Aqarib (), also known as Aqarib al-Safiyah (), is a village in central

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

, administratively part of the

Salamiyah District Salamiyah ( ') is a district (mantiqah) administratively belonging to Hama Governorate, Syria. At the 2004 Census it had a population of 187,123. Its administrative district is the city of Salamiyah. Sub-districts The district of Salamiyah is div ...

of the

Hama Governorate Hama Governorate ( / ALA-LC: ''Muḥāfaẓat Ḥamā'') is one of the 14 Governorates of Syria, governorates of Syria. It is situated in western-central Syria, bordering Idlib Governorate, Idlib and Aleppo Governorates to the north, Raqqa Gove ...

. It is located east of

Hama Hama ( ', ) is a city on the banks of the Orontes River in west-central Syria. It is located north of Damascus and north of Homs. It is the provincial capital of the Hama Governorate. With a population of 996,000 (2023 census), Hama is one o ...

and east of

Salamiyah file:Hama qalat shmemis salamiyyah syria 1995.jpg, A full view of Shmemis (spring 1995) Salamiyah (; also transliterated ''Salamiyya'', ''Salamieh'' or ''Salamya'') is a city in central Syria, administratively part of the Hama Governorate. It is ...

, on the margin of the

Syrian Desert The Syrian Desert ( ''Bādiyat Ash-Shām''), also known as the North Arabian Desert, the Jordanian steppe, or the Badiya, is a region of desert, semi-desert, and steppe, covering about of West Asia, including parts of northern Saudi Arabia, ea ...

. Nearby localities include

and Tell al-Tut to the southwest,

Uqayribat Uqayribat ( ALA-LC: ''ʿUqayribāt'') also spelled ''Oqeirbat'', ''Uzeiribat'', ''′Aqayrbat'', ''′Agareb'', ''Aaqerbate'', ''Occariba'' or ''Occaraba'' is a Syrian town in the Uqayribat Subdistrict of the Salamiyah District in Hama Governorate. ...

to the southeast and

Sabburah Sabburah () is a town in northern Syria, administratively part of the Hama Governorate, located east of Hama and 25 kilometers northeast of Salamiyah, on the western edge of the Syrian Desert. Nearby localities include Aqarib to the south, Mabuj ...

to the north. According to the Syria Central Bureau of Statistics, Aqarib had a population of 3,830 in the 2004 census.General Census of Population and Housing 2004
Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS). Hama Governorate. Its inhabitants are predominantly

Ismaili Ismailism () is a branch of Shia Islam. The Isma'ili () get their name from their acceptance of Imam Isma'il ibn Jafar as the appointed spiritual successor ( imām) to Ja'far al-Sadiq, wherein they differ from the Twelver Shia, who accept ...

History

Aqarib was founded in 1876 by

migrants from the area of

Shaizar Shaizar or Shayzar (; in modern Arabic Saijar; Hellenistic name: Larissa in Syria, Λάρισσα εν Συρία in Greek language, Greek) is a town in northern Syria, administratively part of the Hama Governorate, located northwest of Hama. Near ...

, a town west of

. The Ismailis had been evicted from their homes by a prominent landowning family based in Hama who owned the area around Shaizar. Part of the reason the migrants chose to settle in Aqarib was its proximity to Salamiyah, the center of Ismaili life in Syria. On 18 May 2017,

ISIL The Islamic State (IS), also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and Daesh, is a transnational Salafi jihadist organization and unrecognized quasi-state. IS occupied signif ...

fighters attacked the village at dawn and after regime forces fled the village the militants killed at least 52 civilians, including 16 children and 11 women.

References

{{Hama Governorate, salamiyah Populated places established in 1876 Populated places in Salamiyah District 1870s establishments in Ottoman Syria Ismaili communities in Syria