Al-Yacoubiyah ( ar, اليعقوبية, al-Yaʿqūbīyah, hy, Յակուբիե; also spelled Yacoubiyeh, Yakoubieh, Yacoubeh or Yaqoubiyah) is a village in north-west

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

Jisr ash-Shugur District Jisr ash-Shugur District ( ar-at, منطقة جسر الشغور, manṭiqat Ǧisr aš-Šuġūr) is a district of the Idlib Governorate in northwestern Syria. Administrative centre is the city of Jisr ash-Shugur. At the 2004 census, the district ...

, subordinate to 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 west of

Idlib ar, إدلبي, Idlibi , coordinates = , elevation_m = 500 , area_code = 23 , geocode = C3871 , blank_name = Climate , blank_info ...

and just southeast of the border with Turkey. It is situated in a well-forested mountain above the

Orontes River The Orontes (; from Ancient Greek , ) or Asi ( ar, العاصي, , ; tr, Asi) is a river with a length of in Western Asia that begins in Lebanon, flowing northwards through Syria before entering the Mediterranean Sea near Samandağ in Turkey. ...

, with an elevation of 480 meters above sea level. Nearby localities include

Qunaya Al-Quniyah ( ar, القنية, Syriac alphabet, Syriac: ܩܢܙܐ, , also spelled Quniya) is a village in northwestern Syria, administratively belonging to the Idlib Governorate, located northwest of Idlib, 35 km north of Jisr ash-Shugur, and ...

adjacent to the east,

Kafr Debbin Kafr Debbin ( ar, كفر دبين; syr, ܟܦܪܕܒܝܢ, lit=Village of Bears) is a Syrian village located in Al-Janudiyah Nahiyah in Jisr al-Shughur District, Idlib ar, إدلبي, Idlibi , coordinates = , elevation_m ...

further to the east, the ''

nahiyah A nāḥiyah ( ar, , plural ''nawāḥī'' ), also nahiya or nahia, is a regional or local type of administrative division that usually consists of a number of villages or sometimes smaller towns. In Tajikistan, it is a second-level division w ...

'' ("subdistrict") center of

al-Janudiyah Al-Janudiyah ( ar, ٱلْجَانُودِيَّة, al-Jānūdīyah; also spelled al-Janoudiya, el-Janudieh, al-Janoodiya) is a town in northern Syria, administratively part of the Idlib Governorate, located northwest of Idlib along the western b ...

to the south, al-Malnad to the west and

Zarzur Zarzur ( ar, زرزور, also spelled Zerzur, Zarzour or Zurzur) is a town in northern Syria, administratively part of the Idlib Governorate, located northwest of Idlib along the Syrian– Turkish borders on the western bank of the Orontes Ri ...

to the north. According to the Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), Al-Yacoubiyah had a population of 476 in the 2004 census. Its inhabitants are mostly Christians, roughly split into the

Armenian Apostolic , native_name_lang = hy , icon = Armenian Apostolic Church logo.svg , icon_width = 100px , icon_alt = , image = Էջմիածնի_Մայր_Տաճար.jpg , imagewidth = 250px , a ...

and

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

denominations. The surrounding areas are predominantly inhabited by

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.Christian hamlet escapes Syria war but falls prey to looters
''

Global Post ''GlobalPost'' is an online US digital journalism company that focuses on international news founded on January 12, 2009, by Philip S. Balboni and Charles M. Sennott. Its stated mission is "to redefine international news for the digital age." ...

''. Originally published by ''

Agence France-Presse Agence France-Presse (AFP) is a French international news agency headquartered in Paris, France. Founded in 1835 as Havas, it is the world's oldest news agency. AFP has regional headquarters in Nicosia, Montevideo, Hong Kong and Washington, D.C ...

''. 2013-02-08. There are two Armenian Apostolic churches in Al-Yacoubiyah: Saint Anna ( hy, Սբ. Աննա) and Saint Hripsime ( hy, Սբ. Հռիփսիմե). The last one is built similar to Ejmiatsin's Saint Hripsime. There is also one Armenian Catholic church.

History

Al-Yacoubiyah, along with the nearby localities of Kesab and Ghenamiyah, were settled by the Armenian community between the 8th and 12th centuries CE.The Vicar of Armenian Prelacy of Gezire: Yakoubiye
The Armenian Prelace of Aleppo. 2004-2007. In 1929, by the efforts of Armenian General Benevolent Union (AGBU) and the Armenian Prelacy, Diocese of

Aleppo )), is an adjective which means "white-colored mixed with black". , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = , map_caption = , image_map1 = ...

, an Armenian school was built in the village, where

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...

is being taught alongside

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...

Syrian Civil War

During the ongoing Syrian Civil War which began in 2011, in late January 2013, Al-Yacoubiyah was captured by anti-government rebels. Most of the fighting for the village's capture centered on a

Syrian Army " (''Guardians of the Homeland'') , colors = * Service uniform: Khaki, Olive * Combat uniform: Green, Black, Khaki , anniversaries = August 1st , equipment = , equipment_label = , battles = 1948 Arab–Israeli War Six ...

post at the village entrance and government troops subsequently withdrew to

Jisr al-Shughur Jisr ash-Shughūr ( ar, جِسْرُ ٱلشُّغُورِ, jisr aš-šuġūr, , also rendered as ''Jisser ash-Shughour'' and other spellings), known in antiquity as Seleucobelus ( el, Σελευκόβηλος, translit=Seleukóbēlos), is a city i ...

. While Al-Yacoubiyah's infrastructure was not significantly damaged and no residents were killed in the clashes, many of its abandoned houses and businesses were looted. Rebels commandeered some of the empty houses of the village, claiming they received permission by its residents. According to local residents, many of Al-Yacoubiyah's Armenians have fled the village while most of its Catholics remained.

References

{{Idlib Governorate, Jisr al-Shughur Populated places in Jisr al-Shughur District Armenian communities in Syria Christian communities in Syria

History

Syrian Civil War

See also

References