| Al-Rafid الرفيد | |
|---|---|
| Town | |
  Al-RafidShow map of the Golan Heights Al-RafidShow map of Syria | |
| Coordinates: 32°57′18″N 35°54′5″E / 32.95500°N 35.90139°E / 32.95500; 35.90139 | |
| Grid position | 234/262 PAL |
| Country | Syria |
| Governorate | Quneitra |
| District | Quneitra |
| Subdistrict | Khishniyah |
| Control | Israel |
| Population | |
| • Total | 2,263 |
| Time zone | UTC+3 (AST) |
Al-Rafid (Arabic: الرفيد) is a village in southern Syria, administratively part of the Quneitra Governorate (Golan Heights), in the portion of the province under the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force Zone. According to the Syria Central Bureau of Statistics, al-Rafid had a population of 2,263 in the 2004 census.
Transhumance shaped settlement in the Golan for centuries because of its harsh winters. The winters "forced tribespeople until the 19th century to live in hundreds of rudimentary 'winter villages' in their tribal territory. Starting in the second part of the 19th century, villages like al-Rafid became "fixed and formed the nucleus of fully sedentary life in the 20th century Golan." The inhabitants largely belong to the Na'im tribe, which has been established in the Golan region since the 15th–16th centuries.
The town has been claimed by pro-Assadist forces during the Syrian Civil War.
References
- ^ "General Census of Population 2004". Retrieved 2014-07-10.
- Roy Marom, “Sukayk and al-Summāqah: Mamluk Rural Geography in the Northern Jawlān/Golan Heights in the Light of Qāytbāy’s Endowment Deeds,” in Kate Raphael and Mustafa Abbasi (ed.s), The Golan in the Mamluk and Ottoman Periods: an Archaeological and Historical Study: Excavations at Naʿarān and Farj, In Honour of Moshe Hartal, Yigal Ben Ephraim and Shuqri ‘Arraf, Annual of the Nelson Glueck School of Biblical Archaeology Hebrew Union College—Jewish Institute of Religion Volume xiv (2024): 69-70.
- Assaf, Faten (7 July 2010). "قبيلة "النعيم"... "أنا راعي الصفرا" (Al-Naim Tribe... I am the Yellow Shepherd)" (in Arabic). Retrieved 20 December 2024.
- Awad, Ammar; Lubell, Maayan; al Khalidi, Suleiman (July 26, 2018). Bolton, Andrew (ed.). "Syrian flag raised in Quneitra on Syrian side of Golan Heights". Reuters.
Pro-Assad forces have raised the flag in several other towns along the frontier, including al Hamidiyah and Rafid, that overlooks a U.N. observation post.
