Tafas (Arabic: طفس, also spelled Tafs or Tuffas) is a town in southern Syria, administratively part of the Daraa Governorate, located north of Daraa. Nearby localities include al-Shaykh Saad and Nawa to the north, Da'el, Abtaa and al-Shaykh Maskin to the northeast, Saham al-Jawlan and Adwan to the northwest and Muzayrib to the southwest. According to the Syria Central Bureau of Statistics, Tafas had a population of 32,236 in the 2004 census.[1]
Tafas
طفس | |
|---|---|
Village | |
  Tafas | |
| Coordinates: 32°44′16″N 36°4′7.5″E / 32.73778°N 36.068750°E | |
| Grid position | 250/238 |
| Country |  Syria |
| Governorate | Daraa Governorate |
| District | Daraa District |
| Nahiyah | Muzayrib |
| Population (2024 census)[1] | |
• Total | 55,128 |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (EET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+3 (EEST) |
History
editBefore the Hellenistic era, the goddess Isis Lactans was worshipped in Tafas, as evidenced by the discovery of statuette of her in the town.[2] During the Roman era in Syria, a Jewish community existed in Tafas.[3] Several funerary stelae, the earliest dating to 64 BCE, were found in Tafas.[4] A bronze patera from the Roman era was also found, but it was later stolen from the Mohammedan Museum of Damascus.[5]
Ottoman era
editIn 1596, Tafas appeared in Ottoman tax registers as being in the nahiya of Bani Malik al-Asraf in the Qada Hawran. It had a population of 73 households and 40 bachelors, all Muslim. The villagers paid a fixed tax rate of 40% on wheat (22,500 akçe), barley (2,700 akçe), summer crops (2,000 akçe), goats and beehives (400 akçe), in addition to occasional revenues (400 akçe).[6]
In 1810, Tafas was "ruined" by Wahhabi tribesmen, according to Johann Ludwig Burckhardt.[7] The modern village was founded amid its Byzantine-era ruins in 1838.[8] The first elementary school in the village was built in 1865.[9] In the 1880s, Tafas was described as a moderate-sized village of around 100 stone-built houses inhabited by around 250 Muslims. Some of the houses were in ruins and not inhabited. There was an active Friday mosque.[10] A decade later, it was described as having 90 houses and 400 inhabitants.[11]
In 1918, the town was the site of the infamous Tafas massacre perpetrated by the retreating Ottoman Army during World War I.[12] According to T. E. Lawrence, on 27 September retreating Turkish troops had slaughtered many of the town's inhabitants, including women and children.[12] In retaliation for the massacre, Lawrence's troops attacked the retreating Turkish columns and ordered all captured prisoners, around 250, including German and Austrian soldiers, to be executed.[12]
Modern
editDuring the ongoing Syrian Civil War, inhabitants of Tafas joined the demonstrations burning a police station and the local Ba'ath Party headquarters, three people were killed by security forces.[13] In May 2011, the Syrian Army besieged the town, and arrested at least 250 people there.[14] The town was held by rebel forces from 2012 until 2018, when it surrendered to the government during the 2018 Southern Syria offensive. Clashes between the government and insurgents occurred in January 2021.
Archaeology
editThere was a square tower, known as a medany, with an elevation of 50 feet (15 m) and a width of 10 feet (3.0 m) with a square-shaped base. It consisted of two floors, each having a window. The tower was attached to a Friday mosque measuring 46 feet (14 m) by 41 feet (12 m). On its western side were terrace-like steps leading to the mosque's roof, which was supported by three rows of columns, each row consisting of four columns, the shafts of which had a height of 5 feet (1.5 m). The entire column stood at 9 feet 5 inches (2.87 m). In each row, the two center columns stood out independently while the first and last columns were built into the wall. Together with the arches the total height of the mosque's interior space was nearly 16 feet (4.9 m). The mosque was largely constructed sometime during the Islamic era, although there were some architectural elements dating to the Roman or Byzantine era.[15]
References
edit- ^ a b General Census of Population and Housing 2004. Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS). Daraa Governorate. (in Arabic)
- ^ Vermaseren, 1979, p. 192
- ^ Sartre, 2005, p. 324
- ^ Cohen, 2006, p. 247
- ^ Cook, 2010, p. 1096
- ^ Hütteroth and Abdulfattah, 1977, p. 213.
- ^ Burckhardt, 1822, p. 657
- ^ Al-Halqi, Maan (12 February 2011). ""طفس".. في أحضان حوض اليرموك (Tafas: In the Arms of the Yarmouk Basin)". e-Syria (in Arabic). Retrieved 27 December 2024.
- ^ Diab, Henry; Wåhlin, Lars (1983). "The Geography of Education in Syria in 1882. With a Translation of "Education in Syria" by Shahin Makarius, 1883". Geografiska Annaler: Series B, Human Geography. 65 (2): 105–128. doi:10.2307/490939. JSTOR 490939. Accessed 3 September 2012.
- ^ Schumacher, Oliphant and le Strange, 1889, p. 210.
- ^ Schumacher, 1897, p. 167
- ^ a b c Murphy, 2011, p. 44
- ^ "Syrian protesters _target Baath Party offices". Al Jazeera. 26 March 2011. Retrieved 5 September 2012.
- ^ "Syria tightens control over more urban areas". Al Jazeera English. 26 March 2011. Retrieved 5 September 2012.
- ^ Schumacher, Oliphant and le Strange, 1889, pp. 210-212.
Bibliography
edit- Burckhardt, J.L. (1822). "Travels in Syria and the Holy Land". J. Murray: 657.
Tafs Syria.
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - Hütteroth, W.-D.; Abdulfattah, K. (1977). Historical Geography of Palestine, Transjordan and Southern Syria in the Late 16th Century. Erlanger Geographische Arbeiten, Sonderband 5. Erlangen, Germany: Vorstand der Fränkischen Geographischen Gesellschaft. ISBN 3-920405-41-2.
- Murphy, David (2011). Lawrence of Arabia. Osprey Publishing. ISBN 9781849083690.
- Cook, A.B. (2010). Zeus: A Study in Ancient Religion. Vol. 3. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1108021234.
- Cohen, Getzel M. (2006). The Hellenistic Settlements in Syria, the Red Sea Basin, and North Africa. University of California Press. ISBN 0520241487.
- Sartre, M. (2005). The Middle East Under Rome. Harvard University Press. ISBN 0674016831.
- Schumacher, G.; Oliphant, L.; Le Strange, G. (1889). Across the Jordan: being an exploration and survey of part of Hauran and Jaulan. Bentley.
- Schumacher, G. (1897). "Der Südliche Basan". Zeitschrift des Deutschen Palästina-Vereins. 19–20: 65–227.
- Vermaseren, Maarten Jozef, ed. (1977). Studies in Hellenistic Religions. Brill Archive. ISBN 9789004058859.
External links
edit- Map of the town, Google Map
- Cheik Meskin-map; 21L