Salamiyah

Salamiyah (Arabic: سلمية, romanized: Salamiyya; also transliterated Salamiyya, Salamieh or Salamya) is a city in central Syria, administratively part of the Hama Governorate. It is located 33 kilometres (21 miles) southeast of Hama, 45 kilometres (28 miles) northeast of Homs. Its inhabitants are predominantly Ismaili.

The city is the birthplace of Fatimid caliphal-Qa'im bi-Amr Allah, and was the early headquarters of his father Abdullah al-Mahdi Billah who founded the Fatimid Caliphate and Al-Mahdiyah in Tunisia. The city is an important center of the Shi'iteNizari Isma'ili and Taiyabi Isma'iliIslamic schools of Ismailism and also the birthplace of influential poet Muhammad al-Maghut. The population of the city is 66,724 (2004 census).