Armanaz () is a town in northwestern

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

Harem District Harem District () is a district of the Idlib Governorate in northwestern Syria. The administrative centre is the city of Harem A harem is a domestic space that is reserved for the women of the house in a Muslim family. A harem may house a man ...

, in the

Idlib Governorate Idlib Governorate ( / ALA-LC: ''Muḥāfaẓat Idlib'') is one of the 14 governorates of Syria. It is situated in northwestern Syria, bordering Turkey's Hatay province to the north, Aleppo Governorate to the east, Hama Governorate to the sou ...

. It is located 20 kilometers northwest of

Idlib Idlib (, ; also spelt Idleb or Edlib) is a city in northwestern Syria, and is the capital of the Idlib Governorate. It has an elevation of nearly above sea level, and is southwest of Aleppo. It is located near the border with Turkey. History ...

near the Syrian-

Turkish Turkish may refer to: * Something related to Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities in the former Ottoman Empire * The w ...

borders.Syria: Rebels appear to control large parts of northwest
''

Global Post GlobalPost Media Corporation is an American digital journalism company and former news website that focuses on international news. Founded on January 12, 2009 by Philip S. Balboni and Charles M. Sennott, its stated mission is "to redefine inte ...

''. 2012-07-04. Nearby localities include

Salqin Salqin () is a town in northwestern Syria, administratively part of Idlib Governorate. Nearby localities include Kafr Takharim to the southeast, Abu Talha to the south, Delbiya to the southwest, al-Alani to the northwest and Isqat to the north ...

Harem A harem is a domestic space that is reserved for the women of the house in a Muslim family. A harem may house a man's wife or wives, their pre-pubescent male children, unmarried daughters, female domestic Domestic worker, servants, and other un ...

and

Kafr Takharim Kafr Takharim (, also spelled Kafar Takhareem or Kfar Takharam) is a town in northwestern Syria, administratively part of the Idlib Governorate, located in the north of Idlib. Nearby localities include Harem to the north, Salqin to the northwest, ...

to the north and

, Ma'arrat Misrin and

Saraqib Saraqib ( 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 to rebel forces in 2012 and was recaptured by th ...

to the southeast. According to the Syria Central Bureau of Statistics, Armanaz had a population of 10,296 in the 2004 census.General Census of Population and Housing 2004
. Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS). Latakia Governorate. Its inhabitants are predominantly

Sunni Muslim Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any successor and that his closest companion Abu Bakr () rightfully succeeded him as the caliph of the Musli ...

s. The town is the administrative center of the Armanaz Subdistrict (''

nahiyah A nāḥiyah ( , plural ''nawāḥī'' ), also nahiyeh, nahiya or nahia, is a regional or local type of administrative division that usually consists of a number of villages or sometimes smaller towns. In Tajikistan, it is a second-level divisi ...

''), consisting of 12 villages with a combined population of 27,267. Armanaz is well known for its glass-manufacturing industry.Litman, 1949, p. 77. It is the only village in northern Syria that specializes in this artisan craft, which it has been specializing since ancient times. It is also well known for its

olive The olive, botanical name ''Olea europaea'' ("European olive"), is a species of Subtropics, subtropical evergreen tree in the Family (biology), family Oleaceae. Originating in Anatolia, Asia Minor, it is abundant throughout the Mediterranean ...

groves,

olive oil Olive oil is a vegetable oil obtained by pressing whole olives (the fruit of ''Olea europaea'', a traditional Tree fruit, tree crop of the Mediterranean Basin) and extracting the oil. It is commonly used in cooking for frying foods, as a cond ...

and

pottery Pottery is the process and the products of forming vessels and other objects with clay and other raw materials, which are fired at high temperatures to give them a hard and durable form. The place where such wares are made by a ''potter'' is al ...

History

Ancient period

The name "Armanaz" is of pre- Semitic origin. It may be the sight of the ancient Assyrian city of Tarmanazi.Boulanger, 1966, p. 478. According to historian Carl Joham Lamm, ancient sources indicate that Armanaz was founded by glass workers from a town near Tyre (modern-day

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

) with the same name.

Medieval period

In 1098 the Muslim

Seljuk Seljuk (, ''Selcuk'') or Saljuq (, ''Saljūq'') may refer to: * Seljuk Empire (1051–1153), a medieval empire in the Middle East and central Asia * Seljuk dynasty (c. 950–1307), the ruling dynasty of the Seljuk Empire and subsequent polities * S ...

ruler of

Antioch Antioch on the Orontes (; , ) "Antioch on Daphne"; or "Antioch the Great"; ; ; ; ; ; ; . was a Hellenistic Greek city founded by Seleucus I Nicator in 300 BC. One of the most important Greek cities of the Hellenistic period, it served as ...

, Yaghi-Siyan, was killed in Armanaz, then an estate of

Maarrat Misrin Ma'arrat Misrin (, also spelled Ma'arrat Masrin or Ma'aret Masreen) is a small city in northwestern Syria, administratively part of Idlib Governorate. Ma'arrat Misrin lies an elevation of . It is located 50 kilometers southwest of Aleppo and 40 kil ...

, while escaping the city upon the capture of nearby

by the

Crusaders The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and at times directed by the Papacy during the Middle Ages. The most prominent of these were the campaigns to the Holy Land aimed at reclaiming Jerusalem and its surrounding ...

.Ginkel, p. 241. Armanaz became a Crusader town known as "Emine" or "Eminas" during the 11th century. During

Ayyubid The Ayyubid dynasty (), also known as the Ayyubid Sultanate, was the founding dynasty of the medieval Sultan of Egypt, Sultanate of Egypt established by Saladin in 1171, following his abolition of the Fatimid Caliphate, Fatimid Caliphate of Egyp ...

rule in the early 13th-century, Syrian geographer

Yaqut al-Hamawi Yāqūt Shihāb al-Dīn ibn-ʿAbdullāh al-Rūmī al-Ḥamawī (1179–1229) () was a Muslim scholar of Byzantine ancestry active during the late Abbasid period (12th–13th centuries). He is known for his , an influential work on geography con ...

wrote that the village Armanaz was "an ancient and small town, distant from

Halab Aleppo is a city in Syria, which serves as the capital of the Aleppo Governorate, the most populous Governorates of Syria, governorate of Syria. With an estimated population of 2,098,000 residents it is Syria's largest city by urban area, and ...

(

Aleppo Aleppo is a city in Syria, which serves as the capital of the Aleppo Governorate, the most populous Governorates of Syria, governorate of Syria. With an estimated population of 2,098,000 residents it is Syria's largest city by urban area, and ...

) about 5

league League or The League may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band * ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football * ''League of Legends'', a 2009 multiplayer online battle a ...

s. They make here pots and drinking-vessels, red in colour, and very sweet to smell." Medieval Muslim historian Izz al-Din ibn Shaddad al-Halabi mentioned Armanaz as one of 22 abandoned or ruined fortresses in the Aleppo region, likely destroyed during the

Mongol invasions of Syria Starting in the 1240s, the Mongols made repeated invasions of Syria or attempts thereof. Most failed, but they did have some success in 1260 and 1300, capturing Aleppo and Damascus and destroying the Ayyubid dynasty. The Mongols were forced to r ...

in the mid to late 13th century and was not rebuilt by the

Mamluk Mamluk or Mamaluk (; (singular), , ''mamālīk'' (plural); translated as "one who is owned", meaning "slave") were non-Arab, ethnically diverse (mostly Turkic, Caucasian, Eastern and Southeastern European) enslaved mercenaries, slave-so ...

s who gained power in the region during that time.

Modern era

During the anti-French revolt led by

Ibrahim Hananu Ibrahim Hananu (1869–1935) was a Syrian revolutionary and former Ottoman municipal official who led a revolt against the French colonial presence in northern Syria in the early 1920s. He was a member of a notable landholding family of Kurdish ...

in 1919, Hananu's fighters administered Armanaz and by working with the former head of its municipality, levied taxes on landowners, livestock owners and farmers to support the rebel effort. From Armanaz, Hananu's authority extended to

Jisr al-Shughur Jisr ash-Shughūr (, , also rendered as ''Jisser ash-Shughour'' and other spellings), known in antiquity as Seleucobelus (), is a city in the Idlib Governorate in northwestern Syria. Situated at an altitude of above sea level on the Orontes rive ...

and

with the same process of taxation and administration being repeated in those municipalities.Gelvin, 1998, p. 134. In the early 1960s, it was a large village of approximately 3,000 people. Following weeks of clashes in the summer of 2012, during the ongoing Syrian Civil War, opposition rebels captured Armanaz from the

Syrian Army The Syrian Army is the land force branch of the Syrian Armed Forces. Up until the fall of the Assad regime, the Syrian Arab Army existed as a land force branch of the Syrian Arab Armed Forces, which dominanted the military service of the fo ...

on 20 June.

References

Bibliography

* * * * * * {{Cities of Syria Populated places in Harem District Towns in Syria