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18-606: It is the capital of Suwayda Governorate , one of Syria's 14 governorates , bordering Jordan in the South and Daraa Governorate in the West and Rif Dimashq Governorate in the north and east. The city is referred to by some as "Little Venezuela" due to the city's influx of affluent Venezuelan Syrian immigrants. The city was founded by the Nabataeans as Suada . It became known as Dionysias Soada ( Ancient Greek : Διονῡσιάς ) in

36-719: A suffragan bishop from Bosra . It was mentioned in the Synecdemus of Hierocles . After the early Muslim conquests , the city was conquered by the Rashidun Caliphate of the Arabs in 629 and became a titular see . Yaqut al-Hamawi noted in the 1220s that As Suwaida was "a village of the Hauran Province". In 1516, the city and the adjoining region was conquered from the Mamluk Sultanate by

54-451: A campaign of mass arrests in the city. On July 25, 2018, the city was rocked by a string of terrorist attacks. A group of at least 56 ISIS -affiliated attackers entered the city and initiated a series of gunfights and suicide bombings killing 246 people, the vast majority of them civilians. Many of the terrorists were reported killed during the attack, bringing the total death toll to at least 302 people. Forty-two Druze residents between

72-527: A small Muslim refugee community from mainly Daraa Governorate as well as other parts of Syria. In the 1980s Druze made up 87.6% of the population, Christians (mostly Greek Orthodox ) 11% and Sunni Muslims 2%. In 2010, the As-Suwayda governorate has a population of about 375,000 inhabitants, Druze made up 90%, Christians 7% and Sunni Muslims 3%. Due to low birth and high emigration rates , Christians proportion in As-Suwayda had declined. Most of

90-550: A total of 6,125 akçe . 3/4 of the revenue went to a waqf . In recent times Dionysias was identified as Suwayda by William Waddington . In the 19th century, visitors recorded the now-destroyed Tomb of Hamrath , an elaborate late Hellenistic mausoleum dating from the 1st century BCE. The city has been held by the Syrian government for the duration of the Syrian Civil War . On 28 October 2012, security forces launched

108-448: A way of repressing Syrian people on 24 March 2012. He was dismissed on 11 June 2020 by President Bashar al-Assad amid a worsening economic crisis and subsequent regional protests . According to Al Akhbar , Khamis was detained after he was dismissed from premiership, and has been interrogated due to corruption charges. However, Khamis was seen shortly after, when he was voting during the 2020 Syrian parliamentary election . Khamis

126-520: Is a Syrian politician who served as the 67th prime minister of Syria from 2016 to 2020 under president Bashar al-Assad . Previously, he was minister of electricity from 2011 to 2016. Khamis was born in Saqba near Damascus on 1 August 1961. He earned a degree in electrical engineering from the University of Damascus in 1981. Khamis was assigned to the management of a number of departments in

144-544: Is home to numerous archaeological sites. This governorate is unique in Syria as it has a Druze majority. Additionally, it has integrated Christian communities that have long coexisted harmoniously with the Druze in these mountain. The governorate has a population of about 375,000 inhabitants (est. 2011). It is the only governorate in Syria that has a Druze majority. There is also a sizable Eastern Orthodox minority, and

162-409: Is more rainfall in the winter than in the summer. This location is classified as BSk by Köppen and Geiger . The average temperature is 15.5 °C. About 323 mm of precipitation falls annually. Suwayda Governorate As-Suwayda or Al-Suwayda Governorate ( Arabic : مُحافظة السويداء / ALA-LC : Muḥāfaẓat as-Suwaydā’ ) is one of the fourteen governorates (provinces) of Syria . It

180-493: Is the southernmost governorate, covering an area of 5,550 km², and is part of the historic Hawran region. The capital and largest city of the governorate is al-Suwayda . Geographically the governorate comprises almost all of Jabal al-Druze , the eastern part of Lejah , and a part of the arid eastern steppe of Harrat al-Shamah . Most inhabitants of As-Suwayda are employed in agriculture, cultivating crops such as grapes, apples, olives, and wheat. Additionally, As-Suwayda

198-623: The Hellenistic period and the Roman Empire , for the god Dionysus , patron of wine - the city is situated in a famous ancient wine-producing region. The name Dionysias replaced the former Nabataean name in 149 AD after Nabataean influence decreased and then concentrated towards the south, as a result of the then accelerating Hellenization of Coele-Syria . Dionysias was a part of the Roman province of Arabia Petraea , and received

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216-616: The Ottoman Empire . In 1596 Suwayda appeared under the name of Majdal Sawda in the Ottoman tax registers as part of the nahiya (subdistrict) of Bani Nasiyya of the Hauran Sanjak . It had a population of 5 households and 5 bachelors, all Muslim . The villagers paid a fixed tax rate of 20% on various agricultural products, including wheat, barley, summer crops, goats and/or beehives, in addition to "occasional revenues";

234-788: The General Organization for the distribution and investment power from 1987 to 2005. He was Director General of the General Company for Electricity for the Damascus Governorate from 2005 to 2008. He was appointed Director-General of the Public Corporation for the distribution and investment power in 2008. On 3 July 2016, Khamis was appointed Prime Minister of Syria, following the 2016 parliamentary election . The European Union sanctioned Khamis due to his alleged role in using electric cuts as

252-536: The ages of 7 and 60 were kidnapped by ISIS and held captive. One was executed bringing the total in captivity to 41. On 7 June 2020, anti-government protests erupted in the city due to the deteriorating economic situation. Protesters demanded the resignation of President Bashar al-Assad for the first time since 2015. As a result of the protests, Prime Minister Imad Khamis was sacked on 11 June and replaced by Hussein Arnous . In February, hundreds of protesters took to

270-565: The inhabitants live in the western parts of the governorate, especially on the western slopes of Jabal ad-Duruz. Only nomadic Bedouin tribes live in the barren region of Harrat al-Shamah. The governorate is divided into three districts ( manatiq ). The districts are further divided into 12 sub-districts ( nawahi ): The governorate contains 3 cities, 124 towns/villages, and 36 hamlets. Imad Khamis Imad Muhammad Dib Khamis ( Arabic : عماد محمد ديب خميس , romanized :  ʿImād Muḥammad Dīb Khamīs ; born 1 August 1961)

288-468: The old part of the city: The city has many ancient reservoirs, towers and old Roman houses that are still inhabited by locals today. Many parts of the old city still await excavation, such as the Roman aqueduct , a conical reservoir, and a larger Roman theatre . There is also an old 7th century mosque built during the time of the Rashidun Caliphate . Suwayda's climate is warm, dry and temperate. There

306-602: The rights of civitas during the reign of Commodus between 180 and 185. Dionysus was worshipped in the same Nabatean temple dedicated to Dushara . This practice of associating the worship of local and Hellenic gods was common in Hellenistic Syria. This name remained in use during the Byzantine Empire , when the town was under the influence of the Ghassanids . Dionysias then was a diocese with

324-508: The streets in Sweida to decry corruption and worsening living standards. In August, thousands of protestors took to the streets to decry worsening economic conditions and demanding the departure of Syrian President Bashar al Assad. The inhabitants of the city are mainly Druze with a Greek Orthodox Christian and Sunni Muslim minority. The population of Suwayda Governorate is 313,231 (2004 census). Many archeological sites can be found in

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