Jindires (Arabic: جنديرس; Kurdish: Cindirês or Cindirêsê)[a] is a town in northern Syria in the Afrin District of the Aleppo Governorate. It is located on the Afrin River, 68.4 kilometres (42.5 mi) northwest by road from Aleppo and 20.9 kilometres (13.0 mi) southwest of Afrin.[2] Nearby localities include Deir Ballut and Bayadah to the southwest, Zahra to the northwest, Kafr Safra to the north, Afrin to the northeast and Burj Abdullah to the east. According to the Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), Jindires had a population of 13,661 in the 2004 census.[1] It was captured by the Turkish Military and its proxy, the "Syrian National Army" in March 2018.[3] On 12 October 2022, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham took partial control of the town,[4] followed by a complete takeover on 21 March 2023.[5]
Jindires is the administrative center of Nahiya Jindires of the Afrin District.
The ancient town was originally an acropolis of Cyrrhestica during the Hellenistic period.[8] The Battle of Mount Gindarus took place near the town in 38 BC. The Parthians under Pacorus I suffered a massive defeat to the Roman armies of Ventidius and Pacorus himself was killed in battle.[9][7] Under the Romans the city belonged to Antioch.[8] In 252/3, during the second Roman campaign of Sasanian King Shapur I (r. 240–270), the city was captured by the Persians.[7] Emperor Theodosius I fortified the city during his reign (379–395).[10] Traces of the fortified wall still remain on the south and west side of the tell, while the modern village is located at the base.[11]
In the 14th century, during Mamluk rule, Jindires was visited by Syrian geographer al-Dimashqi who described it as "a town near Tizin, and in the territory of Jumah. It is a place full of habitations. There are thermal springs here, but it is unknown where the waters rise, or whither they flow."[12]
The 19th-century British writer, William Harrison Ainsworth, visited the village and described it in his magazine as "containing about fifty cottages, and characterized by its artificial mound, or tel, upon which but few traces are now to be met of the castle or citadel (Acropolis in Greek; Arx in Latin) of Cyrrhestica, and described by Strabo as 'a fit receptacle for thieves.'"[13]
On 8 March 2018, Jindires was captured by the Turkish Army and their allies the Syrian National Army from the YPG, during Operation Olive Branch.[3] Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) entered and took partial control of the town on 12 October 2022.[4] The town was heavily damaged in the earthquake of 6 February 2023, with hundreds of residents killed or injured.
The SNA group Jaysh al-Sharqiya shot and killed four Kurdish civilians during Newroz celebrations in the town on 20 March 2023. HTS then expelled Jaysh al-Sharqiya and took full control the next day.[5]
Demographics
In late 19th century, German orientalist Martin Hartmann noted Jindires as a settlement with 20 houses inhabited by Kurds.[19]
Notes
^also spelled Jinderis, Jandairis, Jandires, Jendires, Jendeires, or Jandarus
References
^ abGeneral Census of Population and Housing 2004. Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS). Aleppo Governorate. Archived (in Arabic)
^Annuario Pontificio 2013 (Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 2013, ISBN 978-88-209-9070-1), p.902
^"Tyrkisk avis: Kurdistan nr. 2 bliver dannet". Jiyan.dk (in Danish). 22 July 2012. Archived from the original on 28 July 2013. Retrieved 28 July 2012.
^Hartmann, Martin (1894). Das liwa Haleb (Aleppo) und ein Teil des Liwa Dschebel Bereket. Berlin: W. Pormetter. p. 97.
Sources
Cohen, Getzel M. (2006). The Hellenistic Settlements in Syria, the Red Sea Basin, and North Afric. University of California Press Press. ISBN 9780520241480.
Kettenhofen, Erich (2001). "GINDAROS". In Yarshater, Ehsan (ed.). Encyclopædia Iranica, Volume X/6: Germany VI–Gindaros. London and New York: Routledge & Kegan Paul. p. 672. ISBN 978-0-933273-55-9.
Kreitzer, Larry Josep (1996). Striking New Images: Roman Imperial Coinage and the New Testament World. Continuum International Publishing Group. ISBN 9781850756231.
le Strange, Guy (1890). Palestine Under the Moslems: A Description of Syria and the Holy Land from A.D. 650 to 1500. Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund.
Sagona, A. G. (1984). The Caucasian region in the early Bronze Age. Vol. 2. B.A.R. ISBN 9780860542773.
Ainsworth, William Harrison (1844). Ainsworth's magazine. Vol. 6. Chapman and Hall.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Vailhé, S. (1909). "Gindarus". In Herbermann, Charles (ed.). Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 6. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
Syria
Hayat Tahrir al-Sham
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Vailhé, S. (1909). "Gindarus". In Herbermann, Charles (ed.). Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 6. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
