About the Levant Strategic Centre

The Levant, also referred to in Arabic as Al Mashriq ("the place of sunrise"), is more than a modern geopolitical term. It is a richly layered geographical and cultural zone that predates the word itself.

In Arabic discourse, "Al Mashriq" has long signified the eastern reach of the Mediterranean, a crossroads of civilizations. The term "Levant" was later introduced into European languages, from the Italian levante ("rising"), describing the lands where the sun rises. Initially applied broadly to Mediterranean territories east of Italy, it gradually came to refer to the eastern Mediterranean littoral, including modern-day Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Palestine, Israel, and parts of Iraq, southern Turkey, and Cyprus.

Historically, the Levant was not bound by today's national borders. In its widest sense, it encompassed the breadth of the Eastern Mediterranean, woven into empires such as the Hittite, Assyrian, Persian, Greek, Roman, Byzantine, and Ottoman long before modern labels emerged. Historian Philip Mansel, in Levant: Splendour and Catastrophe on the Mediterranean, describes the Levant not only as a geography but as a "mindset" and shared cultural sphere, embodied in cosmopolitan port cities like Smyrna, Alexandria, and Beirut. These cities thrived on religious and cultural pluralism, where Muslims, Christians, and Jews mingled freely, bound by trade, language, and civic life, and where openness, not uniformity, was the foundation of prosperity.

The Levant has always been a mosaic of ethnicities and faiths. Arabs, Kurds, Armenians, Assyrians, Jews, Circassians, Turkmen, Greeks, and others have all called the region home. Its religious communities are no less diverse: Sunni and Shia Muslims, Druze, Alawites, Orthodox and Maronite Christians, Melkites, Protestants, Jews, Yazidis, and others.

This diversity was historically managed through systems of local governance and communal autonomy. The Ottoman Empire's millet system, for example, allowed religious communities to govern their internal affairs under their own leaders. In Mount Lebanon, the 1860s saw the creation of a semi-autonomous mutasarrifate to balance Druze and Maronite interests following sectarian violence. These arrangements, though imperfect, offered a framework for coexistence and mutual recognition—replaced in the modern period by homogenizing ideologies that alienated large segments of the population.

A modern Levantine project must be grounded in pluralism, local ownership, and political inclusion—recognizing people as members of interwoven communities with shared destinies.

It calls for regional dialogue platforms including civil society, youth, women, religious leaders, and marginalized groups, as well as a rejection of zero-sum politics in favor of consensus-building and social justice.

Pathways to Prosperity

Regional economic integration through shared infrastructure, energy grids, and digital economies could spur investment and reduce dependency on external powers. Cultural and educational exchanges can help younger generations reconnect with a shared identity that transcends borders. Restorative justice mechanisms—including truth-telling, reparations, and transitional justice—are essential for sustainable peace.