''Levant Herald'' was a bilingual newspaper which existed in the period 1856–1914 in

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

. It was founded by British subjects of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

. The paper had English and French language editions. Published more than fifty years it was one of the long-lived publications in the Empire. However, it was banned from time to time during its run.

History and profile

''Levant Herald'' was started in 1856 under the title ''Galata Courier''. Its founder was James Carlile McCoan who also edited it. The paper was temporarily closed down in the period between 29 May and 24 July 1878. The weekly edition of the paper was ''Constantinople Messenger'' which was first published on 24 July 1878. ''Constantinople Messenger'' was an eight-page publication which was published on Wednesdays. From 1890 to its closure in 1914 the paper was published under the title ''The Levant Herald and Eastern Express''. Edgar Whitaker was one of the editors of the paper which covered all significant events of the period, including Ottoman-Russian relations, the Bulgarian issue, tensions in the

Balkans The Balkans ( , ), corresponding partially with the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throug ...

and the Russo-Ottoman War. Najib Al Hajj was the Cairo correspondent of the paper. It was one of the supporters of Ottoman Sultan

Murad V Murad V (; ; 21 September 1840 – 29 August 1904) was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 30 May to 31 August 1876. The son of Abdulmejid I, he supported the conversion of the government to a constitutional monarchy. His uncle Abdulaziz ...

and received financial aid from Khedive Ismail of Egypt in the 1870s. The paper also played a role in the formation of the opposition against Abdulhamit, another Ottoman ruler. Mark Twain's '' The Innocents Abroad'' includes references to ''Levant Herald'' in Chapter 34. In the book it is stated that due to its frequent reports about the rebels in

Crete Crete ( ; , Modern Greek, Modern: , Ancient Greek, Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the List of islands by area, 88th largest island in the world and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fifth la ...

the paper was often censored by the Ottoman authorities in the late 1860s. ''Levant Herald'' sold 5,200 copies in 1907. It ceased publication in 1914.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Levant Herald 1856 establishments in the Ottoman Empire 1914 disestablishments in the Ottoman Empire Bilingual newspapers Daily newspapers published in Turkey Defunct newspapers published in the Ottoman Empire English-language newspapers published in Turkey French-language newspapers published in Europe Newspapers published in Istanbul Newspapers established in 1856 Publications disestablished in 1914 Weekly newspapers published in Turkey