Saida, also spelled Sayda (), 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

Daraa Governorate Daraa Governorate ( / ALA-LC: ') is one of the fourteen Governorates of Syria, governorates (provinces) of Syria. It is situated in the south-west of the country and covers an area of 2594 km2. It is bordered by Jordan to the south, Quneitra G ...

, located east of

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 ...

. Nearby localities include

al-Naimah Al-Naimah (), also al-Naima, al-Naimeh or Elnaymah, is a village in southern Syria, administratively part of the Daraa Governorate, located east of Daraa. Nearby localities include Ataman to the northwest and Saida to the east. History In the O ...

to the west, Al-Ghariyah al-Gharbiyah to the north, Kahil and al-Musayfirah to the east and al-Taybah and Umm al-Mayazen to the south. According to the Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), Saida had a population of 11,215 in the 2004 census.General Census of Population and Housing 2004
Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS). Daraa Governorate.

History

In the Ottoman tax registers of 1596, Sayda was a village located 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 Butayna, Qada of Hauran. It had a population of 41 households and 13 bachelors, all

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 ...

s. They paid a fixed tax-rate of 40% on agricultural products, including wheat, barley, summer crops, goats and beehives, in addition to occasional revenues; a total of 8,188

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 ...

. 1/6 of the revenue went to a

waqf A (; , plural ), also called a (, plural or ), or ''mortmain'' property, is an Alienation (property law), inalienable charitable financial endowment, endowment under Sharia, Islamic law. It typically involves donating a building, plot ...

.Hütteroth and Abdulfattah, 1977, p. 214 In 1838

Eli Smith Eli Smith (September 13, 1801 – January 11, 1857) was an American Protestant missionary and scholar. Biography Smith was born in Northford, Connecticut, to Eli and Polly (née Whitney) Smith. He graduated from Yale College in 1821 and from A ...

noted that the place was located west of the

Hajj Hajj (; ; also spelled Hadj, Haj or Haji) is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the holiest city for Muslims. Hajj is a mandatory religious duty for capable Muslims that must be carried out at least once in their lifetim ...

road, and that it was in ruins.Robinson and Smith, 1841, vol 3, 2nd appendix, p
161
/ref> Saida was also noted as a ''khirba'' (ruined village) by 1858 during Ottoman rule. However, the second half of that century saw a resurgence in grain cultivation and security in the

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 ...

region, of which Saida was part. During that period, it was settled and by 1895 had 250 inhabitants.

References

Bibliography

* *

External links

Deraa-map, 22L
19th-century establishments in Ottoman Syria Populated places in Daraa District {{DaraaSY-geo-stub