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The Hauran Conflicts of the 1860s: A Chapter in the Rural History of Modern Syria

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 January 2009

L. Schatkowski Schilcher
L. Schatkowski Schilcher
Affiliation:
Johannes Gutenberg Universität Mainz
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Extract

This paper examines the relatively neglected rural history of Syria. It concentrates on the Hauran, a dry-farming region of hills and plains south of the Damascene oasis between the northern Jordan's tributaries and the eastern desert. Although the Hauran is today no longer a region of primary economic importance to Syria as it once was, it is of historical interest because it was the very first of greater Syria's outlying rural zones to be integrated into the developing modern Middle Eastern economy.

The Hauran is, moreover, of comparative interest because it held a position in Syria's political economy then which bears many resemblances to the positions held by younger hinterland regions now. The parallels between the situation of the Hauran then and the Syrian north and northeast now, for example, are indeed many.

Type
Research Article
Information
International Journal of Middle East Studies , Volume 13 , Issue 2 , May 1981 , pp. 159 - 179
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1981

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References

Author's note: I am grateful to the Volkswagen Foundation for its support during the completion of this paper.

1 This area includes, in addition to the Hauran plain itself, areas bordering on it such as Jabal al- 'Arab (or as it may also be called, Jabal Hauran or Jabal ad-Druz), Safa, Laja, Jaidur, Jaulan, and to some extent the Balqa' of transjordan which were all drawn into developments in the nineteenth century.

2 Through the Hauran still “feeds” Damascus, its importance to the national economy has been surpassed by more recently developed areas, first in the vicinity of Hama, Homa, and Aleppo and now by the vast regions in Syria's northeast. The Hauran's potential for further economic development in twentieth-century Syria has been limited by its continued dependence on rain and subsoil water resources. It has also suffered economically by the placement of international borders through its interdependent districts, the loss of Palestine as an alternative market to Damascus, and the loss of Haifa as its most economic outlet to the Mediterranean. The Hauran like all regions of southern Syria and Lebanon suffer from the generally insecure political situation as a consequence of the Middle East conflict.

3 The Hauran and its surrounding districts have drawn the interest of several commentators, travelers, and historians of the later Ottoman period, but none has dealt in depth with the events of the 1860s nor considered the important roles played both by European economic interests and Damascenes at that time. Reference could be made to the following: Hanna, Abu Rashid, Hauran ad-Damiyya (Cairo, 1926)Google Scholar and Jabal ad-Druz (Beirut, 1961);Google ScholarShibli, al-'Aysami, Da', ud Nimr, and Hamud, ash-Shufi, Muhafaza as-Suwayda' (Damascus, 1962);Google ScholarGertrude, Bell, Syria: The Desert and the Sown (London, 1907);Google ScholarLady, Ann Blunt, The Bedouin Tribes of the Euphrates (New York, 1879);Google ScholarBrönnow, R. E. and Von Domaszewski, A., Die Provincia Arabia, Bd. 3, Der westliche Hauran (Strassburg, 1909);Google ScholarRichard, F. Burton and Trywitt Drake, F., Unexplored Syria (London, 1872);Google ScholarDelbet, E. M., “Paysans en communauté et en polygamie de Bousrah,” in Le, Play, Les Ouvriers de l'Orient (Tours, 1877), pp. 304–397;Google ScholarYa', akov Firestone, “Production and Trade in an Islamic Context: Sharika Contracts in the Transitional Economy of Northern Samaria,” International Journal of Middle East Studies, 6 (1975) 185–209, 308–325;Google Scholar'Abdullah, Hanna, al-Qadiya az-Zira'iyya wa'l-Harakat al-Falahiyya fi Suriyya wa Lubnan, 1820–1920 (Beirut, 1975);Google Scholar'Umar, Rida Kahhala, Mu'jam Qaba'il al-'Arab al-Qadima wa'l-Haditha (Beirut, 1968);Google ScholarSafuh, Khayr, Iqlim Jaulan (Damascus, 1976);Google ScholarLees, G.R., “Across Southern Bashan,” Geographical Journal, 5 (1895) 1–27;CrossRefGoogle ScholarDavid, McDowell, “The Druze Revolt of 1925 and Its Background in the Late Ottoman Period,” unpublished B.Litt. Thesis (Oxford, 1972);Google ScholarJoyce, Laverty Miller, “The Syrian Revolt of 1925,” in International Journal of Middle East Studies, 8 (1977) 545–563;Google ScholarIhsan, anNimr, Tarikh Jabal Nablus wa'l-Balqa' (Nablus, 1961);Google ScholarJean-Paul, Pascual, “Environnement et alimentation dans la Hawran au XIXàme siàle,” unpublished French version now available in Arabic translation in al-Mu' tamar ad-Dauli ath-Thani li Tarikh Bilad ash-Sham, Vol. 1 (Damascus, 1980) 415–428;Google ScholarPorter, J. L., The Giant Cities of Bashan (London, 1867);Google ScholarMax, von Oppenheim, Die Beduinnen (Leipzig, 1943) and his Vom Mittelmeer zum persischen Golf (Berlin, 1899);Google ScholarAnon, , Rambles in the Deserts of Syria (London, 1864);Google ScholarEmanuel, Guillaume Rey, Voyage dans le Hauran et aux Bords de la Mer Morte (Paris, 1860);Google ScholarSchumacher, G., The Jaulan (London, 1888);Google ScholarWetzstein, J.G., Reisebericht öber den Hauran und die Trachonen (Berlin, 1860).Google Scholar

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24 Ibid., 8, June 30, 1862, AEPol/7; 9, July 10, 1862, AEPol/7; 11, June 11, 1862. AEARC/93/5;1, Jan. 4, 1863, AEPol/7.

25 Ibid., 7, Mar. 19, 1863, AEPol/7.

26 Ibid., 7, June 15, 1862, AEPol/7; 4, May 6, 1862, AEPol/7.

27 Ibid.

28 Ibid., 2, Apr. 21, 1862, AEPol/7.

29 Ibid., 2, Apr. 21, 1862, AEPol/7; 6, May 31, 1862, AEPol/7.

30 Ibid.

31 Ibid., 6, May 31, 1862, AEPol/7.

32 Ibid.

33 Ibid.

34 Ibid., 7, June 15, 1862, AEPol/7.

35 Ibid., 14, July 3, 1862, AEARC/93/5.

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48 Ibid.

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54 Ibid.

55 Ibid.

56 Ibid., 9, Apr. 27, 1863, AEPol/7.

57 Ibid., 17, Aug. 5, 1863, AEPol/8; 21, Aug. 21, 1863, AECom/4.

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