Barzeh or Barza (, also transliterated Berzé) is a
municipality
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality' ...
and a neighborhood to the north of
Damascus
Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Kno ...
,
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 ...
. According to the
Syria Central Bureau of Statistics, Barzeh had a population of 47,339 in the 2004 census.
[Damascus city population]
/ref>
History
Barzeh's foundation dates back to at least Roman times. There is archaeological evidence of Roman and Aramean tombs in the area. Traditionally, it has always been a town of the Ghouta and, therefore, closely linked to agriculture. Rice, oil and olives, and various types of fruit were produced. Barzeh was recorded as ''Berze'' on a Tahrir Defter record in 1535; its population at the time consisted of 38 households, 4 bachelors, and a khatib. In the 20th century, it was absorbed into Damascus.
Syrian Civil War
The municipality had been active in the Syrian civil war. The Sunni
Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any successor and that his closest companion Abu Bakr () rightfully succeeded him as the caliph of the Mu ...
Arab Barzeh al-Balad neighborhood was largely pro-rebel. However, the neighboring Alawite
Alawites () are an Arabs, Arab ethnoreligious group who live primarily in the Levant region in West Asia and follow Alawism, a sect of Islam that splintered from early Shia as a ''ghulat'' branch during the ninth century. Alawites venerate A ...
"slum" Ish al-Warwar was largely pro-government.Free Syrian Army
The Free Syrian Army (FSA; ) is a Big tent, big-tent coalition of decentralized Syrian opposition (2011–2024), Syrian opposition rebel groups in the Syrian civil war founded on 29 July 2011 by Colonel Riad al-Asaad and six officers who defe ...
's First Brigade) launched a military campaign to expel the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
The Islamic State (IS), also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and Daesh, is a transnational Salafi jihadist organization and unrecognized quasi-state. IS occupied signi ...
from the Barzeh and Qaboun neighborhoods, which succeeded three days later. On 8 February 2016, an IS car bomb targeting a government officer's club killed eight people in Masakin Barzeh.
On 29 May 2017, the Syrian government regained control of the entire district.
But on the night of Dec 7 and early hours of Dec 8, 2024, amid the lightning 2024 Syrian opposition offensives, some residents claimed Syrian rebels(or their recon units) already gained a foothold in Barzeh during the Battle of Damascus.
Neighborhoods
* Al-Abbas (pop. 23,112)
* Barza al-Balad (pop. 31,634)
* Ish al-Warwar (pop. 20,458)
* Al-Manara (pop. 10,199)
* Masakin Barzeh (pop. 15,705)
* An-Nuzha (pop. 6,488)
Population
* 1922: 2000 inhabitants
* 1935: 3500 inhabitants
* 1950: 4,239 inhabitants
* 1960: 6554 inhabitants
* 2004: 47,339 inhabitants
Education
The Higher Institute of Applied Sciences and Technology has its main campus in the Hameesh area
References
Neighborhoods of Damascus
{{DamascusSY-geo-stub