Tell al-Hara

Tell al-Ḥāra, formerly known as Ḥārith al-Jawlān or Jabal Ḥārith, is the highest point in the Daraa Governorate. During the Arab–Israeli conflict and the Syrian Civil War, it has served as a highly strategic military position because it overlooks wide areas of the Golan Heights and Hauran regions. The closest population center is the town of al-Hara, located at the hill's southeastern foot.

Tell al-Hara
Harith al-Jawlan, Jabal Harith
Tell al-Hara from the west, 2014
Highest point
Elevation1,127 m (3,698 ft)
Coordinates33°3′46″N 35°59′31″E
Geography
Tell al-Hara
Location of Tell al-Hara in Syria
LocationAl-Sanamayn District, Daraa Governorate, Syria
Geology
Mountain typeConical hill

Description

Tell al-Hara is a conical-shaped tell (mound or hill) with an elevation of 1,127 meters (3,698 ft) above sea level.[1] Like the neighboring hills, Tell al-Hara belongs to the range of extinct volcanoes of the Jaydur region and a wide crater opens at its summit.[2] It is the highest point in the Daraa Governorate,[3] and overlooks the Hauran plain.[1] At the southeastern foot of Tell al-Hara is the town of al-Hara.[4] Damascus is 50 kilometers north of Tell al-Hara, the governorate capital Daraa is 55 kilometers to the south, the district capital al-Sanamayn is 18 kilometers to the east and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights is 12 kilometers to the west.[5][6]

Name

Tell al-Hara was known as "Jabal Ḥārith" in the late Byzantine era.[7] It was named after the Ghassanid king al-Harith and was referred to as "Ḥārith al-Jawlān" by the contemporary Arab poets al-Nabigha and Hassan ibn Thabit.[7] The modern name of the tell and the town at its foot, "al-Ḥāra", is a "mutilated" version of its Ghassanid name "al-Ḥārith", according to historian Irfan Shahîd.[7] The tomb of the Ghassanid king al-Nu'man ibn al-Harith was said to be located at the summit of Tell al-Hara by al-Nabigha, though the scholarly consensus places al-Nu'man's tomb in the village of al-Hara.[4]

History

In the 1890s, the German archaeologist Gottlieb Schumacher noted that the tomb of a certain Muslim saint, Umar al-Shahid, "crowned" Tell al-Hara.[2] He also noted that at the hill's western foot were the ruins of an Arab monastery known as Deir al-Saj, which he suspected was of Ghassanid origin.[2]

Following Israel's occupation of the Golan Heights in 1967, Tell al-Hara served as a strategic Syrian reconnaissance point overlooking the Golan Heights.[8] It was captured by Syrian rebel forces fighting under the banners of the Free Syrian Army (FSA) and Jabhat al-Nusra from the 7th Armored Division,[5] one of the largest armored brigades of the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) in southern Syria,[6] on 5 October 2015, partially as a result of the apparent defection of SAA general Mahmoud Abu Araj.[5] Tell al-Hara's capture paved the way for the rebels' capture of much of the western Daraa Governorate and the southern Quneitra Governorate.[3] They held Tell al-Hara for about four years until Syrian government forces retook control of the hill on 7 July 2018 after a two-day battle.[3] Rebels apparently recaptured it before surrendering the hill to government forces in a reconciliation agreement on 16 July.[6]

References

  1. Shahid 2002, p. 224, n. 23.
  2. Schumacher 1897, p. 192.
  3. Aboufadel, Leith (18 July 2018). "Syrian Army raises flag over highest point in Daraa". Al-Masdar News. Retrieved 31 October 2018.
  4. Ma'oz 2008, p. 9.
  5. Sands, Phil; Maayeh, Suha (17 March 2015). "Exclusive: The spy who fooled the Assad regime". The National. Retrieved 31 October 2018.
  6. Xia, Li (16 July 2018). "Syrian army captures strategic hill in Daraa". Xinhua. Retrieved 31 October 2018.
  7. Shahid 2002, p. 80
  8. "Syria claims to capture key hilltop position overlooking Golan Heights". Times of Israel. 16 July 2018. Retrieved 31 October 2018.

Bibliography

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