Jabal al-Druze

Template:Short description Template:About Template:Pp-move-vandalism Template:More footnotes needed Template:Infobox mountain Template:Druze Jabal al-Druze (Template:Langx), also known as Jabal al-Arab or Jabal Hauran,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> is an elevated volcanic region in Hauran in the Suwayda Governorate of southern Syria.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Most of the inhabitants of this region are Druze, and there are also significant Christian communities.<ref name="washingtoninstitute.org">The Druze and Assad: Strategic Bedfellows</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Safaitic inscriptions were first found in this area. The Jabal Druze State was an autonomous area in the French Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon from 1921 to 1936, which had 42 of the Haurans ~180 towns.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> In the past, the name Jabal al-Druze was used for a different area, located in Mount Lebanon.Template:Citation needed

In Syria, most Druze reside in Suwayda Governorate, which encompasses almost all of Jabal al-Druze. This governorate is unique in Syria as it has a Druze majority. Additionally, it has integrated Christian communities that have long coexisted harmoniously with the Druze in these mountains.<ref name="Balanche 2017 27">Template:Cite book</ref>

In the 1980s Druze made up 87.6% of the population, Christians (mostly Greek Orthodox) 11% and Sunni Muslims 2%.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> In 2010, the As-Suwayda governorate has a population of about 375,000 inhabitants, Druze made up 90%, Christians 17% and Sunni Muslims 3%.<ref name="washingtoninstitute.org"/> Due to low birth and high emigration rates, Christians proportion in As-Suwayda had declined.<ref name="washingtoninstitute.org"/>

Geology

Map of Jabal al-Druze

The Jabal al-Druze volcanic field, the southernmost in Syria, lies in the Haurun-Druze Plateau in SW Syria near the border with Jordan. The most prominent feature of this volcanic field is 1800m-high Jabal al-Druze (also known variously as Jabal ad Duruz, Djebel Al-Arab, Jabal Druze, Djebel ed Drouz).<ref name="VolcanoDiscoveryJabal">Template:Cite web</ref> The alkaline volcanic field consists of a group of 118 basaltic volcanoes active from the lower-Pleistocene to the Holocene (2.6 million years ago to present). The large SW Plateau depression is filled by basaltic lava flows from volcanoes aligned in a NW-SE direction. This volcanic field lies within the northern part of the massive alkaline Harrat al-Sham (also known as Harrat al-Shaam) volcanic field that extends from southern Syria to Saudi Arabia.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Peaks

• Tell Qeni (1,803 m)
• Tell Joualine (1,732 m)
• Tell Sleiman (1,703 m)
• Tell Qleib (1,698 m)
• Tell Abou-Hamra (1,482 m)
• Tell El-Ahmar (1,452 m)
• Tell Abed-Mar (1,436 m)
• Tell Khodr-Imtan (1,341 m)
• Tell Azran (1,220 m)
• Tell Shihan (1,138 m)

In Arabic, the word "tell" means "mound" or "hill", but in Jabal al-Druze it rather refers to a volcanic cone.

See also

• Druze in Syria
• Jabal Druze State
• List of volcanoes in Syria