Jairoud ( ar, جيرود; also spelled Jerud or Jayroud) is a city in southern

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 Rif Dimashq Governorate, located northeast 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 = , ...

in the Qalamoun Mountains. Nearby localities include

ar-Ruhaybah Al-Ruhaybah or Al-Ruhaibah ( ar, الرحيبة) is a Syrian city in the Al-Qutayfah District of the Rif Dimashq Governorate. According to the Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), Ar-Ruhaybah had a population of 30,450 in the 2004 census. ...

al-Qutayfah Al-Qutayfah ( ar, ٱلْقُطَيْفَة, al-Quṭayfah) is a city in Syria, administratively belonging to the Rif Dimashq Governorate, capital of the al-Qutayfah District. It is located approximately east of Damascus. According to the Syri ...

and

Muadamiyat al-Qalamoun Muadamiyat al-Qalamoun ( ar, معضمية القلمون) is a Syrian town in the Al-Qutayfah District of the Rif Dimashq Governorate. According to the Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), Muadamiyat al-Qalamoun had a population of 14,228 i ...

to the southwest, Yabroud,

an-Nabek An-Nabek or Al-Nabek ( ar, ٱلنَّبْك, an-Nabk) is a Syrian city administratively belonging to Rif Dimashq and the capital of the Qalamoun. Located north of Damascus and south of Homs. It has an altitude of 1255 meters. According to the S ...

and Deir Atiyah to the north and al-Qaryatayn to the northeast. According to the Syria Central Bureau of Statistics, Jairoud had a population of 24,219 in the 2004 census.General Census of Population and Housing 2004
Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS). Rif Dimashq Governorate. The city is also the administrative center of the Jairoud '' nahiyah'' which consists of four towns and villages with a combined population of 31,821. Its inhabitants are predominantly

Sunni Muslim Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word ''Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disagree ...

History

Excavations at the site produced microliths, blades, scrapers and other lithic tools dating back to the

Natufian culture The Natufian culture () is a Late Epipaleolithic archaeological culture of the Levant, dating to around 15,000 to 11,500 years ago. The culture was unusual in that it supported a sedentary or semi-sedentary population even before the introduction ...

. During Roman times, Jairoud was known as Geroda. The city is mentioned in the

Antonine Itinerary The Antonine Itinerary ( la, Itinerarium Antonini Augusti, "The Itinerary of the Emperor Antoninus") is a famous ''itinerarium'', a register of the stations and distances along various roads. Seemingly based on official documents, possibly ...

which was written during the reign of

Diocletian Diocletian (; la, Gaius Aurelius Valerius Diocletianus, grc, Διοκλητιανός, Diokletianós; c. 242/245 – 311/312), nicknamed ''Iovius'', was Roman emperor from 284 until his abdication in 305. He was born Gaius Valerius Diocles ...

. In the itinirary the city is one of the stations on the Roman road between Palmyra and Damascus, and is at a distance of 16

Roman miles The mile, sometimes the international mile or statute mile to distinguish it from other miles, is a British imperial unit and United States customary unit of distance; both are based on the older English unit of length equal to 5,280 English ...

from ''Telsea'' (modern Al-Dumayr). Jairoud was visited by Syrian geographer Yaqut al-Hamawi in the early 13th-century, during

Ayyubid The Ayyubid dynasty ( ar, الأيوبيون '; ) was the founding dynasty of the medieval Sultan of Egypt, Sultanate of Egypt established by Saladin in 1171, following his abolition of the Fatimid Caliphate, Fatimid Caliphate of Egypt. A Sunni ...

rule. He noted that it was "a village of

Ma'loula Maaloula or Maʿlūlā ( arc, ܡܥܠܘܠܐ in Eastern Aramaic Syriac script, ' in Western Aramaic Maalouli script; ar, مَعلُولَا) is a town in the Rif Dimashq Governorate in Syria. The town is located 56 km to the northeast of Dama ...

in the Ghautah 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 = , ...

."Le Strange, 1890,
463
/ref> Under the

Ottomans The Ottoman Turks ( tr, Osmanlı Türkleri), were the Turkic founding and sociopolitically the most dominant ethnic group of the Ottoman Empire ( 1299/1302–1922). Reliable information about the early history of Ottoman Turks remains scarce, ...

, the city served as the centre of the ''Jairoud Nahiyah'', and was the seat of a '' Pasha'' (Mohammed Aldaas Jairoudi Pasha) and an '' Agha'' (Saleem Aldaas Agha) In the 19th century, the city was described as affluent, hospitable and "unusually clean." The city was attacked frequently by

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 that live on the edge of the

Syrian Desert The Syrian Desert ( ar, بادية الشام ''Bādiyat Ash-Shām''), also known as the North Arabian Desert, the Jordanian steppe, or the Badiya, is a region of desert, semi-desert and steppe covering of the Middle East, including parts of sou ...

Geography

The city lies on the ancient merchant caravan route between

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 = , ...

and Palmyra, in the fertile plain of Jairoud on the foothills of the Qalamoun Mountains. The land is well-cultivated and is known for its produce of wheat and barley. The city lies to the western end of a large salt marsh called, "al-Mallahah".Porter, 1868, p. 510.

References

Bibliography

* * * * * {{Rif Dimashq Governorate, qutayfah Populated places in Al-Qutayfah District Natufian sites Neolithic sites in Syria Archaeological sites in Rif Dimashq Governorate Cities in Syria