HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Al-Fu'ah ( ar, الْفُوعَة, al-Fūʿah, also spelled al-Fouaa and al-Fo'ua) is a town in northern
Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
, administratively part of the
Idlib Governorate Idlib Governorate ( ar, مُحافظة ادلب / ALA-LC: ''Muḥāfaẓat Idlib'') is one of the 14 governorates of Syria. It is situated in northwestern Syria, bordering Turkey's Hatay province to the north, Aleppo Governorate to the east, Hama ...
, located northeast of
Idlib ar, إدلبي, Idlibi , coordinates = , elevation_m = 500 , area_code = 23 , geocode = C3871 , blank_name = Climate , blank_info ...
. Nearby localities include
Kafriya Kafriya ( ar, كفريا, also spelled Kifarya or Kefraya) is a village in northern Syria, administratively part of the Idlib Governorate, located northwest of Idlib. Nearby localities include Maarrat Misrin to the north, Zardana to the northeast, ...
to the west,
Maarrat Misrin Ma'arrat Misrin ( ar, مَعَرَّةُ مِصْرِينَ, Maʿarrat Miṣrīn, also spelled Ma'arrat Masrin or Ma'aret Masreen) is a small city in northwestern Syria, administratively part of Idlib Governorate. Ma'arrat Misrin lies an elevation ...
to the northwest,
Zardana Zardana ( ar, زردنا, also spelled Zerdana or Zirdana) is a village in northwestern Syria, administratively part of Idlib Governorate. The village lies in a relatively flat plain. Nearby localities include Taftanaz to the southeast, al-Fu'ah a ...
to the north,
Taftanaz Taftanaz ( ar, تَفْتَنَاز, Taftanāz, also spelled Teftanaz) is a town in northwestern Syria, administratively part of the Idlib Governorate, located 17 kilometers northeast of Idlib. Nearby localities include Ta'um and Binnish to the sou ...
to the northeast,
Ta'um Ta'um ( ar, طَعُوم, Ṭaʿūm, also spelled Tu'um or Taoum) is a village in northern Syria, administratively part of the Idlib Governorate, located northeast of Idlib. Nearby localities include Binnish to the southwest, al-Fu'ah to the we ...
to the east and Binnish and
Sarmin Sarmin ( ar, سَرْمِين, Sarmīn also spelled Sarmeen) is a town in northwestern Syria, administratively part of the Idlib Governorate, located 15 kilometers southeast of Idlib. It has an altitude of about 390 meters. Nearby localities inclu ...
to the south. The plain surrounding al-Fu'ah is well known for growing
olive The olive, botanical name ''Olea europaea'', meaning 'European olive' in Latin, is a species of small tree or shrub in the family Oleaceae, found traditionally in the Mediterranean Basin. When in shrub form, it is known as ''Olea europaea'' ...
s and
figs The fig is the edible fruit of ''Ficus carica'', a species of small tree in the flowering plant family Moraceae. Native to the Mediterranean and western Asia, it has been cultivated since ancient times and is now widely grown throughout the world ...
. According to the Syria Central Bureau of Statistics, the town had a population of 10,264 in the 2004 census.General Census of Population and Housing 2004
Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS). Idlib Governorate.
The inhabitants were predominantly
Shia Muslim Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that the Islamic prophet Muhammad designated ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his successor (''khalīfa'') and the Imam (spiritual and political leader) after him, most ...
s.


History


Medieval period

During the
Crusades The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that were in ...
, the town was a barrier fortress of the
Principality of Antioch The Principality of Antioch was one of the crusader states created during the First Crusade which included parts of modern-day Turkey and Syria. The principality was much smaller than the County of Edessa or the Kingdom of Jerusalem. It extende ...
. However, after the capture of Baldwin II of Edessa, the inhabitants of al-Fu'ah and nearby
Maarrat Misrin Ma'arrat Misrin ( ar, مَعَرَّةُ مِصْرِينَ, Maʿarrat Miṣrīn, also spelled Ma'arrat Masrin or Ma'aret Masreen) is a small city in northwestern Syria, administratively part of Idlib Governorate. Ma'arrat Misrin lies an elevation ...
and
Sarmin Sarmin ( ar, سَرْمِين, Sarmīn also spelled Sarmeen) is a town in northwestern Syria, administratively part of the Idlib Governorate, located 15 kilometers southeast of Idlib. It has an altitude of about 390 meters. Nearby localities inclu ...
revolted against their Crusader rulers in 1104, inflicting heavy casualties against their troops.Houtsma, 1987, p. 58. The town was later captured by
Fakhr al-Mulk Radwan Ridwan), though he is commonly referred to as ''Ridwan'' ( ar, رضوان), which is also romanised as ''Radwan'' or ''Rudwan''. ( – 10 December 1113) was a Seljuk emir of Aleppo from 1095 until his death. Ridwan was born to the Seljuk prin ...
in 1104.Setton; Baldwin, ed., 2006, p. 390. Alsunqur al-Bursuqi of
Mosul Mosul ( ar, الموصل, al-Mawṣil, ku, مووسڵ, translit=Mûsil, Turkish: ''Musul'', syr, ܡܘܨܠ, Māwṣil) is a major city in northern Iraq, serving as the capital of Nineveh Governorate. The city is considered the second large ...
occupied al-Fu'ah, along with
Sarmin Sarmin ( ar, سَرْمِين, Sarmīn also spelled Sarmeen) is a town in northwestern Syria, administratively part of the Idlib Governorate, located 15 kilometers southeast of Idlib. It has an altitude of about 390 meters. Nearby localities inclu ...
, in 1126. Al-Fu'ah was visited by Syrian geographer
Yaqut al-Hamawi Yāqūt Shihāb al-Dīn ibn-ʿAbdullāh al-Rūmī al-Ḥamawī (1179–1229) ( ar, ياقوت الحموي الرومي) was a Muslim scholar of Byzantine Greek ancestry active during the late Abbasid period (12th-13th centuries). He is known fo ...
in the early 13th century, during
Ayyubid The Ayyubid dynasty ( ar, الأيوبيون '; ) was the founding dynasty of the medieval Sultan of Egypt, Sultanate of Egypt established by Saladin in 1171, following his abolition of the Fatimid Caliphate, Fatimid Caliphate of Egypt. A Sunni ...
rule. He noted that it was a "large village in the neighborhood of
Halab )), is an adjective which means "white-colored mixed with black". , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = , map_caption = , image_map1 = ...
. From it the convent called Dair Fu'ah takes its name." He also mentioned that the people in the town and the surrounding area including Aleppo, followed Twelver Shi'ism or as he describes it "Imami". In the late 13th century, the town was mentioned by Syrian geographer
Abu'l-Fida Ismāʿīl b. ʿAlī b. Maḥmūd b. Muḥammad b. ʿUmar b. Shāhanshāh b. Ayyūb b. Shādī b. Marwān ( ar, إسماعيل بن علي بن محمود بن محمد بن عمر بن شاهنشاه بن أيوب بن شادي بن مروان ...
, who described the town as a celebrated place in the plain of Aleppo. He noted that, "on this plain are grown quantities of olive, fig and other trees."


Syrian Civil War

While most towns in the Idlib Governorate came under the control of anti-government rebels during the Syrian Civil War, al-Fu'ah and the nearby town of
Kafriya Kafriya ( ar, كفريا, also spelled Kifarya or Kefraya) is a village in northern Syria, administratively part of the Idlib Governorate, located northwest of Idlib. Nearby localities include Maarrat Misrin to the north, Zardana to the northeast, ...
constituted an isolated pro-government enclave.Al-Khalidi, Suleiman
"Syrian rebels say gain ground as grip of army weakens"
Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency was estab ...
. 27 July 2012.
In July 2012 a rebel unit kidnapped three Shia Muslim civilians from the town for the stated purpose of exchanging them for anti-aircraft weaponry. In response, some of al-Fu'ah's residents kidnapped 32
Sunni Muslim Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word ''Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disagree ...
s from nearby
Taftanaz Taftanaz ( ar, تَفْتَنَاز, Taftanāz, also spelled Teftanaz) is a town in northwestern Syria, administratively part of the Idlib Governorate, located 17 kilometers northeast of Idlib. Nearby localities include Ta'um and Binnish to the sou ...
,
Saraqib Saraqib ( ar, سَرَاقِب, Sarāqib also spelled Saraqeb) is a city in northwestern Syria, administratively belonging to the Idlib Governorate, located east of Idlib. During the course of the Syrian Civil War, the city fell into rebel forces ...
and Binnish. After two weeks of negotiations, all captives were safely released.Abouzeid, Rania (30 July 2012)
"Going Rogue: Bandits and Criminal Gangs Threaten Syria's Rebellion"
''
Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...
''.
On 18 September 2015, al-Fu'ah was badly damaged, following a suicide bombing with an armoured vehicle full of explosives from Uzbek-led militant group
Imam Bukhari Jamaat The Imam Bukhari Jamaat ( uz, Imom Buxoriy Katibasi, also Katibat Imam al Bukhari) is an Islamist Salafi group fighting in the Syrian Civil War and the War in Afghanistan, composed of primarily Uzbeks, and expressing loyalty to the Taliban movem ...
, an affiliate of
al-Qaeda Al-Qaeda (; , ) is an Islamic extremism, Islamic extremist organization composed of Salafist jihadists. Its members are mostly composed of Arab, Arabs, but also include other peoples. Al-Qaeda has mounted attacks on civilian and military ta ...
. The town was placed under siege by rebels, and on 11 January 2016, the
International Committee of the Red Cross The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC; french: Comité international de la Croix-Rouge) is a humanitarian organization which is based in Geneva, Switzerland, and it is also a three-time Nobel Prize Laureate. State parties (signato ...
and the
World Food Programme The World Food Programme; it, Programma alimentare mondiale; es, Programa Mundial de Alimentos; ar, برنامج الأغذية العالمي, translit=barnamaj al'aghdhiat alealami; russian: Всемирная продовольствен ...
organised an aid convoy to deliver food, medicine and other aid to the town and nearby village
Kafriya Kafriya ( ar, كفريا, also spelled Kifarya or Kefraya) is a village in northern Syria, administratively part of the Idlib Governorate, located northwest of Idlib. Nearby localities include Maarrat Misrin to the north, Zardana to the northeast, ...
. On 19 July 2018, residents of Fuah and Kafriya and pro-government fighters stationed in the two besieged towns were evacuated by buses to government-controlled
Aleppo )), is an adjective which means "white-colored mixed with black". , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = , map_caption = , image_map1 = ...
under an agreement between
Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
, the Syrian Government, and
Hayat Tahrir al-Sham Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) (, transliteration: ', "Organization for the Liberation of the Levant" or "Levant Liberation Committee"), commonly referred to as Tahrir al-Sham, is a Sunni Islamist political and armed organisation involved in the ...
, with
Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
as a mediator. Syrian Government released 1,500 HTS prisoners in exchange for the safe evacuation of these towns. Following the evacuation, the emptied towns were temporarily declared a military zone by HTS.


References


Bibliography

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fuah Populated places in Idlib District Shia Muslim communities in Syria