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Ras al-Ayn
Ras al-Ayn (Arabic: رَأْس ٱلْعَيْن, romanized: Raʾs al-ʿAyn, Kurdish: سەرێ کانیێ, romanized: Serê Kaniyê, Classical Syriac: ܪܝܫ ܥܝܢܐ, romanized: Rēš Aynā), also spelled Ras al-Ain, is a city in al-Hasakah Governorate in northeastern Syria, on the Syria–Turkey border.
One of the oldest cities in Upper Mesopotamia, the area of Ras al-Ayn has been inhabited since at least the Neolithic age (c. 8,000 BC). Later known as the ancient Aramean city of Sikkan, the Roman city of Rhesaina and Sept. Colonia (under Septimius Severus) and the Byzantine city of Theodosiopolis, the town was destroyed and rebuilt several times, and in medieval times was the site of fierce battles between several Muslim dynasties. With the 1921 Treaty of Ankara, Ras al-Ayn became a divided city when its northern part, today's Ceylanpınar, was ceded to Turkey.
With a population of 29,347 (as of 2004[update]), it is the third largest city in al-Hasakah Governorate, and the administrative center of Ras al-Ayn District.
During the civil war, the city became contested between Syrian opposition forces and YPG from November 2012 until it was finally captured by the YPG in July 2013. It was later captured by the Turkish Armed Forces and the Syrian National Army during the 2019 Turkish offensive into north-eastern Syria.
The first mention of the town was as "Rēš ina" during the reign of the Assyrian king Adad-nirari II (911-891 BC). The former word is a proto-Semitic word meaning "head", while the latter is also a proto-Semitic word meaning "eye" or "spring". Thus, the current Arabic and ancient Akkadian name's have one meaning; "head of the spring", or idiomatically, "hill of the spring", indicating a prominent mountain formation close to a well.
The ancient Greek geographer Ptolemy (d. 168) names the town Raisena. The town, as part of the Roman Empire, was called Ressaina/Resaina. Another name was Theodosiopolis, after emperor Theodosius I, who enlarged the town in 380. The 11th century Arab geographer Muhammad al-Idrisi visited the town, mentioning its name as Ras al-'Ayn, and assigning it to Diyar Rabi'a (abode of the Arab tribe Rabi'a). He also described it as a big city with plenty of water, around 300 springs from which most of al-Khabur river starts. In addition to Ras al-Ayn, medieval Arab Muslim sources refer to the town sometimes as Ain Werda. Nineteenth-century English sources refer to the town as Ras Ain, Ain Verdeh (1819), or Ras el Ain (1868). The Kurdish name Serê Kaniyê also means "head of the spring" or "head of the fountain", referring to water source areas. This name is probably a modern literal translation of the ancient Semitic name.[citation needed]
Ras al-Ayn is located on a flat plain in the Upper Khabur basin in the northern Syrian region of Jazira. The Khabur, largest tributary of the Euphrates, crosses the border from Turkey near the town of Tell Halaf, about 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) to the southwest of the city. The overground feeders, originating on the headwaters of the Karaca volcano in Şanlıurfa Province, usually do not carry water in the summer, even though Turkey brings in water from the Atatürk reservoir to irrigate the region of Ceylanpınar. While more than 80% of the Upper Khabur's water originates in Turkey, this mostly comes as underground flow. So rather than the overground streams, it is the giant karstic springs of the Ras al-Ayn area that is considered the river's main perennial source.
Ras al-Ayn has more than 100 natural springs. According to Abul Feda, the number may be as high as 300. The most famous spring is Nab'a al-Kebreet, a hot spring with a very high mineral content, containing calcium, lithium, and radium. One of the springs, Ain el-Kebreet (spring of gunpowder/matches), gives off a sulphorous smell so heinous that Pliny claimed Juno bathed in it.
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Ras al-Ayn
Ras al-Ayn (Arabic: رَأْس ٱلْعَيْن, romanized: Raʾs al-ʿAyn, Kurdish: سەرێ کانیێ, romanized: Serê Kaniyê, Classical Syriac: ܪܝܫ ܥܝܢܐ, romanized: Rēš Aynā), also spelled Ras al-Ain, is a city in al-Hasakah Governorate in northeastern Syria, on the Syria–Turkey border.
One of the oldest cities in Upper Mesopotamia, the area of Ras al-Ayn has been inhabited since at least the Neolithic age (c. 8,000 BC). Later known as the ancient Aramean city of Sikkan, the Roman city of Rhesaina and Sept. Colonia (under Septimius Severus) and the Byzantine city of Theodosiopolis, the town was destroyed and rebuilt several times, and in medieval times was the site of fierce battles between several Muslim dynasties. With the 1921 Treaty of Ankara, Ras al-Ayn became a divided city when its northern part, today's Ceylanpınar, was ceded to Turkey.
With a population of 29,347 (as of 2004[update]), it is the third largest city in al-Hasakah Governorate, and the administrative center of Ras al-Ayn District.
During the civil war, the city became contested between Syrian opposition forces and YPG from November 2012 until it was finally captured by the YPG in July 2013. It was later captured by the Turkish Armed Forces and the Syrian National Army during the 2019 Turkish offensive into north-eastern Syria.
The first mention of the town was as "Rēš ina" during the reign of the Assyrian king Adad-nirari II (911-891 BC). The former word is a proto-Semitic word meaning "head", while the latter is also a proto-Semitic word meaning "eye" or "spring". Thus, the current Arabic and ancient Akkadian name's have one meaning; "head of the spring", or idiomatically, "hill of the spring", indicating a prominent mountain formation close to a well.
The ancient Greek geographer Ptolemy (d. 168) names the town Raisena. The town, as part of the Roman Empire, was called Ressaina/Resaina. Another name was Theodosiopolis, after emperor Theodosius I, who enlarged the town in 380. The 11th century Arab geographer Muhammad al-Idrisi visited the town, mentioning its name as Ras al-'Ayn, and assigning it to Diyar Rabi'a (abode of the Arab tribe Rabi'a). He also described it as a big city with plenty of water, around 300 springs from which most of al-Khabur river starts. In addition to Ras al-Ayn, medieval Arab Muslim sources refer to the town sometimes as Ain Werda. Nineteenth-century English sources refer to the town as Ras Ain, Ain Verdeh (1819), or Ras el Ain (1868). The Kurdish name Serê Kaniyê also means "head of the spring" or "head of the fountain", referring to water source areas. This name is probably a modern literal translation of the ancient Semitic name.[citation needed]
Ras al-Ayn is located on a flat plain in the Upper Khabur basin in the northern Syrian region of Jazira. The Khabur, largest tributary of the Euphrates, crosses the border from Turkey near the town of Tell Halaf, about 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) to the southwest of the city. The overground feeders, originating on the headwaters of the Karaca volcano in Şanlıurfa Province, usually do not carry water in the summer, even though Turkey brings in water from the Atatürk reservoir to irrigate the region of Ceylanpınar. While more than 80% of the Upper Khabur's water originates in Turkey, this mostly comes as underground flow. So rather than the overground streams, it is the giant karstic springs of the Ras al-Ayn area that is considered the river's main perennial source.
Ras al-Ayn has more than 100 natural springs. According to Abul Feda, the number may be as high as 300. The most famous spring is Nab'a al-Kebreet, a hot spring with a very high mineral content, containing calcium, lithium, and radium. One of the springs, Ain el-Kebreet (spring of gunpowder/matches), gives off a sulphorous smell so heinous that Pliny claimed Juno bathed in it.
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