Al-Suwar ( ar, صُوَر, Ṣuwar, also spelled as-Suwar or al-Suwwar) is a town in eastern
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
Deir ez-Zor Governorate
Deir ez-Zor Governorate ( ar, مُحافظة دير الزور / ALA-LC: ''Muḥāfaẓat Dayr az-Zawr'') is one of the fourteen governorates (provinces) of Syria. It is situated in eastern Syria, bordering Iraq. It has an area of 33,060 km2 ( ...
, located along the
Khabur river, north-east of
Deir ez-Zor
, population_urban =
, population_density_urban_km2 =
, population_density_urban_sq_mi =
, population_blank1_title = Ethnicities
, population_blank1 =
, population_blank2_title = Religions
, population_blank2 =
...
. In 2004, there were 5297 inhabitants.
History
In the past, most scholars identified al-Suwar with
Suru (''Su-ú-ru''), the capital city of Aramean state
Bit-Halupe
Bit-Ḫalupe, an ancient Aramean state in eastern Syria, located within the triangular area formed by the confluence of the Khabur River with the Euphrates River. It was one of the four Aramean states that bordered Assyria. The others were Bit-Za ...
at the time of
Tukulti-Ninurta II Tukulti-Ninurta II was King of Assyria from 890 BC to 884 BC. He was the second king of the Neo Assyrian Empire.
History
His father was Adad-nirari II, the first king of the Neo-Assyrian period. Tukulti-Ninurta consolidated the gains made by his f ...
; however, Suru is now generally identified with nearby
Tell Fiden instead.
Edward Lipinski instead identified al-Suwar with the town of ''*Ṣūriḫ'' or ''*Ṣuwariḫ'' (''Ṣú-ú-ri-iḫ)'', the first town mentioned by the king
Adad-nirari II
Adad-nirari II (reigned from 911 to 891 BC) was the first King of Assyria in the Neo-Assyrian period.
Biography
Adad-nirari II's father was Ashur-dan II, whom he succeeded after a minor dynastic struggle. It is probable that the accession encour ...
in the province of
Laqe on the Khabur river.
Civil war
During the
Syrian Civil War, the town fell under
ISIL
An Islamic state is a state that has a form of government based on Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a translation of the Arabic term ...
occupation until it was liberated by
U.S.
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
-backed
Syrian Democratic Forces
, war = the Syrian Civil War
, image = Flag of Syrian Democratic Forces.svgborder
, caption = Flag
, active = 10 October 2015 – present
, ideology = DemocracyDecentralizationSecularism ...
during
an offensive in September 2017.
Kurdish forces capture major ISIS stronghold in east Deir Ezzor
/ref>
References
{{Deir ez-Zor Governorate
Populated places in Deir ez-Zor District
Towns in Syria