Salqin ( ar, سَلْقِين, Salqīn) is a town in
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
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 ...
. Nearby localities include
Kafr Takharim
Kafr Takharim ( ar, كَفْر تَخَارِيم, Kafr Takhārīm, also spelled Kafar Takhareem or Kfar Takharam) is a town in northwestern Syria, administratively part of the Idlib Governorate, located in the north of Idlib. Nearby localities inc ...
to the southeast,
Abu Talha to the south,
Delbiya
Delbiya ( ar, دلبيا) is a Syrian village located in Salqin Nahiyah in Harem District
Harem District ( ar-at, منطقة حارم, manṭiqat Ḥārim) is a district of the Idlib Governorate in northwestern Syria. The administrative ce ...
to the southwest,
al-Alani
Al-Alani ( ar, العلاني, al-ʿAlānī, also spelled al-Alini or al-Lani) is a town in northwestern Syria, administratively part of the Idlib Governorate, just east of the Syria–Turkey border. Nearby localities include Salqin and Isqat
Isq ...
to the northwest and
Isqat
Isqat ( ar, اسقاط, Isqāṭ) is a village in Syria, administratively part of Idlib Governorate. Nearby localities include Salqin to the southwest, Kafr Takharim to the southeast, Harem
Harem ( Persian: حرمسرا ''haramsarā'', ar, ...
to the northeast. Salqin is the center of its ''
nahiya
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). It had a population of 23,700 in 2004.
[General Census of Population and Housing 2004](_blank)
Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS). Idlib Governorate. Archived a
Its inhabitants are predominantly
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,
[Atassi, Basma]
Syrian town takes strife in stride
''Al Jazeera English
Al Jazeera English (AJE; ar, الجزيرة, translit=al-jazīrah, , literally "The Peninsula", referring to the Qatar Peninsula) is an international 24-hour English-language news channel owned by the Al Jazeera Media Network, which is own ...
''. 2013-01-20.[Boulanger, 1966, p. 479.] although there is also a small
Alawite
The Alawis, Alawites ( ar, علوية ''Alawīyah''), or pejoratively Nusayris ( ar, نصيرية ''Nuṣayrīyah'') are an ethnoreligious group that lives primarily in Levant and follows Alawism, a sect of Islam that originated from Shia Isl ...
community.
The town is situated in the southern
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.
...
valley and has an altitude of 460 meters above sea level. Olive and other fruit trees surround Salqin. It exports produce from these orchards as well as vegetables. Agriculture is sustained by the large number of springs in Salqin.
History
According to legends, the city was the summer residence of
Seleucus I
Seleucus I Nicator (; ; grc-gre, Σέλευκος Νικάτωρ , ) was a Macedonian Greek general who was an officer and successor ( ''diadochus'') of Alexander the Great. Seleucus was the founder of the eponymous Seleucid Empire. In the pow ...
, hence the naming. An inscription, found on a stone between two
cypress
Cypress is a common name for various coniferous trees or shrubs of northern temperate regions that belong to the family Cupressaceae. The word ''cypress'' is derived from Old French ''cipres'', which was imported from Latin ''cypressus'', the ...
trees in the village, dates its foundation to 98 BC.
Salqin was mentioned by medieval Muslim historian
Izz al-Din ibn Shaddad al-Halabi as the site of one of 22 abandoned or ruined fortresses in the
Aleppo
)), is an adjective which means "white-colored mixed with black".
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region, likely disbanded or destroyed during the
Mongol invasions of Syria
Starting in the 1240s, the Mongols made repeated invasions of Syria or attempts thereof. Most failed, but they did have some success in 1260 and 1300, capturing Aleppo and Damascus and destroying the Ayyubid dynasty. The Mongols were forced to r ...
in the mid to late 13th century. The
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'') ...
s who gained power in the region at that time did not rebuild the fortress in Salqin.
[Raphael, 2010, pp. 89-90.]
A former education minister and two former governors of
Homs
Homs ( , , , ; ar, حِمْص / ALA-LC: ; Levantine Arabic: / ''Ḥomṣ'' ), known in pre-Islamic Syria as Emesa ( ; grc, Ἔμεσα, Émesa), is a city in western Syria and the capital of the Homs Governorate. It is Metres above sea level ...
and
Raqqah
Raqqa ( ar, ٱلرَّقَّة, ar-Raqqah, also and ) ( 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. The Hellenistic, ...
were from Salqin. In November 2012, during the
Syrian civil war, Syrian rebels captured the town from government forces. According to anti-government activists, around 70% of Salqin's residents still supported the government of
Bashar al-Assad
Bashar Hafez al-Assad, ', Levantine pronunciation: ; (, born 11 September 1965) is a Syrian politician who is the 19th president of Syria, since 17 July 2000. In addition, he is the commander-in-chief of the Syrian Armed Forces and the ...
in January 2013. This led to tensions, and the killing of a number of pro-Assad activists. sides.
Climate
References
Bibliography
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{{coord, 36, 08, N, 36, 27, E, display=title, region:SY_type:city_source:GNS-enwiki
Towns in Syria
Populated places in Harem District