Nawa, Syria

Nawa نوى
Nawa Location in Syria
Coordinates: 32°53′20″N 36°02′35″E / 32.88889°N 36.04306°E / 32.88889; 36.04306Coordinates: 32°53′20″N 36°02′35″E / 32.88889°N 36.04306°E / 32.88889; 36.04306
Country	Syria
Governorate	Daraa Governorate
District	Daraa District
Elevation	563 m (1,847 ft)
Population (2007)
– Total	59,170

Nawa (Arabic: نوى‎, Nawā) is a Syrian city administratively belonging to the Daraa Governorate. It has an altitude of 568 meters (1,864 ft). It had a population of 59,170 in 2007, making it the 28th largest city per geographical entity in Syria.

History

Nawa has been defined as the city that Job dwelled in and is the burial place of Shem, the son of Noah.^[1] According to Arab geographer al-Muqaddasi, While under the Islamic Caliphate of the Rashidun, Umayyads, and Abbasids, it was a part of Jund Dimashq and the principal city of Hauran. Al-Mas'udi wrote in 943 CE that a mosque dedicated to Job was located three miles (5 km) from Nawa.^[2] By the 13th century, its status declined; Yaqut al-Hamawi recorded in 1225 that Nawa was "a small town of the Hauran", formerly being the capital of the region. He also recorded that Job's tomb was located there.^[3][4] In 1277, Imam Yahya ibn Sharaf al-Nawawi, a prominent Muslim scholar, was born in the city.^[5]

References

1. ^ Nawa, Zeyzoun and Assanamein Syria Gate.
2. ^ le Strange, 1890, p.515
3. ^ le Strange, 1890, p.427
4. ^ le Strange, 1890, p.516
5. ^ Yahya ibn Sharaf al-Nawawi (d. 676/1277)

Bibliography

• le Strange, Guy (1890), Palestine Under the Moslems: A Description of Syria and the Holy Land from A.D. 650 to 1500, Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund, http://www.archive.org/details/palestineundermo00lestuoft