Chiyah () is situated in the west region of the
Lebanese
Lebanese may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Lebanese Republic
* Lebanese people
The Lebanese people ( ar, الشعب اللبناني / ALA-LC: ', ) are the people inhabiting or originating from Lebanon. The term may al ...
capital
Capital may refer to:
Common uses
* Capital city, a municipality of primary status
** List of national capital cities
* Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences
* Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used f ...
of
Beirut and is part of
Greater Beirut
Greater Beirut ( ar, بيروت الكبرى; french: Grand Beyrouth) is the urban agglomeration comprising the city of Beirut ( Beirut Governorate) and the adjacent municipalities over the Mount Lebanon Governorate. It does not constitute a sin ...
.
Location
Chiyah is located in the southwest suburbs of the capital
Beirut, bordered by
Haret Hreik,
Ghobeiry,
Hadath,
Hazmiyeh, Furn-el-chebbak and
Ain El Remmaneh
Ain El Remmaneh ( Arabic: عين الرمانة, lit. spring of the pomegranate) is a Christian neighborhood, in the Baabda district of Mount Lebanon, Lebanon, a suburb of Beirut and part of Greater Beirut.
History and war
In the 1950s, the ...
. However, before 1956, it used to cover a larger area that included the current districts of Karm el Zeitoun, Hayy el Knissé, Bir Abed and Haret el Mjadlé, as well as Jnah, Ghobeiry, Furn-el-chebbak, Bir Hassan and Ain El Remanneh.
The meaning of its name is vague, and many suppositions were found, with one saying that it means the processing of metal (''Shewah''). Another theory is the
Arabic origin of the name means a kind of tree that is used for
silk production (a flourishing industry in this former village). The city was once covered with citrus orchards and extending to the
Mediterranean Sea. Today, it is a full part of the demographically huge
Beirut outskirts totalling around 60,000 inhabitants.
Demographics
Historically, Chiyah was a predominantly
Christian
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
town, but it became partly inhabited by
Shia Muslims. The major surnames or families in Chiyah are Rahme, Mahmoud, Nasr, Srouji, Maarouf, Kassem, Kanj, Farraj, Sous, and El-Khatib.
History
During the
Ottoman period, Chiyah used to be ruled by the
Druze
The Druze (; ar, دَرْزِيٌّ, ' or ', , ') are an Arabic-speaking esoteric ethnoreligious group from Western Asia who adhere to the Druze faith, an Abrahamic, monotheistic, syncretic, and ethnic religion based on the teachings of ...
Arslan family, but later it was passed on to the
Shihab dynasty.
In May 1988 following three weeks of intense
fighting between
Amal Amal may refer to:
* Amal (given name)
* Åmål, a small town in Sweden
* Amal Movement, a Lebanese political party
** Amal Militia, Amal Movement's defunct militia
* Amal language of Papua New Guinea
* ''Amal'' (film), 2007, directed by Richi ...
and
Hizbullah, Ghobeiry and
Chiyah were the only districts of Beirut that Amal was able to retain control of, the rest of Southern Beirut coming under Hizbullah control.
On 21 December 1994 a car bomb in Chyah killed Fuad Mughniyeh, one brother of Hizbullah commander
Imad Mughniyeh. Two other people were killed in the explosion and sixteen wounded.
[Middle East International No 491, 6 January 1995; Gerald Butt p.14]
The current head of the municipality is parliament member hopeful
Edmond Gharios
Edmond is a given name related to Edmund. Persons named Edmond include:
* Edmond Canaple (1797–1876), French politician
* Edmond Chehade (born 1993), Lebanese footballer
* Edmond Conn (1914–1998), American farmer, businessman, and politician ...
.
Roland Rahal
Roland (; frk, *Hrōþiland; lat-med, Hruodlandus or ''Rotholandus''; it, Orlando or ''Rolando''; died 15 August 778) was a Frankish military leader under Charlemagne who became one of the principal figures in the literary cycle known as the ...
headed the municipality for the time of the parliamentary elections. Naji Gharios, a native of Chiyah, was elected in June 2009 as member of the
Lebanese Parliament
The Lebanese Parliament ( ar, مجلس النواب, translit=Majlis an-Nuwwab; french: Chambre des députés) is the national parliament of the Republic of Lebanon. There are 128 members elected to a four-year term in multi-member constit ...
representing the Baabda district.
See also
*
Amal Movement militia
*
Mountain War (Lebanon)
The Mountain War ( ar, حرب الجبل , ''Harb al-Jabal''), also known as the War of the Mountain and Guerre de la Montagne in French language, French, was a subconflict between the Lebanese Civil War#Second phase of the war.2C 1982-1983, 1 ...
*
Lebanese Civil War
External links
Chiyah Localiban
References
Greater Beirut
Populated places in Baabda District
Maronite Christian communities in Lebanon
Shia Muslim communities in Lebanon
{{lebanon-geo-stub