Najran, Syria
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Najran (, also spelled Nijran) is a village in southern
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 ...
lying south of the
Lejah 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, administratively part of the
al-Suwayda Governorate As-Suwayda or Al-Suwayda Governorate () is one of the fourteen Governorates of Syria, 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 capita ...
, located northwest of
al-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 ...
. Nearby localities include
Harran Harran is a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district of Şanlıurfa Province, Turkey. Its area is 904 km2, and its population is 96,072 (2022). It is approximately southeast of Urfa and from the Syrian border crossing at Akçakale. ...
to the northwest, Ariqah to the northeast, ad-Duweri and Qarrasa to the west, ad-Dour and Sami' to the southwest,
al-Mazraa Mazraa or Mazra'a may refer to: Places Syria *Al-Mazraa, Syria, a town in southern Syria in the Al-Suwayda Governorate *Al-Mazraa, Homs, a village in Homs District, Homs Governorate *Al-Mazraah, a village in Talkalakh District, Homs Governorate Le ...
and al-Majdal to the south and Kafr al-Laha to the southwest. According to the Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), Najran had a population of 2,995 in the 2004 census.General Census of Population and Housing 2004
. Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS). Al-Suwayda Governorate.


History


Byzantine and Islamic era

Najran takes its name from the South Arabian city of
Najran Najran ( '), is a city in southwestern Saudi Arabia. It is the capital of Najran Province. Today, the city of Najran is one of the fastest-growing cities in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia. As of the 2022 census, the city population was 381,431, wi ...
, many of whose inhabitants, the Balharith, were expelled from the city in the 520s and settled the district of
Trachonitis 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 ...
(the
Lejah 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), then part of the
Arabia Petraea Arabia Petraea or Petrea, also known as Rome's Arabian Province or simply Arabia, was a frontier Roman province, province of the Roman Empire beginning in the 2nd century. It consisted of the former Nabataean Kingdom in the southern Levant, th ...
province. They came under the protection of their ancient relatives, the
Ghassanids The Ghassanids, also known as the Jafnids, were an Tribes of Arabia, Arab tribe. Originally from South Arabia, they migrated to the Levant in the 3rd century and established what would eventually become a Christian state, Christian kingdom unde ...
. In the
Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...
era, (late 4th–6th century), a church was built in Najran by
Monophysite Monophysitism ( ) or monophysism ( ; from Greek , "solitary" and , "nature") is a Christological doctrine that states that there was only one nature—the divine—in the person of Jesus Christ, who was the incarnated Word. It is rejected as ...
Arab Christian Arab Christians () are the Arabs who adhere to Christianity. The number of Arab Christians who live in the Middle East was estimated in 2012 to be between 10 and 15 million. Arab Christian communities can be found throughout the Arab world, bu ...
s, likely from Najran in South Arabia. During the early Islamic era, the
Christian community of Najran The Christians of Najran were the most notable community of Christians in pre-Islamic Arabia. Christianity appears to have spread into the region by the fifth century, if not earlier. In some Islamic tradition, Najran is thought to have been the s ...
was expelled by
Umar ibn al-Khattab Umar ibn al-Khattab (; ), also spelled Omar, was the second Rashidun caliph, ruling from August 634 until his assassination in 644. He succeeded Abu Bakr () and is regarded as a senior companion and father-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muh ...
, leading to some migrating to the Najran of Hauran.Shahid, 2002, p
151
/ref> In the early 13th century, the Byzantine-era church was visited by
Syrian Syrians () are the majority inhabitants of Syria, indigenous to the Levant, most of whom have Arabic, especially its Levantine and Mesopotamian dialects, as a mother tongue. The cultural and linguistic heritage of the Syrian people is a blend ...
geographer
Yaqut al-Hamawi Yāqūt Shihāb al-Dīn ibn-ʿAbdullāh al-Rūmī al-Ḥamawī (1179–1229) () was a Muslim scholar of Byzantine ancestry active during the late Abbasid period (12th–13th centuries). He is known for his , an influential work on geography con ...
, who hailed the structure's beauty and noted its
mosaic A mosaic () is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/Mortar (masonry), mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and ...
s and
marble Marble is a metamorphic rock consisting of carbonate minerals (most commonly calcite (CaCO3) or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite (CaMg(CO3)2) that have recrystallized under the influence of heat and pressure. It has a crystalline texture, and is ty ...
columns. He also wrote that the church was a
votive A votive offering or votive deposit is one or more objects displayed or deposited, without the intention of recovery or use, in a sacred place for religious purposes. Such items are a feature of modern and ancient societies and are generally ...
shrine.


Ottoman era

In 1596, Najran appeared in Ottoman tax registers as being in 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 ...
'' of Bani Miglad in the Qada Hawran. It had a population of 65 households and 25 bachelors, all
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 ...
. The villagers paid taxes on wheat, barley, summer crops, occasional revenues, goats and beehives; a total of 5,000
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 ...
. Najran was settled by 200 Druze immigrant families from
Mount Lebanon Mount Lebanon (, ; , ; ) is a mountain range in Lebanon. It is about long and averages above in elevation, with its peak at . The range provides a typical alpine climate year-round. Mount Lebanon is well-known for its snow-covered mountains, ...
in 1685.Shahid, 2002, p
7
/ref> The village had been previously abandoned by the Arab tribe Muqri al-Wahsh, although it still contained Christians.Firro, 1992, p
157
/ref> According to historians Hanna Abu Rashid and Bouron, Najran was the first place for the second wave of Mount Lebanon Druze to settle, while historian Sa'id Sghayar notes that two other villages in the Lejah plain were temporarily settled by this group of immigrants before Najran was chosen as a permanent residence.Firro, 1992, p
39
/ref> Historian Abu Shaqra described the Druze arrival at Najran:
As was the custom in such cases, the sheikh of Najran ordered the lighting of bonfires on the summit of the village ... then bonfires were lit as a signal of war on the summit of every village in Jabel Hawran ... In the morning he Druzescame to Najran from every village. The three thousand Lebanese ruzeswere distributed over the different parts of Hawran.Firro, 1992, p.
129
/ref>
In 1711 Najran, which had a castle, became the center of 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 ...
clan, who controlled five other villages in the Hauran. In 1838, Edward Robinson was informed that Najran was a Catholic village, situated "in the ''Luhf'', south of the
Lejah 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 ...
". In the early 19th century Christians were still the majority in Najran, with roughly 150 families. There were 50 Druze families. By the mid-19th century the Druze Abu Fakhr clan controlled Najran and two other villages. During this period, the Christian and Druze communities were roughly equal in population and the chief of the village was Qasem Abu Fakhr. Traveler
Josias Leslie Porter Josias Leslie Porter (4 October 1823 – 16 March 1889) was an Irish Presbyterian minister, missionary and traveller, who became an academic administrator. He was Moderator of the Irish General Assembly in 1875. Early life Born on 4 October 18 ...
visited in the 1850s and noted that Najran had "extensive ruins ... estimated at nearly two miles in circumference." The most significant of these was the Byzantine-era church, the remains of which consisted of two square-shaped towers with Greek inscriptions. One tower inscription contained the date 458 AD, while the other contained 564 AD. According to Porter, the ruins had functioned as a
mosque A mosque ( ), also called a masjid ( ), is a place of worship for Muslims. The term usually refers to a covered building, but can be any place where Salah, Islamic prayers are performed; such as an outdoor courtyard. Originally, mosques were si ...
in earlier times.Porter, 1855, p
213
/ref> By 1862 the Abu Fakhr chief was Ibrahim Abu Fakhr, who resided in Najran. In October 1895 the
Ottoman army The Military of the Ottoman Empire () was the armed forces of the Ottoman Empire. It was founded in 1299 and dissolved in 1922. Army The Military of the Ottoman Empire can be divided in five main periods. The foundation era covers the years ...
based in nearby
al-Shaykh Maskin Al-Shaykh Maskin (), also spelled Sheikh Maskīn, Sheikh Miskeen, is a town in southern Syria, administratively part of the Daraa Governorate, located north of Daraa. Nearby localities include Ibta' and Da'el to the south, Khirbet al-Ghazaleh t ...
launched an offensive against the Druze, attacking Najran along with Qarrasa and Ahira. About 45 Ottoman soldiers were killed and 65 were wounded as a result of resistance by the three villages.Firro, 1992, pp
232
233.


References


Bibliography

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External links


Map of the town
Google Maps {{Al-Suwayda Governorate, suwayda Populated places in as-Suwayda District Druze communities in Syria Eastern Orthodox Christian communities in Syria