Ariha, Idlib

During the era of the Roman Empire and Eastern Roman Empire, Ariha was administratively dependent on Antioch. It reached its peak between 240 and 350 AD, as it became an important center of Christianity. The city was captured by the Rashidun army led by Amr ibn al-As in 636, and it became part of Jund Qinnasrin. During the Ayyubid era, it was under the administration of Aleppo and again then of Qinnasrin.

The Syrian geographer Yaqut al-Hamawi wrote in 1226 that Ariha was a small town in the district of Aleppo and "one of the pleasantest and best of the places on God's earth." He remarked that it was abundant in orchards, gardens and rivers.le Strange, 1890, pp. 520-521.

Ariha was badly damaged in an earthquake in 1822.

In the mid-19th century, Orientalist Albert Socin passed by Ariha, noting that it had an estimated 3,000 inhabitants and was "beautifully situated" among olive orchards at the northern base of Jabal Zawiya.Baedeker, p. 563.

During the Syrian Civil War, Ariha was the scene of fighting between government and rebel forces. The Free Syrian Army repelled a series of government assaults between March and June 2012, despite the government's ability to execute combined arms operations involving armored vehicles, artillery, and helicopter gunships.{{Cite web |last=Karouny |first=Mariam |date=10 May 2012 |title=Soldiers wary as residents rage in Syria's Idlib |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-syria-idlib/soldiers-wary-as-residents-rage-in-syrias-idlib-idUKBRE8490SC20120510/ |access-date=8 May 2025 |website=Reuters}} The city was retaken by the government on 11 August 2012.{{cite news|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/syrian-opposition-leader-calls-for-no-fly-zone/ |title=Syrian opposition leader calls for no-fly zone |work=CBS News |date=2012-08-12 |access-date=2013-08-29}}

By late July 2013, rebels controlled parts of Ariha, while government forces occupied three checkpoints inside the town.{{cite web|url=http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/breaking-news/deadly-fighting-rages-across-syria/story-fni0xqlk-1226682876075 |title=Deadly fighting rages across Syria |publisher=Dailytelegraph.com.au |access-date=2013-08-29}}

{{anchor|fanar}}On 25 May 2014, the al-Nusra Front and the Suqour al-Sham Brigade launched a two-pronged assault on the southern Ariha hills with the objective of seizing two military outposts; the Fanar Restaurant Checkpoint and the Shami Military Installation sit atop two peaks in the area south of the town and control access to the southern neighborhoods of Ariha via two access roads. At 6 in the morning, the al-Nusra Front with support from Suqour al-Sham detonated four SVBIEDs against government infrastructure targets. All four SVBIEDs exploded in the Jabal al-Arbaeen area on the southern outskirts of Ariha. The first SVBIED, driven by Moner Mohammad Abu Salha, a 22-year-old American man from Florida, approached the Fanar Restaurant Checkpoint from the southwest along a dirt road. The 16-ton armored truck completely destroyed the checkpoint and caused it to crumble in on itself, leaving only few survivors to defend it. Over the course of the battle, two more SVBIEDs exploded to the west of Fanar, targeting the Shami Military Complex. The first two SVBIEDs targeted the Commander'’s building and Shami Checkpoint. One final VBIED targeted the Aram building, however the driver of the VBIED was able to park his vehicle and escape uninjured. The four explosions were followed by a barrage of artillery and gunfire. By the end of the day Jabhat al-Nusra and Suquor al-Sham had seized both the Fanar and Shami Checkpoints in one of the largest coordinated SVBIED attacks since the beginning of 2014.{{cite journal | url=http://iswsyria.blogspot.fr/2014/07/rebel-operations-in-idlib-province.html | title=Rebel Operations in Idlib Province during the Spring of 2014 | author=Nate Petrocine | journal=Institute for the Study of War |date=July 2014}} However, on 13 October 2014, it was reported that rebels destroyed a government APC at al-Fanar Checkpoint.{{cite journal | url=http://rfsmediaoffice.com/en/daily-report-monday-13-october-2014/ | title=Daily Report: Monday 13 October 2014 | journal=RFS Media Office | date=13 October 2014 | access-date=24 December 2014 | archive-date=25 December 2014 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141225020615/http://rfsmediaoffice.com/en/daily-report-monday-13-october-2014/ | url-status=dead }}

{{anchor|qiyasat}}On 24 August 2014, rebels captured Ariha. The M4 passes through Ariha before connecting with the M5 in Saraqib. Controlling the section of the M4 in Ariha allowed opposition forces to cut off the government's supply line from Latakia to Idlib and Aleppo cities. Two days later, on 26 August, rebels attacked the government-controlled Qiyasat checkpoint next to Ariha, destroying a government tank in their attempt to disrupt the government's supply line from Idlib to Latakia. "The rebels are trying to capture Ariha so they can move closer to [Idlib]," Ines Qadur, an independent journalist in the south of Idlib, told Syria Direct, "where they will be able to make Idlib city the next battle front.".syriadirect.org/rss/1517-syria-direct-news-update-8-26-2014 However, after 10 days of bombardment, government forces recaptured the town on September 3.{{Cite web|url=http://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/96651|title=Army Retakes Strategic Town in Northwest Syria|website=Naharnet}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.news24.com/news24/assad-forces-capture-strategic-syria-northern-town-20130903|title=Assad forces capture strategic Syria northern town|website=News24}}

On 25 May 2015, the Army of Conquest led by the al-Qaeda-linked al-Nusra Front captured Ariha from government forces.{{cite web|url=http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2015/May-29/299703-rebels-take-ariha-from-assad.ashx|title=Rebels take Ariha from Assad|work=The Daily Star Newspaper - Lebanon|access-date=29 May 2015|archive-date=29 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150529013813/http://dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2015/May-29/299703-rebels-take-ariha-from-assad.ashx|url-status=dead}}{{in lang|vi}} [http://thegioi.baotintuc.vn/thoi-su-tg/syria-phien-quan-chiem-thanh-pho-cuoi-cung-tai-tinh-idlib-20150529065431828.htm Phe nổi dậy chiếm thành phố cuối cùng tại tỉnh Idlib "Rebels take last city in Idlib Province"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150530041849/http://thegioi.baotintuc.vn/thoi-su-tg/syria-phien-quan-chiem-thanh-pho-cuoi-cung-tai-tinh-idlib-20150529065431828.htm |date=2015-05-30 }}. Baotintuc. Retrieved June 6, 2015.

On 12 January 2017, Russian warplanes raided around Ariha, killing an Uyghur Turkistan Islamic Party leader Abu Rida al-Turkistani and his family.{{cite news |last=المحمود |first=زيد |date=2017-01-13 |title=مقتل قياديٍ في الحزب الإسلامي التركستانيٍ جراء غاراتٍ روسيةٍ بإدلب |url=http://www.all4syria.info/Archive/379078 |newspaper=كلنا شركاء في الوطن }}{{cite news|last=المحمود |first=زيد |date=2017-01-13 |title=مقتل قياديٍ في الحزب الإسلامي التركستانيٍ جراء غاراتٍ روسيةٍ بإدلب |url=https://microsyria.com/2017/01/13/%D9%85%D9%82%D8%AA%D9%84-%D9%82%D9%8A%D8%A7%D8%AF%D9%8A%D9%8D-%D9%81%D9%8A-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AD%D8%B2%D8%A8-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A5%D8%B3%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%85%D9%8A-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AA%D8%B1%D9%83%D8%B3%D8%AA/ |newspaper=MICRO SYRIA |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170113222919/https://microsyria.com/2017/01/13/%D9%85%D9%82%D8%AA%D9%84-%D9%82%D9%8A%D8%A7%D8%AF%D9%8A%D9%8D-%D9%81%D9%8A-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AD%D8%B2%D8%A8-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A5%D8%B3%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%85%D9%8A-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AA%D8%B1%D9%83%D8%B3%D8%AA/ |archive-date=2017-01-13 }} Doğu Türkistan Bülteni Haber Ajansı said that Russian planes bombed the families of militant jihadist Uyghur fighters in Idlib and the TIP retaliated by firing rockets against Iranian militias.{{cite news |title=Türkistan İslam Cemaati Grand Füzeleriyle İran Milislerini Vuruyor-VİDEO HABER |url=http://www.doguturkistanbulteni.com/2017/01/16/turkistan-islam-cemaati-grand-fuzeleriyle-iran-milislerini-vuruyor/ |newspaper=Doğu Türkistan Bülteni Haber Ajansı |access-date=2017-01-23 |archive-date=2023-04-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230405070504/http://www.doguturkistanbulteni.com/2017/01/16/turkistan-islam-cemaati-grand-fuzeleriyle-iran-milislerini-vuruyor/ |url-status=dead }}

On 21 February 2018, the Syrian Liberation Front captured Ariha from Tahrir al-Sham.{{cite web|url=http://syriadirect.org/news/two-of-the-largest-factions-in-syria%E2%80%99s-northwest-merge-challenge-hts-dominance/|title=Two of the largest factions in Syria's northwest merge, challenge HTS dominance|author1=Waleed Khaled a-Noufal|author2=Tariq Adely|work=Syria Direct|date=22 February 2018|access-date=25 February 2018|archive-date=23 July 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180723193235/http://syriadirect.org/news/two-of-the-largest-factions-in-syria%E2%80%99s-northwest-merge-challenge-hts-dominance/|url-status=dead}} In January 2019, Tahrir al-Sham recaptured Ariha.{{cite web |title=Ahrar al-Sham |url=https://cisac.fsi.stanford.edu/mappingmilitants/profiles/ahrar-al-sham |website=Stanford}}

Ariha has a hot-summer Mediterranean climate (Köppen climate classification: Csa).

{{Weather box

|width=auto

|metric first=yes

|single line=yes

|location=Ariha

|Jan high C=8.8

|Feb high C=11.0

|Mar high C=15.6

|Apr high C=21.1

|May high C=27.1

|Jun high C=31.2

|Jul high C=33.0

|Aug high C=33.7

|Sep high C=30.8

|Oct high C=25.5

|Nov high C=17.9

|Dec high C=11.3

|Jan mean C=5.2

|Feb mean C=6.6

|Mar mean C=10.3

|Apr mean C=14.8

|May mean C=20.0

|Jun mean C=24.4

|Jul mean C=26.7

|Aug mean C=27.1

|Sep mean C=23.9

|Oct mean C=18.9

|Nov mean C=12.3

|Dec mean C=7.3

|Jan low C=1.6

|Feb low C=2.3

|Mar low C=5.1

|Apr low C=8.5

|May low C=13.0

|Jun low C=17.6

|Jul low C=20.5

|Aug low C=20.6

|Sep low C=17.0

|Oct low C=12.3

|Nov low C=6.7

|Dec low C=3.3

|precipitation colour=green

|Jan precipitation mm=104

|Feb precipitation mm=96

|Mar precipitation mm=67

|Apr precipitation mm=42

|May precipitation mm=21

|Jun precipitation mm=7

|Jul precipitation mm=0

|Aug precipitation mm=0

|Sep precipitation mm=8

|Oct precipitation mm=26

|Nov precipitation mm=43

|Dec precipitation mm=107

| Jan snow days = 3

| Feb snow days = 1

| Mar snow days = 0

| Apr snow days = 0

| May snow days = 0

| Jun snow days = 0

| Jul snow days = 0

| Aug snow days = 0

| Sep snow days = 0

| Oct snow days = 0

| Nov snow days = 0

| Dec snow days = 1

|source 1= Climate-Data.org {{cite web|url=http://www.Climate-Data.org|title=Climate data for cities worldwide - Climate-Data.org|website=www.climate-data.org}}

}}

{{reflist}}

{{refbegin}}

• {{cite book|title=Palestine Under the Moslems: A Description of Syria and the Holy Land from A.D. 650 to 1500|url=https://archive.org/details/palestineundermo00lestuoft |first1=Guy|last1=le Strange|year=1890|publisher=Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund}}
• {{cite book|first=Albert|last=Socin|title=Palestine and Syria with the chief routes through Mesopotamia and Babylonia: Handbook for Travellers|url=https://archive.org/details/palestineandsyr00petegoog|quote=Birin Hama.|publisher=Karl Baedeker|year=1906}}

{{refend}}

{{Idlib Governorate|ariha}}

{{Cities of Syria}}

Category:Cities in Syria

Category:Populated places in Ariha District