The Syrian and Lebanese Texans The Texians and the Texans Series

32 pages. INTRODUCTION Significant numbers of Arabic-speaking immigrants from Syria and Lebanon began arriving in Texas after 1880. The first were mainly Christians-Syrian Orthodox, Eastern Rite Catholics called Maronites, Greek Catholics called Melkites, and a few Protestants. Few Moslems immigrated prior to 1945, although hundreds came later as a result of conflict in the Middle East. At the turn of the century, America had a magnetic appeal for the youth of Syria and Lebanon. Overpopulation, economic stagnation, and religious, political and social discrimination by the Ottomans caused hundreds, then thousands, to leave their homeland. Over nine thousand entered the United States in 1914, a peak year. Called "Syrians" until the emergence of Lebanon as a separate nation in 1919, they came from the Ottoman Empire's provinces of Greater Syria and Mount Lebanon. Descended from the ancient Phoenicians, these eastern Mediterranean people had been ruled and influenced by numerous conquerors in their long history. The modern Syrian and Lebanese immigrant felt pride in his ancient Christianity, maintained through centuries of alien rule and discrimination. Pride was also derived from his contributions to civilization-the Phoenician alphabet and the Arabic transmission of Roman and Greek philosophy and science through the Dark Ages. Immigration from these two countries accelerated until the outbreak of World War 1. The 1920 census revealed that there were approximately 3,400 persons of Syrian and Lebanese origins in Texas.