Al-Thaalah (Arabic: الثعلة, also spelled Al-Tha'lah or Ath-Thaalah), is a Syrian village located in the Suwayda District of the Suwayda Governorate. According to the Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), Al-Thaalah had a population of 4,569 in the 2004 census.[1] Its inhabitants are predominantly Druze.[2][3]
Al-Thaalah
الثعلة Al-Tha'lah, Al-Thaala, Ath-Thaalah | |
|---|---|
Village | |
  Al-Thaalah Location in Syria | |
| Coordinates: 32°42′42″N 36°26′57″E / 32.71167°N 36.44917°E | |
| Grid position | 285/235 PAL |
| Country |  Syria |
| Governorate | Suwayda |
| District | Suwayda |
| Subdistrict | Suwayda |
| Population (2004 census) | |
• Total | 4,569 |
| City Qrya Pcode | C6140 |
History
editIn 1596, Al-Thaalah appeared in the Ottoman tax registers as Ta'la; part of the nahiya of Bani Nasiyya in the Hauran Sanjak. It had an entirely Muslim population consisting of 30 households and 12 bachelors. The villagers paid a fixed tax rate of 25% on various agricultural products, including wheat (10500 akçe), barley (2250), summer crops (1500), goats and beehives (500), in addition to "occasional revenues"(250); a total of 15,000 akçe.[4]
In 1838, it was noted as a Sunni Muslim village, situated "the Nukra, east of Al-Shaykh Maskin".[5] By the end of the nineteenth century, its population had become predominantly Druze.[6]
During the Bedouin–Druze clashes in 2025, Al-Thaalah remained under caretaker government control as one of 34 western villages held by Damascus forces and Bedouin allies.[7]
Religious buildings
edit- Maqam al-Khidr (Druze Shrine)
- Maqam Abel (Druze Shrine)
Notable people
edit- Faisal al-Qassem, TV host
See also
editReferences
edit- ↑ "General Census of Population 2004" (in Arabic). Archived from the original on 2015-12-08. Retrieved 2022-05-07.
- ↑ "Druze communities in the Middle East". British Druze Society. Archived from the original on September 11, 2011.
- ↑ Ward, Cian (6 June 2025). "In Southern Syria, Tensions Simmer Between Druze and Bedouin Neighbors". New Lines Magazine.
- ↑ Hütteroth and Abdulfattah, 1977, p. 220
- ↑ Robinson and Smith, 1841, vol 3, 2nd appendix, p. 152
- ↑ Lewis, Norman N. (1987). Nomads and settlers in Syria and Jordan, 1800-1980. Cambridge University Press. p. 91.
- ↑ "Renewed Clashes Between Tribal Fighters and Local Militias in Syria's Suwayda". enabbaladi.net. 3 August 2025.
Bibliography
edit- Hütteroth, W.-D.; Abdulfattah, K. (1977). Historical Geography of Palestine, Transjordan and Southern Syria in the Late 16th Century. Erlanger Geographische Arbeiten, Sonderband 5. Erlangen, Germany: Vorstand der Fränkischen Geographischen Gesellschaft. ISBN 3-920405-41-2.
- Robinson, E.; Smith, E. (1841). Biblical Researches in Palestine, Mount Sinai and Arabia Petraea: A Journal of Travels in the year 1838. Vol. 3. Boston: Crocker & Brewster.
External links
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