Sadad

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صدد / Ṣadad
Sadad
Sadad (Syria)
Sadad
Sadad
Coordinates 34 ° 19 ′  N , 36 ° 56 ′  E Coordinates: 34 ° 19 ′  N , 36 ° 56 ′  E
Basic data
Country Syria

Governorate

Homs
ISO 3166-2 SY-HI
Residents 3503
politics
mayor Suleiman Khalil

Sadad ( Arabic صدد, DMG Ṣadad , Aramaic ܨܕܕ, Syrian ܣܕܕ) is a place in Syria . It is located about 60 km south of Homs and 101 km northeast of Damascus in the Qalamun Mountains, which are part of anti-Lebanon . In 2004, according to the census, there were 3,503 people in Sadad, around 90% Arab Christians , who belonged to the Syrian Orthodox Church of Antioch . After brief occupation and devastation of the place by the Al-Nusra Front in 2013 , many residents left their hometown. Nevertheless, Sadad is considered a showcase for reconstruction.

history

Sadad is a very old town, probably associated with the biblical Zedad ( Hebrew צְדָד/ Tzedad ), so in Numbers ( Num 34.8  EU ) and in Ezekiel ( Ez 47.15  EU ).

Christianity persisted in the remote place even after the Islamic conquest of the Levant in the 7th century, while Western Aramaic, originally spoken here, was replaced by Arabic . Traces of Aramaic in the Arabic dialect of Sadad were investigated by Fadel M. Mubaraka (2010). Sadad was a bishopric and, according to reports by the Maronite patriarch and historian Istifan al-Duwayhi, had a close connection with the monastery of Dair Mar Musa al-Habaschi .

In the 19th century, when the place belonged to the Ottoman Empire , Sadad was fortified with barricades made of adobe to protect itself from attacks by Bedouins, according to a report from 1881 .

In December 2011, Suleiman Khalil, who had lived with his family in the USA from 2000 to 2009, won the local elections in Sadad as a member of the non-violent opposition to the Ba'ath Party of Bashar al-Assad and was so for years to come During the civil war in Syria mayor of the place.

On October 21, 2013, Islamist rebels from the Al-Nusra Front and the Free Syrian Army took the village, killing at least nine people. Counter-attacks by the Syrian army began on October 22, 2013. On October 28th, the Syrian army retook Sadad. Returning villagers and clergy of the Syrian Orthodox Church found two mass graves with a total of 30 civilian deaths, including women and children. A total of 45 Christian residents were killed and several churches looted during the period of occupation.

On October 15, 2015, Daesh (IS) units attacked Sadad. Hundreds of Christian militiamen were in Sadad to defend the place. This time it was the Christian militias set up by Sadad Mayor Suleiman Khalil who repelled the Islamist attackers. Years later, the Christian Sadad in Syria was seen as a showcase, where significant parts of the infrastructure destroyed in 2013 were rebuilt, such as the hospital and the electricity and water systems.

economy

In the 1980s, the textile industry was a major source of income for most of Sadad's residents . The most important products were abayas and woolen mats, which were sold to the Bedouins in the area. Sadad was a trading center also for tarpaulins, other textiles, saddles, coffee and tea.

Attractions

In Sadad, whose population is about 90% Christian, there are several churches, including the Church of Mar Sarkis (Saint Sergius), the Church of Saint Bacchus and the Church of Saint Theodore , which have old frescoes.

literature

  • Fadel M. Mubaraka (2010): The Aramaic Influence in the Vernacular of Sadad . In: Gregorios Yohanna Ibrahim (Ed.): Dar Mardin - Christian Arabic and Syriac Studies from the Middle East . Gorgias Press, 2010.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Michel Jullien: Sinaï et Syrie - souvenirs bibliques et chrétiens . Société Saint-Augustin, Desclée de Brouwer et Cie., 1893, p. 194.
  2. ^ John F. Walvoord, Roy B. Zuck: The Bible Knowledge Commentary - Old Testament . Victor Books, 1985, p. 1315.
  3. ^ Justin M. Rogers, Clyde M. Woods: Leviticus Numbers . College Press, 2006, p. 384.
  4. ↑ a b Erica Dodd: The Frescoes of Mar Musa al-Habashi - a Study in Medieval Painting in Syria . Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies, 2001.
  5. ^ Sébastien de Courtois: Le Génocide oublié - Chrétiens d'Orient, les derniers Araméens . Ellipses, 2002, p. 17.
  6. ↑ a b Future for Christians in their home country Syria. “God has called me back to Syria.” Christian mayor does not give up his village. CSI helps. HelpDirect, accessed April 14, 2020.
  7. ↑ Islamist rebels fight army for Christian town in Syria. Reuters, October 22, 2013.
  8. ^ Christians in Syria feel forgotten as mass graves found in Sadad. Morning Star News, Nov. 5, 2013.
  9. ↑ Syria: Bodies of massacred Christians found in mass grave. Independent Catholic News, Nov. 4, 2013.
  10. ↑ Raymond Ibrahim: 'Largest Massacre of Christians in Syria' Ignored. The Human Events Group, November 22nd.
  11. ^ Hundreds of Christian fighters scramble to defend Syrian town as ISIS advance. Newsweek, Oct. 11, 2015.
  12. ↑ Jibrail Jabbur Sulayman, in: Suhayl J. Jabbur, Lawrence I. Conrad (ed.): The Bedouin and the Desert. Aspects of Nomadic Life in the Arab East . State University of New York Press, Albany 1995, pp. 336-337.