Dama, Syria

Dama
داما
Village
Dama

Location in Syria

Coordinates: 32°57′10″N 36°25′51″E / 32.95278°N 36.43083°E / 32.95278; 36.43083Coordinates: 32°57′10″N 36°25′51″E / 32.95278°N 36.43083°E / 32.95278; 36.43083
Country  Syria
Governorate As-Suwayda Governorate
District Shahba District
Nahiyah Al-Ariqah
Population (2004 census)[1]
 • Total 1,799
Time zone EET (UTC+2)
 • Summer (DST) EEST (UTC+3)

Dama (Arabic: داما‎‎) is a village in the As-Suwayda Governorate of southwest Syria. It is located in the heart of the Lejah lava plateau, 29 km north west of the city of As-Suwayda. According to the Syria Central Bureau of Statistics, Dama had a population of 1,799 in the 2004 census.[1]

History

Dama and neighboring villages are thought to be the place where Saint Paul took refuge after escaping from Damascus.

The village, like most of the villages in Jabal ad-Druze, was an old Roman location. Many of its houses are still in their original condition. The inhabitants are mostly Druze and their main occupation is agriculture.

In 1596 Dama appeared in the Ottoman tax registers as part of the nahiya of Bani Abdullah in the Qada of Hauran. It had an entirely Muslim population consisting of 74 households and 28 bachelors. Taxes were paid on wheat, barley, summer crops, goats and/or beehives.[2]

Dama played a major role in the late stages of the Great Syrian Revolution (1925-1927). It hosted the important Dama Convention which resulted in the refusal of French proposals and the collapse of negotiations between the Druze rebels and the French. It was also the site of some of the last battles in the revolution fought by guerrilla groups led by Emir Adel Arslan.

References

  1. 1 2 General Census of Population and Housing 2004. Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS). Al-Suwayda Governorate. (in Arabic)
  2. ↑ Hütteroth and Abdulfattah, 1977, p. 216.

Bibliography

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