as-Suchna
Coordinates: 34 ° 53 ′ 12.5 ″ N , 38 ° 52 ′ 19.5 ″ E
As-Suchna ( Arabic السخنة, DMG as-Suḫna 'Die Heiße') is a small town in central Syria , which in 2004 had 16,173 inhabitants. Located 460 m above sea level , it belongs to the Homs Governorate . It is located in the Tadmur district and lives mainly from the region's gas deposits and from trade with the surrounding Bedouins .
history
When a Muslim army conquered Arak , an oasis village, in 634 , the peaceful takeover of power there convinced the inhabitants of as-Suchna not to offer any resistance to the invaders and to allow them entry.
In 1225 the geographer Yaqut al-Hamawi describes the city as a small town in the Syrian desert, between Damascus and ar-Raqqa , where palm trees grow next to the springs. Ibn Battūta describes the city between Ar Rahbah Malik ibn Tauk and Tadmur as "beautiful". However, most of the residents were "unbelieving Christians" according to his description. The name "the hot one" comes from the local hot springs. There were bathhouses for men and women. The water was brought to the houses for cooling.
In the 17th and 18th centuries, the city became a trading center for the surrounding Bedouin tribes. The Sawachina , the people of as-Suchna, dominated the trade with the 'Anizzah , a tribal confederation. They traded in camels, horses, alkali ash and leather, wheat, clothes, weapons and tools.
With the rise of Deir ez-Zor , al-Suchna lost its economic dominance, although trade with the 'Umur and the Sba'a, two groups of the' Anizzah, flourished until 2015.
On May 13, 2015, Islamic State militias captured the region in connection with an attack on Tadmur and Palmyra . During the battle for the city the Syrian troops lost 70 men, the IS 40. About 1,800 families fled to Tadmur. After the invasion, IS had 26 civilians executed, ten of whom were beheaded. With the conquest, the organization was able to improve its financing with the help of the gas fields of Arak, Al Hail, Najib Zubyyat and as-Suchna.
In October 2015, 35 to 40 IS supporters were killed in a Russian air strike. According to Russian sources, the trigger for the first attack after the ceasefire in February 2016 was the death of two helicopter pilots, a Syrian and a Russian, on July 8, 2016. With the capture of Palmyra by the Syrian army at the end of March 2016, with the help of the Russian air force succeeded, as-Suchna was attacked again, which was of great importance for strategic reasons at this point in time, since with its conquest the territory of the IS was divided. On August 6, 2017, Syrian government troops recaptured the city from IS according to SOHR reports.
Remarks
- ^ AI Akram: The Sword of Allah, Khalid Bin al-Waleed: His Life and Campaigns ( Memento of February 17, 2003 in the Internet Archive ) , National Publishing House, 1970, p. 321 f.
- ↑ Guy Le Strange: Palestine Under the Muslims. A Description of Syria and the Holy Land from AD 650 to 1500 , Cosimo Classics, New York 2010, reprint of the work from 1890, p. 539.
- ↑ Dick Douwes: The Ottomans in Syria. A History of Justice and Opression , IB Tauris, 2000, p. 39 f.
- ↑ Dick Douwes: The Ottomans in Syria. A History of Justice and Opression , IB Tauris, 2000, p. 32.
- ↑ Islamic State at the gates of Palmyra ( Memento of the original from May 17, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Syria conflict: IS advances on ancient ruins of Palmyra , BBC News, May 15, 2015.
- ^ Hussein Almohamad, Andreas Dittmann: Oil in Syria between Terrorism and Dictatorship , Giessen 2016 ( online ).
- ↑ Russian Warplanes Destroy ISIL HQ Near Palmyra, Up To 40 Militants Killed , in: Sputnik international, October 6, 2015.
- ↑ Deux aviateurs morts en Syrie: la Russie riposte , in: Le Courrier de Russie, July 13, 2016.
- ↑ Assad's Great Victory - Desert City Palmyra Conquered , in: Stern, March 27, 2016.
- ↑ "The last IS stronghold in the Homs province falls" n-tv.de of August 6, 2017
