Talbiseh ( ar, تلبيسة, also spelled Talbisa, Tell Bisa, Talbeesa) is a large town in northwestern
Syria administratively part of the
Homs Governorate
Homs Governorate ( ar, مُحافظة حمص / ALA-LC: ''Muḥāfaẓat Ḥimṣ'') is one of the fourteen governorates (provinces) of Syria. It is situated in central Syria. Its area differs in various sources, from to . It is thus geographic ...
, about 10 kilometers north of
Homs. Nearby localities include
al-Rastan
Al-Rastan ( ar, الرستن) is the third largest city in the Homs Governorate, located north of its administrative capital Homs and from Hama. Nearby localities include Talbiseh and al-Ghantu to the south, al-Zaafaraniyah and al-Mashrafah ...
to the north,
al-Ghantoo to the southwest and
al-Mashrafah to the east. The old town of Talbiseh is situated on an isolated hill.
According to the
Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) Talbiseh had a population of 30,796 in 2004.
[General Census of Population and Housing 2004]
Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS). Homs Governorate. Its inhabitants are mostly
Sunni Muslim
Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word ''Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disagr ...
s.
History
Talbiseh is built atop an ancient ''
tell'' ("artificial mound"). In 1945 a large
hoard
A hoard or "wealth deposit" is an archaeological term for a collection of valuable objects or artifacts, sometimes purposely buried in the ground, in which case it is sometimes also known as a cache. This would usually be with the intention of ...
of
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantin ...
-era
copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkish ...
coins were discovered in Talbiseh.
[American Numismatic Society, 1955, p. 108.] The roughly 835 coins, which dated back to 631 CE, consisted of three specimens depicting the emperors
Justin II
Justin II ( la, Iustinus; grc-gre, Ἰουστῖνος, Ioustînos; died 5 October 578) or Justin the Younger ( la, Iustinus minor) was Eastern Roman Emperor from 565 until 578. He was the nephew of Justinian I and the husband of Sophia, the ...
,
Phocas
Phocas ( la, Focas; grc-gre, Φωκάς, Phōkás; 5475 October 610) was Eastern Roman emperor from 602 to 610. Initially, a middle-ranking officer in the Eastern Roman army, Phocas rose to prominence as a spokesman for dissatisfied soldie ...
and
Heraclius Constantine
Heraclius Constantine ( la, Heraclius novus Constantinus; grc-gre, Ἡράκλειος Κωνσταντῖνος, Herakleios Konstantinos; 3 May 612 – 25 May 641), often enumerated as Constantine III, was one of the shortest reigning Byzantin ...
.
[Pottier, 2004, p. 120.]
Ottoman era
During the
Ottoman era
The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
, particularly throughout the 18th-century, Talbiseh served as one of the principal rural fortress towns in northern Syria and it was located along what was known as the "Sultanic Road" which led to
Istanbul
Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...
, the seat of the
empire
An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...
. Its importance had grown as a result of the decline of
Maarrat al-Nu'man
, timezone = EET
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, timezone_DST = EEST
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, coordinates=
, e ...
and
Hisyah
Hisyah ( ar, حِسْيَاء, Ḥisyāʾ, also spelled Hasya, Hasiyah, Hesa or Hessia) is a town in central Syria, administratively part of the Homs Governorate, located about 35 kilometers south of Homs. Situated on the M5 Highway between Hom ...
. The Jundi family had normally provided the ''
aghawat'' (governors) of the fortress, and would later provide three of
Hama
Hama ( ar, حَمَاة ', ; syr, ܚܡܬ, ħ(ə)mɑθ, lit=fortress; Biblical Hebrew: ''Ḥamāṯ'') 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 provinci ...
's governors around the year 1800. During a revolt by the
Mawali
Mawlā ( ar, مَوْلَى, plural ''mawālī'' ()), is a polysemous Arabic word, whose meaning varied in different periods and contexts.A.J. Wensinck, Encyclopedia of Islam 2nd ed, Brill. "Mawlā", vol. 6, p. 874.
Before the Islamic prophet ...
tribes of northern Syria, the governor of Talbiseh's fortress, Abd al-Razzaq al-Jundi, was executed by the tribesmen.
Talbiseh was described as a village of mud houses in the mid-19th century. Unlike most Syrian villages at the time whose houses had flat roofs, the mud houses in Talbiseh had dome-shaped roofs.
[Walpole, 1851, p. 179.] According to traveler Albert Socin, in the early 20th-century, Talbiseh's houses had a cubical base, conical roofs and no windows. The roofs were constructed of overlapping internal layers of stone.
[Socin, 1906, p. 367.]
Syrian civil war
Talbiseh witnessed large demonstrations protesting against the government of
Bashar al-Assad in April 2011 as part of the 2011–present
Syrian Civil War.
[Syria protests: Homs city sit-in 'dispersed by gunfire']
''BBC News
BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...
''. 2011-04-19. Since the beginning of the insurrection, the city has become a stronghold for the opposition and the anti-government
Free Syrian Army
The Free Syrian Army (FSA) ( ar, الجيش السوري الحر, al-jaysh as-Sūrī al-ḥur) is a loose faction in the Syrian Civil War founded on 29 July 2011 by officers of the Syrian Armed Forces with the goal of bringing down the governm ...
(FSA).
As such, Talbiseh has been targeted by the
Syrian Army
" (''Guardians of the Homeland'')
, colors = * Service uniform: Khaki, Olive
* Combat uniform: Green, Black, Khaki
, anniversaries = August 1st
, equipment =
, equipment_label =
, battles = 1948 Arab–Israeli War
Six ...
and security forces throughout the uprising. Between 29 May and early June 2011 Syrian troops backed by tanks
entered and besieged the city with the stated aim of rooting out "terrorist groups." Opposition activists claimed troops were raiding houses and arresting suspected dissidents. Five residents and four soldiers were reportedly killed in the first day of the operation.
On 8 June 2012, three civilians and nine Syrian troops were killed in fighting in the Talbiseh area.
Heavy fighting between the Syrian Army and the FSA continued until at least 11 June. According to
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmonizi ...
observers, the FSA took a number of government soldiers captive.
[UN observers voice concern over Homs]
'' NOW Lebanon''. 2012-06-11. The Syrian Army attempted to retake Talbiseh on 21 July, sparking heavy clashes in the city and subsequent artillery bombardment.
On 25 September 2012,
France 24
France 24 ( in French) is a French state-owned international news television network based in Paris. Its channels broadcast in French, English, Arabic, and Spanish and are aimed at the overseas market.
Based in the Paris suburb of Issy-les-M ...
reported that Talbiseh was under siege from all directions by the army. On 24 December 2012, the
Talbiseh bakery massacre
The Talbiseh bakery massacre (Arabic: مجزرة مخبز تلبيسة) took place in the town of Talbiseh
Talbiseh ( ar, تلبيسة, also spelled Talbisa, Tell Bisa, Talbeesa) is a large town in northwestern Syria administratively part of th ...
took place. More than 14 people were killed while queuing for bread at a local bakery, when they were bombed from warplanes of the
Syrian government
Government of the Syrian Arab Republic is the union government created by the constitution of Syria where by the president is the head of state and the prime minister is the head of government. Executive power is exercised by the government. S ...
. On 24 March 2014, it was reported that the main obstacle preventing the rebels from breaking the siege of Homs city was the Malouk army complex, just south of Talbiseh. The Malouk complex is composed of many checkpoints, spanning 15 square km. It contains 60 tanks and tens of other military vehicles, in addition to 1200 soldiers. According to a pro-opposition source, on 24 February 2015, an infant was allegedly killed while government forces shelled over the city with mortars from the Engineering battalion in Al-Mesherfe village. In May 2018 the Syrian army entered Talbiseh with Russian support the thing led to displace hundreds of families to the opposition areas in northern Syria.
On 13 June 2022, four
Syrian
Syrians ( ar, سُورِيُّون, ''Sūriyyīn'') are an Eastern Mediterranean ethnic group indigenous to the Levant. They share common Levantine Semitic roots. The cultural and linguistic heritage of the Syrian people is a blend of both indig ...
soldiers, including an officer, were killed in an attack by unidentified gunmen on a
Syrian Army
" (''Guardians of the Homeland'')
, colors = * Service uniform: Khaki, Olive
* Combat uniform: Green, Black, Khaki
, anniversaries = August 1st
, equipment =
, equipment_label =
, battles = 1948 Arab–Israeli War
Six ...
checkpoint near the town.
References
معام وأعلام من تلبيسة - عبد اللطيف السعيد وأحمد امين الضحيك21 -
Bibliography
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{{Homs Governorate, rastan
Towns in Syria
Populated places in al-Rastan District