Tell al-Ḥāra, formerly known as Ḥārith al-Jawlān or Jabal Ḥārith, is the highest point in 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 ...
. During the
Arab–Israeli conflict
The Arab–Israeli conflict is a geopolitical phenomenon involving military conflicts and a variety of disputes between Israel and many Arab world, Arab countries. It is largely rooted in the historically supportive stance of the Arab League ...
and the
Syrian Civil War, it has served as a highly strategic military position because it overlooks wide areas of 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 ...
and
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 ...
regions. The closest population center is the town of
al-Hara, located at the hill's southeastern foot.
Description
Tell al-Hara is a conical-shaped
tell (mound or hill) with an elevation of above sea level.
[Shahid 2002, p]
224
n. 23. Like the neighboring hills, Tell al-Hara belongs to the range of extinct volcanoes of the Jaydur region and a wide crater opens at its summit.
[Schumacher 1897, p. 192.] It is the highest point in 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 ...
,
and overlooks 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 ...
plain.
[
At the southeastern foot of Tell al-Hara is the town of al-Hara.][Ma'oz 2008, p. 9.] 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 ...
is 50 kilometers north of Tell al-Hara, the governorate capital 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 ...
is 55 kilometers to the south, the district capital al-Sanamayn
Al-Sanamayn (, also spelled Sanamein, Sanamain, Sunamein) is a city in southern Syria, administratively part of the Daraa Governorate and the center of al-Sanamayn District. It is located north of Daraa and south of Damascus. Nearby localities ...
is 18 kilometers to the east and the Israel
Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
i-occupied 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 ...
is 12 kilometers to the west. Near the southern foot of Tell al-Hara begins the Nahr al-Allan river, which terminates near the border with Jordan.
Name
Tell al-Hara was known as "Jabal Ḥārith" in the late Byzantine
The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...
era.[Shahid 2002, p]
80
/ref> It was named after the Ghassanid
The Ghassanids, also known as the Jafnids, were an Arab tribe. Originally from South Arabia, they migrated to the Levant in the 3rd century and established what would eventually become a Christian kingdom under the aegis of the Byzantine Empi ...
king al-Harith and was referred to as "Ḥārith al-Jawlān" by the contemporary Arab poets al-Nabigha
Al-Nābighah (), al-Nābighah al-Dhubiyānī, or Nābighah al-Dhubyānī; real name Ziyad ibn Muawiyah (); was one of the last pre-Islamic Arabian poets. "Al-Nabigha" means genius or intelligent in Arabic.
Biography
His tribe, the Banu Dh ...
and Hassan ibn Thabit
Hassan ibn Thabit () (born c. 563, Medina died 674) was an Arabian poet and one of the companions of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, who was best known for poems in defense of the prophet.
He was born in Medina, and was a member of the Banu Khazr ...
. The modern name of the tell and the town at its foot, "''al-Ḥāra''", is a "mutilated" version of its Ghassanid name "''al-Ḥārith''", according to historian Irfan Shahîd. The tomb of the Ghassanid king al-Nu'man ibn al-Harith was said to be located at the summit of Tell al-Hara by al-Nabigha, though the scholarly consensus places al-Nu'man's tomb in the village of al-Hara.
History
In the 1890s, the German archaeologist Gottlieb Schumacher
Gottlieb Schumacher (21 November 1857 – 26 November 1925) was an United States, American-born civil engineer, architecture, architect and archaeology, archaeologist of Germans, German descent, who was an important figure in the early archaeol ...
noted that the tomb of a certain Muslim saint, Umar al-Shahid, "crowned" Tell al-Hara. He also noted that at the hill's western foot were the ruins of a Christian monastery known as Deir al-Saj, which he suspected was of Ghassanid
The Ghassanids, also known as the Jafnids, were an Arab tribe. Originally from South Arabia, they migrated to the Levant in the 3rd century and established what would eventually become a Christian kingdom under the aegis of the Byzantine Empi ...
origin.
Following Israel
Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
's occupation of 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 ...
in 1967, Tell al-Hara served as a strategic 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 ...
n reconnaissance point overlooking the Golan Heights. It was captured by Syrian rebel forces fighting under the banners of the Free Syrian Army
The Free Syrian Army (FSA; ) is a Big tent, big-tent coalition of decentralized Syrian opposition (2011–2024), Syrian opposition rebel groups in the Syrian civil war founded on 29 July 2011 by Colonel Riad al-Asaad and six officers who defe ...
(FSA) and Jabhat al-Nusra from the 7th Armored Division, one of the largest armored brigades of the Syrian Arab Army
The Syrian Arab Armed Forces (SAAF; ) were the combined armed forces of Syria from 1963 to 2024. They served during the rule of the Ba'ath Party in Syria.
The SAAF consisted of the Syrian Arab Army, Syrian Arab Air Force, Syrian Arab Air D ...
(SAA) in southern Syria, on 5 October 2015, partially as a result of the apparent defection of SAA general Mahmoud Abu Araj. Tell al-Hara's capture paved the way for the rebels' capture of much of the western 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 ...
and the southern Quneitra Governorate
Quneitra Governorate is one of the fourteen governorates (provinces) of Syria. It is situated in southern Syria, notable for the location of the Golan Heights. The governorate borders the countries of Lebanon, Jordan and Israel, and the Syrian ...
. They held Tell al-Hara for about four years until Syrian government forces retook control of the hill on 7 July 2018 after a two-day battle. Rebels apparently recaptured it before surrendering the hill to government forces in a reconciliation agreement on 16 July.
On 8 December 2024, after Israel launched an invasion of Syria amid the fall of the Assad regime
On 8 December 2024, the Assad regime collapsed during a 2024 Syrian opposition offensives, major offensive by Syrian opposition, opposition forces. The offensive was spearheaded by Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and supported mainly by the Turk ...
, Al Arabiya
Arabiya (, transliterated: '; meaning "The Arabic One" or "The Arab One") is a Saudi state-owned international Arabic news television channel. It is based in Riyadh and is a subsidiary of MBC Group.
The channel is a flagship of the media c ...
reported that Israel had taken control of Tell al-Hara.
References
Bibliography
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Hara
Al-Sanamayn District
History of Daraa Governorate
Mountains of Syria
Tells (archaeology)
Ghassanids