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al-Suqaylabiyah السقيلبية
Church of St. Peter & St. Paul in al-Suqaylabiyah, 2008
al-SuqaylabiyahLocation in Syria
Coordinates: 35°22′11″N 36°22′48″E / 35.36972°N 36.38000°E / 35.36972; 36.38000
Country	Syria
Governorate	Hama
District	Suqaylabiyah
Subdistrict	Suqaylabiyah
Control	Syrian transitional government
Population
• Total	13,920
Time zone	UTC+2 (EET)
• Summer (DST)	+3

Al-Suqaylabiyah (Arabic: السقيلبية, romanized: al-Suqaylabīya) is a city in northwestern Syria, administratively part of the Hama Governorate. It is located about 48 kilometers (30 mi) from Hama and overlooks the Ghab Valley. According to the 2004 official census, the town had a population of 13,920. In 2009, the population was recorded at around 20,000. Its inhabitants are largely Greek Orthodox Christians.

The city derives its name from Seleucia ad Belum, an ancient Seleucid city that was located in its vicinity. Modern al-Suqaylabiyah was established in the mid to late 19th century, during the late Ottoman period, by Greek Orthodox Christians from the villages of the Syrian coastal mountains, including many emigrants originally from the Hauran. Travelers in the c. 1880s made note of its prosperity. During the French Mandatory period (1920s–1943), it was a large village that grew quality wheat and, rare for the Hama region, its lands were owned by its residents rather than the urban elites of Hama.

Al-Suqaylabiyah developed significantly in the 1960s as a result of the land reclamation projects in the Ghab Valley and became the administrative center of the newly-formed Ghab District in 1964, attaining city status in the process. The city serves as a major agricultural and commercial center for its area, connecting communities in the coastal mountains with the major cities of Syria's interior plain.

Geography

The old center of al-Suqaylabiyah sits on a hill with an elevation of about 300 meters (980 ft) above sea level, located in the northwestern section of the Hama Governorate, about 48 kilometers (30 mi) from the governorate capital of Hama. The city overlooks the Ghab Valley and is a commercial center connecting the communities of the Syrian Coastal Mountain Range with the country's interior plains.

In its latest master plan, al-Suqaylabiyah consisted of over 450 hectares. Its districts or neighborhoods were the Old Town, Sahm al-Baydar, Sultaniya, al-Tell, al-Souq, al-Abra and Ayn al-Barada. Sahm al-Baydar is the largest district, lying to the city's south along the road to Hama. Sultaniya lies along the southwestern edge of al-Suqaylabiyah. The Old Town and al-Tell form the old center of the city and contain a number of archaeological remains, including Roman-era olive presses. Along the latter two districts' southern and southwestern edge is al-Souq ('the Market'), where residents of the surrounding communities sell their dairy and produce and buy goods. Most government offices, the public hospital and schools are located in the Abra district.

History

The name goes back to the ancient Seleucia ad Belum, a town of Hellenistic foundation that was located almost at the same place. The site was abandoned during the Middle Ages.

Ottoman period

According to an 1828/29 Ottoman tax record, al-Suqaylabiyah was a farm or hamlet consisting of 12 feddans. It was listed as a khirba (deserted or ruined village) in 1838.

The modern town was established at a later point in the 19th century by Greek Orthodox Christians who had emigrated from the Hauran region in southern Syria in the late 18th century to escape persecution by Ottoman authorities. The emigrants had first settled in Ayn al-Kurum, in the foothills of the largely Alawite-inhabited Coastal Mountain Range, before moving down to the site of al-Suqaylabiyah. The Hauranis were joined by several Christian families originally from the Coastal Mountain Range, including from the villages of Ayn al-Kurum, Maradash, Anab, Dabbash and Arnaba. According to a late 20th-century local authority, Ghaith al-Abdallah, the Christian emigrants of these villages had gathered and decided together to settle the tell (archaeological mound) of al-Suqaylabiyah, trading the high mountains, lush forests and hunting grounds, fertile gardens and copious springs of their original homes for the impregnability and strategic location of their new home.

During the 1860 civil conflict in Syria, local Bedouin tribes attacked al-Suqaylabiyah. In 1879, the German orientalist Eduard Sachau visited al-Suqaylabiyah during a tour of the Hama region and noted it was a Christian village crowning a flat, round hilltop. Its leader was Sheikh Rustum and the village contained 100 houses and 200 riflemen. The Swiss historian Max van Berchem was hosted by its sheikh in 1885 and he described al-Suqaylabiyah as a large Orthodox Christian village perched on a mound with a wealthy and prosperous appearance. The sheikh's house was described as being surrounded by huts which formed the outbuildings of his residence; the complex was enclosed by a high wall of beaten earth with a crennelated top. The sheikh who hosted van Berchem was likely Sheikh S'ayyid, one of the village's leaders at that time; the other was Sheikh Ilyas.

French Mandatory period

In 1921, during the north Syrian revolts against French rule (which began soon after the Ottomans were driven from Syria in 1918), the villagers of al-Suqaylabiyah resisted incursions and raids by local bands of rebels. The local historian Wasfi Zakariyya, writing in the 1920s, described al-Suqaylabiyah as a village of 2,000 people with white houses. Its inhabitants were Orthodox Christians belonging to the Church of Antioch and resembled their coastal mountaineer neighbors in their Arabic dialect, clothing and beauty. The quality of their wheat was locally acclaimed and its seeds were used by most of the wheat-growing villages of the Hama region. In 1933, al-Suqaylabiyah was a relatively large village of 3,400 inhabitants. It, along with the large Orthodox Christian villages of Mhardeh and Kafr Buhum and the Sunni Muslim village of Suran, were the only localities in Hama's kaza (district) whose lands were not owned by the feudal urban elites of Hama.

Post-Syrian independence

Syria became independent in 1946. Beginning around 1950 and accelerating after 1960, al-Suqaylabiyah underwent significant urban expansion, largely owing to the major drainage and land reclamation project in the Ghab Valley. In 1964, it was made the center of the new Ghab District (al-Suqaylabiyah District), transitioning from village to city status in the process. It was officially declared a city in 1967. The city was connected to the electric grid in 1965. In 1967, the first regulatory plan was issued for the city by the central government and the most recent master plan issued (as of 2009) was in 2003.

Just before Christmas 2024, it was reported that arsonists had set fire to the Christmas tree in the town.

Economy

A significant component of the population is engaged in agricultural production and the major crops are wheat, cotton, sugar beets, vegetables and legumes. The city's grain is processed in its own facilities, while its beets are sold through the sugar factory at Tell Salhab and its cotton is processed through the gins in Hama. Its poultry and fish farms serve the needs of the city and the surrounding villages. Other sources of employment include industry, trade and services. Before the civil war at least, al-Suqaylabiyah drew domestic and other Arab tourists attracted to its proximity to the Roman–Byzantine ruins of Apamea, the medieval castles of Qalaat al-Madiq and Abu Qubays, and the Nahr al-Bared springs. In 2009, the city had over 100 physicians, a 120-bed public hospital and two private hospitals: Al-Kindi and the Surgery and Obsetrics Hospital.

Places of worship

The main church in al-Suqaylabiyah is the Church of St. Peter and St. Paul in the Sultaniya neighborhood. It was built in the neo-Byzantine style in 1994 and has a capacity for 600 parishioners. There is also a monastery in the city, the Dormition of the Lady. In July 2020, the Syrian government announced a plan to build a replica of the Hagia Sophia in al-Suqaylabiyah with Russian assistance as a reaction to its transformation into a mosque by Turkish authorities. Two years later, in July 2022, a missile attack during the church inauguration ceremony claimed two lives and left a dozen others injured.

References

1. General Census of Population and Housing 2004. Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS). Hama Governorate. (in Arabic)
2. ^ Warda, Rameh (1 September 2009). ""السقيلبية".. مدينة المقاوم العنيد (Al-Suqaylabiyah: The City of Stubborn Resistance)". e-Syria (in Arabic). Retrieved 24 December 2024.
3. ^ Sultan, Nizar (15 October 2014). ""السقيلبية".. شعلة الغاب المتقدة بترانيم أجراسها (Al-Suqaylabiyah: The Burning Flame of the Ghab with the Chimes of its Bells)". e-Syria (in Arabic). Retrieved 24 December 2024.
4. Douwes 2000, p. 227.
5. Robinson & Smith 1841, p. 178.
6. ^ Comité de l'Asie française 1933, p. 132.
7. ^ Sabour 2023, p. 98.
8. Douwes 2000, p. 38.
9. Sabour 2023, p. 96.
10. Sabour 2023, pp. 96–97.
11. Sabour 2023, p. 97.
12. Sabour 2023, pp. 97–98.
13. Al-Dbiyat 1995, p. 226.
14. "Protests in Syria after Christmas tree set alight". BBC. Retrieved 2024-12-25.
15. "Église Saints Pierre et Paul (Mar Boulos wa boutros) d'El-Sqayilbiyé (Church of Saints Peter and Paul (Mar Boulos wa Boutros) of al-Suqaylabiyah)" (in French). Université de Balamand. 30 May 2011. Retrieved 29 December 2024.
16. "Russia to fund small-scale replica Hagia Sophia in Syria that will be used as a church". The Art Newspaper. 6 August 2020.
17. "سوريا.. قتلى وجرحى بقصف استهدف حفل افتتاح كنيسة آيا صوفي (Syria: Dead and wounded in bombing targeting the opening ceremony of the Hagia Sophia Church)". Alhurra (in Arabic). 24 July 2022.

Bibliography

• Comité de l'Asie française (April 1933). "Notes sur la propriété foncière dans le Syrie centrale (Notes on Landownership in Central Syria)". Bulletin du Comité de l'Asie française (in French). 33 (309). Comité de l'Asie française: 131–137.
• Al-Dbiyat, Mohammed (1995). Homs et Hama en Syrie centrale: Concurrence urbaine et développement régional (Homs and Hama in Central Syria: Urban Competition and Regional Development) (in French). Presses de l'Ifpo. ISBN 2-901315-26-7.
• Douwes, Dick (2000). The Ottomans in Syria: A History of Justice and Oppression. I.B. Tauris. ISBN 1860640311.
• Robinson, E.; Smith, E. (1841). Biblical Researches in Palestine, Mount Sinai and Arabia Petraea: A Journal of Travels in the year 1838. Vol. 3. Boston: Crocker & Brewster.
• Sabour, Bassam (2023). Genius loci der gebauten Umwelt in Syrien: Von der Kultur zur Architektur, dargestellt unter besonderer Verarbeitung traditioneller Beispiele aus der Region Ġāb (Genius Loci of the Built Environment in Syria: From Culture to Architecture, Presented with Special Processing of Traditional Examples from the Ghab Region) (in German). Darmstadt: WBG Academic. ISBN 978-3-534-40802-3.

v t e Cities and towns of Syria
Governorate centres	Aleppo Damascus Daraa Deir ez-Zor Hama al-Hasakah Homs Idlib Latakia Quneitra Raqqa Rif Dimashq Suwayda Tartus
District centres	Abu Kamal Afrin Ariha Atarib Ayn al-Arab Azaz al-Bab Baniyas Darayya Dayr Hafir Douma Duraykish Fiq al-Haffah Harem Izra' Jableh Jarabulus Jisr ash-Shughur Maarat al-Numaan al-Malikiyah Manbij Masyaf Mayadin Mhardeh al-Mukharram al-Foqani an-Nabk Palmyra Qamishli Qardaha Qatana Qudsaya al-Qusayr al-Qutayfah Ra's al-'Ayn al-Rastan as-Safira Safita Salamiyah Salkhad al-Sanamayn Shahba ash-Shaykh Badr al-Suqaylabiyah Talkalakh al-Tall Tell Abyad al-Thawrah Yabroud Zabadani
Sub-district centres	Abu Qilqil Abu al-Thuhur Akhtarin Amuda Arbeen Arima al-Ariqah al-Arishah Armanaz Arwad al-Asharah Assal al-Ward Awj Ayn al-Fijah Ayn Halaqim Ayn Issa Ayn al-Nasr Babbila Banan Barri Sharqi Beit Jinn Binnish Bir al-Helou Bosra Bulbul Busayrah Da'el al-Dana Darat Izza Darkush al-Darbasiyah Deir Atiyah al-Dimas al-Dumayr Furqlus Ghabaghib Ghandoura al-Ghariyah al-Ghizlaniyah al-Hader Hadidah al-Hajar al-Aswad al-Hajib Hajin al-Hamidiyah al-Hamraa Harasta Harbnafsah Harran al-Awamid al-Hirak Hish Hisyah al-Hawl Huraytan al-Huwash Ibbin Samaan Ihsim Jayrud al-Jalaa al-Janudiyah Jaramana al-Jarniyah Jasim al-Jawadiyah Jubb al-Jarrah Jubb Ramlah Jindires al-Jiza al-Qabu Kafr Batna Kafr Nabl Kafr Takharim Kafr Zita al-Karamah al-Kasrah Kessab al-Khafsah Khan Shaykhun Khasham Kirnaz Kuwayris Sharqi Khanaser Khirbet Ghazaleh Khirbet al-Tin Mahmoud al-Kiswah Ma'arrat Misrin Maabatli Maadan Maaloula Madaya Mahin Malah al-Malihah al-Mansurah Mare' Markada Mashta al-Helu Maskanah al-Masmiyah al-Mazraa Muhambal Muhasan al-Musayfirah al-Mushannaf Muzayrib al-Nashabiyah al-Nasirah Nawa Nubl al-Qadmus al-Qahtaniyah Qalaat al-Madiq Qarah al-Qaryatayn al-Qurayya Qurqania Rajo Rankus Rasm Harmil al-Imam al-Rai al-Riqama al-Ruhaybah al-Saan Saasaa Sabburah al-Sabe' Biyar al-Sabkhah Sadad Sahnaya Saidnaya Salqin Saraqib Sarmin Sarrin Sawran Sebei al-Shaddadah al-Shajara Shaqqa Sharran Shathah Shaykh al-Hadid al-Shaykh Maskin Shayukh Tahtani Shin Sinjar Sirghaya Slinfah Suluk al-Surah al-Saghirah al-Suwar Suran al-Susah al-Sukhnah al-Tabni Talbiseh Taldou al-Tamanah Tasil Tell al-Daman Tell Hamis Tell Rifaat Tell Salhab Tell Tamer Tedef Thiban Uqayribat Urum al-Kubra Wadi al-Oyun al-Yaarubiyah al-Zirbah az-Ziyarah

v t e Hama Governorate
Hama District Hama Subdistrict Hama Abu Dardah Abu Mansaf Adabas al-Alamein Amarat Aslan Arzah Awja al-Janah Ayyo Bahra Bayad Besirin al-Buraq Billin al-Daminah Ghawr al-Assi al-Hashimiyah Hawayiz Umm Jurn Hawir al-Salib Jajiyah Jarjara Jarjisa Jibrin Jinan Jumaqliyah Juziyah Kafraa Kafr Amim Kafr Buhum Kafr al-Tun Kassun al-Jabal al-Khula al-Khalidiyah Khitab Maar Daftein Maarin al-Jabal Maar Shuhur al-Mubattan Madbaa Maqtaa al-Hajar Matnin Mubarakat Muraywid al-Narjis al-Nazaza Qamhana Qubaybat al-Assi al-Rabiaa Raabun al-Ruqaita Safinah Samrah Sawa Shihat Hama Shiraaya Surayhin Suwak al-Shamali al-Suwayda al-Gharbiyah al-Suwayda al-Sharqiyah Taqsis Tayzin Tishrin Tuwaym Tell al-Nahr Tell Qartal Umm al-Amad Umm al-Tuyour Zabada Zor Abu Dardah Zor al-Sarmiyah Zor Taqsis Hirbnafsah Subdistrict Hirbnafsah Aqrab Akrad Ibrahim Baja Birin Bisin al-Biyah Bulous Deir al-Fardis al-Humayri Jidrin al-Jafiah Kafr Qadah Khirbet Aref Khirbet al-Jami Khirbet al-Qasr al-Muah Musa al-Houla Qufaylun al-Rawda Suma'ah Talaf al-Tulaysiyah al-Janubiyah Toumin Zara'a Suran Subdistrict Suran Atshan Buwaydah Fan Shamali al-Junaynah Kawkab Khafsin Khirbet al-Hajama Lahaya Maardis Maarkaba Ma'an Masasneh Murak Qasr Abu Samrah Qasr al-Makhram Qubaybat Abu al-Huda Shatheh Taybat al-Imam Taybat al-Ism al-Tulaysiyah Umm Haratayn Zor Abu Zayd Zor al-Haysa al-Sharqiyah Hamraa Subdistrict Al-Hamraa Abu Ajwa al-Ala al-Anz Arfa Aziziyah Baroudiyah Bayud Dali Duma Fayda Halabiyah Huways Ibn Hadib Haymaniyah al-Hazim Janat al-Sawarnah Jubb al-Uthman Jubb al-Safa Junaynah Jadduah Shamaliyah Kharsan Maaloula Muwaylah al-Sirwana Maar Shamali Qanater Qasr Ali Qasr Ibn Wardan Rabda Rasm Anz Rasm al-Daheriyah Rasm al-Ward Ruhayyah Shihat al-Hamraa al-Samaqiyah al-Qibliyah Suruj Tarfawi Tharwat Tulayhat Tuwal Dabaghin Umm Habes Umm Turaykat al-Qibliyah Umm Zahmak al-Zughbah
Al-Suqaylabiyah District Al-Suqaylabiyah Subdistrict Al-Suqaylabiyah Abr Bayt Sayf Abu Klifun Ammurin Anab Ayn al-Kurum Ayn Waridah Ballunah Breij al-Hurra Hawrat Ammurin Hayalin Jurniyat al-Tar Karamah al-Khandaq al-Gharbi al-Khandaq al-Sharqiyah Khansaa Maksar Mashta' al-Shalahmah Nabi al-Tib Qalaat Jaras Rawdat al-Tar al-Rihana Saidiyah Salba Saqiyat Najm Shahta al-Shajar Tahunat al-Halawa Tell Kumbatri Tell al-Titeen Uwaynah Shathah Subdistrict Shathah Ayn Jurjin Farikah Haydariyah Jubb al-Ghar Jurin Mashta Mahfuz Maradash Na'ur Jurin Nubl al-Khatib Qatrat al-Rihan Rihana Tell Salhab Subdistrict Tell Salhab Abu Qubays Abu Faraj Al-Asharinah Birat al-Jabal Ayn al-Jurn Hawayeq Hawr al-Mawsil Kanayes al-Kashati Khareb al-Latma Mazhal Nahr al-Bared Ras al-Jurn Tamaza Tubah Ziyarah Subdistrict Al-Ziyarah al-Amara al-Amqiyah Tahta al-Ankawi Awja al-Tuba al-Bahsa Barakah Duqmaq Duwayr al-Akrad Ayn al-Hamaam Fawru Khirbet al-Naqus Mansura Maarana Mashik al-Qahira Qarqur Qastal al-Burayj Qastun Qulaydin al-Safsafa Sirmaniyah al-Sindiyana Tell Wasit Zayzun al-Zaqum Qalaat al-Madiq Subdistrict Qalaat al-Madiq Ashrafiyah al-Bani al-Aziziyah Bab al-Taqa al-Barid Deir Sunbul al-Huwayz al-Huwayz al-Shamali al-Hamra al-Hawash al-Humayrat al-Hurriyah Hawijah Fauqa Hawijah Sayyad Hawijat al-Sallah Jamasat Udayat al-Jayyid Kafr Nabudah al-Karim Kawri al-Kurkat Mastarihat Afamiyah Midan Ghazal Qabr Fidda al-Qahirah Qiratah al-Ramlah al-Rasif Salihiyah Sahariyah Shahranaz al-Sha'irah Tell Huwash Tamana al-Ghab al-Thuwarah al-Tuwayni al-Zitiyah
Masyaf District Masyaf Subdistrict Masyaf Anbura al-Bayda al-Bayyadiyah Biqraqa al-Bustan Biqasqas Deir Huwayt Deir Mama Deir al-Salib al-Findara Hayalin al-Haylunah al-Hurayf Jobet Kalakh Kafr Aqid al-Laqbah Mashta Deir Mama Matna al-Nahda Qabu Shamsiyah Qayrun Qurtuman Rabu al-Rusafa al-Shamsiyah al-Shiha Sighata al-Suwaydah Tayr Jamlah Tayr Jubbah Tell Afar al-Zamaliyah al-Zaynah Awj Subdistrict Awj Akakir Baarin Bishanin Huwayr al-Turukman Kafr Kamra Khirbet Nisaf Khanazir Nisaf Qarmas Qasraya Ta'unah Zor Baarin Ayn Halaqim Subdistrict Ain Halaqim Ayn al-Shams Aq Duqar Asheq Omar Ba'amrah Barshin Bayt Atiq Bayt Natar al-Dulaybah Hermel Hikr Bayt Atiq Kahf al-Habash Khirbet Hazur al-Majawi al-Mashrafah Qasr al-Ayan Tin al-Sabil Jubb Ramlah Subdistrict Jubb Ramlah Alamiyah Asilah Deir Shamil Dimu Hanjur Hizanu Julaymadun Jarajis Kanafu Khan Jalaymadun Maarin Mahrusah Mushashin Qurayyat Qurin Sarmiyah Sulukiyah Uqayrabah Zahraa Zawi Wadi al-Uyun Subdistrict Wadi al-Uyun Ammuriyah Ayn al-Bayda Ayn Farraj Ayn al-Karam Bashawi Bayt Raqata Barayzah Bir al-Wadi Birat al-Jurd Duwayr al-Mashayekh Jabita Kafr Laha Kamaliyah Marha Maysara Naqir Qussiyah al-Sindiyana Tamarqiyah Zaytuna
Mahardah District Mahardah Subdistrict Mahardah Abu Ubaydah Abu Rubays al-Arid Halfaya Huwat al-Judaydah Kafr Hud Khirbet Subin Khunayzir Maarzaf (al-Qubeir) al-Majdal Shaizar Shir Safsafiyah Tell Malah Tell Sikkin Tremseh Zilaqiat Zawr al-Qaadah Kafr Zita Subdistrict Kafr Zita Arba'in Hamamiyat Latmin al-Sayyad al-Zakah Karnaz Subdistrict Karnaz al-Asman al-Jalamah Jubbayn al-Lataminah al-Mughayr Shaykh Hadid
Salamiyah District Salamiyah Subdistrict Salamiyah Ali Kasun Bardunah Buwaydah Dunaybah Danin Duwaybah Fan Qibli Fan Wastani al-Ghawi Halban Jamala al-Kafat Karim Khafiyah Khunayfis Kaytalun al-Malih Marj Mattar Nawa Qablahat Qubbat al-Kurdi al-Rubbah al-Sabil Safawi Samnah Shakara Shaykh Ali Sibaa Shaykh Rih Smakh Sunaydah Tell Ada Tell Dahab Tell Hasan Basha Tell Khaznah Tell Sinan Taldara Tirad Thawra Thayl al-Jal Tiba al-Turki Tuba Tulul al-Humur Umm al-Amad Umm Tuwaynah al-Uwayr Zighrin Barri Subdistrict Barri Sharqi Abu Hanaya Abu Habilat Akash Arshunah Barri al-Gharbi Furaytan al-Hardanah al-Khurayjah Mafkar Salam Gharbi Tell al-Tut Tell Jadid Umm Mil Sabburah Subdistrict Sabburah Abu Khanadiq Aqarib Fawrah al-Judaydah Jadduah Jubb Zurayq Jissin Khunayfis al-Dawsa Mabujah Qanafath Qubaybat Salba Samiriyah Shahba Shuhayb Tell Abd al-Aziz Tell al-Ghir Tell al-Shih Umm Khurayzah Uqayribat Subdistrict Uqayribat Abu Dali Abu Hakfa Abu al-Fashafish Bustan al-Subeih Dakhilah Hamada al-Omar Hanutah Haddaj Jani al-Albawi Jubb Abyad Jubb Dakhilah Jayruh Makhbuta Masud Mashrafah Na'imiyah Makaymin Shamali Qastal Rasm al-Abid Rasm Elahmar Rasm al-Bardakana Ruwaydah Suha Tabara al-Hamra Tahmaz Saan Subdistrict Al-Saan Abu Hurayk Abu al-Ghor Abu al-Qusur Amya Aniq Bajra Awja–Qabasin al-Arab al-Ayah Baghadid Harat al-Sharqiyah Hasu al-Qiblawi Ithriya Jakuziyah Jubb Khasara Makharib Mawilah Rahjan Rasm al-Ahmar Rasm Amun Sarha Shaykh Hilal al-Suwayah Umm Mayal

• 19th-century establishments in Ottoman Syria
• Cities in Syria
• Populated places established in the 19th century
• Populated places in al-Ghab Plain
• Populated places in al-Suqaylabiyah District
• Eastern Orthodox Christian communities in Syria