Salqin () 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

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 ...

. 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 northeast. Salqin is the center of its ''

nahiya 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 ...

'' (subdistrict). It had a population of 23,700 in 2004.General Census of Population and Housing 2004
Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS). Idlib Governorate. Archived a

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 ...

.Atassi, Basma
Syrian town takes strife in stride
''

Al Jazeera English Al Jazeera English (AJE; , ) is a 24-hour English-language News broadcasting, news channel operating under Al Jazeera Media Network, which is funded by the government of Qatar. Al Jazeera introduced an English-language division in 2006. It is ...

''. 2013-01-20.Boulanger, 1966, p. 479. The town is situated in the southern

Orontes River The Orontes (; from Ancient Greek , ) or Nahr al-ʿĀṣī, or simply Asi (, ; ) is a long river in Western Asia that begins in Lebanon, flowing northwards through Syria before entering the Mediterranean Sea near Samandağ in Hatay Province, Turk ...

valley and has an altitude of 460 meters above sea level. Olive and other fruit trees surround Salqin. It exports produce from these orchards as well as vegetables. Agriculture is sustained by the large number of springs in Salqin.

History

According to legends, the city was the summer residence of Seleucus I, hence the naming. An inscription, found on a stone between two

cypress Cypress is a common name for various coniferous trees or shrubs from the ''Cupressus'' genus of the '' Cupressaceae'' family, typically found in temperate climates and subtropical regions of Asia, Europe, and North America. The word ''cypress'' ...

trees in the village, dates its foundation to 98 BC. Salqin was mentioned by medieval Muslim historian Izz al-Din ibn Shaddad al-Halabi as the site of one of 22 abandoned or ruined fortresses in the

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 ...

region, likely disbanded or 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. 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 at that time did not rebuild the fortress in Salqin. A former education minister and two former governors of

Homs Homs ( ; ), known in pre-Islamic times as Emesa ( ; ), is a city in western Syria and the capital of the Homs Governorate. It is Metres above sea level, above sea level and is located north of Damascus. Located on the Orontes River, Homs is ...

and Raqqah were from Salqin. In November 2012, during the Syrian civil war, Syrian rebels captured the town from government forces. According to anti-government activists, around 70% of Salqin's residents still supported the government of

Bashar al-Assad Bashar al-Assad (born 11September 1965) is a Syrian politician, military officer and former dictator Sources characterising Assad as a dictator: who served as the president of Syria from 2000 until fall of the Assad regime, his government ...

in January 2013. This led to tensions, and the killing of a number of pro-Assad activists. On 30 August 2015, 13 people were killed and a number of others wounded when an attacker wearing a suicide belt targeted a judgement house of Jabhat al-Nusra.

Climate

Notable people

* Dima Aktaa – activist and parathlete

References

Bibliography

* * {{coord, 36, 08, N, 36, 27, E, display=title, region:SY_type:city_source:GNS-enwiki Towns in Syria Populated places in Harem District