Beit Saber ( ar, بيت سابر; also spelled Beit Sabir) is a village 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

Qatana District Qatana District ( ar-at, منطقة قطنا, minṭaqat Qaṭana) is a district of the Rif Dimashq Governorate in southern Syria. The district is located just to the east of Mount Hermon Mount Hermon ( ar, جبل الشيخ or جبل ح� ...

of the

Rif Dimashq Governorate Rif Dimashq Governorate ( ar, محافظة ريف دمشق, ', literally, the "Governorate of the Countryside of Damascus", Damascus Suburb) is one of the fourteen governorates (provinces) of Syria. It is situated in the southwestern part of the c ...

, located just southwest 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 = , ...

. Nearby localities include Khan al-Shih to the northeast,

Kafr Hawr Kafr Hawr ( ar, كفر حور; also spelled Kafr Hawar or Kafr Hur) is a Syrian village situated southwest of Damascus. According to the Syria Central Bureau of Statistics, the village had a population of 2,957 in the 2004 census. References ...

and Beitima to the north, and

Beit Jinn Beit Jinn ( ar, بيت جن), also known as Bayt Jin, Beit Jann or Beyt Jene, is a town in southern Syria, administratively part of the Rif Dimashq Governorate, located southwest of Damascus on the foothills of Mount Hermon. According to the Sy ...

to the west, Harfa to the southwest and

Sa'sa' Sa'sa' ( ar, سعسع, he, סעסע) was a Palestinian village, located 12 kilometres northwest of Safed that was depopulated by Israeli forces during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war. The village suffered two massacres committed by Haganah forces: ...

to the south. According to the Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), Beit Saber had a population of 3,021 in the 2004 census.General Census of Population and Housing 2004
Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS). Rif Dimashq Governorate. Beit Saber is located on the banks of one of the lower tributaries of the Awaj River which originates from

Mount Hermon Mount Hermon ( ar, جبل الشيخ or جبل حرمون / ALA-LC: ''Jabal al-Shaykh'' ("Mountain of the Sheikh") or ''Jabal Haramun''; he, הַר חֶרְמוֹן, ''Har Hermon'') is a mountain cluster constituting the southern end of the ...

. The name of the tributary is Sabirany, which derives from the name of the village "Saber."

History

Medieval Muslim historian

Abu'l Fida Ismāʿīl b. ʿAlī b. Maḥmūd b. Muḥammad b. ʿUmar b. Shāhanshāh b. Ayyūb b. Shādī b. Marwān ( ar, إسماعيل بن علي بن محمود بن محمد بن عمر بن شاهنشاه بن أيوب بن شادي بن مروان ...

mentioned Beit Saber in the late 14th century, during

Mamluk Mamluk ( ar, مملوك, mamlūk (singular), , ''mamālīk'' (plural), translated as "one who is owned", meaning " slave", also transliterated as ''Mameluke'', ''mamluq'', ''mamluke'', ''mameluk'', ''mameluke'', ''mamaluke'', or ''marmeluke'') ...

rule in Syria. In 1838,

Eli Smith Eli Smith (born September 13, 1801, in Northford, Connecticut, to Eli and Polly (Whitney) Smith, and died January 11, 1857, in Beirut, Lebanon) was an American Protestant missionary and scholar. He graduated from Yale College in 1821 and from Andov ...

noted that Beit Saber's population was

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 ...

. During the 1973 Arab-Israeli War Beit Saber was shelled by Israeli artillery, resulting in the destruction of two houses. The attack prompted an inquiry by the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

United Nations Security Council The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the Organs of the United Nations, six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international security, international peace and security, recommending the admi ...

, 1974, p. 80.

References

Bibliography

* * * Populated places in Qatana District {{RifDimashqSY-geo-stub