Al-Shaykh Saad الشيخ سعد | |
|---|---|
Village | |
 An 1886 drawing of the village of al-Shaykh Saad | |
  Al-Shaykh Saad | |
| Coordinates:32°50′9″N36°2′6″E / 32.83583°N 36.03500°E /32.83583; 36.03500 | |
| Grid position | 247/249PAL |
| Country |  Syria |
| Governorate | Daraa Governorate |
| District | Izra District |
| Nahiyah | Nawa |
| Control | Syrian Opposition |
| Population (2004 census)[1] | |
• Total | 3,373 |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (EET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+3 (EEST) |
Al-Shaykh Saad (Arabic:الشيخ سعدash-Shaykh Saʿad; also RomanizedSheikh Saad), historically also calledKarnaim andDair Ayyub ("Monastery of Job"), is a town in southernSyria, administratively part of theDaraa Governorate, located northwest ofDaraa on theJordan–Syria border. Nearby localities includeNawa,Jasim andal-Harrah to the north,Izra andal-Shaykh Maskin to the east,Tafas andDa'el to the southeast, andAdwan andTasil to the west andJalin to the southwest. According to theSyria Central Bureau of Statistics, al-Shaykh Saad had a population of 3,373 in the 2004 census.[1]
An Egyptianstele, commemorating a campaign ofPharaohRamesses II, is locally venerated in a mosque as the "Rock of Job" (seebelow).[2][3][4] Thebasalt monolith, measuring 7 by 4 feet (2.1 m × 1.2 m), is split by a horizontal crack.[5]
Initially the city was known asKarnaim.[6] DuringAramaean andAssyrian rule, once the neighbouring city ofAshteroth lost its prominence, Karnaim annexed its name, becoming the capital of the land ofBashan under the name Ashteroth-Karnaim.[6]
In theHebrew Bible the city was mentioned as Ashteroth-Karnaim inGenesis 14:5, and Karnaim inAmos 6:13.[citation needed][dubious –discuss]
During theHellenistic period, the city was referred to as Karnein,[6] a place held sacred by its local inhabitants. In the days ofJudas Maccabaeus (ca. 165 BCE) who fitted out a military expedition against the region, the sacred precinct was burnt to the ground.[7]
It was mentioned by severalChristian scholars and pilgrims, includingEusebius,Egeria andJerome, as the city ofSt. Job.[8]
During theCrusades, the town was part of thePrincipality of Galilee. In 1129 the town was ceded byWilliam I of Bures, Prince of Galilee, to theAbbey of St. Mary of the Valley of Jehoshaphat.[9] This transfer was noted in the records ofBaldwin II in 1130, and ofPope Anastasius IV in 1154. In June 1187, before theBattle of Hattin,Saladin chose to assemble his troops in the town before starting his campaigns.[8]
The village was visited by Syrian geographerYaqut al-Hamawi in the early 13th-century, duringAyyubid rule. At the time, the village's name wasDair Ayyub ("the monastery of Job"). He noted that it was a village "of theHauran, in theDamascus Province. This is where Job dwelt, and whereAllah tried him. There is here a spring, where he struck with his feet the rock that was over it (and the water gushed out). Job's tomb also is here."[10]
The town was later known by the name of a more recent and local Muslim holy man, Shaykh Saad. Thesheikh, according to tradition, was a native ofSudanese origins who brought manyAfrican slaves to work in the town. Shaykh Saad then established a Muslim "monastery" for his black slaves, and later granted them their freedom.[11] A rivalry has since existed between the localfellahin who consider St. Job to be the patron of their town, and the descendants of the African slaves to whom Shaykh Saad was their saviour. The Africans also settled inJalin.[12]
Under theOttomans, the town became the capital ofHauran Sanjak for some time, and the residence of the local governor, orMutasarrıf.[13] In 1596 al-Shaykh Saad appeared in the Ottoman tax registers as Sayh Sa'd, being in thenahiya of Jawlan Sarqi in theQada of Hauran. It had a population of 3 households and 1 bachelor, allMuslim. The villagers paid a fixed tax rate of 25% onwheat,barley, summer crops andrice; a total of 2,100akçe.[14]
Gottlieb Schumacher surveyed the town in 1884, and recorded that it was "miserable looking place, containing about 60 huts built of stone and mud, many of them now fallen to ruin. It has a population of about 220 souls, all without exception negroes."[15] In a bid to bring Hauran under further centralization, in 1892 the Ottoman government of Damascus pressed for the completion of land registration in al-Shaykh Sa'ad—still the regional capital—as well in other major towns in the area.[16]
In 1918, towards the end of theArab Revolt duringWorld War I, al-Shaykh Saad was captured by theArab Army headed byT. E. Lawrence. The town served as their launching point for the subsequent battle inTafas, where the Arabs defeated theOttoman army.[17]
The town was associated withSt. Job since at least the 4th-century CE. Karnein was mentioned in Eusebius'Onomasticon as a town of Bashan that was said to be the location of the house of St. Job.Egeria the pilgrim relates that a church was built over the place in March or February 384 CE, and that the place was known as the "town of Job", or "civitas Job." According to Egeria's account the body of St. Job was laid in a stone coffin below the altar.[8]
According to tradition,Hammam Ayyub is a fountain in the town where Job washed himself when he hadleprosy, and is reputed to have healing powers.[18]
Another holy artifact in the town is the "Rock of Job," known in local folklore as the place where he sat when he was afflicted with the disease, and is housed inside a mosque dedicated toNabi Ayyub.[5] The rock has been identified as an Egyptian stele dedicated to Ramesses II (seeabove).
Capital:Daraa | |||||||||||||||||||||
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