Hit الهيت Heet | |
|---|---|
Village | |
  Hit Location in Syria | |
| Coordinates:32°55′35″N36°40′27″E / 32.92639°N 36.67417°E /32.92639; 36.67417 | |
| Country |  Syria |
| Governorate | as-Suwayda |
| District | Shahba |
| Subdistrict | Shaqqa |
| Population (2004) | |
• Total | 655 |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (EET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+3 (EEST) |
Hit (Arabic:الهيت, also spelledHeet oral-Hit) is a village in southernSyria, administratively part of theal-Suwayda Governorate, located northeast ofal-Suwayda. It is situated on the northern end ofJabal al-Arab. Nearby localities includeShaqqa to the south,Umm al-Zaytun andAmrah to the southwest,al-Hayyat to the north andal-Buthainah to the east. According to theSyria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), Hit had a population of 655 in the 2004 census.[1] The inhabitants are mostlyChristians andDruze.[2]
Hit is identified with the ancient city of Eitha. DuringHerodian rule, it served as the principal military base for the volcanicLejah region.[3] Ruins in Hit dating from theRoman period include a two-floorvilla and a large reservoir.[4] An inscription dating to 232 CE found in Hit reveals that during that time astrategos ("local chief, quasi-royal official") administered the town.[5] Sometime during the years 354 and 355 CE, theByzantine deacon of the area, Sabinianos, constructed a church in Eitha dedicated toSergius in honor of his death in the early 4th century. The church, which had been part of amonastery, was one of the earliest sanctuaries to be dedicated to a Christian saint at a place other than the site of the saint'smartyrdom.[6]
In 1838 Hit was noted byEli Smith as being located inJebel Hauran, and inhabited by Catholics.[7]
According to Western travelerJosias Leslie Porter, Hit once had a population of about 10,000, but in the 1850s it was down to several hundred inhabitants. He further noted that most of the village was covered with ancient ruins and most of the inhabited houses were also ancient. A temple dedicated to thepagan deityJupiter, a fountain built by a Roman official named Aelius Mazimos and another fountain dating to 120 CE were found in Hit.[8] In 1862, during the lateOttoman era inSyria, theDruze Bani Amer clan controlled Hit along with seven other villages in the area.[9] During an uprising by peasants in Jabal al-Arab, Hit's inhabitants revolted against thesheikhs ("chiefs") of the Bani Amer clan.[10]
In 1927, underFrench Mandate rule, Hit was a rural village that had a Christian majority of 284 persons, and a Druze minority of 182. It was the only village in Jabal al-Arab proper with a mostly Christian population.[2]
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