Sawran, Aleppo Governorate

Sawran
صوران
Soran
Town
Sawran

Location of Sawran in Syria

Coordinates: 36°33′57″N 37°12′46″E / 36.5658°N 37.2128°E / 36.5658; 37.2128
Country  Syria
Governorate Aleppo
District Azaz
Subdistrict Sawran
Elevation 444 m (1,457 ft)
Population (2004)[1] 6,998
Time zone EET (UTC+2)
 • Summer (DST) EEST (UTC+3)
Geocode C1664

Sawran (Arabic: صوران‎‎, Turkish: Soran), also spelled Suran, Souran or Sawwaran, is a town in northern Aleppo Governorate, northwestern Syria. Located 22 kilometres (14 mi) north of the city of Aleppo, it is the administrative centre of Nahiya Sawran in Azaz District. Nearby localities include A'zaz to the west, Ihtaimlat and Dabiq to the east and Mare' to the south. In the 2004 census, Sawran had a population of 6,988.[1]

Sawran is the administrative center of Nahiya Sawran of the Azaz District.

The town has an ethnic Turkmen majority.[2][3]

History

Sawran's history dates back to the Iron Age when it was an Aramaean settlement in the Kingdom of Bit Adini known as "Surunu." In a military campaign against Bit Adini's king Ahuni, the Neo-Assyrian king Shalmaneser III raided and captured Surunu.[4] It later came under the rule of Assyrian king Tiglath Pileser III.[5]

During the Byzantine era in Syria, Sawran was inhabited by the Arab tribe of Tanukh. Before the Muslim conquest it served an Arab Christian center and contained a fortified monastery. During early Islamic rule, Sawran was part of Jund Qinnasrin ("Military District of Chalcis"), part of the larger Bilad al-Sham province.[6]

Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) took control of the town on 31 May 2015.[7] On 16 October 2016, Turkish-backed rebels captured the town from ISIL.[8][9]

References

  1. 1 2 "2004 Census Data for Nahiya Sawran" (in Arabic). Syrian Central Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved 15 October 2015. Also available in English: UN OCHA. "2004 Census Data". Humanitarian Data Exchange. Retrieved 4 December 2015.
  2. ↑ "Struggle for al-Bab" (PDF). Washington Institute. 5 October 2016. Retrieved 17 October 2016.
  3. ↑ Michael Izady 2
  4. ↑ Bryce, 2009, pp. 674-675.
  5. ↑ Lipinsky, 2000, pp. 210-211.
  6. ↑ Shahid, 2009, p. 404.
  7. ↑ "Dozens reported killed in violence across Syria". Al Jazeera. 21 June 2015. Retrieved 5 July 2015.
  8. ↑ "Syria conflict: Rebels 'capture' IS stronghold of Dabiq". BBC News. 2016-10-16. Retrieved 2016-10-16.
  9. ↑ السيطرة على دابق تقضي على أهم ذرائع تنظيم “الدولة الإسلامية”.

Bibliography

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