Asbah
Al-Asbah
الأصبح | |
|---|---|
Village | |
  Al-Asbah | |
| Coordinates: 32°58′37″N 35°53′7″E / 32.97694°N 35.88528°E | |
| Grid position | 224/241 PAL |
| Country | Syria |
| Governorate | Quneitra |
| District | Quneitra |
| Subdistrict | Khishniyah |
| Population (2004 census)[1] | |
• Total | 380 |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (EET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+3 (EEST) |
Al-Asbah (Arabic: الأصبح) is a village in southern Syria, administratively part of the Quneitra Governorate, located west of Quneitra. According to the Syria Central Bureau of Statistics, Asbah had a population of 380 in the 2004 census.[1] Its inhabitants are part of the Nu'aym, an Arab tribe based in the Golan Heights but with a presence in several parts of Syria.[2]
History
[edit]Transhumance shaped settlement in the Golan for centuries because of its harsh winters. The winters "forced tribespeople until the 19th century to live in hundreds of rudimentary 'winter villages' in their tribal territory. Starting in the second part of the 19th century, settlement in villages like al-Asbah became "fixed and formed the nucleus of fully sedentary life in the 20th century Golan."[3]
In 1966, Asbah was administratively separated from the adjacent village of al-Asha, attaining its own village status.[4] Both villages and others in the vicinity, including al-Rafid, Ghadir al-Bustan, Kudna, al-Muallaqa and Saida, were inhabited by the Nu'aym, a Bedouin tribe established in the Golan (Jawlan) and surrounding regions since at least the 16th century.[2][5]
During the 1967 Arab-Israeli war, most of the Golan was captured and occupied by Israel. Asbah was depopulated and the village razed by the Israelis. Following the 1973 Arab-Israeli war, Israel and Syria entered a 1974 disengagement agreement, which saw Israel withdraw from a demilitarized strip of territory, which included the site of Asbah. The Syrian government thereafter established housing projects in Asbah and several of the other villages restored to Syrian control to encourage their refugees' return. While some villagers returned, many remained in Damascus, where they had since found employment as laborers, artisans, merchants and professionals. In contrast, there were little prospects for permanent work in Asbah and the Golan villages.[5] The returnees engaged in farming, mostly olives and other fruit orchards, and livestock raising.[2]
References
[edit]- ^ a b "General Census of Population 2004". Retrieved 2014-07-10.
- ^ a b c Assaf, Faten (7 July 2010). "قبيلة "النعيم"... "أنا راعي الصفرا" (Al-Naim Tribe... I am the Shepherd of the Yellow [Land])". e-Syria (in Arabic). Retrieved 21 December 2024.
- ^ Roy Marom, “Sukayk and al-Summāqah: Mamluk Rural Geography in the Northern Jawlān/Golan Heights in the Light of Qāytbāy’s Endowment Deeds,” in Kate Raphael and Mustafa Abbasi (ed.s), The Golan in the Mamluk and Ottoman Periods: an Archaeological and Historical Study: Excavations at Naʿarān and Farj, In Honour of Moshe Hartal, Yigal Ben Ephraim and Shuqri ‘Arraf, Annual of the Nelson Glueck School of Biblical Archaeology Hebrew Union College—Jewish Institute of Religion Volume xiv (2024): 69-70.
- ^ Al-Omar, Mohammed (24 July 2024). ""العشة".. قرية جولانية محصنة بالتلال (Al-Asha: A Golan Village Fortified by Hills)". e-Syria. Retrieved 25 December 2024.
- ^ a b Abu Fakhr, Sakhr (2000). "Voices from the Golan". Journal of Palestine Studies. 29 (4).
