al-Jabiya

Al-Jabiya, called "al-Jabiya of the kings" because it had been the principal residence of the amirs of Ghassan, lay in the Jawlan about 80 km south of Damascus, not far from modern Nawa. ¹ It spread over several hills, which may explain a poetic plural form, and the Encyclopaedia of Islam links the name to the sense of a water reservoir, a symbol of generosity. ¹

The article describes it as a typical ancient Bedouin hira, a huge encampment where nomads had settled, a jumble of tents and buildings; a Christian monastery is even recorded there. ¹ Today the site is marked by a strong spring and by pastures still visited by the Bedouin of the Syrian desert, and the memory of the place survives in the name of the south-west gate of the Damascus wall, Bab al-Jabiya. ¹ Its original owners are the Ghassanids.

After the Arab conquest a large camp was set up there at an early date, the main one in all Syria, and for a long time the headquarters of the jund of Damascus. ¹ The article on the Yarmuk adds that the battle "of the Yarmuk or Djabiya" began with manoeuvring near al-Jabiya, the traditional base of the Ghassanids, and that the Muslims won an initial clash there on 13 Jumada II 15/23 July 636 (see the clash near al-Jabiya and the battle of the Yarmuk). ² The al-Djabiya article likewise says that a skirmish with the Byzantines took place there and that the booty was gathered there after the victory. ¹

For this reason, the article says, the caliph Umar went there in 17/638 to decide the conditions of the new conquests, accompanied by the chief Companions from the Hijaz with the exception of Ali. ¹ A meeting of generals and chief officers was held and became famous as yawm al-Jabiya, and Umar's speech, often quoted in hadith, was called the khutba of al-Jabiya. ¹ The author judges that the meeting mattered even more than tradition recognises, and that the institution of the diwan, or regular stipends, was probably begun then; an attempt to exclude the native Arab tribes of Syria who had helped the invaders failed because of their opposition. ¹ The article dates the visit to 17/638; another record of the museum, Mu'adh's counsel on the land of Syria at al-Jabiya, dates a related visit approximately to 16/637 on the basis of al-Baladhuri, so the year is not uniform across sources.

Because its climate was healthy, al-Jabiya became a place of refuge during the plague of Amwas for troops who had been thinned by it (see the plague of Amwas). The soldiers' pay, the ata, was afterwards distributed there. ¹

The article says the town had a large mosque with a minbar from an early date, a privilege that put it on a footing with the amsar and the capital cities, and that from the time of Mu'awiya all the Umayyad caliphs passed through it. Abd al-Malik used to stay a month at al-Jabiya on his way back from winter quarters at Sinnabra before returning to Damascus. ¹

When Ibn al-Zubayr had himself proclaimed caliph, the Syrians met at al-Jabiya to choose a successor to Mu'awiya II. Ibn Bahdal arrived first with his Kalb, while al-Dahhak ibn Qays, governor of Damascus, stayed away with the Qays. After discussion the young sons of Yazid I were passed over, and on the intervention of Rawh ibn Zinba' of the Banu Judham the caliphate of Marwan ibn al-Hakam was acclaimed (see the bay'a of Marwan at al-Jabiya). ¹ The article says al-Jabiya thereby became the cradle of the Marwanid dynasty and that the victory of Marj Rahit confirmed what had been decided there (see the battle of Marj Rahit). ¹ The last great political event at al-Jabiya was the recognition of the two elder sons of Abd al-Malik as heirs presumptive. ¹

In the reign of Sulayman, expeditions against Constantinople caused the great military camp to be moved from al-Jabiya to Dabiq, north of Aleppo. The town stayed the centre of a district of Damascus but its importance kept falling, especially under the Abbasids. ¹ The name lived on in hadith: according to Ibn Abbas, as the article reports, the souls of believers would meet at al-Jabiya on the day of judgment. ¹

The article gives no coordinates and no dates for the foundation of the Ghassanid camp. The exact site of the ruins is not fixed in the passages read, only its distance from Damascus and its nearness to Nawa. ¹