Hama

Hama حماة
Hama
Hama Location in Syria
Coordinates: 35°08′N 36°45′E / 35.133°N 36.750°E / 35.133; 36.750
Country	Syria
Governorate	Hama
District	Hama
Subdistrict	Hama
Government
• Governor	Abdul Razzaq al-Qutainy
Population (2004 census)
• Total	312,994[1]
• Ethnicities	Arab
• Religions	Sunni Muslim Greek Orthodox Christian
Area code(s)	33
Website	www.ehama.sy

Hama (Arabic: حماة‎ Ḥamāh [ħaˈmaː], Biblical Ḥamāth, "fortress") is a city on the banks of the Orontes River in west-central Syria. It is located 213 kilometres (132 mi) north of Damascus and 46 kilometres (29 mi) north of Homs. It is the provincial capital of the Hama Governorate. With a population of 854,000 (2009 census), Hama is the fourth-largest city in Syria after Aleppo, Damascus and Homs.^[2][3]

The city is renowned for its seventeen norias used for watering the gardens, which are locally claimed to date back to 1100 BC. Though historically used for purpose of irrigation, the norias exist today as an almost entirely aesthetic traditional show.

In the last decades, the city of Hama has become known as a center of the anti-Ba'ath opposition in Syria, most notably the Muslim Brotherhood. The city was raided by the Syrian Army, beginning with the 1964 Islamic uprising, and becoming the scene of carnage during the Islamic uprising in Syria in April 1981 and especially in 1982, when nearly 25,000 people were killed in what became known as Hama massacre. The city was once again the site of conflict between the Syrian military and opposition forces, as one of the main arenas of the Syrian civil war in 2011 and 2012.

History

Ancient era

An alley in Old Hama

The ancient settlement of Hamath was occupied from the early Neolithic to the Iron Age. The site is inside a tight curve of the Orontes, which made it relatively easy to defend, and was the original place of the settlement; later on, as the town grew beyond it, the mound became the military center of Hama.^[4] Remains from the Chalcolithic era have been uncovered by Danish archaeologists on the mount on which the former citadel once stood.^[4] The excavation took place between 1931 and 1938 under the direction of Harald Ingholt. The stratigraphy is very generalized, which makes detailed comparison to other sites difficult. Level M (6 m or 20 ft thick) contained both white ware (lime-plaster) and true pottery. It may be contemporary with Ras Shamra V (6000–5000 BC). The overlying level L dates to the Chalcolithic Halaf-period.

Amorite period and the Mittanni

The Amorite people colonized the area during the third millennium BC. The Amorites came from Mari on the River Euphrates, some 250 miles (400 km) to the east of Hama, and they colonized many parts of what is now Syria and Iraq.^[4]

Although the town appears to be unmentioned in cuneiform sources before the first millennium BC,^[5] the site appears to have enjoyed great prosperty around 1500 BC, during which time it was presumably an Amorite dependency of Mittanni, an empire along the Euphrates in northeastern Syria.^[4] Mitanni was subsequently overthrown by the Hittites, who controlled all of northern Syria following the famous Battle of Kadesh against the Egyptians under Ramses II near Homs in 1285.

In early 19th century, Burckhardt was the first to discover Hittite or Luwian hieroglyphic script at Hama.^[6]

The site also shows Assyrian and Aramaean settlement.^[4]

Neo-Hittites

By the turn of the millennium, the centralized old Hittite Empire had fallen, and Hama is attested as the capital of a prosperous Aramaean neo-Hittite kingdom known from the Hebrew Bible as Hamath (Aramaic: Ḥmt; Hittite: Amatuwana;^[5] Hebrew: חֲמָת, Ḥmṯ), which traded extensively, particularly with Israel and Judah.^[7] The Aramaean and Hittite peoples lived comparatively peacefully, co-existing with other states in the region, such as Carchemish.^[4] The most significant of all the Aramaean states was Damascus, which became the leader of a federation of Aramaic states, of which Hamath was a member. Gradually Aramaic became the most widely used language of the Near East.

Assyrian inscriptions

When the Assyrian king Shalmaneser III (BC 858-824) conquered the north of Syria he reached Hamath (Assyrian: Amat or Hamata)^[5] in 835 BC; this marks the beginning of Assyrian inscriptions relating to the kingdom.^[8] Irhuleni of Hamath and Im-idri of Aram (biblical Bar-Hadad) led a coalition of Syrian cities against the encroaching Assyrian armies. According to Assyrian sources, they were confronted by 4,000 chariots, 2,000 horsemen, 62,000-foot-soldiers and 1,000 Arab camel-riders in the Battle of Qarqar. The Assyrian victory seems to have been more of a draw, although Shalmaneser III continued on to the shore and even took a ship to open sea. In the following years, Shalmaneser III failed to conquer Hamath or Aram. After the death of Shalmaneser III, the former allies Hamath and Aram fell out, and Aram seems to have taken over some of Hamath's territory.

An Aramaic inscription of Zakir, dual king of Hamath and La'ash, tells of an attack by a coalition including Sam'al under Ben-Hadad III, son of Hasael, king of Aram. Zakir was besieged in his fortress of Hazrak, but saved by intervention of the God Be'elschamen. Later on, Ja'udi-Sam'al came to rule both Hamath and Aram.

In 743 BC, Tiglath-Pileser III took a number of towns in the territory of Hamath, distributed the territories among his generals, and forcibly removed 1223 selected inhabitants to the Upper Tigris valley; he exacted tribute from Hamath's king, Eni-Îlu (Eniel).

In 738 BC, Hamath is listed among the cities again conquered by Assyrian troops. Over 30,000 natives were deported to Ullaba and replaced with captives from the Zagros.^[5]

After the fall of the northern kingdom of Israel, Hamath's king Ilu-Bi'di (Jau-Bi'di) led a failed revolt of the newly organized Assyrian provinces of Arpad, Simirra, Damascus, and Samara. It was this revolt which led to the deportation of the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel.

Destruction under Sargon II

Styling himself "Destroyer of Hamath," Sargon II razed the city ca 720 BCE,^[9] recolonized it with 6,300 Assyrians and removed its king to be flayed alive in Assyria.^[5] He also carried off to Nimrud the ivory-adorned furnishings of its kings^[10]

The conquests of the New Assyrian Empire eventually stretched over most of the Near East up to the Mediterranean coast. However, their empire fell, when in 612 an allied army of Babylonians and Medes captured Nineveh, the Assyrian capital. The Assyrians were replaced briefly by the Babylonians as the rulers of Syria, but by about 540 Hama, like the rest of Syria, was part of the Persian Empire.^[11]

Hama in the Bible

The few Biblical reports state that Hamath was the capital of a Canaanite kingdom (Genesis 10:18; 2 Kings 23:33; 24:21), whose king congratulated King David on his victory over Hadadezer, king of Zobah (2 Samuel 8:9-11; 1 Chronicles 18:9-11). Solomon, it would seem, took possession of Hamath and its territory and built store cities.^[12] Assyria's defeat of Hamath made a profound impression on Isaiah.^[13] The prophet Amos called the town "Hamath the Great."^[14] Indeed, the name appears to stem from Phoenician khamat, "fort."^[15]

Hellenistic and Roman history

Aqueduct in Epiphania

In the second half of the 4th century BC the modern region of Syria came under the influence of Greco-Roman culture, following long lasting semitic and Persian cultures. Alexander the Great's campaign from 334 to 323 BC brought Syria under Hellenic rule. Since the country lay on the trade routes from Asia to Greece, Hama, and many other Syrian cities, again grew rich through trade. After the death of Alexander the Great his Near East conquests were divided between his generals, and Seleucus Nicator became ruler of Syria and the founder of the Seleucid dynasty. Under the Seleucids there was a revival in the fortunes of Hama. The Aramaeans were allowed to return to the city, which was renamed Epiphania^[5] (in Greek: Επιφανεία), after the Seleucid Emperor Antiochus IV Epiphanes. Seleucid rule began to decline, however, in the next two centuries, and Arab dynasties began to gain control of cities in this part of Syria, including Hama.^[11]

The Romans took over original settlements such as Hama and made them their own. They met little resistance when they invaded Syria under Pompey and annexed it in 64 BC, whereupon Hama became part of the Roman province of Syria, ruled from Rome by a proconsul. Hama was an important city during the Greek and Roman periods, but very little archaeological evidence remains.^[11]

In AD 330, the capital of the Roman Empire was moved to Byzantium, and the city continued to prosper. In Byzantine days Hama was known as Emath or Emathoùs (Εμαθούς in Greek). Roman rule from Byzantium meant the Christian religion was strengthened throughout the Near East, and churches were built in Hama and other cities. The Byzantine historian John of Epiphania was born in Hama in the 6th century.^[11]

Muslim rule

Nur al-Din Mosque

During the Muslim conquest of Syria in the 7th century, Hama was conquered by Abu Ubaidah ibn al-Jarrah in 638 or 639 and the town regained its ancient name, and has since retained it. Following its capture, it came under the administration of Jund Hims and remained so throughout the rule of Umayyads until the 9th century.^[16] The Umayyads built the Great Mosque in Hama in the early 8th century and modelled it on the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus.^[11]

Arab geographer al-Muqaddasi writes Hama became a part of Jund Qinnasrin during Abbasid rule.^[17] Although the city's history is obscure at this time period, it is known that Hama was a walled market town with a ring of outlying cities. It came under the control of the Hamdanid rulers of Aleppo in the 10th century and was consequently drawn into the orbit of that city where it remained until the 12th century.^[16] These were considered the "dark years" of Hama as the local rulers of northern and southern Syria struggled for dominance in the region. The Byzantines under emperor Nicephorus Phocas raided the town in 968 and burned the Great Mosque. By the 11th century, the Fatimids gained suzerainty over northern Syria and during this period, the Mirdasids sacked Hama.^[16] Persian geographer Nasir Khusraw noted in 1047 that Hama was "well populated" and stood on the banks of the Orontes River.^[18]

Tancred, Prince of Galilee, took it in 1108, but in 1114 the Crusaders lost it definitively to the Seljuks. In 1157 an earthquake shattered the city.^[19] For the next sixty years, Hama was battled for by competing rulers. Nur al-Din, the Zengid sultan, erected a mosque with a tall, square minaret in the city in 1172.^[20] In 1175, Hama was taken from the Zengids by Saladin. He granted the city to his nephew, al-Muzaffar Umar, four years later, putting it under the rule of his Ayyubid family. This ushered in an era of stability and prosperity in Hama as the Ayyubids ruled it almost continuously until 1342.^[16] Geographer Yaqut al-Hamawi, who was born in Hama, described it in 1225 as a large town surrounded by a strongly built wall.^[21] Hama was sacked by the Mongols in 1260, as were most other Syrian cities, but the Mongols were defeated that same year and then again in 1303 by the Mamluks who succeeded the Ayyubids as rulers of the region.^[11] Hama briefly passed to Mamluk control in 1299 after the death of governor al-Mansur Mahmoud II. However, unlike other former Ayyubid cities, the Mamluks reinstated Ayyubid rule in Hama by making Abu al-Fida, the historian and geographer, governor of the city and he reigned from 1310 to 1332.^[16] He described his city as "very ancient... mentioned in the book of the Israelites. It is one of the pleasantest places in Syria."^[22] After his death, he was succeeded by his son al-Afdal Muhammad who eventually lost Mamluk favor and was deposed. Thus, Hama came under direct Mamluk control.^[16]

Hama grew prosperous during the Ayyubid period, as well as the Mamluk period. It gradually expanded to both banks of the Orontes River, with the suburb on the right bank being connected to the town proper by a newly built bridge. The town on the left bank was divided into upper and lower parts, each of which was surrounded by a wall. The city was filled with palaces, markets, mosques, madrasas, and a hospital, and over thirty different sized norias (water-wheels). In addition, there stood a massive citadel in Hama.^[16] It was during Mamluk rule that many of the norias, initially started during the rule of the Ayyubid dynasty, were reconditioned and enlarged, and their numbers increased. Currently, only seventeen norias remain, unused. Aqueducts and other channeling systems were built to take water from the river and use it to irrigate nearby fields.^[11] Moreover, a special aqueduct brought drinking water to Hama from the neighboring town of Salamiyah.^[16]

Ibn Battuta visited Hama in 1335 and remarked that the Orontes River made the city "pleasant to live in, with its many gardens full of trees and fruits." He also speaks of a large suburb called al-Mansuriyyah (named after an Ayyubid emir) that contained "a fine market, a mosque, and bathes."^[22] In 1400, Timurlane conquered Hama, along with nearby Homs and Baalbek.^[23]

Ottoman rule

The Azem Palace in Hama was built in 1742

The prosperous period of Mamluk rule came to an end in 1516, when the Ottoman Turks conquered Syria from the Mamluks after defeating them at the Battle of Marj Dabiq near Aleppo. Hama, and the rest of Syria, came under Ottoman rule from Constantinople.^[24] Under the Ottomans, Hama gradually became more important in the administrative structure of the region. It was first made capital of one of the liwas ("districts") of the vilayet ("province") of Tripoli.^[16] Hama once again became an important center for trade routes running east from the Mediterranean coast into Asia. A number of khans ("caravansaries"s) were built in the city, like Khan Rustum Pasha which dates from 1556. Syria was later divided into three governorships and Hama was ruled by the governorship based at Aleppo.^[24]

Then in the 18th century, it became a part of the holdings of the governor of Damascus.^[16] The governors of Damascus at this time were the Azems, who also ruled other parts of Syria, for the Ottomans. They erected sumptuous residences in Hama, including the Azem Palace and Khan As'ad Pasha which were built by As'ad Pasha al-Azem, who governed Hama for a number of years until 1742.^[24] By then, there were 14 caravansaries in the city, mostly used for the storage and distribution of seeds, cotton, wool, and other commodities.^[25] After the passing of the Vilayet Law in 1864, Hama became the capital of the Sanjak of Hama (gaining the city more administrative powers), part of the larger vilayet of Sham.^[16]

Colonial rule and independence

General view

The clock tower of Hama

Ottoman rule ended in 1918, after their defeat in World War I to the Allied Forces. Hama was made part of the French Mandate of Syria. By then, Hama had developed into what it has remained: a medium-sized provincial town, important as the market for an agricultural area abundant in cereals, but also cotton and sugar beets. It gained notoriety as the center of large estates worked by peasants and dominated by a few magnate families.

During the French Mandate, the district of Hama contained within its bounds the municipality of Hama and 114 villages. By an estimate in 1930, only four of these villages were owned outright by local cultivators, while sharing ownership of two villages with a notable family. Thus, the hinterland was owned by landowning elites.^[26] Starting in the late 1940s, significant class conflict erupted as agricultural workers sought reform in Hama.

Syria gained full independence from France in 1946. Akram al-Hawrani, a member of an impoverished notable family in Hama, began to agitate for land reform and better social conditions. He made Hama the base of his Arab Socialist Party, which later merged with another socialist party, the Ba'ath. This party's ascent to power in 1963 signaled the end of power for the landowning elite.

Ba'athist rule 1963-today

Political insurgency by Sunni Islamic groups, particularly the Muslim Brotherhood, occurred in the city, which was reputed as a stronghold of conservative Sunni Islam. As early as the spring of 1964, Hama became the epicenter of an uprising by conservative forces, encouraged by speeches from mosque preachers, denouncing the policies of the Ba'ath. The Syrian government sent tanks and troops into the quarters of Hama's old city to put down the insurrection.^[26]

In the early 1980s, Hama had emerged as a major source of opposition to the Ba'ath regime during the Sunni Islamist uprising, which had begun in 1976. The city was a focal point for bloody events in the 1981 massacre and the most notable 1982 Hama massacre.^[27] The most serious insurrection of the Syrian Islamic uprising happened in Hama during February 1982, when Government forces, led by the president's brother, Rifaat al-Assad, quelled the revolt in Hama with very harsh means.^[28] Tanks and artillery shelled the neighbourhoods held by the insurgents indiscriminately, and government forces are alleged to have executed thousands of prisoners and civilian residents after subduing the revolt, which became known as the Hama massacre. The story is suppressed and regarded as highly sensitive in Syria.^[29]

Wikinews has related news: More than 100 reported dead after Syrian troops move against protesters

Syrian civil war

In summer 2011, the city became one of the main opposition centers in the early days of the uprising taking place in Syria as part of the Arab Spring. An armed blockade was imposed on the town on 3 July, when more than 50 people were killed and hundreds injured.

Climate

It's climate is classified as hot semi-arid (BSh) in Köppen-Geiger system.^[31] Hama's inland location ensures that it receives no softening costal influences and breezes from the Mediterranean Sea. As a result, the city has a much hotter and dryer climate than nearby Homs.

Demographics

A Greek Orthodox church.

According to Josiah C. Russel, during the 12th century, Hama had a population of 6,750.^[32] In 1932, while Hama was under the French Mandate, there were approximately 50,000 residents. In the 1960 census, there were 110,000 inhabitants. The population continued to rise, reaching 180,000 in 1978 and 273,000 in 1994.^[33] The infant mortality rate per 1,000 live births in the Hama Governorate was 99.4.^[34] A 2005 estimate had Hama's population at around 325,000 inhabitants.^[35]

Most of the residents are Sunni Muslims, although some districts of the city are exclusively Christian.^[35] Hama is reputed to be the most conservative Sunni Muslim city in Syria since French Mandate times. During that period there was an old saying reflecting this characteristic: "In Damascus, it takes only three men to make a political demonstration, while in Hama it takes only three men to get the town to pray."^[26] The Christian population mostly adheres to the Greek Orthodox Church or the Syriac Orthodox Church.^[36]

Ecclesiastical status

The Greek Orthodox Church has a prelacy in Hama under the Patriarch of Antioch.^[36] Hama is still a Roman Catholic titular see (referred to as "Hamath" or Amath"), suffragan of Apamea. It is as "Epiphania" that it is best known in ecclesiastical documents. Lequien mentions nine Greek bishops of Epiphania.^[37] The first of them, whom he calls Mauritius, is the Manikeios whose signature appears in the First Council of Nicaea.^[38] Currently, it has two Catholic archbishops, a Greek Melkite and a Syrian, the former residing at Labroud, the latter at Homs, reuniting the titles of Homs (Emesus) and Hamah.^[39]

Main sights

The Orontes River and Norias of Hama.

Hama's most famous attractions are the 17 Norias of Hama (Arabic: نواعير حماة‎), dating back to the Byzantine times. Fed by the Orontes river, they are up to 20 metres (66 ft) in diameter. The largest norias are the al-Mamunye (1453) and the al-Muhammediye (14th century). Originally they were used to route water into aqueducts, which led into the town and the neighbouring agricultural areas.

Other sights include:

• the museum, housed in an 18th-century Ottoman governor residence (Azem Palace). Remains in the exhibition include a precious Roman mosaic from the nearby village of Mariamin (4th century AD)
• al-Nuri mosque, finished in 1163 by Nur ad-Din after the earthquake of 1157. Notable is the minaret.
• The small Mamluk al-Izzi mosque (15th century)
• The mosque and Mausoleum of Abu al-Fida, a celebrated Arab historian who was also governor of the city.
• al-Hasanain mosque, also rebuilt by Nur ad-Din after the aforementioned earthquake.
• The Great Mosque. Destroyed in the 1982 bombardment, it has been rebuilt in its original forms. It has elements dating from the ancient and Christian structures existing in the same location. It has two minarets, and is preceded by a portico with an elevated treasury.

See also

	Sound of a noria Sound of a noria
Problems playing this file? See media help.

• Outline of Syria
• Cities of the ancient Near East
• Hama massacre
• Short chronology timeline

References

Bibliography

Further reading

• P. J. Riis/V. Poulsen, Hama: fouilles et recherches 1931–1938 (Copenhagen 1957).

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Hama (category)

• The Official City's Group on facebook (Arabic) – (English)
• e.sy Governmental online services
• Official site of Hama governorate (Arabic)
• Hama city community on the net (Arabic)

Coordinates: 35°08′N 36°45′E / 35.133°N 36.750°E / 35.133; 36.750

v t e Syrian Civil War Part of the Arab Spring   Background Timeline Background 1963 coup d'état 1966 coup d'état 1970 "Corrective Revolution" 1979–82 Islamic uprising 1999 Latakia protests 2000–01 Damascus Spring 2004 al-Qamishli riots 2005 Damascus Declaration Human rights in Syria Timeline 2011 January–April May–August September–December 2012 January–April May–August September–December 2013 January–April May 2013–present   Events 2011 Death of Hamza Ali Al-Khateeb Siege of Daraa Siege of Baniyas Talkalakh siege Siege of Rastan and Talbiseh Jisr ash-Shugur operation Siege of Hama Siege of Homs Jabal al-Zawiya operation Siege of Latakia Deir ez-Zor clashes Rif Dimashq clashes Battle of Zabadani Battle of Douma Daraa Governorate clashes First Battle of Rastan Shayrat and Tiyas airbase ambush Idlib Governorate clashes Jabal al-Zawiya massacres 2012 al-Midan bombing Second Battle of Rastan First Idlib operation Battle of Idlib First Battle of al-Qusayr Second Idlib operation Battle of Taftanaz Third Battle of Rastan Houla massacre Battle of al-Haffah Al-Qubeir massacre Battle of Tremseh Battle of Damascus Damascus bombing Battle of Aleppo Battle of Anadan Siege of Base 46 First Rif Dimashq offensive Darayya massacre Battle of Khirbet al-Joz Battle of Maarrat al-Nu'man Siege of Wadi Deif Battle of Harem Second Rif Dimashq offensive Battle of Darayya Aqrab massacre First Hama offensive Halfaya massacre Battle of Darayya Quneitra Governorate clashes 2013 Battle of Safira Battle of Shadadeh Damascus offensive Battle of Raqqa Daraa offensive Third Rif Dimashq offensive Battle of Jdaidet al-Fadl Ghouta attacks Al-Qusayr offensive Second Battle of al-Qusayr Bayda and Baniyas massacres Second Hama offensive Hatla massacre Khan al-Assal massacre Adra massacre Battle of Ras al-Ayn Fourth Rif Dimashq offensive International Spillover into Lebanon Syrian-Turkish border clashes Turkish aircraft shootdown Akashat ambush   Parties involved Government Syrian Armed Forces Militias National Defense Force Jaysh al-Sha'bi al-Abbas Brigade Lijan militias Syrian Resistance PFLP-GC External support Basij (Iran) Hezbollah (Lebanon) Houthis (Yemen) Revolutionary Guards (Iran) Opposition Paramilitaries Free Syrian Army Islamic Front Al-Nusra Front Jaish al-Muhajireen wal-Ansar Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant Army of Mujahedeen Syria Revolutionaries Front Smaller groups Foreign fighters Political groups National Coalition Local Co-ordination Committees Syrian National Council Supreme Council of the Syrian Revolution National Coordination Committee for Democratic Change Syrian Revolution General Commission Doctors Coordinate of Damascus Syrian Support Group Adopt a Revolution Kurds Kurdish Supreme Committee Democratic Union Party Kurdish National Council People's Protection Units Jabhat al-Akrad Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union Assyrians / Syriacs Syriac Military Council Sutoro   People Ammar Abdulhamid Ali al-Abdallah Adnan al-Aroor al-Assad family Bashar Maher Rifaat Rami Makhlouf Hafez Makhlouf Riad al-Asaad Anwar al-Bunni Fahd Jassem al-Freij Haitham al-Maleh Moaz al-Khatib Kamal al-Labwani Hamza al-Khateeb Tal al-Mallohi Fida al-Sayed Riad al-Turk Ammar al-Qurabi Suheir Atassi Ali Sadreddine Al-Bayanouni Aref Dalila Farid Ghadry Burhan Ghalioun Razan Ghazzawi Ghassan Hitto Salim Idris Randa Kassis Abdul Halim Khaddam Michel Kilo Bassma Kodmani Ali Habib Mahmud Ali Mahmoud Othman Ibrahim Qashoush Dawoud Rajiha Yassin al-Haj Saleh Bouthaina Shaaban Adib Shishakly Abdulbaset Sieda Riad Seif Fadwa Soliman Mohamad Anas Haitham Soueid Yaser Tabbara Razan Zaitouneh Rami Jarrah   Issues Peace initiatives Related topics Issues Casualties Chemical weapons Cities and towns Damaged heritage sites Foreign involvement Human rights violations Humanitarian aid International reactions / protests Massacres Refugees Sectarianism and minorities Spillover into Lebanon Syrian reactions Peace initiatives Arab League monitors Friends of Syria Group Kofi Annan peace plan UN Supervision Mission Lakhdar Brahimi peace plan US-Russia Syria peace proposal 39th G8 summit UN Security Council Resolution 2118 Geneva II Conference Related topics 2014 Syrian detainee report Fourth Extraordinary Session of the Islamic Summit Conference International recognition of the Syrian National Council Syria Files Syrian media coverage Category Commons Wikinews

v t e Cities and towns of Syria Governorate centres Aleppo Damascus Daraa Deir ez-Zor Hama al-Hasakah Homs Idlib Latakia Quneitra al-Raqqah al-Suwayda Tartus District centres Abu Kamal Afrin Arihah Atarib Ayn al-Arab Azaz al-Bab Baniyas Darayya Dayr Hafir Douma Duraykish Fiq al-Haffah Harem Izra' Jableh Jarabulus Jisr ash-Shugur 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 Yabrud 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-Helu Bosra Bulbul Busayrah Da'el al-Dana Darat Izza Darkush al-Darbasiyah Deir Atiyah al-Dimas al-Dumayr Furqlus Ghabaghib al-Ghandurah 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 Kesab al-Khafsah Khan Shaykhun Khasham Kirnaz Kuwayris Sharqi Khanaser Khirbet Ghazaleh Khirbet al-Tin Mahmoud al-Kiswah Ma'arrat Misrin Maabatli Maadan Ma'loula Madaya Mahin Malah al-Malihah al-Mansurah Mare' Markadah 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 Harmel al-Imam al-Rayi al-Riqama al-Ruhaybah al-Sa'n Saasaa Sabburah Sabe' Biyar al-Sabkhah Sadad Sahnaya Saidnaya Salqin Saraqib Sarmin Sarrin Sawran Sebei al-Shadadah al-Shajara Shaqqa Sharran Shathah Shaykh al-Hadid al-Shaykh Maskin Shayukh Tahtani Shin Sinjar Sirghaya Slinfah Suluk al-Sur al-Surah al-Saghirah Suran al-Susah al-Sukhnah al-Tabni Talbiseh Taldou al-Tamanaah Tasil Tell al-Daman Tell Hamis Tell Rifaat Tell Salhab Tell Tamer Tedef Thiban Uqayribat Urum al-Kubra Wadi al-Oyun al-Yaarubiyah al-Zurbah az-Ziyarah

v t e Hama Governorate Capital: Hama   Hama District Hama • Absirin • Aqrab • Atshan • Ayyubiyah • Billin • Birin • Bisin • al-Biyah • al-Buraq • Deir al-Fardis • Fan al-Shamali • Ghor al-Assi • al-Hamraa • Hirbnafsah • al-Jajiyah • Jarjisa • al-Jawziyah • Jibrin • al-Jinan • Jubb al-Othman • Kafraa • Kafr Buhum • Kafr al-Tun • Kawkab • al-Khalidiyah • Khitab • Ma'an • Maarin al-Jabal • Maar Daftin • Maardas • Maar Shahhur • Matnin • Mousa al-Houla • Murik • al-Muaa • Nisrin • Qamhanah • al-Rabiaa • Shihat Hama • Suran • Surayhin • Talaf • Taqsis • Taybat al-Imam • Tayzin • Tell Qartal • al-Tuleisa • Tumin • Umm al-Tuyour   Al-Suqaylabiyah District Al-Suqaylabiyah • Abu Qubays • Asharnah • Ayn al-Kurum • al-Amqiyah Tahta • al-Ankawi • Bureij • Farikah • al-Hawiz al-Qibli • Hawrat Ammorin • Hayalin • al-Haydariyah • al-Huwash • Huwayjah Fawqa • Huwayjah al-Sallah • Hurriya • Inab • Jamasat Adiyat • al-Jid • Jurin • Kafr Nabudah • al-Mazhal • Nabl al-Khatib • Nahr al-Bared • Qalaat al-Madiq • Qarqur • Qastun • Qulaydin • al-Ramlah • Shathah • Sirmaniyah • Tamana al-Ghab • Tell Salhab • Tell Hawwash • Tuwaini • Zaizoun • al-Ziyarah   Masyaf District Masyaf • Akakir • Asilah • Awj • Ayn Halaqim • Ayn al-Shams • Baarin • al-Bayda • al-Bayyadiyah • Birat al-Jurd • Bishannin • Deir Mama • Deir al-Salib • Deir Shamil • Hanjur • Jubb Ramlah • Kafr Kamra • al-Laqbah • Maarin • Mahrusah • Maryamin • Nisaf • Qarmas • al-Rusafa • al-Sarimiyah • al-Suwaydah • Wadi al-Uyun   Mhardeh District Mhardeh • Abu Rubays • Halfaya • Jabin • al-Jadidah • al-Jalmah • Kafr Hud • Kafr Zita • Khunayzir • Karnaz • al-Lataminah • Maarzaf • al-Majdal • al-Qubeir • Safsafiyah • Shaizar • Shaykh Hadid • Tell Sikkin • Tremseh • Zawr Qaadah   Al-Salamiyah District Al-Salamiyah • Aqarib • Barri Sharqi • Danibah • Khunayfis • Mab'ujah • al-Saan • Sabburah • Suha • Taldarah • Tell al-Tut • Uqayribat • Zighrin