′Ataman ( ar, عتمان), also spelled ′Atman, Athman, Osmane or Othman, is a village in southern
Syria, administratively part of the
Daraa Governorate
Daraa Governorate ( ar, مُحافظة درعا / ALA-LC: ') is one of the fourteen governorates (provinces) of Syria. It is situated in the south-west of the country and covers an area of 3,730 km2. It is bordered by Jordan to the south, ...
, located 4 kilometers north of
Daraa. Other nearby localities include
al-Yadudah to the west,
Tafas to the northwest,
Da'el
Da'el ( ar, داعل, also spelled Da'il) is a town in southern Syria located on the old road between Daraa and Damascus, located approximately 14 kilometers north of Daraa. Administratively, it belongs to the Daraa District of the Daraa Gove ...
to the north,
Khirbet Ghazaleh to the northeast,
al-Ghariyah al-Gharbiyah
Al-Ghariyah al-Gharbiyah ( ar, الغارية الغربية, Al-Gārīyah al-Ghārbīyah) also known as Western Ghariyah is a town in the Daraa District in southern Syria, northeast of Daraa city, on the M5 motorway between Damascus and the Nas ...
to the east and
al-Naimah to the southeast. According to the
Syria Central Bureau of Statistics, Ataman had a population of 8,929 in the 2004 census.
History
In the
Ottoman tax registers of 1596, it was a village located the ''
nahiya
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 ...
'' of Butayna,
Qada of
Hawran, under the name of ''Atman''. It had a population of 29 households and 15 bachelors, all
Muslims. They paid a fixed tax-rate of 40% on agricultural products, including wheat, barley, summer crops, goats and beehives; a total of 8,000
akçe.
[Hütteroth and Abdulfattah, 1977, p. 215]
In 1838, during
Ottoman rule, Ataman was listed as a ''khirba'' (ruined or deserted village) in the Nukrah region by scholar
Eli Smith.
[ Smith; in Robinson and Smith, 1841, vol 3, Second appendix, B, p]
152
Archaeology
Ataman contains a few ancient ruins that were occupied by residents in the early 20th century.
According to orientalists
Enno Littmann and
Howard Crosby Butler, Ataman was likely not an ancient town, but rather "a group of fine residences, or villas, with a common monumental tomb".
Among the more notable ruins are an ancient bridge and a large
mausoleum. The mausoleum consists of a large stone building topped by a square structure built in the
Corinthian architectural form.
[Boulanger, 1966, p. 503.] The mausoleum is the most preserved of Ataman's ancient remains. Just north of the building are ruined structures consisting of parts of ancient
columns, large windows and doorways.
References
Bibliography
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External links
Map of the town Google Maps
Deraa-map, 22L{{Daraa Governorate, daraa
Populated places in Daraa District