Jabal al-Druze (Arabic: جبل الدروز, French: Djebel Druze) was an autonomous state in the French Mandate of Syria from 1921 to 1936, designed to function as a government for the local Druze population under French oversight.[1][2]
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State of Jabal al-Druze Djebel Druze جبل الدروز | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 May 1921–9 September 1936 | |||||||||
.svg) | |||||||||
 Location of Jabal al-Druze (turquoise-blue) in the Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon | |||||||||
| Status | Mandate of France | ||||||||
| Capital | As-Suwayda | ||||||||
| Common languages | |||||||||
| Religion | |||||||||
| Governor | |||||||||
• 1921–1923 | Prince Salim Basha al-Atrash | ||||||||
• 1935–1936 | Pierre Tarit | ||||||||
| Historical era | Interwar period | ||||||||
• Established | 1 May 1921 | ||||||||
• Named "State of Souaida" | 4 March 1922 | ||||||||
• Named "Jabal al-Druze" | 1 June 1927 | ||||||||
• Disestablished | 9 September 1936 | ||||||||
| |||||||||
Nomenclature
On 4 March 1922, it was proclaimed as the State of Souaida, after the capital As-Suwayda, but in 1927 it was renamed Jabal al-Druze or Jabal Druze State. The name comes from the Jabal al-Druze mountain.[2]
History
The Druze state was formed on 1 May 1921 in former Ottoman territory, while other statelets were installed in other parts of the Syrian mandate (e.g. the Alawite State in the Lattakia region). Jabal al-Druze was home to about 50,000 Druze.[1][2] It was the first, and remains the only, autonomous entity to be populated and governed by Druze. The 1925 Syrian Revolution began in Jabal al-Druze under the leadership of Sultan al-Atrash, and quickly spread to Damascus and other non-Druze areas outside the Jabal al-Druze region. Protests against the division of Syrian territory into statelets were a main theme of Syrian anti-colonial nationalism, which eventually won the victory to reunite the entire French-mandated territory, except Lebanon (which had become independent) and Alexandretta, which was annexed to Turkey as the Hatay Province.
As a result of Syrian nationalist pressure, under the Franco-Syrian Treaty of 1936, Jabal al-Druze ceased to exist as an autonomous entity and was incorporated into Syria.
| Religion | Inhabitants | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Druze | 43,000 | 84.8% |
| Christians | 7,000 | 13.8% |
| Sunni | 700 | 1.4% |
| Total | 50,700 | 100% |
Druze celebrating their independence in 1925
Governors
- Amir Salim Pasha al-Atrash (1 May 1921 – 15 September 1923)
- Trenga (provisional) (September 1923 – 6 March 1924)
- Gabriel Marie Victor Carbillet (6 March 1924 – 14 October 1925), provisional to 1 October 1924
- Sultan Pasha al-Atrash (18 July 1925 – 1 June 1927), chief of state; in dissidence
- Charles Andréa (15 October 1925 – 1927)
- Marie Joseph Léon Augustin Henry (1927)
- Abel Jean Ernest Clément-Grancourt (1927–1932)
- Claude-Gabriel-Renaud Massiet (3 February 1932 – 28 January 1934)
- Justin-Antoine Devicq (1934–1935)
- Pierre-Joseph-François Tarrit (1935 – 2 December 1936)[4]
See also
References
External links
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