Al-Asharah
ٱلْعَشَارَة
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Town
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  Al-Asharah
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| Coordinates: 34°55′13″N 40°33′34″E / 34.92028°N 40.55944°E / 34.92028; 40.55944 | |
| Country |  Syria |
| Governorate | Deir ez-Zor |
| District | Mayadin |
| Subdistrict | Al-Asharah |
| Population
(2004 census)[1]
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| • Total | 17,537 |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (EET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+3 (EEST) |
Al-Asharah (Arabic: ٱلْعَشَارَة, romanized: al-ʿAšārah, also spelled al-AsharehorEsharah) is a town in eastern Syria, administratively part of the Deir ez-Zor Governorate, located along the Euphrates River, south of Deir ez-Zor. Nearby localities include al-Quriyah to the northeast, Makhan and Mayadin to the north, Suwaydan Jazirah to the southeast and Dablan to the south. According to the Syria Central Bureau of Statistics, al-Asharah had a population of 17,537 in the 2004 census. It is the administrative seat of a nahiyah ("subdistrict") which consists of seven localities with a total population of 96,001 in 2004. Al-Asharah is the third largest locality in the nahiyah.[1] Its inhabitants are predominantly Sunni Muslims. From Arabians Tribes of Tayy Al-Rahabi and Al Uqaydat.[2]
Al-Asharah is built on the site of the ancient Aramean-Assyrian settlement of Terqa.[3][4]Astele dated to 886 BCE honoring the victory of Assyrian king Tukulti-Ninurta II over the Arameans was found in al-Asharah. The stele is currently located in the National Museum of Aleppo.[3] Terqa was the capital of the Neo-Assyrian kingdom of Khana and continued to develop until the end of the Bronze Age when its decline began. Excavations in al-Asharah revealed evidence that Terqa contained urban institutions and its inhabitants had exploited the area's soil for economic benefit.[4]
In the mid-19th-century, it was noted by the Bombay Geographic Society that al-Asharah was a "little town" that consisted of an unorganized grouping of Arab huts and a population whose traditions suggested the place was ancient.[5] From around that time until the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire in 1917, al-Asharah served as the center of a kaza ("district"), bearing its name, that was part of the larger Sanjak of Zor province. The kaza had two nawahi: al-Asharah and al-Busayrah.[6]
In 1920, a meeting between officials and officers of the Sharifian Army and the nascent Kingdom of Syria was held in al-Asharah and hosted by Emir Faisal. There negotiations over the borders between Syria and Iraq were discussed and it was concluded the Abu Kamal would remain a part of the Deir ez-Zor province of Syria.[7]
In the early 1960s al-Asharah was described as a small village built on an artificial mound where Terqa stood.[8]
In Syrian civil war city was occupied by ISIL until Syrian army captured town in 27 November 2017.[9][10]
