Umm Walad

{{For|title of 'slave concubine mother of a child', in the Muslim world|Umm walad}} {{Infobox settlement |official_name = Umm Walad |native_name = أم ولد |image_skyline = |imagesize = |image_caption = |pushpin_map = Syria |pushpin_mapsize = 250 |subdivision_type = Country |subdivision_name = {{flagicon image|Flag of the Syrian revolution.svg}} Syria |subdivision_type1 = Governorate |subdivision_name1 = Daraa Governorate |subdivision_type2 = District |subdivision_name2 = Daraa District |subdivision_type3 = Nahiyah |subdivision_name3 = al-Musayfirah |settlement_type = Town |government_type = |leader_title = |leader_name = |established_title =  |established_date = |established_title2 =  |established_date2 = |established_title3 =  |established_date3 = |parts_type = |area_magnitude = |unit_pref = Metric  |area_footnotes = |area_total_km2 = |area_land_km2 = |area_water_km2 = |area_total_sq_mi = |area_land_sq_mi = |area_water_sq_mi = |area_water_percent = |area_urban_km2 = |area_urban_sq_mi = |area_metro_km2 = |area_metro_sq_mi = |population_as_of = 2004 census |population_note = |population_total = 7,547 |population_footnotes = <ref name="CBS"/> |timezone = AST |utc_offset = +3 |timezone_DST = |utc_offset_DST = |coordinates = {{coord|32|39|28|N|36|25|55|E|region:SY|display=inline}} | grid_name = PAL | grid_position = 284/229 |elevation_footnotes =  |elevation_m = |postal_code_type =  |postal_code = |area_code = |website = |footnotes = }} '''Umm Walad''' ({{langx|ar|أم ولد}}, also spelled '''Om Walad''') is a town in southern Syria, administratively part of the Daraa Governorate, located east of Daraa in the Hauran region. Nearby localities include Ira to the southeast, Jabab to the south, al-Musayfirah to the southwest, al-Karak to the northwest, al-Thaalah to the north and al-Suwayda to the northeast. According to the Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), Umm Walad had a population of 7,547 in the 2004 census.<ref name="CBS">[https://archive.today/20130112181951/http://www.cbssyr.org/new%20web%20site/General_census/census_2004/NH/TAB12-8-2004.htm General Census of Population and Housing 2004]. Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS). Daraa Governorate. {{in lang|ar}}</ref> Its inhabitants are predominantly Sunni Muslim Bedouins.<ref>{{cite web |last=Ward |first=Cian |url=https://newlinesmag.com/spotlight/in-southern-syria-tensions-simmer-between-druze-and-bedouin-neighbors/ |title=In Southern Syria, Tensions Simmer Between Druze and Bedouin Neighbors |publisher=New Lines Magazine |date=6 June 2025 }}</ref>

==History== In 1838, ''Um Wulad'' was noted as a Muslim village, situated "the Nukra, east of Al-Shaykh Maskin".<ref>Robinson and Smith, 1841, vol 3, 2nd appendix, p. [https://archive.org/stream/biblicalresearch03robiuoft#page/153/mode/1up 153]</ref>

Sometime between 1862 and 1867, Druze migrants from Mount Lebanon settled in Umm Walad. However, by 1883 there was no longer a Druze presence.<ref>Firro, 1992, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=usEUXYnYWxAC&pg=PA176 176]</ref> On 26 January 1881, as part of a Druze rebellion against Ottoman authorities, Umm Walad was attacked by Druze fighters.<ref>Firro, 1992, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=usEUXYnYWxAC&pg=PA203 203]</ref> The attacks on Umm Walad and the massacre of Muslims at nearby al-Karak sparked popular anger among the Muslims of Hauran and the al-Midan neighborhood of Damascus, which was involved in the conflict. The Ottoman authorities in Damascus were ordered by the government in Istanbul to peacefully resolve the situation. As a result, an Ottoman commission reached an agreement with the Druze that stipulated the abandonment of arrest warrants against wanted Druze individuals, the collective Druze payment of blood money to the Muslim victims of Hauran, and a warning to the Muslims of the area to refrain from provoking the Druze.<ref>Firro, 1992, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=usEUXYnYWxAC&pg=PA204 204]</ref>

In August 1925, following the French defeat at the Battle of al-Mazraa, part of the Great Syrian Revolt against French Mandate rule, negotiations between the Druze and the French Mandate authorities took place at Umm Walad. At the conclusion of the talks, an exchange of prisoners also took place in the village amid Druze celebrations.<ref>Provence, 2005, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=Ej8ZMk1822sC&pg=PA75 75]</ref>

On 29 June 2018, the Syrian army occupied the town.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://syrianwardaily.com/2018/06/29/syrian-war-daily-29th-of-june-2018/|title=Syrian War Daily – 29th of June 2018|date=2018-06-29|work=Syrian War Daily|access-date=2018-06-30|language=en-US}}</ref>

==References== {{reflist|25em}}

==Bibliography== {{refbegin}} *{{cite book|first=Kais|last=Firro|title=A History of the Druzes|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=usEUXYnYWxAC&q=Najran+Hauran|volume=1|publisher=BRILL|year=1992|isbn=9004094377}} *{{cite book | first1 = Michael| last1= Provence| title = The Great Syrian Revolt and the Rise of Arab Nationalism| year = 2005| publisher = University of Texas Press|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ej8ZMk1822sC&q=al-mazraa&pg=PA91|isbn=9780292706804}} *{{cite book|last1=Robinson|first1=E.|authorlink1=Edward Robinson (scholar)|last2=Smith|first2=E.|authorlink2=Eli Smith|year=1841|url=https://archive.org/details/biblicalresearch03robiuoft |title=Biblical Researches in Palestine, Mount Sinai and Arabia Petraea: A Journal of Travels in the year 1838| location=Boston|publisher=Crocker & Brewster|volume=3}} {{refend}}

==External links== *[https://www.google.com/maps/@32.6603681,36.4343119,15z Map of the town], Google Maps *[http://www.nla.gov.au/apps/cdview/?pi=nla.map-vn745520-s22m Bosra-map; 22M] {{Daraa Governorate|daraa}}

Category:Populated places in Daraa District