 – November 10, 1848), a 19th century general of EgyptEgyptEgypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
. He is better known as the (adopted) son of Muhammad Ali of EgyptMuhammad Ali of EgyptMuhammad Ali Pasha al-Mas'ud ibn Agha was a commander in the Ottoman army, who became Wāli, and self-declared Khedive of Egypt and Sudan...
. Ibrahim was born in the town of DramaDrama, GreeceDrama , the ancient Drabescus , is a town and municipality in northeastern Greece. Drama is the capital of the peripheral unit of Drama which is part of the East Macedonia and Thrace periphery. The town is the economic center of the municipality , which in turn comprises 53.5 percent of the...
, in the Ottoman province of RumeliaRumeliaRumelia was an historical region comprising the territories of the Ottoman Empire in Europe...
, currently located in the MacedonianMacedonia (Greece)Macedonia is a geographical and historical region of Greece in Southern Europe. Macedonia is the largest and second most populous Greek region...
region of Greece, to a Greek Christian woman and a man named Tourmatzis. - Hussein Hilmi Pasha - (1855–1922), Ottoman statesman born on Lesbos to a family of Greek ancestry who had formerly converted to IslamIslamIslam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
. He became twice Grand vizierGrand VizierGrand Vizier, in Turkish Vezir-i Azam or Sadr-ı Azam , deriving from the Arabic word vizier , was the greatest minister of the Sultan, with absolute power of attorney and, in principle, dismissable only by the Sultan himself...
of the Ottoman EmpireOttoman EmpireThe Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
in the wake of the Second Constitutional Era and was also Co-founder and Head of the Turkish Red CrescentTurkish Red CrescentTurkish Red Crescent is the largest humanitarian organization in Turkey and is part of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement....
. Hüseyin Hilmi was one of the most successful Ottoman administrators in the BalkansBalkansThe Balkans is a geopolitical and cultural region of southeastern Europe...
of the early 20th century becoming Ottoman Inspector-General of MacedoniaMacedonia (region)Macedonia is a geographical and historical region of the Balkan peninsula in southeastern Europe. Its boundaries have changed considerably over time, but nowadays the region is considered to include parts of five Balkan countries: Greece, the Republic of Macedonia, Bulgaria, Albania, Serbia, as...
from 1902 to 1908, Ottoman Minister for the Interior from 1908 to 1909 and Ottoman AmbassadorAmbassadorAn ambassador is the highest ranking diplomat who represents a nation and is usually accredited to a foreign sovereign or government, or to an international organization....
at ViennaViennaVienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
from 1912 to 1918. - Ahmet Vefik Paşa (Istanbul, July 3, 1823-April 2, 1891), was a famous Ottoman of Greek descent (whose ancestors had converted to Islam). He was a statesman, diplomat, playwright and translator of the TanzimatTanzimatThe Tanzimât , meaning reorganization of the Ottoman Empire, was a period of reformation that began in 1839 and ended with the First Constitutional Era in 1876. The Tanzimât reform era was characterized by various attempts to modernize the Ottoman Empire, to secure its territorial integrity against...
period. He was commissioned with top-rank governmental duties, including presiding over the first Turkish parliament. He also became a grand vizier for two brief periods. Vefik also established the first Ottoman theatre and initiated the first Western style theatre plays in Bursa and translated MolièreMolièreJean-Baptiste Poquelin, known by his stage name Molière, was a French playwright and actor who is considered to be one of the greatest masters of comedy in Western literature...
's major works.
Notable Greek converts to Islam
- Al-KhaziniAl-KhaziniAbu al-Fath Abd al-Rahman Mansour al-Khāzini or simply Abu al-Fath Khāzini was a Muslim astronomer of Greek ethnicity from Merv, then in the Khorasan province of Persia .-References:...
- (flourished 1115–1130) was a Greek Muslim scientist, astronomer, physicist, biologist, alchemist, mathematician and philosopher - lived in MervMervMerv , formerly Achaemenid Satrapy of Margiana, and later Alexandria and Antiochia in Margiana , was a major oasis-city in Central Asia, on the historical Silk Road, located near today's Mary in Turkmenistan. Several cities have existed on this site, which is significant for the interchange of...
(modern-day TurkmenistanTurkmenistanTurkmenistan , formerly also known as Turkmenia is one of the Turkic states in Central Asia. Until 1991, it was a constituent republic of the Soviet Union, the Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic . Turkmenistan is one of the six independent Turkic states...
) - Atik SinanAtik SinanSinan-i Atik, also known as Azadlı Sinan and Atik Sinan , born in Istanbul, was an Ottoman architect for Sultan Mehmed II during the 15th century...
or "Old Sinan" - Ottoman architect (not to be confused with the other Sinan who's origins are disputed between Greek or ArmenianArmeniansArmenian people or Armenians are a nation and ethnic group native to the Armenian Highland.The largest concentration is in Armenia having a nearly-homogeneous population with 97.9% or 3,145,354 being ethnic Armenian....
(see below)) - Carlos Mavroleon - son of a Greek ship-owner, Etonian heir to a £100m fortune, close to the Kennedys and almost married a HeseltineHeseltineHeseltine is a surname, and may refer to* Christopher Heseltine , English cricketer* Michael Heseltine , British politician* Nigel Heseltine , Welsh writer* Philip Heseltine, British composer known as Peter Warlock...
, former Wall StreetWall StreetWall Street refers to the financial district of New York City, named after and centered on the eight-block-long street running from Broadway to South Street on the East River in Lower Manhattan. Over time, the term has become a metonym for the financial markets of the United States as a whole, or...
broker and a war correspondentWar correspondentA war correspondent is a journalist who covers stories firsthand from a war zone. In the 19th century they were also called Special Correspondents.-Methods:...
, leader of an Afghan Mujahideen unit during the Afghan war against the Soviets - died under mysterious circumstances in PeshawarPeshawarPeshawar is the capital of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and the administrative center and central economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan....
, PakistanPakistanPakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan... - Damat Hasan Pasha, Ottoman Grand VizierGrand VizierGrand Vizier, in Turkish Vezir-i Azam or Sadr-ı Azam , deriving from the Arabic word vizier , was the greatest minister of the Sultan, with absolute power of attorney and, in principle, dismissable only by the Sultan himself...
between 1703-1704. He was originally a Greek convert to Islam from the MoreaMoreaThe Morea was the name of the Peloponnese peninsula in southern Greece during the Middle Ages and the early modern period. It also referred to a Byzantine province in the region, known as the Despotate of Morea.-Origins of the name:...
. - Diam'sDiam'sDiam's is a French-language rap artist of French and Greek Cypriot origin. Her family moved to Essonne in 1984....
(Mélanie Georgiades) French rapper of Greek origin. - Emetullah Rabia Gülnûş SultanEmetullah Rabia Gülnûş SultanEmetullah Râbi'a Gülnûş Sultan was the wife of Ottoman Sultan Mehmed IV and Valide Sultan to their sons Mustafa II and Ahmed III.-Biography:...
(1642–1715) was the wife of Ottoman Sultan Mehmed IVMehmed IVMehmed IV Modern Turkish Mehmet was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1648 to 1687...
and Valide Sultan to their sons Mustafa IIMustafa IIMustafa II Ghazi was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1695 to 1703.-Life:...
and Ahmed IIIAhmed IIIAhmed III was Sultan of the Ottoman Empire and a son of Sultan Mehmed IV . His mother was Mâh-Pâre Ummatullah Râbi'a Gül-Nûş Valide Sultan, originally named Evmania Voria, who was an ethnic Greek. He was born at Hajioglupazari, in Dobruja...
(1695–1715). She was born to a priest in RethymnoRethymnoRethymno is a city of approximately 40,000 people in Greece, the capital of Rethymno peripheral unit in the island of Crete. It was built in antiquity , even though was never a competitive Minoan centre...
, CreteCreteCrete is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, and one of the thirteen administrative regions of Greece. It forms a significant part of the economy and cultural heritage of Greece while retaining its own local cultural traits...
, then under VenetianRepublic of VeniceThe Republic of Venice or Venetian Republic was a state originating from the city of Venice in Northeastern Italy. It existed for over a millennium, from the late 7th century until 1797. It was formally known as the Most Serene Republic of Venice and is often referred to as La Serenissima, in...
rule, her maiden name was Evmania Voria and she was an ethnic Greek. She was captured when the Ottomans conquered Rethymno about 1646 and she was sent as slave to Constantinople, where she was given Turkish and Muslim education in the harem department of Topkapı PalaceTopkapi PalaceThe Topkapı Palace is a large palace in Istanbul, Turkey, that was the primary residence of the Ottoman Sultans for approximately 400 years of their 624-year reign....
and soon attracted the attention of the Sultan, Mehmed IV. - Gawhar al-Siqilli, (born c. 928-930, died 992), of Greek descent originally from Sicily, who had risen to the ranks of the commander of the FatimidFatimidThe Fatimid Islamic Caliphate or al-Fāṭimiyyūn was a Berber Shia Muslim caliphate first centered in Tunisia and later in Egypt that ruled over varying areas of the Maghreb, Sudan, Sicily, the Levant, and Hijaz from 5 January 909 to 1171.The caliphate was ruled by the Fatimids, who established the...
armies. He had led the conquest of North Africa and then of EgyptEgyptEgypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
and founded the city of CairoCairoCairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
and the great al-Azhar mosqueAl-Azhar MosqueAl-Azhar Mosque is a mosque in Islamic Cairo in Egypt. Al-Mu‘izz li-Dīn Allāh of the Fatimid Caliphate commissioned its construction for the newly established capital city in 970. Its name is usually thought to allude to the Islamic prophet Muhammad's daughter Fatimah, a revered figure in Islam...
. - Gazi EvrenosGazi EvrenosEvrenos or Evrenuz was an Ottoman military commander, with an unlikely longevous career and lifetime...
- (d. 1417), an Ottoman military commander serving as general under Süleyman Pasha, Murad I, Bayezid I, Süleyman ÇelebiSüleyman ÇelebiSüleyman Çelebi was an Ottoman prince and a co-ruler of the empire for several years during the Ottoman Interregnum. - Back ground :...
and Mehmed I - Hamza YusufHamza YusufHamza Yusuf Hanson is an Islamic scholar of the Sunni tradition, and co-founder of Zaytuna College in Berkeley, California, United States. He is an American convert to Islam, and is one of the signatories of A Common Word Between Us and You, an open letter by Islamic scholars to Christian leaders,...
- American Islamic teacher and lecturer - Handan SultanHandan SultanHandan Sultâna or Devletlu İsmetlu Handan Valide Sultan Aliyyetü'ş-Şân Hazretleri was the mother of the Ottoman Sultan Ahmed I and his Valide Sultan from 21 December 1603 until 26 November 1605...
, wife of Ottoman Sultan Mehmed IIIMehmed IIIMehmed III Adli was sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1595 until his death.-Biography:... - İbrahim Edhem PashaIbrahim Edhem PashaIbrahim Edhem Pasha was an Ottoman statesman who held the office of Grand Vizier in the beginning of Abdulhamid II's reign between 5 February 1877 and 11 January 1878. He served numerous administrative positions in the Ottoman Empire including Ottoman minister of foreign affairs in 1856, Ottoman...
, born of Greek ancestry on the island of ChiosChiosChios is the fifth largest of the Greek islands, situated in the Aegean Sea, seven kilometres off the Asia Minor coast. The island is separated from Turkey by the Chios Strait. The island is noted for its strong merchant shipping community, its unique mastic gum and its medieval villages...
, Ottoman statesman who held the office of Grand Vizier in the beginning of Abdulhamid II's reign between 5 February 1877 and 11 January 1878 - İshak PashaIshak Pashaİshak Pasha was a Croatian or Greek who became an Ottoman general, statesman and later Grand Vizier.His first term as a grand vizier was during the reign of Mehmet II...
(? - 1497, ThessalonikiThessalonikiThessaloniki , historically also known as Thessalonica, Salonika or Salonica, is the second-largest city in Greece and the capital of the region of Central Macedonia as well as the capital of the Decentralized Administration of Macedonia and Thrace...
) was a Greek (though some reports say he was CroatianCroatsCroats are a South Slavic ethnic group mostly living in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and nearby countries. There are around 4 million Croats living inside Croatia and up to 4.5 million throughout the rest of the world. Responding to political, social and economic pressure, many Croats have...
) who became an Ottoman general, statesman and later Grand Vizier. His first term as a Grand Vizier was during the reign of Mehmet II ("The Conqueror"). During this term he transferred Turkmen peopleTurkmen peopleThe Turkmen are a Turkic people located primarily in the Central Asian states of Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, and northeastern Iran. They speak the Turkmen language, which is classified as a part of the Western Oghuz branch of the Turkic languages family together with Turkish, Azerbaijani, Qashqai,...
from their AnatolianAnatolianAnatolian means of or pertaining to Anatolia, or a person from Anatolia, including:Geography*Anatolian:of or pertaining to the region Anatolia.Biology* Anatolian Black, a breed of cattle* Anatolian buffalo, a domestic animal of Anatolia...
city of AksarayAksarayAksaray is a city in the Central Anatolia region of Turkey and the capital district of Aksaray Province. According to 2009 census, population of the province is 376 907 of which 171,423 live in the city of Aksaray. The district covers an area of , and the average elevation is , with the highest...
to newly conquered İstanbul to populate the city which had lost a portion of its former population prior to conquest. The quarter of the city is where the Aksaray migrants had settled is now called Aksaray. His second term was during the reign of Beyazıt II. - John Tzelepes KomnenosJohn Tzelepes KomnenosJohn Tzelepes Komnenos was the son of Isaac Komnenos.Starting about 1130 John and his father, who was a brother of Emperor John II Komnenos , plotted to overthrow his uncle the emperor. They made various plans and alliances with the Danishmend leader and other Turks who held parts of Asia Minor...
- (Greek: Ἰωάννης Κομνηνὸς Τζελέπης) son of Isaac KomnenosIsaac KomnenosIsaac Komnenos or Isaac Comnenus may refer to:* Isaac I Komnenos , emperor* Isaac Komnenos , nephew of Isaac I Komnenos and elder brother of Alexios I...
(d. 1154). Starting about 1130 John and his father, who was a brother of Emperor John II KomnenosJohn II KomnenosJohn II Komnenos was Byzantine Emperor from 1118 to 1143. Also known as Kaloïōannēs , he was the eldest son of Emperor Alexios I Komnenos and Irene Doukaina...
("John the Beautiful"), plotted to overthrow his uncle the emperor. They made various plans and alliances with the Danishmend leader and other Turks who held parts of Asia Minor. In 1138 John and his father had a reconciliation with the Emperor, and received a full pardon. In 1139 John accompanied the emperor on his campaign in Asia Minor. In 1140 at the siege of Neocaesarea he defected. As John Julius NorwichJohn Julius NorwichJohn Julius Cooper, 2nd Viscount Norwich CVO — known as John Julius Norwich — is an English historian, travel writer and television personality.-Early life:...
puts it, he did so by "embracing simultaneously the creed of Islam and the daughter of the Seljuk Sultan Mesud I." John Komnenos' by-name, Tzelepes, is believed to be a Greek rendering of the Turkish honorific Çelebi, a term indicating noble birth or "gentlemanly conduct". The Ottoman Sultans claimed descent from John Komnenos. - Kösem Sultan - (1581–1651) also known as Mehpeyker Sultan was the most powerful woman in Ottoman history, consort and favourite concubine of Ottoman Sultan Ahmed I (r. 1603-1617), she became Valide Sultan from 1623–1651, when her sons Murad IVMurad IVMurad IV Ghazi was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1623 to 1640, known both for restoring the authority of the state and for the brutality of his methods...
and Ibrahim I and her grandson Mehmed IVMehmed IVMehmed IV Modern Turkish Mehmet was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1648 to 1687...
(1648–1687) reigned as Ottoman sultans; she was the daughter of a priest from the island of TinosTinosTinos is a Greek island situated in the Aegean Sea. It is located in the Cyclades archipelago. In antiquity, Tinos was also known as Ophiussa and Hydroessa . The closest islands are Andros, Delos, and Mykonos...
- her maiden name was AnastasiaAnastasiaAnastasia is a personal name and the female form of the Greek male name Anastasius/Anastasios meaning "resurrection." The name, and its male counterpart, were often given to Greek children born around December 2 or around Easter during the early days of Christianity. It is the name of several... - Leo of TripoliLeo of TripoliLeo of Tripoli was a Greek renegade and pirate serving Arab interests in the early tenth century. Born in the Byzantine Empire to Christian parents, he later converted to Islam and took employment with his former captors as an admiral....
(Greek: Λέων ὸ Τριπολίτης) was a Greek renegade and pirate serving Arab interests in the early tenth century. - Mahfiruze Hatice Sultan - (d 1621), maiden name Maria, was the wife of the Ottoman Sultan Ahmed IAhmed IAhmed I or Ahmed Bakhti was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1603 until his death in 1617.-Biography:...
and mother of Osman IIOsman IISultan Osman II or Othman II was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1618 until his death on 20 May 1622...
. - Mahmud Pasha Angelović - Mahmud Pasha or Mahmud-paša Anđelović (1420–1474), also known simply as Adni, was Serbian-born, of ByzantineByzantineByzantine usually refers to the Roman Empire during the Middle Ages.Byzantine may also refer to:* A citizen of the Byzantine Empire, or native Greek during the Middle Ages...
noble descent (Angeloi) who became an Ottoman general and statesman, after being abducted as a child by the Sultan. As Veli Mahmud Paşa he was Grand Vizier in 1456–1468 and again in 1472–1474. A capable military commander, throughout his tenure he led armies or accompanied Mehmed IIMehmed IIMehmed II , was Sultan of the Ottoman Empire for a short time from 1444 to September 1446, and later from...
on his own campaigns. - Mimar Sinan (1489–1588) - Ottoman architect - his origins are possibly Greek. There is not a single document in Ottoman archives which state that Sinan was Armenian or Greek, only "Orthodox Christian". Those who suggest that he could be Armenian do this with the mere fact that the largest Christian community living at the vicinity of KayseriKayseriKayseri is a large and industrialized city in Central Anatolia, Turkey. It is the seat of Kayseri Province. The city of Kayseri, as defined by the boundaries of Kayseri Metropolitan Municipality, is structurally composed of five metropolitan districts, the two core districts of Kocasinan and...
were Armenians, but there was also a considerably large Greek population (e.g. the father of Greek film director Elia KazanElia KazanElia Kazan was an American director and actor, described by the New York Times as "one of the most honored and influential directors in Broadway and Hollywood history". Born in Istanbul, the capital of the Ottoman Empire, to Greek parents originally from Kayseri in Anatolia, the family emigrated...
) in Kayseri. Actually, in Ottoman records, Sinan's father is named "Hristo", which suggests Greek ancesty, and which is probably why Encyclopedia Britannica states that he was of Greek origin. - Misac Palaeologos Pasha, a member of the Byzantine Palaiologos dynasty and the Ottoman commander in the first Siege of Rhodes (1480)Siege of Rhodes (1480)In 1480 the small Knights Hospitaller garrison of Rhodes withstood an attack of the Ottoman Empire.-Preparation:In 1470, the island of Tilos was evacuated to Rhodes because they were susceptible to attacks from the Ottoman Empire...
. He was an Ottoman statesman and Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire from 1499-1501. - Mustapha KhaznadarMustapha KhaznadarMustapha Khaznadar , was Prime Minister of the Beylik of Tunis from 1837 to 1873. He was one of the most influential people in modern Tunisian history.-Early life:...
(مصطفى خزندار, 1817–1878), was Prime Minister of the Beylik of TunisBeylik of Tunis-Ottoman beylik:The Beylik of Tunis was founded on July 15, 1705, after the Husainid Dynasty led by Al-Husayn I ibn Ali at-Turki defeated the Turkish Deys....
from 1837 to 1873. Of Greek origin, as Georgios Kalkias Stravelakis he was born on the island of ChiosChiosChios is the fifth largest of the Greek islands, situated in the Aegean Sea, seven kilometres off the Asia Minor coast. The island is separated from Turkey by the Chios Strait. The island is noted for its strong merchant shipping community, its unique mastic gum and its medieval villages...
in 1817. Along with his brother Yannis, he was captured and sold into slavery by the Ottomans during the Massacre of Chios in 1822, while his father Stephanis Kalkias Stravelakis was killed. He was then taken to SmyrnaSmyrnaSmyrna was an ancient city located at a central and strategic point on the Aegean coast of Anatolia. Thanks to its advantageous port conditions, its ease of defence and its good inland connections, Smyrna rose to prominence. The ancient city is located at two sites within modern İzmir, Turkey...
and then ConstantinopleConstantinopleConstantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
, where he was sold as a slave to an envoy of the Bey of Tunis.
- NarjisNarjisNarjis was the mother of Muhammad al-Mahdi the twelfth and last Imam of Shi'a Islam and the grand-daughter of Bardas .There are two traditions regarding her ancestry, one saying that she is African while the other saying she is Greek ....
, mother of Muhammad al-Mahdi the twelfth and last Imam of Shi'a Islam, Byzantine Princess, reportedly the descendant of the disciple Simon Peter, the vicegerent of Jesus - Pargalı İbrahim PashaPargali Ibrahim PashaPargali Ibrahim Pasha , also known as Frenk Ibrahim Pasha , Makbul Ibrahim Pasha , and referred to him as Maktul Ibrahim Pasha after his murder in the Topkapı Palace, was the first Grand Vizier in the Ottoman Empire appointed by Suleiman the Magnificent...
(d. 1536), the first Grand VizierGrand VizierGrand Vizier, in Turkish Vezir-i Azam or Sadr-ı Azam , deriving from the Arabic word vizier , was the greatest minister of the Sultan, with absolute power of attorney and, in principle, dismissable only by the Sultan himself...
appointed by Suleiman the MagnificentSuleiman the MagnificentSuleiman I was the tenth and longest-reigning Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, from 1520 to his death in 1566. He is known in the West as Suleiman the Magnificent and in the East, as "The Lawgiver" , for his complete reconstruction of the Ottoman legal system...
of the Ottoman Empire (reigned 1520 to 1566) - Raghib PashaRaghib PashaIsma'il ibn Ahmad ibn Hassan bani Yani , known simply as Isma'il Ragheb Pasha , was a Greek Ottoman politician who served as Prime Minister of Egypt and held several other high-ranking government positions.-Biography:...
(1819–1884), was Prime Minister of EgyptEgyptEgypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
. He was of GreekGreeksThe Greeks, also known as the Hellenes , are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighboring regions. They also form a significant diaspora, with Greek communities established around the world....
ancestry and was born in GreeceOttoman GreeceMost of Greece gradually became part of the Ottoman Empire from the 15th century until its declaration of independence in 1821, a historical period also known as Tourkokratia ....
on 18 August 1819 on either the island of ChiosChiosChios is the fifth largest of the Greek islands, situated in the Aegean Sea, seven kilometres off the Asia Minor coast. The island is separated from Turkey by the Chios Strait. The island is noted for its strong merchant shipping community, its unique mastic gum and its medieval villages...
following the great Massacre or CandiaHeraklionHeraklion, or Heraclion is the largest city and the administrative capital of the island of Crete, Greece. It is the 4th largest city in Greece....
CreteCreteCrete is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, and one of the thirteen administrative regions of Greece. It forms a significant part of the economy and cultural heritage of Greece while retaining its own local cultural traits...
. After being kidnapped to Anatolia he was brought to Egypt as a slave by Ibrahim PashaIbrahim Pasha of EgyptIbrahim Pasha was the eldest son of Muhammad Ali, the Wāli and unrecognised Khedive of Egypt and Sudan. He served as a general in the Egyptian army that his father established during his reign, taking his first command of Egyptian forces was when he was merely a teenager...
in 1830 and converted to IslamIslamIslam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
. Raghib Pasha ultimately rose to levels of importance serving as Minister of Finance (1858–1860), then Minister of War (1860–1861). He became Inspector for the Maritime Provinces in 1862, and later Assistant to viceroy Isma'il PashaIsma'il PashaIsma'il Pasha , known as Ismail the Magnificent , was the Khedive of Egypt and Sudan from 1863 to 1879, when he was removed at the behest of the United Kingdom...
(1863–1865). He was granted the title of beylerbeyBeylerbeyBeylerbey is the Ottoman and Safavid title used for the highest rank in the hierarchy of provincial administrators It is in western terms a Governor-general, with authority...
and then appointed President of the Privy councilPrivy councilA privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a nation, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the monarch's closest advisors to give confidential advice on...
in 1868. He was appointed President of the Chamber of Deputies (1866–1867), then Minister of Interior in 1867, then Minister of Agriculture and Trade in 1875. Isma'il Ragheb became Prime Minister of EgyptPrime Minister of EgyptThe Prime Minister of Egypt is the head of the Egyptian government. According to the constitution, the prime minister is the leader of the largest political party in the Egyptian Parliament....
in 1882. - Rum Mehmed Pasha was an Ottoman statesman. He was Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire from 1466-1469.
- Turgut ReisTurgut ReisTurgut Reis was an Ottoman Admiral and privateer who also served as Bey of Algiers; Beylerbey of the Mediterranean; and first Bey, later Pasha, of Tripoli. Under his naval command the Ottoman Empire maritime was extended across North Africa...
- (1485–1565) was a notorious Barbary pirate of the Ottoman EmpireOttoman EmpireThe Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
. He was born of Greek descent in a village near BodrumBodrumBodrum is a port city in Muğla Province, in the southwestern Aegean Region of Turkey. It is located on the southern coast of Bodrum Peninsula, at a point that checks the entry into the Gulf of Gökova. The site was called Halicarnassus of Caria in ancient times and was famous for housing the...
, on the AegeanAegean SeaThe Aegean Sea[p] is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea located between the southern Balkan and Anatolian peninsulas, i.e., between the mainlands of Greece and Turkey. In the north, it is connected to the Marmara Sea and Black Sea by the Dardanelles and Bosporus...
coast of Asia MinorAsia MinorAsia Minor is a geographical location at the westernmost protrusion of Asia, also called Anatolia, and corresponds to the western two thirds of the Asian part of Turkey...
. After converting to Islam in his youth he served as AdmiralAdmiralAdmiral is the rank, or part of the name of the ranks, of the highest naval officers. It is usually considered a full admiral and above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet . It is usually abbreviated to "Adm" or "ADM"...
and privateerPrivateerA privateer is a private person or ship authorized by a government by letters of marque to attack foreign shipping during wartime. Privateering was a way of mobilizing armed ships and sailors without having to spend public money or commit naval officers...
who also served as BeyBeyBey is a title for chieftain, traditionally applied to the leaders of small tribal groups. Accoding to some sources, the word "Bey" is of Turkish language In historical accounts, many Turkish, other Turkic and Persian leaders are titled Bey, Beg, Bek, Bay, Baig or Beigh. They are all the same word...
of AlgiersAlgiers' is the capital and largest city of Algeria. According to the 1998 census, the population of the city proper was 1,519,570 and that of the urban agglomeration was 2,135,630. In 2009, the population was about 3,500,000...
; BeylerbeyBeylerbeyBeylerbey is the Ottoman and Safavid title used for the highest rank in the hierarchy of provincial administrators It is in western terms a Governor-general, with authority...
of the MediterraneanMediterranean SeaThe Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...
; and first BeyBeyBey is a title for chieftain, traditionally applied to the leaders of small tribal groups. Accoding to some sources, the word "Bey" is of Turkish language In historical accounts, many Turkish, other Turkic and Persian leaders are titled Bey, Beg, Bek, Bay, Baig or Beigh. They are all the same word...
, later PashaPashaPasha or pascha, formerly bashaw, was a high rank in the Ottoman Empire political system, typically granted to governors, generals and dignitaries. As an honorary title, Pasha, in one of its various ranks, is equivalent to the British title of Lord, and was also one of the highest titles in...
, of TripoliTripoliTripoli is the capital and largest city in Libya. It is also known as Western Tripoli , to distinguish it from Tripoli, Lebanon. It is affectionately called The Mermaid of the Mediterranean , describing its turquoise waters and its whitewashed buildings. Tripoli is a Greek name that means "Three...
. Under his naval command the Ottoman EmpireOttoman EmpireThe Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
was extended across North Africa. When Tugut was serving as pasha of TripoliTripoliTripoli is the capital and largest city in Libya. It is also known as Western Tripoli , to distinguish it from Tripoli, Lebanon. It is affectionately called The Mermaid of the Mediterranean , describing its turquoise waters and its whitewashed buildings. Tripoli is a Greek name that means "Three...
, he adorned and built up the city, making it one of the most impressive cities along the North African Coast. - Yaqut al-HamawiYaqut al-HamawiYāqūt ibn-'Abdullah al-Rūmī al-Hamawī) was an Islamic biographer and geographer renowned for his encyclopedic writings on the Muslim world. "al-Rumi" refers to his Greek descent; "al-Hamawi" means that he is from Hama, Syria, and ibn-Abdullah is a reference to his father's name, Abdullah...
(Yaqut ibn-'Abdullah al-Rumi al-Hamawi) (1179–1229) (Arabic: ياقوت الحموي الرومي) was an Islamic biographer and geographer renowned for his encyclopedic writings on the Muslim world. - Yusuf Islam (born Steven Demetre Georgiou; 21 July 1948, aka Cat StevensCat StevensYusuf Islam , commonly known by his former stage name Cat Stevens, is an English singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, educator, philanthropist, and prominent convert to Islam....
) the famous singer of Cypriot Greek origin, converted to Islam at the height of his fame in December, 1977 and adopted his Muslim name, Yusuf Islam, the following year. - Jamilah KolocotronisJamilah KolocotronisLinda "Jamilah" Kolocotronis is an American Muslim writer and former educator in American Islamic schools. A convert to Islam, she has published several Islamic fiction novels as well as her doctoral dissertation. Kolocotronis changed her first name to Jamilah when she became Muslim in 1980 and...
, scholar and writer. - Hamza Andreas Tzortzis, international public speaker on Islam, a writer and researcher.
See also
- GreeksGreeksThe Greeks, also known as the Hellenes , are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighboring regions. They also form a significant diaspora, with Greek communities established around the world....
- Cretan Muslims
- Muslim minority of GreeceMuslim minority of GreeceThe Muslim minority of Greece is the only explicitly recognized minority in Greece. It numbers 97,604 people or 0.91% of the total population, according to the 1991 census , and 140,000 people or 1.24% of the total population, according to the United States Department of State.The Muslim minority...
- PomaksPomaksPomaks is a term used for a Slavic Muslim population native to some parts of Bulgaria, Turkey, Greece, the Republic of Macedonia, Albania and Kosovo. The Pomaks speak Bulgarian as their native language, also referred to in Greece and Turkey as Pomak language, and some are fluent in Turkish,...
- Population exchange between Greece and TurkeyPopulation exchange between Greece and TurkeyThe 1923 population exchange between Greece and Turkey was based upon religious identity, and involved the Greek Orthodox citizens of Turkey and the Muslim citizens of Greece...
- VallahadesVallahadesThe Vallahades or Valaades were a Greek-speaking, Muslim population who lived along the river Haliacmon in southwest Macedonia, in and around Anaselitsa and Grevena. They numbered about 12,000.-History and culture:...