Salamiyah

Salamiyah سلمية
View of Salamiyah
Nickname(s): The mother of Cairo
Salamiyah Location in Syria
Coordinates: 35°0′42.48″N 37°3′9″E / 35.0118000°N 37.05250°E / 35.0118000; 37.05250Coordinates: 35°0′42.48″N 37°3′9″E / 35.0118000°N 37.05250°E / 35.0118000; 37.05250
Country	Syria
Governorate	Hama Governorate
District	Salamiyah District
Settled	3500 BCE
Elevation	475 m (1,558 ft)
Population (2004 census)
• Total	66,724
• Ethnicities	Arab
• Religions	Ismailis, Alawites, Atheists.
Time zone	EET (UTC+2)
• Summer (DST)	EEST (UTC+3)
Area code(s)	33

A full view of Shmemis (spring 1995)

Salamiyah (Arabic: سلمية‎‎ Salamīya) is a city and district in western Syria, in the Hama Governorate. It is located 33 kilometres (21 miles) southeast of Hama, 45 kilometres (28 miles) northeast of Homs. The city is nicknamed the "mother of Cairo" because it was the birthplace of the second Fatimid Caliph Muhammad al-Qaim Bi-Amrillah, whose dynasty would eventually establish the city of Cairo, and the early headquarters of his father Abdullah al-Mahdi Billah who founded the Fatimid Caliphate. The city is an important center of the Shi'ite Nizari Ismaili and Taiyabi Ismaili Muslim sects and also the birthplace of poet Muhammad al-Maghut. The population of the city is 66,724 (2004 census).^[1] In the recent years, with the development of frontlines in Syrian Civil War, the city has grown in its strategic importance. With the Al-Rastan becoming a pocket out of the control of the government along the Homs-Hama Motorway, and the developments in Idlib governorate resulting in the government also losing control of large segments of the main Hama-Aleppo Highway, Homs-Salamiyah, Hama-Salamiyah, and Salamiyah-Ithriya-Aleppo roads become major lines connecting these major government-held areas. This importance has been why the town is site for occasional ISIS or Rebel mortar attacks.

Situation of land access in Northern Central Syria
Salamiyah is located at the crossroads

History

Salamiyah is an ancient city which was first known during Babylonian times in 3500 BC. It was the dwelled in by Sumerians at around 3000 BC, the Amorites around 2400 BC, the Aramaeans around 1500 BC, and the Nabateans around 500 BC. The city was destroyed for the first time by the Assyrians in the year 720 BC. After being rebuilt, the city was part of the Roman Empire and ruled by the Royal family of Emesa, a Roman Client Kingdom of Ancient Rome where they built the famous Chmemis Castle on the remains of a former volcano, 5 kilometres (3.1 miles) northwest of Salamiyah.

During the Byzantine Empire, Salamiyah existed as a Christian center with its own autocephalic Archbishop, until the city was destroyed for a second time during the Persian invasion of Syria of 637 during the Byzantine-Sassanid Wars by commander Kisra Ibrawiz who razed the city to the ground. The city was rebuilt again in the Islamic era by Abdullah ibn Saleh ibn Ali al-Abassi, the Abbasid governor of southern and center Syria, in 754 and was settled by some Hashimites during the Abbasid era, and al-Abbasi's son Muhammad ibn Abdullah ibn Saleh transformed the city into an important commercial center.^[2]

According to Isma'ili Muslims, their Imam, Isma'il ibn Jafar died and was buried in the city after going into hiding during the eighth century. The city became the secret headquarters of the Isma'ili movement from the early ninth century until 902, it was from there that missionaries were originally sent for propagating the Isma'ili teachings in different regions. It was from Salamiyah, that the Isma'ili Imams secretly guided the activities of their followers from North Africa to Persia, Azerbaijan, and Central Asia. According to conflicting histories, the Isma'ili Imam, and first Fatimid Caliph, Abdullah al-Mahdi Billah was either born in Salamiyah or came to the city in 882 from Khuzistan, in modern-day Iran where he was raised by his uncle Abul Shalaghlagh the Hujjah (also called Lahiq) or leader of the Isma'ilis of Salamiyah, one of the twelve Isma'ili communities at the time. Abdullah's son Muhammad al-Qa'im Bi-Amrillah, an Ismaili Imam and the second Fatimid Caliph, was born in Salamiyah in the late ninth century, and both left the city to establish the Fatimid state in northern Africa in the early tenth century.

After the death of Abul Shalaghlagh in 899, a dispute arose between Salamiyah Isma'ilis due to the fact that he left no male descendants and apparently had designated his nephew Abdullah as his spiritual successor and leader of the Salamiyah Isma'ili movement. Thereafter, a schism split the movement, provoked by Abdullah's claims on the imamate for himself and his descendants. Hamdan Qarmat and 'Abdan, who may have previously drifted slightly away from the doctrine propagated by the leadership, broke off their support. Qarmat's followers would eventually be known as the Qarmatians, and after Abdullah fled from Salamiyah to found the Fatimid Isma'ili state in North Africa in 899, the Qarmatis would reject the legitimacy of the Fatamids. In 903, Salamiyah was destroyed for the third time by an invasion from the rebel Qarmatians under Yahya ibn Zikrawayh.

Salamiyah is mentioned by historians as a very small town with limited rural settlement consequent to the Qarmatian invasion until the early Ottoman period wherein it was apparently deserted due to lack of protection from Bedouin attacks. Salamiyah was rebuilt when permission by the Ottoman Sultan Abdul Hamid II through a firman in July 1849 gave permission for the emigration of Isma'ilis led by Ismail bin Muhammad, the Isma'ili amir of Qadmus in northern Syria. Isma'ilis from Qadmus and Masyaf amongst other smaller towns and villages emigrated to the newly rebuilt city which was first occupied by only sixteen families and by 1861, Salamiyah became an agricultural village. The final major Isma'ili immigration to Salamiyah occurred in 1919.

Salamiyah is currently the largest population center of Isma'ili Muslims in the Arab world. The remains of Prince Aly Khan, the father of the current Nizari Isma'ili Imam Aga Khan IV, are buried in the city. The headquarters of the Isma'ili Shia Higher Council of Syria are in the city, as are dozens of Jama'at Khana. During the mid-twentieth century, Salamiyah saw a growth of religious diversity with the building of the first Sunni mosque, and now the city is home to almost a dozen Sunni mosques and a Ja'fari Shia mosque in the city's Qadmusite Quarter which is home to most of the city's Ithna Ashari Shia which migrated to the city after ethnic and religious clashes in their hometown of Qadmus in the early twentieth century. Currently, a little more than half of the city's residents are Ismaili.^[3]

In 1934, Muhammad al-Maghut, the poet credit for being the father of free verse Arab poetry, was born in Salamiyah. In 1991, visitors from the Dawoodi Bohra sect of Ismaili Shia Islam in Yemen built the Mosque of Imam Ismail adjacent to the grave of the Ismaili Imam Ismail. The mosque was built by order of their leader the Da'i al-Mutlaq Mohammed Burhanuddin according to an inscription on the mosque's wall. Although currently used for worship by Sunni Muslims, the mosque and mausoleum are visited in religious pilgrimages by Dawoodi Bohra worldwide.

Some of the town's citizens have participated in protests during the Syrian Civil War.^[4] Since 2013, the town has been repeatedly bombed by Jabhat al-Nusra and ISIS.^[5]

Tomb, Imam Abadullah, Salamia

Tunnel imam salamia

Mosque Imam Abadullah, Salamia, Syria, renovated by Dawoodi Bohra

Residence at Salamia, Syria

As per Ismaili.net^[6] residence history of Salamia is as follows:

"The Ismaili dais in search of a new residence for their Imam came to Salamia and inspected the town and approached the owner, Muhammad bin Abdullah bin Saleh, who had transformed the town into a flourishing commercial centre. They told him that there was a Hashimite merchant from Basra who was desirous of settling in the town. He readily accepted and pointed out to them a site along the main street in the market, where existed a house belonging to a certain Abu Farha. The Ismaili dais bought it for their Imam and informed him about it. Wafi Ahmad arrived to his new residence as an ordinary merchant. He soon pulled down the old building and had new ones built in its place; and also built a new wall around it. He also built a tunnel inside his house, leading to the desert, whose length was about 12 miles (19 kilometres). Money and treasures were carried on camels to the door of that tunnel at night. The door opened and the camels entered with their loads inside the house."

Photo placed here shows the mousoleum of the Imam. Near his kabra mubarak ("blessed grave"), the tunnel opening still exists.

Culture

The city is an agricultural center, with a largely agriculture based economy. Mate is extremely popular in Salamiyah and a drink of major cultural importance in social gatherings.

Main sights

A hammam of unique architecture, likely dating from the Ayyubid era, sits in the town center, near a large underground Byzantine cistern which is said to lead all the way to Shmemis castle. There also exists one wall from an ancient Byzantine citadel.
The castle, of Roman-Greek origins.
Walls, rebuilt by Zengi
Mosque of al-Imam Ismail, which originated as a Greek temple of Zeus, and was turned into a church in Byzantine times.
Remains of Roman canals, used for agriculture

References

↑ Salamyah city population
↑ See Ya'qubi, quoted in le Strange, 1890, p. 528
↑ Syria's diverse minorities, BBC, 9 December 2011
↑ http://english.al-akhbar.com/node/3679
↑ http://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2016/02/27/452587/Syria-Hama-Bomb-Explosion-/
↑ http://www.ismaili.net/histoire/history04/history419.html Wafi Ahmad in Salamia

Bibliography

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Salamiyah.

le Strange, Guy (1890). Palestine Under the Moslems: A Description of Syria and the Holy Land from A.D. 650 to 1500. Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund.
Sharon, Moshe (2007), Corpus Inscriptionum Arabicarum Palaestinae, Addendum, BRILL p. 158

External links

Cities and towns of Syria
Governorate centres	Aleppo Damascus Daraa Deir ez-Zor Hama al-Hasakah Homs Idlib Latakia Quneitra Raqqa Rif Dimashq as-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 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 Ma'loula 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-Sur al-Surah al-Saghirah 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-Zurbah az-Ziyarah

Hama Governorate

Hama District

Hama Subdistrict	Hama Abu Dardah Abu Mansaf Adabas al-Alamein Amarat Aslan Arzah Awja al-Janah Ayyubiyah Bahra Bayad Besirin al-Buraq Billin al-Daminah Ghor al-Assi al-Hashimiyah Hawayiz Umm Jurn Hawir al-Salib Jahiyah Jarjara Jarjisa Jibrin Jinan Jumaqliyah Juziyah Kafraa Kafr Amim Kafr Buhum Kafr al-Tun Kasun Eljabal Khala 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 Tumin 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 Beij 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 Jubbat 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	Ayn 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 al-Gharbi Mafkar Sharqi 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 Subdistric	Al-Saan Abu Hurayk Abu al-Ghor Abu al-Qusur Amya Aniq Bajra Asiriyah al-Ayah Baghadid Harat al-Sharqiyah Hasu al-Qiblawi Jakuziyah Jubb Khasara Makharib Mawilah Qabasin al-Arab Rahjan Rasm al-Ahmar Rasm Amun Sarha Shaykh Hilal al-Suwayah Umm Mayal

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