Saida, also spelled Sayda (Arabic: صَيْدَا, romanizedṢaydā), is a village in southern Syria, administratively part of the Daraa Governorate, located east of Daraa. Nearby localities include al-Naimah to the west, Al-Ghariyah al-Gharbiyah to the north, Kahil and al-Musayfirah to the east and al-Taybah and Umm al-Mayazen to the south. According to the Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), Saida had a population of 11,215 in the 2004 census.[1]

Saida
صَيْدَا
Village
Saida is located in Syria
Saida
Saida
Coordinates: 32°37′42″N 36°13′34″E / 32.62833°N 36.22611°E / 32.62833; 36.22611
Grid position265/226 PAL
Country Syria
GovernorateDaraa
DistrictDaraa
SubdistrictDaraa
Population
 (2004 census)[1]
 • Total
11,215
Time zoneUTC+2 (EET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+3 (EEST)

History

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In the Ottoman tax registers of 1596, Sayda was a village located the nahiya of Butayna, Qada of Hauran. It had a population of 41 households and 13 bachelors, all Muslims. They paid a fixed tax-rate of 40% on agricultural products, including wheat, barley, summer crops, goats and beehives, in addition to occasional revenues; a total of 8,188 akçe. 1/6 of the revenue went to a waqf.[2] In 1838 Eli Smith noted that the place was located west of the Hajj road, and that it was in ruins.[3]

Saida was also noted as a khirba (ruined village) by 1858 during Ottoman rule.[4] However, the second half of that century saw a resurgence in grain cultivation and security in the Hauran region, of which Saida was part. During that period, it was settled and by 1895 had 250 inhabitants.[4]

References

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  1. ^ a b General Census of Population and Housing 2004. Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS). Daraa Governorate. (in Arabic)
  2. ^ Hütteroth and Abdulfattah, 1977, p. 214
  3. ^ Robinson and Smith, 1841, vol 3, 2nd appendix, p. 161
  4. ^ a b Lewis, Norman (2000). "The Syrian Steppe during the Last Century of Ottoman Rule: Hawran and the Palmyrena". In Mundy, Martha; Musallam, Basim (eds.). The Transformation of Nomadic Society in the Arab East. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 40–41. ISBN 978-0521770576.

Bibliography

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