156582

Where is Aleppo?

Aleppo (Arabic: حلب) is located in northern Syria, 120 kilometers west of the Mediterranean Sea. It is the second largest city in Syria and the capital of Aleppo Province, with a population of 4.14 million (2020).

Aleppo is 45 kilometers from the Syrian-Turkish border, with geographic coordinates 36°13′N 37°10′E, located in the northern part of the Fertile Crescent between the Mediterranean Sea and Mesopotamia and between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, from Damascus 350 kilometers north, with a total area of ​​190 square kilometers. In 1986, UNESCO listed the ancient city of Aleppo as a cultural heritage and included it in the World Heritage List.

Historically, Aleppo is one of the oldest human settlements, with archaeological discoveries being inhabited by the 11th millennium BC. The ancient Greeks called the city “Beroea”. It was called Halep during the Ottoman Empire. The name Aleppo only came into use during the French Mandate.

Aleppo was an important military town in northern Syria in ancient times, and later developed into a textile and handicraft center. It is also an important location on the trade road. At the beginning, it was just a small town built on some small hills. In modern times, it has developed into a large city. The rather centrally formed province of Aleppo occupies an area of ​​16,000 square kilometers and has a population of approximately 4.14 million.

History and Culture

The ancient city of Aleppo has almost as long a history as Damascus, having become an important commercial center more than 4,000 years ago. It connects southern Europe, the South Asian subcontinent and North Africa, as well as the Arabian Flats. Since ancient Greece and ancient Rome, strategic locations and transportation centers of all dynasties have been located here. In the 18th century BC, Aleppo was the capital of an important empire. Around 1595 BC, the Hittites took Aleppo from the Anatolians when they invaded the kingdom of Babylon.

In 738 BC, the Assyrians occupied the place. After the death of Alexander the Great, Aleppo fell under the Seleucid dynasty and then came under Roman rule in 65 BC. Later Aleppo was conquered by the Arabs and began a period of prosperity under the Dai Maya dynasty. Shortly after Damascus fell into the hands of the Easterners, Aleppo was not spared the disaster. In the 10th century AD, Aleppo entered its golden age as the capital of the independent Handanid duchy.

It was captured by the Mongols in 1260, but then recaptured by the Egyptian Mamluk army. Under the Mamluks, its trade continued to develop. In 1516 AD, Aleppo was conquered by the Ottomans. In the middle of the 19th century, after the construction of the Suez Canal, its fortunes gradually declined. The rule of various dynasties has left Aleppo with splendid cultures in various historical periods, especially the Arab culture it has preserved is famous all over the world.

Aleppo’s most famous Islamic cultural monument is the Aleppo Acropolis, located on a gentle hillside to the east of the ancient city. It is a testimony to the history and culture of the Hittites. Legend has it that Abraham stopped here to milk his red cows during his travels. However, evidence from older civilizations suggests that there have been many wars here. It was built in 2000 BC and was originally a temple of the Assyrian Empire. Rebuilt and expanded several times in the 11th-13th centuries, it covers an area of ​​15 hectares.

What people see today is the reconstruction and restoration under the auspices of Nuraal al-Din Zangu at the end of the 12th century AD. This renovation preserves the traces of the ancient castle after ancient wars and earthquakes. The wall of the Acropolis is made of boulders, surrounded by a ditch 22 meters deep and 30 meters wide, which is 65 meters high from the bottom of the ditch to the top of the city wall.

The slope from the lower part of the wall to the moat is not only steep, but also covered with smooth stone slabs, and it seems that no one can climb over the moat to the wall. There is a distance of more than 10 meters between the entrance and the watchtower. In the past, it was connected by a large suspension bridge built in the early 16th century AD. Once the enemy invades, the acropolis will be solid if the suspension bridge is put away.

There are three large iron gates in the castle. The first gate is carved with two giant snakes circling each other, so it is called the Snake Gate; the second gate is carved with a pair of lions sitting in the ancient city of Aleppo; the third gate is carved. There is also a pair of lions on it, one is a laughing lion and the other is a crying lion. These exquisite carvings are calling to heaven, calling on the infinite power and all-encompassing mercy of Allah. The passage connecting the gates is equipped with flaps and various organs, and the top of the passage is full of battlements and surveillance holes, which can kill the enemies who enter rashly. At the same time, there are unknown secret passages inside the castle. This acropolis is well-defended, cleverly conceived, extremely easy to defend and difficult to attack, and proudly isolates itself from the world.

It is said that it was only captured by the Mongolian Timur Khan in 1401 AD, and has never been captured again. The interior of the Acropolis has preserved several palace ruins from different dynasties. Among them, the palace of the 13th century AD is particularly admirable. Its hall is inlaid with white marble, and various stalactite-shaped decorations are hung on the roof. A masterpiece of Arabic art. The Golden Palace, built in the 15th-16th century AD, is famous for its extraordinary ornate details, such as the intricately decorated ceiling beams, painted glass windows, extravagant palace lampstands and crystal lamps, etc. , etc., all of which reflect the development level of Syrian handicrafts in that era and the outstanding wisdom of the craftsmen.

In addition, there are prisons with dungeons in the Eastern Roman Empire, barracks during Turkish rule, large reservoirs, gunpowder stores, granaries more than 1,000 years ago, as well as the ruins of the 12th-century Great Mosque and some 60-meter-deep mosques. Wells, it is said that these wells are connected to secret passages. In addition to the famous Acropolis of Aleppo, there are still many scenic spots of considerable cultural value in the ancient city, and even the ancient streets and alleys that are difficult for vehicles to pass are enough to make people linger. Throughout the city, streets and alleys are distributed according to a hierarchy of public and private territories.

Then some new roads were built between the two, some of which were combined with the original streets and alleys to form a whole. The Umayyad Mosque in the center of the ancient city was first built in the 7th century. After being completely destroyed, it was rebuilt and renovated in the 12th century AD. Today, it is not the early Islamic architectural features, but the style of the ancient Egyptian Mamluk cavalry era. There are also a number of ancient Islamic buildings near the Great Mosque, all of which together constitute the unique temperament of Aleppo, which is worshipped from all over the world.