View source for Awassi

{{Short description|Middle-Eastern breed of sheep}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2024}}
{{Use British English|date=June 2024}}
{{Infobox sheep breed
| name          = Awassi
| image         = Kuwaiti sheep.jpg
| image_alt     = Awassi Sheep
| image_caption = A ram in Kuwait
| status        =  
| altname       = {{ubl|Arab (Turkey)|Baladi|Deiri|Gezirieh (Iraq))|Ivesi (Turkey)|Shami (Syria)|Syrian}}
| country       = [[Middle East]]
| distribution  = eighteen countries in Africa, Asia and Europe{{r|dad2}}
| standard      = 
| type          = 
| use           = milk, meat, wool
| maleweight    = 70 kg{{r|dad}}
| femaleweight  = 68 kg{{r|dad}}
| maleheight    = 50 cm{{r|dad}}
| femaleheight  = 76 cm{{r|dad}}
| skincolour    = 
| woolcolour    = white
| facecolour    = brown
| horns         = 
| note          = tolerant of extreme temperatures
}}

The '''Awassi'''{{efn|name= a}} is a [[list of sheep breeds|breed]] of [[dairy sheep]] of [[fat-tailed sheep|Near-Eastern fat-tailed]] type.  It is the most widely distributed non-European dairy breed. It is known by many names, among them '''Arab''', '''Baladi''', '''Deiri''', '''Gezirieh''', '''Ivesi''', '''Shami''' and ''' Syrian'''.{{r|mason|p=265|val|p2=290}} It is usually white with brown head and legs.

== History ==

The Awassi is a traditional breed of [[dairy sheep]] of [[fat-tailed sheep|Near-Eastern fat-tailed]] type. Its origins are unknown, but it is thought to originate in the historic region of [[Mesopotamia]] – the area between the [[Euphrates]] and [[Tigris]] rivers, now in modern Iraq and Syria.{{r|eds|p=115}} The breed name is thought to derive from that of Al-ʿAwās, a Bedouin tribe of northern Syria.{{r|eds|p=115|war|p2=12}} It is the most widely distributed non-European dairy breed{{r|cabi|p=727}} and the most numerous sheep breed of south-west Asia. It is the principal sheep of Iraq and Syria and the only indigenous sheep of Israel, Jordan and Lebanon.{{r|dad}}

It is reportedly present in eighteen countries in Africa, Asia and Europe, with a total population estimated in 2024 at {{val|2.85|u=million}} head.{{r|dad2}} The largest population is reported by Turkey, where the Ivesi numbers approximately {{val|1.7|–|2.9|u=million}} head; other substantial populations are in Palestine (over {{val|360000}}) and Lebanon (about {{val|200000}}).{{r|dad2}} A population in Syria of approximately {{val|13.5|u=million}} head was reported in 2006.{{r|tropen}}

It has contributed to the development of several modern breeds, among them the [[Assaf (sheep)|Assaf]], Israeli Awassi, Pak Awassi, Neimi and Shafali.{{r|cabi|p=727}}

== Characteristics ==
[[Image:SheepInhaelavalley.jpg|thumb|Lamb in the [[Elah Valley]]]]
The Awassi is of moderate size, with average weights of {{val|68|u=kg}} for ewes and {{val|70|u=kg}} for rams; average heights are {{val|50|u=cm}} and {{val|76|u=cm}} respectively.{{r|dad}} The usual colouring is white with brown head and legs; the face may also be white, grey, black or spotted, and a solid-coloured brown or black coat occasionally occurs.{{r|mason|p=265}} The facial profile is convex and the ears pendulous.{{r|dad}} Rams are normally horned, ewes more often [[polled (livestock)|polled]].{{r|mason|p=265}} [[Hyperthermia]] causes the [[fertility]] of rams to fall during the hot summer months, but it recovers rapidly when temperatures fall in the autumn.{{r|ijvm|p=244}}

== Use ==

Although the Awassi is considered a [[dairy sheep]], it is commonly reared for [[lamb and mutton|meat]], for [[sheep's milk|milk]] and for [[wool]]. In Syria it supplies all the wool, about 30% of all milk and about 80% of all red meat.{{r|tropen}} In Iraq it is raised principally for meat.{{r|war|p=22}}

== Notes ==
{{notelist | refs=

{{efn|name = a| {{langx|ar|عواسي|translit={{noitalic|ʿAwāsī}}}})}}

}}

== References ==
{{commonscat}}
{{reflist|45em|refs=

<ref name=ijvm>Hassan Falah Kashef Al-Ghetaa (2012). [https://jcovm.uobaghdad.edu.iq/index.php/Iraqijvm/article/view/502/444 Effect of Environmental High Temperature on the Reproductive activity of Awassi Ram Lambs Effect of Environmental High Temperature on the Reproductive activity of Awassi Ram Lambs |]. ''The Iraqi Journal of Veterinary Medicine''. '''36''' (2): 244–253. {{doi|10.30539/iraqijvm.v36i2.502|doi-access=free}}.</ref>

<ref name=cabi>Valerie Porter, Lawrence Alderson, Stephen J.G. Hall, D. Phillip Sponenberg (2016). [https://books.google.it/books?id=2UEJDAAAQBAJ&hl=en ''Mason's World Encyclopedia of Livestock Breeds and Breeding''] (sixth edition). Wallingford: CABI. {{isbn|9781780647944}}.</ref>

<ref name=dad>[https://dadis-breed-datasheet-ext-ws.web.app/?country=SYR&specie=Sheep&breed=Awassi&callback=transboundarylist Breed data sheet: Awassi / Syrian Arab Republic (Sheep)]. Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Accessed June 2024.</ref>

<ref name=dad2>[https://dadis-transboundary-ext-ws.web.app/?species=Sheep&transboundary=Awassi&lang=en Transboundary breed: Awassi]. Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Accessed June 2024.</ref>

<ref name=eds>M.H. Fahmy (2022). [https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/agricultural-and-biological-sciences/awassi Awassi]. In: Paul L.H. McSweeney, John P. McNamara (editors) (2022). ''Encyclopedia of Dairy Sciences'', third edition. Amsterdam; Kidlington, Oxford; Cambridge, Massachusetts: Elsevier Academic Press. {{isbn|9780128187678|}}.</ref>

<ref name=mason>Valerie Porter, Ian Lauder Mason (2002). [https://books.google.it/books?id=1FNUW-44fEsC&pg=PA265&hl=en ''Mason's World Dictionary of Livestock Breeds, Types, and Varieties''] (fifth edition). Wallingford: CABI. {{isbn|085199430X}}.</ref>

<ref name=tropen>Mohamad Yaser Amin, Kurt-Johannes Peters (2006). [https://web.archive.org/web/20110719095818/https://www.tropentag.de/2006/abstracts/links/Amin_PHd1KUmD.pdf Awassi Sheep Production and the Development of breeding Program Options in Syria]. ''Prosperity and Poverty in a Globalised World – Challenges for Agricultural Research (Tropentag, 11–13 October 2006)''. Bonn, Germany: University of Bonn. Archived 19 July 2011.</ref>

<ref name=val>Valerie Porter, Ian Lauder Mason (2020). [https://books.google.it/books?id=ZjvqDwAAQBAJ&hl=en&pg=PA290 ''Mason's World Dictionary of Livestock Breeds, Types and Varieties''] (sixth edition). Wallingford; Boston: CABI. {{isbn|9781789241532}}.</ref>

<ref name=war>H. Epstein (1982). [https://www.fao.org/4/p8550e/p8550e00.pdf Awassi Sheep]. ''World Animal Review'', 44: 11–27.</ref>

}}

{{Authority control|state=collapsed}}

[[Category:Sheep breeds]]
[[Category:Sheep breeds originating in Saudi Arabia]]
[[Category:Sheep breeds originating in Iraq]]
[[Category:Animal breeds originating in Syria]]
[[Category:Animal breeds originating in Egypt]]

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