Jabal Druze State

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Jabal al-Druze (Arabic: جبل الدروز, French: Djebel Druze) was an autonomous state in the French Mandate of Syria from 1921 to 1936, designed to function as a government for the local Druze population under French oversight.[1][2]

State of Jabal al-Druze
Djebel Druze
جبل الدروز
1 May 1921–9 September 1936
Flag of Jabal al-Druze
Location of Jabal al-Druze (turquoise-blue) in the Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon
Location of Jabal al-Druze (turquoise-blue) in the Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon
StatusMandate of France
CapitalAs-Suwayda
Common languages
Religion
Governor 
• 1921–1923
Prince Salim Basha al-Atrash
• 1935–1936
Pierre Tarit
Historical eraInterwar period
• Established
1 May 1921
• Named "State of Souaida"
4 March 1922
• Named "Jabal al-Druze"
1 June 1927
• Disestablished
9 September 1936
Preceded by
Succeeded by
State of Damascus
First Syrian Republic

Nomenclature

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Arrete No. 1343, which laid out the borders of the State of Jebel Druze, March 1922
Statut Organique of the State of Jebel Druze, 14 May 1930

On 4 March 1922, it was proclaimed as the State of Souaida, after the capital As-Suwayda, but in 1927 it was renamed Jabal al-Druze or Jabal Druze State. The name comes from the Jabal al-Druze mountain.[2]

History

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The Druze state was formed on 1 May 1921 in former Ottoman territory, while other statelets were installed in other parts of the Syrian mandate (e.g. the Alawite State in the Lattakia region). Jabal al-Druze was home to about 50,000 Druze.[1][2] It was the first, and remains the only, autonomous entity to be populated and governed by Druze. The 1925 Syrian Revolution began in Jabal al-Druze under the leadership of Sultan al-Atrash, and quickly spread to Damascus and other non-Druze areas outside the Jabal al-Druze region. Protests against the division of Syrian territory into statelets were a main theme of Syrian anti-colonial nationalism, which eventually won the victory to reunite the entire French-mandated territory, except Lebanon (which had become independent) and Alexandretta, which was annexed to Turkey as the Hatay Province.

As a result of Syrian nationalist pressure, under the Franco-Syrian Treaty of 1936, Jabal al-Druze ceased to exist as an autonomous entity and was incorporated into Syria.

General distribution of population in the State of Jabal Druze according to the French census in 1921–22[3]
Religion Inhabitants Percentage
Druze 43,000 84.8%
Christians 7,000 13.8%
Sunni 700 1.4%
Total 50,700 100%

Governors

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  • Amir Salim Pasha al-Atrash (1 May 1921 – 15 September 1923)
  • Trenga (provisional) (September 1923 – 6 March 1924)
  • Gabriel Marie Victor Carbillet (6 March 1924 – 14 October 1925), provisional to 1 October 1924
  • Sultan Pasha al-Atrash (18 July 1925 – 1 June 1927), chief of state; in dissidence
  • Charles Andréa (15 October 1925 – 1927)
  • Marie Joseph Léon Augustin Henry (1927)
  • Abel Jean Ernest Clément-Grancourt (1927–1932)
  • Claude-Gabriel-Renaud Massiet (3 February 1932 – 28 January 1934)
  • Justin-Antoine Devicq (1934–1935)
  • Pierre-Joseph-François Tarrit (1935 – 2 December 1936)[4]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Phersu Atlas". content.phersu-atlas.com. Retrieved 15 September 2024.
  2. ^ a b c "11. French Syria (1919-1946)". uca.edu. Retrieved 15 September 2024.
  3. ^ E. J. Brill's First Encyclopaedia of Islam, 1913–1936, Volume 2, page 301.
  4. ^ Jabal Druze: Heads of State: 1921–1936
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