عرب دبروجة ‘Arab Dubrūja | |
|---|---|
 DobrujanAfro-Arab men, between 19th and 20th century | |
| Languages | |
| Arabic,*Tatar,Turkish | |
| Religion | |
| Islam | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Dobrujan Tatars, otherArabs, especiallySyrian Arabs andAfro-Arabs | |
Arabic is probably not well-known due to assimilation. The number of people is unknown. |
.jpg)
Dobrujan Arabs (Arabic:عرب دبروجة,romanized: ‘Arab Dubrūja) areArab people who assimilated into the Tatar-Turkish population inDobruja.[1] They were brought fromSyria toDobruja in the 19th century.
There wereArabs brought fromSyria toDobruja by theOttomans in the 19th century. At first theOttomans brought them toIstanbul, where they worked in carpet factories. When the factories closed, they were jobless, and due to Ottoman policy (according to the law, it was not possible to stay in Istanbul without working) they were brought to Dobruja by the Ottomans in 1843.[2] The population was 255 people.[3] In Dobruja they worked as farmers. According to Ottoman sources, these people were housed in some towns in Dobruja, with generous state support.[4]
The Arabs were highly valued for their skill in practicing agriculture in drought conditions.[5] The territory on which they settled is crossed today by the Romanian-Bulgarian border. Of the five settlements, the most important was Dokuz Ağaç ("Nine trees"), today Măgura, a village inCerchezu Commune,Constanța County,Romania. They were the only Arab settlements in Europe. The Ottoman census of 1856 reports 145 Arabs (0.9%) in Dobrogea,[6] but their number increased significantly after this date. In 1861, French geographer Guillaume Lejean mentioned the fact that during his trip through theBalkan Peninsula in 1854, one of these settlements, Arap-Köy, was already abandoned, while the rest of the settlements enjoyed some prosperity. In 1878, Dobrogea was divided betweenRomania andBulgaria, and the new border crossed the area inhabited by Arabs. After this date, the Arab settlements began to decline, and part of the population emigrated to theOttoman Empire.[7]
A few decades later, in 1913, the SwissanthropologistEugène Pittard mentions that these colonies have dissolved and manages to find only a remnant of 14 unassimilated Arabs in the area, all men. Following anthropological analyses, Pittard concluded that some of them hadNegroid racial influences and relates this situation to the fact that the Arab population around theRed Sea often showsNegroid racial influences, as a consequence of theAfrican slave trade practiced there in the past and their assimilation by the majority Arab population. Pittard concludes that it is very possible that some of the Dobrujan Arabs have ancestors originating from this area.[8]
InWorld War I, during planning of an attack on theSuez Canal,Ottoman military records noted that "there were two other volunteer groups made up of Turks, Syrian Arabs, Albanians and others from Romania".[9]
| Ottoman Turkish name[10] | Current name | Arab families in 1843[10] |
|---|---|---|
| İlbey |  Pchelarovo | 27 |
| Musa Bey | Izvorovo | 34 |
| Kara İlyas | Tsarevets | 2 |
| Dokuz Ağaç |  Măgura,Cerchezu | 31 |
| Poyraz | deserted, northwest ofOgrazhden | 39 |
| Aydın Bey | Svetlik, merged withKapinovo | 14 |
| Oğuzlar | Uzovo | 19 |
| Çalmarça | Căciulați, merged with Olteni, Independența | 39 |
| Bayram Dede | Independența | 50 |
.jpg){kind=link}
