ALEPPO

Arabic Halab, Turkish Halep, principal city of northern Syria, and the second largest city of the country (after Damascus). It is situated in the northwestern part of Syria at a point about 30 miles (48 km) south of the Turkish border. Aleppo is located at the crossroads of great commercial routes and lies about 60 miles (100 km) distant from both the Mediterranean Sea (west) and the Euphrates River (east). The city's Arabic name, Halab, is of ancient Semitic origin and is first mentioned in texts at the end of the 3rd millennium BC. In the 18th century BC Halab was the capital of the Amorite kingdom of Yamkhad, and it subsequently came under Hittite, Egyptian, Mitannian, and again Hittite rule during the 17th14th century. In succeeding centuries it achieved some independence as a Hittite principality. It was conquered by the Assyrians in the 8th century BC, was controlled by the Achaemenian Persians from the 6th to the 4th century BC, and then fell into the hands of the Seleucids, who rebuilt it and renamed it Beroea. It became a first-ranking city of the Hellenistic period and a great commercial entrept between the Mediterranean region and the lands farther east. The city was absorbed into the Roman province of Syria in the 1st century BC. It prospered under Byzantine rule but was pillaged and burned by the Persian Sasanian king Khosrow I in AD 540. In 637 the city was conquered by the Arabs, under whom it reverted to its old name, Halab. In the 10th century the Hamdanid dynasty established itself in Aleppo as an independent principality, and the city had a brilliant cultural life under their rule. In the 12th century Aleppo became a centre of Muslim resistance to the Crusaders, who besieged it unsuccessfully in 112425. In 1260 Aleppo was taken by the Mongols, who massacred its inhabitants. After an interval of several centuries under the Mamluks, the city was incorporated into the empire of the Ottoman Turks in 1516, under whom it underwent a remarkable commercial revival, becoming the principal market in the Levant. Its prosperity continued until the end of the 18th century, and full economic recovery came in 1880 with the arrival of the railroad. In the 20th century the city became an industrial centre rivaling Damascus. The old section of Aleppo is built around a 12th-century-AD citadel that rests on a partly man-made mound dominating the city. The old section has the most famous covered bazaars in the Middle East, extending for many miles through narrow streets. Its many khans (caravan rest houses), mosques, and merchants' houses are built of limestone, with many dating from the 16th and 17th centuries. Another point of interest is the Great, or Zakariyah, Mosque (built AD 715, rebuilt 1258), which is named after Zacharias, the father of John the Baptist. Parts of the city's old stone walls, along with several of their gates, are still intact. Aleppo's main industries are silk weaving, cotton printing, the manufacture of soaps and dyes, and the preparation of hides, wool, dried fruit, and nuts. Aleppo is also an intellectual centre with Aleppo University (1960), an institute of music, and several Muslim madrasahs, or theological schools. The National Museum displays ancient artifacts found in northern Syria at several major archaeological sites. Aleppo lies along the Istanbul-Baghdad railway and is linked by rail with Damascus and Beirut (Lebanon) as well. It has road connections to Damascus, Latakia, and Antioch (Turkey), along with an airport. The surrounding agricultural area produces wheat, cotton, barley, vegetables, fruit, nuts, and sesame. Pop. (1994 est.) 1,591,400.