Kanaker ( ar, كناكر) is a village in southern
Syria, administratively part 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 ...
, located southwest of
Damascus. Nearby localities include
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 west,
Beit Saber to the northwest,
Khan al-Shih to the north,
Zakiyah
Zakyah ( ar, زاكية) is a Syrian town located in Markaz Rif Dimashq, Rif Dimashq. According to the Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), Zakiyah had a population of 18,553 in the 2004 census.
History
In 1838, Eli Smith noted Zakyah's po ...
,
al-Taybah,
Khan Dannun
Khan Dannun ( ar, خان دنون, also spelled Khan Danun, Khan Dunnun or Khan Dhul-Nun) is a town in southern Syria, administratively part of the Markaz Rif Dimashq District of the Rif Dimashq Governorate. Located south of Damascus, nearby local ...
and
al-Kiswah to the northeast,
Deir Ali and
Jubb al-Safa
Jubb al-Safa ( ar, جب الصفا; also spelled Jeb Safa) is a village in southern Syria, administratively part of the Markaz Rif Dimashq District of the Rif Dimashq Governorate, located just east of Damascus. Nearby localities include al-Buwayd ...
to the east,
Ghabaghib
Ghabaghib ( ar, غَبَاغِب ''Ġabāġib''; also spelled ''Ghabagheb'') is a town in southern Syria, administratively part of the Daraa Governorate, located north of Daraa. Nearby localities include Muthabin to the southeast, al-Sanamayn to ...
to the southeast,
Kafr Nasej
Kafr Nasij ( ar, كفر ناسج, also spelled ''Kafar Nasej'') is a village in the al-Sanamayn District of the Daraa Governorate in southern Syria. Nearby localities include al-Tiha to the west, Aqraba and al-Harra to the southwest, Zimrin to t ...
and
Deir al-Adas to the south and
Jabah
Jabah ( ar, جبا) is a Syrian village located in Quneitra District, Quneitra. According to the Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), Jabah had a population of 5,281 in the 2004 census.
History
In 1596 Jabah appeared in the Ottoman tax r ...
to the southwest. According to the
Syria Central Bureau of Statistics, Kanaker had a population of 13,950 in the 2004 census, making it the largest locality in the ''
nahiyah
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 Saasaa.
[General Census of Population and Housing 2004](_blank)
Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS). Rif Dimashq Governorate. Kanaker marks the western boundary of the
Marj al-Suffar
Marj al-Saffar or Marj al-Suffar ( ar, مرج الصفر ') is a large plain to the south of Damascus. Marj al-Saffar is bounded to the north by the right bank of the al-A'waj river, which flows from Mount Hermon to the Sabkhat al-Hijana. In the ...
plain.
History
In 1838,
Eli Smith noted Kanaker's population as being
Sunni Muslims.
Kanaker was settled by
Druze from
Mount Lebanon in 1862 and by 1867, the Abu Ras family, a prominent Druze clan and ally of the
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 a ...
family, gained control of the village. When the chief of the al-Atrash, Ismail Pasha, stayed a night at Kanaker, he massacred its Christian inhabitants before launching an attack on the Christian forces of the
Shihab dynasty at
Rashaya
Rashaya, Rachaya, Rashaiya, Rashayya or Rachaiya ( ar, راشيا), also known as Rashaya al-Wadi or Rachaya el-Wadi (and variations), is a town of the Rashaya District in the west of the Jnoub Government of Lebanon. It is situated at around ab ...
in Lebanon. Kanaker continued to be inhabited by Druze through 1883 and a certain time beyond.
During the
Syrian civil war, on 27 July 2011, the Syrian human rights groups reported that eight or eleven people were killed during a
Syrian Army raid in Kanaker and about 250 people were arrested. Four tanks and a bulldozer reportedly entered the village while another 14 tanks surrounded the place. The rebels surrendered the village in December 2016 and turned themselves in to the Syrian Army. In exchange, they had their status legalized.
More Than a Thousand Persons Receive Legal Status in Damascus
''Prensa Latina''. 2011-12-13.
Kanakri family
Some Jordanians of 3 villages in the north of the country, Irbid province (Kharja, Saham and Al nu'aimah) have the surname Kanakri. This relates them to Kanaker. These families have migrated from Kanaker-Syria down south to Jordan in the 19th century before the two countries been issuing their independence and new borders been issued.
Of note, some of the families that migrated to present-day Jordan, are from Damascus proper.
References
Bibliography
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{{Rif Dimashq Governorate, qatana
Populated places in Qatana District
1862 establishments in the Ottoman Empire