Jabal al-Druze (, ) was an autonomous state in the

French Mandate of Syria The Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon (; , also referred to as the Levant States; 1923−1946) was a League of Nations mandate founded in the aftermath of the First World War and the partitioning of the Ottoman Empire, concerning the territories ...

from 1921 to 1936, designed to function as a government for the local

Druze The Druze ( ; , ' or ', , '), who Endonym and exonym, call themselves al-Muwaḥḥidūn (), are an Arabs, Arab Eastern esotericism, esoteric Religious denomination, religious group from West Asia who adhere to the Druze faith, an Abrahamic ...

population under French oversight.

Nomenclature

On 4 March 1922, it was proclaimed as the State of Souaida, after the capital

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 ...

, but in 1927 it was renamed Jabal al-Druze or Jabal Druze State. The name comes from the

Jabal al-Druze Jabal al-Druze (), is an elevated volcanic region in the Suwayda Governorate of southern Syria. Most of the inhabitants of this region are Druze, and there are also significant Christian communities. Safaitic inscriptions were first found in ...

mountain.

History

The Druze state was formed on 1 May 1921 in former Ottoman territory, while other statelets were installed in other parts of the Syrian mandate (e.g. the Alawite State in the Lattakia region). Jabal al-Druze was home to about 50,000 Druze. It was the first, and remains the only, autonomous entity to be populated and governed by Druze. The 1925 Syrian Revolution began in Jabal al-Druze under the leadership of Sultan al-Atrash, and quickly spread to

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 ...

and other non-Druze areas outside the

region. Protests against the division of Syrian territory into statelets were a main theme of Syrian

anti-colonial Decolonization is the undoing of colonialism, the latter being the process whereby imperial nations establish and dominate foreign territories, often overseas. The meanings and applications of the term are disputed. Some scholars of decolon ...

nationalism, which eventually won the victory to reunite the entire French-mandated territory, except

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 ...

(which had become independent) and the Sanjak of Alexandretta, which was annexed to Turkey as the

Hatay Province Hatay Province (, ) is the southernmost province and metropolitan municipality of Turkey. Its area is , and its population is 1,686,043 (2022). It is situated mostly outside Anatolia, along the eastern coast of the Levantine Sea. The province ...

. As a result of Syrian nationalist pressure, under the Franco-Syrian Treaty of 1936, Jabal al-Druze ceased to exist as an autonomous entity and was incorporated into

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 ...

. File:Druzeindependance1925.jpg, Druze celebrating their independence in 1925

Governors

*Amir Salim Pasha al-Atrash (1 May 1921 – 15 September 1923) *Trenga (provisional) (September 1923 – 6 March 1924) *Gabriel Marie Victor Carbillet (6 March 1924 – 14 October 1925), provisional to 1 October 1924 * Sultan Pasha al-Atrash (18 July 1925 – 1 June 1927), chief of state; in dissidence *Charles Andréa (15 October 1925 – 1927) *Marie Joseph Léon Augustin Henry (1927) *Abel Jean Ernest Clément-Grancourt (1927–1932) *Claude-Gabriel-Renaud Massiet (3 February 1932 – 28 January 1934) *Justin-Antoine Devicq (1934–1935) *Pierre-Joseph-François Tarrit (1935 – 2 December 1936)Jabal Druze: Heads of State: 1921–1936
/ref>

References

External links

Syria
at WorldStatesmen.org.
Map
at unimaps.com. {{Druze footer French Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon Former countries in West Asia Former protectorates History of the Druze States and territories established in 1921 States and territories disestablished in 1936 Former countries of the interwar period 1936 disestablishments in Asia 1921 establishments in Asia Druze in Syria

Nomenclature

History

Governors

See also

References

External links