Al-Suwar

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Al-Suwar
صُوَر
Al-Suwar is located in Syria
Al-Suwar
Al-Suwar
Coordinates: 35°30′23″N 40°39′42″E / 35.50639°N 40.66167°E / 35.50639; 40.66167
Country Syria
GovernorateDeir ez-Zor
DistrictDeir ez-Zor
Subdistrictal-Suwar
Population
 (2004)[1]
 • Total5,279[1]
Time zoneUTC+2 (EET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+3 (EEST)

Al-Suwar (Arabic: صُوَر, romanizedṢuwar, also spelled as-Suwar or al-Suwwar) is a town in eastern Syria, administratively part of the Deir ez-Zor Governorate, located along the Khabur river, north-east of Deir ez-Zor. In 2004, there were 5297 inhabitants.

History[edit]

In the past, most scholars identified al-Suwar with Suru (Su-ú-ru), the capital city of Aramean state Bit-Halupe at the time of Tukulti-Ninurta II; however, Suru is now generally identified with nearby Tell Fiden instead.[2][3] Edward Lipinski instead identified al-Suwar with the town of *Ṣūriḫ or *Ṣuwariḫ (Ṣú-ú-ri-iḫ), the first town mentioned by the king Adad-nirari II in the province of Laqe on the Khabur river.[3]

Civil war[edit]

During the Syrian Civil War, the town fell under ISIL occupation until it was liberated by U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces during an offensive in September 2017.[4]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "General Census of Population 2004". Retrieved 2017-09-27.
  2. ^ Bonacossi, Daniele Morandi (1996). ""Landscapes of Power" The Political Organisation of Space in the Lower Habur Valley in the Neo-Assyrian Period". State Archives of Assyria Bulletin. X (2): 15–49. Retrieved 24 April 2020.
  3. ^ a b Lipiński, Edward (2000). The Aramaeans: Their Ancient History, Culture, Religion. Leuven: Peeters. p. 83. ISBN 90-429-0859-9. Retrieved 24 April 2020.
  4. ^ "Kurdish forces capture major ISIS stronghold in east Deir Ezzor". Archived from the original on 2019-06-22. Retrieved 2017-09-26.