Ottoman Census Data: Minorities, Population and Problems on the Syrian Coast

Chris Gratien, Georgetown University

Click here for a full-sized image of the chart!

The Ottoman Empire was very heterogeneous, and in terms of confessional diversity, Syria was as rich as any region. While in general we lack reliable data on the population of rural areas of Ottoman Syria, by the nineteenth century we have some numbers through which we can arrive at a rough estimate.

These documents pertain to the Sancak of Lazkiye, or Latakia, in modern-day Syria. While the names of some districts and villages have changed and I can only guess at what they must be (please correct if you see an error), many remain the same. The chart below shows the way that the population of Lattakia was calculated in 1878, at which point the Ottomans had begun fairly regular censuses.

The data reveals a very diverse population, but also points to some urban/rural divides. Most notably, while Nusayris, who today are known mainly as Alawis, make up rougly 52% of the population of the province, the census registered none in the city of Lattakia itself, as if all Muslims of Lattakia were by default identified as Sunni. For this reason, scholars have pointed to a division between urban Sunni landlords and Alawi peasants in Northern Syria. While Sunni Muslims form the majority in the major ports of Lattakia and Cebele (Jebleh), regions such as Kardaha (Qardaha), the native village of former Syrian president Hafez al-Asad, register as virtually 100% Alawi. Still, there are many mixed regions, such as Hevabi (Khewabi), where no group had an outright majority and although the largest single minority was Alawi, significant communities of Sunnis, Orthodox, Maronites, and Ismailis were also present. This demographic picture reflects the overall diversity of Syria today, although there has been some shuffling, for example, with Ismailis, who began to be relocated to Selmiyeh near Homs during the late-Ottoman period. According to the data, Sunni Muslims represented 38.7% of the province, Alawis 51.9%, various Christian denominations roughly 7%, and Ismailis about 5%.

Alawites of Tartous, c1920

There is little reason to put stock in these numbers as precise indicators of population. The problems of counting Ottoman population are known to all who have attempted to do so and have been aptly summarized in Kemal Karpat's overview of Ottoman population figures from the nineteenth century, although these numbers for Lazkiye did not make it into Karpat's study. Ottoman subjects actively sought to hide their presences from the state in order to avoid taxation and conscription for themselves and their families. In many cases, evading the head counts was a group effort.

This document (click for page 1 | 2 | 3), which was included with the census report sent to Yıldız Palace, explains some of the difficulties of governing the Nusayri region and counting its inhabitants, an activity that was linked directly to military conscription through the kur'a-ı şer`iyye or draft lottery. The fact that it was included separately from the reports on the rest of the Beirut province alone shows the special attention required in surveying the Lattakia area. The mutasarrıf or governor of Lazkiye who prepared this report indicates that while the official census figure comes out to 34,835 (males), the population seems to be as much as 10,000 (~29%) higher due to irregularities in the counting procedures introduced by the uncooperative behavior of Nusayri leaders in the mountains. Thus, among the recommendations he makes is that appropriate measures be taken to ensure better cooperation from this unruly region. Such measures were surely taken in the later decades of the Hamidian era with varying degrees of success. The report also includes the names of prominent individuals in the sancak and other recommendations.

I have compiled this table which gives a detailed breakdown of the sancak based on the document supplied above, although, as I have explained, this data should not be taken literally, since if we take the word of the governor (which is supported by other and later estimates) the Nusayri population should be much higher:

Sancak of Lattakia (1296/1878)	Total	Muslim	Nusayri	Ismaili	Rum	Maronite	Armenian	Latin	Protestant	Rum Catholic
Lattakia, City (لاذقية)	4,683	3,950			494	166	60	5	5	3
Lattakia, Coast (الساحل)	4,676	688	3,864		124
Bahluliye (بهلولية)	1,429		1,429
Bayır (باير)	1,572	1,126	417				29
Bucak (بوجاق)	1,820	995	763				62
Cebele (جبلة)	1,550	1,550
Beni Ali (بني علي)	709		704		5
Kardaha (قرداحة)	1,952		1,949		3
Evkaf ve Şemsiyat (اوقاف و شمسيات)	1,166	165	1,000		1
Semt-i Kıble (سمت القبلة)	1,385		1,385
Markab (مرقب)	2,618	1,338	985		95	200
Hevabi (خوابي)	1,837	259	857	358	263	100
Zemrin (زمرين)	855	153	363		339
Zahrulgarbi (ظهر الغربي)	705		705
Kadmus (قدموس)	887		365	522
Cerül-ulfe (جرء العلفة)	462		462
Sahyun (صهيون)	808	738	22				48
Haffa (حفة)	916	781	9		126
Cebel-i Ekrad (جبل الأكراد)	1,971	1,720	52		122		77
Beytüşşelf (بيت الشلف)	1,626		1,539		28		59
Mahalibe (مهالبة)	1,208		1,196		5		7
Total	34,835	13,463	18,066	880	1,605	466	342	5	5	3
Percentage of Sancak		38.65%	51.86%	4.87%	4.61%	1.34%	0.98%
					Christians	6.96%

Source: BOA Y-PRK-UM 2/43 (8 L 1297)

population

Alawites