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Al-Thawrah ٱلثَّوْرَةAl-Tabqah  • ٱلطَّبْقَة
City
Al-Thawrah in 1995
Al-ThawrahLocation in Syria
Coordinates: 35°50′12″N 38°32′53″E / 35.83667°N 38.54806°E / 35.83667; 38.54806
Country	Syria
Governorate	Raqqa
District	al-Thawrah
Subdistrict	al-Thawrah
Control	Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria
Elevation	328 m (1,076 ft)
Population
• Total	69,425
Time zone	UTC+2 (EET)
• Summer (DST)	+3

Al-Thawrah (Arabic: ٱلثَّوْرَة, romanized: aṯ-Ṯawrah), also known as Al-Tabqah (Arabic: ٱلطَّبْقَة, romanized: aṭ-Ṭabqah, also aṭ-Ṭabaqah), is a city in Raqqa Governorate, Syria, approximately 55 kilometres (34 mi) west of Raqqa. Al-Tabqah was the original name the settlement, which up until the 1960s had been relatively small. The name "al-Thawrah" literally means "The Revolution", in reference to the Baathist March 8th revolution in 1963. The Tabqa Dam and Lake Assad on the Euphrates, an important energy source for Syria, are near al-Thawrah. The city had a population of 69,425 as of the 2004 census. It is part of the Tabqa Region of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria.

History

Syrian civil war

On 26 November 2012, during the Syrian civil war, a main route from Raqqa to Aleppo passing through al-Thawrah along the Euphrates was dotted with both government and Syrian rebel checkpoints. On 11 February 2013, rebel groups including the al-Nusra Front and Liwa Owais al-Qorani took over the city. On 21 November, there was fierce fighting between government troops and rebels in the town, but by 25 November, the rebels were back in control. The Islamic State took control in January 2014.

On 22 March 2017, SOHR reported that an international coalition airstrike killed or injured more than 40 people. The BBC reported 27 killed and 40 wounded. During ISIL rule, the town's Catholic, Antiochian Orthodox Church and Assyrian Church of the East churches were turned into a parking garage, a weapons factory and a barn, with ISIL militants destroying all Christian symbols on the three churches. The Shia Al Zahraa' Mosque was destroyed and an Ismaili place of worship was turned into a children's training centre. During IS rule, high ranking IS members would reside in the city, escaping the bombardments on its capital Raqqa. The Syrian Democratic Forces captured the town in the 2017 Battle of Tabqa during which an estimated 40% of the buildings were either damaged or destroyed.

Demographics

Prior to the Civil War, the majority of the city's inhabitants were Sunni Arabs, with Kurdish, Armenian, Assyrian as well as Ismaili and Shiite Arab minorities. The Assyrian minority consisted of around 1,000 people, with about half belonging to the Assyrian Church of the East, originating from the Khabour River villages, and the other half being Syriac Orthodox Christians, along with a few Chaldean Catholic, Syriac Catholic and Protestant families. But now the Christians have left and very few returned after liberation.

Geography

Climate

See also

• Battle of al-Tabqa Airbase
• Battle of Tabqa (2017)
• Al-Tabqa Dam raid (2017)

Notes

1. "At Tabqah: Syria " Geographical Names
2. Al-Jeloo, Dr. Nicholas (2 August 2013). "Stranded: the Forgotten Assyrians of Al-Thawrah, Syria". www.aina.org. Retrieved 28 September 2024.
3. ^ "Beyond Rojava: North and East Syria's Arab Regions" (PDF). Rojava Information Center. June 2021. p. 9.
4. ^ Fergus, Kelly (12 September 2017). "Tabqa Schools Reopen for Syrian Children Despite Ongoing War". The Globe Post. Retrieved 13 June 2022.
5. Al-Thawrah population
6. "Syria rebels seize dam". AAP. 26 November 2012. Archived from the original on 29 November 2012. Retrieved 26 November 2012.
7. "Rebels take control of military airport in North Syria, NGO says". Now.mmedia.me. Archived from the original on 25 July 2018. Retrieved 29 August 2013.
8. "Fierce Syria clashes on Lebanese border force government to launch tighter border policies". Al Bawaba. 21 November 2013. Retrieved 19 December 2013.
9. Diaa Hadid (5 January 2014). "Syrian rebels battle Al-Qaeda-linked fighters". The Daily Star.
10. "More than 40 casualties, wounded and missing in a new massacre carried out by international coalition’s warplanes in Tabaqa city", syriahr.com, 22 March 2017. Retrieved 23 March 2017.
11. "IS conflict: US airlift backs new assault near Raqqa stronghold", bbc.co.uk, 22 March 2017. Retrieved 23 March 2017.
12. "IS eliminated all Shiites, Christians and Ismailis belongings | ANHA". Archived from the original on 8 February 2018. Retrieved 7 February 2018.
13. "US-backed Syrian forces 'fully capture' Tabqa from ISIL". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 10 May 2017.
14. "US-backed forces seize Syria's Tabqa, dam from ISIS". Agence-France Presse. Al Arabiya. 10 May 2017. Retrieved 10 May 2017.
15. "IS Eliminated All Shiites, Christians and Ismailis Belongings". Archived from the original on 30 March 2018. Retrieved 30 March 2018.
16. "Stranded: the Forgotten Assyrians of Al-Tharwah, Syria". Assyrian International News Agency. 2 August 2013. Retrieved 24 October 2015.
17. "Climate: Al-Thawrah". Climate-Data.org. Retrieved 23 September 2018.

v t e Raqqa Governorate
Raqqa District Raqqa Abu Susah al-Akirshi al-Fariaa Ghirnatah al-Ghutah al-Hamah al-Hamdaniyah Hittin Huwayjat Shinan Huzaymah al-Jabali Judaydat Kahit Judaydat Khabur Kadiran al-Kalitah al-Karamah Kasrat Shaykh al-Jumaa al-Khamisiyah al-Khatuniyah al-Khayyalah al-Sharqiyah Laksun Maadan Maghlah Kabirah Maghlah Saghirah al-Manamah Masaadah Matab al-Burashid al-Namisah al-Nasirah al-Qahtaniyah Rabi'a, Raqqa al-Rabiyah al-Rahibi Ratlah Samrah al-Sabkhah al-Sahel al-Salhabiyah Gharbiyah Shamrah al-Suwaydah Suwaydiyah Kabirah Tell al-Samen Dahham al-Yaarubiyah al-Yarmouk
Tell Abyad District Tell Abyad Ain al-Arous al-Amin Ayn Issa Bir Issa Hawaij Saghir Hayshah Tell Hammam Tell al-Kabir Suluk al-Zaazu'
Al-Thawrah District Al-Thawrah Dibsi Afnan Dibsi Faraj Fallah Rabu Jaaidin al-Jarniyah Mahmudli al-Mansurah al-Safsafah Shams al-Din Tell Othman

• Cities in Syria
• Populated places in al-Thawrah District
• Populated places on the Euphrates River