′Ira ( ar, عرى; also spelled ''Areh'', ''′Ara'' or ''Ora'') is a village in southeastern

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

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 , ...

of the

as-Suwayda Governorate As-Suwayda or Al-Suwayda Governorate ( ar, مُحافظة السويداء / ALA-LC: ''Muḥāfaẓat as-Suwaydā’'') is one of the fourteen governorates (provinces) of Syria. It is the southernmost governorate and has an area of 5,550 km² ...

, located south of

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

. In the 2004 census, it had a population of 6,136. Its inhabitants are predominantly Druze.

History

In 1596 the village appeared under the name of "Timri" in the Ottoman tax registers as part of the ''

nahiya A nāḥiyah ( ar, , plural ''nawāḥī'' ), also nahiya or nahia, is a regional or local type of administrative division that usually consists of a number of villages or sometimes smaller towns. In Tajikistan, it is a second-level division w ...

'' (subdistrict) of Bani Nasiyya in the

Qadaa of Hauran A kaza (, , , plural: , , ; ota, قضا, script=Arab, (; meaning 'borough') * bg, околия (; meaning 'district'); also Кааза * el, υποδιοίκησις () or (, which means 'borough' or 'municipality'); also () * lad, kaza , ...

. It had a

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 ...

population consisting of twenty-five households and fourteen bachelors, and a

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 ...

population of five households. They paid a fixed tax-rate of 40% on agricultural products, including wheat, barley, summer crops, goats and beehives, in addition to occasional revenues; the taxes totaled 16,000

akçe The ''akçe'' or ''akça'' (also spelled ''akche'', ''akcheh''; ota, آقچه; ) refers to a silver coin which was the chief monetary unit of the Ottoman Empire. The word itself evolved from the word "silver or silver money", this word is deri ...

. In 1838 'Ira was reported to be populated with

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 ...

and

Greek Orthodox Christians The term Greek Orthodox Church (Greek: Ἑλληνορθόδοξη Ἐκκλησία, ''Ellinorthódoxi Ekklisía'', ) has two meanings. The broader meaning designates "the entire body of Orthodox (Chalcedonian) Christianity, sometimes also call ...

. 'Ira was resettled by Druze migrants in the early 19th century. It was controlled by the

Al Hamdan Al Hamdan ( ar, ال حمدان) is a Druze clan based in Jabal al-Druze, a mountainous region in southeastern Syria. They were among the earliest Druze settlers in Jabal Hauran and were the dominant local force in that region between their establis ...

family, who used it as a secondary headquarters. The Al Hamdan were ousted from 'Ira in 1857 by

Ismail al-Atrash Ismail al-Atrash () (died November 1869) was the preeminent Druze sheikh (chieftain) of Jabal Hauran, a mountainous region southeast of Damascus, in the mid-19th century. His family had moved to the area in the early 19th century. As relative newc ...

. This marked the consolidation of

Bani al-Atrash The al-Atrash ( ar, الأطرش‎ ), also known as Bani al-Atrash, is a Druze clan based in Jabal Hauran in southwestern Syria. The family's name ''al-atrash'' is Arabic for "the deaf" and derives from one the family's deaf patriarchs. The ...

supremacy in Jabal Hauran over the Al Hamdan. Following Ismail's death in 1869, his son Ibrahim became head of the family and was recognized by Rashid Pasha, governor of

Damascus )), is an adjective which means "spacious". , motto = , image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg , image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg , seal_type = Seal , map_caption = , ...

, as governor of 'Ira. His brother succeeded him in 1883 and based himself in 'Ira. The village was attacked by Ruwala tribesmen in 1893 during hostilities between the Bani al-Atrash and the Ottomans. Four residents were killed.Firro 1992, p
229.
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References

Bibliography

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External links

Map of the town
Google Maps {{Al-Suwayda Governorate, suwayda 19th-century establishments in the Ottoman Empire Druze communities in Syria Populated places in as-Suwayda District