Turks in Jordan


Turks in Jordan, also known as Turkic People in Jordan, Turkish Jordanians or Turkmen Jordanians, are people of Oghuz Turkic ancestry living in Jordan. These people have had a thriving presence in Jordan since the rule of the Ottoman Empire. Today, there is a minority of about 60,000 people in the country who are the descendants of the Ottoman-Turkish immigrants. There are also Jordanians with Turkmen-Palestinian ancestry, whether fully or partially Turkmen, their numbers range from 100,000 to a million, many identify as Arabs without knowing their Turkmen heritage, their ancestors first settled Northern Palestine in the 11th century during the reign of the Seljuk Empire. In addition to this, there are also 8,262 Turkish citizens who are recent migrants to Jordan.

History

Turkic presence in Jordan is a bit disputed, some say that Turks migrated to Jordan in the 11th century to populate this region to protect it from crusader invasion, other say that Turks first settled Transjordan during the Ottoman period. Nowadays, most Turkmens/Turks in Jordan are originally from Palestine, from regions like Marj Beni Amer and Jerusalem.

Notable people