Ras al-Ayn رأس العين Serê Kanîyê |
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City | |
Ras al-Ayn
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Location of Ras al-Ayn in Syria | |
Coordinates: 36°51′01″N 40°04′14″E / 36.8503°N 40.0706°E | |
Country | Syria |
Governorate | al-Hasakah |
District | Ras al-Ayn |
Subdistrict | Ras al-Ayn |
Elevation | 360 m (1,180 ft) |
Population (2004) | 29,347 |
Time zone | EET (UTC+2) |
• Summer (DST) | EEST (UTC+3) |
Area code | +963 52 |
Geocode | C4988 |
Ras al-Ayn (Arabic: رأس العين, translit. Raʾs al-ʿAyn, Turkish: Resülayn, Kurdish: Serê Kaniyê, Syriac: ܪܝܫ ܥܝܢܐ, translit. Rēš Aynā), also spelled Ras al-Ain, is a city in al-Hasakah Governorate in northeastern Syria, on the border with Turkey.
One of the oldest civilizations in Upper Mesopotamia, the area of Ras al-Ayn has been inhabited since at least the Neolithic age (c. 8,000 BC). Later known as the ancient Aramean city of Sikkan, the Roman city of Rhesaina, and the Byzantine city of Theodosiopolis, the town was destroyed and rebuilt several times, and in medieval times was fiercely embattled between several Muslim dynasties. With the 1921 Treaty of Ankara Ras al-Ayn became a divided city when its northern part, today's Ceylanpınar, were ceded to Turkey.
With a population of 29,347 (as of 2005[update]), it is the third largest city in al-Hasakah Governorate and the administrative center of Ras al-Ayn District. The city is inhabited predominantly by Arabs and Kurds, with a significant number of Syriacs/Assyrians and a smaller number of Armenians and Chechens. During the Syrian Civil War of the 2010s, it became part of Jazira Canton in the de facto autonomous region of Rojava.