As-Sanamayn ٱلصَّنَمَيْن As-Sanamain, As-Sanamein | |
|---|---|
 The remains of the 2nd-century Roman temple of Tyche in as-Sanamayn, 2008 | |
  As-Sanamayn Location in Syria | |
| Coordinates:33°04′16″N36°11′3″E / 33.07111°N 36.18417°E /33.07111; 36.18417 | |
| Grid position | 260/275PAL |
| Country |  Syria |
| Governorate | Daraa |
| District | Sanamayn |
| Subdistrict | Sanamayn |
| Elevation | 640 m (2,100 ft) |
| Population (2004 census)[1] | |
• Total | 26,268 |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (EET) |
| • Summer (DST) | +3 |
As-Sanamayn (Arabic:ٱلصَّنَمَيْن,romanized: aṣ-Ṣanamayn, also spelledSanamain orSanamein) is a city in southernSyria, administratively part of theDaraa Governorate and the center ofas-Sanamayn District. It is located 55 kilometres (34 miles) north ofDaraa and 50 kilometres (31 miles) south ofDamascus. Nearby localities includeKafr Shams to the northwest,Deir al-Bukht to the north,Jabab to the northeast,Bassir to the east,Tubna to the southeast,Inkhil to the southwest andQayta to the west.[2] As-Sanamayn has an altitude of 640 metres (2,100 feet).
According to theSyria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), as-Sanamayn had a population of 26,268 in the 2004 census.[1] In addition to being capital of the al-Sanamayn District, the city is also the administrative center and second largest locality of the al-Sanamaynnahiyah ("subdistrict") which consists of 16 localities with a collective population of 113,316 in 2004.[1] The city's inhabitants are predominantlySunni Muslims.[3]
The city is administratively affiliated with many cities and towns such as Inkhil in the southwest, Qayta, Al-Hara and Aqraba in the west, Kafr Shams and Deir Al-Adas in the northwest, Kafr Nasij and Deir Al-Bakht in the north, Ghabagheb, Jabab and Muthabin in the northeast, Basir in the east, Khabab and Tubna in the southeast and Al-Qaniya in the south.[4]
The nameas-Sanamayn isArabic for "the Two Idols."[5]
Throughout its long history, the two idols have had several names, the last of which was its current name, which goes back to the presence of two distinct idols in the city during the Islamic conquest, so the city was named after these two statues.[6]
As-Sanamayn has been identified with theRoman-era village ofAere,[7][5][8] a station mentioned in theAntonine Itinerary on the road betweenDamascus to the north andNawa to the south.[5] A temple in as-Sanamayn dedicated toTyche, the Greek goddess offortune, has been dated to 191 CE.[7][8] Another was apparently dedicated to Tyche's Roman equivalent,Fortuna, who was central toBosra's state cult; it dates from the early to mid-3rd-century CE, during the reign of emperorSeptimius Severus.[5] ABatanean inscription from the reign of Roman emperorJulian the Apostate in the mid to late 4th-century was discovered in as-Sanamayn.[9]
As-Sanamayn has also been associated withBathyra, a village situated on the border between Batanaea andTrachonitis, where circa 7 BCEHerod established a Jewish Babylonian military colony under the leadership of Zamaris to safeguard the area from local brigands.[10][11][12]
As-Sanamayn had its own governor underIkhshidid rule (939–969) until 945 when theBanu Uqayl was entrusted with governing theHauran region.[13]
A peace treaty betweenBaldwin I, theCrusader king ofJerusalem, andToghtekin, theMuslim ruler of Damascus was signed at as-Sanamayn in 1111.[14] The treaty was signed after a Crusader army pursuing Muslim forces to theLejah was taken by surprise and surrounded at as-Sanamayn.[15] In December 1168, aZengid army was assembled at as-Sanamayn to launch an expedition towardsEgypt to check the suspected independent ambitions of theFatimid vizierShirkuh, who was originally dispatched to Egypt by the Zengids to stave off a Crusader invasion. Zengid sultanNur al-Din awarded each soldier 20 dinars before they departed.[16]
The place was visited by medieval Syrian geographerYaqut al-Hamawi in the 1220s duringAyyubid rule, and noted it was "a town in the Hauran, 2 marches from Damascus."[17]
From theMiddle Ages to the present day, the temple dedicated to Tyche was used as amosque. Today it is also one of the best preserved Roman edifices in Syria.[8]
As in other towns on theHajj (Muslim pilgrimage toMecca) caravan route, theOttoman sultanSelim I constructed a fortress in as-Sanamayn sometime between 1516 and 1520.[18] Localjanissaries were garrisoned at the fortress in as-Sanamayn in contrast to nearbyMuzayrib, which was manned by imperial troops.[19] In 1596 the town appeared in the Ottomantax registers asSanamayn and was part of thenahiya (subdistrict) ofBani Kilab in theHauran Sanjak. It had an entirelyMuslim population consisting of 80 households and 37 bachelors. The villagers paid a fixed tax-rate of 20% on various agricultural products, includingwheat,barley, summer crops, goats and beehives, in addition to on a water mill. The total taxes were 18,900akçe.[20]
In 1672, the village contained acongregational mosque with a minaret, two small mosques, a largekhan (caravanserai) andhammam (bathhouse), but had no market.[18] The Turkish travelerEvliya Çelebi noted that some prostitutes sought work by the roadside in as-Sanamayn.[18]
In the mid-19th-century, explorerJosias Leslie Porter noted that the ruins of a few temples were present and that the most "striking building" was aCorinthian-style, ornamentedlimestone temple that had since been converted to a Christian church. In addition he noted "there are the remains of several large and beautiful buildings, and some of the houses are in the best style of Hauran architecture." Among the features of these structures were large walls, stone doors, roofs and window shutters andbasalt character.[dubious –discuss][5] During roughly the same time period it was reported by theRoyal Geographical Society that as-Sanamayn was an entirely Muslim village with about 60 houses and with an entrance marked by large basalt blocks.[21] It belonged[clarification needed] to aTurkoman family known as Kawwas-oghlu who maintained encampments between the town andKhan Dannun to the north. As-Sanamayn was "well supplied with water," contained several bird species and its pools were filled with leeches which would be collected and sold in the markets of Damascus.[22] In 1898 theBaedekerPalestine and Syria: Handbook for travellers noted it as "an excellent example of aHauran village."[23]
Towards the end ofWorld War II theFree French forces maintained a headquarters at as-Sanamayn. Syria was ruled by theFrench Mandate at the time.[24]
As-Sanamayn was among the first cities to stage mass demonstrations against the government ofBashar al-Assad on 18 March 2011, joining other Hauran cities like Daraa, Inkhil,Jasim andDa'el. According to opposition activists security forces did not fire on demonstrators that day.[25] On 25 March, however, 20 protesters were shot and killed by government forces after burning down[dubious –discuss] a statue of late presidentHafez al-Assad, the current president's father.[26] An opposition activist inDamascus claimed that several protesters – as many as 20 according to some witnesses – were killed while attempting to march towards Daraa in a show of solidarity before being attacked by security forces, although that claim could not be confirmed. A government official claimed an armed group assaulted theSyrian Army headquarters in as-Sanamayn.[27] The city also hosts the 15th Brigade of the Syrian Army’s 9th Division.[28] Activists alleged that on 18 September an eleven-year boy was killed after being shot in the head by security forces during a boycott protest by students in as-Sanamayn on the first day of the 2011–2012 school year.[29]
Local rebels were active in as-Sanamayn, and controlled large parts of the city,[30] but never completely controlled the city as it was home to a number of military security centers, and the 9th division.[31] Rebels would engage in small scaleclashes or attack army positions with projectiles such asmortars.[30] The city was besieged by the Syrian Army and shelling commenced. Rebels and civilians in the city entered negotiations that concluded with a reconciliation agreement in which the rebels were to hand over their weapons and pledge not to carry out attacks against the government. They, along with draft-dodgers were also ordered to join the regular forces and the Russian-led 5th corps. 500 people including 150 rebel fighters signed the agreement, and as-Sanamayn came under nominal government control.[31]
Following the2018 Southern Syria offensive, one of the terms of the reconciliation agreements was to allow civilians and rebel fighters to return to homes they were displaced from. Multiple civilians and former rebels returned to as-Sanamayn. Like other areas of Daraa governorate, as-Sanamayn became the frequent location of attacks against the Syrian Army and pro-government militias. Walid al-Zahra, a former commander and one of the rebels who returned to as-Sanamayn in 2018, led many of these attacks.[31]
As-Sanamayn was stormed by the Syrian Army in theMarch 2020 Daraa clashes. Following this, the fighters either reconciled and settled their status or were evacuated to rebel-held northwest Syria.[32]
Clashes broke out in the city in March 2025.[33]
As-Sanamayn has acold semi-arid climate (Köppen climate classification:BSk). Rainfall is higher in winter than in summer. The average annual temperature in As-Sanamayn is 17.1 °C (62.8 °F). About 278 mm (10.94 in) of precipitation falls annually.
| Climate data for As-Sanamayn | |||||||||||||
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| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 12.2 (54.0) | 14.1 (57.4) | 17.8 (64.0) | 22.4 (72.3) | 28.3 (82.9) | 32.0 (89.6) | 33.2 (91.8) | 33.7 (92.7) | 31.3 (88.3) | 27.6 (81.7) | 20.8 (69.4) | 14.8 (58.6) | 24.0 (75.2) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 2.6 (36.7) | 3.3 (37.9) | 5.9 (42.6) | 8.7 (47.7) | 12.7 (54.9) | 15.5 (59.9) | 17.3 (63.1) | 17.6 (63.7) | 15.2 (59.4) | 12.7 (54.9) | 7.9 (46.2) | 4.7 (40.5) | 10.3 (50.6) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 68 (2.7) | 52 (2.0) | 39 (1.5) | 14 (0.6) | 7 (0.3) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 8 (0.3) | 30 (1.2) | 60 (2.4) | 278 (10.9) |
| Source: Climate-Data.org, Climate data | |||||||||||||
Sanamain.
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