As-Suwayda or Al-Suwayda Governorate ( Arabic : مُحافظة السويداء / ALA-LC : Muḥāfaẓat as-Suwaydā’ ) is one of the fourteen governorates (provinces) of Syria . It 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 .
13-454: 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 is home to numerous archaeological sites. This governorate is unique in Syria as it has
26-503: 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 a small Muslim refugee community from mainly Daraa Governorate as well as other parts of Syria. In
39-574: A NW-SE direction. This volcanic field lies within the northern part of the massive alkaline Harrat al-Sham (also known as Harrat al-Shaam) volcanic field that extends from southern Syria to Saudi Arabia. In Arabic , the word " tell " means "mound" or "hill", but in Jabal al-Druze it rather refers to a volcanic cone . 32°40′N 36°44′E / 32.667°N 36.733°E / 32.667; 36.733 Harrat al-Sham The Ḥarrat al-Shām ( Arabic : حَرَّة ٱلشَّام ), also known as
52-694: The Harrat al-Harra or Harrat al-Shaba , and colloquially as the Black Desert in English, is a region of rocky, basaltic desert straddling southern Syrian region and the northern Arabian Peninsula . It covers an area of some 40,000 km (15,000 sq mi) in the modern-day Syrian Arab Republic , Jordan , Israel and Saudi Arabia . Vegetation is characteristically open acacia shrubland with patches of juniper at higher altitudes. The Harrat has been occupied by humans since at least
65-601: The Arabian Plate , containing more than 800 volcanic cones and around 140 dikes . Activity began during the Miocene ; an earlier eruptive stage at the southeastern end of the volcanic field, occurred during the late Pleistocene and the Holocene . It is known to have erupted in historic times. The Jabal al-Druze , al-Safa and Dirat al-Tulul volcanic fields, among others, form the northern and Syrian part of
78-608: The Late Epipalaeolithic ( c. 12,500–9500 BCE ). One of the earliest known sites is Shubayqa 1 (occupied c. 12,600–10,000 BCE ), a Natufian site where archaeologists have discovered the remains of the oldest known bread . The Harrat comprises volcanic fields formed by tectonic activity from the Oligocene through to the Quaternary . It is the largest of several volcanic fields on
91-632: The ḥarra . The Saudi Arabian portion of the Harrat Ash Shamah volcanic field extends across a 210 km (130 miles)-long, roughly 75 km (47 miles)-wide northwest-southeast-trending area on the northeastern flanks of the Wadi Sirhan and reaches its 1,100 metres (3,600 ft) high point at Jabal al-Amud. It is in the Tabuk Province of northwest Saudi Arabia . and is one of a series of Quaternary volcanic fields paralleling
104-463: 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 the inhabitants live in the western parts of
117-649: The Druze';), is an elevated volcanic region in the As-Suwayda Governorate of southern Syria . Most of the inhabitants of this region are Druze , and there are also significant Christian communities. Safaitic inscriptions were first found in this area. The State of Jabal Druze was an autonomous area in the French Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon from 1921 to 1936. In the past,
130-445: The border with Jordan. The most prominent feature of this volcanic field is 1800m-high Jabal al-Druze (also known variously as Jabal ad Duruz, Djebel Al-Arab, Jabal Druze, Djebel ed Drouz). The alkaline volcanic field consists of a group of 118 basaltic volcanoes active from the lower-Pleistocene to the Holocene (2.6 million years ago to present). The large SW Plateau depression is filled by basaltic lava flows from volcanoes aligned in
143-505: 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. Jabal al-Druze Jabal al-Druze ( Arabic : جبل الدروز , romanized : jabal al-durūz , lit. 'Mountain of
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#1732765578995156-492: The name Jabal al-Druze was used for a different area, located in Mount Lebanon . In Syria, most Druze reside in the As-Suwayda Governorate , which encompasses almost all of Jabal al-Druze. 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. In the 1980s Druze made up 87.6% of
169-561: 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. The Jabal al-Druze volcanic field, the southernmost in Syria, lies in the Haurun-Druze Plateau in SW Syria near
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