Al-Jabiri

al-Jabiri, also sometimes spelled al-Jaberi, ( _ar. الجابري) is the name of a wealthy and well-known family whose base is in Aleppo, the second largest city in Syria

Background

Very little is known about the origins of the family. Unlike other notable and older families of Aleppo, there are very few historical accounts of its ancestors, and its vertical ascent to wealth and notability was rather recent, having taken place around the second half of the 18th century. Well known, however, is that the creation of its fame and wealth coincided with the marriage of a certain unknown ancestor to the daughter of a local scholar and notable, Qadi Jaber bin Ahmad al-Halabi. Very soon after, the family became well connected with the local government. Historian Meriwether relates in "The Kin Who Count" the story of the rise of the Jabiri family: "Descendents of an Ottoman qadi whose daughter had married a man of humble social origins members of this family had become important Ulema by the second half of the eighteenth century. In 1760 the head of the family was Ahmad Jabiri, who lived in the quarter of 'Aynayn in the western suburbs of the city and owned considerable property over there".

Family members capitalized on their new social status. In fact, in an effort to lose any connection with their past background, the family abandoned their original surname (not currently known), and adopted that of their notable maternal ancestor. Family members began moving from their old and less-than-affluent neighborhood to the more aristocratic quarters of Aleppo. Of interest, extensive wealth was accumulated by members of the Jabiri family in a very short period of time, and it was locked for family benefit in the form of enormous endowments. Such rapid upward move in social stratification and creation of huge properties raised certain historical questions. Meriwhether notes that: "The original basis of the Jabiri family fortune is unclear". This led to her conclusion that Jabiris quickly mastered the art of wealth collection through farm-taxing and money-lending. They may have used their newly acquired social power to harvest financial gains from the less fortunate social groups, such as the ones to which the family had originally belonged. Family members filled several important posts in Ottoman Aleppo and produced several Muftis, qadis and Islamic clergy. There were, also, several politicians.

Contemporary famous Jabiris

Lamia' al-Jabiri, wife of famous Ba'thist Mustafa Tlas