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Mayadin (/
ALA-LC ALA-LC (American Library AssociationLibrary of Congress) is a set of standards for romanization, the representation of text in other writing systems using the Latin script. Applications The system is used to represent bibliographic information by ...
: ''al-Miyādīn'') is a town in eastern
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 ...
. It is the capital of the Mayadin District, part of the Deir ez-Zor Governorate. Mayadin is about 44 kilometers southeast of Deir ez-Zor. The Euphrates River flows through the town. In the 2004 census, the population was 44,028, making it the second most populous town in the governorate.


History


Ancient era

Mayadin has been identified to be the ancient Audattha known to
Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy (; , ; ; – 160s/170s AD) was a Greco-Roman mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were important to later Byzantine science, Byzant ...
, though some suggest Audattha was where Haditha now stands in Iraq.


Middle Ages

Mayadin is the successor of the medieval town and fortress of Rahbat Malik ibn Tawk, founded by the
Abbasid The Abbasid Caliphate or Abbasid Empire (; ) was the third caliphate to succeed the prophets and messengers in Islam, Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib (566–653 C ...
lord and the original town's namesake, Malik ibn Tawk. Strategically located at a crossroads on the western bank of the
Euphrates The Euphrates ( ; see #Etymology, below) is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of West Asia. Tigris–Euphrates river system, Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia (). Originati ...
and considered the key to Syria from Iraq, control of the town was highly contested by the Muslim powers and
Bedouin The Bedouin, Beduin, or Bedu ( ; , singular ) are pastorally nomadic Arab tribes who have historically inhabited the desert regions in the Arabian Peninsula, North Africa, the Levant, and Mesopotamia (Iraq). The Bedouin originated in the Sy ...
tribes of the region. It grew to become one of the major Muslim towns of the Euphrates valley and was an administrative center. An earthquake destroyed Rahbat Malik ibn Tawk in
1157 Year 1157 (Roman numerals, MCLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. Events * January 12–March 16 – Caliph Al-Muqtafi (Abbasid Caliph), Al-Muqtafi successfully defends Baghdad against the coalition forces of Su ...
, after which it was granted by the Zengid ruler Nur ad-Din to Asad ad-Din Shirkuh, the paternal uncle of future Ayyubid sultan,
Saladin Salah ad-Din Yusuf ibn Ayyub ( – 4 March 1193), commonly known as Saladin, was the founder of the Ayyubid dynasty. Hailing from a Kurdish family, he was the first sultan of both Egypt and Syria. An important figure of the Third Crusade, h ...
. Shirkuh relocated the fortress about four kilometers southwest of the original site. The new settlement, known as "al-Rahba al-Jadida", remained the significant center of the Euphrates region through much of the AyyubidMamluk era (12th–15th centuries), and today is a ruined fortress known as " Qal'at al-Rahba". The original settlement eventually became known as "Mashhad Rahba". The latter was located at the present site of Mayadin.


Modern era

In the early 20th century, Mayadin was the administrative seat of the Asharah '' kaza'' (subdistrict) of the Sanjak of Zor district and contained the residence of its '' qaimmaqam'' (governor). In a British military intelligence report from the 1900s, the town had a population of 2,000 mostly Sunni Muslims and a small minority of Christians. There was a
bazaar A bazaar or souk is a marketplace consisting of multiple small Market stall, stalls or shops, especially in the Middle East, the Balkans, Central Asia, North Africa and South Asia. They are traditionally located in vaulted or covered streets th ...
, several shops and a
mosque A mosque ( ), also called a masjid ( ), is a place of worship for Muslims. The term usually refers to a covered building, but can be any place where Salah, Islamic prayers are performed; such as an outdoor courtyard. Originally, mosques were si ...
with a leaning
minaret A minaret is a type of tower typically built into or adjacent to mosques. Minarets are generally used to project the Muslim call to prayer (''adhan'') from a muezzin, but they also served as landmarks and symbols of Islam's presence. They can h ...
. According to Czech explorer Alois Musil, who visited in 1912, Mayadin had a garrison of twelve gendarmes, ten policemen and ten mule riders. There was a boys' primary school in the town. The population was about 2,500, consisting of roughly four hundred Muslim families, fifteen
Syriac Orthodox The Syriac Orthodox Church (), also informally known as the Jacobite Church, is an Oriental Orthodox denomination that originates from the Church of Antioch. The church currently has around 4-5 million followers. The church upholds the Mia ...
families (mostly refugees from
Mardin Mardin (; ; romanized: ''Mārdīn''; ; ) is a city and seat of the Artuklu District of Mardin Province in Turkey. It is known for the Artuqids, Artuqid architecture of its old city, and for its strategic location on a rocky hill near the Tigris ...
), and three
Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
families, living in a total of 380 houses. On June 19, 1947, Pan Am Flight 121, crewed by third officer Gene Roddenberry (who went on to create the original ''Star Trek'' television series), crashed 4 miles (6.4 km) from the town.


Syrian Civil War

The town was captured by the
Free Syrian Army The Free Syrian Army (FSA; ) is a Big tent, big-tent coalition of decentralized Syrian opposition (2011–2024), Syrian opposition rebel groups in the Syrian civil war founded on 29 July 2011 by Colonel Riad al-Asaad and six officers who defe ...
in late August 2012, with the only part still in regime hands being the Mayadin military base, an artillery position on a hill overlooking the town, which in turn was captured on 22 November. This gave the rebels control of a large amount of territory east of the base to the
Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...
i border. On 3 July 2014, ISIL captured Mayadin after ousting the FSA and raised their black standard. A local underground resistance movement of Sunni Muslim fighters loyal to the al-Nusra Front attacked ISIL checkpoints in the city in 2015. This forced ISIL militants to dig a defensive position around the city. On 3 April 2017, during the SDF's offensive to capture Raqqa, it was reported that ISIL was possibly in the process of moving its capital from
Raqqa Raqqa (, also , Kurdish language, Kurdish: ''Reqa'') is a city in Syria on the North bank of the Euphrates River, about east of Aleppo. It is located east of the Tabqa Dam, Syria's largest dam. The Hellenistic, Roman, and Byzantine city and b ...
city to Mayadin. This followed months of gradual relocation of resources and senior ISIL leaders from Raqqa to Mayadin. On 21 April 2017, the United States announced that they had conducted a ground raid in Mayadin and killed Abdulrakhman Uzbeki, an ISIS leader. On 18 June 2017, Iran hit ISIL targets in Mayadin using domestic-based surface-to-surface mid-range missiles. By the 10 October 2017, the town was besieged by the SAA and fighting had begun in the suburbs in preparation to storm the town. On 11 October 2017, 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 ...
made huge advances inside the town of Mayadin and has taken control of about 60 percent of the town. On 14 October 2017, the Syrian Arab Army retook the town thus ending the 4 year long ISIL rule over it. In June 2018, ISIL unsuccessfully attempted to retake the town.


Sport

There is a football club in the city called Al-Mayadin SC, which plays the second highest competition in Syria.


Climate

Mayadin has a
hot desert climate The desert climate or arid climate (in the Köppen climate classification ''BWh'' and ''BWk'') is a dry climate sub-type in which there is a severe excess of evaporation over precipitation. The typically bald, rocky, or sandy surfaces in desert ...
(
Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...
''BWh'').


References


Bibliography

* {{Deir ez-Zor Governorate, mayadin Cities in Syria Populated places on the Euphrates River Populated places in Mayadin District