Bab Al-Nairab
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Bab al-Nairab (, also spelled Bab al-Nayrab) meaning the "Gate of al-Nayrab", was one of the nine historical gates of the Ancient City of
Aleppo Aleppo is a city in Syria, which serves as the capital of the Aleppo Governorate, the most populous Governorates of Syria, governorate of Syria. With an estimated population of 2,098,000 residents it is Syria's largest city by urban area, and ...
in northern
Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...
, but has since disappeared. Its name refers to the nearby village of al-Nayrab (currently a suburb of Aleppo) as the gate led towards the village. Today, the city district where the gate used to stand is commonly called Bab al-Nairab, but is officially known as Muhammad Bek.


History

The Bab al-Nairab gate was built sometime during the period of 1216–1237 in the southeastern part of the ancient city by the
Ayyubid The Ayyubid dynasty (), also known as the Ayyubid Sultanate, was the founding dynasty of the medieval Sultan of Egypt, Sultanate of Egypt established by Saladin in 1171, following his abolition of the Fatimid Caliphate, Fatimid Caliphate of Egyp ...
ruler of Aleppo, al-Aziz Muhammad, son of predecessor
az-Zahir Ghazi Al-Malik az-Zahir Ghiyath ud-din Ghazi ibn Yusuf ibn Ayyub (commonly known as az-Zahir Ghazi; 1172 – 8 October 1216) was the Kurdish Ayyubid emir of Aleppo between 1186 and 1216. He was the third son of Saladin and his lands included northern ...
. The latter had planned its construction but al-Aziz carried it out following az-Zahir's death.Tabbaa, 1997, p. 21. The new gate marked the southward expansion of Aleppo during az-Zahir's rule.Morray, 1994, pp. 120–121. It was the starting point of the main route that led to the village of al-Nayrab. The name "Nairab" itself was derived from the Syriac word of ''Narb'', meaning the plain land. Beginning in the late
Mamluk Mamluk or Mamaluk (; (singular), , ''mamālīk'' (plural); translated as "one who is owned", meaning "slave") were non-Arab, ethnically diverse (mostly Turkic, Caucasian, Eastern and Southeastern European) enslaved mercenaries, slave-so ...
period in the 15th century, Aleppo developed links with the surrounding countryside through the Bab al-Nairab area. It served as the initial destination point for agricultural and pastoral products from the surrounding villages before being transported to the city's markets.Gonzalez, 2006, p. 461. During the
Ottoman era The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Central Euro ...
, local
peasant A peasant is a pre-industrial agricultural laborer or a farmer with limited land-ownership, especially one living in the Middle Ages under feudalism and paying rent, tax, fees, or services to a landlord. In Europe, three classes of peasan ...
s and
Bedouin The Bedouin, Beduin, or Bedu ( ; , singular ) are pastorally nomadic Arab tribes who have historically inhabited the desert regions in the Arabian Peninsula, North Africa, the Levant, and Mesopotamia (Iraq). The Bedouin originated in the Sy ...
s settled Bab al-Nairab, which had developed into a quarter. Many of the peasants had been uprooted from the countryside, while the Bedouin were semi-sedentary nomads who lived in the district during winter. Although Bab al-Nairab's generally poor population was
Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...
, it was also ethnically diverse, including
Arab Arabs (,  , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of years ...
s,
Kurd Kurds (), or the Kurdish people, are an Iranian peoples, Iranic ethnic group from West Asia. They are indigenous to Kurdistan, which is a geographic region spanning southeastern Turkey, northwestern Iran, northern Iraq, and northeastern Syri ...
s and Turkmen. Along with Banqusa, Bab al-Nairab became one of the most powerful quarters of Aleppo, where the countryside immigrants and the merchants of the caravan trade held sway and could influence the public order as well as the urban tax system.Hourani and Khoury, 1994, p. 95.


Modern era

Bab al-Nairab had a population of some 12,000 in the first quarter of the 20th century. Residents of the neighborhood resisted conscription efforts by the Arab government of King Faisal which briefly held power in Syria after the collapse of Ottoman control in 1917–18. Bab al-Nairab later played a significant role in the Syrian resistance movement against the French who were attempting to consolidate control over the country in 1919. The leaders of two prominent clans in the neighborhood, Abd al-Fatah al-Baytar and Kanju Hamada, along with several members of the prominent al-Berri clan and a number of lesser families formed a large militia consisting of an infantry, a cavalry and a machine-gun unit. On 3 July 1920, the
French Army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (, , ), is the principal Army, land warfare force of France, and the largest component of the French Armed Forces; it is responsible to the Government of France, alongside the French Navy, Fren ...
gained control over Aleppo, but Bab al-Nairab's inhabitants continued to put up token resistance for a short while longer. As part of a series of urban development projects in Aleppo during the presidency of
Hafez al-Assad Hafez al-Assad (6 October 193010 June 2000) was a Syrian politician and military officer who was the president of Syria from 1971 until Death and state funeral of Hafez al-Assad, his death in 2000. He was previously the Prime Minister of Syria ...
, large parts of the Bab al-Nairab district were demolished to make way for new roads constructed through the Old City. Many of the city's residents welcomed the plans, but a significant campaign, which attracted the support of a number of public figures, was launched against the demolitions. In 1977 the campaign successfully lobbied the Syrian Board of Antiquities to classify Bab al-Nairab as a historical landmark and a committee for the preservation of the district was established. Nonetheless, several leading members of the ruling
Ba'ath Party The Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party ( ' ), also known simply as Bath Party (), was a political party founded in Syria by Michel Aflaq, Salah al-Din al-Bitar, and associates of Zaki al-Arsuzi. The party espoused Ba'athism, which is an ideology ...
and the governor of Aleppo insisted that the development plans were to move forward for the purpose of modernization. This conflict coincided with a tense period in Aleppo in light of the conflict between the outlawed Syrian Muslim Brotherhood and the authorities.Rabbo, p. 118. Large-scale demolitions in Bab al-Nairab took place during the spring of 1979 and the summer of 1982. Further development schemes did not take place following
UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...
's labeling of the entire Old City, including Bab al-Nairab, as a
World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...
. However, the activities of the Syrian Board of Antiquities and UNESCO were mostly focused on conserving the Bab al-Faraj quarter, and not Bab al-Nairab. Today, Bab al-Nairab is a large and densely populated neighborhood situated at and around the southeastern border of the Old City. The part of the neighborhood outside the walls of the Old City is known to be a "popular" or lower-class area. It is officially named Muhammad Bek district. According to the Syria Central Bureau of Statistics, Muhammad Bek had a population of 16,771 in the 2004 census.General Census of Population and Housing 2004
. Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS). Aleppo Governorate.
Intense fighting in the district between rebels from the
Free Syrian Army The Free Syrian Army (FSA; ) is a Big tent, big-tent coalition of decentralized Syrian opposition (2011–2024), Syrian opposition rebel groups in the Syrian civil war founded on 29 July 2011 by Colonel Riad al-Asaad and six officers who defe ...
(FSA) and the native pro-government al-Berri tribe took place in Bab al-Nairab in early August 2012 within the frames of the Syrian Civil War. The clashes were sparked by the FSA's execution of tribal leader Zeino al-Berri which prompted a statement from the al-Berri tribe promising retaliation against the FSA. According to
Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...
reporting, the neighborhood was shelled by the
Syrian Army The Syrian Army is the land force branch of the Syrian Armed Forces. Up until the fall of the Assad regime, the Syrian Arab Army existed as a land force branch of the Syrian Arab Armed Forces, which dominanted the military service of the fo ...
on 25 September 2012. Further shelling was reported on 4 October by the
Syrian Observatory for Human Rights The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (also known as SOHR; ), founded in May 2006, is a United Kingdom-based information office whose stated aim is to document human rights abuses in Syria; since 2011 it has focused on the Syrian Civil War. ...
, a human rights activist group.Turkey shells Syria: Latest
''
The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...
''. 2012-10-04.


References


Bibliography

* * * * * * * * {{coord, 36, 11, 39, N, 37, 09, 58, E, type:landmark, display=title Ayyubid architecture in Syria Nairab Neighborhoods of Aleppo 13th-century establishments in the Ayyubid Sultanate