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
A
Neolithic settlement dating back to 8500 BC was identified at Tell Ain el-Kerkh, near Idlib.
The
Ebla tablets (2350 BC) mention the city of (
du-ḫu-la-bu6-um "Duhulabum") which is most probably located at Idlib as suggested by Michael Astour and Douglas Frayne; a similarity exists between the sounds of the ancient and modern names. In the tablets, Duhulabuum is 22 km south of "Unqi" which might correspond to the modern village of Kaukanya, located 22 km northeast of Idlib.
Thutmose III also mentioned the city with the name
Ytḥb.
Classical Antiquity
Idlib, along with the rest of Syria, was conquered by the
Armenians king Tigranes the Great and incorporated in the
Armenian Empire, only to be later conquered by the Roman Pompey the Great around 64 BC. The city was never of much significance, belonging to the province of
Roman Syria under the
Roman Empire and later to the
Byzantine Empire province of Syria Secunda before being conquered by the
Arabs around the middle of the seventh century. Not much remains from the city's Roman and
Byzantine times, except in its museum. North of the city are the
Dead Cities, a collection of important archaeological sites from the Byzantine era.
Ottoman era
During early
Ottoman Empire rule in Syria, beginning in 1516, Idlib was a small
timar (fief). The village of Idlib was founded by Fadil Ahmed Pasha, the son of Grand Vizier Köprülü Mehmed Pasha () who appointed him governor of
Damascus Eyalet. In later years, it developed as a town with markets,
Turkish bath and
, including Khan Abi Ali and Khan al-Ruz.
From the Köprülü period, Idlib was a center of olive production.[Porter, 1868, p. 580.] the product was exported as far as the Ottoman Empire capital of Istanbul. Idlib was also a major producer of cotton fabrics.[Inalcik, 1997, p.501.] Western traveler Josias Leslie Porter noted that Idlib was "encompassed in olive groves, rare in this bleak region",[Baedeker, 1912, p.376.]
Syrian civil war and HTS takeover
During the uprising since 2011, Idlib was the focus of protests and fighting in the early phase of the Syrian war. As the uprising descended into armed conflict, Idlib became the focus of a rebel campaign, which temporarily captured the city and the governorate before a government offensive in April 2012. After this, government forces retook the city and the rebel-controlled province after a month of fighting before the attempted enforcement of the ceasefire proposed by
Kofi Annan. After the 2015 Idlib offensive in March, the rebel alliance Army of Conquest, led by the
al-Nusra Front and
Ahrar al-Sham, succeeded in the Second Battle of Idlib and captured the city,
as well as besieging the Shi'a-majority towns of Al-Fu'ah and
Kafriya to the north of Idlib city.
In April 2015, the interim seat of the Syrian opposition's Syrian Interim Government was proposed to be Idlib,
in Idlib Governorate. On 23 July 2017,
Tahrir al-Sham, the successor to the al-Nusra Front, expelled the remaining forces of
Ahrar al-Sham from Idlib, capturing the entire city and bringing it under the control of the Syrian Salvation Government.
On 17 September 2018, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan announced an agreement to establish a demilitarized buffer zone in Syria's Idlib province, intended to separate Syrian government forces from rebel factions. Under the agreement, Turkish and Russian troops would patrol the zone to ensure compliance. Putin stated that all heavy weaponry would be removed from the area and that radical rebel groups, such as the Nusra Front, must withdraw. The buffer zone was set to be operational by October 15, 2018.
Climate
Köppen-Geiger climate classification system classifies its climate as hot-summer Mediterranean (
Csa).
Summers are hot and rainless, while winters are rainy and cool.
The all-time record high temperature was on June 16, 2012.
Demographics
In the 2004 census by the Central Bureau of Statistics of Syria, Idlib had a population of 98,791 and in 2010 the population was around 165,000. The inhabitants are mostly
Sunni Muslim,
[Mroue, Bassem. "Syrian forces capture rebel stronghold near Turkey" . The Salt Lake Tribune. Associated Press. 2012-03-13. Retrieved on 2012-03-13.] although there was previously a significant
Arab Christians minority, but by 2022 there was only a single elderly Christian man left in the city.
Idlib is divided into six main districts: Ashrafiyah (the most populous), Hittin, Hejaz, Downtown, Hurriyah, and al-Qusour.
Economy
Idlib is a major production center for
,
cotton, wheat and fruits, particularly cherries.
[Casule, 2008, p.56.] Other principal crops include
,
, figs, grapes and tomatoes.
In 1995 there were roughly 300
planted with various
citrus crop.
[Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 1996, p. 147.] Olive oil pressing and textiles are some of the city's local industries.
[ Idlib, Syria . Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Inc. 2012. Retrieved on 2012-03-11.] The nearby city of Aleppo has an important economic presence in Idlib.
Idlib is a major agricultural center in Syria. It is also historically significant, containing many "dead cities" and tells.
Because of the rapidly declining value of the Syrian pound, the Turkish lira became widespread in Idlib and was adopted as legal tender in the city on 15 June 2020.
Culture
The Idlib Regional Museum in the city contains over 17,000 of the
Ebla tablets and serves as Idlib's main tourist attraction, excluding the nearby ancient site of Ebla itself. Under the Technical and Financial Cooperation Agreement between the governments of
Italy and Syria, the museum was to undergo a restoration and renovation project starting in 2010.
[Ferrari, 2009, p. 522.]
Sports
Omayya SC, founded in 1972, is the most popular football team in the city. The club played in the Syrian Premier League for the 2011-2012 season. Idlib Municipal Stadium is the main football venue in the city.
Refugee and parathlete Dima Aktaa is from the city.
Sources
External links
News and events
-
eIdleb - Idleb news and services
Governmental services
