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Al-Qurayya ( ar, القريا; also spelled al-Qrayya or Kureiyeh) is a town 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
al-Suwayda Governorate As-Suwayda or Al-Suwayda Governorate ( ar, مُحافظة السويداء / ALA-LC: ''Muḥāfaẓat as-Suwaydā’'') is one of the fourteen governorates (provinces) of Syria. It is the southernmost governorate and has an area of 5,550 km² ...
, located south of al-Suwayda. Nearby localities include Bosra to the southwest, Hout to the south,
Salkhad Salkhad ( ar, صَلْخَد, Ṣalḫad) is a Syrian city in the As-Suwayda Governorate, southern Syria. It is the capital of Salkhad District, one of the governorate's three districts. It has a population of 15,000 inhabitants. It is located a ...
to the southeast,
al-Kafr Al-Kafr ( ar, الكفر, also spelled ''al-Kefr'') is a village in as-Suwayda Governorate in southern Syria. It is located 8 km to the southeast of as-Suwayda. It is known for its forest and good wine, and it was the site of a number of ba ...
, Hibran and Sahwat al-Khudr to the northeast, Sahwat Bilata and
Rasas Rasas ( ar, رساس, also spelled Rsas) is a village in southern Syria, administratively part of the al-Suwayda Governorate, located south of al-Suwayda. Nearby localities include Ira, Syria, 'Ira to the southwest, Sahwat Bilata to the east, al-Ru ...
to the north and
'Ara Ara ( he, עָרָה; ar, عاره) is a village in the Haifa District in northern Israel, located in the Wadi Ara valley. Since 1985, 'Ara has been part of the Ar'ara local council (Israel), local council. It is located north of highway 65 (Isra ...
and al-Mujaymer to the northwest. According to the Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), al-Qurayya had a population of 6,789 in the 2004 census.General Census of Population and Housing 2004
Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS). Al-Suwayda Governorate.
The town is also the administrative center of the al-Qurayya '' nahiyah'' which consists of four towns with a combined population of 9,892.


History

Western scholar Josias Leslie Porter identified al-Qurayya with biblical " Kerioth" mentioned by Jeremiah as one of the cities in the plain of
Moab Moab ''Mōáb''; Assyrian: 𒈬𒀪𒁀𒀀𒀀 ''Mu'abâ'', 𒈠𒀪𒁀𒀀𒀀 ''Ma'bâ'', 𒈠𒀪𒀊 ''Ma'ab''; Egyptian: 𓈗𓇋𓃀𓅱𓈉 ''Mū'ībū'', name=, group= () is the name of an ancient Levantine kingdom whose territo ...
. The prophet Amos wrote that he would "devour the palaces of Kerioth." The city is later mentioned in the 4th-century CE as "Koreath," a village belonging to Bosra in the Roman province Arabia Petraea. However, this "Koreath" has also been identified with the nearby palace of Ein Qarata to the south of the
Lejat The Lajat (/ ALA-LC: ''al-Lajāʾ''), also spelled ''Lejat'', ''Lajah'', ''el-Leja'' or ''Laja'', is the largest lava field in southern Syria, spanning some 900 square kilometers. Located about southeast of Damascus, the Lajat borders the Haura ...
plain.Porter, 1858, p
524
/ref> On streets and alleyways throughout the village were the remains of several columns. A Greek inscription was found on one of the stones and dated back to 296 CE.


Ottoman period

In 1596 al-Qurayya appeared in the Ottoman tax registers being part of the '' nahiya'' of Bani Nasiyya in the
Qada of Hauran Qada may refer to: * Qadan culture of Northeastern Africa (15,000 BCE to 11,000 BCE) * Qada (Islamic term), judgement or fulfillment of neglected duties * The Arabic form of the Turkish administrative division Kaza A kaza (, , , plural: , , ; ot ...
. It had an entirely
Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
population consisting of 65 households and 36 bachelors. Taxes were paid on wheat, barley, summer crops, fruit- or other trees. In 1810 al-Qurayya contained a few
Druze The Druze (; ar, دَرْزِيٌّ, ' or ', , ') are an Arabic-speaking esoteric ethnoreligious group from Western Asia who adhere to the Druze faith, an Abrahamic, monotheistic, syncretic, and ethnic religion based on the teachings of ...
families and was the chief village in the areas south and southwest of
'Ara Ara ( he, עָרָה; ar, عاره) is a village in the Haifa District in northern Israel, located in the Wadi Ara valley. Since 1985, 'Ara has been part of the Ar'ara local council (Israel), local council. It is located north of highway 65 (Isra ...
in Jabal al-Arab. Between the 1830s and 1840s, the prominent al-Atrash clan chose the village as their principal residence. It was granted to them by the initial Druze rulers of the village, the
al-Hamdan Al Hamdan ( ar, ال حمدان) is a Druze clan based in Jabal al-Druze, a mountainous region in southeastern Syria. They were among the earliest Druze settlers in Jabal Hauran and were the dominant local force in that region between their estab ...
clan. It was still subject to raids 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 ...
nomads at that time. In April 1838, while young Druze fighters from al-Qurayya were confronting the Egyptian army of Ibrahim Pasha, the village was looted and several of its inhabitants were killed in a raid by Sheikh Ibn Sumayr and his 'Anza Bedouin tribe. Further major raids against al-Qurayya occurred in 1842 and 1846.Firro, 1992, p
152
/ref> Only in the 1850s did relative stability take root. In 1852 al-Qurayya, then seat of Ismail al-Atrash, became the headquarters of Druze resistance against an Ottoman conscription decree.Firro, 1992, p
188
/ref> According to Porter, who visited al-Qurayya in 1853, the village had shrunk from one of the major towns of the
Hauran The Hauran ( ar, حَوْرَان, ''Ḥawrān''; also spelled ''Hawran'' or ''Houran'') is a region that spans parts of southern Syria and northern Jordan. It is bound in the north by the Ghouta oasis, eastwards by the al-Safa (Syria), al-Safa ...
plain to a small village. Many of its houses were built from ancient materials. Its chief in the 1850s was Sami Faruq Pasha al-Atrash, the most powerful Druze
sheikh Sheikh (pronounced or ; ar, شيخ ' , mostly pronounced , plural ' )—also transliterated sheekh, sheyikh, shaykh, shayk, shekh, shaik and Shaikh, shak—is an honorific title in the Arabic language. It commonly designates a chief of a ...
in the Hauran. In 1856-57 al-Qurayya served as the base for the Druze in their offensive against the
Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
villages of the Hauran.


French Mandate period

The French Mandate authorities bombed al-Qurayya and destroyed the home of its sheikh Sultan Pasha al-Atrash in a clash in 1921.Dana, p
9
During the
Great Syrian Revolt The Great Syrian Revolt ( ar, الثورة السورية الكبرى) or Revolt of 1925 was a general uprising across the State of Syria and Greater Lebanon during the period of 1925 to 1927. The leading rebel forces comprised fighters of the ...
of 1925-27, which was spearheaded by Sultan Pasha, al-Qurayya served as the chief meeting place for the sheikhs of local rebel clans.


Notable people

*
Sultan al-Atrash Sultan al-Atrash, (March 5, 1891 – March 26, 1982) ( ar, سلطان الأطرش), commonly known as Sultan Pasha al-Atrash ( ar, سلطان باشا الأطرش, links=no) was a prominent Arab Druze leader, Syrian nationalist and Commander Ge ...
*
Mansur al-Atrash Mansur al-Atrash ( ar, منصور الأطرش; 3 February 1925 – 14 November 2006) was a Syrian politician and journalist. Together with fellow university students, Atrash became a founding member of the Ba'ath Party and its Syrian regio ...


References


Bibliography

* * * * *


External links


Map of the town
Google Maps {{DEFAULTSORT:Qurayya Populated places in Salkhad District Towns in Syria Druze communities in Syria