Al-Qahtaniyah (Arabic: ٱلْقَحْطَانِيَّة, romanized: al-Qaḥṭānīyah; Kurdish: Tirbespî; Syriac: ܩܒܪ̈ܐ ܚܘܪ̈ܐ, romanized: Qabre Ḥewore), formerly Qubur al-Bid, is a town in northeastern Al-Hasakah Governorate, northeastern Syria. It is the administrative center of al-Qahtaniyah Subdistrict, which consists of 103 localities. Historically an Assyrian city,[2] at the 2004 census, it had a population of 16,946.[1]
Al-Qahtaniyah ٱلْقَحْطَانِيَّة Tirbespî ܩܒܪ̈ܐ ܚܘܪ̈ܐ | |
|---|---|
Town | |
  Al-Qahtaniyah Location of Al-Qahtaniyah in Syria | |
| Coordinates: 37°02′07″N 41°37′26″E / 37.035375°N 41.623917°E | |
| Country |  Syria |
| Governorate | al-Hasakah |
| District | Qamishli |
| Subdistrict | al-Qahtaniyah |
| Control |  Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria |
| Elevation | 405 m (1,329 ft) |
| Population (2004)[1] | 16,946 |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (EET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+3 (EEST) |
| Geocode | C4751 |
Etymology
editAl-Qahtaniyah was officially called Qbor el-Bid until 1962. Its old name was derived from the Arabic words "Qbor" ("graves") and "el-Bid" ("white") – i.e. "white graves."[2]
Demographics
editThe majority of the towns inhabitants are Kurds, followed by a large number of Assyrians and Arameans.[2]
Churches in the town
edit- Syriac Orthodox Church of Our Lady (كنيسة السيدة العذراء للسريان الأرثوذكس)
History
editIn 1927, the Kurdish tribal chief Haco Agha of the influential Haverkan tribe immigrated from Turkey together with more than 600 families and settled in the town.[3]On 13 March 2004, after the 2004 Qamishli riots when 40 Kurdish civilians were killed, residents of Al-Qahtaniyah who protested the killings were shot at and injured by Syrian forces.[4]
As of 2004, Al-Qahtaniyah is the sixth largest town in Al-Hasakah governorate.
In late July 2012, during the Syrian civil war, the YPG took control of the town.[5]
Notable people
edit- Ciwan Haco (1957*), Kurdish singer
- Muhammad Khayr Ramdan Yusef