Idlib

File:Byzantine temple in Idlib (Ruweiha) Syria.jpg temple at Ruweiha near Idlib]]

Idlib, along with the rest of Syria, was conquered by the Armenian 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 Eastern Roman 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.

During early Ottoman 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 ({{reign|1656|1661}}) who appointed him governor of Damascus Eyalet. In later years, it developed as a town with markets, bathhouses and caravanserais, including Khan Abi Ali and Khan al-Ruz.{{sfn|Bakhit|2010|p=60}}

From the Köprülü period, Idlib was a center of olive production.{{cite web|url=https://www.haberturk.com/yazarlar/murat-bardakci/2135491-idlib-meshur-sadrazam-koprulu-mehmed-pasanin-en-buyuk-vakiflarindan-birinin-merkezi-idi|title=İdlib, meşhur sadrazam Köprülü Mehmed Paşa'nın en büyük vakıflarından birinin merkezi idi|website=haberturk.com|language=tr|date=9 September 2018}} which in turn gave way to a prosperous olive-based soap industry. Although the major markets for Idlib's soap were at Aleppo, Antioch, and Hama,Porter, 1868, p. 580. the product was exported as far as the Ottoman 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", and remarked that its olive groves were larger than those of Damascus, Beirut, or Gaza. In the mid-19th century, the town had an estimated population of 8,000, including 500 Christians. In the late 19th century, Idlib was "flourishing" and still contained several Christian families, according to German orientalist Albert Socin.Baedeker, 1912, p.376.

{{Main|Syrian civil war}}

File:Syrian rebels Faylaq al-Sham Idlib.jpg by rebel forces in 2015]]

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,{{cite news |url=http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/News/12392.aspx |title=Gulf allies and 'Army of Conquest |newspaper=Al-Ahram Weekly |date=28 May 2015 |access-date=4 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170531094633/http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/News/12392.aspx |archive-date=31 May 2017 |url-status=live }} as well as besieging the Shi'a-majority towns of Al-Fu'ah and Kafriya to the north of Idlib city.{{cite web | url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/syria/11502899/Thousands-flee-Syrian-city-Idlib-after-rebel-capture.html | title=Thousands flee Syrian city Idlib after rebel capture | work=The Telegraph | date=29 March 2015 | access-date=29 March 2015 | author=Sherlock, Ruth | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150329190137/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/syria/11502899/Thousands-flee-Syrian-city-Idlib-after-rebel-capture.html | archive-date=29 March 2015 | url-status=live }} In April 2015, the interim seat of the Syrian opposition's Syrian Interim Government was proposed to be Idlib,{{cite web|url=http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/politics/2015/04/syria-opposition-idlib-nusra-government-in-exile.html|title=Will Syrian opposition move interim government to Idlib? - Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East|work=Al-Monitor|access-date=2016-12-13|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161226065604/http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/politics/2015/04/syria-opposition-idlib-nusra-government-in-exile.html|archive-date=2016-12-26|url-status=dead}} 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.{{cite web|url=http://www.syriahr.com/en/?p=70437|title=Following the renewed fighting … Ahrar Al-Sham and Tahrir Al-Sham reconcile|work=SOHR|date=24 July 2017|access-date=24 October 2020}}

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.

Köppen-Geiger climate classification system classifies its climate as hot-summer Mediterranean (Csa).{{Cite web |url=http://en.climate-data.org/location/27966/ |title=Climate: Idlib - Climate graph, Temperature graph, Climate table |publisher=Climate-Data.org |access-date=2013-12-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131205184809/http://en.climate-data.org/location/27966/ |archive-date=2013-12-05 |url-status=live }} Summers are hot and rainless, while winters are rainy and cool.

The all-time record high temperature was {{convert|44|C}} on June 16, 2012.{{Cite web |url=http://voodooskies.com/weather/syria/idlib |title=Idlib, Syria |publisher=Voodoo Skies |access-date=2013-12-03 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160321033646/http://voodooskies.com/weather/syria/idlib/ |archive-date=2016-03-21 }}

{{Weather box|width=auto

|metric first=y

|single line=y

|location = Idlib, elevation {{convert|451|m|ft|abbr=on}}

|Jan high C = 10.0

|Feb high C = 12.1

|Mar high C = 16.7

|Apr high C = 21.8

|May high C = 27.2

|Jun high C = 31.0

|Jul high C = 32.5

|Aug high C = 33.5

|Sep high C = 31.1

|Oct high C = 26.2

|Nov high C = 18.8

|Dec high C = 12.1

| year high C =

|Jan mean C = 6.5

|Feb mean C = 7.9

|Mar mean C = 11.3

|Apr mean C = 16.2

|May mean C = 20.8

|Jun mean C = 25.0

|Jul mean C = 26.7

|Aug mean C = 27.5

|Sep mean C = 25.1

|Oct mean C = 20.5

|Nov mean C = 13.8

|Dec mean C = 8.3

| year mean C =

|Jan low C = 2.9

|Feb low C = 3.5

|Mar low C = 6.6

|Apr low C = 10.6

|May low C = 14.5

|Jun low C = 19.0

|Jul low C = 21.0

|Aug low C = 21.5

|Sep low C = 19.2

|Oct low C = 14.8

|Nov low C = 8.6

|Dec low C = 4.5

| year low C =

|precipitation colour = green

|Jan precipitation mm = 100

|Feb precipitation mm = 92

|Mar precipitation mm = 59

|Apr precipitation mm = 43

|May precipitation mm = 16

|Jun precipitation mm = 4

|Jul precipitation mm = 0

|Aug precipitation mm = 1

|Sep precipitation mm = 5

|Oct precipitation mm = 23

|Nov precipitation mm = 39

|Dec precipitation mm = 97

|year precipitation mm =

| source 1 = FAO{{cite web

| url = https://www.fao.org/land-water/land/land-governance/land-resources-planning-toolbox/category/details/fr/c/1028000/

| title = World-wide Agroclimatic Data of FAO (FAOCLIM)

| publisher= Food and Agriculture Organization of United Nations

| access-date = 21 December 2024}}

}}

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. [http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/world/53708338-68/idlib-syrian-army-mines.html.csp "Syrian forces capture rebel stronghold near Turkey"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130923014406/http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/world/53708338-68/idlib-syrian-army-mines.html.csp |date=2013-09-23 }}. The Salt Lake Tribune. Associated Press. 2012-03-13. Retrieved on 2012-03-13. although there was previously a significant Christian minority, but by 2022 there was only a single elderly Christian man left in the city.{{cite web|url=https://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/fr/culture/2015/04/syria-idlib-christians-jabhat-alnusra-.html |title=Christian evacuees mourn Idlib|date=17 April 2015 |publisher=Al-Monitor |accessdate=8 November 2020}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/23/world/middleeast/syria-christians-idlib.html|title = 'Now There is No One': The Lament of One of the Last Christians in a Syrian City|newspaper = The New York Times|date = 23 January 2022|last1 = Saad|first1 = Hwaida|author-link = Hwaida Saad }}{{Cite web|url=https://www.aa.com.tr/en/life/-al-hajji-michel-boutros-the-last-syrian-christian-of-idlib/2363397|title = 'Al-Hajji' Michel Boutros: The last Syrian Christian of Idlib}} Idlib is divided into six main districts: Ashrafiyah (the most populous), Hittin, Hejaz, Downtown, Hurriyah, and al-Qusour.

File:Idlib1.jpg

Idlib is a major production center for olives, cotton, wheat and fruits, particularly cherries.Casule, 2008, p.56. Other principal crops include almonds, sesame seeds, figs, grapes and tomatoes. In 1995 there were roughly 300 hectares 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.[https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/282037/Idlib Idlib, Syria] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120311200421/https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/282037/Idlib |date=2012-03-11 }}. 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.{{Cite news|last=DAILY SABAH WITH AGENCIES|date=2020-06-16|title=Idlib follows suit in adopting Turkish lira to shield region from plummeting Syrian pound|language=en|work=Daily Sabah|url=https://www.dailysabah.com/business/economy/idlib-follows-suit-in-adopting-turkish-lira-to-shield-region-from-plummeting-syrian-pound|access-date=2020-06-16}}

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.{{update after|2011}}

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.

{{coord|35|56|N|36|38|E|region:SY_type:city|display=title}}{{Cn|date=December 2022}}

Refugee and parathlete Dima Aktaa is from the city.{{Cite web |last=Speare-Cole |first=Rebecca |date=2020-06-14 |title=Disabled Syrian refugee helps raise £70k to protect camps from virus |url=https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/disabled-syria-refugee-coronavirus-help-refugees-campaign-a4467716.html |access-date=2022-12-27 |website=Evening Standard |language=en}}

{{Reflist}}

{{Refbegin}}

• {{Citation|last=Baedeker|first=Karl|title=Palestine and Syria, with routes through Mesopotamia and Babylonia and the island of Cyprus: handbook for travellers|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BykoAAAAYAAJ&q=Idlib+kada|publisher=K. Baedeker|year=1912}}
• {{cite book |last1=Bakhit |first1=Muhammad Adnan |editor1-last=Sluglett |editor1-first=Peter |editor2-last=Weber |editor2-first=Stefan |title=Syria and Bilad al-Sham under Ottoman Rule: Essays in Honour of Abdul-Karim Rafeq |date=2010 |publisher=Brill |location=Leiden and Boston |isbn=978-90-04-18193-9 |pages=59–64 |chapter=Abdul-Karim Rafeq, Friend and Colleague}}
• {{Citation|last=Casule|first=F.|title=Art and History Syria|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QNGyWSx8U34C&q=Idlib+history|publisher=Casa Editrice Bonechi|year=2008|isbn=978-8847601192}}
• {{Citation|last=Angelo|first=Ferrari|title=Proceedings 4th International Congress on "Science and Technology for the Safeguard of Cultural Heritage in the Mediterranean Basin"|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7zKJOYkW0GsC|volume=1|publisher=Angelo Ferrari-CNR, Institute of Chemical Methodologies|year=2009|isbn=978-8896680315}}
• {{cite book|author=Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations|title=Citrus Pest Problems and Their Control in the Near East|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ybOgDlrXZXwC&q=Edleb+Citrus|publisher=Food & Agriculture Org.|year=1996|isbn=9251033013}}
• {{Citation|last=Inalcik|first=Halil|title=An Economic and Social History of the Ottoman Empire|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=c00jmTrjzAoC&q=Idlib+history|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=1997|isbn=0521574552}}
• {{cite book|first=Josias Leslie|last=Porter|title=A Handbook for Travellers in Syria and Palestine|volume=1|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AwSatmeOEUgC&q=Hawarin+inhab.+Qara|publisher=Murray|year=1858}}

{{Refend}}

• [http://www.esyria.sy/eidleb/ eIdleb] - Idleb news and services

• [https://web.archive.org/web/20070216061403/http://e.sy/ E.sy: Complete governmental online services]

{{Commons category|Idlib}}

{{Cities of Syria}}

{{Idlib Governorate|Idlib}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:Cities in Syria