Markada ( ar, مَرْكَدَة, sometimes ''Markadah'' or ''Margada'') is a town in southern
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 (pro ...
, northeastern
Syria. It is the
administrative center
An administrative center is a seat of regional administration or local government, or a county town, or the place where the central administration of a commune is located.
In countries with French as administrative language (such as Belgium, Lu ...
of the
Nahiya Markada consisting of 13 municipalities. In the 2004 census, Markada had a population of 2,530.
The town is divided by the
Khabur River.
History
Markada succeeded the village of "Makîsîn" (also spelled "Makasîn", "Maykasan" or "Makîs"). During early Islamic rule (7th–10th centuries), Makisin was a town in the district of
Diyar Rabi'a
Diyar Rabi'a ( ar, دِيَارُ رَبِيعَةَ, Diyār Rabīʿa, abode of Rabi'a) is the medieval Arabic name of the easternmost and largest of the three provinces of the Jazira (Upper Mesopotamia), the other two being Diyar Bakr and Diyar ...
with a bridge that crossed the
Khabur River.
Large quantities of cotton were grown around the site.
In the late 680s, numerous Christian
Taghlib
The Banu Taghlib (), also known as Taghlib ibn Wa'il, were an Arab tribe that originated in Najd (central Arabia), but later migrated and inhabited the Jazira (Upper Mesopotamia) from the late 6th century onward. Their parent tribe was the Rabi ...
tribesmen were killed in an ambush at Makisin by the
Sulaym
The Banu Sulaym ( ar, بنو سليم) is an Arab tribe that dominated part of the Hejaz in the pre-Islamic era. They maintained close ties with the Quraysh of Mecca and the inhabitants of Medina, and fought in a number of battles against the Is ...
tribe as part of the long-running
Qays–Yaman feud.
Civil War
Markada saw fighting between the Syrian Government forces and the
al-Nusra Front during 2013. Having gained control of the town, the al-Nusra Front were driven out the following year by
Islamic State
An Islamic state is a state that has a form of government based on Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a translation of the Arabic term ...
in the
Battle of Markada. By March 2014 thousands of residents had fled from Markada, many to al-Sur in
Deir ez-Zor Governorate.
US-led Coalition airstrikes against ISIL targeted the town in September 2017, with many casualties, including
Iraqi refugees, reported. On 19 October, the SDF attacked the town, capturing part of it.
The town was fully captured by the
SDF on 9 November 2017.
See also
*
Battle of Markada, March 2014
References
{{AlHasakahSY-geo-stub
Populated places in al-Hasakah District