Old City of Aleppo

The Ancient City of Aleppo ( ar, مدينة حلب القديمة, Madīnat Ḥalab al-Qadīma) is the historic city centre of Aleppo, Syria. Before the Syrian Civil War, many districts of the ancient city remained essentially unchanged since its construction during the 12th to the 16th century. Being subjected to constant invasions and political instability, the inhabitants of the city were forced to build cell-like quarters and districts that were socially and economically independent. Each district was characterized by the religious and ethnic characteristics of its inhabitants.

The Old City of Aleppo – composed of the ancient city within the walls and the old cell-like quarters outside the walls – has an approximate area of , housing more than 120,000 residents.

Characterized by its large mansions, narrow alleys, covered souqs and ancient caravanserais, the Ancient City of Aleppo became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1986.

Many sections in the Al-Madina Souq and other medieval buildings in the ancient city were destroyed and ruined or burnt as a result of clashes between the Syrian Arab Army and the rebel forces of Jabhat al-Nusra, in what is called the Battle of Aleppo, launched by the opposition JN armed groups on 25 September 2012. In February 2014, the opposition groups of the Islamic Front claimed responsibility for destroying a series of major historic buildings being used as fortified bases by the Syrian Army in the old city including the justice palace, the Carlton hotel and the old building of the city council.

30% of the Ancient City of Aleppo has been destroyed in the fighting.

Origins and founding

Lying on the left bank of Queiq River the ancient city was surrounded by a circle of eight hills surrounding a prominent central hill on which the castle (originally a temple dating to the 2nd millennium BC) was erected in the shape of an acropolis. The radius of the circle is about . The hills are Tell as-Sawda, Tell ʕāysha, Tell as-Sett, Tell al-Yāsmīn (Al-ʕaqaba), Tell al-Ansāri (Yārūqiyya), ʕan at-Tall, al-Jallūm, Baḥsīta. With an approximate area of , the ancient city was enclosed within a historic wall of in circuit that was last rebuilt by the Mamlukes. The wall has since mostly disappeared. It had nine gates (5 of them are well preserved) and was surrounded by a broad deep ditch.

The newer '' Jdeydeh'' quarters of the old city were first built by the Christians during the early 15th century in the northern suburbs of the ancient city, after the Mongol withdrawal from Aleppo. Jdeydeh is one of the finest examples of a cell-like quarter in Aleppo. As a result of the economic development, many other quarters were established outside the walls of the ancient city during the 15th and 16th centuries.

Historical timeline

Throughout its history, Aleppo has been part of the following states:

*ca. 2400 BC–mid 23rd century BC, Kingdom of Armi
*mid. 23rd century BC–mid 22nd century BC, Akkadian Empire
*21st century BC–19th century BC, Eblaite Kingdom
*ca. 1800 BC–1595 BC, Amorite Kingdom of Yamhad
*1595 BC–ca. 1500 BC, Hittite Kingdom
*ca. 1500 BC–ca. 1450 BC, Mitanni
*ca. 1450 BC–ca. 1350 BC, New Kingdom of Egypt
*ca. 1350 BC– early 12th century BC, New Hittite Kingdom, Hittite Kingdom
*11th century BC, Syro-Hittite kingdom of Palistin
*10th century BC, Syro-Hittite kingdom of Bit Agusi
*9th century BC–late 7th century BC, Neo-Assyrian Empire
*early 6th century BC–mid-6th century BC, Neo-Babylonian Empire, Chaldean Empire
*ca. 550 BC–ca. 350 BC, Persian Achaemenid Empire
*333 BC–312 BC, Macedonian Empire
*312 BC–88 BC, Seleucid Empire
*88 BC–64 BC, Armenian Empire
*64 BC–27 BC, Roman Republic
*27 BC–395 AD, Roman Empire
*476–608, Byzantine Empire
*608–622, Sassanid Persia
*622–637, Byzantine Empire (restored)
*637–661, Rashidun Caliphate
*661–750, Umayyad Caliphate

*750–878, Abbasid Caliphate
*878–905, Tulunids
*905–941, Abbasid Caliphate (restored)
*941–944, Ikhshidid dynasty, Ikhshidids
*944–1003, Hamdanid dynasty, Hamdanids
*1003–1038, Fatimid Caliphate
*1038–1080, Mirdasid dynasty, Mirdasids
*1080–1086, Uqaylid Dynasty, Uqaylids
*1086–1118, Seljuq Empire
*1118–1128, Artuqids
*1128–1183, Zengid dynasty, Zengids
*1183–1260, Ayyubid dynasty, Ayyubids
*1260 March–October, Mongol Empire
*1260–1400, Mamluk Sultanate (Cairo), Mamluk Sultanate
*1400 Timurid Empire
*1400–1516, Mamluk Sultanate (Cairo), Mamluk Sultanate (restored)
*1516–1918, Ottoman Empire
*1920 March–July, Arab Kingdom of Syria
*1920–1924, State of Aleppo under the French Mandate
*1924–1946, French Mandate of Syria and the Lebanon, French Mandate of Syria
*1946–1958, Syrian Republic (1946–63), Syrian Republic
*1958–1961, United Arab Republic
*1961–present, Syrian Arab Republic

Pre-history and pre-classical era

Aleppo has scarcely been touched by archaeologists, since the modern city occupies its ancient site.

Early Bronze Age

Aleppo appears in historical records as an important city much earlier than Damascus. The first record of Aleppo may be from the third millennium BC if the identification of Aleppo as Armi (Syria), Armi, a city-state closely related to Ebla is correct. Armi has also been identified with the modern Tall Bazi, Tell Bazi. Giovanni Pettinato describes Armi as Ebla's alter ego. Naram-Sin of Akkad (or his grandfather Sargon of Akkad, Sargon) destroyed both Ebla and Arman in the 23rd century BC.Hawkins, John David (2000) ''Inscriptions of the iron age'' p.388

Middle Bronze Age

In the First Babylonian Dynasty, Old Babylonian period, Aleppo's name appears as Ḥalab (Ḥalba) for the first time. Aleppo was the capital of the important Amorite dynasty of Yamhad, Yamḥad. The kingdom of Yamḥad (ca. 1800-1600 BC), alternatively known as the 'land of Ḥalab,' was the most powerful in the Near East at the time.

Yamḥad was destroyed by the Hittites under Mursilis I in the 16th century BC. However, Aleppo soon resumed its leading role in Syria when the Hittite power in the region waned due to internal strife.

Late Bronze Age

Taking advantage of the power vacuum in the region, Parshatatar, king of the Hurrian kingdom of Mitanni, conquered Aleppo in the 15th century BC. Subsequently, Aleppo found itself on the frontline in the struggle between the Mitanni and the Hittites and Ancient Egypt, Egypt.

The Hittite Suppiluliumas I permanently defeated Mitanni and conquered Aleppo in the 14th century BC. Aleppo had cultic importance to the Hittites for being the center of worship of the Teshub, Storm-God.

Iron Age

When the Hittite kingdom collapsed in the 12th century BC, Aleppo became part of the Syro-Hittite kingdom of Palistin, then the Aramaean Syro-Hittite kingdom of Bit Agusi (which had its capital at Arpad (Syria), Arpad), it stayed part of that kingdom until conquered by the Assyrian people, Assyrians In the 9th century BC, and became part of the Neo-Assyrian Empire until the late 7th century BC, before passing through the hands of the Neo-Babylonians and the Achamenid, Achamenid Persians.

Classical antiquity

Alexander the Great took over the city in 333 BC. Seleucus Nicator established a Hellenic Republic, Hellenic settlement in the site between 301–286 BC. He called it ''Beroea'' (Βέροια), after Veria, Beroea in Macedon.

Northern Syria was the centre of gravity of the Hellenistic colonizing activity, and therefore of Hellenistic culture in the Seleucid Empire. As did other Hellenized cities of the Seleucid kingdom, Beroea probably enjoyed a measure of local autonomy, with a local civic assembly or ' composed of free Hellenes.Phenix, Robert R. (2008) ''The sermons on Joseph of Balai of Qenneshrin''

Beroea remained under Seleucid rule for nearly 300 years until the last holdings of the Seleucid dynasty were handed over to Pompey in 64 BC, at which time they became a Roman Syria, Roman province. Rome's presence afforded relative stability in northern Syria for over three centuries. Although the province was administered by a legatus, legate from Rome, Rome did not impose its administrative organization on the Greek-speaking ruling class.

Beroea is mentioned in 2 Maccabees, 2 Macc. 13:3.

Medieval period and the expansion of the city

The Sassanid King Khosrow I pillaged and burned Aleppo in 540 CE. Later on, the Sassanid Persians invaded Syria briefly in the early 7th century. Soon after Aleppo fell to Muslim conquests, Arabs under Khalid ibn al-Walid in 637 CE. In 944 CE, it became the seat of an independent Emirate under the Hamdanid prince Sayf al-Daula, and enjoyed a period of great prosperity.

On 9 August 1138 CE, 1138 Aleppo earthquake, a deadly earthquake ravaged the city and the surrounding area. Although estimates from this time are very unreliable, it is believed that 230,000 people died, making it the List of earthquakes#Deadliest earthquakes on record, fifth deadliest earthquake in recorded history.

After Timur, Tamerlane Sack of Aleppo (1400), invaded Aleppo in 1400 and destroyed it, the Christians migrated out of the city walls and established their own cell in 1420, at the northwestern suburbs of the city, thus founding the quarters of Jdeydeh. The inhabitants of Jdeydeh were mainly brokers who facilitated trade between foreign traders and local merchants. Many other districts were built outside the historic walls during the 15th and 16th centuries.

Mention is made of the city, by one of the witches, in William Shakespeare's Macbeth, written between 1603 CE and 1607 CE.

Main sights

Aleppo is characterized by mixed architectural styles, having been ruled, among the other, by Romans, Byzantines, Seljuqs, Mamluks and Ottomans.

Various types of 13th and 14th centuries constructions, such as caravanserais, caeserias, Quranic schools, hammams and religious buildings are found in the Old City of Aleppo, old city. The quarters of Jdeydeh district are home to numerous 16th and 17th-century houses of the Aleppine bourgeoisie, featuring stone engravings.

Souqs and Khans

The city's strategic trading position attracted settlers of all races and beliefs who wished to take advantage of the commercial roads that met in Aleppo from as far as China and Mesopotamia to the east, Europe to the west, and the Fertile Crescent and Egypt to the south. The largest covered souq-market in the world is in Aleppo, with an approximate length of .

''Al-Madina Souq'', as it is locally known, is an active trade centre for imported luxury goods, such as raw silk from Iran, spices and dyes from India, and coffee from Damascus. Souq al-Madina is also home to local products such as wool, agricultural products and Aleppo soap, soap. Most of the souqs date back to the 14th century and are named after various professions and crafts, hence the wool souq, the copper souq, and so on. Aside from trading, the souq accommodated the traders and their goods in ''khans'' (caravanserais) and scattered in the souq. Other types of small market-places were called ''caeserias'' (قيساريات). Caeserias are smaller than khans in their sizes and functioned as workshops for craftsmen. Most of the khans took their names after their location in the souq and function, and are characterized with their beautiful façades and entrances with fortified wooden doors.

The most significant khans within and along the covered area of Souq al-Madina are: ''Khan al-Qadi'' from 1450, ''Khan al-Saboun'' from the early 16th century, ''Khan al-Nahhaseen'' from 1539, ''Khan al-Shouneh'' from 1546, ''Khan al-Jumrok'' from 1574, ''Souq Khan al-Wazir'' from 1682, ''Souq al-Farrayin'', ''Souq al-Dira, ''Souq al-Hiraj'', ''Souq al-Attarine'', ''Souq az-Zirb'', ''Souq Marcopoli'', ''Souq as-Siyyagh'', ''The Venetians' Khan'',*''Souq Khan al-Harir'' from the second half of the 16th century, ''Suweiqa'', etc.

Other traditional souqs and khans in Jdeydeh quarter (outside the walled city):
*''Souq al-Hokedun'' or "Khan al-Quds". Hokedun means "the spiritual house" in Armenian language, Armenian, as it was built to serve as a settlement for the Armenian pilgrims on their way to Jerusalem. The old part of the Hokedun dates back to the late 15th and early 16th centuries while the newer part was built during the 17th century. Nowadays, it is turned into a big souq with a large number of stores specialized in garment trade.
*''Souq as-Souf'' or the wool market, located at Salibeh street, surrounded with the old churches of the quarter.
*''Bawabet al-Qasab'', a trade centre for wooden products.

Al-Madina Souq