world.wikisort.org - Syria

Search / Calendar

As-Suwayda (Arabic: ٱلسُّوَيْدَاء / ALA-LC romanization: as-Suwaydāʾ), also spelled Sweida or Swaida, is a mainly Druze city located in southwestern Syria, close to the border with Jordan.

As-Suwayda
ٱلسُّوَيْدَاء
City
Aerial view of the Suwayda city, October 2011
As-Suwayda
Location of As-Suwayda within Syria
As-Suwayda
As-Suwayda (Eastern Mediterranean)
Coordinates: 32°42′45″N 36°34′00″E
Grid position296/235
Country Syria
GovernorateAs-Suwayda
DistrictAs-Suwayda
SubdistrictAs-Suwayda
Government
  GovernorBassam Mamdouh Parsik[1]
Elevation
3,543 ft (1,080 m)
Population
 (2004 census)
  City73,641[2]
  Metro
138,822
Demonym(s)Arabic: سويداوي, romanized: Suwaydāwi
Time zoneUTC+2 (EET)
  Summer (DST)UTC+3 (EEST)
Area code16
GeocodeC6147
ClimateCsa

It is the capital of As-Suwayda Governorate, one of Syria's 14 governorates, bordering Jordan in the South and Daraa Governorate in the West and Rif Dimashq Governorate in the north and east. The city is referred to by some as "Little Venezuela" due to the city's influx of affluent Venezuelan Syrian immigrants.[3][4][5][6]


Demographics and population


Druze and Christian clerics in As-Suwayda.
Druze and Christian clerics in As-Suwayda.

The inhabitants of the city are mainly Druze with a prominent Greek Orthodox Christians minority.

The population of As-Suwayda Governorate is 313,231 (2004 census).


History



Ancient and Medieval eras


Town square
Town square

The city was founded by the Nabataeans as Suada. It became known as Dionysias Soada (Ancient Greek: Διονῡσιάς) in the Hellenistic period and the Roman Empire, for the god Dionysus, patron of wine - the city is situated in a famous ancient wine-producing region.

The name Dionysias replaced the former Nabataean name in 149 AD after Nabataean influence decreased and then concentrated towards the south, as a result of the then accelerating Hellenization of Coele-Syria.

The agora of Dionysias
The agora of Dionysias
The arch of the lesser church
The arch of the lesser church
Orthodox Easter celebrations in As-Suwayda
Orthodox Easter celebrations in As-Suwayda

Dionysias was a part of the Roman province of Arabia Petraea, and received the rights of civitas during the reign of Commodus between 180–185.

Dionysus was worshipped in the same Nabatean temple dedicated to Dushara. This practice of associating the worship of local and Hellenic gods was common in Hellenistic Syria.

This name remained in use during the Byzantine Empire, when the town was under the influence of the Ghassanids. Dionysias then was a diocese with a suffragan bishop from Bosra. It was mentioned in the Synecdemus of Hierocles. After the early Muslim conquests it became a titular see.[7]

Yaqut al-Hamawi noted in the 1220s that As Suwaida was "a village of the Hauran Province".[8]


Ottoman era


In 1596 As-Suwayda appeared under the name of Majdal Sawda in the Ottoman tax registers as part of the nahiya (subdistrict) of Bani Nasiyya of the Hauran Sanjak. It had a population of 5 households and 5 bachelors, all Muslim. The villagers paid a fixed tax rate of 20% on various agricultural products, including wheat, barley, summer crops, goats and/or beehives, in addition to "occasional revenues"; a total of 6,125 akçe. 3/4 of the revenue went to a waqf.[9]

In recent times Dionysias was firstly identified as as-Suwayda by William Waddington.


Modern era


The city has been held by the government for the duration of the Syrian Civil War and has seen relatively little fighting. On 28 October 2012, security forces launched a campaign of mass arrests in the city.[10]


2018 As-Suwayda attacks


On July 25, 2018, the city, which had been by that time far away from the front lines, was rocked by a string of terrorist attacks. A group of at least 56 ISIS-affiliated attackers entered the city and initiated a series of gunfights and suicide bombings on its streets killing at least 246 people, the vast majority of them civilians. Many of the terrorists were reported killed during the attack, bringing the total death toll to at least 302 people.[11] Forty-two Druze between the ages of 7 to 60 were kidnapped by ISIS and are being held captive. One has been executed bringing the total in captivity to 41.[12]


2020 Suweida protests


On 7 June 2020, anti-government protests erupted in the city due to the deteriorating economic situation. Protesters demanded the resignation of President Bashar al-Assad for the first time since 2015 in the city which had remained neutral during the Syrian civil war.[13][14] As a result of the protests, Prime Minister Imad Khamis was sacked on 11 June and replaced by Hussein Arnous.[15]


2022 Suweida protests


In February, hundreds of protesters took to the streets in Sweida to decry corruption and worsening living standards.[16]


Archaeology


Diana discovered at bath by Actaeon; mosaic in As-Suwayda
Diana discovered at bath by Actaeon; mosaic in As-Suwayda

Many archeological sites could be found in the old part of the city:

The city has many ancient reservoirs, towers and old Roman houses that are still inhabited by locals.

Many parts of the old city are still to be excavated, such as the Roman aqueduct, a conical reservoir, and a larger Roman theatre.


Climate


As Suwayda's climate is classified as warm and temperate. There is more rainfall in the winter than in the summer in As Suwayda. This location is classified as Csa by Köppen and Geiger. The average temperature in As Suwayda is 15.5 °C. About 323 mm of precipitation falls annually.

Climate data for As-Suwayda
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Average high °C (°F) 10.5
(50.9)
11.7
(53.1)
15.2
(59.4)
20.1
(68.2)
25.4
(77.7)
29.2
(84.6)
30.1
(86.2)
30.9
(87.6)
29.2
(84.6)
26.0
(78.8)
19.1
(66.4)
12.8
(55.0)
21.7
(71.0)
Daily mean °C (°F) 6.2
(43.2)
7.1
(44.8)
10.0
(50.0)
13.9
(57.0)
18.3
(64.9)
21.7
(71.1)
22.8
(73.0)
23.5
(74.3)
21.8
(71.2)
18.9
(66.0)
13.6
(56.5)
8.3
(46.9)
15.5
(59.9)
Average low °C (°F) 1.9
(35.4)
2.6
(36.7)
4.8
(40.6)
7.8
(46.0)
11.3
(52.3)
14.2
(57.6)
15.6
(60.1)
16.1
(61.0)
14.4
(57.9)
11.8
(53.2)
8.1
(46.6)
3.9
(39.0)
9.4
(48.9)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 69
(2.7)
71
(2.8)
57
(2.2)
21
(0.8)
8
(0.3)
0
(0)
0
(0)
0
(0)
1
(0.0)
11
(0.4)
27
(1.1)
58
(2.3)
323
(12.6)
Source: Climate-Data.org[17]

Notable people



References


  1. "President al-Assad issues decrees on appointing new governors for eight Syrian provinces". Syrian Arab News Agency. 20 July 2022. Retrieved 15 August 2022.
  2. "<meta HTTP-equiv='Content-Type' content='text/HTML; charset=iso-8859-1' /> NameBright - Coming Soon". www.cbssyr.org. Archived from the original on 16 December 2019. Retrieved 15 January 2022.
  3. http://newsfromsyria.com/2009/09/04/hugo-chavez-in-syria/ Many of them came from Sweida. So when their descendants returned, they brought back the Spanish language and South American culture. Sweida is little Venezuela.
  4. https://www.economist.com/node/16276817 Dubbed “Little Venezuela”, the southern Syrian town of Sweida offers arepa bread, roads named after Latin American revolutionary leaders and visits from Venezuela's president, Hugo Chávez. It has long been known for its Hispanic influence, thanks to generations of Syrians and Lebanese who left in the 19th and 20th centuries to work in South America and who have periodically returned.
  5. p. 193: And the Syrian town of Sweida is known as "Little Venezuela"
  6. http://www.gettyimages.ae/detail/news-photo/an-elderly-syrian-man-waves-venezuelas-flag-during-a-visit-news-photo/90340575#an-elderly-syrian-man-waves-venezuelas-flag-during-a-visit-by-hugo-picture-id90340575 Chavez visited Sweida, homeland of many of Venezuela's million strong Syrian community
  7. "Catholic Encyclopedia: Dionysias". Newadvent.org. 1909-05-01. Retrieved 2014-06-20.
  8. quoted in Le Strange, 1890, p. 540
  9. Hütteroth and Abdulfattah, 1977, p. 218.
  10. "At least 30 people killed in clashes, most of them in Damascus". Al Jazeera Blogs. Archived from the original on 25 October 2014. Retrieved 25 October 2014.
  11. https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2018-07-26/death-toll-in-devastating-is-attacks-in-syria-climbs-to-216 [bare URL]
  12. "Islamic State in Syria executes hostage from Sweida attack: media, monitor".
  13. "Protest in southwest Syria against faltering economy, corruption". Al Jazeera. 7 June 2020. Retrieved 15 July 2020.
  14. Al-Khalidi, Suleiman (11 June 2020). "Protests hit Druze city in Syria for fourth day". Reuters. Retrieved 15 July 2020.
  15. "Syria war: Assad sacks PM as economic crisis sparks protests". BBC News. 11 June 2020. Retrieved 15 July 2020.
  16. Chehayeb, Kareem (11 February 2022). "Syria: Sweida protesters decry corruption, poor living standards". Al Jazeera English.
  17. "Climate: As Suwayda". Retrieved 2016-02-27.

Bibliography





На других языках


[de] As-Suwaida

As-Suwaida oder Suweida (arabisch السويداء, DMG as-Suwaidāʾ) ist die Hauptstadt des Gouvernements as-Suwaida im Hauran-Gebiet im Südwesten von Syrien. Sie ist das Siedlungszentrum der syrischen Drusen.
- [en] As-Suwayda

[ru] Эс-Сувайда

Эс-Сува́йда[1][2], Эс-Суве́йда (также Сувейда)[3][4] (араб. السويداء‎) — город на юго-западе Сирии, административный центр мухафазы Эс-Сувайда, недалеко от границы с Иорданией. Основной город друзов в Сирии. Знаменита музеями византийской мозаики и римской дорогой, используемой и до сих пор. Узел автодорог. Центр сельскохозяйственного района (зерновые, овощи, бахчи, сады, виноградники). Пищевая промышленность.



Текст в блоке "Читать" взят с сайта "Википедия" и доступен по лицензии Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike; в отдельных случаях могут действовать дополнительные условия.

Другой контент может иметь иную лицензию. Перед использованием материалов сайта WikiSort.org внимательно изучите правила лицензирования конкретных элементов наполнения сайта.

2019-2025
WikiSort.org - проект по пересортировке и дополнению контента Википедии