Khan al-Sabil ( ar, خان السبل) is a village in northwestern Syria, administratively part of

Idlib District Idlib District ( ar-at, منطقة ادلب, manṭiqat Idlib) is a district of the Idlib Governorate in northwestern Syria. The administrative centre is the city of Idlib. At the 2004 census, the district had a population of 382,929. Sub-distr ...

of the Idlib Governorate, located south of Idlib. It is situated on either side of the Aleppo- Damascus highway, just east of the

Jabal Zawiya Mount Zāwiya ( ar, جبل الزاوية, Jabal az-Zāwiyah) or Mount Rīḥā ( ar, جبل ريحا, Jabal Rīḥā) (also in medieval times: Banī-ʻUlaym Mountain ( ar, جبل بني عليم, Jabal Banī-ʻUlaym) is a highland region in Idli ...

mountain. Nearby localities include

Maarrat al-Nu'man , timezone = EET , utc_offset = +3 , timezone_DST = EEST , utc_offset_DST = +2 , blank_name = Climate , blank_info = BSk , coordinates= , e ...

and Babila to the south, Masaran to the southeast, Shaykh Idris to the east, Maardibsah, Mardikh and

Saraqib Saraqib ( ar, سَرَاقِب, Sarāqib also spelled Saraqeb) is a city in northwestern Syria, administratively belonging to the Idlib Governorate, located east of Idlib. During the course of the Syrian Civil War, the city fell into rebel forces ...

to the north and Kafr Battikh to the northwest. According to the Syria Central Bureau of Statistics, Khan al-Sabil had a population of 6,551 at the time of the 2004 census.General Census of Population and Housing 2004
. Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS). Idlib Governorate.

History

The village contains several ancient ruins; among them are buildings with doors made of

basalt Basalt (; ) is an aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the surface of a rocky planet or moon. More than 90 ...

.Garrett, 1914, p. 117. The doors are the largest of their kind in the greater Aleppo region. They were decorated with Christian symbols. In the 20th century, two of these doors were part of buildings still used by Khan al-Sabil's residents.Butler, 1903, pp. 263–264. Khan al-Sabil is located on an ancient caravan route and is named after an old ''khan'' ( caravanserai) of the same name located in the village. The modern village was built around the ''khan'', which was established in 1371 by the Bahri Mamluk ruler of Syria, al-Malik al-Ashraf. Its upkeep and amenities were financed by a ''

waqf A waqf ( ar, وَقْف; ), also known as hubous () or '' mortmain'' property is an inalienable charitable endowment under Islamic law. It typically involves donating a building, plot of land or other assets for Muslim religious or charitab ...

'' (Islamic religious trust). The ''khan'' fell into disuse in the first years of the 20th century, or perhaps even earlier. During the Syrian Civil War, Khan al-Sabil served as military headquarters for the

Hazzm Movement The Hazzm Movement ( ar, حركة حزم, ''Ḥarakat Ḥazzm'', meaning ''Movement of Steadfastness'') was an alliance of Syrian rebel groups affiliated with the Free Syrian Army in northwestern Syria that existed from 25 January 2014 until 1 Mar ...

, a rebel outfit fighting against the Syrian government. The village was taken over by the al-Qaeda-linked group, the Nusra Front, following their victory over the Hazzm Movement in the area.

References

Bibliography

* * * * {{Idlib Governorate, Idlib Populated places in Idlib District 1371 establishments in Asia 1370s in the Middle East