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Suwayda (), also spelled Sweida, is a mainly
Druze The Druze ( ; , ' or ', , '), who Endonym and exonym, call themselves al-Muwaḥḥidūn (), are an Arabs, Arab Eastern esotericism, esoteric Religious denomination, religious group from West Asia who adhere to the Druze faith, an Abrahamic ...
city located in southern
Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...
, close to the border with Jordan. It is the capital of Suwayda Governorate, one of Syria's 14
governorate A governorate or governate is an administrative division headed by a governor. As English-speaking nations tend to call regions administered by governors either states or provinces, the term ''governorate'' is typically used to calque divisions ...
s, bordering Jordan in the South, Daraa Governorate in the West and Rif Dimashq Governorate in the north and east. The city is referred to by some as "Little Venezuela" due to the city's influx of affluent Venezuelan Syrian immigrants. Many of them originally emigrated from Suweida in the nineteenth century, so when their descendants returned, they brought back the Spanish language and South American culture.


History


Ancient and Medieval eras

The city was founded by the
Nabataeans The Nabataeans or Nabateans (; Nabataean Aramaic: , , vocalized as ) were an ancient Arabs, Arab people who inhabited northern Arabian Peninsula, Arabia and the southern Levant. Their settlements—most prominently the assumed capital city o ...
as Suada. It became known as Dionysias Soada () in the
Hellenistic period In classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Greek history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the death of Cleopatra VII in 30 BC, which was followed by the ascendancy of the R ...
and the
Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...
, for the god
Dionysus In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, myth, Dionysus (; ) is the god of wine-making, orchards and fruit, vegetation, fertility, festivity, insanity, ritual madness, religious ecstasy, and theatre. He was also known as Bacchus ( or ; ...
, patron of
wine Wine is an alcoholic drink made from Fermentation in winemaking, fermented fruit. Yeast in winemaking, Yeast consumes the sugar in the fruit and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Wine is most often made f ...
- the city is situated in a famous ancient wine-producing region. The name ''Dionysias'' replaced the former Nabataean name in 149 AD after Nabataean influence decreased and then concentrated towards the south, as a result of the then accelerating
Hellenization Hellenization or Hellenification is the adoption of Greek culture, religion, language, and identity by non-Greeks. In the ancient period, colonisation often led to the Hellenisation of indigenous people in the Hellenistic period, many of the ...
of Coele-Syria. Dionysias was a part of the Roman
province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...
of Arabia Petraea, and received the rights of civitas during the reign of Commodus between 180 and 185.
Dionysus In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, myth, Dionysus (; ) is the god of wine-making, orchards and fruit, vegetation, fertility, festivity, insanity, ritual madness, religious ecstasy, and theatre. He was also known as Bacchus ( or ; ...
was worshipped in the same Nabatean temple dedicated to Dushara. This practice of associating the worship of local and Hellenic gods was common in Hellenistic Syria. This name remained in use during the
Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived History of the Roman Empire, the events that caused the ...
, when the town was under the influence of the Ghassanids. Dionysias then was a
diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, prov ...
with a
suffragan bishop A suffragan bishop is a type of bishop in some Christian denominations. In the Catholic Church, a suffragan bishop leads a diocese within an ecclesiastical province other than the principal diocese, the metropolitan archdiocese; the diocese led b ...
from
Bosra Bosra (), formerly Bostra () and officially called Busra al-Sham (), is a town in southern Syria, administratively belonging to the Daraa District of the Daraa Governorate and geographically part of the Hauran region. Bosra is an ancient cit ...
. It was mentioned in the '' Synecdemus'' of Hierocles. After the
early Muslim conquests The early Muslim conquests or early Islamic conquests (), also known as the Arab conquests, were initiated in the 7th century by Muhammad, the founder of Islam. He established the first Islamic state in Medina, Arabian Peninsula, Arabia that ...
, the city was conquered by the
Rashidun Caliphate The Rashidun Caliphate () is a title given for the reigns of first caliphs (lit. "successors") — Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman, and Ali collectively — believed to Political aspects of Islam, represent the perfect Islam and governance who led the ...
of the
Arabs Arabs (,  , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of yea ...
in 629 and became a
titular see A titular see in various churches is an episcopal see of a former diocese that no longer functions, sometimes called a "dead diocese". The ordinary or hierarch of such a see may be styled a "titular metropolitan" (highest rank), "titular archbi ...
. Yaqut al-Hamawi noted in the 1220s that As Suwaida was "a village of the Hauran Province".


Ottoman era

In 1516, the city and the adjoining region was conquered from the Mamluk Sultanate by the
Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...
. In 1596 Suwayda appeared under the name of ''Majdal Sawda'' in the Ottoman tax registers as part of the '' nahiya'' (subdistrict) of Bani Nasiyya of the Hauran Sanjak. It had a population of 5 households and 5 bachelors, all
Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...
. The villagers paid a fixed tax rate of 20% on various agricultural products, including wheat, barley, summer crops, goats and/or beehives, in addition to "occasional revenues"; a total of 6,125 akçe. 3/4 of the revenue went to a waqf. In recent times Dionysias was identified as Suwayda by William Waddington. In the 19th century, visitors recorded the now-destroyed Tomb of Hamrath, an elaborate late Hellenistic mausoleum dating from the 1st century BCE.


Modern era

On 28 October 2012, security forces launched a campaign of mass arrests in the city.


2018 Suwayda attacks

On 25 July 2018, the city was rocked by a string of terrorist attacks. A group of at least 56 ISIS-affiliated attackers entered the city and initiated a series of gunfights and suicide bombings killing 246 people, the vast majority of them civilians. Many of the terrorists were reported killed during the attack, bringing the total death toll to at least 302 people. Forty-two Druze residents between the ages of 7 and 60 were kidnapped by ISIS and held captive. One was executed bringing the total in captivity to 41.


Protests

On 7 June 2020, anti-government protests erupted in the city due to the deteriorating economic situation. Protesters demanded the resignation of President Bashar al-Assad for the first time since 2015. As a result of the protests, Prime Minister Imad Khamis was sacked on 11 June and replaced by Hussein Arnous. In February 2022, hundreds of protesters took to the streets in Sweida to decry corruption and worsening living standards. In August 2023, thousands of protestors took to the streets to decry worsening economic conditions and demanding the departure of Syrian President Bashar al Assad.


Southern Syria offensive

During the Southern Syria offensive, Suwayda was captured by the Syrian opposition on 7 December 2024. On 18 December 2024, a delegation of the Syrian transitional government arrived at the city to meet with the spiritual leader of the Druze.


Demographics and population

The inhabitants of the city are mainly
Druze The Druze ( ; , ' or ', , '), who Endonym and exonym, call themselves al-Muwaḥḥidūn (), are an Arabs, Arab Eastern esotericism, esoteric Religious denomination, religious group from West Asia who adhere to the Druze faith, an Abrahamic ...
with a small Greek Orthodox Christian and Sunni Muslim minority. The population of Suwayda Governorate is 313,231 (2004 census).


Archaeology

Many archeological sites can be found in the old part of the city: *Temple of Dionysus-Dushara: eight well-decorated columns are still standing from the temple. *Saint Sergius Basilica: was built in the fifth century. It has Byzantine architectural elements, with an
abbey An abbey is a type of monastery used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess. Abbeys provide a complex of buildings and land for religious activities, work, and housing of Christians, Christian monks and nun ...
surrounding it. The basilica was dedicated to Sergius. *The arch of the lesser church: the church itself is ruined. An arch is still standing there known locally as "The Gallows" ( ''al-Mashnaqah'') with grape motif decorations. *The theater: was recently discovered, south of the
Agora The agora (; , romanized: ', meaning "market" in Modern Greek) was a central public space in ancient Ancient Greece, Greek polis, city-states. The literal meaning of the word "agora" is "gathering place" or "assembly". The agora was the center ...
. The city has many ancient reservoirs, towers and old Roman houses that are still inhabited by locals today. Many parts of the old city still await excavation, such as the Roman aqueduct, a conical reservoir, and a larger Roman theatre. There is also an old 7th century
mosque A mosque ( ), also called a masjid ( ), is a place of worship for Muslims. The term usually refers to a covered building, but can be any place where Salah, Islamic prayers are performed; such as an outdoor courtyard. Originally, mosques were si ...
built during the time of the
Rashidun Caliphate The Rashidun Caliphate () is a title given for the reigns of first caliphs (lit. "successors") — Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman, and Ali collectively — believed to Political aspects of Islam, represent the perfect Islam and governance who led the ...
.


Climate

Suwayda's climate is warm, dry and temperate. There is more rainfall in the winter than in the summer. This location is classified as BSk by Köppen and Geiger. The average temperature is 15.5 °C. About 323 mm of precipitation falls annually.


Notable people

* Najat Abdul Samad, writer, translator, and obstetrician. * Fahd Ballan, singer, actor. * Asmahan, singer.


References


Bibliography

* *


External links


Map of the town
Google Maps {{DEFAULTSORT:Suwayda Cities in Syria Populated places in as-Suwayda District Archaeological sites in as-Suwayda Governorate Roman sites in Syria Druze communities in Syria Eastern Orthodox Christian communities in Syria