Harem or Harim (, also , identical Arabic spelling with haram), is a

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

within the Idlib Governorate. It has an altitude of 160 meters and a population of 21,934. Harem is situated on the border with Turkey, 55 km west of

Aleppo Aleppo is a city in Syria, which serves as the capital of the Aleppo Governorate, the most populous Governorates of Syria, governorate of Syria. With an estimated population of 2,098,000 residents it is Syria's largest city by urban area, and ...

History

The city lies along the route between

Antioch Antioch on the Orontes (; , ) "Antioch on Daphne"; or "Antioch the Great"; ; ; ; ; ; ; . was a Hellenistic Greek city founded by Seleucus I Nicator in 300 BC. One of the most important Greek cities of the Hellenistic period, it served as ...

and

, and has been around since the

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

era.

Harem Castle: Byzantines to Seljuks

There is an important castle in Harem which has been built in a unique military style. The castle was originally Byzantine and was built by Nikephoros II Phokas shortly after 959, it then fell to the Arabs and then to the

Seljuk Turks The Seljuk dynasty, or Seljukids ( ; , ''Saljuqian'',) alternatively spelled as Saljuqids or Seljuk Turks, was an Oghuz Turks, Oghuz Turkic, Sunni Muslim dynasty that gradually became Persianate society, Persianate and contributed to Turco-Persi ...

Crusaders, Zengids and Ayyubids

In 1097, it was taken by the Crusaders, who kept it for the next forty years, except for a short time in 1098 when it was taken by the Muslim Arabs. The city stands on the northern spur of the Jebel Talat, which forms the east bank of the Orontes with superb views of the Iron Bridge and the Antioch-Aleppo road, making it a high-value position of strategic interest. After Nur al-Din's victory over Raymond of Poitiers at the Battle of Inab, the castle fell to Muslim forces in 1149. It was taken back by the Crusaders under Baldwin III in 1158. However, Nur al-Din besieged the castle once more in 1164. When the Crusaders attempted to relieve the siege, Nur al-Din defeated them decisively at the Battle of Harim, capturing many of the Christian leadership including Raymond III of Tripoli, Bohemond III of Antioch, Hugh VIII of Lusignan, and Joscelin III of Edessa. After this, the castle remained in Muslim hands for the remainder of the Crusader period, though Count Philip I of Flanders unsuccessfully attempted to recapture it one last time during his pilgrimage to the east in 1177. The Crusader castle was rebuilt by the son of Saladin, Malik Al Zaher Ghazi.

Mongol destruction

When the

Mongols Mongols are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, China ( Inner Mongolia and other 11 autonomous territories), as well as the republics of Buryatia and Kalmykia in Russia. The Mongols are the principal member of the large family o ...

led by Hulagu Khan invaded in 1260, much of Harem was destroyed including its castle, and its population was massacred. What is left of the castle dates back to the Muslim-Crusader wars between 1164 and 1268.

19th and 20th centuries

In the early 1800s, the Barmada family rebuild Harem after it was completely destroyed by the Mongols in the 13th century. The landlords of Harem between the 1800s until 1963 belonged to four main families: Barmada, Kayali, Al-Kikhia and Hananu. In 1980, the Syrian government confiscated all the properties and lands of Barmada family.

Syrian Civil War

During the Syrian Civil War, the town remained loyal to the Syrian government led by Bashar al-Assad before surrendering to the

Free Syrian Army The Free Syrian Army (FSA; ) is a Big tent, big-tent coalition of decentralized Syrian opposition (2011–2024), Syrian opposition rebel groups in the Syrian civil war founded on 29 July 2011 by Colonel Riad al-Asaad and six officers who defe ...

in a two-month long

battle A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force co ...

in late 2012. By late 2014, Harem had become the local headquarters for the Islamist al-Nusra Front. On 24 January 2016, Ahrar ash-Sham expelled al-Nusra Front from Harem, after tensions between the two groups boiled over. Subsequent clashes erupted in the nearby town of Salqin.

2023 Earthquake

In early February 2023, an earthquake devastated southern Turkey and adjacent Northern Syria. Harem was particularly hard-hit, with hundreds killed, and received little to no international aid.

Climate

Due to Harem's location being very close to Aleppo, the climate is very similar. Below is the climate table for Aleppo, because there is no climate data concerning Harem.

References

Bibliography

* {{Idlib Governorate, harem Cities in Syria Populated places in Harem District Crusader castles