Najran, Syria
Najran
نجران Nijran | |
|---|---|
Village | |
UTC+3 (EEST ) |
Najran (
History
Byzantine and Islamic era
Najran takes its name from the
In the
In the early 13th century, the Byzantine-era church was visited by
Ottoman era
In 1596, Najran appeared in
Najran was settled by 200 Druze immigrant families from Mount Lebanon in 1685.[2] The village had been previously abandoned by the Arab tribe Muqri al-Wahsh,[6] although it still contained Christians.[7] According to historians Hanna Abu Rashid and Bouron, Najran was the first place for the second wave of Mount Lebanon Druze to settle, while historian Sa'id Sghayar notes that two other villages in the Lejah plain were temporarily settled by this group of immigrants before Najran was chosen as a permanent residence.[6] Historian Abu Shaqra described the Druze arrival at Najran:
As was the custom in such cases, the sheikh of Najran ordered the lighting of bonfires on the summit of the village ... then bonfires were lit as a signal of war on the summit of every village in Jabel Hawran ... In the morning [the Druzes] came to Najran from every village. The three thousand Lebanese [Druzes] were distributed over the different parts of Hawran.[8]
In 1711 Najran, which had a castle, became the center of the
In 1838,
In the early 19th century Christians were still the majority in Najran, with roughly 150 families. There were 50 Druze families.[7] By the mid-19th century the Druze Abu Fakhr clan controlled Najran and two other villages.[11] During this period, the Christian and Druze communities were roughly equal in population and the chief of the village was Qasem Abu Fakhr. Traveler Josias Leslie Porter visited in the 1850s and noted that Najran had "extensive ruins ... estimated at nearly two miles in circumference." The most significant of these was the Byzantine-era church, the remains of which consisted of two square-shaped towers with Greek inscriptions. One tower inscription contained the date 458 AD, while the other contained 564 AD. According to Porter, the ruins had functioned as a mosque in earlier times.[12] By 1862 the Abu Fakhr chief was Ibrahim Abu Fakhr, who resided in Najran.[8]
In October 1895 the
References
- ^ a b General Census of Population and Housing 2004 Archived 2013-01-12 at archive.today. Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS). Al-Suwayda Governorate. (in Arabic)
- ^ a b Shahid, 2002, p. 7
- ^ Shahîd, 1995, p. 145
- ^ a b Shahid, 2002, p. 151
- ^ Hütteroth and Abdulfattah, 1977, p. 218.
- ^ a b Firro, 1992, p. 39
- ^ a b Firro, 1992, p. 157
- ^ a b Firro, 1992, p. 129
- ^ Firro, 1992, p. 40
- ^ Robinson and Smith, 1841, vol 3, 2nd appendix, p. 156
- ^ Firro, 1992, p. 183
- ^ Porter, 1855, p. 213
- ^ Firro, 1992, pp. 232-233.
Bibliography
- Firro, Kais (1992). A History of the Druzes. Vol. 1. BRILL. ISBN 9004094377.
- Hütteroth, Wolf-Dieter; Abdulfattah, Kamal (1977). Historical Geography of Palestine, Transjordan and Southern Syria in the Late 16th Century. Erlanger Geographische Arbeiten, Sonderband 5. Erlangen, Germany: Vorstand der Fränkischen Geographischen Gesellschaft. ISBN 3-920405-41-2.
- Porter, J.L. (1855). Five years in Damascus: including an account of the history, topography, and antiquities of that city : with travels and researches in Palmyra, Lebanon, and the Hauran. Vol. 2. John Murray.
- Robinson, E.; Smith, E. (1841). Biblical Researches in Palestine, Mount Sinai and Arabia Petraea: A Journal of Travels in the year 1838. Vol. 3. Boston: Crocker & Brewster.
- ISBN 0884022846.
External links
- Map of the town, Google Maps