Elbegli

The tribe was mainly found around Sivas and Kemah before the Ottoman authorities resettled them near Sajur River[3] during the 17th[4] and 18th[5] centuries. In mid-18th century, Carsten Niebuhr noted that the Elbeglis were 2 thousand tents in total, one half dwelling near Sivas and the other near Aleppo.[6][1] They were noted to be living north of Tadef in Syria by Christian missionaries in 1862.[7] Throughout the 18th century, smaller communities of Elbegli appeared in the Ottoman records for the regions of Adana, Antakya, Latakia, and Harran.[8] The administrative divisions within the Ottoman Empire that Elbegli densely settled were named after the tribe. The Ottoman vilayet of Aleppo included Elbegli nahiyah[9] and Sivas vilayet included Elbegli kaza.[10] The Alimantar village and Elbeyli district of Kilis were later named in the honor of the tribe.[4]

In Sivas Province, Elbegli tribe inhabits the city of Sivas and 42 villages to the southwest of the city, towards Şarkışla.[11] There are also several other villages spread out in other parts of the province. There are 20 historically Elbegli-inhabited villages in Tokat. The tribe inhabits at least 15 villages in Kilis and 13 villages in Gaziantep. In Syria, there are 30 Elbegli-inhabited villages near the Turkish border as well as 68 villages that Elbegli settled but were Arabized, near Manbij and Raqqa. There are smaller numbers of Elbegli villages in the provinces of Yozgat, Kars, Iğdır, and Ordu.[8]

• Adil Şan, Syrian-Turkish poet
• Şahin Bey, Turkish militia leader in the Siege of Aintab