Hama

Coordinates: 35°08′N 36°45′E / 35.133°N 36.750°E / 35.133; 36.750
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Hama
حَمَاة
City
UTC+3 (EEST)
Area code(s)Country code: 963
City code: 33
GeocodeC2987
ClimateBSk
Websitewww.ehama.sy

Hama (

Biblical Hebrew: חֲמָת, romanized: Ḥămāṯ) is a city on the banks of the Orontes River in west-central Syria. It is located 213 km (132 mi) north of Damascus and 46 kilometres (29 mi) north of Homs. It is the provincial capital of the Hama Governorate. With a population of 996,000 (2023 census), Hama is the fourth-largest city in Syria after Damascus, Aleppo and Homs.[3][4]

The city is renowned for its seventeen norias used for watering the gardens, which are locally claimed to date back to 1100 BC. Though historically used for purpose of irrigation, the norias exist today as an almost entirely aesthetic traditional show.

History

The ancient settlement of Hamath was occupied from the early Neolithic to the Iron Age.

Neolithic

The stratigraphy is very generalized, which makes detailed comparison to other sites difficult. Level M (6 m or 20 ft thick) contained both white ware (lime-plaster) and true pottery. It may be contemporary with Ras Shamra V (6000–5000 BC).

Chalcolithic

Remains from the Chalcolithic have been uncovered by Danish archaeologists on the mount on which the former citadel once stood.[5] The excavation took place between 1931 and 1938 under the direction of Harald Ingholt. The overlying level L dates to the Chalcolithic Halaf culture.

Bronze Age

Mitanni period

Although the town appears to be unmentioned in

Amorite dependency of Mitanni, an empire along the Euphrates in northeastern Syria.[5]

Hittite period

By around 1350 BC, Mitanni was overthrown by the Hittites, who controlled all of northern Syria.

In the south, the Hittites were in conflict with the Egyptians. Hamath became an important urban center. The conflict culminated in the famous Battle of Kadesh against Ancient Egypt under Ramesses II near Homs in 1285 BC.

In early 19th century, Johann Ludwig Burckhardt was the first to discover Hittite or Luwian hieroglyphic script at Hama.[7]

Iron Age

The Fall of the Hittite Empire saw the Neo-Hittite/

Biblical Hebrew: חֲמָת, romanized: Ḥămāṯ), which traded extensively, particularly with Israel and Judah.[8]

Assyrian inscriptions

When the Assyrian king

Aramean cities against the encroaching Assyrian armies. According to Assyrian sources, they were confronted by 4,000 chariots, 2,000 horsemen, 62,000-foot-soldiers and 1,000 Arab camel-riders in the Battle of Qarqar
. The attested win for the Assyrians seems to have actually been more of a draw, although Shalmaneser III continued on to the shore and even took a ship to open sea. In the following years, Shalmaneser III failed to conquer Hamath or Aram-Damascus. After the death of Shalmaneser III, the former allies Hamath and Aram-Damascus fell out, and Aram-Damascus seems to have taken over some of Hamath's territory.

An Aramaic inscription of

Sam'al came to rule both Hamath and Aram.[citation needed
]

In 743 BC, Tiglath-Pileser III took a number of towns in the territory of Hamath, distributed the territories among his generals, and forcibly removed 1,223 selected inhabitants to the valley of the Upper Tigris; he exacted tribute from Hamath's king, Eni-Ilu (Eniel).

In 738 BC, Hamath is listed among the cities again conquered by Assyrian troops. Over 30,000 natives were deported to Ullaba (located in Urartu)[10] and replaced with captives from the Zagros Mountains.[6]

Destruction under Sargon II

After the fall of the

Simirra, Damascus, and Samara
.

Styling himself the "Destroyer of Hamath," Sargon II razed the city c. 720 BC,[11] recolonized it with 6300 Assyrians and removed its king to be flayed alive in Assyria.[6] He also carried off to Nimrud the ivory-adorned furnishings of its kings.[12]

Displaced persons from Hamath subsequently comprised an important part of the multi-ethnic Aramaean community at Elephantine and Syene (now Aswan) in Egypt starting in 700 BCE, where alongside similarly displaced Jews they produced a large corpus of materials in Imperial Aramaic known as the Elephantine papyri and ostraca.[13]

Hamath in the Bible

The few

Israel, is said to have "restored the territory of Israel from the entrance of Hamath to the Sea of the Arabah (the Dead Sea)".[14]

Assyria's defeat of Hamath made a profound impression on Isaiah (Isaiah 10:9). The prophet Amos also named the town "Hamath the Great" (Amos 6:2).

Persian, Hellenistic and Roman history

In 539 BC, Cyrus the Great, King of Achaemenid Empire, took Syria as part of his empire, to be known as Eber-Nari. In July 522 BC, Cambyses II died at a location called Agbatana, which is most likely the modern city of Hama.[15]

In the second half of the 4th century BC the modern region of Syria came under the influence of Greco-Roman culture, following long lasting semitic and Persian cultures.

Ancient Greek: Ἐπιφάνεια),[16] after the Seleucid Emperor Antiochus IV Epiphanes. Seleucid rule began to decline, however, in the next two centuries, and Arab dynasties began to gain control of cities in this part of Syria, including Hama.[17]

The

Roman province of Syria, ruled from Rome by a proconsul. Hama was an important city during the Greek and Roman periods, but very little archaeological evidence remains.[17] As Syria became part of the Roman Empire, five hundred Hamian archers, known as "Cohors Prima Hamiorum Sagittaria", were stationed at Magnis on Hadrian's Wall in northern Britain starting from AD 120. The same unit or another one was later renamed to "Numerus Syrorum Saggitariorum" and located at Derventio Brigantum (Malton).[18] The garrison unit was transferred to Bar Hill Fort on the Antonine Wall in Scotland in AD 142–157, then back to Magnis in AD 163–166, during the early reign of Marcus Aurelius. They might have also stationed at Housesteads, as a tombstone of an archer was located there. However, the cohort's presence in Britain was proven by military diplomas, found in Stannington (AD 122) and Ravenglass (AD 124), in addition to altars dedicated to Syrian Goddesses discovered at Catterick.[19][20]

In AD 330, the capital of the Roman Empire was moved to

Christian religion was strengthened throughout the Near East, and churches were built in Hama and other cities. The Byzantine historian John of Epiphania was born in Hama in the 6th century.[17]

An alley in old Hama

Two main personalities from Hama were documented during Greek-Roman times. The first is Eustathius of Epiphaneia (

Ancient Greek: Χρονικὴν ἐπιτομὴν).[21] The second personality is Euphrates the Stoic, who was from Epiphaneia according to Stephanus of Byzantium.[16]

Muslim rule

Nur al-Din Mosque

During the

Abu Ubaidah ibn al-Jarrah in 638 or 639 and the town regained its ancient name, and has since retained it. Following its capture, it came under the administration of Jund Hims and remained so throughout the rule of Umayyads until the 9th century.[22]

Abbasid rule.[23] Although the city's history is obscure at this time period, it is known that Hama was a walled market town with a ring of outlying cities. On 29 November 903, the Abbasid Caliphate during the reign of Al-Muktafi defeated the Qarmatians in the Battle of Hama, which eliminated them from the western Syrian Desert
.

It came under the control of the

Persian geographer Nasir Khusraw noted in 1047 that Hama was "well populated" and stood on the banks of the Orontes River.[24]

The gate in the old city of Hama, Mamluk architecture

Israelites. It is one of the pleasantest places in Syria."[29] After his death, he was succeeded by his son al-Afdal Muhammad who eventually lost Mamluk favor and was deposed. Thus, Hama came under direct Mamluk control.[22]

Hama grew prosperous during the Ayyubid period, as well as the Mamluk period. It gradually expanded to both banks of the Orontes River, with the suburb on the right bank being connected to the town proper by a newly built bridge. The town on the left bank was divided into upper and lower parts, each of which was surrounded by a wall. The city was filled with palaces, markets, mosques, madrasas, and a hospital, and over thirty different sized norias (water-wheels). In addition, there stood a massive citadel in Hama.[22] Moreover, a special aqueduct brought drinking water to Hama from the neighboring town of Salamiyah.[22]

Timurlane took Hama, along with nearby Homs and Baalbek.[30]

Ottoman rule

The Azem Palace in Hama was built in 1742

The prosperous period of Mamluk rule came to an end in 1516, when the

caravansaries"s) were built in the city, like Khan Rustum Pasha which dates from 1556.[31] The governor of Hama was tasked in 1692 with settling Turkoman nomads in the Hama-Homs region under the aegis of the Ottoman Empire's tribal settlement program.[32]

Then in the 18th century, it became a part of the holdings of the governor of Damascus.

Modern history

General view
The clock tower of Hama

Ottoman rule ended in 1918, after their defeat in

French Mandate of Syria. By then, Hama had developed into what it has remained: a medium-sized provincial town, important as the market for an agricultural area abundant in cereals, but also cotton and sugar beets. It gained notoriety as the center of large estates worked by peasants and dominated by a few magnate families. The 1925 Hama uprising occurred in the city during the Great Syrian Revolt
against the French.

During the French Mandate, the district of Hama contained within its bounds the municipality of Hama and 114 villages. By an estimate in 1930, only four of these villages were owned outright by local cultivators, while sharing ownership of two villages with a notable family. Thus, the hinterland was owned by landowning elites.[34] Starting in the late 1940s, significant class conflict erupted as agricultural workers sought reform in Hama.

Syria gained full independence from France in 1946.

Arab Socialist Party, which later merged with another socialist party, the Ba'ath
. This party's ascent to power in 1963 signalled the end of power for the landowning elite.

The political insurgency by Sunni Islamic groups, particularly the Muslim Brotherhood, occurred in the city, which was reputed as a stronghold of conservative Sunni Islam. As early as the spring of 1964, Hama became the epicentre of an uprising by conservative forces, encouraged by speeches from mosque preachers, denouncing the policies of the Ba'ath. The Syrian government sent tanks and troops into the quarters of Hama's old city to put down the insurrection.[34]

In the early 1980s, Hama had emerged as a major source of opposition to the Ba'ath government during the Sunni armed

1981 massacre and the most notable 1982 Hama massacre.[35] The most serious insurrection of the Syrian Islamist uprising happened in Hama during February 1982, when Government forces, led by the president's brother, Rifaat al-Assad, quelled the revolt in Hama with very harsh means.[36] Tanks and artillery shelled the neighbourhoods held by the insurgents indiscriminately, and government forces are alleged to have executed thousands of prisoners and civilian residents after subduing the revolt, which became known as the Hama massacre. The story is suppressed and regarded as highly sensitive in Syria.[37] The Hama massacre led to the military term "Hama Rules" meaning the complete large-scale destruction of a military objective or target.[38] The city was the site of conflict between the Syrian military and opposition forces as one of the main arenas of the Syrian civil war during the 2011 siege of Hama
.

In 2018, archaeologists revealed a Byzantine mosaic painting of a church that dates back to the fifth century AD. The painting, which was decorated with geometric shapes and inscriptions in Latin, was unearthed in the Tell Salhab area in Khareb village.[39][40]

Climate

Its climate is classified as

Köppen-Geiger system.[41] Hama's inland location ensures that it receives no softening coastal influences and breezes from the Mediterranean Sea. As a result, the city has a much hotter and drier climate than nearby Homs
.

Climate data for Hama (1961–1990, extremes 1956–2004)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 20.0
(68.0)
23.1
(73.6)
28.0
(82.4)
36.2
(97.2)
41.0
(105.8)
42.0
(107.6)
45.2
(113.4)
45.0
(113.0)
42.2
(108.0)
37.6
(99.7)
31.0
(87.8)
25.2
(77.4)
45.2
(113.4)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) 11.4
(52.5)
13.8
(56.8)
17.9
(64.2)
23.1
(73.6)
29.3
(84.7)
33.8
(92.8)
36.2
(97.2)
36.2
(97.2)
33.8
(92.8)
27.6
(81.7)
19.7
(67.5)
13.1
(55.6)
24.7
(76.5)
Daily mean °C (°F) 6.6
(43.9)
8.3
(46.9)
11.6
(52.9)
15.9
(60.6)
21.1
(70.0)
25.8
(78.4)
28.2
(82.8)
27.9
(82.2)
25.3
(77.5)
19.3
(66.7)
12.7
(54.9)
7.9
(46.2)
17.5
(63.5)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) 2.9
(37.2)
3.3
(37.9)
5.4
(41.7)
8.8
(47.8)
12.9
(55.2)
17.4
(63.3)
20.2
(68.4)
20.1
(68.2)
17.1
(62.8)
12.4
(54.3)
6.6
(43.9)
3.7
(38.7)
10.9
(51.6)
Record low °C (°F) −8.3
(17.1)
−7.3
(18.9)
−3.0
(26.6)
−0.5
(31.1)
5.9
(42.6)
10.6
(51.1)
14.7
(58.5)
14.0
(57.2)
9.5
(49.1)
2.2
(36.0)
−3.7
(25.3)
−5.5
(22.1)
−8.3
(17.1)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 72.5
(2.85)
54.3
(2.14)
49.3
(1.94)
32.3
(1.27)
10.3
(0.41)
3.8
(0.15)
0.4
(0.02)
0.1
(0.00)
1.8
(0.07)
21.4
(0.84)
40.0
(1.57)
66.5
(2.62)
352.7
(13.89)
Average precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm) 9.9 8.1 7.4 4.5 1.8 0.3 0.0 0.0 0.3 2.8 5.1 9.0 49.2
Average
relative humidity
(%)
81 75 69 61 49 40 39 42 43 51 69 83 58
Mean monthly sunshine hours 127.1 151.2 217.0 249.0 325.5 366.0 387.5 356.5 312.0 257.3 192.0 130.2 3,071.3
Mean daily sunshine hours 4.1 5.4 7.0 8.3 10.5 12.2 12.5 11.5 10.4 8.3 6.4 4.2 8.4
Source 1: NOAA[42]
Source 2: Deutscher Wetterdienst (extremes 1956–2004, and humidity 1973–1993)[43]

Demographics

Greek Orthodox
church.

According to Josiah C. Russel, during the 12th century, Hama had a population of 6,750.[44] James Reilly accounts the historical population as: 1812– 30,000 (Burckhardt) 1830– 20,000 (Robinson) 1839– 30–44,000 (Bowring) 1850– 30,000 (Porter) 1862– 10–12,000 (Guys) 1880– 27,656 (Parliamentary Papers) 1901– 60,000 (Parliamentary Papers) 1902–1907 80,000 (Trade Reports) 1906– 40,000 (al-Sabuni) 1909– 60,000 (Trade Reports)[45] In 1932, while Hama was under the French Mandate, there were approximately 50,000 residents. In the 1960 census, there were 110,000 inhabitants. The population continued to rise, reaching 180,000 in 1978 and 273,000 in 1994.[46] The infant mortality rate per 1,000 live births in the Hama Governorate was 99.4.[47] A 2005 estimate had Hama's population at around 325,000 inhabitants.[48]

Most of the residents are

Sunni Muslims (including mostly Arabs, Kurds, and Turkmen), although some districts of the city are exclusively Christian.[48] Hama is reputed to be the most conservative Sunni Muslim city in Syria since French Mandate times. During that period there was an old saying reflecting this characteristic: "In Damascus, it takes only three men to make a political demonstration, while in Hama it takes only three men to get the town to pray."[34] The Christian population mostly adheres to the Greek Orthodox Church or the Syriac Orthodox Church.[49]

The city also contains a

.

Ecclesiastical status

The Greek Orthodox Church has a prelacy in Hama under the

Lequien mentions nine Greek bishops of Epiphania.[50] The first of them, whom he calls Mauritius, is the Manikeios whose signature appears in the First Council of Nicaea.[51] Currently, it has two Catholic archbishops, a Greek Melkite and a Syrian, the former residing at Labroud, the latter at Homs, reuniting the titles of Homs (Emesus) and Hamah.[52]


Titular bishopric of the Roman Church

  • Vartan Hunanian (28 Jan 1675 - 24 Oct 1681) [53]
  • bishop of Vienna
    )
  • Giovanni Domenico Xiberras, (1 Oct 1727 - 5 Oct 1751)
  • Giovanni Battista Albrici Pellegrini (5 Oct 1751 - 21 Jul 1760,
    Bishop of Como
    )
  • Tommaso Vespoli (22 Nov 1762 - 1768 )
  • Johann Nepomuk Augustin von Hornstein zu Hohenstoffen (16 May 1768 - 16 Dec 1805)
  • Francis Alphonsus Bourne
    (23 Mar 1896 - 1 May 1897)
  • Pierre Feghali (23 Feb 1919 - 20 Jul 1944)
  • Pietro Sfair (11 Mar 1953 - 11 Mar 1960)
  • Volodymyr Malanczuk, (22 Jul 1960 - 29 Sep 1990)

Neighborhoods

Main sights

The Orontes River and Norias of Hama
Close-up view of Noria

Hama's most famous attractions are the 17

Orontes river
, they are up to 20 metres (66 ft) in diameter. The largest norias are the al-Mamunye (1453) and the al-Muhammediye (14th century). Originally they were used to route water into aqueducts, which led into the town and the neighbouring agricultural areas.

Other sights include:

Notable people

  • Adnan al-Bakkour, former Attorney General

See also

References

  1. ^ "2023 official census". cbss. Retrieved 3 January 2024.
  2. ^ "President al-Assad issues decrees on appointing new governors for eight Syrian provinces". Syrian Arab News Agency. 20 July 2022. Retrieved 15 August 2022.
  3. ^ Updated: Your Cheat Sheet to the Syrian Conflict. PBS.
  4. ^ a b "Hamah (Syria)". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 3 June 2013.
  5. ^ a b Ring, 1996, p.315.
  6. ^ a b c d e f Hawkins, J.D. "Hamath." Reallexikon der Assyriologie und Vorderasiatischen Archäologie, Vol. 4. Walter de Gruyter, 1975.
  7. ^ The Decipherment of Hittite Archived 31 October 2018 at the Wayback Machine James Norman (Schmidt), Ancestral Voices: Decoding Ancient Languages, Four Winds Press, New York, 1975.
  8. ^ "Hamath". Jewish Encyclopedia. Jewishencyclopedia.com. Retrieved 4 February 2013.
  9. ^ Hamath's history from the inscriptions was encapsulated by George L. Robinson, "The Entrance of Hamath" The Biblical World 32.1 (July 1908:7–18), in discussing the topography evoked by the Biblical phrase "the entrance of Hamath".
  10. ^ Grainger 2016.
  11. ^ "Hamath Wrecked to Terrify Small Opponents of Assyria" The Science News-Letter. 39:13 (29 March 1941:205–206.)
  12. ^ The ivories were found there by Layard. One of the ivory panels found at "Fort Shalmaneser" is inscribed "Hamath." (R. D. Barnett, "Hamath and Nimrud: Shell Fragments from Hamath and the Provenance of the Nimrud Ivories." Iraq. 25:1. [Spring 1963:81–85.])
  13. . In the fifth century BCE, the Persian army in southern Egypt employed Arameans from Syria, Arameans from Babylonia, and Jews. The latter identified themselves as Arameans too. Their language was Aramaic, and their literary and religious culture bore an Aramean slant. [...] One of the two groups that constituted the Aramean colony of Syene had its roots in Hamath. This is the Bethel group.
  14. NIV
    translation, which refers to the Dead Sea
  15. ^ Dandamayev 1990, pp. 726–729.
  16. ^ a b "ToposText". topostext.org.
  17. ^ a b c d Ring, 1996, p.317.
  18. ^ "Hamian Archers: Roman auxiliaries from Syria in Britain. 2nd Century A.D." (PDF). portalstothepast.co.uk.
  19. ^ "The Hamians". romanarmy.net.
  20. ^ Bruce 1867, pp. 243–244.
  21. ^ "SOL Search". www.cs.uky.edu.
  22. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Dumper, Stanley, and Abu-Lughod, 2007, p.163.
  23. ^ le Strange, 1890, p.39.
  24. ^ le Strange, 1890, p.357.
  25. ^ Whitaker 2008, p. 163.
  26. ^ Robinson 1908:9.
  27. ^ Nur al-Din Mosque Archived 3 July 2013 at the Wayback Machine. Archnet Digital Library.
  28. ^ le Strange, 1890, p.359.
  29. ^ a b le Strange, 1890, p.360.
  30. ^ le Strange, 1890, p.xxiii.
  31. ^ a b c Ring, 1996, p.318.
  32. . p.25.
  33. ^ Reilly, 2002, p.72.
  34. ^ a b c Dumper, Stanley, and Abu-Lughod, 2007, p. 164.
  35. ^ Larbi Sadiki. "In Syria, the government is the real rebel – Opinion". Al Jazeera English. Retrieved 31 July 2011.
  36. ^ [1][dead link]
  37. ^ "Survivors of Syria's Hama massacres by Assad forces watch, and hope". English.alarabiya.net. 9 July 2011. Archived from the original on 14 July 2011. Retrieved 31 July 2011.
  38. .
  39. ^ "Mosaic painting dating back to fifth century AD discovered in Hama countryside". Syrian Arab News Agency. 31 October 2018. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
  40. ^ "Early Byzantine mosaic floor discovered in Syria's Hama". The Archaeology News Network. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
  41. . Retrieved 1 August 2013.
  42. ^ "Hama Climate Normals 1961–1990". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved 26 April 2017.
  43. ^ "Klimatafel von Hama / Syrien" (PDF). Baseline climate means (1961–1990) from stations all over the world (in German). Deutscher Wetterdienst. Retrieved 26 April 2017.
  44. ^ Shatzmiller, 1994, p.59.
  45. ^ James Reilly, A Small Town in Syria, Ottoman Hama in the 18th and 19th Centuries, p73. Peter Lang Publishing (2002)
  46. ^ Wincler, 1998, p.72.
  47. ^ Wincler, 1998, p.44.
  48. ^ a b Dumper, Stanley, and Abu-Lughod, 2007, p.162.
  49. ^ a b Schaff and Herzog, 1911, p.232.
  50. ^ Oriens Christianus, II, pp.915–918.
  51. ^ Gelzer, Heinrich, Patrum Nicaenorum Nomina. p.lxi.
  52. ^ Missiones Catholicae. pp.781–804.
  53. ^ http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/diocese/d2e34.html Epiphania in Syria (Titular See). Catholicheirachy.org

Bibliography

Further reading

  • P. J. Riis/V. Poulsen, Hama: fouilles et recherches 1931–1938 (Copenhagen 1957).

External links

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