Ras al-Ayn, al-Hasakah Governorate
| Ras al-Ayn رأس العين Serê Kanîyê |
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|---|---|
| City | |
Ras al-Ayn Main Roundabout
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| Location in Syria | |
| Coordinates: 36°51′N 40°04′E / 36.850°N 40.067°ECoordinates: 36°51′N 40°04′E / 36.850°N 40.067°E | |
| Country | |
| Governorate | Al-Hasakah Governorate |
| District | Ras al-Ayn District |
| Nahiyah | Ras al-Ayn |
| Elevation | 360 m (1,180 ft) |
| Population (2004 census) | |
| • Total | 29,347 |
| Time zone | EET (UTC+2) |
| • Summer (DST) | +3 (UTC) |
| Area code(s) | 52 |
Ras al-Ayn (Arabic: رأس العين Raʾs al-ʿAyn, Kurdish: Serê Kaniyê, Classical Syriac: ܪܝܫ ܥܝܢܐ Rēš Aynā, also spelled Ras al-Ain) is a Syrian city administratively belonging to Al-Hasakah Governorate. According to the Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), Ras al-Ayn had a population of 29,347 in the 2004 census. It is the administrative center of a nahiyah ("subdistrict") consisting of 67 localities with a combined population of 121,536 in 2004.[1] It forms a divided city with Ceylanpınar in Turkey and there is a border crossing. The population consists mostly of Arabs and Kurds in addition to a significant number of Syriacs/Assyrians and a smaller number of Armenians and Chechens.
Contents
Etymology[edit]
The first mention of the town is in Akkadian "Rēš ina"[2] during the reign of the Assyrian king Adad-nirari II (911-891 BC).[2] The Arabic name "Ras al-Ayn" derives from the Akkadian and has the same meaning: "head of the spring".[2] Or, idiomatically, "Hill of the spring" - indicating a prominent mountain formation close to a well. The ancient Greek geographer Ptolemy (d. 168) names the town "Raisena".[3] The town was called in the Roman empire as "Ressaina/Resaina".[4] Another name was Theodosiopolis after emperor Theodosius I who enlarged the town in 380.[3] In addition to "Ras al-Ayn" medieval Arabic Muslim sources refer to the town sometimes as "Ain Werda".[3] Nineteenth century English sources refer to the town as "Ras Ain" or "Ain Verdeh" (1819)[5] or "Ras el Ain" (1868).[3]
The Kurdish name Serekaniye also means "head of the spring" or "head of the Fountain". It means water source areas in Kurdish. This name is probably a modern literal translation of the ancient Semitic name.
History[edit]
The ancient Neo-Assyrian city of Sikan is on the southern edge of the mound at Ras al-Ayn. Its location is near the modern-day Tell el Fakhariya, where the famous Tell el Fakhariya Bilingual Inscription was found. In antiquity it was known as "Resaina", "Ayn Warda", and "Theodosiopolis" being named after the Byzantine emperor Theodosius I who granted the settlement city rights. The latter name was also shared with the Armenian city of Karin (modern Erzurum) making it difficult to distinguish between them.[6] The Sasanians destroyed the city twice in 578 and 580 before rebuilding it and constructing one of the three Sasanian academies in it (the other two being Gundishapur and Ctesiphon) in it. The city fell to the Arabs in 640 who confiscated parts of the city which were abandoned by their inhabitants.[6] The Byzantines raided the city in 942 and took many prisoners and Crusader Joscelin I managed to hold the city briefly in 1129 killing many of its Arab inhabitants.[7] Ras al-Ayn became contested between the Zengids, Ayyubids, and the Khwarazmians between the 12th and 13th centuries. It was sacked by Tamerlane at the end of the 14th century ending its role as a major city in al-Jazira.[7]
At its height the city had a West Syrian bishopric and many monasteries. The city also contained two mosques and an East Syrian church and numerous schools, baths, and gardens.[7]
Also nearby is the Tell Halaf, former site of an Aramean city.
In the 19th century a colony of Chechen refugees were settled in the town by the Ottoman Empire.[3] They had left their native land after the Russian invasions. The Ottomans also build barracks and a fort for a thousand men to control and protect the refugees.[3]
During the Armenian Genocide which began in 1915, Ras al-Ayn was where approximately 80,000 Armenian women and children were massacred. At the time, Syria was occupied by the Ottoman Empire, which forced its indigenous Armenians into the Syrian desert to die in a variety of locations. Also see Ra's al-'Ayn Camps
As of 2004, Ras al-Ayn is the third largest city in Al-Hasakah governorate
Syrian Civil War[edit]
Ras al-Ayn has been engulfed in the Syrian Civil War. ln late November 2012, there were fights between rebels and Kurdish militias. On 21 July 2013, Kurdish forces took over the city after a night of heavy fighting.
Demographics[edit]
In 2004 the population was 29,347. The population consists mostly of Arabs and Kurds in addition to a significant number of Syriacs/Assyrians and a smaller number of Armenians and Chechens.
Ras al-Ayn springs[edit]
Ras al-Ayn has more than 100 natural springs. The most famous spring is Nab'a al-Kebreet, a hot spring with a very high mineral content, containing everything from simple calcium to lithium, and even radium.
Notes[edit]
- ^ General Census of Population and Housing 2004. Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS). Al-Hasakah Governorate. (Arabic)
- ^ a b c Dominik Bonatz (1 April 2014). The Archaeology of Political Spaces: The Upper Mesopotamian Piedmont in the Second Millennium BCE. Walter de Gruyter. pp. 61–. ISBN 978-3-11-026640-5.
- ^ a b c d e f Royal Geographical Society (Great Britain) (1868). The Journal of the Royal Geographical Society. pp. 346–347–348–349–350.
- ^ J. B. Bury (18 July 2012). History of the Later Roman Empire. Courier Corporation. pp. 94–. ISBN 978-0-486-14338-5.
- ^ Abraham Rees (1819). The Cyclopædia: Or, Universal Dictionary of Arts, Sciences, and Literature. Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme & Brown. pp. 449–.
- ^ a b Gibb 1995, p. 433
- ^ a b c Gibb 1995, p. 434
References[edit]
- Gibb, Hamilton Alexander Rosskeen (1995). The Encyclopaedia of Islam: NED-SAM. Brill. Retrieved 14 November 2012.