Reconstructing the History of the Cypriot Maronites

Year 2009, Issue: 37, 19 - 39, 01.12.2009

Simone Paturel

Abstract

The origin of the Maronite community of Cyprus has long been a matter of debate amongst scholars, from Jerome Dandini in the sixteenth century to the present day. In this paper, I will raise four key questions concerning the traditional picture of Cypriot Maronite history. Firstly, did the Maronite community arrive on Cyprus to escape religious persecution in their homeland? Secondly, can we clearly identify the four waves of migration that the traditional history assumes and links with episodes of persecution of Maronites in their homeland? Thirdly, was the Maronite community in Cyprus purely agricultural or was it also involved in trade. Finally, the population of Maronites in Cyprus is supposed to have fallen dramatically between the twelfth century and the present day: this paper will ask how we can explain this and whether or not it was the result of mass conversion. The paper concludes that there is little evidence for four waves of migration to Cyprus following religious persecution and that economic migration is a more likely explanation for the movement of population. Maronites in Lebanon were heavily involved in the silk trade and with Maronite communities present in the cities of Cyprus as well as rural villages, so there is no reason to exclude the possibility of a merchant community. Evidence for population decline is less certain than previously supposed and mass conversion is not required to explain it

Keywords

Maronite History, Cyprus, Lebanon, Migration

Reconstructing the History of the Cypriot Maronites

Abstract

Kıbrıs’taki Maronit topluluğu 16. yy. da Terami Dandini den günümüze akademisyenler arasında tartışma konusu olagelmiştir. Bu makalede geleneksel Kıbrıs Maronitlerin tarihini dört temel soru ile ele alınacaktır. Öncelikle Maronit cemaati Kıbrıs’a kendi ana vatanlarındaki dini baskıdan kaçmak için mi gelmişlerdir? İkincisi, geleneksel tarihinin varsaydığı gibi dört dalga halinde olan göçü Maronitlere kendi ülkelerinde yapılan işkencelerle bağlantı kurarak tanımlayabilir miyiz?Üçüncü olarak Kıbrıs’taki Maronitler yalnızca tarım topluluğu mudur, yoksa ticaretle de ilgilenmişmidirler?Son olarak da Kıbrıs’taki Maronit cemaati nüfusu 20. yy dan günümüze kadar dramatik bir biçimde neden azalmıştır? Bu makale bunu nasıl açıklayabileceğimizi ve bunun kitlesel din değiştirme nedeni ile hiç ilgili olup olmadığını sorgulamaktadır. Sunumda nüfus hareketinin dört dalgalı göçün dini baskılar nedeniyle olduğuna dair çok az delil olduğu, asıl olarak ekonomik nedenlerden dolayı göçün gerçekleştiği kanaatine varılmaktadır. Lübnan’daki Maronitler ağırlıklı olarak ipek ticareti ile ilgilenmektedirler ve Kıbrıs’taki Maronitler de kırsalın yanında şehirde de yaşamaktadırlar. Bu durumda onların ticari bir topluluk olma ihtimallerini elemek için hiçbir neden bulunmamaktadır. Nüfusun azalmasının gerekçeleri ise açıklayamamaktadır

Keywords

Maronitler, Kıbrıs, Lübnan, Göç

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