Al-Mataaiyah, also spelled al-Muta'iya or Mataeiyeh ( ar, المتاعية), is a village in southern

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

, administratively part of the

Daraa Governorate Daraa Governorate ( ar, مُحافظة درعا / ALA-LC: ') is one of the fourteen governorates (provinces) of Syria. It is situated in the south-west of the country and covers an area of 3,730 km2. It is bordered by Jordan to the south, Qune ...

, located northeast of

Daraa Daraa ( ar, دَرْعَا, Darʿā, Levantine Arabic: , also Darʿā, Dara’a, Deraa, Dera'a, Dera, Derʿā and Edrei; means "''fortress''", compare Dura-Europos) is a city in southwestern Syria, located about north of the border with Jordan ...

and west of Bosra. Nearby localities include Nasib to the east, al-Taybeh to the northwest,

al-Jiza Al-Jiza ( ar, الجيزة) is a town in southern Syria, administratively part of the Daraa Governorate, located east of Daraa. Nearby localities include al-Mataaiya to the south, Ghasm to the southeast, al-Sahwah to the northeast, al-Musayfirah to ...

to the north,

Ghasm Ghasm ( ar, غصم, also spelled Ghasam) is a village in southern Syria, administratively part of the Daraa Governorate, located northeast of Daraa and west of Bosra. Other nearby localities include Maaraba to the east, al-Sahwah to the north, al- ...

to the northeast, Bosra to the east and the Jordanian village of Sama al-Sirhan to the southwest. According to the Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), al-Mataaiyah had a population of 2,744 in the 2004 census.General Census of Population and Housing 2004
Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS). Daraa Governorate.

History

Al-Mataaiyah was a ''khirba'' (ruined village) by the 19th century during Ottoman rule. However, the second half of that century saw a resurgence in grain cultivation and security in the

Hauran The Hauran ( ar, حَوْرَان, ''Ḥawrān''; also spelled ''Hawran'' or ''Houran'') is a region that spans parts of southern Syria and northern Jordan. It is bound in the north by the Ghouta oasis, eastwards by the al-Safa (Syria), al-Safa ...

region, of which al-Mataaiyah was part. In 1892, a certain entrepreneurial local chieftain, Sheikh Khuntush, purchased the then-abandoned village for 1,000 Turkish gold liras. Afterward, he moved farmers into al-Mataaiyah and built

cistern A cistern (Middle English ', from Latin ', from ', "box", from Greek ', "basket") is a waterproof receptacle for holding liquids, usually water. Cisterns are often built to catch and store rainwater. Cisterns are distinguished from wells by t ...

s inside the dry village to collect rainwater. In 1895, there were about 150 inhabitants and Sheikh Khuntush resolved to bring in more peasants. By 1905, the population grew to 200. During the 1890s, some people from al-Mataaiyah also reestablished the village of

Sama Sama or SAMA may refer to: Places * Sama, Burkina Faso, a town in the Kouka Department, Banwa Province, Burkina Faso * Sama, China (Sanya), a city in Hainan, China * Sama, Chalus, a village in Mazandaran Province, Iran * Sama, Nowshahr, a vil ...

, 7 kilometers to the southwest.

References

1892 establishments in Ottoman Syria Populated places in Daraa District {{DaraaSY-geo-stub