Saida, also spelled Sayda ( ar, صَيْدَا, Ṣaydā), is a village in southern Syria, administratively part of the

Daraa Governorate Daraa Governorate ( ar, مُحافظة درعا / ALA-LC: ') is one of the fourteen governorates (provinces) of Syria. It is situated in the south-west of the country and covers an area of 3,730 km2. It is bordered by Jordan to the south, ...

, located east of

Daraa Daraa ( ar, دَرْعَا, Darʿā, Levantine Arabic: , also Darʿā, Dara’a, Deraa, Dera'a, Dera, Derʿā and Edrei; means "''fortress''", compare Dura-Europos) is a city in southwestern Syria, located about north of the border with Jord ...

. Nearby localities include

al-Naimah Al-Naimah ( ar, النعيمة), 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. ...

to the west,

Al-Ghariyah al-Gharbiyah Al-Ghariyah al-Gharbiyah ( ar, الغارية الغربية, Al-Gārīyah al-Ghārbīyah) also known as Western Ghariyah is a town in the Daraa District in southern Syria, northeast of Daraa city, on the M5 motorway between Damascus and the Nas ...

to the north, Kahil and

al-Musayfirah Al-Musayfirah ( ar, المسيفرة, also spelled Mseifreh or Musayfra) is a town in southern Syria, administratively part of the Daraa Governorate, located east of Daraa and 37 kilometers southeast of Damascus. Nearby localities include Kahil ...

to the east and

al-Taybah Al-Tayba ( ar, الطيبة, also spelled Tayyiba or Tayibah) is a village in eastern Syria, administratively part of the Homs Governorate. It is located in the Syrian Desert, near the Euphrates River to the east and al-Sukhnah and the village ...

and

Umm al-Mayazen Umm () means ''mother'' in Arabic. It is a common Arabic feminine given name and generic prefix for Semitic place names. It may refer to: Places Bahrain *Ain Umm Sujoor, an archaeological site * Umm an Nasan, an island * Umm as Sabaan, an islet E ...

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 ( ar, , plural ''nawāḥī'' ), also 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 division w ...

'' of Butayna,

Qada of Hauran Qada may refer to: * Qadan culture of Northeastern Africa (15,000 BCE to 11,000 BCE) * Qada (Islamic term), judgement or fulfillment of neglected duties * The Arabic form of the Turkish administrative division Kaza A kaza (, , , plural: , , ; o ...

. It had a population of 41 households and 13 bachelors, all Muslims. 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. 1/6 of the revenue went to a

waqf A waqf ( ar, وَقْف; ), also known as hubous () or ''mortmain'' property is an inalienable charitable endowment under Islamic law. It typically involves donating a building, plot of land or other assets for Muslim religious or charitabl ...

.Hütteroth and Abdulfattah, 1977, p. 214 In 1838 Eli Smith noted that the place was located west of the Hajj 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 ( ar, حَوْرَان, ''Ḥawrān''; 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, eastwards by the al-Safa field, to the ...

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