Most Levantine Argentines are from either Lebanese or Syrian background, originating mainly from what is now Lebanon and Syria. There are people from other Arabic speaking countries in lesser numbers. Most are Christians of the Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic (Maronite) Churches. The first Levantines settled in Argentina in the 19th century, and most who came during this time period were Syro-Lebanese. From 1891 to 1920, 367,348 people of Levantines heritage immigrated into Argentina. When they were first processed in the ports of Argentina, they were classified as Turks because modern-day Lebanon and Syria were then occupied by the Turkish Ottoman Empire.