Taqsis Explained

Official Name:Taqsis
Native Name:تقسيس
Other Name:Zawr az Ziyarah[1] [2]
Settlement Type:Village
Pushpin Map:Syria
Pushpin Label Position:bottom
Pushpin Mapsize:250
Pushpin Map Caption:Location in Syria
Coordinates:35.0158°N 36.8619°W
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Type1:Governorate
Subdivision Name1:Hama
Subdivision Type2:District
Subdivision Name2:Hama
Subdivision Type3:Subdistrict
Subdivision Name3:Hama
Population Total:3,343
Population As Of:2004
Population Density Km2:auto

Taqsis (ar|تقسيس), also known as Zawr al-Ziyarah (ar|زور الزيارة),[3] is a village in northern Syria, administratively part of the Hama Governorate, located southeast of Hama. Nearby localities include al-Jinan to the north, al-Buraq to the northwest, Tell Qartal to the west, Ghor al-Assi to the southwest, Izz al-Din to the southeast and Taldarah to the east. According to the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), Taqsis had a population of 3,343 in the 2004 census.[4]

History

During early Ottoman rule, in 1573, a water installation was built in the area of Taqsis. It consisted of an aqueduct and a tower, alongside which were two noria (na'ura) wheels. It was built in the typical style of old dams along the Orontes River. The norias no longer exist and the dam is mostly in ruins, although the remainder of the structure is in relatively good condition.

Taqsis had been abandoned sometime in the last years of the 18th-century, and in 1838 the village was classified as a khirba (ruined village). Towards the end of Khedivate Egyptian rule (1832-1841), Taqsis was among 20 villages along the edge of the Syrian Desert to be repopulated. While most of these small, agricultural places were abandoned during the 1840s due to the pressures of warring nomadic tribes, Taqsis remained occupied.

During World War I the inhabitants of Taqsis, needing to obtain seeds and advances for their croplands, sold their lands to the Barazi family of Hama, who owned numerous other villages in the Hama district. As late as the 1930s, the villagers cultivated the lands on behalf of the Barazi family and their ownership was limited to the plots occupied by their homes.

Bibliography

Notes and References

  1. http://mapcarta.com/12672440 Other Names for Taqsis
  2. http://www.geonames.org/maps/google_35.016_36.862.html Other Names for Taqsis
  3. http://www.maplandia.com/syria/hamah/zawr-az-ziyarah/ Zawr az Ziyarah Map — Satellite Images of Zawr az Ziyarah
  4. http://www.cbssyr.org/new%20web%20site/General_census/census_2004/NH/TAB05-1-2004.htm General Census of Population and Housing 2004