Lajat
Lajat
Al-Lajaʾ, Trachonitis, Argob | |
---|---|
Coordinates: 32°58′10″N 36°27′10″E / 32.96944°N 36.45278°E | |
Location | Daraa Governorate and as-Suwayda Governorate, Syria |
Part of | the Hauran |
Area | |
• Total | 90,000 hectares (220,000 acres) |
Elevation | 600–700 m (2,000 ft–2,300 ft) |
The Lajat (
The region has been known by a number of names throughout its history, including "Argob" (
The region may have been abandoned at some point, only to be repopulated by refugees from other regions of Syria during the Mongol invasions in 13th-century. This earned the region its modern Arabic name, al-Lajāʾ, meaning "the refuge". During early Ottoman rule in the 16th century, al-Lajat contained numerous agricultural villages and farms, but by the 17th century, the region was all but abandoned. Local Bedouin tribes, such as the Sulut, increasingly used the region for grazing their flocks, and Druze migrants from Mount Lebanon began settling the area in the early 19th century. Today, the population is mixed, with Druze inhabiting its central and eastern areas, and Muslims and Melkites living in villages along its western edge.
Etymology
Lajat's ancient name "Trachonitis" signifies the land associated with the trachon, "a rugged stony tract." There are two volcanic districts south and east of Damascus, to which the Greeks applied this name: that to the northwest of the mountain of Jabal al-Druze (Jabal Hauran) is called in Arabic, el-Leja, which means "the refuge" or "asylum".
Geography
The Lajat is situated in southeastern Syria, spanning a triangle-shaped area between the 45-kilometer
Topography
The Lajat's average elevation is between 600 and 700 meters above sea level,[2] and it is higher than the surrounding plains.[3] Many of its volcanic cones are higher than 1,000 meters above sea level, with the highest, just west of Shahba, at 1,159 meters.[2] In general the volcanic cones and mounds rise 20 to 30 meters above the lava fields.[4]
Much of the Lajat is covered by gray, disintegrated lava fields that form jagged basalt boulders, though there are some areas of smoother, rocky ground punctured with holes.[5] The holes were formed from gas bubbles caused by cooling lava that flowed over the uneven landscape.[5] Among the mostly barren landscape are depressions with far less rocky ground than the rest of the Lajat.[2] The depressions are called ka′ in Arabic and have average diameters of 100 meters.[2] The depressions are likely the result of earlier volcanic eruptions.[2] The depressions represented scattered patches of arable land among lava and fewer larger areas of fertile ground.[3] The few wadis (dried up streams) of the Lajat are generally shallow and broad.[5] Even fewer than the wadis are deep fissures that form caves or reservoirs.[5]
Water sources
Springs and underground water sources in the Lajat are scarce and most water is supplied by cisterns.[2] Shortages of water are particularly severe during the summer months.[3] While during the Lajat's ancient history, its inhabitants stored water from winter rainfall in reservoirs built near homes, by the early 20th century, these reservoirs had long fallen into disrepair.[6] Thus, by the modern era, every village contained rectangular cisterns to store rainwater, which serves as the main source of water.[7]
History
Antiquity
Early history
In ancient times, Trachonitis included the regions of Lajat and the
Roman period
The
The Romans built a road that passed through the center of Trachonitis and connected with the Roman road system in Syria.
Byzantine period
The Romans were succeeded by the Byzantine Empire in Syria during the mid-4th century AD.[2] For the following three centuries, Trachonitis saw a huge uptick in settlement and building activity.[2] Among the major Byzantine-era settlements were Bosor (modern Busra al-Harir), Zorava, Jirrin, Sur, Deir al-Juwani, Rimea, Umm al-Zaytun, Shaqra and Harran.[2][10] There are at least thirty sites in the Lajat with ruins tracing back to the Byzantine era.[2] The Byzantine era saw the expansion of Christianity in the regions surrounding the Lajat, but there archaeological evidence indicates that Christianity only affected a few Lajat villages, particularly those along its southwestern edges,[9] until the mid 6th century.[11] One of the earliest known Christian communities in Trachonitis was Sur (ancient name unknown), which had a Christian edifice dated to 458.[12]
Zorava was the cosmopolitan capital of Byzantine Trachonitis..
Middle Ages
The region's modern name "Lajah" was first recorded during the Middle Ages, and the region was only mentioned by later Arab geographers, indicating that it had likely been abandoned prior to the 13th century.[2] In the early 13th century, during Ayyubid rule, the Lajat was said to contain a "large population" and numerous villages and fields, according to Syrian geographer Yaqut al-Hamawi.[14] According to historian H. Gaube, the Lajat was likely settled by refugees from other parts of Syria due to the pressures of the Mongol invasions.[2] There are at least thirteen sites in the Lajat that contain Islamic-era ruins, most of which date to the 13th century.[2]
Ottoman period
The Lajat contained some populated places during early Ottoman rule, which began in 1517, but other than a few Christian-populated villages along its western periphery, the region was abandoned by at least the 17th century.[2]
The Lajat was settled by
Nonetheless, Druze habitation continued and was principally concentrated on the Lajat's eastern edge and its southern interior, which bordered the Druze heartland of Jabal Hauran.[16] In 1867, the Azzam and Halabi families established the villages al-Zabayer and al-Surah al-Saghirah, both situated at the eastern edge of Lajat, respectively.[16] Between then and 1883, the Murshid family settled Lubayn, the Abu Hassun settled Jurayn and the Shalghin settled al-Majadil.[16] Along the Lajat's eastern edge, the Halabi and Bani Amer families settled Jadaya, al-Matunah, Dhakir, Khalkhalah, Umm Haratayn, Hazim and al-Surah al-Kabirah.[16] Druze activity in the Lajat's northeastern slopes regressed because of the scarcity of water and arable land, but the villages of al-Salmiyah, Huqf, Buthaynah, Burk, Arraja, Umm Dabib, al-Tayyibah and al-Ramah were established there mostly by the Bani Amer, but also by the Bani al-Atrash, al-Ghanim and al-Qal'ani clans between 1862 and 1883.[16]
Modern period
In the early 20th century, the cultivated areas of the Lajat were mostly located in its western and southwestern parts, where soil was cleared of stone and nutrient rich.
Biblical references
An extremely rugged region, sixty walled cities were on the island, which was ruled over by Og at the time of the Israelite conquest (Deuteronomy 3:4; 1 Kings 4:13). Later, Lajat, in Bashan, was one of Solomon's commissariat districts.[19] In Luke's Gospel, the region was called Trachonitis ("the rugged region") (Luke 3:1). This region formed part of Herod Philip's tetrarchy - it is only referred to once, in the phrase tes Itouraias kai Trachbnitidos choras, literally, "of the Iturean and Trachonian region".
- Here "sixty walled cities are still traceable in a space of 308 square miles. The architecture is ponderous and massive. Solid walls 4 feet thick, and stones on one another without cement; the roofs enormous slabs of basaltic rock, like iron; the doors and gates are of stone 18 inches thick, secured by ponderous bars. The land bears still the appearance of having been called the 'land of giants' under the giant Og."
- "I have more than once entered a deserted city in the evening, taken possession of a comfortable house, and spent the night in peace. Many of the houses in the ancient cities of Bashan are perfect, as if only finished yesterday. The walls are sound, the roofs unbroken, and even the window-shutters in their places. These ancient cities of Bashan probably contain the very oldest specimens of domestic architecture in the world" (Porter, 1867).
Population
Most of the inhabited areas of the Lajat are along its fringes, with only a few scattered villages in the interior. The interior villages lay in relatively stone-less depressions.[2] Most villages were built among the Lajat's ancient ruins.[7] Historically, the population of the Lajat consisted of nomadic and semi-nomadic Bedouin tribesmen, peasants from the Hauran plain who occasionally used it as a refuge, and beginning in the 19th century, Druze from Jabal al-Druze who settled it and/or occasionally used it for refuge or to exploit resources.[3] The Lajat was also used as a grazing area for sheep, goats and camels.[3]
By the early 20th century, about 5,000 semi-nomadic Bedouin from the Sulut tribe and a smaller population of Bedouin from the Fahsa tribe inhabited the Lajat.[7] Alongside them were about 10,000 Druze peasants who lived along the eastern and southeastern edges and to a lesser extent in the interior.[7]
Populated places in the Lajat
Name | District | Population (2004)[20] | Religious makeup | Location |
---|---|---|---|---|
Al-Ariqah | Shahba | 3,798 | Druze | Interior |
Asim | Izra | 821 | Muslim | Interior |
Braykah | Shahba | 1,055 | Druze | Eastern edge |
Burraq | As-Sanamayn | 1,799 | Druze | Interior |
Busra al-Harir | Izra | 13,315 | Muslim | Southern edge |
Dama | Shahba | 1,799 | Druze | Interior |
Dhakir | Shahba | 519 | Druze | Eastern edge |
Ad-Duwayri | As-Suwayda | 950 | Druze | Southern edge |
Harran | Shahba | 1,523 | Druze | Interior |
Hazm | Shahba | 858 | Druze | Eastern edge |
Izra | Izra | 19,158 | Melkite Christian | Southern edge |
Jaddil | Izra | 1,508 | Muslim | Interior |
Jirrin | Shahba | 507 | Druze | Interior |
Khabab | As-Sanamayn | 1,508 | Melkite Christian | Western edge |
Khalkhalah | Shahba | 2,268 | Druze | Eastern edge |
Al-Kharsah | Shahba | 547 | Druze | Interior |
Lahithah | Shahba | 2,275 | Druze | Eastern edge |
Lubayn | Shahba | 1,730 | Druze | Interior |
Al-Matunah | Shahba | 1,366 | Druze | Eastern edge |
Al-Mujaydil | Izra | 598 | ? | Western edge |
Al-Masmiyah | As-Sanamayn | 1,498 | Melkite Christian | Interior |
Najran | As-Suwayda | 2,955 | Druze | Southern edge |
Qarrasa | As-Suwayda | 638 | Druze | Southern edge |
Rimat al-Luhf | As-Suwayda | 1,925 | Druze | Southern edge |
Rudaymat al-Liwa | Shahba | 1,001 | Druze | Eastern edge |
Salakhid | Shahba | 950 | Druze | Interior |
Sha'rah | As-Sanamayn | 1,508 | Muslim | Interior |
Shahba | Shahba | 13,360 | Druze | Eastern edge |
Sumayd | Shahba | 853 | Druze | Interior |
Sur | Izra | 924 | Muslim | Interior |
As-Surah al-Kabirah | Shahba | 885 | Druze | Eastern edge |
As-Surah as-Saghirah | Shahba | 1,517 | Druze | Eastern edge |
Umm Haratayn | Shahba | 574 | Druze | Eastern edge |
Umm az-Zaytun
|
Shahba | 1,913 | Druze | Eastern edge |
Waqm | Shahba | 429 | Druze | Interior |
Maps
References
- ^ Deuteronomy 3:13–14, a biblical word that is translated by Onkelos as טְרָכוֹנָא = Trachona.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac Gaube 1982, p. 593.
- ^ a b c d e Lewis, p. 631.
- ^ Voysey 1920, p. 206.
- ^ a b c d e Voysey 1920, p. 208.
- ^ Voysey 1920, pp. 208−209.
- ^ a b c d Voysey, p. 209.
- , accessed 25 February 2022.
- ^ a b c d e f g Trombley, p. 359.
- ^ Trombley, pp. 365–371.
- ^ a b Trombley, p. 367.
- ^ Trombley, p. 366.
- ^ a b Trombley, pp. 359–360.
- ^ Le Strange, Guy (1890). Palestine Under the Moslems: A Description of Syria and the Holy Land from A.D. 650 to 1500. Alexander P. Watt. p. 492.
- ^ a b Firro 1992, p. 173.
- ^ a b c d e f g Firro 1992, p. 175.
- ^ a b c Firro 1992, p. 174.
- ^ Voysey 1920, p. 211.
- ^ 1 Kings 4:13
- ^ 2004 census figures from the Central Bureau of Statistics (Syria).
Bibliography
- Gaube, H. (1982). "Ladja'". In Bosworth, C. E.; Donzel, E. van; Lewis, B.; Pellat, Ch. (eds.). The Encyclopedia of Islam, Volume 5, Fasicules 87-88: New Edition. Leiden: Brill. p. 593.
- Firro, Kais (1992). A History of the Druzes. Vol. 1. BRILL. p. 175. ISBN 9004094377.
- Lewis, Norman N. (1995). "The Laja' in the Last Century of Ottoman Rule". In Panzac, Daniel (ed.). Histoire économique et sociale de l'Empire ottoman et de la Turquie (1326-1960). Peeters Publishers. ISBN 90-6831-799-7.
- Porter, Josias Leslie. The Giant Cities of Bashan and Syria's Holy Places, New York: T. Nelson, 1867. [1]
- Voysey, Annesley (September 1920). "Notes on the Laja". The Geographical Journal. 56 (3): 206–213. JSTOR 1781537.
External links
- Ewing, W. "Definition for ARGOB (2)", International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, 1915.
- TRACHONITIS