Saqba ( ar, سقبا; also spelled Sakba or Siqba) is a town in southern
Syria
Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
, administratively part of the
Markaz Rif Dimashq District of the
Rif Dimashq Governorate, 7 km east of central
Damascus
)), is an adjective which means "spacious".
, motto =
, image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg
, image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg
, seal_type = Seal
, map_caption =
, ...
. Nearby localities include
Jisrin to the southeast,
Kafr Batna to the southwest,
Hizzah
Hizzah ( ar, حزّة) is a Syrian village located in Markaz Rif Dimashq District, Rif Dimashq. It is located in Eastern Ghouta. According to the Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), Hizzah had a population of 9,293 in the 2004 census. It i ...
to the southwest and
Hamouriyah and
Beit Sawa to the north. According to the
Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), Saqba had a population of 25,696 in the 2004 census.
[General Census of Population and Housing 2004](_blank)
. Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS). Rif Dimashq Governorate.
History
Study and recitation of the
Quran was held in the mosque of Saqba as early as the 12th century when its ''
khatib'' was Ahmad ibn Hasan al-Kafatabi. Saqba was visited by Syrian geographer
Yaqut al-Hamawi in the early 13th century, during
Ayyubid
The Ayyubid dynasty ( ar, الأيوبيون '; ) was the founding dynasty of the medieval Sultan of Egypt, Sultanate of Egypt established by Saladin in 1171, following his abolition of the Fatimid Caliphate, Fatimid Caliphate of Egypt. A Sunni ...
rule. He noted that it was "a village of the
Ghautah of
Damascus
)), is an adjective which means "spacious".
, motto =
, image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg
, image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg
, seal_type = Seal
, map_caption =
, ...
."
Modern era
In the 1950s Saqba served as a village center of a district which contained seven other villages, with a total population of 12,000. Today, Saqba has become a working-class eastern suburb of Damascus.
Syrian Civil War
During the
Syrian civil war, Saqba was under
Free Syrian Army
The Free Syrian Army (FSA) ( ar, الجيش السوري الحر, al-jaysh as-Sūrī al-ḥur) is a loose faction in the Syrian Civil War founded on 29 July 2011 by officers of the Syrian Armed Forces with the goal of bringing down the governm ...
control since 2012, with splinter factions taking over eventually and would fall under
siege by government forces from 2013 to 2018. The town was heavily damaged during the course of the war.
References
Bibliography
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{{Rif Dimashq Governorate, markaz
Populated places in Markaz Rif Dimashq District