Al-Shaykh Maskin
|
al-Shaykh Maskin الشيخ مسكين Şıh Miskin |
|
|---|---|
| Town | |
 al-Shaykh Maskin
|
|
| Coordinates: 32°49′42″N 36°9′31.5″E / 32.82833°N 36.158750°E | |
| Grid position | 258/248 PAL |
| Country |
 Syria
|
| Governorate | Daraa Governorate |
| District | Izra' District |
| Nahiyah | Al-Shaykh Maskin |
| Population (2004 census) | |
| • Total | 24,057 |
| Time zone | EET (UTC+2) |
| • Summer (DST) | EEST (UTC+3) |
Al-Shaykh Maskin (Arabic: الشيخ مسكين, translit. Al-Sheikh Meskīn, Turkish: Şıh Miskin), also spelled Sheikh Maskīn, Sheikh Miskeen or Eshmeskīn is a town in southern Syria, administratively part of the Daraa Governorate, located north of Daraa. Nearby localities include Ibta' and Da'el to the south, Khirbet al-Ghazaleh the southeast, Izra' to the northeast, Nawa to the northwest and Sheikh Sa'ad to the west. According to the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) census, al-Shaykh Maskin had a population of 24,057 in 2004. The inhabitants are predominantly Sunni Muslims.
Clermont-Ganneau theorised that the town's name came from "The leper Sheik", that is Biblical Job. Al-Shaykh Maskin has been identified as the ancient Roman-era site of "Neapolis." By the 4th-century, Neapolis had grown to become a city. A church was consecrated there in 517 during Byzantine rule. In his short article in the Catholic Encyclopedia of 1911, Siméon Vailhé reported that many authorities at that time thought that Al-Shaykh Maskin might be the site of the ancient city and bishopric of Maximianopolis in Arabia, whose identification with nearby Shaqqa is today accepted.
...
Wikipedia