Muadamiyat al-Sham
Town in Rif Dimashq, Syria
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Muadamiyat al-Sham (Arabic: المعضمية الشام, romanized: al-Muʿaḍḍamīyah ash-Shām; also spelled Moadamiyet al-Sham, Moadamiya or Moadamiyah) is a town in southern Syria, administratively a part of the Darayya District in the Rif Dimashq Governorate, located approx. 10 kilometers (6.2 mi) southwest of Damascus, within an area called the Western Ghouta.[1] Nearby localities include the centre of Darayya to the east, Jdeidat Artouz and Sahnaya to the south, and Qudsaya to the north. The town is "famed for its olive orchards".[2]
Muadamiyat al-Sham
المعضمية الشام | |
|---|---|
Town | |
  Muadamiyat al-Sham Location within Syria | |
| Coordinates: 33.46°N 36.19°E | |
| Country |  Syria |
| Governorate | Rif Dimashq |
| District | Darayya |
| Subdistrict | Darayya |
| Population (2004 census) | |
• Total | 52,738 |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (EET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+3 (EEST) |
Etymology
Muadamiyat was named after Al-Mu'azzam Isa, who was a Kurdish Sultan from Ayyubid dynasty ruled Damascus from 1218 to 1227. [citation needed]
History
In 1838, Eli Smith noted el-Mu'addamiyeh as being located in the Wady el-'Ajam, and being populated by Sunni Muslims.[3]
Demographics
According to the Syria Central Bureau of Statistics, the town had a population of 52,738 in the 2004 census.[4]
Civil war
During the Syrian civil war, Moadamiyah was encircled and besieged by pro-government forces from April 2013, and was one of the areas of Damascus hit by a sarin attack on 21 August 2013 (the Ghouta chemical attack) during the Rif Dimashq offensive (March–August 2013). When a Wall Street Journal reporter visited the town in October 2013, the population of the still-besieged town was down to an estimated 12,500, and residents said food supplies were exhausted.[2] During the Khan al-Shih offensive (October–November 2016), the rebels in control of the town agreed to surrender to the Syrian Army in September 2016.[5][6] The take-over occurred on 19 October 2016, most of the rebels choosing to leave for Idlib along with over 2000 residents.[7][8][9]
