Talk:Levant

This is the talk page for discussing improvements to the Levant article.
This is not a forum for general discussion of the subject of the article.

Add new text under old text.
New to Wikipedia? Welcome! Learn to edit; get help.

Start a new topic

Article policies

Find sources: Google (books · news · scholar · free images · WP refs) · FENS · JSTOR · TWL

Archives: 1

This level-4 vital article is rated B-class on Wikipedia's content assessment scale.
It is of interest to the following WikiProjects:

Western Asia (inactive)

This article is within the scope of WikiProject Western Asia, a project which is currently considered to be inactive.Western AsiaWikipedia:WikiProject Western AsiaTemplate:WikiProject Western AsiaWestern Asia

Arab world High‑importance

	This article is within the scope of WikiProject Arab world, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of the Arab world on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the discussion and see a list of open tasks.Arab worldWikipedia:WikiProject Arab worldTemplate:WikiProject Arab worldArab world
High	This article has been rated as High-importance on the project's importance scale.

Syria High‑importance

	This article is within the scope of WikiProject Syria, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of Syria on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the discussion and see a list of open tasks.SyriaWikipedia:WikiProject SyriaTemplate:WikiProject SyriaSyria
High	This article has been rated as High-importance on the project's importance scale.

Jordan Low‑importance

This article is within the scope of WikiProject Jordan, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of Jordan on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the discussion and see a list of open tasks.JordanWikipedia:WikiProject JordanTemplate:WikiProject JordanJordan

Low

This article has been rated as Low-importance on the project's importance scale.

Tasks YOU can help with:

Here are some tasks awaiting attention:

Iraq High‑importance

	Iraq portal This article is within the scope of WikiProject Iraq, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of Iraq on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the discussion and see a list of open tasks.IraqWikipedia:WikiProject IraqTemplate:WikiProject IraqIraq
High	This article has been rated as High-importance on the project's importance scale.

Turkey High‑importance

	Turkey portal This article is within the scope of WikiProject Turkey, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of Turkey and related topics on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the discussion and see a list of open tasks.TurkeyWikipedia:WikiProject TurkeyTemplate:WikiProject TurkeyTurkey
High	This article has been rated as High-importance on the project's importance scale.

Palestine High‑importance

	Palestine portal This article is within the scope of WikiProject Palestine, a team effort dedicated to building and maintaining comprehensive, informative and balanced articles related to the geographic Palestine region, the Palestinian people and the State of Palestine on Wikipedia. Join us by visiting the project page, where you can add your name to the list of members where you can contribute to the discussions.PalestineWikipedia:WikiProject PalestineTemplate:WikiProject PalestinePalestine-related
High	This article has been rated as High-importance on the project's importance scale.

Egypt Low‑importance

	Egypt portal This article is within the scope of WikiProject Egypt, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of Egypt on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the discussion and see a list of open tasks.EgyptWikipedia:WikiProject EgyptTemplate:WikiProject EgyptEgypt
Low	This article has been rated as Low-importance on the project's importance scale.

Lebanon High‑importance

	Lebanon portal This article is within the scope of WikiProject Lebanon, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of Lebanon-related articles on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the discussion and see a list of open tasks.LebanonWikipedia:WikiProject LebanonTemplate:WikiProject LebanonLebanon
High	This article has been rated as High-importance on the project's importance scale.

Israel High‑importance

This article is within the scope of WikiProject Israel, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of Israel on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the discussion and see a list of open tasks.IsraelWikipedia:WikiProject IsraelTemplate:WikiProject IsraelIsrael-related

High

This article has been rated as High-importance on the project's importance scale.

Project Israel To Do:

Here are some tasks awaiting attention:

Assess : Rate the Unassessed Israel-related articles and Unknown-importance Israel-related articles.
Cleanup : Cleanup listing for this project is available. See also the list by category and the tool's wiki page.
Collaborate : Participate in WikiProject Israel Palestine Collaboration.
Copyedit : Timeline of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict in 2005
Deletion sorting : Participate in discussions at WikiProject Deletion sorting/Israel.
Expand : Ayala Procaccia, Diamond industry in Israel, Edna Arbel, Levin Kipnis, Rami Kleinstein, Sephardic Haredim, Zman Tel Aviv, Nachum Heiman, Public Defence (Israel), Prisoner of Zion, Trial of Benjamin Netanyahu, Day to Mark the Departure and Expulsion of Jews from the Arab Countries and Iran, Pre-Modern Aliyah
See also Articles needing translation from Hebrew Wikipedia.
Geographical coordinates : Add geographic coordinates to Israel articles missing geocoordinate data.
Infobox : Add infoboxes to Israel articles needing infoboxes.
Maintain : See Israel articles needing attention.
Map : See discussion at Module:Location map/data/Israel. Add maps to articles in Wikipedia requested maps in Israel.
NPOV : Jewish exodus from Arab and Muslim countries
Photo : Add pictures to articles in Wikipedia requested photographs in Israel.
Stubs : See Israel stubs.
Update : Basic Law proposal: Israel as the Nation-State of the Jewish People
Other :
- Translate to Hebrew : David Bar-Hayim, Guy Bavli, and Guy Oseary.
- Kings of Judah Trail – archaeological trail for tourists in Jerusalem and nearby places; unofficial name

Ancient Near East High‑importance

	This article is within the scope of WikiProject Ancient Near East, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of ancient Near East–related articles on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the discussion and see a list of open tasks.Ancient Near EastWikipedia:WikiProject Ancient Near EastTemplate:WikiProject Ancient Near EastAncient Near East
High	This article has been rated as High-importance on the project's importance scale.

Geography High‑importance

This article is within the scope of WikiProject Geography, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of geography on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the discussion and see a list of open tasks.GeographyWikipedia:WikiProject GeographyTemplate:WikiProject Geographygeography

High This article has been rated as High-importance on the project's importance scale.

WikiProject Geography To-do list:

Here are some tasks awaiting attention:

Article requests : See Requested articles/Social sciences/Geography, cities, regions and named places and Missing articles about Locations
Assess : Tag related article talk pages with {{WikiProject Geography}}. To help assess the quality and importance of geography articles, please see: Unassessed geography articles and Unknown-importance geography articles.
Cleanup : See Geography articles needing attention
Deletion sorting : Listed at Geographic related deletion discussions
Geographical coordinates : See Articles missing geocoordinate data by country
Infobox : See Geography articles needing infoboxes
Map : See Wikipedia requested maps
Notability : See Geography articles with topics of unclear notability
Photo : See Wikipedia requested photographs of places
Stubs : See Geography stubs

5 countries of the Levantine region

Israel should be removed from this region 2600:100F:A020:473B:3019:ED8A:F5D8:F766 (talk) 07:06, 21 October 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Why would we do that?

Not done — Sadko (words are wind) 11:26, 5 October 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Levantine consideration

Cyprus isn’t considered part of the Levant in modern-day, but Mediterranean. Jordan, Syria, Palestine, Lebanon, ‘Israel’ (because of its geography, not culture) and very minor regions of Iraq are considered Levantine. 207.161.54.17 (talk) 21:54, 9 December 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Cyprus IS considered part of the Levant both historically and in modern-day. That does not exclude Cyprus from being considered Mediterranean. Mediterranean countries include all countries wet by the waters of Mediterranean Sea, including Egypt, Israel, Lebanon, Jordan, Palestine, Syria, Turkey all the way to Malta, Italy, Spain Libya, Portugal etc.

Cyprus should be included in the list of the narrow definition as per the map too. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2A00:23C8:E931:8C01:A448:BE37:AE80:EE1F (talk) 08:09, 28 July 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Semi-protected edit request on 11 February 2024

This edit request has been answered. Set the |answered= parameter to no to reactivate your request.

Palestine was never a country and is still not one. Your page is incorrect in listing it as such. 128.92.213.35 (talk) 08:06, 11 February 2024 (UTC)[reply]

A country it is, a455bcd9 (Antoine) (talk) 09:42, 11 February 2024 (UTC)[reply]

It's ISO 3166-2:PS. Sean.hoyland (talk) 09:57, 11 February 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Cyprus in the Levant (in the strictest sense)

I believe Cyprus is not considered part of the Levant, at least not in the strictest (modern) sense, only in the wider sense. The references do not support this. It is mostly considered part of the Levant in British Archaeology. kupirijo (talk) 09:54, 23 March 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Cyprus major hubs were created by Phoenicians, Greeks came later, historically, genetically and geographically (geopolitically) Cyprus is part of the Levant or Middle East (contemporary term) — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2A00:23C8:E931:8C01:A448:BE37:AE80:EE1F (talk) 08:19, 28 July 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Cyprus still has cultural, ethnical traits that are very similar to other Levantine countries. Especially Israel and Lebanon. ShawarmaFan07 (talk) 23:07, 14 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]

It depends on the point of view: Peltenburg, E., 2004. Cyprus: A regional component of the Levantine PPN. Neo-Lithics, 1(04), pp.3-7. Snelders, B., Immerzeel, M. and Art, E.C., 2012. From Cyprus to Syria and Back Again: Artistic Interaction in the Medieval Levant. Eastern Christian Art, 9, p.79. Orejas, C., Gori, A., Jiménez, C., Rivera, J., IACONO, C.L., Hadjioannou, L., Andreou, V. and Petrou, A., 2017. First in situ documentation of a population of the coral Dendrophyllia ramea off Cyprus (Levantine Sea) and evidence of human impacts. Galaxea, Journal of Coral Reef Studies, 19(1), pp.15-16. Having said that the term used mostly in the Universities in Cyprus is Middle East. Levant has been replaced by this term, yet the discussions are always how Cyprus can contribute in the region which is the Middle East (almost identical to the term Levant). So yes even today Cyprus is considered Levant geographically, although politically is considered Europe due to its EU membership. Also, while some countries especially in Europe place Cyprus under the continent of Europe, others such as Russia place it under Asia. See russianconsulates.com — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2A00:23C8:E931:8C01:A448:BE37:AE80:EE1F (talk) 08:16, 28 July 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Semi-protected edit request on 31 March 2024

This edit request has been answered. Set the |answered= parameter to no to reactivate your request.

In the article regarding The Levant please change "the Palestinian territories" to "Palestine" and "Isreal" to "The Occupied Territories of Palestine" 2601:405:4881:6010:A5CD:A5D3:5437:CC2C (talk) 20:40, 31 March 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Not done for now: please establish a consensus for this alteration before using the {{Edit semi-protected}} template. RudolfRed (talk) 02:04, 1 April 2024 (UTC)[reply]

What the heck is Isreal? Dimadick (talk) 16:54, 3 April 2024 (UTC)[reply]

West Asia not necessary

Levant includes Cyprus. While it is geographically close, it is part of Mediterranean Europe. Racially, ethnically, culturally, and politically. So why should West Asia be mentioned? ShawarmaFan07 (talk) 23:06, 14 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Yes Cyprus is part of the Levant. The intro just says that the Levant is the "subregion that borders the Eastern Mediterranean sea to the west and core West Asia": is this an issue? a455bcd9 (Antoine) (talk) 09:59, 15 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]

The opening sentence is very hard to parse. It really needs some fixing. It’s also confusing because it suggests that the Levant borders the Middle East yet, clicking through to Middle East, it’s the same area. Rickogorman (talk) 10:10, 9 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Yes I would remove "or by the political term, Middle East," a455bcd9 (Antoine) (talk) 10:14, 9 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Semi-protected edit request on 27 November 2024

This edit request has been answered. Set the |answered= parameter to no to reactivate your request.

In the discussion of the Levant and its peoples, languages, and culture, almost all mention of Jews, Hebrew, or Jewish culture is not there despite Israel being a country in the levant. 216.163.221.226 (talk) 13:01, 27 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Not done: it's not clear what changes you want to be made. Please mention the specific changes in a "change X to Y" format and provide a reliable source if appropriate. The AP (talk) 13:37, 27 November 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Genetics section

The genetics section reads as follows:

According to recent ancient DNA studies, Levantines derive most of their ancestry from ancient Semitic-speaking peoples of the Bronze and Iron age Levant. Other Arabs include the Bedouins of Syrian Desert, Naqab and eastern Syria, who speak Bedouin Arabic. Non-Arab minorities include Circassians, Chechens, Turks, Jews, Turkmens, Assyrians, Kurds, Nawars and Armenians.

Ancient semitic people from the Levant were not broadly Arab (although there were some ethnic Arabs in the area) as the Arab conquest didn't happen until the 7th century. This section should be revised to clarify whether (a) modern Levantines self identify as Arabs, and (b) that the Arab communities described are completely separate ethnically from the described Levantines. TimeEngineer (talk) 07:55, 5 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Semi-protected edit request on 7 December 2024

This edit request has been answered. Set the |answered= parameter to no to reactivate your request.

Fairly certain Tel Aviv is NOT the larger than Jerusalem. In regards to the "largest cities" section. 2.52.195.64 (talk) 08:07, 7 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Already done LizardJr8 (talk) 19:04, 7 December 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Israel was not formed During this period

The state of Israel was formed after the world wars, While there were Jewish people residing in the region the State was not formed during the Levant period. 67.200.168.194 (talk) 18:05, 2 January 2025 (UTC)[reply]

What period? The article covers the Levant in the 21st century. Dimadick (talk) 03:13, 3 January 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Horrible image

Very low quality map implying Palestine doesn't exist. Could some cartographer fix this? Zilch-nada (talk) 22:46, 4 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

You're right. Feel free to request a new map here: Wikipedia:Graphics Lab/Map workshop. a455bcd9 (Antoine) (talk) 09:59, 5 March 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Greek orthodox

When mentioning Christians in the levant the article associates Greek Orthodox Christians in the levant only with the Antiochian Patriarchate. It would be reasonable to mention the Greek Orthodox under the Jerusalem Patriarch. 2001:999:508:7735:2A27:88D2:B022:96C3 (talk) 16:04, 19 September 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Chart of Ashkenazi Jews in the genetics subheader

This discussion has been disrupted by block evasion, ban evasion, or sockpuppetry from the following user:

Iljhgtn (talk · contribs · block log · spi)

Their comments should be excluded from assessments of consensus.

The genetic chart recently added doesn't even mention the Levant, and is structured around a single ethnic group (Ashkenazi Jews). Does this need to be on the article at the expense of other populations in the Levant? Or at all? It is WP:SYNTH as it doesn't mention the Levant in the image nor in the text. Tagging involved editors @Guz13, @Iljhgtn, @Amandayuu27 JJNito197 (talk) 23:57, 2 April 2026 (UTC)[reply]

Also see MOS:IMAGERELEVANCE, and broadly MOS:IMAGES. JJNito197 (talk) 00:05, 3 April 2026 (UTC)[reply]

I have added a neutrality template until this is resolved. There is no good reason why one ethnic group should be in this subheader when they don't constitute a majority of the population of the region. It is against WP:NPOV. JJNito197 (talk) 00:39, 3 April 2026 (UTC)[reply]

I looked at this further and you're right that the caption seems to be the real issue, I updated it to, "Plot of Levantine populations (left to right), with most strongly starting on the left, then moving towards non-Levantine/European on the right." The source mentions "Levant" several times as part of its graphing, so this should hopefully make it clear to the reader what this is plot aims to convey. I looked at this further and you're right that the caption seems to be the real issue, I updated it to, "Plot of Levantine populations (left to right), with most strongly starting on the left, then moving towards non-Levantine/European on the right." The source mentions "Levant" several times as part of its graphing, so this should hopefully make it clear to the reader what this is plot aims to convey. Iljhgtn (they/them 00:14, 3 April 2026 (UTC)[reply]

The study is focused on Ashkenazi Jews specifically, not Levantine populations. If it was a general study on Levantine populations, this would be more congruent with the text next to it. Instead, we have a study on Ashekenazi Jews specifically like they are somehow representive of Levantine populations at large, which is patently false. JJNito197 (talk) 01:04, 3 April 2026 (UTC)[reply]

Also, the Levantine populations that the study refers too are small subset, in close proximity, so not representative of Levantines as a whole, who span the entire Levant. JJNito197 (talk) 01:16, 3 April 2026 (UTC)[reply]

~~Which populations are left out? It refers to multiple. Iljhgtn (they/them · talk) 02:05, 3 April 2026 (UTC)~~[reply]

Syrians and it's associated subgroups, Lebanese and it's associated subgroups, Jordanians and it's associated sub groups, Cypriots, settled Arabs, there are a lot more. Including even other Jewish subgroups. The Levant is a big place with many different ethnic groups, so having an image only representing a fraction is just not representative of a whole. The link to the genetic history article seems to cover this more concisely. The image is just not necessary. JJNito197 (talk) 02:22, 3 April 2026 (UTC)[reply]

For what it is worth, the image is pretty small, singular (not a gallery) and pretty low down in the article in the "Genetics" section. Not exactly an WP:UNDUE concern if you ask me. Iljhgtn (they/them · talk) 02:31, 3 April 2026 (UTC)[reply]

That's not the point, it doesn't represent the topic at all. On the contrary, it just isn't WP:DUE. It's more necessary on the specific associated subgroups genetic section. If it was broader it would be due, and even then it's debatable because the subheader is not expansive and the associated text doesn't even relate to the image. The image has been shoehorned in there and the whole thing looks contrived. JJNito197 (talk) 02:52, 3 April 2026 (UTC)[reply]

~~Change the subheader? Iljhgtn (they/them · talk) 03:54, 3 April 2026 (UTC)~~[reply]

Why is a comparison with European ethnic groups even in there anyway, we are talking about the Levant. And "Levantines" is not common terminology either. I welcome other editors opinions on the matter. JJNito197 (talk) 04:00, 3 April 2026 (UTC)[reply]

~~Some groups seem to have both some European ancestry as well as Levantine. I really do not see what the big deal is. Iljhgtn (they/them · talk) 04:05, 3 April 2026 (UTC)~~[reply]

The image is literally centered around Ashkenazis. You clearly just WP:DONTGETIT JJNito197 (talk) 04:10, 3 April 2026 (UTC)[reply]

It's just because Ashkenazi Jews are genetically in between Levantine and European--which would place them in the middle of the chart. Agnieszka653 (talk) 17:47, 3 April 2026 (UTC)[reply]

So? Read WP:DUE JJNito197 (talk) 18:41, 3 April 2026 (UTC)[reply]

~~This chart is about much more than just "Ashkenazi Jews specifically", I think you are unreasonably obsessed for some reason with that part. Iljhgtn (they/them · talk) 17:17, 4 April 2026 (UTC)~~[reply]

Any proof? WP:AGF JJNito197 (talk) 17:19, 4 April 2026 (UTC)[reply]

~~Proof of what? I quoted your own words from just above. Iljhgtn (they/them · talk) 17:22, 4 April 2026 (UTC)~~[reply]

For the obsession part, I just want to keep the status quo. Mind WP:CASTINGASPERSIONS JJNito197 (talk) 17:23, 4 April 2026 (UTC)[reply]

~~....... Iljhgtn (they/them · talk) 17:25, 4 April 2026 (UTC)~~[reply]

I found this chart image[1] which shows the "Levantine Ancestral component". The publication is "Genome-Wide Diversity in the Levant Reveals Recent Structuring by Culture" [2], and it covers more groups in the Levant, a larger radius in the Levant, is not centered on a particular group to the exclusion of others, and mentions Levant in the actual image (the Levantine component is in blue). This will alay my concerns about the neutrality. Is there any objections to replacing the image?

For comparison, the current image is from the publication "The time and place of European admixture in Ashkenazi Jewish history."[3]

Thanks JJNito197 (talk) 21:45, 5 April 2026 (UTC)[reply]

That chart is also found in the Levant section of the Genetic history of the Middle East article, so it's probably more apt for this particular page, as it includes all Levantine groups instead of only a handful. (Notably Syrians, Jordanians and Lebanese are missing from the current PCA)

As this isn't a deep dive page on genetics, I think that chart would be entirely sufficiently, as there's a link to the in-depth genetics article section for further reading.Teflawn (talk) 23:32, 5 April 2026 (UTC)[reply]

Edit request regarding Israel’s official language

In the subcategory “demographics” it is listed that Israel’s official language is solely modern Hebrew, although Arabic is also an official language.

Could you change “Concerning the languages of Israel, Modern Hebrew is the country's official language” to “Concerning the languages of Israel, Modern Hebrew and Arabic are the country's official languages” and alter the following text accordingly? thank you:) ~2026-34611-65 (talk) 08:49, 12 June 2026 (UTC)[reply]

That would be incorrect wouldn't it? Hebrew is the only official language. Arabic has 'special status'. See Basic Law: Israel as the Nation-State of the Jewish People. Prior to that law in 2018, it was an official language according to Israel's MFA. Sean.hoyland (talk) 09:30, 12 June 2026 (UTC)[reply]