Bassir () is a village in

Hauran The Hauran (; also spelled ''Hawran'' or ''Houran'') is a region that spans parts of southern Syria and northern Jordan. It is bound in the north by the Ghouta oasis, to the northeast by the al-Safa field, to the east and south by the Harrat ...

, located 630 meters (0.4 miles) above sea level and southern of

Damascus Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Kno ...

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 ...

. Bassir is bordered from the east by Lejah, from the south by

Khabab Khabab () is a town located in southwest Syria in the Hauran plain, part of the Daraa Governorate, 57 km (~36 miles) south of Damascus and about the same distance from the city of Daraa. The old name of the town is ''Abiba'', which in Arama ...

, from the west by

Al-Sanamayn Al-Sanamayn (, also spelled Sanamein, Sanamain, Sunamein) is a city in southern Syria, administratively part of the Daraa Governorate and the center of al-Sanamayn District. It is located north of Daraa and south of Damascus. Nearby localities ...

and from the north by Jebab. It is situated in the middle of three main cities in

: Damascus,

Daraa Daraa (, Levantine Arabic: ) is a city in southwestern Syria, north of the border with Jordan. It is the capital of Daraa Governorate in the Hauran region. Located south of Damascus on the Damascus–Amman highway, it serves as a way sta ...

and

As-Suwayda Suwayda (), also spelled Sweida, is a mainly Druze city located in southern Syria, close to the border with Jordan. It is the capital of Suwayda Governorate, one of Syria's 14 governorates, bordering Jordan in the South, Daraa Governorate ...

Etymology

The word Bassir comes from the word "Pethera" that means in Greek "high" or "elevated" being situated in a relatively high location. Basrah being the most common. In Arabic, the word baṣrah means "the overwatcher,"

History

''Bassir'' was built as a military base for

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

forces in order to aid the military regiments scattered in the adjacent region. This region is a rocky area, consisting of volcano and lava stones and is known as "Lajah". Bassir was also a pit stop for caravans traveling between

Babylon Babylon ( ) was an ancient city located on the lower Euphrates river in southern Mesopotamia, within modern-day Hillah, Iraq, about south of modern-day Baghdad. Babylon functioned as the main cultural and political centre of the Akkadian-s ...

and

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

. In 1596 Bassir appeared in the Ottoman tax registers as ''Busayr al-Kubra'' and was part of the ''

nahiya A nāḥiyah ( , plural ''nawāḥī'' ), also nahiyeh, nahiya or nahia, is a regional or local type of administrative division that usually consists of a number of villages or sometimes smaller towns. In Tajikistan, it is a second-level divisi ...

'' of Bani Kilab in the

Hauran Sanjak The Hauran Sanjak (, ) was a sanjak of the Ottoman Empire, spanning the southern areas of Ottoman Syria, located in modern-day Syria and Jordan. The city of Daraa was the sanjak's capital. The sanjak had a population of 182,805 in 1914. Subdist ...

. It had an entirely

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 ...

population consisting of 4 households and 3 bachelors. The villagers paid a fixed tax-rate of 25% on

wheat Wheat is a group of wild and crop domestication, domesticated Poaceae, grasses of the genus ''Triticum'' (). They are Agriculture, cultivated for their cereal grains, which are staple foods around the world. Well-known Taxonomy of wheat, whe ...

barley Barley (), a member of the grass family, is a major cereal grain grown in temperate climates globally. It was one of the first cultivated grains; it was domesticated in the Fertile Crescent around 9000 BC, giving it nonshattering spikele ...

, summer crops, goats and beehives; a total of 2,900

akçe The ''akçe'' or ''akça'' (anglicized as ''akche'', ''akcheh'' or ''aqcha''; ; , , in Europe known as '' asper'') was a silver coin mainly known for being the chief monetary unit of the Ottoman Empire. It was also used in other states includi ...

. In 1838, ''Buseir'' was noted as a Catholic village, situated "the Nukra, north of

Al-Shaykh Maskin Al-Shaykh Maskin (), also spelled Sheikh Maskīn, Sheikh Miskeen, is a town in southern Syria, administratively part of the Daraa Governorate, located north of Daraa. Nearby localities include Ibta' and Da'el to the south, Khirbet al-Ghazaleh t ...

".Robinson and Smith, 1841, vol 3, 2nd appendix, p
151
/ref>

Demographics

Population

People from this area are known to be part of the

Ghassanid The Ghassanids, also known as the Jafnids, were an Arab tribe. Originally from South Arabia, they migrated to the Levant in the 3rd century and established what would eventually become a Christian kingdom under the aegis of the Byzantine Empi ...

Christians tribes that immigrated in the early 3rd century CE from

Yemen Yemen, officially the Republic of Yemen, is a country in West Asia. Located in South Arabia, southern Arabia, it borders Saudi Arabia to Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, the north, Oman to Oman–Yemen border, the northeast, the south-eastern part ...

to Hauran in southern Syria and established the kingdom of the Ghassanids. The population is about 3000, but unlike other neighboring villages, Bassir has a very low birth rate and significantly declined through the years. Many people originally from Bassir live in

but yet own homes in the village. As in many other areas of Syria during the time of

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, 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 Centr ...

and due to the lack of resources, a notable number of civilians were immigrated to

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

including

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

and

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

. Other people also were immigrated to adjacent countries i.e.

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

and currently live in

Beqaa Valley The Beqaa Valley (, ; Bekaa, Biqâ, Becaa) is a fertile valley in eastern Lebanon and its most important farming region. Industry, especially the country's agricultural industry, also flourishes in Beqaa. The region broadly corresponds to th ...

and Alcoura region near

Tripoli Tripoli or Tripolis (from , meaning "three cities") may refer to: Places Greece *Tripolis (region of Arcadia), a district in ancient Arcadia, Greece * Tripolis (Larisaia), an ancient Greek city in the Pelasgiotis district, Thessaly, near Larissa ...

Religion

Bassir's inhabitants are

Christians A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the world. The words '' Christ'' and ''C ...

and follow the

Melkite Greek Catholic Church The Melkite Greek Catholic Church (, ''Kanīsat ar-Rūm al-Malakiyyīn al-Kāṯūlīk''; ; ), also known as the Melkite Byzantine Catholic Church, is an Eastern Catholic church in full communion with the Holy See as part of the worldwide Catho ...

. It is similar to what is seen in their neighboring sister villages:

Izra' Izra or Izraa () is a town in the Daraa Governorate of Syria, to the north of the city of Daraa. It is the administrative centre of the Izra District, and sits at an altitude of 599 metres. Izra had a population of 19,158 in 2004, according to the ...

Tubna Tubna (, also spelled ''Tibna'' or ''Tebnah'') is a village in southern Syria, administratively part of the Daraa Governorate in the Hauran region. It is located 58 km south of Damascus and 42 km from Daraa. History Tubna was the seat ...

, Shaqra that all their current citizens originally immigrated from

Salkhad Salkhad () is a Syrian city in the As-Suwayda Governorate, southern Syria. It is the capital of Salkhad District, one of the governorate's three districts. It has a population of 15,000 inhabitants. It is located at 1350 metres above sea level ...

. There used to be two ancient Byzantine churches in Bassir: One of them, was built after the conversion to Christianity and entirely demolished. The other church is still buried under the church that is built during the late 19th and early 20th century and is newly renovated. The latter church believed to be first used by the new settler of Bassir.

Education

Bassir is a well known of highlight educated people and it was once called "home of light", because of the high number of educated people that spread the knowledge and education to other surrounding towns throughout the years. During the last 50 years, some people immigrated to many countries such

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

mostly to pursue higher education. Many famous scientists and scholars were born in this small town including physicians, engineers and politicians.

Architecture

The houses in Bassir are made of volcanic and Lava stones that are currently used to build the new houses of the village.

References

Bibliography

* *

External links

Bassir Website Map of the town
Google Maps
Sanameine-map; 19L
{{Daraa Governorate, sanamayn Populated places in Al-Sanamayn District Melkite Christian communities in Syria