Mount Zāwiya () or Mount Rīḥā () (also in medieval times: Banī-ʻUlaym Mountain ()) is a highland region in

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 ...

in northwestern Syria. Around 36

towns A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

and

villages A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban village ...

exist in the Mount Zawiya region. The biggest towns are Rīḥā (Arīḥā) and Maʻarrat an-Nuʻmān.

Location and description

Mount Zāwiya forms the southern group of the Limestone Massif of the western

Aleppo plateau The Aleppo plateau ( ) is a low, gently undulating plateau of northern Syria. It lies at the northern end of the junction between the Arabian Plate and the African Plate at the Dead Sea Rift. The plateau lies mostly in the Aleppo Governorate and ...

. To the north and northwest of the mountain lies the Rouge Plain. The Ghāb Plain is on the western side. South of the mountain are the plains of

Ḥamā 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 of ...

, and on the eastern side are the plains of Idlib. The average elevation of Mount Zāwiya is 750 m. The highest point is Mount Ayyūb (939 m). The western side of the mountain is steep, but the eastern side slopes gradually. Many springs and streams arise on the western side and drain into the Rouge and Ghāb plains. The mountain includes two masses separated by a valley which has many archaeological sites, such as the ancient city of Bārā. The northern part of the mountain is called Mount Arbaʻīn () (877 m). The ancient city of

Ebla Ebla (Sumerian language, Sumerian: ''eb₂-la'', , modern: , Tell Mardikh) was one of the earliest kingdoms in Syria. Its remains constitute a Tell (archaeology), tell located about southwest of Aleppo near the village of Mardikh. Ebla was ...

stands northeast of the mountain, and the ancient city of Apamea stands in the southwest.

Syrian Civil War

It was the location of the December 2011 Jabal al-Zawiya massacres. It was bombed again as part of a Syrian government and Russian offensive in September 2017. The location has been a stronghold for

Hayat Tahrir al-Sham Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) was a Sunni Islamist political organisation and paramilitary group involved in the Syrian civil war. It was formed on 28January 2017 as a merger between several armed groups: Jaysh al-Ahrar (an Ahrar al-Sham facti ...

(HTS), especially after the Idlib ceasefire in the aftermath of the Northwestern Syria offensive of 2019-2020 with hundreds of refugees from throughout Syria carving into the mountains a network of caves and living spaces, effectively turning the mountains into a fortified

underground city An underground city is a series of linked subterranea (geography), subterranean spaces that may provide a defensive refuge; a place for living, working or shopping; a transit system; mausoleum, mausolea; wine or storage cellars; cisterns or dra ...

. On November 25, 2023, the HTS and the

Syrian Observatory for Human Rights The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (also known as SOHR; ), founded in May 2006, is a United Kingdom-based information office whose stated aim is to document human rights abuses in Syria; since 2011 it has focused on the Syrian Civil War. ...

(SOHR) reported that nine civilians, including six children, were killed in a government bombardment while "picking olives" near the front-line.

References

{{reflist Geography of Idlib Governorate Mountains of Syria