Saida صَيْدَا
Village
Saida
Coordinates: 32°37′42″N 36°13′34″E / 32.62833°N 36.22611°E / 32.62833; 36.22611
Grid position	265/226 PAL
Country	Syria
Governorate	Daraa
District	Daraa
Subdistrict	Daraa
Population  (2004 census)[1]
• Total	11,215
Time zone	UTC+2 (EET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+3 (EEST)

Saida, also spelled Sayda (Arabic: صَيْدَا, romanized: Ṣaydā), is a village in southern Syria, administratively part of the Daraa Governorate, located east of Daraa. Nearby localities include al-Naimah to the west, Al-Ghariyah al-Gharbiyah to the north, Kahil and al-Musayfirah to the east and al-Taybah and Umm al-Mayazen to the south. According to the Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), Saida had a population of 11,215 in the 2004 census.^[1]

History

In the Ottoman tax registers of 1596, Sayda was a village located the nahiya of Butayna, Qada of Hauran. It had a population of 41 households and 13 bachelors, all Muslims. They paid a fixed tax-rate of 40% on agricultural products, including wheat, barley, summer crops, goats and beehives, in addition to occasional revenues; a total of 8,188 akçe. 1/6 of the revenue went to a waqf.^[2] In 1838 Eli Smith noted that the place was located west of the Hajj road, and that it was in ruins.^[3]

Saida was also noted as a khirba (ruined village) by 1858 during Ottoman rule.^[4] However, the second half of that century saw a resurgence in grain cultivation and security in the Hauran region, of which Saida was part. During that period, it was settled and by 1895 had 250 inhabitants.^[4]