Al-Mukharram ( ar, المخرم), also known as Mukharram al-Fawqani ( ar, المخرم الفوقاني; also spelled Makhem Fuqani or ''Mkhurem Fouqani'') is a small city in central
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 ...
, capital of the
al-Mukharram District
Al-Mukharram District ( ar-at, منطقة المخرم, manṭiqat al-Mukharram) is a district of the Homs Governorate in central Syria. Administrative centre is the city of al-Mukharram
Al-Mukharram ( ar, المخرم), also known as Mukharram ...
, administratively part of the
Homs Governorate
Homs Governorate ( ar, مُحافظة حمص / ALA-LC: ''Muḥāfaẓat Ḥimṣ'') is one of the fourteen governorates (provinces) of Syria. It is situated in central Syria. Its area differs in various sources, from to . It is thus geographical ...
, located northeast of
Homs
Homs ( , , , ; ar, حِمْص / ALA-LC: ; Levantine Arabic: / ''Ḥomṣ'' ), known in pre-Islamic Syria as Emesa ( ; grc, Ἔμεσα, Émesa), is a city in western Syria and the capital of the Homs Governorate. It is Metres above sea level ...
.
History
In 1838 al-Mukharram was classified as a ''khirba'' ("ruined" or "abandoned" village") in the District of Salamiyah. The general region of the desert plains east of Homs and Hama was repopulated during the late 19th century by local
Bedouin
The Bedouin, Beduin, or Bedu (; , singular ) are nomadic Arab tribes who have historically inhabited the desert regions in the Arabian Peninsula, North Africa, the Levant, and Mesopotamia. The Bedouin originated in the Syrian Desert and A ...
s and by
Ismaili
Isma'ilism ( ar, الإسماعيلية, al-ʾIsmāʿīlīyah) is a branch or sub-sect of Shia Islam. The Isma'ili () get their name from their acceptance of Imam Isma'il ibn Jafar as the appointed spiritual successor (imām) to Ja'far al-Sa ...
and
Alawite
The Alawis, Alawites ( ar, علوية ''Alawīyah''), or pejoratively Nusayris ( ar, نصيرية ''Nuṣayrīyah'') are an ethnoreligious group that lives primarily in Levant and follows Alawism, a sect of Islam that originated from Shia Isl ...
peasants from the areas west of Homs and Hama, as well as
Circassians
The Circassians (also referred to as Cherkess or Adyghe; Adyghe and Kabardian: Адыгэхэр, romanized: ''Adıgəxər'') are an indigenous Northwest Caucasian ethnic group and nation native to the historical country-region of Circassia in ...
.
The modern town was of al-Mukharram was founded in 1882, although its inhabitants struggled to make a living off the semi-arid region.
[Mattar, Kinan]
First Almond Festival in Al-Mukharram
''E-Homs''. E-Syria. 2010-05-06.
In 1960, al-Mukharram was still an impoverished village populated by Alawite sharecropper families employed by landlords based in
Homs
Homs ( , , , ; ar, حِمْص / ALA-LC: ; Levantine Arabic: / ''Ḥomṣ'' ), known in pre-Islamic Syria as Emesa ( ; grc, Ἔμεσα, Émesa), is a city in western Syria and the capital of the Homs Governorate. It is Metres above sea level ...
. Under these circumstances, the
Syrian Army
" (''Guardians of the Homeland'')
, colors = * Service uniform: Khaki, Olive
* Combat uniform: Green, Black, Khaki
, anniversaries = August 1st
, equipment =
, equipment_label =
, battles = 1948 Arab–Israeli War
Six ...
provided an attractive alternative for the men of the village to advance socially and economically.
Various figures from the town have served in high-ranking positions in the Syrian military and security apparatus, including
Muhammad Umran
Major General Muhammad Umran ( ar, محمد عمران; 1922 – 4 March 1972) was a founding member of the Military Committee of the unitary Ba'ath Party, and a leading personality in Syrian politics from the 8th of March Revolution until the ...
, former Defense Minister (early 1966), whose father had been a religious ''
shaykh
Sheikh (pronounced or ; ar, شيخ ' , mostly pronounced , plural ' )—also transliteration of Arabic, transliterated sheekh, sheyikh, shaykh, shayk, shekh, shaik and Shaikh, shak—is an honorific title in the Arabic language. It commonl ...
'' and a local leader of the town. Other notable Syrian military figures from al-Mukharram include Ahmed Sa'id Salih, the former Chief of
Political Security Political security is one of five sectors of analysis under the framework of the Copenhagen School of security studies.
Within policy circles political security is part of a human security agenda. The 1994 Human Development Report (HDR) set out t ...
(1970-1987) and deputy Interior Minister,
Adnan Badr Hassan
Adnan Badr Hassan ( ar, عدنان بدر حسن) is a retired Syrian major general, politician and the former chief of Syria's political security directorate.
Background
Hassan hails from Alawite family from Al Mukharram, Homs governorate. He ...
, another former Chief of Political Security (1987-2002), and Abd al-Karim al-Razzuq the late 1970s commander of the missile corps and the air defense forces.
In 1968, al-Mukharram became the capital of the district that has since shared its name, taking the place of
Jubb al-Jarrah
Jubb al-Jarrah ( ar, جب الجراح, also spelled Jeb al-Jarah) is a village in central Syria, administratively part of the Homs Governorate. Nearby towns include al-Mukharram to the west, Salamiyah to the northwest and al-Qaryatayn further to ...
, the former district center.
Although the village's population was only 2,170 in 1970, well below the government-designated threshold required to become a district seat, the close relationship between the residents and the security establishment allowed for al-Mukharram to be promoted to is current role, according to anthropologist
Fabrice Balanche
Fabrice Balanche (born November 3, 1969 in Belfort, France) is a geographer and specialist in the political geography of Syria, Lebanon, Iraq and the Middle East in general.
Biography
In 2000, he defended his thesis The Alaouites, space and power ...
.
The old city of al-Mukharram remains a commercial and residential area. The modern city contains a number of schools and community colleges, a weather station, a large carpet-production factory and a large warehouse for storing animal seeds. Agriculture and raising livestock, namely cattle and sheep, constitutes a major sector of al-Mukharram's economy. Grains are cultivated in the dry lands, vegetables in the plains, and olives, grapes,
pistachio
The pistachio (, ''Pistacia vera''), a member of the cashew family, is a small tree originating from Central Asia and the Middle East. The tree produces seeds that are widely consumed as food.
''Pistacia vera'' is often confused with other sp ...
s and almonds in irrigated lands in the hilly parts of the city.
The chief agricultural products are olives and almonds.
[Ibrahim, Shadi]
Al-Mukharram: An Oasis in the Heart of the Desert
''E-Homs''. E-Syria. 2010-05-10. The latter crop has become the object of celebration, with residents holding an annual "Almond Festival" since 2010.
Geography
Al-Mukharram is situated on a plain along the western fringes of the
Syrian Desert
The Syrian Desert ( ar, بادية الشام ''Bādiyat Ash-Shām''), also known as the North Arabian Desert, the Jordanian steppe, or the Badiya, is a region of desert, semi-desert and steppe covering of the Middle East, including parts of sou ...
, east of the central
Orontes River
The Orontes (; from Ancient Greek , ) or Asi ( ar, العاصي, , ; tr, Asi) is a river with a length of in Western Asia that begins in Lebanon, flowing northwards through Syria before entering the Mediterranean Sea near Samandağ in Turkey.
...
valley. It is located northeast of Homs, the
governorate
A governorate is an administrative division of a state. It is headed by a governor. As English-speaking nations tend to call regions administered by governors either State (administrative division), states or province, provinces, the term ''govern ...
capital, and south of
Salamiyah
A full view of Shmemis (spring 1995)
Salamieh ( ar, سلمية ') is a city and district in western Syria, in the Hama Governorate. It is located southeast of Hama, northeast of Homs. The city is nicknamed the "mother of Cairo" because it was t ...
. Al-Mukharram's old city sits on the Tell al-Shayb hill, while the modern town has expanded up to from and around the hill.
The city's area consists of some 600
hectare
The hectare (; SI symbol: ha) is a non-SI metric unit of area equal to a square with 100-metre sides (1 hm2), or 10,000 m2, and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. An acre is a ...
s.
Nearby localities include
al-Mukharram al-Tahtani
Al-Mukharram al-Tahtani ( ar, مخرم التحتاني) is a village in central Syria, administratively part of the Homs Governorate, located northeast of Homs. Nearby localities include Ayn al-Niser to the west, Umm al-Amad to the southwest, ...
to the northwest,
Uthmaniyah to the north,
Abu Hakfah al-Janubi
Abu Hakfah al-Janubi ( ar, أبو حكفة الجنوبي; also spelled Abo Hakfa) is a village in northern Syria located east of Homs in the Homs Governorate. According to the Syria Central Bureau of Statistics, Abu Hakfah al-Janubi had a popu ...
to the northeast,
Sankari
Sangagiri or Sankagiri is a panchayat town in Salem district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is situated on the National Highway 544, on the Coimbatore - Salem section.
Sangagiri is known for Sangagiri fort, lorries and lorry building i ...
and
Jubb al-Jarrah
Jubb al-Jarrah ( ar, جب الجراح, also spelled Jeb al-Jarah) is a village in central Syria, administratively part of the Homs Governorate. Nearby towns include al-Mukharram to the west, Salamiyah to the northwest and al-Qaryatayn further to ...
to the east,
Umm Jabab
Umm Jabab ( ar, أم جباب) is a village in central Syria, administratively part of the Homs Governorate, south of Homs. Nearby localities include al-Mukharram
Al-Mukharram ( ar, المخرم), also known as Mukharram al-Fawqani ( ar, ال ...
and
Umm Tuwaynah Umm () means ''mother'' in Arabic. It is a common Arabic feminine given name and generic prefix for Semitic place names. It may refer to:
Places Bahrain
*Ain Umm Sujoor, an archaeological site
*Umm an Nasan, an island
*Umm as Sabaan, an islet
Egy ...
to the south and
Umm al-Amad and
Buwaydat Salamiyah to the west.
Archaeology
In a residential area of the city exists a cone-shaped domed structure built from
mud brick
A mudbrick or mud-brick is an air-dried brick, made of a mixture of loam, mud, sand and water mixed with a binding material such as rice husks or straw. Mudbricks are known from 9000 BCE, though since 4000 BCE, bricks have also been fi ...
and stone. It has a height of and a diameter of . The structure has a wooden door and 13 square or triangle-shaped openings in the upper portion of the dome. It is currently used as a stable or barn and a home has been built adjacent to it. The oldest part of al-Mukharram is built on a ''
tell'' (archaeological mound), and there are several other ''tells'' to the northeast.
Demographics
According to the
Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), al-Mukharram had a population of 6,202 in the 2004 census. It is the administrative center and largest locality in the al-Mukharram ''
nahiyah
A nāḥiyah ( ar, , plural ''nawāḥī'' ), also nahiya or nahia, is a regional or local type of administrative division that usually consists of a number of villages or sometimes smaller towns. In Tajikistan, it is a second-level division w ...
'' ("subdistrict") which consisted of 30 localities with a collective population of 32,447 in 2004.
[General Census of Population and Housing 2004](_blank)
Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS). Homs Governorate. The inhabitants of al-Mukharram and the localities of its district are predominantly members of the
Alawite
The Alawis, Alawites ( ar, علوية ''Alawīyah''), or pejoratively Nusayris ( ar, نصيرية ''Nuṣayrīyah'') are an ethnoreligious group that lives primarily in Levant and follows Alawism, a sect of Islam that originated from Shia Isl ...
community,
particularly from the Khayyatin tribal confederation.
[Batatu, 1999, p. 154.]
References
Bibliography
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mukharram
Cities in Syria
Populated places in al-Mukharram District
Alawite communities in Syria