Imtan
Imtan
امتان | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Country |  Syria |
| Governorate | As-Suwayda Governorate |
| District | Salkhad District |
| Elevation | 1,189 m (3,901 ft) |
| Population | |
| • Total | 2,600 |
Imtan (Arabic: امتان) is a village in As Suwaydā' Governorate, southern Syria. Imtan is located 37 km south-east of the city of As Suwaydā', 1189 meters above sea level in the southern part of Jabal el Druze.
Imtan's official population is 8000, but fewer than 2600 people actually live there,[citation needed] due to years of drought and emigration.
History
It is believed that the village has been inhabited since 6000 BCE, although there is little evidence supporting this. Imtan has many archeological sites spanning many eras, including the ruins of Roman public baths. The village played a major role in the Great Syrian Revolution against France in 1925.
In 1596 Imtan appeared in the Ottoman tax registers as al-Mubattan and was part of the nahiya of Bani Malik as-Sadir in the Qada of Hauran. It had an all Muslim population consisting of 7 households and 2 bachelors. Taxes were paid on wheat, barley, summer crops, goats and/or beehives.[1]
People
The village is mainly inhabited by Druze. The inhabitants are predominantly poor. The inhabitants are well educated and the village is home to over 300 university graduates, amongst them are 80 engineers and 68 doctors.[2]
The inhabitants look to collaborative work as a way to compensate for the absence of government services. They collaborated to build a school, medical center, and cooperative retail store. They have also established a farmer's union and community fund which offers help to the poorest families.[2]
References
- ^ Hütteroth and Abdulfattah, 1977, p. 211.
- ^ a b Fuad Al-Bunnei (April 20, 2005). "Mojtama' Madani Mossaghar (A Miniature Civil Society)". An-Nour newspaper, issue No.195 Template:Ar.
Bibliography
- Wolf-Dieter Hütteroth and Kamal Abdulfattah (1977). Historical Geography of Palestine, Transjordan and Southern Syria in the Late 16th Century. Erlanger Geographische Arbeiten, Sonderband 5. Erlangen, Germany: Vorstand der Fränkischen Geographischen Gesellschaft.
Further reading
- Kissel, T. 2002a. A Reused Milestone from Imtan (Southern Syria)-New Evidence on the Limes Arabicus in the Second Century AD. In: Freeman, P. et al., eds. Limes XVIII. Proceedings of the XVlllth International Congress of Roman Frontier Studies held in Amman, Jordan (September 2000) I. (BAR International Series 1084). Oxford: 161-174.
32°25′0″N 36°49′0″E / 32.41667°N 36.81667°E
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