(particularly in Cairo), including the Ayyubids (Sunni rulers of Kurdish origin), and the Mamluks (Sunni rulers of Turkic and Circassian origin). The last Islamic empires in Syria were centered firstly in Iran, namely the Seljuks (Sunni rulers of Turkic origin), and finally the Ottomans (Sunni rulers of Turkish origin) who were centered in the Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul), which straddles both Europe and Asia (i.e. Anatolia). Official censuses Sects Albert Hourani published statistics from a general census of Syria in 1943 giving details of religious groups of the population and the rate of growth of each (citizens were not allowed to declare their ethnicity or mother tongue): Sunni Islam The largest religious group in Syria is the Sunni Muslims. The majority are formed of indigenous Syrian but there is also a significant number of Sunni Kurds, Turkmen/Turkoman, and Circassians, as well as refugees who have arrived in the country, such as Iraqis and Palestinians. Sunnis follow nearly all occupations, belong to all social groups and nearly every political party, and live in all parts of the country. All the largest cities and thirteen out of the fourteen governorates’ capitals of the country had a Sunni majority, except for the governorate and city of Suwayda. Arabic-speaking Syrians The Arabic-speaking Syrians form the largest Sunni Muslim community in the country. In 1991 Professor Alasdair Drysdale and Professor Raymond Hinnebusch said that approximately 60% of the country was formed of Arabic-speaking Sunni Muslims. More recently, Dr. Pierre Beckouche also said that the Arab Sunni Muslims formed 60% of the population, including 500,000 Palestinian refugees. Mid-2018 estimates accounting for deaths and emigration due to the Syrian Civil War placed Arab Sunnis far lower, at 50%. Although the majority of Sunni Syrians are listed as Arabs in some academic circles, this is a term based on spoken language (Arabic), not ethnicity. Some Muslim minorities in Syria have been Arabized to some degree, particularly the smaller ethnic groups (such as the Albanians, Bosnians, Cretan Muslims, Pashtuns, Persians, etc.), but also some members of the larger minorities, such as the Kurds and Turkmen. Kurds The Kurds in Syria are the second largest ethnic group in the country (forming around 10.6% of the population) and are mainly Sunni Muslims. The majority live in the northeast, bordering on Iraq and Turkey. There are also smaller Kurdish communities in central Syria, followed by Kobanî and Afrin. In the capital of Damascus