Al-Shajara (Arabic: الشجرة, also spelled ash-Shajarah) is a town in southern Syria, administratively part of the Daraa Governorate, located west of Daraa, in between the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights and Jordan. Nearby localities include Saham al-Jawlan to the east, Nafia to the north, Jamla to the northwest and Bayt Ara to the southwest.
Al-Shajara
الشجرة | |
|---|---|
Town | |
  Al-Shajara | |
| Coordinates: 32°46′18″N 35°52′59″E / 32.77167°N 35.88306°E | |
| Country |  Syria |
| Governorate | Daraa |
| District | Daraa |
| Subdistrict | Al-Shajara |
| Population (2004)[1] | |
| • Total | 6,567 |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (EET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+3 (EEST) |
History
editIn the Ottoman tax registers of 1596, it was located in the nahiya of Jawlan Sarqi, Qada of Hawran, with the name of Sajara. It had a population of 5 households and 2 bachelors, all Muslims. They paid a fixed tax-rate of 25% on agricultural products, including wheat, barley, summer crops, goats and beehives, winter pasture/grass lands, in addition to occasional revenues; a total of 1,988 akçe.[2]
In 1838 Eli Smith noted that the place was located west of the Hajj road, and that it was populated with Sunni Muslims.[3]
In 1908 the Darʿā–Haifa railway line started operating and ash-Shajara was connected with the ash-Shajara train station far south of the city in the valley of the Yarmuk, in this section drowned in the waters of the Al-Wehda Dam since 2007.
Modern era
editAccording to the Syria Central Bureau of Statistics, al-Shajara had a population of 6,567 in the 2004 census. It is the administrative center of the al-Shajara nahiyah (subdistrict) which consisted of 17 localities with a combined population of 34,206 in 2004.[1]
As of September 2016, al-Shajara was controlled by the Khalid ibn al-Walid Army branch of ISIL.
In an offensive on ISIS' pocket in southern Syria, the Syrian Armed Forces took control of this former ISIS stronghold in July 2018.[4]
References
edit- ^ a b "General Census of Population 2004". Retrieved 2014-07-10.
- ^ Hütteroth and Abdulfattah, 1977, p. 197
- ^ Robinson and Smith, 1841, vol 3, 2nd appendix, p. 161
- ^ "BREAKING: Last main ISIS stronghold in southwest Syria falls". AMN - Al-Masdar News | المصدر نيوز. 2018-07-30. Archived from the original on 2019-06-21. Retrieved 2018-07-28.
Bibliography
edit- Hütteroth, W.-D.; Abdulfattah, K. (1977). Historical Geography of Palestine, Transjordan and Southern Syria in the Late 16th Century. Erlanger Geographische Arbeiten, Sonderband 5. Erlangen, Germany: Vorstand der Fränkischen Geographischen Gesellschaft. ISBN 3-920405-41-2.
- Robinson, E.; Smith, E. (1841). Biblical Researches in Palestine, Mount Sinai and Arabia Petraea: A Journal of Travels in the year 1838. Vol. 3. Boston: Crocker & Brewster.
External links
edit- Map of the town, Google Maps
- Kafer el Ma-map; 21K
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