Rasas (, also spelled Rsas) is a village in southern Syria, administratively part of the Suwayda Governorate, located south of Suwayda. Nearby localities include Ira to the southwest, Sahwet Blatah to the east, ar-Raha to the northeast and Umm Walad to the west. According to the Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), Rasas had a population of 3,332 in the 2004 census.. Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS). Al-Suwayda Governorate. Its inhabitants are predominantly Druze, with a Sunni Muslim Bedouin minority.
History In 1596 Rasas appeared in the Ottoman tax registers under the name of Irsas (diz nazd Kafr), being part of the nahiya of Bani Nasiyya in the Qada of Hauran. It had an entirely Muslim population consisting of 20 households and 10 bachelors. They paid a fixed tax-rate of 40% on agricultural products, including wheat, barley, summer crops, goats and bee-hives; a total of 3,880 akçe. Part of the income (8 out of 24 parts) went to a Waqf.Hütteroth and Abdulfattah, 1977, p. 220
In 1838 Rasas was noted by Eli Smith.Smith, in Robinson and Smith, 1841, vol 3, 2nd appendix, p. 158
Religious buildings Maqam Job/Ayyub (Druze Shrine)
See also Druze in Syria
References
Bibliography
External links Map of the town, Google Maps