Alma, Syria
Alma علما Elmah | |
|---|---|
Town | |
  Alma | |
| Coordinates: 32°44′N 36°14′E / 32.733°N 36.233°E | |
| Grid position | 267/240 |
| Country |  Syria |
| Governorate | Daraa |
| District | Daraa |
| Subdistrict | Khirbet Ghazaleh |
| Population (2004)[1] | |
• Total | 6,297 |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (EET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+3 (EEST) |
Alma or Elmah (Arabic: علما) is a village in the Daraa District of the Daraa Governorate, Syria.[1] According to the 2004 census, the population was estimated at 6,297 people.[1]
It is located near Khirbet Ghazaleh and belongs to a sub-district of a same name.[1]
History
Alma is identified with the ancient Jewish village of Helam or Alema (Greek: Αλαμα), a place in Gilead mentioned in 1 Maccabees.[2][3]
Ottoman era
In the Ottoman tax registers of 1596, it was a village named Alama, located the nahiya of Bani Malik al-Asraf, Qada of Hauran. It had a population of 12 households and 7 bachelors, all Muslims. They paid a fixed tax-rate of 40% on agricultural products, including wheat (6000 akçe), barley (1350), summer crops (650), goats and beehives (50), in addition to occasional revenues (10); a total of 8,060 akçe. 1/3 of the revenue went to a waqf.[4]
In 1838, its inhabitants were again noted as being Muslim, located south of Al-Shaykh Maskin.[5]
References
- ^ a b c d Population and Housing Census 2004
- ^ 1 Maccabees, 5:26
- ^ Avi-Yonah, M. (1976). "Gazetteer of Roman Palestine". Qedem. 5: 64. ISSN 0333-5844.
- ^ Hütteroth and Abdulfattah, 1977, p. 214
- ^ Smith; in Robinson and Smith, 1841, vol 3, Second appendix, B, p. 112
Bibliography
- Hütteroth, W.-D.; Abdulfattah, K. (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. ISBN 3-920405-41-2.
- Robinson, E.; Smith, E. (1841). Biblical Researches in Palestine, Mount Sinai and Arabia Petraea: A Journal of Travels in the year 1838. Vol. 3. Boston: Crocker & Brewster.