Adra ( ar, عَدْرَا, ʿAdrā) is a town 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 northeast of Damascus. According to the Syria Central Bureau of Statistics, the town had a population of 20,559 in the 2004 census.General Census of Population and Housing 2004
Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS). Rif Dimashq Governorate. The

Hujr ibn Adi Mosque Ḥujr ibn ʿAdī al-Kindī ( ar, حُجْر بن عَدِيّ ٱلْكِنْدِيّ), died 660 CE, was a Companion of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. He was sentenced to death by the Umayyad Caliph Muawiyah I for his unwavering support and prais ...

is located in the town.

Summary

Adra is the site of Syria's largest

industrial city An industrial city or industrial town is a town or city in which the municipal economy, at least historically, is centered around industry, with important factories or other production facilities in the town. It has been part of most countries' i ...

, located immediately east of the town. The industrial zone's area is around 7,000

hectare The hectare (; SI symbol: ha) is a non-SI metric unit of area equal to a square with 100- metre sides (1 hm2), or 10,000 m2, and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. An acre is ...

s, with half being designated for services and the other half for industries. Its total estimated cost $570 million US. In 2008 there were 90 operating factories while 1,125 factories were under construction. The investment value for active factories was $646 million US. By 2010, Adra's industrial city contained the largest number of active factories and factories under construction in Syria, with a total of 1,952, a few more than in

Shaykh Najjar Shaykh Najjar ( ar, شيخ نجار, also spelled Sheikh Najjar) is an industrial city in northern Syria, administratively part of the Aleppo Governorate, located 10 kilometers northeast of Aleppo.

. The city's director-general in 2010 was Ziad Badour. The town is the site of the Adra Prison. Nearby localities include al-Rihan and Douma to the west,

al-Shafuniyah Al-Shafuniyah ( ar, الشفونية) also spelled Al-Shifuniyah and Shafuniyeh, is a Syrian village located in the Douma District Douma District ( ar-at, منطقة دوما, manṭiqat Dūmā) is a district of the Rif Dimashq Governorate in s ...

and

Hawsh Nasri Hawsh Nasri ( ar, حوش نصري; also spelled Hosh Nasri) is a Syrian village located in Markaz Rif Dimashq, Rif Dimashq to the northwest of the Al-Nashabiyah ''nahiyah A nāḥiyah ( ar, , plural ''nawāḥī'' ), also nahiya or nahia, i ...

to the southwest, Midaa to the south,

Dumeir Dumeir, also Dumair, Damir and Dumayr ( ar, الضمير) is a city located 45 kilometers north-east of Damascus, Syria. Archaeology An altar dedicated to the Semitic deity, Baalshamin in 94 CE, now in the Institut du Monde Arabe in Paris, indica ...

to the east, al-Qutayfah to the north,

Hufayr al-Tahta Hufayr al-Tahta (also spelled Hafir Tahta; ar, حفير التحتا) is a Syrian village located in the Douma District of Rif Dimashq Rif Dimashq Governorate ( ar, محافظة ريف دمشق, ', literally, the "Governorate of the Countrysid ...

to the northwest.

History

Adra is identified with the Biblical town of "

Hadrach Hadrach ( he, חַדְרָךְ) is a Biblical name, denoting a place, a king or a deity revered on the boundaries of Damascus. It is only mentioned once in the bible: Zechariah 9:1. It is generally thought to have been North of Lebanon. According ...

" mentioned by

Zechariah Zechariah most often refers to: * Zechariah (Hebrew prophet), author of the Book of Zechariah * Zechariah (New Testament figure), father of John the Baptist Zechariah or its many variant forms and spellings may also refer to: People *Zechariah ...

who noted the city, which was defended by Damascus, was condemned. The

Ghassanids The Ghassanids ( ar, الغساسنة, translit=al-Ġasāsina, also Banu Ghassān (, romanized as: ), also called the Jafnids, were an Arab tribe which founded a kingdom. They emigrated from southern Arabia in the early 3rd century to the Levan ...

, who were

Arab Christians Arab Christians ( ar, ﺍَﻟْﻤَﺴِﻴﺤِﻴُّﻮﻥ ﺍﻟْﻌَﺮَﺏ, translit=al-Masīḥīyyūn al-ʿArab) are ethnic Arabs, Arab nationals, or Arabic-speakers who adhere to Christianity. The number of Arab Christians wh ...

, dominated Adra and fought against the Muslim invaders commanded by Khalid bin Walid in the Battle of Marj Rahit in July, 634 CE. Adra contains several graves of ''

sahaba The Companions of the Prophet ( ar, اَلصَّحَابَةُ; ''aṣ-ṣaḥāba'' meaning "the companions", from the verb meaning "accompany", "keep company with", "associate with") were the disciples and followers of Muhammad who saw or m ...

'' ("companions" of Islamic prophet

Muhammad Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet divinely inspired to preach and confirm the monot ...

), including most notably that of Hujr ibn Adi. The

Zengid 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 ...

ruler

Imad ad-Din Zengi Imad al-Din Zengi ( ar, عماد الدین زنكي; – 14 September 1146), also romanized as Zangi, Zengui, Zenki, and Zanki, was a Turkmen atabeg, who ruled Mosul, Aleppo, Hama, and, later, Edessa. He was the namesake of the Zengid dyna ...

encamped at Adra in early 1135 before attempting to besiege Damascus which was controlled by the Burids. In the early 19th-century a ruined ''khan'' ("

caravansary A caravanserai (or caravansary; ) was a roadside inn where travelers ( caravaners) could rest and recover from the day's journey. Caravanserais supported the flow of commerce, information and people across the network of trade routes coverin ...

") was reported by Western travelers to be near the village of Adra. In 2013, it was the site of the

Adra massacre The Adra massacre was the killing of at least 32 Alawite, Christian, Druze and Ismailite civilians in the industrial town of Adra, Syria in December 2013, during the Syrian Civil War. According to the government and activists it was conduc ...

conducted by Islamist rebels against Syrian minorities.

References

Bibliography

* {{Rif Dimashq Governorate, douma Populated places in Douma District