In this episode of the program "Important Moments in Druze History," we discuss how the Ballan region and Qalaat Jandal were significant milestones of the Great Syrian Revolt.
The Ballan region and Qalaat Jandal formed two prominent landmarks in the course of the Great Syrian Revolt in 1926, witnessing chapters of resistance against the French Mandate.
According to the book "Events of the Great Syrian Revolt as Narrated by General Sultan Pasha al-Atrash," the revolutionary leadership decided during a meeting in the village of Sala to resume fighting in the Ballan region. A campaign was formed under the leadership of Prince Adel Arslan, including about a hundred fighters from the region and Lebanon, and headed towards Majdal Shams, which the Prince adopted as the center for his leadership and operations in Mount Hermon and the Beqaa.
Qalaat Jandal witnessed remarkable events, including negotiations for prisoner exchanges, which ended with the release of a French girl who confirmed that she had received honorable treatment from the revolutionaries. The campaign also continued its operations against French forces, before clashes escalated in the bloody Battle of Jubata al-Khashab.
Despite the French attempts to convince Prince Adel Arslan to surrender in exchange for amnesty for him and his brother, he rejected the offer, adhering to the principles of the revolution. As French forces prepared to launch a wide-scale campaign on the villages of Mount Hermon, the campaign leadership decided to withdraw towards Ghouta, while groups of the region's residents remained to continue the resistance.
Thus, these stations remained as witnesses to an important phase of the Great Syrian Revolt, with the sacrifices and stances they carried that embodied the commitment to freedom and dignity.
