HAWRAN

also spelled Hauran, region of southwestern Syria extending southeastward from Mount Hermon to the Jordanian frontier. Although rock-strewn and almost completely devoid of trees, the plain has very fertile soil and sufficient rainfall to make it a productive wheat-growing region. Other crops include barley, beans, and beets. Divided between the Nabataeans and the Romans until AD 106, the Hawran was then united under Roman rule as the province of Auranitis and enjoyed its greatest prosperity and growth. Christianity was introduced as early as the 2nd3rd century and flourished until the spread of Islam in the early 7th century. Today the Hawran is populated largely by the Druze, a fiercely independent Islamic sect; they migrated there from Lebanon in 1711 and again in 1860. Principal towns include Dar'a, Izra', and Busra ash-Shamall Hellenistic settlements in ancient times.