As-Suwayda or Al-Suwayda Governorate ( ar, مُحافظة السويداء /

ALA-LC ALA-LC (American Library AssociationLibrary of Congress) is a set of standards for romanization, the representation of text in other writing systems using the Latin script. Applications The system is used to represent bibliographic information by ...

: ''Muḥāfaẓat as-Suwaydā’'') is one of the fourteen

governorates 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 ...

(provinces) of

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 ...

. It is the southernmost governorate and has an area of 5,550 km² and forms part of the historic

Hawran 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 field, to the ...

region. Its capital and major city is

al-Suwayda , timezone = EET , utc_offset = +2 , timezone_DST = EEST , utc_offset_DST = +3 , coordinates = , grid_position = 296/235 ...

. Geographically the governorate comprises almost all of

Jabal al-Druze Jabal al-Druze ( ar, جبل الدروز, ''jabal ad-durūz'', ''Mountain of the Druze''), officially Jabal al-Arab ( ar, جبل العرب, links=no, ''jabal al-ʿarab'', ''Mountain of the Arabs''), is an elevated volcanic region in the As-Suwa ...

, the eastern part of

Lejah The Lajat (/ALA-LC: ''al-Lajāʾ''), also spelled ''Lejat'', ''Lajah'', ''el-Leja'' or ''Laja'', is the largest lava field in southern Syria, spanning some 900 square kilometers. Located about southeast of Damascus, the Lajat borders the Hauran ...

, and a part of the arid eastern steppe of

Harrat al-Shamah The ''Ḥarrat al-Shām'' ( ar, حَرَّة ٱلشَّام), also known as the Black Desert, is a region of rocky, basaltic desert straddling southern Syria and the northern Arabian Peninsula. It covers an area of some in the modern-day Sy ...

. Most of As-Suwayda inhabitants work in agriculture, planting grapes, apple, olive, and wheat in general. In addition, there are four clearly demarcated seasons (winter, spring, summer, and fall) which gives As-Suwayda nice weather and beautiful natural sites. As-Suwayda contains many archaeological sites.

Demographics and population

The governorate has a population of about 375,000 inhabitants (est. 2011).Statistics from It is the only governorate in Syria that has a Druze majority. There is also a sizable

Eastern Orthodox Eastern Orthodoxy, also known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is one of the three main branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholicism and Protestantism. Like the Pentarchy of the first millennium, the mainstream (or "canonical") ...

minority, and a small

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

refugee community from mainly

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 ...

as well as other parts of Syria. In the 1980s Druze made up 87.6% of the population, Christians (mostly

Greek Orthodox The term Greek Orthodox Church (Greek language, Greek: Ἑλληνορθόδοξη Ἐκκλησία, ''Ellinorthódoxi Ekklisía'', ) has two meanings. The broader meaning designates "the Eastern Orthodox Church, entire body of Orthodox (Chalced ...

) 11% and Sunni Muslims 2%. In 2010, the As-Suwayda governorate has a population of about 375,000 inhabitants,

Druze The Druze (; ar, دَرْزِيٌّ, ' or ', , ') are an Arabic-speaking esoteric ethnoreligious group from Western Asia who adhere to the Druze faith, an Abrahamic, monotheistic, syncretic, and ethnic religion based on the teachings of ...

made up 90%,

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

s 7% and Sunni Muslims 3%.The Druze and Assad: Strategic Bedfellows
/ref> Due to low birth and high emigration rates, Christians proportion in As-Suwayda had declined.The Druze and Assad: Strategic Bedfellows
/ref> Most of the inhabitants live in the western parts of the governorate, especially on the western slopes of Jabal ad-Duruz. Only nomadic

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 ...

tribes live in the barren region of Harrat al-Shamah.

Districts

The governorate is divided into three

districts A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

(

manatiq Minṭaqah ( ; plural ''manāṭiq'' ) is a first-level administrative division in Saudi Arabia and Chad and for a second-level administrative division in several other Arab countries. It is often translated as ''region'' or ''district'', but the ...

). The districts are further divided into 12 sub-districts ( nawahi): *

As-Suwayda District as-Suwayda District ( ar-at, منطقة السويداء, manṭiqat as-Suwaydā’) is a district of the as-Suwayda Governorate in southern Syria. The administrative centre is the city of as-Suwayda , timezone = EET , ...

(3 sub-districts) ** As-Suwayda Subdistrict ** Al-Mazraa Subdistrict ** Al-Mushannaf Subdistrict *

Salkhad District Salkhad District ( ar-at, منطقة صلخد, manṭiqat Ṣalḫad) is a district of the As-Suwayda Governorate in southern Syria. Administrative centre is the city of Salkhad Salkhad ( ar, صَلْخَد, Ṣalḫad) is a Syrian city in the ...

(5 sub-districts) ** Salkhad Subdistrict ** Al-Qrayya Subdistrict ** Al-Ghariyah Subdistrict ** Thaybin Subdistrict ** Malah Subdistrict * Shahba District (4 sub-districts) ** Shahba Subdistrict ** Shaqqa Subdistrict ** Al-Ariqah Subdistrict ** Al-Surah al-Saghirah Subdistrict

Cities, towns and villages

The governorate contains 3 cities, 124 villages, and 36 hamlets.

Cities

Shahba Shahba ( ar, شَهْبَا / ALA-LC: ''Shahbā'') is a city located south of Damascus in the Jabal el Druze in As-Suwayda Governorate of Syria, but formerly in the Roman province of Arabia Petraea. Known in Late Antiquity as Philippopolis (in ...

Al-Suwayda , timezone = EET , utc_offset = +2 , timezone_DST = EEST , utc_offset_DST = +3 , coordinates = , grid_position = 296/235 ...

Salkhad Salkhad ( ar, صَلْخَد, Ṣalḫad) is a Syrian city in the As-Suwayda Governorate, southern Syria. It is the capital of Salkhad District, one of the governorate's three districts. It has a population of 15,000 inhabitants. It is located a ...

Villages

shaqqa Shaqqa or Shakka ( ar, شَقَّا, Šaqqā) is a Syrian town in As Suwayda Governorate in southern Syria, whose some 8,000 inhabitants are mainly Druze, descendants of those who migrated here from Lebanon in the 18th and 19th centuries. In anc ...

* Al-Ajailat * Al-Ghariyah * Al-Kefr *

Al-Qurayya Al-Qurayya ( ar, القريا; also spelled al-Qrayya or Kureiyeh) is a town in southern Syria, administratively part of the al-Suwayda Governorate, located south of al-Suwayda. Nearby localities include Bosra to the southwest, Hout, Syria, Hout t ...

* Ariqah * Ar-Raha * Braiki * Dair Allaban * Dama * Hobran *

Kafr Alluhuf Kafr may refer to: * A Levantine Arabic term for village * Kafir, an Arabic term for an infidel * Kafr, Iran, a village See also

* * Kafir (disambiguation) * Al-Kafr {{Disambiguation ...

* Lahetha * Msad * Murduk *

Qanawat Qanawat ( ar, قَنَوَات, Qanawāt) is a village in Syria, located 7 km north-east of al-Suwayda. It stands at an elevation of about 1,200 m, near a river and surrounded by woods. Its inhabitants are entirely from the Druze commu ...

* Rimet Alluhuf * Rimet Hazem * Samma Al-baradan *

Samma Al-hanidat Samma may refer to: * Samma (tribe), a Sindhi clan in Pakistan and India * Samma, Estonia, a village in Viru-Nigula Parish, Lääne-Viru County, Estonia * Samma, Jordan, a village in Irbid Governorate, northern Jordan * Samma dynasty The Sam ...

* Shaniri * Shbeki * Walgha

References

{{Authority control Governorates of Syria