As-Suwayda
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
As Suwayda (Arabic: السويداء As Suwaidā), an aw spelt Sweida, is a mainly Druze ceety locatit in soothwastren Sirie, close tae the border wi Jordan.
As-Suwayda السويداء | |
|---|---|
The Roman amphitheatre | |
  As-Suwayda Location in Sirie | |
| Coordinates: 32°42′N 36°34′E | |
| Kintra |  Sirie |
| Governorate | As-Suwayda Govrenorate |
| Destrict | As-Suwayda Destrict |
| Population (2008 est.) | |
| • Total | 63,324 |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (EET) |
| • Summer (DST) | +3 |
| Area code(s) | 16 |
It is the caipital o the As-Suwayda Govrenorate, ane o Sirie's 14 govrenorates, borderin Jordan in the sooth an the govrenorates o Daraa in the wast an Rif Dimashq in the northeast.
The inhabitants o the ceety are mainly Druze wi a prominent Greek orthodox minority, The population o the ceety is estimatit at 63,324 (2008).
The ceety wis foondit bi the Nabataeans as Suada. It became kent as Dionysias in the Hellenistic an Roman times, for Dionysus the god o wine - the ceety is situatit in a famous auncient wine-producin region.
The name Dionysias replacit the umwhile Nabatean name o Suada in 149 AD efter the Nabataean influence decreased an then concentrated towards the sooth, as a result o the acceleratin Hellenization o Coele-Sirie at that time.
Dionysias wis a pairt o the Roman province o Arabia Petraea, an receivit the richts o civitas unner the reign o Commodus atween 180–185.
Dionysus wis worshipped in the same Nabatean temple dedicatit for Dushara. This practice o associatin the wirship o local an Hellenic gods wis common in Hellenistic Sirie.
This name remained in uise durin the Byzantine period, when the toun wis unner the influence o Ghassanids, Dionysias then wis a Diocese as a suffragan o Bosra. It wis mentioned in the Synecdemus o Hierocles. Efter the Muslim conquests it became a titular see.[1]
In recent times Dionysias wis firstly identifeed as Sweida bi William Henry Waddington.
Mony aircheological remains can be foond in the auld pairt o Sweida includin:
The ceety haes an aw mony Roman time auld hooses that are still inhabitit bi locals, auncient reservoirs, an watch touers.
Mony pairts o the auld ceety are still tae be excavatit like the Roman aqueduct, a conical reservoir, an a lairger Roman amphitheatre.
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