Ras al-Ayn رأس العين Raʾs al-ʿAyn | |
|---|---|
_Kurdish_Syria.jpg) Ras al-Ayn | |
  Ras al-Ayn Location of Ras al-Ayn in Syria | |
| Coordinates:36°51′01″N40°04′14″E / 36.8503°N 40.0706°E /36.8503; 40.0706 | |
| Country |  Syria |
| Governorate | al-Hasakah |
| District | Ras al-Ayn |
| Subdistrict | Ras al-Ayn |
| Control |  TurkeySyrian transitional government[1] |
| Elevation | 360 m (1,180 ft) |
| Population (2004)[2] | 29,347 |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (EET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+3 (EEST) |
| Area code | +963 52 |
| Geocode | C4988 |
Ras al-Ayn (Arabic:رَأْس ٱلْعَيْن,romanized: Raʾs al-ʿAyn,Kurdish:سەرێ کانیێ,romanized: Serê Kaniyê,Classical Syriac:ܪܝܫ ܥܝܢܐ,romanized: Rēš Aynā[3]), also spelledRas al-Ain, is a city inal-Hasakah Governorate in northeasternSyria, on theSyria–Turkey border.
One of the oldest cities inUpper Mesopotamia, the area of Ras al-Ayn has been inhabited since at least theNeolithic age (c. 8,000 BC). Later known as the ancientAramean city ofSikkan, theRoman city ofRhesaina and Sept. Colonia (under Septimius Severus)[4] and theByzantine city of Theodosiopolis; the town was destroyed and rebuilt several times, and in medieval times was the site of fierce battles between several Muslimdynasties. With the 1921Treaty of Ankara, Ras al-Ayn became adivided city when its northern part, today'sCeylanpınar, was ceded to Turkey.
With a population of 29,347 (as of 2004[update]),[2] it is the third largest city in al-Hasakah Governorate, and the administrative center ofRas al-Ayn District.
During thecivil war, the city becamecontested between Syrian opposition forces andYPG from November 2012 until it was finally captured by the YPG in July 2013. It was latercaptured by theTurkish Armed Forces and theSyrian National Army during the2019 Turkish offensive into north-eastern Syria.[5][6][7][8]
The first mention of the town was as "Rēš ina"[9] during the reign of the Assyrian kingAdad-nirari II (911-891 BC).[9] The former word is a proto-Semitic word meaning "head", while the latter is also a proto-Semitic word meaning "eye" or "spring". Thus, the current Arabic and ancient Akkadian name's have one meaning: "head of the spring";[9] or idiomatically: "hill of the spring", indicating a prominent mountain formation close to a well.
The ancient Greek geographerPtolemy (d. 168) names the townRaisena.[10] The town, as part of theRoman Empire, was calledRessaina/Resaina.[11] Another name wasTheodosiopolis, after emperorTheodosius I, who enlarged the town in 380.[10] The 11th centuryArab geographerMuhammad al-Idrisi visited the town, mentioning its name as Ras al-'Ayn, and assigning it toDiyar Rabi'a (abode of theArab tribeRabi'a). He also described it as a big city with plenty of water, around 300 springs from which most ofal-Khabur river starts.[12] In addition toRas al-Ayn, medieval Arab Muslim sources refer to the town sometimes asAin Werda.[10] Nineteenth-century English sources refer to the town asRas Ain,Ain Verdeh (1819),[13] orRas el Ain (1868).[10] The Kurdish nameSerê Kaniyê also means "head of the spring" or "head of the fountain", referring to water source areas. This name is probably a modernliteral translation of the ancient Semitic name.[citation needed]
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Ras al-Ayn is located on a flat plain in the Upper Khabur basin in the northernSyrian region ofJazira. TheKhabur, largest tributary of theEuphrates, crosses theborder from Turkey near the town ofTell Halaf, about 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) to the southwest of the city. The overground feeders, originating on the headwaters of theKaraca volcano inŞanlıurfa Province, usually do not carry water in the summer, even though Turkey brings in water from theAtatürk reservoir to irrigate the region ofCeylanpınar. While more than 80% of the Upper Khabur's water originates in Turkey, this mostly comes as underground flow.[14] So rather than the overground streams, it is the giantkarstic springs of the Ras al-Ayn area that is considered the river's main perennial source.[15]
Ras al-Ayn has more than 100 naturalsprings. According toAbul Feda, the number may be as high as 300. The most famous spring is Nab'a al-Kebreet, a hot spring with a very highmineral content, containing calcium, lithium, and radium. One of the springs, Ain el-Kebreet (spring of gunpowder/matches), gives off a sulphorous smell so heinous that Pliny claimed Juno bathed in it.[16]
The Allouk water pumping station, which distributes water to theHasakah Governorate, is close to Ras al-Ayn. Since the Turkish occupation began, the water supply has been interrupted several times.[17] Previously, the station supplied about 460,000 people inAl-Hasakah,Tell Tamer, and theAl-Hawl refugee camp, but not since the last interruption in March 2020, according to theUnited Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.[18]
The Zirgan River, rising in the Ghurs Mountains, curves around ancient ruins before joining the Khaboor as its only perennial tributary. The region also contains severaljerjubs—seasonal streams fed by rainfall and drainage from the Masius, Deyrik, and Metinan ranges—that flow toward Ras al-Ayn but dry in parts of the year and are not true tributaries. Misidentified by Ainsworth as the Jaghjagha, this error was later repeated by Ritter and Kiepert. Approaching Ras al-Ayn, travellers encounter ancient mounds, bridge ruins, and building foundations, reflecting long habitation. The town lies in a natural basin, with the old ruins on ridges above the springs and the modern settlement in the hollow near the water. About fifteen springs rise here, ten to the northeast forming one branch of the Khaboor, and several to the south and southwest, including Ain el Hassan and Ain el Beydha, forming the larger branch; their union creates the river’s true source. Two of these springs are thermal, one sulphuric and long exploited.[19]
| This sectionneeds expansion with: missing epochs of the city's history. You can help byadding to it.(November 2015) |
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The area of Ras al-Ayn was inhabited at least since theNeolithic age (c. 8.000 BC). Today's Ras al-Ayn can be traced back to a settlement existing since c. 2000 BC, which in the early 1st millennium BC became the ancient city ofSikkan, part of theAramaean kingdom ofBit Bahiani. It was later conquered by theMedes. The archaeological site is located on the southern edge of the moundTell Fekheriye, around which today's Ras al-Ayn is built, just a few hundred meters south of the city center. During excavations in 1979, the famousTell Fekheriye bilingual inscription was found. The nearby town ofTell Halaf is also a former site of an Aramean city.
In later times, the town became known as "Rhesaina", "Ayn Warda", and "Theodosiopolis", the latter named after theByzantine emperorTheodosius I who granted the settlement city rights. The latter name was also shared with the Armenian city of Karin (modernErzurum) making it difficult to distinguish between them.[20]
TheSasanians destroyed the city twice in 578 and 580 before rebuilding it and constructing one of the three Sassanian academies in it (the other two beingGundishapur andCtesiphon) in it.
In 640, the Arabs conquered the city, which was the only city in Upper Mesopotamia to fall by the sword, as due to its central position and great strategic importance the Greeks defended it to the last.[20] At the time of the Arab Conquest, El Wakidi in his "Futuh Diyar Rabiah and Diyar Bakr" states there was a suspension bridge "resting on iron columns with chains between them where boards were laid" over the Khaboor near Ras al-Ayn. He states it was destroyed by Armenian Governor of Tel Mozen (Tela), on his way to help out the Christian governor of Circesium following the orders of Schariam, son of Forninuin or Firuf, Governor of all Upper and Lower Diyarbekr.[21] This is the only known such bridge in the Old World until the Industrial Age.
The Byzantines raided the city in 942 and took many prisoners. In 1129, CrusaderJoscelin I managed to hold the city briefly, killing many of its Arab inhabitants.[20]
At its height the city had aWest Syrian bishopric and many monasteries. The city also contained two mosques and anEast Syrian church and numerous schools, baths, and gardens.[20] According to Elazeezee Easel Ain was called Ain Werda, and that it was the principal town ofDiyar Rabiah.[21]
Ras al-Ayn became contested between theZengids,Ayyubids, and theKhwarazmians in the 12th and 13th centuries. It was sacked byTamerlane at the end of the 14th century, ending its role as a major city inal-Jazira.[20]
In the 19th century a colony of MuslimChechen refugees fleeing theRussian conquest of the Caucasus were settled in the town by theOttoman Empire.[10] The Ottomans also built barracks and a fort for a thousand soldiers to control and protect the refugees.[10]
During theArmenian genocide, Ras al-Ayn was one of the major collecting points for deportedArmenians. From 1915 on, 1.5 million Armenians were deported from all overAnatolia, many forced ondeath marches into theSyrian desert.[22] Approximately 80,000 Armenians, mostly women and children, were slaughtered in desertdeath camps near Ras al-Ayn.[23] As well as theDeir ez-Zor Camps further south, theRas al-Ayn Camps became "synonymous with Armenian suffering."[24]
After thefall of the Ottoman Empire and the 1921Treaty of Ankara, Ras al-Ayn became adivided city when its northern neighborhoods, today'sCeylanpınar, were ceded toTurkey. Today, the two cities are separated by a fenced border strip and theBerlin–Baghdad Railway on the Turkish side. The onlyborder crossing is located in the western outskirts of Ras al-Ayn. The town was first part of theFrench colonial empire'sMandate for Syria and the Lebanon and, from 1946, the independent state ofSyria.
During thecivil war, Ras al-Ayn was engulfed by the longBattle of Ras al-Ayn. In late November 2012,rebels ofal-Nusra Front and theFSA attackedSyrian Army positions, expelling them from the town. During the following eight months, theKurdish-majorityPeople's Protection Units (YPG), present from the outset, gradually entrenched its position, and eventually formed an alliance with a non-jihadist FSA faction. On 21 July 2013, this alliance expelled thejihadists after a night of heavy fighting.
The town was part ofRojava for the following six years, until it was attacked and captured by theTurkish Armed Forces and alliedSyrian National Army during the October2019 Turkish offensive into north-eastern Syria, in theSecond Battle of Ras al-Ayn.[25][6] After 11 days of clashes and siege, theSyrian Democratic Forces and theKurdishYPG retreated from Ras al-Ayn as part of a ceasefire agreement, causing the city to fall underSyrian opposition control.[26]
On December 10, 2020, a car bomb exploded at a checkpoint run by Turkish-supportedSyrian National Army rebels in Ras al-Ayn.[27] Reports on casualties differed, but according to several sources the explosion killed over 10 people including 2 Turkish soldiers.[28][27][29] Turkish authorities blamed thePeoples Protection Units (YPG) for the car bombing as Turkey claims they are affiliated with theKurdistan Workers Party (PKK).[30][31] According theABC, no group has claimed responsibility for the bombing.[28]
Bombing continued in January and February 2021.[32][33]
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
|---|---|---|
| 1981 | 14,278 | — |
| 2004 | 29,347 | +105.5% |
In 2004 the population was 29,347.[2] The town has been described as having an Arab majority,[34][35] in addition toKurdish,Assyrian,Armenian,Turkmen andChechen minorities before the Turkish/SNA takeover in October 2019.[36] War crimes committed since the Turkish occupation began have since caused an exodus of Kurds, Christians, and other minorities from the town such asAssyrians andArmenians.[37] The Turkish government's resettling of mainlyArab andTurkmenSyrian refugees from other parts of Syria in Ras al-Ayn has further altered the town's demographics.[37][38]
وتقع رأس العين وتل أبيض بمحاذاة الحدود التركية، وتخضعان لسيطرة حكومة دمشق المؤقتة، وتحيط بهما جبهات القتال مع "قسد"، وتعتبر الحدود التركية منفذهما الوحيد نحو الخارج.
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