Marj al-Sultan (, also spelled Marj Sultan, meaning "the meadow of Sulṭān") is a village in southern

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 ...

, administratively part of the

Rif Dimashq Governorate Rif Dimashq Governorate (, Literal translation, lit. "Damascus Countryside Governorate" or "Damascus Suburb") is one of the fourteen Governorates of Syria, governorates (provinces) of Syria. It is situated in the southwestern part of the country. ...

, located 15 kilometers east 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 ...

city. The village is situated in the fertile Ghouta region amid an orchard-filled area. Nearby localities include Harasta al-Qantarah and Zabdin to the west, al-Nashabiyah to the north, al-Bilaliyah to the east, Deir Salman to the southeast, Sakka to the south and Deir al-Asafir to the southwest. According to the Syria Central Bureau of Statistics, Marj al-Sultan had a population of 1,860 in the 2004 census.General Census of Population and Housing 2004
Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS). Rif Dimashq Governorate. In 2012 the population was estimated to be 2,500. Its inhabitants are predominantly members of Syria's Circassian community.Kanbolat, Hasan
Syrian Circassians have begun to arrive in Turkey
. '' Today's Zaman''. 2012-11-19.

History

Establishment during the Ottoman era

Marj al-Sultan was founded in 1877-78 by some 25 Circassian refugee families, mostly from the Abzakh and Shapsugh tribes, from

Anatolia Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...

whose settlement in the area was facilitated by the Ottoman authorities. This group of Circassians had come to Anatolia (modern-day

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

) after being relocated from

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

, which itself was a refuge for the Circassians after they had been forced out of their homeland in the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region spanning Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is situated between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, comprising parts of Southern Russia, Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. The Caucasus Mountains, i ...

in 1864 by invading

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

forces. They arrived to Marj al-Sultan via the land route through

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 ...

and

Homs Homs ( ; ), known in pre-Islamic times as Emesa ( ; ), is a city in western Syria and the capital of the Homs Governorate. It is Metres above sea level, above sea level and is located north of Damascus. Located on the Orontes River, Homs is ...

in the north of

. The governor of Damascus Province at the time, Medhat Pasha, took a liking to the Circassians, himself having a Circassian wife, offered the Circassian migrants residence in the Damascus city suburbs of Diwaniyyah and Muhajirun, but they refused opting to take up residence in Marj al-Sultan and the

Golan Heights The Golan Heights, or simply the Golan, is a basaltic plateau at the southwest corner of Syria. It is bordered by the Yarmouk River in the south, the Sea of Galilee and Hula Valley in the west, the Anti-Lebanon mountains with Mount Hermon in t ...

region. The former abounded in water springs, trees and grassy areas.Chatty, 2010, p. 111. The newly established village was built in a well-planned and organized manner and would subsequently thrive as a settlement, Initially, it was decided that the southeastern part of the village would serve as the place of residence, but the villagers decided to build up in the western section after the discovery of an old Roman cemetery. The Circassians built small, one-story adobe brick houses with poplar wood roofing. They were organized in a similar manner, all of them being directly off the street. Only three of the homes, belonging to the tribal heads, had two floors, the top floors of which contained one room for guest lodging. In 1879 a mosque was built in the Shapsugh quarter of the village. The land had been property of Sultan Abdul Hamid I, hence the name ''Marj al-Sultan'' ("Plain of the Sultan.") It was here that the

sultan Sultan (; ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it came to be use ...

had his 3,000 military horses graze in the spring and fall seasons. The government distributed a pair of cattle, a pair of oxen, poultry, foodstuffs and tents to each family. The village prospered and became a transit point for Circassians before migrating to the Golan Heights and Transjordan and for those traveled to do business in Damascus, Homs and Aleppo. The second generation of Syrian Circassians pursued better educational opportunities in Damascus and Marj al-Sultan's population gradually decreased.Chatty, 2010, p. 111.

Modern era

During the

Great Syrian Revolt The Great Syrian Revolt (), also known as the Revolt of 1925, was a general uprising across the State of Syria (1925–1930), State of Syria and Greater Lebanon during the period of 1925 to 1927. The leading rebel forces initially comprised figh ...

(1925–27) against the French Mandate rule, Marj al-Sultan's residents opted not to join the rebellion. The village was attacked sometime during the revolt. Although clashes between the inhabitants and the more unruly

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 ...

tribes of the region would occur periodically, there were generally lasting agreements in place between the factions. The last major clash broke out in 1954, after Syria's independence, when about 2,000 Bedouin tribesmen launched a raid against Marj al-Sultan, which had a total population of 350 at the time. The villagers, most of whom were well-skilled in firearms, managed to fend off the Bedouin. In 1951 a public library was built in the village and sometime before that the Marj al-Sultan Rural Club was established, the first of its kind to be built in the rural areas surrounding Damascus. Rebels seeking to overthrow the government of

Bashar al-Assad Bashar al-Assad (born 11September 1965) is a Syrian politician, military officer and former dictator Sources characterising Assad as a dictator: who served as the president of Syria from 2000 until fall of the Assad regime, his government ...

took shelter in Marj al-Sultan in November 2012, during the ongoing Syrian civil war that began in March 2011. Government forces subsequently bombarded the village and its entire population reportedly fled the violence. Most headed towards the Damascus suburb town of Qudsaya or the city district of Rukn al-Din, both areas being heavily populated by Circassians. The November clashes resulted in the destruction of between 10 and 15 houses, according to local witnesses. The casualty figures were not determined. On 25 November rebels claimed to have captured the adjacent military airbase, also called Marj al-Sultan, from government forces. 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. ...

, an opposition activist group documenting the conflict, confirmed the rebels' claims. They had reportedly been in control of the surrounding areas months prior to the base's capture. Fawaz Tello, a pro-opposition campaigner, stated the capture appeared to be a rebel attempt to cut off Damascus from the Damascus International Airport as well as from

. The airbase at Marj al-Sultan was reported to have been re-captured by troops of the Syrian government on Monday, December 14, 2015.Syria regime, allies recapture key airbase near Damascus
'' Agence-France Presse''. 2015-12-14.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Marj Sultan Populated places in Douma District Circassian communities in Syria Populated places established in 1877 1877 establishments in the Ottoman Empire