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Maarat al-Numan
Maarat al-Numan (Arabic: مَعَرَّةُ النُّعْمَانِ, romanized: Maʿarrat an-Nuʿmān), also known as al-Ma'arra, is a city in northwestern Syria, 33 km (21 mi) south of Idlib and 57 km (35 mi) north of Hama, with a population of 58,008 at the time of the 2004 census. In 2017, it was estimated to have a population of 80,000, including several displaced by fighting in neighbouring towns. It is located on the highway between Aleppo and Hama and near the Dead Cities of Bara and Serjilla.
The city, known as Arra to the Greeks, has its present-day name combined from the Aramaic word for cave ܡܥܪܗ (mʿarā) and that of its first Muslim governor, Nu'man ibn Bashir al-Ansari, a companion of Muhammad, meaning "the cave of Nu’man". The crusaders called it Marre. There are many towns throughout Syria with names that begin with the word Maarat, such as Maarrat Misrin and Maarat Saidnaya.
The earliest known written mention of the town appears in a Roman route itinerary, likely created during the reign of Emperor Antoninus Caracalla. In this document, a settlement named Arra is listed as a stop along the road connecting Emesa and Cyrrhus. Based on its location in the itinerary, Arra can be confidently identified as present-day Maarat al-Numan, suggesting that the town was already inhabited by the early 3rd century CE.
The museum of the city has a lot of Roman and Byzantine exhibits. In June 2025, a Byzantine-era tomb complex dating back to the 6th century was uncovered. The tombs contained sarcophagi, and pottery shards as well as glass fragments were found nearby.
Muslim forces, led by Abu Ubayda, captured the city in 637 CE. Although Byzantine Emperor Nikephoros II Phokas briefly retook it in 968, the city was later recaptured by the Muslims..
In 891 Ya‘qubi described Maarrat al-Nu‘man as "an ancient city, now a ruin. It lies in the Hims province." By the time of Estakhri (951) the place had recovered, as he described the city "very full of good things, and very opulent". Figs, pistachios and vines were cultivated. In 1047 Nasir Khusraw visited the city, and described it as a populous town with a stone wall. There was a Friday Mosque, on a height, in the middle of the town. The bazaars were full of traffic. Considerable areas of cultivated land surrounded the town, with plenty of fig-trees, olives, pistachios, almonds and grapes.
The most infamous event from the city's history dates from late 1098, during the First Crusade. After the crusaders, led by Raymond de Saint Gilles and Bohemond of Taranto, successfully besieged Antioch they found themselves with insufficient supplies of food. During or after the siege of Ma‘arra some of the starving crusaders therefore resorted to cannibalism, feeding on the bodies of Muslims. This fact itself is not seriously in doubt, as it is acknowledged by nearly a dozen Christian chronicles written during the twenty years after the Crusade, all of which are based at least to some degrees on eyewitness accounts. The crusaders' cannibalism is also briefly mentioned in an Arab source, which explains it as due to hunger.
There is conflicting evidence on when exactly and why the cannibalism happened. Some sources state that enemies were eaten during the siege, others (a slight majority) state that it happened after the city had been conquered. Another source of tension exists regarding its motives – was it practised secretly due to famine and lack of food, as some sources suggest, or publicly in front of the enemies in order to shock and frighten them, as others imply?
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Maarat al-Numan
Maarat al-Numan (Arabic: مَعَرَّةُ النُّعْمَانِ, romanized: Maʿarrat an-Nuʿmān), also known as al-Ma'arra, is a city in northwestern Syria, 33 km (21 mi) south of Idlib and 57 km (35 mi) north of Hama, with a population of 58,008 at the time of the 2004 census. In 2017, it was estimated to have a population of 80,000, including several displaced by fighting in neighbouring towns. It is located on the highway between Aleppo and Hama and near the Dead Cities of Bara and Serjilla.
The city, known as Arra to the Greeks, has its present-day name combined from the Aramaic word for cave ܡܥܪܗ (mʿarā) and that of its first Muslim governor, Nu'man ibn Bashir al-Ansari, a companion of Muhammad, meaning "the cave of Nu’man". The crusaders called it Marre. There are many towns throughout Syria with names that begin with the word Maarat, such as Maarrat Misrin and Maarat Saidnaya.
The earliest known written mention of the town appears in a Roman route itinerary, likely created during the reign of Emperor Antoninus Caracalla. In this document, a settlement named Arra is listed as a stop along the road connecting Emesa and Cyrrhus. Based on its location in the itinerary, Arra can be confidently identified as present-day Maarat al-Numan, suggesting that the town was already inhabited by the early 3rd century CE.
The museum of the city has a lot of Roman and Byzantine exhibits. In June 2025, a Byzantine-era tomb complex dating back to the 6th century was uncovered. The tombs contained sarcophagi, and pottery shards as well as glass fragments were found nearby.
Muslim forces, led by Abu Ubayda, captured the city in 637 CE. Although Byzantine Emperor Nikephoros II Phokas briefly retook it in 968, the city was later recaptured by the Muslims..
In 891 Ya‘qubi described Maarrat al-Nu‘man as "an ancient city, now a ruin. It lies in the Hims province." By the time of Estakhri (951) the place had recovered, as he described the city "very full of good things, and very opulent". Figs, pistachios and vines were cultivated. In 1047 Nasir Khusraw visited the city, and described it as a populous town with a stone wall. There was a Friday Mosque, on a height, in the middle of the town. The bazaars were full of traffic. Considerable areas of cultivated land surrounded the town, with plenty of fig-trees, olives, pistachios, almonds and grapes.
The most infamous event from the city's history dates from late 1098, during the First Crusade. After the crusaders, led by Raymond de Saint Gilles and Bohemond of Taranto, successfully besieged Antioch they found themselves with insufficient supplies of food. During or after the siege of Ma‘arra some of the starving crusaders therefore resorted to cannibalism, feeding on the bodies of Muslims. This fact itself is not seriously in doubt, as it is acknowledged by nearly a dozen Christian chronicles written during the twenty years after the Crusade, all of which are based at least to some degrees on eyewitness accounts. The crusaders' cannibalism is also briefly mentioned in an Arab source, which explains it as due to hunger.
There is conflicting evidence on when exactly and why the cannibalism happened. Some sources state that enemies were eaten during the siege, others (a slight majority) state that it happened after the city had been conquered. Another source of tension exists regarding its motives – was it practised secretly due to famine and lack of food, as some sources suggest, or publicly in front of the enemies in order to shock and frighten them, as others imply?