Romanians in Turkey

Romanians in Turkey
Total population
	14.000 (Istanbul-only)
Regions with significant populations
	Istanbul; Ankara; Antalya; İzmir;
Languages
	Romanian; Turkish;
Religion
	Romanian Orthodoxy; Sunni Islam;
Related ethnic groups
	Bulgarians in Turkey, Serbs in Turkey

Romanians in Turkey includes Turkish citizens of Romanian origin (including Turkish-Romanian origin), as well as Romanian citizens resident in Turkey.

Romanians are generally concentrated in the major cities in Turkey, especially Istanbul, where 14,000^[1] Romanians reside and where there is also a Romanian Orthodox Church.^[2]^[3]

History

Romanians have migrated to the modern-day territory of Turkey since the Ottoman times. During the Ottoman period, Romanian male children were taken through the devşirme "blood tax" system from the Danubian Principalities and other parts of modern Romania to serve as Janissaries.^[4]^[5] Also during the Ottoman period, an important Romanian colony was established in Constantinople (then capital of the Ottoman Empire, modern-day Istanbul). A Romanian Orthodox Church was built there by the Wallachian ruler Constantin Brâncoveanu, which even today is an important center of the local Romanian community.^[6]

After Romanian won its independence from the Ottoman Empire, An estimated 400,000 Dobrujan Turks started to emigrate to modern-day Turkey.

During the communist rule of Romania, another wave of Romanian Turks, as well as Romanian Tatars and ethnic Romanians emigrated to Turkey. After the Romanian revolution, a significant number of Romanian entrepreneurs started investing and establishing business ventures in Turkey, and a certain proportion chose to take up residence there (especially in Istanbul). There are also Romanian migrant workers, as well as students and artists living in Turkey.^[7]^[8] During this period, many Romanians intermarried and assimilated with locals, bringing a rapid increase in mixed marriages.

Notable people

Kazak Abdal [tr], poet
Veliyullah Akbaşlı [tr], politician
Nejla Ateş, belly dancer
Mehmet Rüştü Bekit [tr], politician
İbrahim Hilmi Çığıraçan [tr], one of the first Turkish publishers in Turkey
Basri Dirimlili, football player
Rıza Saltuğ [tr], Turkish politician
Numan Ustalar [tr], politician
Kemal Karpat, historian and academic
Receb Ağa, Ottoman general
Mirela Dulgheru, long jumper
Ianis Hagi, footballer
Meral Yıldız Ali, table tennis player
Emin Bektöre, folklorist
Eren Eyüboğlu, painter
Racoviță family
Alexandros Kallimachis, statesman
Pertevniyal Sultan, thirteenth consort of Sultan Mahmud II
Barbu Iscovescu [ro], revolutionary
Bujor Hoinic, conductor^[9]

References

^ ^a ^b "Pentru ce facem moschee la Bucuresti: In cautarea romanilor ortodocsi din Turcia". Ziare.com.
^ "A fost prelungit acordul de folosință a bisericii românilor din Istanbul, ctitorie brâncovenească" (in Romanian). Retrieved 2023-08-21.
^ "Preşedintele României a vizitat biserica românească din Istanbul" (in Romanian). Retrieved 2023-08-21.
^ Glassé, Cyril, ed. (2008). "Devşirme". The New Encyclopedia of Islam (3rd ed.). Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield. p. 115. ISBN 978-1-4422-2348-6. Devshirme. The conscription system used by the Ottomans. It consisted of taking male children from subject Christian populations, chiefly in the Balkans, forcibly converting them to Islam, and raising them to join the ranks of an elite military corps, the Janissaries, or to enter other branches of government service. The boy-levy (devshirme) was carried out largely by force, but to be taken by it held out such promise of a brilliant future that Ottomans sometimes tried to slip their own children into it. Many of the Viziers came from the higher levels of the pageboy training. At first every fifth boy was drafted in a levy carried out every four or five years, but later every able-bodied boy between the ages of ten and fifteen was liable to be taken in a draft carried out annually. The devshirme system became obsolete in the 17th century.
^ Bianca Ioniţă (26 January 2016). "Ienicerii: un corp de elită al armatei otomane şi o formă neobişnuită de sclavie". rador.ro (in Romanian).
^ "Comunitatea românească | CONSULATUL GENERAL AL ROMÂNIEI în Istanbul". istanbul.mae.ro.
^ "Românii din Turcia, îngrijoraţi: „Noi plecăm de aici. Am mai trăit vremuri de dictatură"". adevarul.ro.
^ "Artiști români de succes în Republica Turcia | TRT Romanian". www.trt.net.tr.
^ "Povestea unui român de succes în Turcia: Bujor Hoinic – compozitor, dirijor, pianist şi profesor" (in Romanian). Archived from the original on 2019-04-23. Retrieved 2023-08-21.

[auto-1] "Pentru ce facem moschee la Bucuresti: In cautarea romanilor ortodocsi din Turcia". Ziare.com.

[2] "A fost prelungit acordul de folosință a bisericii românilor din Istanbul, ctitorie brâncovenească" (in Romanian). Retrieved 2023-08-21.

[3] "Preşedintele României a vizitat biserica românească din Istanbul" (in Romanian). Retrieved 2023-08-21.

[Glassé_2008-4] Glassé, Cyril, ed. (2008). "Devşirme". The New Encyclopedia of Islam (3rd ed.). Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield. p. 115. ISBN 978-1-4422-2348-6. Devshirme. The conscription system used by the Ottomans. It consisted of taking male children from subject Christian populations, chiefly in the Balkans, forcibly converting them to Islam, and raising them to join the ranks of an elite military corps, the Janissaries, or to enter other branches of government service. The boy-levy (devshirme) was carried out largely by force, but to be taken by it held out such promise of a brilliant future that Ottomans sometimes tried to slip their own children into it. Many of the Viziers came from the higher levels of the pageboy training. At first every fifth boy was drafted in a levy carried out every four or five years, but later every able-bodied boy between the ages of ten and fifteen was liable to be taken in a draft carried out annually. The devshirme system became obsolete in the 17th century.

[5] Bianca Ioniţă (26 January 2016). "Ienicerii: un corp de elită al armatei otomane şi o formă neobişnuită de sclavie". rador.ro (in Romanian).

[6] "Comunitatea românească | CONSULATUL GENERAL AL ROMÂNIEI în Istanbul". istanbul.mae.ro.

[7] "Românii din Turcia, îngrijoraţi: „Noi plecăm de aici. Am mai trăit vremuri de dictatură"". adevarul.ro.

[8] "Artiști români de succes în Republica Turcia | TRT Romanian". www.trt.net.tr.

[9] "Povestea unui român de succes în Turcia: Bujor Hoinic – compozitor, dirijor, pianist şi profesor" (in Romanian). Archived from the original on 2019-04-23. Retrieved 2023-08-21.

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v t e Demographics of Turkey
Topics	Turkish people Ethnic Kurds Minorities Languages Turkish language Religion Islam Christianity Judaism Irreligion Education Health Immigration Poverty Demographics of Istanbul
Census in Turkey	1927 1935 1965 1990 2000 2010 2020
Lists	Provinces by population Cities and towns by population Provinces by life expectancy

History

Notable people

See also

References