Mayadin ( ar, ٱلْمِيَادِين/

ALA-LC ALA-LC (American Library AssociationLibrary of Congress) is a set of standards for romanization, the representation of text in other writing systems using the Latin script. Applications The system is used to represent bibliographic information by ...

: ''al-Miyādīn'') is a town in eastern

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 ...

. It is the capital of the

Mayadin District Mayadin District ( ar, منطقة الميادين) is a district (mantiqah Minṭaqah ( ; plural ''manāṭiq'' ) is a first-level administrative division in Saudi Arabia and Chad and for a second-level administrative division in several other ...

, part of the

Deir ez-Zor Governorate Deir ez-Zor Governorate ( ar, مُحافظة دير الزور / ALA-LC: ''Muḥāfaẓat Dayr az-Zawr'') is one of the fourteen governorates (provinces) of Syria. It is situated in eastern Syria, bordering Iraq. It has an area of 33,060 km2 ( ...

. Mayadin is about 44 kilometers southeast of

Deir ez-Zor , population_urban = , population_density_urban_km2 = , population_density_urban_sq_mi = , population_blank1_title = Ethnicities , population_blank1 = , population_blank2_title = Religions , population_blank2 = ...

. The

Euphrates River The Euphrates () is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of Western Asia. Tigris–Euphrates river system, Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia ( ''the land between the rivers'') ...

flows through the town. In the 2004 census, the population was 44,028, making it the second most populous town in the governorate.

History

Ancient era

Mayadin has been identified to be the ancient Audattha known to

Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy (; grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος, ; la, Claudius Ptolemaeus; AD) was a mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist, who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were of importanc ...

, though some suggest Audattha was where

Haditha , settlement_type = City , image_skyline = Inbound3292807512093856589نواعير حديثة.jpg , imagesize = , image_caption = , image_map = , mapsize = , map_caption ...

now stands in Iraq.

Middle Ages

Mayadin is the successor of the medieval town and fortress of Rahbat Malik ibn Tawk, founded by the

Abbasid The Abbasid Caliphate ( or ; ar, الْخِلَافَةُ الْعَبَّاسِيَّة, ') was the third caliphate to succeed the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abdul-Muttalib ...

lord and the original town's namesake,

Malik ibn Tawk Malik ibn Tawk ibn Malik ibn 'Attab at-Taghlibi () (died 873) was an Arab Abbasid official during the reigns of caliphs al-Wathiq (r. 842–847) and al-Mutawakkil (r. 847–861). He is best known as the founder of the fortress town of al-Rahba on ...

. Strategically located at a crossroads on the western bank of the

Euphrates The Euphrates () is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of Western Asia. Tigris–Euphrates river system, Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia ( ''the land between the rivers'') ...

and considered the key to Syria from Iraq, control of the town was highly contested by the Muslim powers and

Bedouin The Bedouin, Beduin, or Bedu (; , singular ) are nomadic Arab tribes who have historically inhabited the desert regions in the Arabian Peninsula, North Africa, the Levant, and Mesopotamia. The Bedouin originated in the Syrian Desert and A ...

tribes of the region. It grew to become one of the major Muslim towns of the Euphrates valley and was an administrative center. An earthquake destroyed Rahbat Malik ibn Tawk in

1157 Year 1157 ( MCLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events * January 12 – March 16 – Caliph Al-Muqtafi successfully defends Baghdad against the coalition forces of Sultan ...

, after which it was granted by the

Zengid The Zengid dynasty was a Muslim dynasty of Oghuz Turkic origin, which ruled parts of the Levant and Upper Mesopotamia on behalf of the Seljuk Empire and eventually seized control of Egypt in 1169. In 1174 the Zengid state extended from Tripoli to ...

ruler Nur ad-Din to Asad ad-Din Shirkuh, the paternal uncle of future Ayyubid sultan,

Saladin Yusuf ibn Ayyub ibn Shadi () ( – 4 March 1193), commonly known by the epithet Saladin,, ; ku, سه‌لاحه‌دین, ; was the founder of the Ayyubid dynasty. Hailing from an ethnic Kurdish family, he was the first of both Egypt and ...

. Shirkuh relocated the fortress about four kilometers southwest of the original site. The new settlement, known as "al-Rahba al-Jadida", remained the significant center of the Euphrates region through much of the

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 ...

–

Mamluk Mamluk ( ar, مملوك, mamlūk (singular), , ''mamālīk'' (plural), translated as "one who is owned", meaning " slave", also transliterated as ''Mameluke'', ''mamluq'', ''mamluke'', ''mameluk'', ''mameluke'', ''mamaluke'', or ''marmeluke'') ...

era (12th–15th centuries), and today is a ruined fortress known as " Qal'at al-Rahba". The original settlement eventually became known as "Mashhad Rahba". The latter was located at the present site of Mayadin.

Modern era

In the early 20th century, Mayadin was the administrative seat of the

Asharah Al-Asharah ( ar, ٱلْعَشَارَة, al-ʿAšārah, 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 localit ...

kaza A kaza (, , , plural: , , ; ota, قضا, script=Arab, (; meaning 'borough') * bg, околия (; meaning 'district'); also Кааза * el, υποδιοίκησις () or (, which means 'borough' or 'municipality'); also () * lad, kaza , ...

'' (subdistrict) of the

Sanjak of Zor The Sanjak of Zor ( tr, Deyr-i-Zor sancağı) was a sanjak of the Ottoman Empire, which was created in 1857. Some of its area was separated from the Baghdad Vilayet. Zor was sometimes mentioned as being part of the Aleppo Vilayet,qaimmaqam'' (governor). In a British military intelligence report from the 1900s, the town had a population of 2,000 mostly

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 and a small minority of Christians. There was a

bazaar A bazaar () or souk (; also transliterated as souq) is a marketplace consisting of multiple small Market stall, stalls or shops, especially in the Middle East, the Balkans, North Africa and India. However, temporary open markets elsewhere, suc ...

, several shops and a

mosque A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, ...

with a leaning

minaret A minaret (; ar, منارة, translit=manāra, or ar, مِئْذَنة, translit=miʾḏana, links=no; tr, minare; fa, گل‌دسته, translit=goldaste) is a type of tower typically built into or adjacent to mosques. Minarets are generall ...

. According to Czech explorer

Alois Musil Alois Musil (30 June 1868 – 12 April 1944) was a Czech theologian, orientalist, explorer and bilingual Czech and German writer. Biography Musil was the oldest son born in 1868 into an poor farming family in Moravia (then Cisleithanian pa ...

, who visited in 1912, Mayadin had a garrison of twelve

gendarme Wrong info! --> A gendarmerie () is a military force with law enforcement duties among the civilian population. The term ''gendarme'' () is derived from the medieval French expression ', which translates to "Man-at-arms, men-at-arms" ...

s, ten policemen and ten mule riders. There was a boys' primary school in the town. The population was about 2,500, consisting of roughly four hundred Muslim families, fifteen

Syriac Orthodox , native_name_lang = syc , image = St_George_Syriac_orthodox_church_in_Damascus.jpg , imagewidth = 250 , alt = Cathedral of Saint George , caption = Cathedral of Saint George, Damascu ...

families (mostly refugees from

Mardin Mardin ( ku, Mêrdîn; ar, ماردين; syr, ܡܪܕܝܢ, Merdīn; hy, Մարդին) is a city in southeastern Turkey. The capital of Mardin Province, it is known for the Artuqid architecture of its old city, and for its strategic location on ...

), and three

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

families, living in a total of 380 houses. On June 19, 1947,

Pan Am Flight 121 Pan Am Flight 121 was a scheduled Pan American World Airways flight from Karachi to Istanbul. On the evening of June 18, 1947, the Lockheed L-049 Constellation serving the flight, known as the ''Clipper Eclipse'' (previously ''Clipper Dublin''), ...

, crewed by third officer

Gene Roddenberry Eugene Wesley Roddenberry Sr. (August 19, 1921 – October 24, 1991) was an American television screenwriter, producer, and creator of ''Star Trek: The Original Series'', its sequel spin-off series ''Star Trek: The Animated Series,'' and ''Sta ...

(who went on to create the original ''Star Trek'' television series), crashed 4 miles (6.4 km) from the town.

Syrian Civil War

During the Syrian Civil War,

Free Syrian Army The Free Syrian Army (FSA) ( ar, الجيش السوري الحر, al-jaysh as-Sūrī al-ḥur) is a loose faction in the Syrian Civil War founded on 29 July 2011 by officers of the Syrian Armed Forces with the goal of bringing down the governm ...

captured the town in late August 2012 after fighting in the town. The only part still in regime hands was the Mayadin military base, an artillery position on a hill overlooking the town, which was captured on 22 November. This gave the rebels control of a large amount of territory east of the base to the

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

i border. On 3 July 2014, ISIL captured Mayadin and raised their

black standard The Black Banner or Black Standard ( ar, الراية السوداء, ar-rāyat as-sawdāʾ, also known as (, "banner of the eagle" or simply as , , "the banner") is one of the flags flown by the Islamic prophet Muhammad according to Muslim tr ...

. A local underground resistance movement of Sunni Muslim fighters attacked ISIL checkpoints in the city in 2015. This forced ISIL to dig a defensive position around the city. On 3 April 2017, during the SDF's offensive to capture Raqqa, it was reported that ISIL was possibly in the process of moving its capital from

Raqqa Raqqa ( ar, ٱلرَّقَّة, ar-Raqqah, also and ) (Kurdish languages, Kurdish: Reqa/ ڕەقە) is a city in Syria on the northeast bank of the Euphrates River, about east of Aleppo. It is located east of the Tabqa Dam, Syria's largest dam. T ...

city to Mayadin. This followed months of gradual relocation of resources and senior ISIL leaders from Raqqa to Mayadin. On 21 April 2017, the United States announced that they had conducted a ground raid in Mayadin and killed Abdulrakhman Uzbeki, an ISIS leader. On 18 June 2017, Iran hit ISIL targets in Mayadin using domestic-based surface-to-surface mid-range missiles. By the 10 October 2017, the town was besieged by the SAA and fighting had begun in the suburbs in preparation to storm the town. On 11 October 2017, the

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 ...

made huge advances inside the town of Mayadin and has taken control of about 60 percent of the town. On 14 October 2017, the Syrian Army retook the town thus ending the 4 year long ISIL rule over it. In June 2018, ISIL unsuccessfully attempted to retake the town.

Sport

There is a football club in the city called Al-Mayadin SC, which plays the second highest competition in Syria.

Climate

Mayadin has a

hot desert climate The desert climate or arid climate (in the Köppen climate classification ''BWh'' and ''BWk''), is a dry climate sub-type in which there is a severe excess of evaporation over precipitation. The typically bald, rocky, or sandy surfaces in desert ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

''BWh'').

References

Bibliography

* {{Deir ez-Zor Governorate, mayadin Cities in Syria Populated places on the Euphrates River Populated places in Mayadin District