Ras al-Ayn ( ar, رَأْس ٱلْعَيْن, Raʾs al-ʿAyn, ku, سەرێ کانیێ, Serê Kaniyê, syc, ܪܝܫ ܥܝܢܐ, Rēš Aynā), also spelled Ras al-Ain, is a city in
al-Hasakah Governorate
Al-Hasakah Governorate ( ar, محافظة الحسكة, Muḥāfaẓat al-Ḥasakah, ku, Parêzgeha Hesekê}, syc, ܗܘܦܪܟܝܐ ܕܚܣܟܗ, Huparkiyo d'Ḥasake, also known as syc, ܓܙܪܬܐ, Gozarto) is one of the fourteen governorates (prov ...
in northeastern
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 ...
, on the
Syria–Turkey border
The border between the Syrian Arab Republic and the Republic of Turkey ( ar, الحدود السورية التركية, translit=alhudud alsuwriat alturkia; tr, Suriye–Türkiye sınırı) is about long, and runs from the Mediterranean Sea ...
.
One of the oldest cities in
Upper Mesopotamia
Upper Mesopotamia is the name used for the Upland and lowland, uplands and great outwash plain of northwestern Iraq, northeastern Syria and southeastern Turkey, in the northern Middle East. Since the early Muslim conquests of the mid-7th century, ...
, the area of Ras al-Ayn has been inhabited since at least the
Neolithic age
The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several parts ...
( 8,000 BC). Later known as the ancient
Aramean
The Arameans ( oar, 𐤀𐤓𐤌𐤉𐤀; arc, 𐡀𐡓𐡌𐡉𐡀; syc, ܐܪ̈ܡܝܐ, Ārāmāyē) were an ancient Semitic-speaking people in the Near East, first recorded in historical sources from the late 12th century BCE. The Aramean h ...
city of
Sikkan
Tell Fekheriye ( ar, تل الفخيرية) (often spelled as Tell el-Fakhariya or Tell Fecheriye, among other variants) is an ancient site in the Khabur River basin in the Al Hasakah Governorate of northern Syria. It is securely identified as ...
, the
Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...
city of
Rhesaina, and the
Byzantine
The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
city of Theodosiopolis, the town was destroyed and rebuilt several times, and in medieval times was the site of fierce battles between several Muslim
dynasties. With the 1921
Treaty of Ankara Treaty of Ankara may refer to:
*Treaty of Ankara (1921)
*Treaty of Ankara (1926)
The Treaty of Ankara (1926), also known as The Frontier Treaty of 1926 ( tr, Ankara Anlaşması), was signed 5 June 1926 in Ankara by Turkey, United Kingdom and M ...
, Ras al-Ayn became a
divided city when its northern part, today's
Ceylanpınar, was ceded to Turkey.
With a population of 29,347 (),
it is the third largest city in al-Hasakah Governorate, and the administrative center of
Ras al-Ayn District.
During the
civil war
A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country).
The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
, the city became
contested between Syrian opposition forces and
YPG
The People's Defense Units (YPG), (YPG) ; ar, وحدات حماية الشعب, Waḥdāt Ḥimāyat aš-Šaʽb) also called People's Protection Units, is a mainly-Kurds in Syria, Kurdish militia in Syria and the primary component of the ...
from November 2012 until it was finally captured by the YPG in July 2013. It was later
captured by the
Turkish Armed Forces
The Turkish Armed Forces (TAF; tr, Türk Silahlı Kuvvetleri, TSK) are the military forces of the Republic of Turkey. Turkish Armed Forces consist of the General Staff, the Land Forces, the Naval Forces and the Air Forces. The current Chi ...
and the
Syrian National Army
The Syrian National Army (SNA) ( ar, الجيش الوطني السوري, al-Jayš al-Waṭanī as-Sūrī), previously the Free Syrian Army (FSA) and also known as the Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army (TFSA), is a coalition of armed Syrian oppo ...
during the
2019 Turkish offensive into north-eastern Syria
The 2019 Turkish offensive into north-eastern Syria, code-named Operation Peace Spring ( tr, Barış Pınarı Harekâtı) by Turkey, was a cross-border military operation conducted by the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) and the Syrian National Ar ...
.
Etymology
The first mention of the town is in
Akkadian Akkadian or Accadian may refer to:
* Akkadians, inhabitants of the Akkadian Empire
* Akkadian language, an extinct Eastern Semitic language
* Akkadian literature, literature in this language
* Akkadian cuneiform
Cuneiform is a logo- syllabi ...
during the reign of the Assyrian king
Adad-nirari II (911-891 BC).
The Arabic name ''Ras al-Ayn'' is a literal translation of the Akkadian name and has the same meaning; "head of the spring",
or idiomatically, "hill of the spring", indicating a prominent mountain formation close to a well.
The ancient Greek geographer
Ptolemy
Claudius Ptolemy (; grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος, ; la, Claudius Ptolemaeus; AD) was a mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist, who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were of importanc ...
(d. 168) names the town ''Raisena''.
The town, as part of the
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediterr ...
, was called ''Ressaina/Resaina''.
Another name was ''Theodosiopolis'', after emperor
Theodosius I
Theodosius I ( grc-gre, Θεοδόσιος ; 11 January 347 – 17 January 395), also called Theodosius the Great, was Roman emperor from 379 to 395. During his reign, he succeeded in a crucial war against the Goths, as well as in two ...
, who enlarged the town in 380.
The 11th century
Arab geographer
Medieval Islamic geography and cartography refer to the study of geography and cartography in the Muslim world during the Islamic Golden Age (variously dated between the 8th century and 16th century). Muslim scholars made advances to the map-maki ...
Muhammad al-Idrisi visited the town, mentioning its name as Ras al-'Ayn, and assigning it to
Diyar Rabi'a (abode of the
Arab
The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...
tribe
Rabi'a). He also described it as a big city with plenty of water, around 300 springs from which most of
al-Khabur river starts.
In addition to ''Ras al-Ayn'', medieval Arab Muslim sources refer to the town sometimes as ''Ain Werda''.
Nineteenth-century English sources refer to the town as ''Ras Ain'', ''Ain Verdeh'' (1819),
or ''Ras el Ain'' (1868).
The Kurdish name also means "head of the spring" or "head of the fountain", referring to water source areas. This name is probably a modern
literal translation
Literal translation, direct translation or word-for-word translation, is a translation of a text done by translating each word separately, without looking at how the words are used together in a phrase or sentence.
In Translation studies, trans ...
of the ancient Semitic name.
Geography and climate
Ras al-Ayn is located in the Upper Khabur basin in the northern
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 ...
n region of
Jazira
Jazira or Al-Jazira ( 'island'), or variants, may refer to:
Business
*Jazeera Airways, an airlines company based in Kuwait
Locations
* Al-Jazira, a traditional region known today as Upper Mesopotamia or the smaller region of Cizre
* Al-Jazira (c ...
. The
Khabur, largest tributary of the
Euphrates
The Euphrates () is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of Western Asia. Tigris–Euphrates river system, Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia ( ''the land between the rivers'') ...
, crosses the
border from Turkey near the town of
Tell Halaf
Tell Halaf ( ar, تل حلف) is an archaeological site in the Al Hasakah governorate of northeastern Syria, a few kilometers from the city of Ra's al-'Ayn near the Turkish border. The site, which dates to the 6th millennium BCE, was the firs ...
, about to the southwest of the city. The overground feeders, originating on the headwaters of the
Karaca volcano in
Şanlıurfa Province, usually do not carry water in the summer, even though Turkey brings in water from the
Atatürk reservoir to irrigate the region of
Ceylanpınar. While more than 80% of the Upper Khabur's water originates in Turkey, this mostly comes as underground flow. So rather than the overground streams, it is the giant
karstic springs of the Ras al-Ayn area that is considered the river's main perennial source.
Ras al-Ayn springs
Ras al-Ayn has more than 100 natural
springs. The most famous spring is Nab'a al-Kebreet, a hot spring with a very high
mineral
In geology and mineralogy, a mineral or mineral species is, broadly speaking, a solid chemical compound with a fairly well-defined chemical composition and a specific crystal structure that occurs naturally in pure form.John P. Rafferty, ed. ( ...
content, containing calcium, lithium, and radium.
Water supply
The Allouk water pumping station, which distributes water to the
Hasakah Governorate
Al-Hasakah Governorate ( ar, محافظة الحسكة, Muḥāfaẓat al-Ḥasakah, ku, Parêzgeha Hesekê}, syc, ܗܘܦܪܟܝܐ ܕܚܣܟܗ, Huparkiyo d'Ḥasake, also known as syc, ܓܙܪܬܐ, Gozarto) is one of the fourteen governorates (prov ...
, is close to Ras al-Ayn. Since the Turkish occupation began, the water supply has been interrupted several times. Previously, the station supplied about 460,000 people in
Al-Hasakah
Al-Hasakah ( ar, ٱلْحَسَكَة, al-Ḥasaka; ku, Heseke/حەسەکە; syr, ܚܣܝܟܐ Hasake), is the capital city of the Al-Hasakah Governorate, in the northeastern corner of Syria. With a 2004 census population of 188,160, it is the e ...
,
Tell Tamer, and the
Al-Hawl refugee camp
The al-Hawl refugee camp (also al-Hol refugee camp) is a refugee camp on the southern outskirts of the town of al-Hawl in northern Syria, close to the Syria-Iraq border, which holds individuals displaced from the Islamic State of Iraq and the ...
, but not since the last interruption in March 2020, according to the
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is a United Nations agency mandated to aid and protect refugees, forcibly displaced communities, and stateless people, and to assist in their voluntary repatriation, local integrati ...
.
History
Neolithic and ancient history
The area of Ras al-Ayn was inhabited at least since the
Neolithic age
The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several parts ...
(c. 8.000 BC). Today's Ras al-Ayn can be traced back to a settlement existing since c. 2000 BC, which in the early 1st millennium BC became the ancient city of
Sikkan
Tell Fekheriye ( ar, تل الفخيرية) (often spelled as Tell el-Fakhariya or Tell Fecheriye, among other variants) is an ancient site in the Khabur River basin in the Al Hasakah Governorate of northern Syria. It is securely identified as ...
, part of the
Aramaean kingdom of
Bit Bahiani
Bit Baḫiani was an independent Aramean city-state kingdom (c. 1200 – 808 BC) with its capital at ''Guzana'' (modern day Tell Halaf). Bit Baḫiani was ruled by King Kapara. There were at least five kings and four governors of Bit Baḫiani be ...
. The archaeological site is located on the southern edge of the mound
Tell Fekheriye
Tell Fekheriye ( ar, تل الفخيرية) (often spelled as Tell el-Fakhariya or Tell Fecheriye, among other variants) is an ancient site in the Khabur River basin in the Al Hasakah Governorate of northern Syria. It is securely identified as ...
, around which today's Ras al-Ayn is built, just a few hundred meters south of the city center. During excavations in 1979, the famous
Tell Fekheriye bilingual inscription
The Hadad-yith'i bilingual inscription, also known as the Tell el Fakhariya Bilingual Inscription is a bilingual inscription found on a Neo-Assyrian statue of Adad-it'i/ Hadd-yith'i, the king of Guzana and Sikan, which was discovered at Tell Fekhe ...
was found. The nearby town of
Tell Halaf
Tell Halaf ( ar, تل حلف) is an archaeological site in the Al Hasakah governorate of northeastern Syria, a few kilometers from the city of Ra's al-'Ayn near the Turkish border. The site, which dates to the 6th millennium BCE, was the firs ...
is also a former site of an Aramean city.
Classical era
In later times, the town became known as "
Rhesaina", "Ayn Warda", and "Theodosiopolis", the latter named after the
Byzantine
The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
emperor
Theodosius I
Theodosius I ( grc-gre, Θεοδόσιος ; 11 January 347 – 17 January 395), also called Theodosius the Great, was Roman emperor from 379 to 395. During his reign, he succeeded in a crucial war against the Goths, as well as in two ...
who granted the settlement city rights. The latter name was also shared with the Armenian city of Karin (modern
Erzurum) making it difficult to distinguish between them.
The
Sasanians
The Sasanian () or Sassanid Empire, officially known as the Empire of Iranians (, ) and also referred to by historians as the Neo-Persian Empire, was the last Iranian empire before the early Muslim conquests of the 7th-8th centuries AD. Named ...
destroyed the city twice in 578 and 580 before rebuilding it and constructing one of the three Sassanian academies in it (the other two being
Gundishapur
Gundeshapur ( pal, 𐭥𐭧𐭩𐭠𐭭𐭣𐭩𐭥𐭪𐭱𐭧𐭯𐭥𐭧𐭥𐭩, ''Weh-Andiōk-Šābuhr''; New Persian: , ''Gondēshāpūr'') was the intellectual centre of the Sassanid Empire and the home of the Academy of Gundishapur, founded ...
and
Ctesiphon
Ctesiphon ( ; Middle Persian: 𐭲𐭩𐭮𐭯𐭥𐭭 ''tyspwn'' or ''tysfwn''; fa, تیسفون; grc-gre, Κτησιφῶν, ; syr, ܩܛܝܣܦܘܢThomas A. Carlson et al., “Ctesiphon — ܩܛܝܣܦܘܢ ” in The Syriac Gazetteer last modi ...
) in it.
Medieval history
The city fell to the Arabs in 640 who confiscated parts of the city which were abandoned by their inhabitants.
The Byzantines raided the city in 942 and took many prisoners. In 1129, Crusader
Joscelin I managed to hold the city briefly, killing many of its Arab inhabitants.
At its height the city had a
West Syrian bishopric and many monasteries. The city also contained two mosques and an
East Syrian church and numerous schools, baths, and gardens.
Ras al-Ayn became contested between the
Zengids
The Zengid dynasty was a Muslim dynasty of Oghuz Turkic origin, which ruled parts of the Levant and Upper Mesopotamia on behalf of the Seljuk Empire and eventually seized control of Egypt in 1169. In 1174 the Zengid state extended from Tripoli to ...
,
Ayyubids, and the
Khwarazmians in the 12th and 13th centuries. It was sacked by
Tamerlane at the end of the 14th century, ending its role as a major city in
al-Jazira
Jazira or Al-Jazira ( 'island'), or variants, may refer to:
Business
*Jazeera Airways, an airlines company based in Kuwait
Locations
* Al-Jazira, a traditional region known today as Upper Mesopotamia or the smaller region of Cizre
* Al-Jazira ( ...
.
Ottoman history
In the 19th century a colony of Muslim
Chechen refugees fleeing the
Russian conquest of the Caucasus were settled in the town by the
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
.
The Ottomans also built barracks and a fort for a thousand soldiers to control and protect the refugees.
During the
Armenian genocide
The Armenian genocide was the systematic destruction of the Armenians in the Ottoman Empire, Armenian people and identity in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. Spearheaded by the ruling Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), it was ...
, Ras al-Ayn was one of the major collecting points for deported
Armenians
Armenians ( hy, հայեր, ''hayer'' ) are an ethnic group native to the Armenian highlands of Western Asia. Armenians constitute the main population of Armenia and the ''de facto'' independent Artsakh. There is a wide-ranging diaspora ...
. From 1915 on, 1.5 million Armenians were deported from all over
Anatolia
Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...
, many forced on
death marches into 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 ...
. Approximately 80,000 Armenians, mostly women and children, were slaughtered in desert
death camps
Nazi Germany used six extermination camps (german: Vernichtungslager), also called death camps (), or killing centers (), in Central Europe during World War II to systematically murder over 2.7 million peoplemostly Jewsin the Holocaust. The v ...
near Ras al-Ayn. As well as the
Deir ez-Zor Camps further south, the
Ras al-Ayn Camps became "synonymous with Armenian suffering."
Modern history
After the
fall of the Ottoman Empire
The dissolution of the Ottoman Empire (1908–1922) began with the Young Turk Revolution which restored the constitution of 1876 and brought in multi-party politics with a two-stage electoral system for the Ottoman parliament. At the same ti ...
and the 1921
Treaty of Ankara Treaty of Ankara may refer to:
*Treaty of Ankara (1921)
*Treaty of Ankara (1926)
The Treaty of Ankara (1926), also known as The Frontier Treaty of 1926 ( tr, Ankara Anlaşması), was signed 5 June 1926 in Ankara by Turkey, United Kingdom and M ...
, Ras al-Ayn became a
divided city when its northern neighborhoods, today's
Ceylanpınar, were ceded to
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
. Today, the two cities are separated by a fenced border strip and the
Berlin–Baghdad Railway
The Baghdad railway, also known as the Berlin–Baghdad railway ( tr, Bağdat Demiryolu, german: Bagdadbahn, ar, سكة حديد بغداد, french: Chemin de Fer Impérial Ottoman de Bagdad), was started in 1903 to connect Berlin with the ...
on the Turkish side. The only
border crossing is located in the western outskirts of Ras al-Ayn. The town was first part of the
French colonial empire
The French colonial empire () comprised the overseas colonies, protectorates and mandate territories that came under French rule from the 16th century onward. A distinction is generally made between the "First French Colonial Empire", that exist ...
's
Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon
The Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon (french: Mandat pour la Syrie et le Liban; ar, الانتداب الفرنسي على سوريا ولبنان, al-intidāb al-fransi 'ala suriya wa-lubnān) (1923−1946) was a League of Nations mandate foun ...
and, from 1946, the independent state 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 ...
.
Civil War
During the
civil war
A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country).
The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
, Ras al-Ayn was engulfed by the long
Battle of Ras al-Ayn. In late November 2012,
rebels
Rebels may refer to:
* Participants in a rebellion
* Rebel groups, people who refuse obedience or order
* Rebels (American Revolution), patriots who rejected British rule in 1776
Film and television
* ''Rebels'' (film) or ''Rebelles'', a 2019 ...
of
al-Nusra Front
Al-Nusra Front or Jabhat al-Nusra ( ar, جبهة النصرة لأهل الشام, Jabhat an-Nuṣrah li-Ahl ish-Sham lit. ''Front of the Supporters of the People of Syria/the Levant''), known as Jabhat Fatah al-Sham ( ar, جبهة فتح ال ...
and the
FSA attacked
Syrian Army
" (''Guardians of the Homeland'')
, colors = * Service uniform: Khaki, Olive
* Combat uniform: Green, Black, Khaki
, anniversaries = August 1st
, equipment =
, equipment_label =
, battles = 1948 Arab–Israeli War
Six ...
positions, expelling them from the town. During the following eight months, the
Kurdish
Kurdish may refer to:
*Kurds or Kurdish people
*Kurdish languages
*Kurdish alphabets
*Kurdistan, the land of the Kurdish people which includes:
**Southern Kurdistan
**Eastern Kurdistan
**Northern Kurdistan
**Western Kurdistan
See also
* Kurd (dis ...
-majority
People's Protection Units (YPG), present from the outset, gradually entrenched its position, and eventually formed an alliance with a non-jihadist FSA faction. On 21 July 2013, this alliance expelled the
jihadists after a night of heavy fighting.
The town was part of
Rojava for the following six years, until it was attacked and captured by the
Turkish army and allied Syrian National Army during the October
2019 Turkish offensive into north-eastern Syria
The 2019 Turkish offensive into north-eastern Syria, code-named Operation Peace Spring ( tr, Barış Pınarı Harekâtı) by Turkey, was a cross-border military operation conducted by the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) and the Syrian National Ar ...
, in the
Second Battle of Ras al-Ayn
The Second Battle of Ras al-Ayn was part of the 2019 Turkish offensive into north-eastern Syria, during the Rojava conflict of the Syrian Civil War. The battle was fought between Turkish Armed Forces and the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army (S ...
.
After 11 days of clashes and siege, the
Syrian Democratic Forces
, war = the Syrian Civil War
, image = Flag of Syrian Democratic Forces.svgborder
, caption = Flag
, active = 10 October 2015 – present
, ideology = DemocracyDecentralizationSecularism ...
retreated from Ras al-Ayn as part of a ceasefire agreement.
Bombings
On December 10, 2020, a car bomb exploded at a checkpoint run by Turkish-supported
Syrian National Army
The Syrian National Army (SNA) ( ar, الجيش الوطني السوري, al-Jayš al-Waṭanī as-Sūrī), previously the Free Syrian Army (FSA) and also known as the Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army (TFSA), is a coalition of armed Syrian oppo ...
rebels in Ras al-Ayn.
Reports on casualties differed, but according to several sources the explosion killed over 10 people including 2 Turkish soldiers.
Turkish authorities blamed the
Peoples Protection Units (YPG) for the car bombing as Turkey claims they are affiliated with the
Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). According the
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
, no group has claimed responsibility for the bombing.
Bombing continued in January and February 2021.
Demographics
In 2004 the population was 29,347.
The town has been described as having an Arab majority, in addition to
Kurdish
Kurdish may refer to:
*Kurds or Kurdish people
*Kurdish languages
*Kurdish alphabets
*Kurdistan, the land of the Kurdish people which includes:
**Southern Kurdistan
**Eastern Kurdistan
**Northern Kurdistan
**Western Kurdistan
See also
* Kurd (dis ...
,
Assyrian
Assyrian may refer to:
* Assyrian people, the indigenous ethnic group of Mesopotamia.
* Assyria, a major Mesopotamian kingdom and empire.
** Early Assyrian Period
** Old Assyrian Period
** Middle Assyrian Empire
** Neo-Assyrian Empire
* Assyrian ...
,
Armenian
Armenian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent
** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...
,
Turkmen
Turkmen, Türkmen, Turkoman, or Turkman may refer to:
Peoples Historical ethnonym
* Turkoman (ethnonym), ethnonym used for the Oghuz Turks during the Middle Ages
Ethnic groups
* Turkmen in Anatolia and the Levant (Seljuk and Ottoman-Turkish desc ...
and
Chechens minorities before the Turkish/SNA takeover in October 2019. War crimes committed since the Turkish occupation began have since caused an exodus of Kurds, Christians, and other minorities from the town.
The Turkish government's resettling of mainly Arab
Syrian refugees from other parts of Syria in Ras al-Ayn has further altered the town's demographics.
Churches in the town
* Syriac Orthodox Church of Saint Thomas the Apostle (كنيسة مار توما الرسول للسريان الأرثوذكس)
* Syriac Catholic Church of Mary Magdalene (كنيسة مريم المجدلية للسريان الكاثوليك)
* Armenian Orthodox Church of Saint Hagop (كنيسة القديس هاكوب للارمن الارثوذكس)
See also
*
Battle of Ras al-Ayn
*
Second Battle of Ras al-Ayn (2019)
*
Ras al-Ayn camps
References
External links
{{Al-Hasakah Governorate, ras
Divided cities on the Turkish-Syrian border
Kurdish communities in Syria
Assyrian communities in Syria
Armenian communities in Syria
Circassian communities in Syria