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Ayn al-Arab

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Coordinates: 36°53′23″N 38°21′20″E / 36.88972°N 38.35556°E / 36.88972; 38.35556
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Ayn al-Arab
عين العرب
(transliterated ʿAyn al-ʿArab)
Country Syria
GovernorateAleppo
DistrictAyn al-Arab
Founded1892
Elevation
520 m (1,710 ft)
Population
 (2004)
 • Total44,821
 • Ethnicities
Kurds Arabs Turkmens Armenians[1]
 • Religions
Sunni Islam Armenian Orthodoxy Syriac Christianity
Time zoneUTC+2 (EET)
 • Summer (DST)+3

ʿAyn al-ʿArab (Template:Lang-ar), in Arabic is a town in northern Syria on the border with Turkey. Control of the town is currently contested between the forces of Syrian Kurdistan and those of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.

Name

The town of Ayn al-Arab was founded as a small settlement in 1892 under Ottoman rule.[2] As part of an Arabization efforts in the 1980s, the Syrian government officially renamed the town Ayn al-Arab meaning "spring of the arabs", a name rejected by the 90% Kurdish population and reverted in 2012 when the Kurdish Regional Government forces took control.[3][4][5] The origin of the Kurdish name Kobanê is unclear. Folk etymology attributes the name to the town's subsequent growth around the railway station built in 1911 along the Konya-Baghdad Railway. The name Kobanê may be a corruption of the word company, derived from the German railway company who built that section of the Konya-Baghdad railway.[4][5]

History

In the decades prior to World War I, the area was mainly populated by semi-nomadic Kurdish tribes, many but not all part of the Milli confederation. These tribes had recently migrated in from the north, pushing back the Arab tribes which had previously occupied the area. As the Baghdad Railway was being constructed, Kurdish raiders of the clans of Busrawi and Shahin Bey—rivals who lived on opposite sides of the valley in which the modern town is situated—reportedly harassed work crews attempting to mine basalt from the nearby hills, partially owing to the fact that the German companies responsible for its construction were lax in providing payment and compensation to local landowners.[6] German engineers staying in the area from 1912 to 1913 described "Arab Punar" as being a "small Kurdish village around 35 km east of the Euphrates" comprising a small cluster of square mud-brick huts, many with domed roofs; the local chief's hut was notable among these in its incorporation of European-style doors and windows and its concrete flooring. The area was apparently also known for its swarms of biting sand-flies.[7]

In 1915, Armenian refugees of the Armenian Genocide founded a village next to the railway station, and were soon joined by Kurds from nearby areas.[8] After the demarcation of the border with Turkey along the railway line in 1921, part of the town was left on the other side of the border, today incorporated into the Suruç district as Mürşitpınar where there is an eponymous border crossing.

The city's infrastructural layout was largely planned and constructed by French authorities during the Mandate period, and a number of French-built buildings are still standing and in use today.[1]

By the middle of the 20th century, there were three Armenian churches in the town, but most of the Armenian population emigrated to the Soviet Union in the 1960s.[9]

Syrian Civil War

During the Syrian Civil War, the People's Protection Units (YPG) captured Ayn al-Arab on July 19, 2012.[10] Since July 2012, Ayn al-Arab has been under Kurdish control, while the YPG and Kurdish politicians await an autonomy for the area they consider part of Syrian Kurdistan.[11][12] After similar less intense events earlier in 2014, on 2 July the town and surrounding villages came under attack from fighters of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).[13] On September 16, the ISIS resumed its Siege of Kobanê with a full-scale assault from the west and south of the city. In October 2014 the defences were breached and on Tuesday, October 7, Turkey's President announced that the city would fall shortly unless more airstrikes and ground troops were deployed.[14] Shortly after this remark, it was reported that the situation changed in favor of the Kurds,[15] as US-led airstrikes were reported to be having an effect.

Demographics

The city had a population of 44,821 at the Syrian census of 2004.[16] The majority of the population of the town is Kurdish and the remainder of the population includes Arab (5%), Turkmen (5%) and Armenian (1%) communities.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c "The Second Report: Ayn al-Arab/Kobani, Etana Billetin-First issue". Etana Files. 1 December 2013. Retrieved 28 April 2014.
  2. ^ Index Anatolicus
  3. ^ http://www.merip.org/mer/mer269/struggle-syrias-regions
  4. ^ a b "حسين أمين حسين"...يتحدث عن مدينة "عين العرب" في مئة عام..
  5. ^ a b Isis in Kobani: Turkey’s act of abandonment may mark an 'irrevocable breach' with Kurds across the region
  6. ^ Woolley, Sir Leonard (1920). Dead towns and living men: Being pages from an antiquary's notebook. Oxford Unversity Press. pp. 178–221.
  7. ^ Boyes, William (March 1916). "Persönliche Erinnerungen vom Bau der Bagdadbahn". The Technologist: Mitteilungen des deutsch-amerikanischen Techniker-Verbandes (in German). 21 (3): 80–86.
  8. ^ Cockburn, Patrick (7 October 2014). "Isis in Kobani: Turkey's act of abandonment may mark an "irrevocable breach" with Kurds across the region". Independent.
  9. ^ Cheterian, Vikin (2 October 2013). "Kurdish Leader Denies Syrian Kurds Seek Secession". Al Monitor. Retrieved 28 April 2014. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help) Originally published in Arabic by Al-Hayat as أكراد سورية لا يريدون الانفصال نحارب النظام و«النصرة» ونخشى مجازر on 28 September 2013.
  10. ^ "More Kurdish Cities Liberated As Syrian Army Withdraws from Area". Rudaw. 20 July 2012.
  11. ^ Rozoff, Rick (3 August 2012). "NATO's Secret Kurdish War: Turkey Prepares Iraq-style Attacks Inside Syria". Eurasia Review. Retrieved 3 October 2014.
  12. ^ "Liberated Kurdish Cities in Syria Move into Next Phase". Rudaw. 25 July 2012.
  13. ^ "What's happening in Kobane?". Kurdish Question. 6 July 2014.
  14. ^ James, Catherine (6 October 2014). "ISIS Flags Raised in Kobani Near Turkish–Syrian Border". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 October 2014.
  15. ^ James, Catherine (7 October 2014). "Syrian Kurds reportedly holding back Isis militants in Kobani". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 October 2014. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  16. ^ General Census of Population and Housing 2004. Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS). Aleppo Governorate. Template:Ar icon

36°53′23″N 38°21′20″E / 36.88972°N 38.35556°E / 36.88972; 38.35556

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