Al-Taybah
| Al-Tayba الطيبة Tayyiba | |
|---|---|
| Village | |
  Al-Tayba Location in Syria | |
| Coordinates: 34°53′N 38°52′E / 34.883°N 38.867°ECoordinates: 34°53′N 38°52′E / 34.883°N 38.867°E | |
| Country |
 Syria |
| Governorate | Homs Governorate |
| District | Tadmur District |
| Nahiyah | Al-Sukhnah |
| Named for | "the Good" |
| Control |
 Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant |
| Population (2004) | |
| • Total | 2,413 |
| Time zone | EET (UTC+3) |
| • Summer (DST) | EEST (UTC+2) |
Al-Tayba (Arabic: الطيبة, also spelled Tayyiba or Tayibah) is a village in eastern Syria, administratively part of the Homs Governorate. It is located in the Syrian Desert, near the Euphrates River to the east and al-Sukhnah and the village of al-Kawm to the west. Like many of the other desert towns in Syria, it is situated in a spring-fed oasis. According to the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), al-Taybah had a population of 2,413 in the 2004 census.[1]
History
Al-Taybah is an Arabic name meaning "the Good."[2] In the early 13th-century Syrian geographer Yaqut al-Hamawi noted al-Taybah was a "village in the district of 'Urd, lying between Palmyra and Aleppo."[3]
Al-Taybah was visited in 1616 by Italian explorer Pietro Della Valle, who noted that the presence of several "old relics" in the village. The mosque was well-maintained and appeared to have previously served as a church tower. Residences consisted of mud huts, many of which were reinforced by ancient stone columns.[2]
The village was abandoned sometime in the 18th century with its inhabitants migrating to nearby al-Sukhnah. The modern-day settlement was founded in 1870 after one of the descendants of the 17th-century emigrants from al-Taybah and a resident of al-Sukhnah obtained permission by the governor of the Sanjak of Zor (Deir ez-Zor). He established the new village with ten or twelve other families. The Ottomans set up a gendarmerie post there afterward.[4] In 1838 al-Taybah was classified as an abandoned village by English scholar Eli Smith.[5]
At some point between 1914 and 1918, during World War I when Ottoman authority in Syria was being challenged, al-Taybah was raided and looted by Bedouin tribesmen from the area, resulting in a second exodus of the village's residents. It was reoccupied during French Mandate rule which restored a level of security in al-Taybah.[4] During the Syrian Civil war, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant captured the village.[6]
References
- ↑ General Census of Population and Housing 2004. Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS). Homs Governorate. (Arabic)
- 1 2 Musil, 1928, p. 76.
- ↑ le Strange, p. 545.
- 1 2 Mundy and Musallam, p. 42.
- ↑ Smith, 1841, p. 174.
- ↑ ISIS expands hold in Syria with control of Palmyra ruins
Bibliography
- Mundy, Martha; Musallam, Basim (2000). Transformation of Nomadic Society in the Arab East. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-77057-2. ISBN 9780521770576..
- Musil, Aloise (1928). Palmyrena: A Topographical Itinerary. American Geographical Society..
- le Strange, Guy (1890). Palestine Under the Moslems: A Description of Syria and the Holy Land from A.D. 650 to 1500. Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund..
- Smith, Eli; Robinson, Edward (1841). Biblical Researches in Palestine, Mount Sinai and Arabia Petraea: A Journal of Travels in the Year 1838 3. Crocker and Brewster.
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