Sawran, Aleppo Governorate

Sawran (Arabic: صوران‎), also spelled Suran, Souran or Sawwaran, is a town in northern Aleppo Governorate, northwestern Syria. Located 22 kilometres (14 mi) north of the city of Aleppo, it is the administrative centre of Nahiya Sawran in Azaz District. Nearby localities include A'zaz and Kafra to the west, Ihtaimlat and Dabiq to the east and Mare' to the south. In the 2004 census, Sawran had a population of 6,988.[1]

Sawran is the administrative center of Nahiya Sawran of the Azaz District.

Sawran صوران
Town
Sawran Location of Sawran in Syria
Coordinates: 36°33′57″N 37°12′46″E
Country	Syria
Governorate	Aleppo
District	Azaz
Subdistrict	Sawran
Control	Turkey Syrian Interim Government
Elevation	444 m (1,457 ft)
Population  (2020)[1]	16,998
Time zone	UTC+2 (EET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+3 (EEST)
Geocode	C1664

History

Sawran's history dates back to the Iron Age when it was an Aramaean settlement in the Kingdom of Bit Adini known as "Surunu." In a military campaign against Bit Adini's king Ahuni, the Neo-Assyrian king Shalmaneser III raided and captured Surunu.[2] It later came under the rule of Assyrian king Tiglath Pileser III.[3]

During the Byzantine era in Syria, Sawran was inhabited by the Arab tribe of Tanukh. Before the Muslim conquest it served an Arab Christian center and contained a fortified monastery. During early Islamic rule, Sawran was part of Jund Qinnasrin ("Military District of Chalcis"), part of the larger Bilad al-Sham province.[4]

Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) took control of the town on 31 May 2015.[5] On 16 October 2016, Turkish-backed rebels captured the town from ISIL.[6][7]

References

1. "2004 Census Data for Nahiya Sawran, Aleppo Governorate" (in Arabic). Syrian Central Bureau of Statistics. Also available in English: UN OCHA. "2004 Census Data". Humanitarian Data Exchange.
2. Bryce, 2009, pp. 674-675.
3. Lipinsky, 2000, pp. 210-211.
4. Shahid, 2009, p. 404.
5. "Dozens reported killed in violence across Syria". Al Jazeera. 21 June 2015. Retrieved 5 July 2015.
6. "Syria conflict: Rebels 'capture' IS stronghold of Dabiq". BBC News. 2016-10-16. Retrieved 2016-10-16.
7. السيطرة على دابق تقضي على أهم ذرائع تنظيم “الدولة الإسلامية”.

Bibliography

• Bryce, Trevor (2009). The Routledge Handbook of The People and Places of Ancient Western Asia: The Near East from the Earky Bronze Age to the fall of the Persians Empire. Routledge. ISBN 978-1134159086.
• Lipinsky, Edward (2000). The Aramaeans: Their Ancient History, Culture, Religion. Peeters Publishers. ISBN 9042908599.
• Shahid, Irfan (2009). Byzantium and the Arabs in the Sixth Century, Part 2. Harvard University Press. ISBN 978-0884023470.