Jasim جاسم Jasem, Jassem | |
|---|---|
  Jasim | |
| Coordinates:32°59′32″N36°03′36″E / 32.99222°N 36.06000°E /32.99222; 36.06000 | |
| Grid position | 249/266PAL |
| Country |  Syria |
| Governorate | Daraa |
| District | Izraa |
| Subdistrict | Jasim |
| Elevation | 747 m (2,451 ft) |
| Population (2004)[1] | |
• Total | 31,683 |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (EET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+3 (EEST) |
Jasim (Arabic:جاسم, also spelledJasem orJassem) is a city in theIzraa District of theDaraa Governorate in southernSyria. It is located 41 kilometers north ofDaraa, nearNawa to the south,Kafr Shams to the north,Inkhil to the northeast andal-Harra to the northwest. According to theSyria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), Jasim had a population of 31,683 in the 2004 census.[1] It is the administrative center of anahiyah ("subdistrict") consisting of two localities with a combined population of 39,624 in the 2004 census.[1] Its inhabitants are predominantlySunni Muslims.
Jasim is believed to beGashmai (Hebrew:גשמי), a place mentioned in theMosaic of Rehob as a town in the territory ofNaveh (modern Nawa).[2] It is also referenced in theTosefta and theJerusalem Talmud.[3]
During theByzantine period, Jasim was a seat of theMonophysite church in 570. It was controlled and populated by theGhassanid Arabs, a vassal kingdom of the Byzantine Empire.[4] There were five monasteries affiliated with the Monophysites located in the town.[5] The Ghassanid kingNu'man was buried in between Jasim and nearbyTubna.[4]
The 10th-centuryArab historianal-Masudi wrote that Jasim belonged toDamascus and was located "between Damascus and theJordan Province, in a district called al-Khaulan. Jasim is a few miles from al-Jabiya, and from the territory ofNawa, where is the Pasturage ofAyyub."[6]
Jasim was visited by Arab geographerYaqut al-Hamawi in the early 13th century underAyyubid rule. Al-Hamawi wrote that the place was named after "Jasim, son ofIram ibn Sam (Shem) ibn Nuh (Noah) who visited it at the time of the destruction of the Tower of Babel." He further noted that Jasim was a town inDamascus Province, "lying 8 leagues from Damascus, on the right of the high-road to Tabbariyah (Tiberias)."[6]
In 1596 Jasim appeared in theOttomantax registers being in thenahiya ofJaydur in theHauran Sanjak. It had an entirelyMuslim population consisting of 28 households and 14 bachelors. The villagers paid a fixed tax-rate of 40% onwheat,barley and summer crops; a total of 11,300akçe. Half of the revenue went to awaqf.[7]
Many of the inhabitants of nearbyal-Harra originate from Jasim.[8] The city is home to theArab tribe of al-Halqiyyin. Prominent 20th-centuryArab socialist leaderAkram al-Hawrani descends from the tribe, members of which settled inHoms.[9] In the 1870sGottlieb Schumacher noted that Jasim was one of the largest villages in its region with a population of 1,000 living in 215 huts. He reported finding several ancient remains, particularly stone crosses from the Byzantine era.[10]
On 18 March 2011, Jasim was among the first cities to participate in large-scale protests during theSyrian uprising against the government.[11] Further mass protests were reported on 22 April.[12][13] On 1 April 2012, fourSyrian Army soldiers were killed in clashes with rebelFree Syrian Army gunmen in Jasim according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.[14] On 15 January 2014, rebels were in control of Jasim.[15]On 17 July 2018, the Syrian army captured the town.[16]
Capital:Daraa | |||||||||||||||||||||
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