Al-Asharah

Al-Asharah (, also spelled al-Ashareh or Esharah) is a town in eastern Syria, administratively part of the Deir ez-Zor Governorate, located along the Euphrates River, south of Deir ez-Zor. Nearby localities include al-Quriyah to the northeast, Makhan and Mayadin to the north, Suwaydan Jazirah to the southeast and Dablan to the south. According to the Syria Central Bureau of Statistics, al-Asharah had a population of 17,537 in the 2004 census. It is the administrative seat of a nahiyah ("subdistrict") which consists of seven localities with a total population of 96,001 in 2004. Al-Asharah is the third largest locality in the nahiyah. Its inhabitants are predominantly Sunni Muslims from the Arabic tribes of Tayy Al-Rahabi and Al-Uqaydat. thumb|250px|left|Al-Asharah is the administrative center of Nahiya al-Asharah of the [[Mayadin District.]]

==History== Al-Asharah is built on the site of the ancient Aramean-Assyrian settlement of Terqa. A stele dated to 886 BCE honoring the victory of Assyrian king Tukulti-Ninurta II over the Arameans was found in al-Asharah. The stele is currently located in the National Museum of Aleppo. Excavations in al-Asharah revealed evidence that Terqa contained urban institutions and its inhabitants had exploited the area's soil for economic benefit.