Inkhil

Inkhil (Arabic: إنخل, romanized: Ankhil) is a city in southern Syria, administratively part of the as-Sanamayn District in the Daraa Governorate. It is located north of Daraa and just east of the Golan Heights in the Hauran plain. According to the Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), Inkhil had a population of 31,258 in the 2004 census.^[1] The city's inhabitants are predominantly Sunni Muslims.

Inkhil إنخل
City
Roman villa in Inkhil
Inkhil
Coordinates: 33°01′15″N 36°07′45″E
Grid position	256/269
Country	Syria
Governorate	Daraa
District	Sanamayn
Subdistrict	Sanamayn
Population  (2004 census)[1]
• Total	31,258
Time zone	UTC+2 (EET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+3 (EEST)

Etymology

It is said that Inkhil was named this way because of the abundance of palm trees there in the past, or it was named after a Greek ruler. The city has a Roman name, which means “City of Gold” in Arabic, as it is mentioned that the city was a center for tax collection during the Roman era.

History

Roman period

Among the ancient ruins found in Inkhil are the remains of a large villa dating to the 2nd century CE during Roman rule. Within the building is a large vaulted central hall which connects to several rooms containing busts and other Roman-era sculptures carved from basalt. Its facade has highly decorated entrances and conch-head niches.^[2] During Byzantine rule, Inkhil was dominated by the Ghassanids, Arab vassals of the empire based in nearby Jabiya.^[3]

Ottoman period

In 1596, Inkhil appeared in the Ottoman tax registers under the name of Nahal, being part of the nahiya of Bani Kilab in the Sanjak of Hauran. It had an entirely Muslim population consisting of 86 households and 45 bachelors. They paid a fixed tax rate of 40% on agricultural products, including wheat, barley, summer crops, goats and beehives; in addition to occasional revenues; a total of 13,000 akçe. Most of the income (22 out of 24 parts) went to a waqf (religious trust).^[4]

In the early 1840s, the city consisted of about 50 houses, all of which were inhabited by Muslims.^[5] According to German archaeologist Gottlieb Schumacher, Inkhil was recorded to be a "small place numbering 55 to 60 huts" in 1897.^[6]

Modern era

Civil war

Main article: Syrian civil war

Inkhil was one of the first cities to participate in the Syrian uprising against the government of Bashar al-Assad in March 2011 following demonstrations in Daraa.^[7] On 19 August 2012, four protesters were killed and dozens injured after Syrian security forces shot at demonstrators emerging from a mosque following Friday prayers.^[8] By 30 September 2016, there were 14,845 refugees from Inkhil (Ankhal) registered in Jordan.^[9]

Religious buildings

• Al-Umari/Omari Mosque
• Khalid ibn al-Walid Mosque
• Companions/as-Sahaba Mosque
• Al-Huda Mosque
• Al-Bassam Mosque
• Al-Mustafa Mosque
• Al-Ansar Mosque
• Al-Qasim Mosque
• Saad Mosque
• Abu Bakr Al-Siddiq Mosque
• Hussein Mustafa Al-Shabli Mosque