Druze state
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Jabal al-Druze ( ar, جبل الدروز, french: Djebel Druze) was an autonomous state in the French Mandate of Syria from 1921 to 1936, designed to function as a government for the local Druze population under French oversight.


Nomenclature

On 4 March 1922, it was proclaimed as the State of Souaida, after the capital
As-Suwayda As-Suwayda ( ar, ٱلسُّوَيْدَاء / ALA-LC romanization: ''as-Suwaydāʾ''), also spelled ''Sweida'' or ''Swaida'', is a mainly Druze city located in southwestern Syria, close to the border with Jordan. It is the capital of As-Suwayda ...
, but in 1927 it was renamed Jabal al-Druze or Jabal Druze State. The name comes from the Jabal al-Druze mountain.


History

The Druze state was formed on 1 May 1921 in former Ottoman territory, while other statelets were installed in other parts of the Syrian mandate (e.g. the
Alawite State The Alawite State ( ar, دولة جبل العلويين, '; french: État des Alaouites), officially named the Territory of the Alawites (french: territoire des Alaouites), after the locally-dominant Alawites from its inception until its int ...
in the Lattakia region). Jabal al-Druze was home to about 50,000 Druze. It was the first, and remains the only, autonomous entity to be populated and governed by Druze. The 1925 Syrian Revolution began in Jabal al-Druze under the leadership of Sultan al-Atrash, and quickly spread to Damascus and other non-Druze areas outside the Jabal al-Druze region. Protests against the division of Syrian territory into statelets were a main theme of Syrian
anti-colonial Decolonization or decolonisation is the undoing of colonialism, the latter being the process whereby imperial nations establish and dominate foreign territories, often overseas. Some scholars of decolonization focus especially on independence ...
nationalism, which eventually won the victory to reunite the entire French-mandated territory, except
Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to Lebanon–Syria border, the north and east and Israel to Blue ...
(which had become independent) and Alexandretta, which was annexed to Turkey as the Hatay Province. As a result of
Syrian nationalist Syrian nationalism, also known as Pan-Syrian nationalism (or pan-Syrianism), refers to the nationalism of the region of Syria, as a cultural or political entity known as " Greater Syria". It should not be confused with the Arab nationalism that ...
pressure, under the Franco-Syrian Treaty of 1936, Jabal al-Druze ceased to exist as an autonomous entity and was incorporated into Syria. File:Druzeindependance1925.jpg, Druze celebrating their independence in 1925


Governors

*Amir Salim Pasha al-Atrash (1 May 1921 – 15 September 1923) *Trenga (provisional) (September 1923 – 6 March 1924) *Gabriel Marie Victor Carbillet (6 March 1924 – 14 October 1925), provisional to 1 October 1924 *
Sultan Pasha al-Atrash Sultan al-Atrash, (March 5, 1891 – March 26, 1982) ( ar, سلطان الأطرش), commonly known as Sultan Pasha al-Atrash ( ar, سلطان باشا الأطرش, links=no) was a prominent Arab Druze leader, Syrian nationalist and Commander G ...
(18 July 1925 – 1 June 1927), chief of state; in dissidence *Charles Andréa (15 October 1925 – 1927) *Marie Joseph Léon Augustin Henry (1927) *Abel Jean Ernest Clément-Grancourt (1927–1932) *Claude-Gabriel-Renaud Massiet (3 February 1932 – 28 January 1934) *Justin-Antoine Devicq (1934–1935) *Pierre-Joseph-François Tarrit (1935 – 2 December 1936)Jabal Druze: Heads of State: 1921–1936
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See also

* Druze in Syria *
Jaysh al-Muwahhideen The Jaysh al-Muwahhideen or Jaysh Abu Ibrahim ( ar, جيش الموحدين) is a Druze militia group in Syria. Their name means "Army of Monotheists" or "Army of Unitarians". The group mainly operates in the Suwayda, Deraa, Damascus and other re ...


References


External links


Syria
at WorldStatesmen.org.
Map
at unimaps.com. {{Druze footer French Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon Former countries in the Middle East Former protectorates History of the Druze States and territories established in 1921 States and territories disestablished in 1936 Former countries of the interwar period 1936 disestablishments in Asia 1921 establishments in Asia Druze in Syria