Muzayrib

Under the Ottomans, the town, well known for its springs and bazaars, served as the first major resting place along the Hajj caravan route from Damascus to Mecca. Along with al-Shaykh Saad, Muzayrib served as the main administrative center for the region of Hauran.Newbold, 1846, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=c0MMAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA337 337] In the 16th century, a fort was built in the town on the orders of Ottoman Sultan, Selim I.Nicolle, 2010, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=C9UVaLyo4UEC&pg=PA25 25] Its builder was a certain Hatim Tay.Petersen 2012, p. [https://www.academia.edu/12010197/Chapter_8_The_Hajj_Route_in_Syria 55] The fort had a bent gateway, unlike other Hajj forts which had straight entrances, and was built from locally quarried basaltic rock. Strategically located in the hinterland of Damascus, the fort at Muzayrib was the most solid demonstration of Ottoman power over Damascus, which experienced several revolts, including by the inhabitants or the local Janissary corps. Thus, the provincial leadership of Damascus stringently controlled Muzayrib. Because of its important role in the Hajj route, large quantities of dry cakes were stored in the fort to provide for pilgrims who were dependent on the cakes for sustenance during their traversal of the desert or to supply the inhabitants of Damascus in case of a shortage.Douwes, 2000, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=ZUcBAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA106 106] The fort also served as a place where the Damascus authorities collected taxes from pilgrims and where the amir al-hajj (Hajj caravan commander) distributed money to Bedouin tribal chiefs to dissuade them from attacking the Hajj pilgrims.

Instead of local Janissaries, imperial Ottoman troops were stationed at the fort of Muzayrib.Peters, 1995, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=EK5MqskDYC0C&pg=PA154 154] By 1672, the fort had an 80-man imperial garrison, a 300-man force of irregulars commanded by a local military official.Petersen 2012, p. [https://www.academia.edu/12010197/Chapter_8_The_Hajj_Route_in_Syria 56] It was also the residence of the qadi (Islamic head judge) of Hauran. At the time, the fort contained a mosque, small bathhouse and storage rooms containing government and merchant goods. Between 1517 and 1757, the Hajj caravan at Muzayrib was attacked five times by nomadic Bedouins.Peters, 1995, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=EK5MqskDYC0C&pg=PA373 373] In 1770, the rebel Egyptian army of Ali Bey al-Kabir led by Ismail Bey and an allied force led by Zahir al-Umar, the Arab ruler of the Galilee, stopped at Muzayrib on their way to capture Damascus. When they reached Muzayrib to face off with Governor Uthman Pasha, Ismail Bey decided to retreat because the encounter coincided with the arrival of the Hajj caravan in the town. Zahir al-Umar unsuccessfully protested the move and the rebel armies withdrew.Rogan, 2009, [https://books.google.com/books?id=LILdBDrm-ksC Chapter 2].

In 1838 Eli Smith noted that the place was located west of the Hajj road, and that it was populated with Sunni Muslims.Robinson and Smith, 1841, vol 3, 2nd appendix, p. [https://archive.org/stream/biblicalresearch03robiuoft#page/161/mode/1up 161] In the 19th century, the fort at Muzayrib contained large warehouses, minor dwellings and a small mosque. A spring located to the northeast emptied into a pond containing abundant fish. Ruins were situated along the western banks of the spring. Hajj pilgrims who came to Muzayrib, which was still the main resting place of the caravan route, remained in the town for several days, and during each Hajj a large open market was held.Socin, 1876, p. [https://archive.org/stream/02950227.5448.emory.edu/02950227_5448#page/n466/mode/1up 404] An observer remarked at the end of the century that the place would have been blossoming, had it not been for its marshy and fever-producing surroundings.Schumacher, 1897, p. [https://archive.org/stream/zeitschriftdesde19deut#page/167/mode/1up 167]

File:Schumacher's map of Muzayrib.jpg]]

The city was connected to the Ottoman telegraph network based in Damascus by 1875.Philipp; Schäbler, 1998, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=B-iDgNPVuhAC&pg=PA85 85] In the late 1880s, the fortress was in a decaying state. A narrow gauge {{convert|103|km|mi}} long railway line connecting Muzayrib with Damascus was inaugurated on 14 July 1894; the line was extended to the port city of Beirut in 1895. The railway, owing to its construction along an undeveloped trade route, was a financial failure. However, it helped to open up Lebanon and develop the agricultural industry in the fertile volcanic plains of the Golan and the Hauran, making them the leading producers of wheat crops in the Middle East.Hograth, 2011, pp. [https://books.google.com/books?id=XlOg3ucdUrYC&pg=PA220 220]-221 By 1898, the fort at Muzayrib was largely ruined and within ten years, about two-thirds of its masonry had been reused by the local inhabitants for modern buildings in Muzayrib and villages in the vicinity.

{{reflist|25em}}

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• {{cite book|first=Dick|last=Douwes|title=The Ottomans in Syria: a history of justice and oppression|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zYptAAAAMAAJ&q=Hasya|publisher=I.B. Tauris|year=2000|isbn=1860640311}}
• {{cite book | first= D.G.| last= Hogarth|author-link= David George Hogarth| title = The Nearer East| year = 2011| publisher = Cambridge University Press|isbn=9781108042079|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XlOg3ucdUrYC&q=mzerib&pg=PA220}}
• {{cite journal|last=Newbold|first=Captain |author-link=Thomas John Newbold|year=1846|title=On the Site of Ashtaroth|journal=Journal of the Royal Geographical Society of London|publisher=Wiley-Blackwell|volume=16|pages=331–338|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=c0MMAAAAIAAJ&q=%22Ghabaghib%22&pg=PA337|doi=10.2307/1798240|jstor=1798240}}
• {{cite book | first = D.| last= Nicolle|author-link=David Nicolle | title = Ottoman Fortifications 1300-1710| year = 2010| publisher = Osprey Publishing|isbn=9781846035036|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=C9UVaLyo4UEC&q=muzayrib&pg=PA25}}
• {{cite book | first1 = F. E.| last1= Peters| title = The Hajj: The Muslim Pilgrimage to Mecca and the Holy Places| year = 1995| publisher = Princeton University Press|isbn=069102619X|url=https://archive.org/details/hajjmuslimpilgri0000pete| url-access = registration| quote = Muzayrib.}}
• {{cite book|last=Petersen|first=Andrew|title=The Medieval and Ottoman Hajj Route in Jordan: An Archaeological and Historical Study|chapter=8: The Hajj Route in Syria|url=https://www.academia.edu/12010197|date=2012|publisher=Council for British Research in the Levant|isbn=978-1842175026}}
• {{cite book | first1 = Thomas| last1= Philipp | first2 = Brigit| last2= Schäbler | title = The Syrian Land: Processes of Integration and Fragmentation| year = 1998| publisher = Franz Steiner Verlag|isbn= 9783515073097 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=B-iDgNPVuhAC&q=muzayrib&pg=PA85}}
• {{cite book|last1=Robinson|first1=E.|authorlink1=Edward Robinson (scholar)|last2=Smith|first2=E.|authorlink2=Eli Smith|year=1841|url=http://archive.org/details/biblicalresearch03robiuoft |title=Biblical Researches in Palestine, Mount Sinai and Arabia Petraea: A Journal of Travels in the year 1838| location=Boston|publisher=Crocker & Brewster|volume=3}}
• {{cite book | first = E.| last= Rogan|author-link =Eugene Rogan | title = The Arabs| year = 2009| publisher = Basic Books|isbn=978-0465020065|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DAasNfpCdVIC&q=Muzayrib}}
• {{cite book | first= A.| last= Socin |author-link= Albert Socin| title = Palestine and Syria: Handbook for travellers| year = 1876| publisher = Karl Baedeker|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-r9CAAAAYAAJ&q=Mezraa+Hauran}}
• {{cite journal | first=G.|last=Schumacher|author-link = Gottlieb Schumacher |title = Der Südliche Basan| journal = Zeitschrift des Deutschen Palästina-Vereins | volume = 19-20 | pages = 65–227 | url =https://archive.org/details/zeitschriftdesde19deut| year = 1897}}''

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• [https://www.google.com/maps/@32.7080104,36.0256075,15z Google map]
• [http://www.nla.gov.au/apps/cdview/?pi=nla.map-vn745520-s21l Cheik Meskin-map; 21L]

{{Daraa Governorate|daraa}}

{{Ottoman Hajj Routes}}

Category:Populated places in Daraa District

Category:Towns in Syria