Sultan al-Atrash | |
|---|---|
 Al-Atrash in the Arabian desert after the Syrian revolt | |
| Born | (1891-03-05)March 5, 1891 |
| Died | March 26, 1982(1982-03-26) (aged 91) Al-Qrayya,Syria |
| Nationality | Syrian |
| Known for | Leader of the Great Syrian Revolt of 1925–27 |
| Children | Mansur al-Atrash |
Sultan al-Atrash (Arabic:سلطان الأطرش,romanized: Sulṭān al-ʾAṭrash; 5 March 1891 – 26 March 1982) was aSyrian nationalist revolutionary who led theGreat Syrian Revolt against theFrench colonial administration in Syria. One of the most influential figures inSyrian andDruze history, he played a major role in deciding the destiny ofJabal al-Druze and of Syria in general.
Sultan al-Atrash was born inal-Qrayya, a village 20 km south ofSuwayda known for the famous Druze family ofAl-Atrash, which had nominally governed the region since 1879. His father Zuqan led afierce battle against the Ottomans nearAl-Kefr in 1910, where he faced the forces ofSami Pasha al-Farouqi. He was captured and later executed in 1911.
Sultan al-Atrash was an Ottoman army conscript, serving in the Balkans prior to the outbreak of World War I.[1]
Sami Pasha used military force and trickery and succeeded at last in occupying Jabal el Druze. He sent hundreds of young Druze to fight in theBalkans, Sultan among them. However, during the first World War, the Ottomans left Jabal el Druze in peace as they feared rebellion. Sultan was then able to get in touch withPan-Arab movements and especially with theArab Revolt inHijaz. As the revolt started he raised the Arab flag on the citadel ofSalkhad and on his own house.
According to testimonies from survivors, during theArab Revolt and theArmenian genocide, he engaged in saving Armenian refugees from the Armenian genocide ; for this, he would have been in link withHussein bin Ali.[2]
When Arab forces reachedAqaba, he sent a thousand men to join the revolt. He joined them himself, with another 300 men, when they reachedBosra. His forces were the first to enterDamascus and raise theArab revolt flag on the government house on September 29, 1918.Sultan was a good friend of theHashemite EmirFaisal, leader of the Arab forces in the revolt, and was awarded the title ofEmir and the rank of aGeneral in the Syrian army, the equivalent of the title ofPasha. Faisal, later king ofIraq, helped Sultan a lot during his years in exile.
The newly independent kingdom of Syria didn't survive for long, as it was occupied by France after theBattle of Maysalun on July 24, 1920. Sultan was gathering his men to fight the French but the quick succession of events cut his efforts short, as French forces entered Damascus and the country was divided into five states,Jabal el Druze being one of them.
On July 7, 1922, French soldiers capturedAdham Khanjar, aLebanese Shiite rebel who was seeking refuge at Sultan's house while he was away. Khanjar was wanted for attempting to assassinate GeneralHenri Gouraud. Upon his arrival home, Sultan demanded the release of Khanjar, but the French refused. A few days later, Sultan and his men attacked a Frenchconvoy they thought to transport Khanjar, who was in fact sent to Damascus by airplane.[3] The French responded by destroying his house and ordering his arrest. Sultan fled toJordan and subsequently launched raids against French posts. Ten months later, he returned, having been pardoned by the French.
In 1925 Sultan Pasha al-Atrash led a revolt which broke out in the Druze Mountain and spread to engulf the whole of Syria and parts ofLebanon. This is considered one of the most important revolutions against theFrench mandate, as it encompassed the whole of Syria and witnessed fierce battles between rebel and French forces.[4]
On August 23, 1925, Sultan Pasha al-Atrash officially declared revolution against France, and soon fighting erupted inDamascus,Homs andHama. Al-Atrash won several battles against the French at the beginning of revolution, notably theBattle of al-Kafr on July 21, 1925, theBattle of al-Mazraa on August 2, 1925, and the battles of Salkhad,Msfirah andas-Suwayda. The Druze were defeated in the latter two battles. After rebel victories against France, it sent thousands of troops to Syria and Lebanon from Morocco and Senegal, equipped with modern weapons, compared to the few supplies of the rebels. This dramatically altered the results and allowed the French to regain many cities, although resistance lasted until the spring of 1927. The French sentenced Sultan al-Atrash to death, but he had escaped with the rebels toTransjordan and was eventually pardoned. He returned to Syria in 1937 after the signing of theFranco-Syrian Treaty. He was met with a huge public reception.
Al-Atrash participated actively in theLevant Crisis, that led to Syrian independence. In 1948 he called for the establishment of a unifiedArab Liberation Army ofPalestine, for which hundreds of young people had already volunteered and sent to participate in during the1948 Arab–Israeli War.
During the reign ofAdib Shishakli, al-Atrash was often harassed because of his opposition to government policy. He left the Druze Mountain for Jordan in December 1954, and came back whenAl-Shishakli's regime fell. Al-Atrash supported thepolitical union of Egypt and Syria in 1958, and firmly opposed the process of separation in 1961. He is also known for his contributions to social life and development in the Druze Mountain.
Sultan Pasha al-Atrash is one of the most popular of recently prominent leaders in Arab and Syrian history, especially among theDruze.Manystatues of Al-Atrash exist in main squares on Druze Mountain, and his photos hang in many houses in the region. Al-Atrash is also prominent in localfolklore, including many poems and popular songs. For several reasons the Druze consider him a symbol ofpatriotism,courage andsecularism:
During the period of Syrian–Egyptian unity, on a visit to the Suwayda province PresidentGamal Abdel Nasser honored Sultan Pasha al-Atrash by awarding him the highest medal of theUnited Arab Republic. In 1970, Syrian PresidentHafez al-Assad Honored Sultan Pasha al-Atrash for his historic role in the Syrian Revolution.
Sultan Pasha al-Atrash died on March 26, 1982, from aheart attack.Hisfuneral was attended by more than a million people, and the President of Syrian Arab RepublicHafez al-Assad issued an individual letter mourning al-Atrash as the General Commander of theSyrian Revolution.
His son,Mansur al-Atrash was an active member in theSyrian Regional Branch of theBa'ath Party until the1966 Syrian coup d'état led to the downfall ofMichel Aflaq,Salah al-Din al-Bitar,Munif al-Razzaz and the classical Ba'athists in general.
His granddaughter,Naila Al Atrash, is a dramatist and activist against the Assad regime.
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