This article is about the village in the Shaykh Maskin subdistrict of Daraa Governorate. For the village of the same name in the same governorate, see Namir, Jasim.
Namir is situated at an elevation of 580 meters (1,900 ft) above sea level. It is south of the district capital of Izra, southeast of the subdistrict capital Shaykh Maskin, northeast of the governorate capital of Daraa, north of Khirbet Ghazaleh, and northwest of al-Hirak. The area in which Namir lies is characterized by its rich soils and moderate rainfall, historically providing Namir with significant agricultural bounty and relatively sufficient water resources.[3]
History
Namir was mentioned by the 4th-century historian Eusebius. The 5th-century historian Jerome noted that it was a significant settlement and a place used by Nabatean nomads to encamp and convene.[3]
During Mamluk rule (1260s–1517), Namir was part of the wilaya of Adhri'at (Daraa).[3]
Ottoman period
With the advent of Ottoman rule in Syria in 1517, Namir or part of its revenues were granted as a tax-exempt timar (fief) to the amir al-arab (commander of the Bedouin), which was a hereditary office of the Al Hayar family.[4] It was the center of the Banu Malik al-Ashraf nahiye (subdistrict) of the Hauran Sanjak.[5] In 1596 it appeared in the Ottomantax registers under the name of 'Tamir'. It had a Muslim population consisting of 98 households and 45 bachelors. They paid a fixed tax-rate of 40% on agricultural products, including wheat (7,800 akçe), barley (820 a.), summer crops (610 a.), goats and bee-hives (1500 a.), inanition to winter pastures (407 a.) and "occasional revenues"(610 a.); a total of 11,467 akçe. 9/24 of the income went to a waqf (endowment).[6]
Namir is one of a few towns in the Daraa Governorate with a significant Christian population.[2][8] During the Syrian civil war, some of the Christians of Namir joined the local branch of the Popular Committees, organized by the National Defense Forces, which played an auxiliary role in the Syrian Army's recapture of nearby Khirbet Ghazaleh from Free Syrian Army rebels in May 2013.[8]
Bakhit, Muhammad Adnan Salamah (February 1972). The Ottoman Province of Damascus in the Sixteenth Century (PhD). School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. S2CID190680221.
