Jisr ash-Shughūr ( ar, جِسْرُ ٱلشُّغُورِ, jisr aš-šuġūr, , also rendered as ''Jisser ash-Shughour'' and other spellings), known in
antiquity
Antiquity or Antiquities may refer to:
Historical objects or periods Artifacts
*Antiquities, objects or artifacts surviving from ancient cultures
Eras
Any period before the European Middle Ages (5th to 15th centuries) but still within the histo ...
as Seleucobelus ( el, Σελευκόβηλος, translit=Seleukóbēlos), is a city in the
Idlib Governorate in northwestern
Syria
Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
. Situated at an altitude of above sea level on the
Orontes river, the city was inhabited by 44,322 people as of 2010.
The inhabitants are mostly Sunni Muslims, with a significant Christian minority, mostly
Greek Orthodox
The term Greek Orthodox Church ( Greek: Ἑλληνορθόδοξη Ἐκκλησία, ''Ellinorthódoxi Ekklisía'', ) has two meanings. The broader meaning designates "the entire body of Orthodox (Chalcedonian) Christianity, sometimes also cal ...
.
History
Jisr ash-Shughūr has long been an important stopping point on trade routes. It is situated on the main route between
Latakia, which is to the west, and
Aleppo, which is to the east. Located in the rich alluvial plain of the
Ghab valley on the eastern side of the
an-Nusayriyah Mountains (also known as ''Jebel Ansariye''), the area has been continuously inhabited for over 10,000 years. The ancient city of
Qarqar is thought to have been situated some south of the modern town, which was established in
Hellenistic
In Classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Mediterranean history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the emergence of the Roman Empire, as signified by the Battle of Actium in ...
times as the city of
Seleucia ad Belum. The
Romans called it ''Niaccuba'' and built a stone bridge there across the Orontes.
During the
Crusader era, there was
Chastel Rugia to the east, and another two castles, "Qalat ash-Shughr" and "Bakās", which formed the complex of
ash-Shughr and Bakās to the northwest of Jisr ash-Shughūr, to be used to defend the region, until they were captured by
Saladin
Yusuf ibn Ayyub ibn Shadi () ( – 4 March 1193), commonly known by the epithet Saladin,, ; ku, سهلاحهدین, ; was the founder of the Ayyubid dynasty. Hailing from an ethnic Kurdish family, he was the first of both Egypt an ...
in 1188.
Little remains of the ancient city other than portions of the much-repaired
Roman bridge, which is now incorporated into a 15th-century
Mamluk
Mamluk ( ar, مملوك, mamlūk (singular), , ''mamālīk'' (plural), translated as "one who is owned", meaning " slave", also transliterated as ''Mameluke'', ''mamluq'', ''mamluke'', ''mameluk'', ''mameluke'', ''mamaluke'', or ''marmeluke'') ...
construction that still serves as one of the city's two bridges over the river. The bridge's V-shaped design was intended to enable it to withstand the force of the river's current. Although Jisr ash-Shughūr is mostly of modern construction, a number of old
Ottoman-era buildings still survive, including a
caravanserai built in the centre of the old town between 1660–75 and later restored in 1826–27.
The town is referred to in 18th-century European sources as ''Choug'', ''Shogle'' or ''Shoggle'' (the latter in the ''
Encyclopédie'').
During the Ottoman period, the town was often vulnerable to attack from the Kurdish tribes from the
Sahyun
Sahyun Castle ( ar, قلعة صهيون), also known as the Castle of Saladin ( ar, قلعة صلاح الدين, Qal'at Salah al-Din), is a medieval castle in northwestern Syria. It is located 7 km east of Al-Haffah town and 30 km east ...
district. For much of the 18th century, however, the town itself was controlled by the Kurdish
agha (title) Muhammad ibn Rustum and his sons, first as ''
kaymakam
Kaymakam, also known by many other romanizations, was a title used by various officials of the Ottoman Empire, including acting grand viziers, governors of provincial sanjaks, and administrators of district kazas. The title has been retaine ...
'' (deputy governor), then as ''mütevelli'' (manager) of the religious foundation of
Köprülü Mehmed Pasha in Jisr ash-Shughūr. After the end of World War I, Jisr al-Shughur was the site of sustained resistance against the French occupation forces. In December 1920, the local rebel leader
Ibrahim Hananu together with Kurdish bands from the Sahyun and with support of
Kemalist insurgency forces from Turkey managed to seize the town from the French.
The city has been described as conservative and predominantly
Sunni Muslim, with a history of unrest against the government of the ruling
secular Arab nationalist Bath
Bath may refer to:
* Bathing, immersion in a fluid
** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body
** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe
* Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities
Plac ...
. It was the scene of
a mass killing by Syrian security forces in 1980 that prefigured the later and more notorious
Hama massacre.
On 9 March 1980, against a background of anti-government protests across Syria, inhabitants of Jisr ash-Shughūr marched on the local
Bath
Bath may refer to:
* Bathing, immersion in a fluid
** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body
** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe
* Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities
Plac ...
headquarters and set it on fire. The police were unable to restore order and fled. Some demonstrators seized weapons and ammunition from a nearby army barracks. Later that day, units of the
Syrian Army Special Forces were helicoptered in from Aleppo to regain control, which they did after pounding the town with rockets and mortars, destroying homes and shops and killing and wounding dozens of people. At least two hundred people were arrested. The following day a military tribunal ordered the execution of more than a hundred of the detainees. In all, about 150–200 people were said to have been killed in a matter of hours.
Syrian civil war
Violence broke out in Jisr ash-Shughūr on 4 June 2011, three months into the
Syrian civil war. Armed groups attacked local security forces, killed 120 members of the security forces, and seized control of the city, with many civilians fleeing to
Latakia.
Activists speaking to the BBC denied the government's version of these events, claiming that the cause of these deaths was unclear and may have been an internal mutiny.
The
Syrian military
The Syrian Arab Armed Forces ( ar, الْقُوَّاتُ الْمُسَلَّحَةُ الْعَرَبِيَّةُ السُّورِيَّةُ, al-Quwwāt al-Musallaḥah al-ʿArabīyah as-Sūrīyah) are the military forces of the Syrian Arab Re ...
launched an
operation in a crackdown against the allegedly guilty armed groups. The operation lasted until 12 June 2011. The city was reported to have been largely abandoned by its inhabitants, many of whom fled to neighbouring
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula ...
, as
Syrian Army units massed outside to retake it. Over December 2011–January 2012,
FSA took control, establishing a key rebel center. As of June 2012, the FSA was still in control, but by October 2012, the Syrian government was reported by
Al Jazeera
Al Jazeera ( ar, الجزيرة, translit-std=DIN, translit=al-jazīrah, , "The Island") is a state-owned Arabic-language international radio and TV broadcaster of Qatar. It is based in Doha and operated by the media conglomerate Al Jazee ...
to be in control of the town. However, on 25 April 2015,
the city was captured by
an alliance of Salafist insurgents, including
al-Qaeda's
al-Nusra Front,
Ahrar al-Sham
Harakat Ahrar al-Sham al-Islamiyya ( ar-at, حركة أحرار الشام الإسلامية, Ḥarakat Aḥrāru š-Šām al-Islāmiyah, lit=Islamic Movement of the Freemen of the Levant), commonly referred to as Ahrar al-Sham, is a coalition ...
,
and the
Turkistan Islamic Party (TIP). The city has become a stronghold of the TIP, and reportedly 3,500
Uyghurs have since settled in the city.
By July 2017, the city was under joint control of
Tahrir al-Sham and the Turkistan Islamic Party.
[ Syrian and Russian bombing of the city resumed in September 2017.][Suleiman Al-Khalid]
Russia, Syria intensify bombing of rebel-held Idlib, witnesses say
Reuters, 24 September 2017
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jisr Ash-Shugur
Cities in Syria
Populated places in Jisr al-Shughur District