Al-Mataaiyah, also spelled al-Muta'iya or Mataeiyeh (Arabic: المتاعية), is a village in southern Syria, administratively part of the Daraa Governorate, located northeast of Daraa and west of Bosra. Nearby localities include Nasib to the east, al-Taybeh to the northwest, al-Jiza to the north, Ghasm to the northeast, Bosra to the east and the Jordanian village of Sama al-Sirhan to the southwest. According to the Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), al-Mataaiyah had a population of 2,734 in the 2004 census.[1]

Al-Mataaiyah
المتاعية
Village
Al-Mataaiyah is located in Syria
Al-Mataaiyah
Al-Mataaiyah
Coordinates: 32°29′46″N 36°17′34″E / 32.49611°N 36.29278°E / 32.49611; 36.29278
Country Syria
GovernorateDaraa Governorate
DistrictDaraa District
NahiyahAl-Jiza
Population
 (2004 census)[1]
 • Total2,734
Time zoneUTC+2 (EET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+3 (EEST)

History

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Al-Mataaiyah was a khirba (ruined village) by the 19th century during Ottoman rule. However, the second half of that century saw a resurgence in grain cultivation and security in the Hauran region, of which al-Mataaiyah was part.[2] In 1892, a certain entrepreneurial local chieftain, Sheikh Khuntush, purchased the then-abandoned village for 1,000 Turkish gold liras.[2] Afterward, he moved farmers into al-Mataaiyah and built cisterns inside the dry village to collect rainwater.[2] In 1895, there were about 150 inhabitants and Sheikh Khuntush resolved to bring in more peasants. By 1905, the population grew to 200.[2] During the 1890s, some people from al-Mataaiyah also reestablished the village of Sama, 7 kilometers to the southwest.[2]

References

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  1. ^ a b General Census of Population and Housing 2004. Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS). Daraa Governorate. (in Arabic)
  2. ^ a b c d e Lewis, Norman (2000). "The Syrian Steppe during the Last Century of Ottoman Rule: Hawran and the Palmyrena". In Mundy, Martha; Musallam, Basim (eds.). The Transformation of Nomadic Society in the Arab East. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 40–41. ISBN 0521770572.