Suwayda ٱلسُّوَيْدَاء | |
|---|---|
 Aerial view of the Suwayda city, October 2011 | |
  Suwayda Location of Suwayda within Syria Show map of Syria Suwayda Suwayda (Eastern Mediterranean) Show map of Eastern Mediterranean | |
| Coordinates:32°42′45″N36°34′00″E / 32.71250°N 36.56667°E /32.71250; 36.56667 | |
| Grid position | 296/235 |
| Country |  Syria |
| Governorate | Suwayda |
| District | Suwayda |
| Subdistrict | Suwayda |
| Control | Syrian transitional government (Al-Jabal Brigade) |
| Elevation | 3,543 ft (1,080 m) |
| Population (2020 census) | |
• City | 120,000[1] |
| • Metro | 138,822 |
| Demonym(s) | Arabic:سويداوي,romanized: Suwaydāwi |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (EET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+3 (EEST) |
| Area code | 16 |
| Geocode | C6147 |
| Climate | Csa |
Suwayda (Arabic:ٱلسُّوَيْدَاء,romanized: al-Suwaydāʾ), also spelledSweida, is a mainlyDruze city located in southernSyria, close to theborder with Jordan.
It is the capital ofSuwayda Governorate, one of Syria's 14governorates, bordering Jordan in the South,Daraa Governorate in the West andRif Dimashq Governorate in the north and east. The city is referred to by some as "Little Venezuela" due to the city's influx of affluentVenezuelan Syrian immigrants.[2] Many of them originally emigrated from Suweida in the nineteenth century, so when their descendants returned, they brought back the Spanish language and South American culture.[3][4][5]
The city was founded by theNabataeans asSuada. It became known asDionysias Soada (Ancient Greek:Διονῡσιάς) in theHellenistic period and theRoman Empire, for the godDionysus, patron ofwine - the city is situated in a famous ancient wine-producing region.
The nameDionysias replaced the former Nabataean name in 149 AD after Nabataean influence decreased and then concentrated towards the south, as a result of the then acceleratingHellenization ofCoele-Syria.
Dionysias was a part of the Romanprovince ofArabia Petraea, and received the rights ofcivitas during the reign ofCommodus between 180 and 185.
Dionysus was worshipped in the same Nabatean temple dedicated toDushara. This practice of associating the worship of local and Hellenic gods was common in Hellenistic Syria.
This name remained in use during theByzantine Empire, when the town was under the influence of theGhassanids. Dionysias then was adiocese with asuffragan bishop fromBosra. It was mentioned in theSynecdemus ofHierocles. After theearly Muslim conquests, the city was conquered by theRashidun Caliphate of theArabs in 629 and became atitular see.[6]
Yaqut al-Hamawi noted in the 1220s that As Suwaida was "a village of the Hauran Province".[7]
In 1516, the city and the adjoining region was conquered from theMamluk Sultanate by theOttoman Empire. In 1596 Suwayda appeared under the name ofMajdal Sawda in theOttomantax registers as part of thenahiya (subdistrict) of Bani Nasiyya of theHauran Sanjak. It had a population of 5 households and 5 bachelors, allMuslim. The villagers paid a fixed tax rate of 20% on various agricultural products, including wheat, barley, summer crops, goats and/or beehives, in addition to "occasional revenues"; a total of 6,125akçe. 3/4 of the revenue went to awaqf.[8]
In recent times Dionysias was identified as Suwayda byWilliam Waddington.
In the 19th century, visitors recorded the now-destroyedTomb of Hamrath, an elaborate late Hellenistic mausoleum dating from the 1st century BCE.[9]
On 28 October 2012, security forces launched a campaign of mass arrests in the city.[10]
On July 25, 2018, the city was rocked by a string of terrorist attacks. A group of at least 56ISIS-affiliated attackers entered the city and initiated a series of gunfights andsuicide bombings killing 246 people, the vast majority of them civilians. Many of the terrorists were reported killed during the attack, bringing the total death toll to at least 302 people.[11] Forty-two Druze residents between the ages of 7 and 60 were kidnapped by ISIS and held captive. One was executed bringing the total in captivity to 41.[12]
On 7 June 2020, anti-government protests erupted in the city due to the deteriorating economic situation. Protesters demanded the resignation of PresidentBashar al-Assad for the first time since 2015.[13][14] As a result of the protests, Prime MinisterImad Khamis was sacked on 11 June and replaced byHussein Arnous.[15]
In February 2022, hundreds of protesters took to the streets in Sweida to decry corruption and worsening living standards.[16]
In August 2023, thousands of protestorstook to the streets to decry worsening economic conditions and demanding the departure of Syrian President Bashar al Assad.[17]
During theSouthern Syria offensive, Suwayda was captured by theSyrian opposition on 7 December 2024.[18] On December 18, 2024, a delegation of theSyrian transitional government arrived at the city to meet with the spiritual leader of the Druze.[19]
The inhabitants of the city are mainlyDruze with a smallGreek Orthodox Christian andSunni Muslim minority.
The population of Suwayda Governorate is 313,231 (2004 census).
Many archeological sites can be found in the old part of the city:
The city has many ancient reservoirs, towers and old Roman houses that are still inhabited by locals today.
Many parts of the old city still await excavation, such as theRoman aqueduct, a conical reservoir, and a largerRoman theatre. There is also an old 7th centurymosque built during the time of theRashidun Caliphate.
Suwayda's climate is warm, dry and temperate. There is more rainfall in the winter than in the summer. This location is classified asBSk byKöppen and Geiger. The average temperature is 15.5 °C. About 323 mm of precipitation falls annually.
| Climate data for Suwayda, elevation 997 m (3,271 ft) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 11.1 (52.0) | 12.1 (53.8) | 15.1 (59.2) | 20.2 (68.4) | 25.6 (78.1) | 29.5 (85.1) | 30.6 (87.1) | 31.2 (88.2) | 29.5 (85.1) | 25.8 (78.4) | 19.7 (67.5) | 13.3 (55.9) | 22.0 (71.6) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 7.0 (44.6) | 7.8 (46.0) | 10.3 (50.5) | 14.3 (57.7) | 18.5 (65.3) | 21.7 (71.1) | 23.0 (73.4) | 23.5 (74.3) | 21.8 (71.2) | 19.2 (66.6) | 14.6 (58.3) | 9.1 (48.4) | 15.9 (60.6) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 3.0 (37.4) | 3.2 (37.8) | 5.5 (41.9) | 8.3 (46.9) | 11.5 (52.7) | 14.1 (57.4) | 15.3 (59.5) | 15.8 (60.4) | 14.3 (57.7) | 12.5 (54.5) | 9.3 (48.7) | 5.0 (41.0) | 9.8 (49.7) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 78 (3.1) | 82 (3.2) | 68 (2.7) | 28 (1.1) | 8 (0.3) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 2 (0.1) | 9 (0.4) | 30 (1.2) | 59 (2.3) | 364 (14.4) |
| Source:FAO[20] | |||||||||||||
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