| Al-Atrash family عائلة الأطرش |
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|---|---|
| Ethnicity | Lebanese and Syrian origins |
| Current region | Jabal al-Druze |
| Information | |
| Place of origin | Syria |
| Notable members | Sultan al-Atrash Farid al-Atrash Asmahan |
| Name origin and meaning | Atrash is Arabic for deaf. |
The Atrash family (Arabic: الأطرش al-Aṭrash) is a famous Druze family. It is traditionally considered the source of leadership in Jabal ad-Duruz.
The name has the alternate spellings (with the prefix of al, al-, el or el-) of Atrache, Attrache, Attrasch Atrach, Attrach and Attrash, and is Arabic for "deaf". However, this is just a folk etymology, as the family name, like that of the other equally famous Druze family, the Jumblat, is Kurdish in origin. It finds its roots in the Artushi/Hartush tribe of Kurds that spread from the environs of Lake Van into northern Syria, albeit in its metathetic form.
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The family is claimed to be descended from the Prince Fakhreddin al Ma'ani, and migrated in the beginning of the 18th century, from Lebanon to Jabal ad-Duruz in southern Syria.
They grew in importance and in 1869, Ismail al-Atrash led them to overthrow the al-Hamdan family by force. However, they were weakened by the peasant revolution of 1888.
In 1909, Zuqan al-Atrash led an unsuccessful rebellion, and was executed in 1910. The al-Atrash family led their fellow Druze in fight against the Ottomans once again during the Arab Revolt until 1918 and the French in 1923 and 1925–1927, headed by Sultan al-Atrash (son of Zuqan al-Atrash).Their influence started to wane after unification and independence of Syria, especially with the death of Sultan Pasha al-Atrash.
Some members of the Atrash family emigrated from Syria to Egypt in the 1920s.[1] Fleeing the French occupation of Syria, 'Alia al-Mundhir al-Atrash, from the House of Sultan al-Atrash, and her three children, Fuad, Farid, and Amal al-Atrash (later known as Asmahan) were sponsored by Egypt's prime minister Saad Zaghloul and later became naturalized citizens.[2] After successful musical careers, Asmahan, Fuad and Farid al-Atrash were buried at the Fustat Plain in Cairo.[3][4]