′Ira (; also spelled ''Areh'', ''′Ara'' or ''Ora'') is a village in southeastern

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

, administratively part of the

as-Suwayda District as-Suwayda District () is a district of the as-Suwayda Governorate in southern Syria. The administrative centre An administrative centre is a seat of regional administration or local government, or a county town, or the place where the centra ...

of the

as-Suwayda Governorate As-Suwayda or Al-Suwayda Governorate () is one of the fourteen governorates (provinces) of Syria. It is the southernmost governorate, covering an area of 5,550 km², and is part of the historic Hawran region. The capital and largest city of ...

, located south of

as-Suwayda Suwayda (), also spelled Sweida, is a mainly Druze city located in southern Syria, close to the border with Jordan. It is the capital of Suwayda Governorate, one of Syria's 14 governorates, bordering Jordan in the South, Daraa Governorate ...

. In the 2004 census, it had a population of 6,136. Its inhabitants are predominantly Druze.

History

In 1596 the village appeared under the name of "Timri" in the Ottoman tax registers as part of the ''

nahiya A nāḥiyah ( , plural ''nawāḥī'' ), also nahiyeh, 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 divisi ...

'' (subdistrict) of Bani Nasiyya in the

Qadaa of Hauran The Hauran Sanjak (, ) was a sanjak of the Ottoman Empire, spanning the southern areas of Ottoman Syria, located in modern-day Syria and Jordan. The city of Daraa was the sanjak's capital. The sanjak had a population of 182,805 in 1914. Subdistr ...

. It had a

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

population consisting of twenty-five households and fourteen bachelors, and a

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

population of five households. They paid a fixed tax-rate of 40% on agricultural products, including wheat, barley, summer crops, goats and beehives, in addition to occasional revenues; the taxes totaled 16,000

akçe The ''akçe'' or ''akça'' (anglicized as ''akche'', ''akcheh'' or ''aqcha''; ; , , in Europe known as '' asper'') was a silver coin mainly known for being the chief monetary unit of the Ottoman Empire. It was also used in other states includi ...

. In 1838 'Ira was reported to be populated with

Druze The Druze ( ; , ' or ', , '), who Endonym and exonym, call themselves al-Muwaḥḥidūn (), are an Arabs, Arab Eastern esotericism, esoteric Religious denomination, religious group from West Asia who adhere to the Druze faith, an Abrahamic ...

and

Greek Orthodox Christians Greek Orthodox Church (, , ) is a term that can refer to any one of three classes of Christian Churches, each associated in some way with Greek Christianity, Levantine Arabic-speaking Christians or more broadly the rite used in the Eastern Roma ...

. 'Ira was resettled by Druze migrants in the early 19th century. It was controlled by the

Al Hamdan Al Hamdan () is a Druze clan based in Jabal al-Druze, a mountainous region in southeastern Syria. They were among the earliest Druze settlers in Jabal Hawran and were the dominant local force in that region between their establishment there in 1711 ...

family, who used it as a secondary headquarters. The Al Hamdan were ousted from 'Ira in 1857 by

Ismail al-Atrash Ismail al-Atrash () (died November 1869) was the preeminent Druze sheikh (chieftain) of Jabal Hauran, a mountainous region southeast of Damascus, in the mid-19th century. His family had moved to the area in the early 19th century. As relative newc ...

. This marked the consolidation of Bani al-Atrash supremacy in

Jabal Hauran Jabal al-Druze (), is an elevated volcanic region in the Suwayda Governorate of southern Syria. Most of the inhabitants of this region are Druze, and there are also significant Christian communities. Safaitic inscriptions were first found in t ...

over the Al Hamdan. Following Ismail's death in 1869, his son Ibrahim became head of the family and was recognized by Rashid Pasha, governor of

Damascus Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Kno ...

, as governor of 'Ira. His brother succeeded him in 1883 and based himself in 'Ira. The village was attacked by Ruwala tribesmen in 1893 during hostilities between the Bani al-Atrash and the Ottomans. Four residents were killed.Firro 1992, p
229.
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References

Bibliography

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External links

Map of the town
Google Maps {{Al-Suwayda Governorate, suwayda 19th-century establishments in the Ottoman Empire Druze communities in Syria Populated places in as-Suwayda District