Al-Shajara الشجرة | |
|---|---|
Town | |
  Al-Shajara | |
| Coordinates:32°46′18″N35°52′59″E / 32.77167°N 35.88306°E /32.77167; 35.88306 | |
| PAL | 232/242 |
| Country |  Syria |
| Governorate | Daraa |
| District | Daraa |
| Subdistrict | Al-Shajara |
| Population (2004)[1] | |
• Total | 6,567 |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (EET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+3 (EEST) |
Al-Shajara (Arabic:الشجرة, also spelledash-Shajarah) is a town in southernSyria, administratively part of theDaraa Governorate, located west ofDaraa, in between theIsraeli-occupiedGolan Heights andJordan. Nearby localities includeSaham al-Jawlan to the east, Nafia to the north,Jamla to the northwest andBeit Ara to the southwest. The village center has an elevation of 410 meters (1,350 ft) above sea level.[2]
According to theSyria Central Bureau of Statistics, al-Shajara had a population of 6,567 in the 2004 census. It is the administrative center of the al-Shajaranahiyah (subdistrict) which consisted of 17 localities with a combined population of 34,206 in 2004.[1]
In theOttomantax registers of 1596, it was located in thenahiya of Jawlan Sharqi,Qada of Hawran. It had a population of 5 households and 2 bachelors, allMuslims. They paid a fixed tax-rate of 25% on agricultural products, including wheat, barley, summer crops, goats and beehives, winter pasture/grass lands, in addition to occasional revenues; a total of 1,988akçe.[3]
In 1838Eli Smith noted that the place was located west of theHajj road, and that it was populated withSunni Muslims.[4] In the early or mid-19th century Shajara often suffered incursions from the regionalBedouin (nomadic or semi-nomadic) tribes. This state of affairs ended when Sheikh Abd Allah al-Midyab, a respected leader of one the westernHauran's strongest families and a former Bedouin, moved to the village fromNawa and assumed control. Bedouin raids ceased and Shajara developed considerably and prospered, though by the late 19th century most of the population were highly indebted to wealthyDamascene creditors.[5]
In 1884 the archaeologistGottlieb Schumacher noted that Shajara was a large village with a population of over 450 Muslims living in 138 houses. The village was divided into upper and lower quarters, the former home to thesheikh (village headman; Abd Allah al-Midyab), his family and other relatives and the latter home to the village'sfellahin (farmers, peasants). Around the lower quarter was a poorer suburb mostly home to the newer arrivals to Shajara coming from neighboring villages or from among the local Bedouin. The upper quarter was "remarkable for its wide streets" and the homes were "nearly built ofmasonry". The homes in the lower quarter were characteristic of most villages in the Hauran, being built of stone and mud. The suburb's homes were "mean hovels".[6] The inhabitants owned large flocks of sheep and cattle, which grazed in the village's considerable pasture grounds; the hilly area to its north contained numerous sheepfolds. Shajara lacked significant fertile lands but had vegetable and melon gardens fed by the Ayn al-Aliya perennial spring to its west. The village was also supplied by the Bir al-Shajara well.[7]
In 1908 theDaraa–Haifarailway line started operating and Shajara was connected with the Shajara train station far south of the city in the valley of theYarmuk, in this section drowned in the waters of theal-Wehda Dam since 2007.
By September 2016, during theSyrian civil war, al-Shajara was controlled by theKhalid ibn al-Walid Army branch ofISIL. In an offensive on ISIS' pocket in southern Syria, the Syrian Armed Forces took control of this former ISIS stronghold in July 2018.[8]
Capital:Daraa | |||||||||||||||||||||
|   | ||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||