Saida, Syria

Saida, also spelled Sayda (صَيْدَا), 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.

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. In 1838 Eli Smith noted that the place was located west of the Hajj road, and that it was in ruins.

Saida was also noted as a khirba (ruined village) by 1858 during Ottoman rule. 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.