140-436: (Redirected from HEMS ) Hems may refer to: Homs , Syria Air Ambulance - HEMS: Helicopter Emergency Medical Service EMS - HEMS: Home Energy Management Systems Mangalore Airport (Victoria) , IATA airport code "HEMS" See also [ edit ] Hem Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with
280-502: A iqtâ' , but reclaimed it five years later following Shirkuh's death. The latter's nephew, Saladin , occupied Homs in early December 1174, but the garrison at the citadel resisted. He later departed for Aleppo, and left a small army in Homs' lower town. The defenders of the citadel offered to set their Christian prisoners free, if Raymond III, Count of Tripoli provided military assistance for them. William of Tyre later emphasized that
420-768: A Macedonian princess, a gift from Seleucus to formalize an alliance. In a return gesture, Chandragupta sent 500 war elephants , a military asset which would play a decisive role at the Battle of Ipsus in 301 BC. In addition to this treaty, Seleucus dispatched an ambassador, Megasthenes , to Chandragupta, and later Deimakos to his son Bindusara , at the Mauryan court at Pataliputra (modern Patna in Bihar state ). Megasthenes wrote detailed descriptions of India and Chandragupta's reign, which have been partly preserved to us through Diodorus Siculus . Later Ptolemy II Philadelphus ,
560-549: A Sunni Muslim reaction led by the Saljuqid Turks , who occupied Homs under the leadership of Aq Sunqur al-Hajib in 1090. The First Crusade was launched in 1096, and in 1098, the Crusaders captured Antioch to the northwest, looted Ma'arrat al-Nu'man , and finally besieged Homs itself. Although they managed to cut the city off from its main port Tartus , they failed in taking the city. Soon after, Homs came under
700-590: A "very strong place" of the Arab Sampsigeramos and of his son Iamblikhos, "phylarchs" of the Emesene, who had allied themselves to Q. Caecilius Bassus against Caesar in 47 BC; the translators above cited have thought strange Strabo's not saying a word about Emesa. Claims have been made that Emesa was founded by Seleucus I Nicator who established the Seleucid Empire upon the death of Alexander
840-537: A boundary with the territory of Epiphania . The kingdom of Sampsiceramus I , was the first of Rome's Arab clients on the desert fringes. The city of Emesa grew to prominence after the new-found wealth of the Emesene dynasty, governed first by one of the sons of Sampsiceramus I, Iamblichus I who made it the kingdom's capital. The Emesene proved their loyalty to Rome once more when they aided Gaius Julius Caesar in his siege of Alexandria in 48 BC, by sending him army detachments. Subsequently, they became embroiled in
980-547: A century until 1262 with the death of al-Ashraf Musa . In 1225, Arab geographer Yaqut al-Hamawi mentioned that Homs was large, celebrated and walled, having a strongly fortified castle on its southern hill. Towards the end of Ayyubid rule, Homs remained a centrepiece of the wars between them and the Crusaders, as well as internecine conflicts with the Mongol Empire and the Mamluks . The First Battle of Homs between
1120-493: A decline of European textile production. The quality and design of cotton goods from Homs satisfied both the lower and upper classes of the local, Ottoman, and foreign markets. There were around 5,000 looms in Homs and nearby Hama , and one British consul referred to Homs as the " Manchester of Syria". Throughout the 20th century Homs held high political importance in the country and was home to several heads of state and other high-ranking government officials. In October 1918, it
1260-684: A district of the province of Bilad al-Sham , encompassing the towns of Latakia , Jableh , and Tartus along the coast, Palmyra in the Syrian Desert and the territory in between, including the town of Hama . Homs was likely the first city in Syria to have a substantial Muslim population. In 638, Heraclius sought help from the Christian Arab tribes in Upper Mesopotamia , mainly from Circesium and Hīt , and they mustered
1400-583: A large army and besieged Emesa . However, the siege was a failure, as the coalition forces lost heart and abandoned the city as at the time Iyad ibn Ghanm invaded their homeland in an effort to counter their act. The Muslims transformed half of St. John's Church into the city's Friday mosque ( Great Mosque of al-Nuri ) and Homs soon became a centre of Islamic piety since some 500 companions of Muhammad ( Arabic : اَلصَّحَابَةُ , romanized : al-ṣaḥāba ) settled there after its conquest. The tombs of Khalid ibn al-Walid, his son Abd al-Rahman , and
1540-476: A man called "'Amr bin al-Rawas" who conciled with him offering precious gifts to save the city. Later in the 15th century as Mamluk weakness had brought insecurity to the countryside, Homs was ravaged by Bedouin raids; In 1510 a powerful tribe led by al-Fadl bin Nu'ayr was sent on an expedition by the governor of Damascus to loot the city markets as Homs had failed to pay compensation for his "services". In 1516, Homs
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#17327933443071680-541: A marriage contract, and received in return five hundred elephants. Other territories ceded before Seleucus' death were Gedrosia in the south-east of the Iranian plateau, and, to the north of this, Arachosia on the west bank of the Indus River . Following his and Lysimachus ' decisive victory over Antigonus at the Battle of Ipsus in 301 BC, Seleucus took control over eastern Anatolia and northern Syria . In
1820-726: A point of exchange between the sedentary zone and the desert. Moreover, because of easy access to the Mediterranean, Homs has attracted overland trade from the Persian Gulf and Iraq . Seleucid Empire The Seleucid Empire ( / s ɪ ˈ lj uː s ɪ d / ) was a Greek state in West Asia during the Hellenistic period . It was founded in 312 BC by the Macedonian general Seleucus I Nicator , following
1960-698: A rebellion by the Banu Kalb. In 750, the Abbasid Caliphate wrested control of Syria, including Homs, from the Umayyads, and the Arab tribes revolted. Despite the prosperity Homs experienced during this era, Abbasid rule was generally not welcomed nevertheless. During and after the reign of Caliph Harun al-Rashid (796–809), the Abbasid authorities sent numerous punitive expeditions against Homs. Under
2100-550: A regular basis, with occasional intervention from Ptolemaic Egypt and other outside powers. The Seleucids existed solely because no other nation wished to absorb them—seeing as they constituted a useful buffer between their other neighbours. In the wars in Anatolia between Mithridates VI of Pontus and Sulla of Rome, the Seleucids were largely left alone by both major combatants. Mithridates' ambitious son-in-law, Tigranes
2240-466: A reply to lay before the senate." For a few moments he hesitated, astounded at such a peremptory order, and at last replied, "I will do what the senate thinks right." He then chose to withdraw rather than set the empire to war with Rome again. On his return journey, according to Josephus , he made an expedition to Judea , took Jerusalem by force, slew a great many who had favored Ptolemy , sent his soldiers to plunder them without mercy. He also spoiled
2380-603: A revocation by Macrinus of the privileges given by Caracalla and a reestablishment of those by Elagabalus. Elagabalus served as the high priest at the Temple of El-Gebal , the local Arab sun god. He brought the image of this god, a conical black stone ( Baetyl ), to the Elagabalium in Rome. Emesa also grew wealthy because it formed a link in the eastern trade funnelled through Palmyra ; however, this dependence also caused
2520-508: A rump Seleucid kingdom was restored under Antiochus XIII . Even so, civil wars could not be prevented, as another Seleucid, Philip II , contested rule with Antiochus. After the Roman conquest of Pontus, the Romans became increasingly alarmed at the constant source of instability in Syria under the Seleucids. Once Mithridates was defeated by Pompey in 63 BC, Pompey set about the task of remaking
2660-519: A series of religious persecutions. This cumulated in a localized revolt in Jerusalem. Antiochus IV's violent retaking of the city and the banning of traditional Judean practices led to the eventual loss of control of Judea by the Seleucid government, paving the way for the rise of an independent Hasmonean kingdom . As with the other major Hellenistic armies , the Seleucid army fought primarily in
2800-413: A simple tribe, governed by its sheikhs, and still devoid of a real urban existence; according to Maamoun Abdulkarim, occupation of the citadel's tell does not confirm the existence of a real urban center in the plain before the Roman period and recent excavations have refuted the existence of vestiges preceding the Roman period under the actual town's outline, and the existence of an Arab Emesene dynasty in
2940-531: A source of drinking water for the inhabitants. It was one of the largest cities in Syria and had several smaller districts surrounding it. In 944 the Hamdanids took definitive control of the city, dominating it until 1016. Arab geographer al-Mas'udi claimed in the early 10th century that Homs was "noted for the personal beauty of its inhabitants." In 985, al-Maqdisi noted that Homs was the largest city in all of Syria, but it had suffered "great misfortunes" and
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#17327933443073080-624: A successful war against the old enemy, Ptolemaic Egypt , which met with initial success as the Seleucids defeated and drove the Egyptian army back to Alexandria itself. As the king planned on how to conclude the war, he was informed that Roman commissioners, led by the Proconsul Gaius Popillius Laenas , were near and requesting a meeting with the Seleucid king. Antiochus agreed, but when they met and Antiochus held out his hand in friendship, Popilius placed in his hand
3220-468: A tiny minority of the overall population, these Greeks were the backbone of the empire: loyal and committed to a cause that gave them vast territory to rule, they overwhelmingly served in the military and government. Unlike Ptolemaic Egypt , Greeks in the Seleucid Empire seem to rarely have engaged in mixed marriages with non-Greeks; they kept to their own cities. The various non-Greek peoples of
3360-618: Is a city in western Syria and the capital of the Homs Governorate . It is 501 metres (1,644 ft) above sea level and is located 162 kilometres (101 mi) north of Damascus . Located on the Orontes River , Homs is also the central link between the interior cities and the Mediterranean coast. Before the Syrian civil war , Homs was a major industrial centre, and with a population of at least 652,609 people in 2004, it
3500-559: Is bordered by Al-Bayadah and Deir Baalbah , while the more modern neighbourhoods of al-Sabil, al-Zahra Jub al-Jandali and Armenian quarter are situated to the east of the Old City. South of it are the neighbourhoods of Bab al-Sebaa, al-Mreijeh, al-Adawiyya, al-Nezha, Akrama and beyond them lay the Karm al-Loz, Karm al-Zaytoun, Wadi al-Dhahab, al-Shamas, Masaken al-Idikhar and Dahia al-Walid neighbourhoods. The modern commercial centre lies to
3640-574: Is easy, and their manners are agreeable. The women are beautiful and are celebrated for their fine skin." A series of earthquakes in 1157 inflicted heavy damage upon Homs and its fortress, then in 1170, a minor quake finished off the latter. However, because of its strategic importance, being opposite of the Crusader County of Tripoli , the city and its fortifications were soon restored. In 1164, Nur al-Din awarded Homs to Asad ad-Din Shirkuh as
3780-542: Is made up primarily of Sunni Muslims (including Arabs , Kurds , and Turkmen ), with minorities of Alawites , Eastern Orthodox Christians and Assyrians . In addition to Catholics, Evangelists and Maronites. In the 1880s, the Survey of Western Palestine noted that there were 5,500 Greek Orthodox Christians and 1,500 Syriac Orthodox Christians. The Syriac Patriarchate was transferred to Homs from Mardin in 1933, but relocated once more to Damascus in 1959. According to
3920-485: Is now Afghanistan and Pakistan , therefore including a diverse array of cultures and ethnic groups. Greeks , Assyrians , Armenians , Georgians , Persians , Medes , Mesopotamians, Jews , and more all lived within its bounds. The immense size of the empire gave the Seleucid rulers a difficult balancing act to maintain order, resulting in a mixture of concessions to local cultures to maintain their own practices while also firmly controlling and unifying local elites under
4060-466: The 1914 Ottoman population statistics , the district of Homs had a total population of 80.691, consisting of 67.587 Muslims, 10.246 Orthodox Greeks , 1.327 Catholic Greeks , 774 Assyrians , 751 Latins and 6 Protestants . During the Armenian genocide in the early 20th century, about 20,000 Armenians immigrated to Homs and the surrounding villages. A small Greek community also still exists in
4200-648: The Battle of Mount Labus and Battle of the Arius and besieged the Bactrian capital . He even emulated Seleucus with an expedition into India where he met with King Sophagasenus ( Sanskrit : Subhagasena ) receiving war elephants, perhaps in accordance of the existing treaty and alliance set after the Seleucid-Mauryan War. Actual translation of Polybius 11.34 (No other source except Polybius makes any reference to Sophagasenus): He [Antiochus] crossed
4340-840: The Bekaa Valley in the west to the border with Palmyra in the east, and from Yabrud in the south to al-Rastan (Arethusa) in the north. A marker at the Palmyrene 's southwestern border was found in 1936 by Daniel Schlumberger at Qasr al-Hayr al-Gharbi , dating from the reign of Hadrian or one of his successors, which marked the boundary between Palmyrene and Emesene ( Pliny the Elder asserted that both territories were contiguous); this boundary probably ran northwards to Khirbet al-Bilaas on Jabal al-Bilas where another marker, laid by Roman governor Silanus , has been found, 75 kilometres (47 mi) northwest of Palmyra, probably marking
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4480-619: The Fifth Syrian War , the Seleucids ousted Ptolemy V from control of Coele-Syria . The Battle of Panium (200 BC) definitively transferred these holdings from the Ptolemies to the Seleucids. Antiochus appeared, at the least, to have restored the Seleucid Kingdom to glory. Following the defeat of his erstwhile ally Philip by Rome in 197 BC, Antiochus saw the opportunity for expansion into Greece itself. Encouraged by
4620-484: The Roman Civil War between the rebelling Mark Antony and the pro-Caesar Octavian . Iamblichus I took the side of Octavian, and so upon encouragement from Antony, Iamblichus's brother Alexander usurped the throne and put Iamblichus I to death in 31 BCE. Octavian's forces prevailed in the war, however, and as a result the kingdom's throne was reverted to Iamblichus II (the son of Iamblichus I) after Alexander
4760-545: The Syrian Army , many of them taking part in the series of coup d'états that were to follow. An important example was Hafez al-Assad who became the president of Syria from 1971 until his death in 2000. An oil pipeline between Tripoli and Kirkuk was built in Homs in the early 1930s and it followed an ancient caravan route between Palmyra and the Mediterranean. In 1959, an oil refinery was built to process some of this oil for domestic consumption. The city's oil refinery
4900-844: The division of the Macedonian Empire founded by Alexander the Great , and ruled by the Seleucid dynasty until its annexation by the Roman Republic under Pompey in 63 BC. After receiving the Mesopotamian regions of Babylonia and Assyria in 321 BC, Seleucus I began expanding his dominions to include the Near Eastern territories that encompass modern-day Iraq , Iran , Afghanistan , Syria , and Lebanon , all of which had been under Macedonian control after
5040-463: The temple , and interrupted the constant practice of offering a daily sacrifice of expiation, for three years and six months. The latter part of his reign saw a further disintegration of the Empire despite his best efforts. Weakened economically, militarily and by loss of prestige, the Empire became vulnerable to rebels in the eastern areas of the empire, who began to further undermine the empire while
5180-495: The 1981 census, the population stood at 346,871, rising to 540,133 in 1994. According to the 2004 census by Syria's Central Bureau of Statistics , Homs had a population of 652,609 of which 51.5% were male and 48.5% female. In an independent 2005 estimate the city had 750,000 residents, and as of 2008 the population was estimated at about 823,000. Homs Governorate had an estimated 1,767,000 people in 2011. Today, Homs' population reflects Syria's general religious diversity, and
5320-688: The 1st century BC at the time of the Seleucids . It later became the capital of a kingdom ruled by the Emesene dynasty who gave the city its name. Originally a center of worship for the sun god El-Gabal , it later gained importance in Christianity under the Byzantines . Homs was conquered by the Muslims in the 7th century and made capital of a district that bore its current name. Throughout
5460-588: The 2nd century BC, ancient writers referred to them as the Syrian kings, the kings of Syria or of the Syrians, the kings descended from Seleucus Nicator, the kings of Asia, and other designations. Alexander , who quickly conquered the Persian Empire under its last Achaemenid dynast, Darius III , died young in 323 BC, leaving an expansive empire of partly Hellenised culture without an adult heir. The empire
5600-575: The Caucasus Indicus (Paropamisus) ( Hindu Kush ) and descended into India; renewed his friendship with Sophagasenus the king of the Indians; received more elephants, until he had a hundred and fifty altogether; and having once more provisioned his troops, set out again personally with his army: leaving Androsthenes of Cyzicus the duty of taking home the treasure which this king had agreed to hand over to him. Having traversed Arachosia and crossed
5740-598: The Crusaders and the Mongols from the entirety of Syria. At the beginning of the 14th century, the city was merely the capital of the smallest province of Syria and was often attached to the province of Damascus. Ibn Batuta visited Homs in 1355, writing that it had fine trees, good markets, and a "fine Friday Mosque", noting that all of its inhabitants were Arabs. Timur seized the city in 1400. Nevertheless, he did not sack it as he did in Aleppo, Hama and later Damascus, due to
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5880-478: The Great attempted to project Seleucid power and authority into Hellenistic Greece , but his attempts were thwarted by the Roman Republic and its Greek allies. The Seleucids were forced to pay costly war reparations and had to relinquish territorial claims west of the Taurus Mountains in southern Anatolia , marking the gradual decline of their empire. Mithridates I of Parthia conquered much of
6020-447: The Great , king of Armenia , however, saw opportunity for expansion in the constant civil strife to the south. In 83 BC, at the invitation of one of the factions in the interminable civil wars, he invaded Syria and soon established himself as ruler of Syria, putting the Seleucid Empire virtually at an end. Seleucid rule was not entirely over, however. Following the Roman general Lucullus ' defeat of both Mithridates and Tigranes in 69 BC,
6160-465: The Great . However, according to Henri Seyrig , Emesa does not seem to have received any Greek colony and the authors' complete silence makes one think that it did not increase its visibility under the Seleucid kings. According to Henri Seyrig, it even seems that Posidonius , to whom Strabo probably referred concerning the Emesenes' phylarchs' alliance with Q. Caecilius Bassus, regarded the Emesenes as
6300-533: The Greco-Macedonian style, with its main body being the phalanx . The phalanx was a large, dense formation of men armed with small shields and a long pike called the sarissa . This form of fighting had been developed by the Macedonian army in the reign of Philip II of Macedon and his son Alexander the Great. Alongside the phalanx, the Seleucid armies used numerous native and mercenary troops to supplement their Greek forces, which were limited due to
6440-577: The Greek language, wrote in Greek, absorbed Greek philosophical ideas, and took on Greek names; some of these practices then slowly filtered down to the lower classes. Hellenic ideas began an almost 250-year expansion into the Near East, Middle East, and Central Asian cultures. Synthesizing Hellenic and indigenous cultural, religious, and philosophical ideas – an ethnic unity framework established by Alexander – met with varying degrees of success. The result
6580-541: The Hellenistic East , by creating new client kingdoms and establishing provinces. While client nations like Armenia and Judea were allowed to continue with some degree of autonomy under local kings, Pompey saw the Seleucids as too troublesome to continue; doing away with both rival Seleucid princes, he made Syria into a Roman province . The domain of the Seleucids stretched from the Aegean Sea to what
6720-648: The Indus was subject to Seleucus. Chandragupta Maurya ( Sandrokottos ) founded the Maurya Empire in 321 BC after the conquest of the Nanda Empire and their capital Pataliputra in Magadha . Chandragupta then redirected his attention to the Indus River region, and by 317 BC, he conquered the remaining Greek satraps left by Alexander. Expecting a confrontation, Seleucus gathered his army and marched to
6860-462: The Indus. It is said that Chandragupta could have fielded a conscript army of 600,000 men and 9,000 war elephants. Chandragupta received, formalized through a treaty, territory west of the Indus, including the Hindu Kush , modern day Afghanistan , and the eastern part Balochistan province of Pakistan , bordering on the Indus. Archaeologically, concrete indications of Mauryan rule, such as
7000-533: The Islamic era, Muslim dynasties contending for control of Syria sought after Homs due to the city's strategic position in the area. Homs began to decline under the Ottomans and only in the 19th century did the city regain its economic importance when its cotton industry boomed. During French Mandate rule, the city became a center of insurrection and, after independence in 1946, a center of Baathist resistance to
7140-638: The Market), Bab Tadmur (Gate of Palmyra ), Bab al-Dreib (or Bab al-Deir), Bab al-Sebaa (Gate of the Lions), Bab al-Turkman (Gate of the Turkmen ), Bab al-Masdoud (Closed Door), and Bab Hud (The Gate of Hud ). Only two gates—Bab Tadmor and Bab al-Dreib—remain today. The oldest of Homs' mosques and churches are located in the Old City. Homs consists of several subdivisions outside the Old City. The large neighbourhood of Khaldiyah spreads along its northern edge which
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#17327933443077280-486: The Mongols and the Mamluks took place on 10 December 1260, ending in a decisive Mamluk victory. The Second Battle of Homs was fought on 29 October 1281, also ending in a Mamluk victory. The Mamluks were finally defeated in the Battle of Wadi al-Khaznadar , also known as the "Third Battle of Homs", in 1299. Homs declined politically after falling to the Mamluks under Baibars because their campaigns effectively drove out
7420-484: The Ottomans brought administrative changes to Homs, as it became the capital city of sanjak ("district") of Homs , attached to the eyalet ("province") of Tripoli —its old rival. In the late 16th century the district was ruled by emir 'Ali Harfush of the famous Shiite Harfush dynasty of the nearby Beqaa valley . Later, a French visitor noted that the city walls and citadel were in good repair, but all within
7560-758: The Parthians moved into the power vacuum to take over the old Persian lands. Antiochus' aggressive Hellenizing (or de-Judaizing) activities provoked a full scale armed rebellion in Judea —the Maccabean Revolt . Efforts to deal with both the Parthians and the Jews as well as retain control of the provinces at the same time proved beyond the weakened empire's power. Antiochus orchestrated a military campaign, capturing Artaxias I , King of Armenia, and reoccupying Armenia. His offensive ventured as far as Persepolis, but he
7700-399: The Roman Orient. This was partly due to the marriage of Emperor Lucius Septimius Severus to a woman from a family of notables based in Emesa. According to a text of Ulpian ( Digest 50.15.1.4) and another one of Paul ( Digest 50.15.8.6), Caracalla and Elagabalus each promoted Emesa to the rank of a colonia and granted ius Italicum to it; Eugène Albertini has hypothesized about
7840-425: The Roman general Pompey in 63 BC. Contemporary sources, such as a loyalist decree honoring Antiochus I from Ilium , in Greek language define the Seleucid state both as an empire ( ἀρχή , archḗ ) and as a kingdom ( βασιλεία , basileía ). Similarly, Seleucid rulers were described as kings in Babylonia. The rulers did not describe themselves as being of any particular territory or people, but starting from
7980-404: The Seleucid banner. The government established Greek cities and settlements throughout the empire via a program of colonization that encouraged immigration from Greece; both city settlements as well as rural ones were created that were inhabited by ethnic Greeks. These Greeks were given good land and privileges, and in exchange were expected to serve in military service for the state. Despite being
8120-458: The citadel once stood. To the north of the citadel lies the Christian Quarter, known as "al-Hamidiyah". This neighbourhood is one of the few areas of Homs that retains its older look, with most of the alternating black-and-white stone buildings dating from the Mamluk era. They are still used as shops and dwellings, and there has been recent renovation. At the time of the Abbasids, Homs was known for its seven gates. They were Bab al-Souq (Gate of
8260-401: The city during his Syrian campaigns . Throughout most of the 11th century, the Byzantine raids receded greatly and the Mirdasids of the Banu Kilab tribe ruled over Homs, replacing the Hamdanids. Inclined towards Shia Islam, they did not oppose the Isma'ili Shi'i Fatimid Caliphate of Egypt, which was aiming to extend its rule into northern Syria and Iraq at the time. This precipitated
8400-409: The city of Pergamum in the west was asserting its independence under the Attalid dynasty . The Seleucid economy started to show the first signs of weakness, as Galatians gained independence and Pergamum took control of coastal cities in Anatolia. Consequently, they managed to partially block contact with the West. A revival would begin when Seleucus II's younger son, Antiochus III the Great , took
8540-401: The city to pay thanks to the deity. Due to the strength of the pagan sun cult in Emesa, Christians initially did not settle in the city. Eusebius writes that Silvanus, the city's first bishop, had no jurisdiction over the city, but the surrounding villages. He was executed by Emperor Julian and succeeded by Bishop Antonius—the first bishop to settle Emesa. By the 5th century, Christianity
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#17327933443078680-434: The city with Hamath-zobah of Zobah mentioned in the Bible . In 1274 BCE, a battle took place between the forces of the Egyptian Empire under Ramesses II and the Hittite Empire under Muwatalli II at the city of Kadesh on the Orontes River near Homs. It was possibly the largest chariot battle ever fought, involving perhaps 5,000–6,000 chariots. Strabo only mentioned Arethusa in his Geography , as
8820-460: The city's downfall when Palmyra sank to insignificance in the 4th century. Nonetheless, Emesa at this time had grown to rank with the important cities of Tyre , Sidon , Beirut , and Damascus . It also continued to retain local significance, because it was the market center for the surrounding villages. The city remained a strong center of paganism, because of the Temple of El-Gabal. After one of his victories over Zenobia , Emperor Aurelian visited
8960-416: The city's strategic position. Initially, the Egypt -based Tulunids came into control of it, but they were forced out by the Aleppo -based Hamdanids , who were briefly succeeded by the Qarmatians , after the latter's Turkish rebel ally Alptakin invaded northern Syria and established Homs as his base. In 891, Muslim geographer al-Yaqubi noted that Homs was situated along a broad river which served as
9100-420: The city,which served as his headquarters, after his army's defeat by the Rashidun Caliphate under Umar during the Battle of the Yarmuk (now the Jordan–Syria border ). In 637 CE, the Rashidun army , led by Khalid ibn al-Walid , captured Emesa peacefully because its inhabitants agreed to pay a substantial ransom of 71,000 to 170,000 dinars . Caliph Umar established Homs as the capital of Jund Hims ,
9240-417: The city. For approximately 2,000 years, Homs has served as a key agricultural market, production site and trade center for the villages of northern Syria. It has also provided security services to the hinterland of Syria, protecting it from invading forces. Excavations at the Citadel of Homs indicate that the earliest settlement at the site dates back to around 2300 BCE. Biblical scholars have identified
9380-532: The city. After long periods of stagnation under Ottoman rule, Homs started to flourish again in the 20th century. Its geographic and strategic location has made it a centre of agriculture and industry. The "Homs Irrigation Scheme", the first of its kind in modern Syria, brought prosperity to cultivators and the long-established enterprises involved in the processing of agricultural and pastoral products. Crops grown in Homs include wheat , barley , lentils , sugar beets , cotton , and vines , as well as serving as
9520-541: The commanders of the crusader army doubted if the defenders of the Homs citadel actually wanted to release their prisoners. Saladin returned to Homs soon after he was informed about the negotiations between the crusaders and the garrison. Instead of attacking him, the crusader army retreated to Krak des Chevaliers; this enabled Saladin to capture the citadel on 17 March 1175. In 1179, after reorganising his territories in northern Syria, Saladin restored Homs to his Ayyubid dynasty . Shirkuh's descendants retained Homs for nearly
9660-455: The control of the Saljuqid ruler of Damascus , Duqaq , who transformed it into a large, fortified camp and key fortress effectively preventing the Crusaders from penetrating deeper into Muslim territory. Immune from attack, Homs became a point where the Muslims could marshal their forces and launch raids against Crusader holdings along the Mediterranean coast. In the early 12th century, the Saljuqids engaged in internal fighting, during which Homs
9800-455: The distance from the Seleucid rulers' Macedonian homeland. The size of the Seleucid army usually varied between 70,000 and 200,000 in manpower. The distance from Greece put a strain on the Seleucid military system, as it was primarily based around the recruitment of Greeks as the key segment of the army. In order to increase the population of Greeks in their kingdom, the Seleucid rulers created military settlements. There were two main periods in
9940-426: The dominant political class and was reinforced by steady immigration from Greece . The empire's western territories were repeatedly contested with Ptolemaic Egypt —a rival Hellenistic state. To the east, conflict with the Indian ruler Chandragupta of the Maurya Empire in 305 BC led to the cession of vast territory west of the Indus and a political alliance. In the early second century BC, Antiochus III
10080-425: The east of Homs, is the Syrian Desert . Lake Homs , impounded by a huge dam of Roman origins , is to the southwest, lying some 125 kilometres (78 mi) south of Aleppo and 34 kilometres (21 mi) south of Hama , halfway on the road between the capital Damascus and Aleppo. The Orontes River splits the city into two main sections: To the east, on a flat land lies the city center and the main neighbourhoods; to
10220-403: The east, where he sought to extract money to pay the indemnity. The reign of his son and successor Seleucus IV Philopator (187–175 BC) was largely spent in attempts to pay the large indemnity, and Seleucus was ultimately assassinated by his minister Heliodorus . Seleucus' younger brother, Antiochus IV Epiphanes , now seized the throne. He attempted to restore Seleucid power and prestige with
10360-399: The empire were still influenced by the spread of Greek thought and culture, a phenomenon referred to as Hellenization . Historically significant towns and cities, such as Antioch , were created or renamed with Greek names, and hundreds of new cities were established for trade purposes and built in Greek style from the start. Local educated elites who needed to work with the government learned
10500-410: The establishment of settlements, firstly under Seleucus I Nicator and Antiochus I Soter and then under Antiochus IV Epiphanes . The military settlers were given land, "varying in size according to rank and arm of service'. They were settled in 'colonies of an urban character, which at some point could acquire the status of a polis". The settler-soldiers were called katoikoi ; they would maintain
10640-628: The exiled Carthaginian general Hannibal , and making an alliance with the disgruntled Aetolian League , Antiochus launched an invasion across the Hellespont . With his huge army he aimed to establish the Seleucid empire as the foremost power in the Hellenic world, but these plans put the empire on a collision course with the new rising power of the Mediterranean, the Roman Republic . At the battles of Thermopylae (191 BC) and Magnesia (190 BC), Antiochus's forces suffered resounding defeats, and he
10780-528: The fall of the former Persian Achaemenid Empire . At the Seleucid Empire's height, it had consisted of territory that covered Anatolia , Persia , the Levant , Mesopotamia , and what are now modern Kuwait , Afghanistan , and parts of Turkmenistan . The Seleucid Empire was a major center of Hellenistic culture . Greek customs and language were privileged; the wide variety of local traditions had been generally tolerated, while an urban Greek elite had formed
10920-704: The famed Nisean horse herd); and Roman intervention was an ever-present threat. Sidetes managed to bring the Maccabees to heel and frighten the Anatolian dynasts into a temporary submission; then, in 133, he turned east with the full might of the Royal Army (supported by a body of Jews under the Hasmonean prince, John Hyrcanus ) to drive back the Parthians. Sidetes' campaign initially met with spectacular success, recapturing Mesopotamia, Babylonia, and Media. In
11060-524: The first Syrian governments. During the civil war, much of the city was devastated due to the Siege of Homs ; reconstruction to affected parts of the city is underway with major reconstruction beginning in 2018. The city's modern name is an Arabic form of the city's Latin name Emesus , derived from the Greek Émesa or Émesos , or Hémesa . Most sources claim that the name Emesa in turn derived from
11200-510: The first half of the 19th century, interrupted by its occupation by Muhammad Ali's Egypt led by Ibrahim Pasha between 1832 and 1840. The city rebelled against Egyptian rule and consequently, the citadel was destroyed when the Egyptians suppressed the revolt. Ottoman rule was soon restored and up to the 1860s, Homs was large enough to form a discrete economic unit of trade and processing of agricultural products from its satellite villages and
11340-557: The governorate's capital, is located in central western Syria, situated along the east bank of the Orontes River in a particularly fertile area. The city is in between the southern outliers of the Coastal Mountain Range located to the west and Mount Lebanon , overlooking the Homs Gap . Because of the gap, the area around Homs receives much more rainfall and gusty winds than interior regions to its north and south. To
11480-526: The historian Appian : Always lying in wait for the neighboring nations, strong in arms and persuasive in council, he [Seleucus] acquired Mesopotamia, Armenia, 'Seleucid' Cappadocia, Persis, Parthia, Bactria, Arabia, Tapouria, Sogdia, Arachosia, Hyrcania, and other adjacent peoples that had been subdued by Alexander, as far as the river Indus, so that the boundaries of his empire were the most extensive in Asia after that of Alexander. The whole region from Phrygia to
11620-419: The inhabitants of certain districts. By June, there were near-daily confrontations between protesting residents and Syrian forces. As a result of these circumstances, there have been more deaths in Homs and its vicinity than in other areas of Syria. Homs was the first Syrian city where images of al-Assad and his family were routinely torn down or defaced and the first place where Syrian forces used artillery during
11760-478: The inscriptions of the Edicts of Ashoka , are known as far as Kandahar in southern Afghanistan. According to Appian: He [Seleucus] crossed the Indus and waged war with Sandrocottus [Maurya], king of the Indians, who dwelt on the banks of that stream, until they came to an understanding with each other and contracted a marriage relationship. It is generally thought that Chandragupta married Seleucus's daughter, or
11900-499: The kingdom's guards' regiments. The rest of the Seleucid army would consist of native and mercenary troops, who would serve as light auxiliary troops. While the Seleucids were happy to recruit from less populated and outlying parts of the Empire such as the Arabs and Jews, Iranian peoples in the east, and inhabitants of Asia Minor to the north, they generally eschewed recruiting native Syrians and native Mesopotamians ( Babylonians ). This
12040-513: The land as their own and in return, they would serve in the Seleucid army when called. The majority of settlements were concentrated in Lydia , northern Syria , the upper Euphrates and Media . Antiochus III brought Greeks from Euboea , Crete and Aetolia and settled them in Antioch . These Greek settlers would be used to form the Seleucid phalanx and cavalry units, with picked men put into
12180-652: The last was defeated and killed by the invading Parni of Arsaces —the region would then become the core of the Parthian Empire . Diodotus , the Seleucid governor for the Bactrian territory, asserted independence in around 245 BC, although the exact date is far from certain, to form the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom . This kingdom was characterized by a rich Hellenistic culture and was to continue its domination of Bactria until around 125 BC when it
12320-672: The latter area, he founded a new capital at Antioch on the Orontes , a city he named after his father. An alternative capital was established at Seleucia on the Tigris , north of Babylon. Seleucus's empire reached its greatest extent following his defeat of his erstwhile ally, Lysimachus, at Corupedion in 281 BC, after which Seleucus expanded his control to encompass western Anatolia. He hoped further to take control of Lysimachus's lands in Europe – primarily Thrace and even Macedonia itself, but
12460-722: The name collectively means "The fortress surrounding" which refers to the Citadel of Homs and the encircling plains. The city was subsequently referred to as Χέμψ ( Khémps ) in Medieval Greek , and as " la Chamelle " (literally meaning "the female camel" in French but likely a corruption of the Arabic name according to René Dussaud ) by the Crusaders (e.g. William of Tyre , Historia , 7.12, 21.6), although they never ruled
12600-708: The name of the nomadic Arab tribe known in Greek as Emesenoi , who inhabited the region prior to Roman influence in the area. Émesa was shortened to Homs or Hims by its Arab inhabitants, many of whom settled there prior to the Muslim conquest of Syria . Other sources claim that the name Émesa or Hémesa was derived from that of the Aramean city of Hamath-zobah , a combination of Hamath ( Hebrew : חֲמָת , romanized : Ḥamāth ; Syriac : ܚܡܬ , romanized : Ḥmṭ ; "fortress") and Sawbah (Hebrew: צובָא ; Syriac: ܨܘܒܐ Ṣwba ; "nearness"). Thus,
12740-461: The neighbourhoods of Bab Tadmur, Bab al-Dreib, Bab Hud and the immediate vicinity of the citadel, covering an area of 1.2 square kilometres (0.46 sq mi). Little remains of the Old City; its walls and gates were demolished in the Ottoman era, but a short section of fortified wall with a circular corner tower still exists. Half a kilometre to the south, a large earth mound marks the site where
12880-432: The neighbouring Bedouin tribes. The local economy was stimulated when the Ottoman government extended security to the city and its surrounding areas; new villages were established and old ones were resettled. However, Homs found itself faced with European economic competition since Ottoman rule was restored. Homs' economic importance was boosted again during the depression of the 1870s, as its cotton industry boomed due to
13020-767: The new system, which eventually led to the demise of Perdiccas. Ptolemy's revolt created a new subdivision of the empire with the Partition of Triparadisus in 320 BC. Seleucus , who had been "Commander-in-Chief of the Companion cavalry " ( hetairoi ) and appointed first or court chiliarch (which made him the senior officer in the Royal Army after the regent and commander-in-chief Perdiccas since 323 BC, though he helped to assassinate him later) received Babylonia and, from that point, continued to expand his dominions ruthlessly. Seleucus established himself in Babylon in 312 BC,
13160-526: The newly formed Parthian Empire . The Seleucid satrap of Parthia, named Andragoras , first claimed independence, in a parallel to the secession of his Bactrian neighbour. Soon after, however, a Parthian tribal chief called Arsaces invaded the Parthian territory around 238 BC to form the Arsacid dynasty , from which the Parthian Empire originated. Antiochus II's son Seleucus II Callinicus came to
13300-657: The only military academy in Syria until 1967. The French authorities had created a locally recruited military force designated as the Special Troops of the Levant , in which the Alawites were given privileged positions. The military academy in Homs trained the indigenous officers for these Troupes Speciales du Levant . The Homs Military Academy played a major role in the years following Syria's independence, as many of its graduates went on to become high-ranking officers in
13440-497: The recovered eastern territories were recaptured by the Parthians. The Maccabees again rebelled, civil war soon tore the empire to pieces, and the Armenians began to encroach on Syria from the north. By 100 BC, the once-formidable Seleucid Empire encompassed little more than Antioch and some Syrian cities. Despite the clear collapse of their power, and the decline of their kingdom around them, nobles continued to play kingmakers on
13580-521: The region, probably located in Arethusa, attests to the secondary nature of this area during the Hellenistic period. Upon Pompey 's submission of the Seleucid state of Syria to the Roman Republic in 64 BCE, the Emesene dynasty were confirmed in their rule as client kings of the Romans for aiding their troops in various wars. At its greatest extent, the Arab kingdom's boundaries extended from
13720-593: The reign of Caliph al-Mutawakkil , in October 855, the Christian population revolted in response to additional taxation . The caliph put down the revolt by expelling Christians from the city, burning down their churches and executing members of their leadership. With Abbasid rule over the Caliphate weakening in the mid-9th century, Homs became sought after by rebel dynasties contending for control of Syria due to
13860-402: The remaining eastern lands of the Seleucid Empire in the mid-second century BC including Assyria and what had been Babylonia , while the independent Greco-Bactrian Kingdom continued to flourish in the northeast. The Seleucid kings were thereafter reduced to a rump state in Syria after a civil war, until their conquest by Tigranes the Great of Armenia in 83 BC, and ultimate overthrow by
14000-460: The river Enymanthus, he came through Drangene to Carmania; and as it was now winter, he put his men into winter quarters there. When he returned to the west in 205 BC, Antiochus found that with the death of Ptolemy IV , the situation now looked propitious for another western campaign. Antiochus and Philip V of Macedon then made a pact to divide the Ptolemaic possessions outside of Egypt, and in
14140-541: The rule of Antiochus IV introduced significant changes. Antiochus IV instigated a bidding process for the High Priest position—this led to Menelaus , a radical Hellenist, outbidding Jason , a moderate Hellenist who upheld many traditional Judean practices. The shift from Jason to Menelaus unsettled the Jewish populace due to Menelaus's more extreme Hellenistic leanings. Aggravating the situation, Antiochus IV initiated
14280-599: The ruler of Ptolemaic Egypt and contemporary of Ashoka the Great , is also recorded by Pliny the Elder as having sent an ambassador named Dionysius to the Mauryan court. The Indians occupy [in part] some of the countries situated along the Indus, which formerly belonged to the Persians: Alexander deprived the Ariani of them, and established there settlements of his own. But Seleucus Nicator gave them to Sandrocottus (Chandragupta Maurya) in consequence of
14420-569: The sacking of its markets on several occasions. Security was even more hampered, when in the 18th century, the Ottomans tore down the gates of the city's walls. Around 1708, the emir Hamad al-'Abbas of the Mawali Bedouin confederation, whom the Ottomans had named "emir of the desert" ( çöl beyi ) in the region, actually managed to capture the governor of Homs to hold him for ransom. The countryside of Homs saw an increase in Bedouin raids in
14560-590: The son of Umar Ubayd Allah , are located in the city. During the First Fitna , the conflict between the Umayyad dynasty and their partisans and Ali and his partisans, the inhabitants of Homs allied themselves with Ali. When he was defeated, the Umayyad caliph Mu'awiya hived the northern half of Jund Hims to form a separate district, Jund Qinnasrin , apparently as punishment. Ali's oratory ( mashhad 'Ali )
14700-483: The southeast, Maskanah , al-Nuqayrah , Abil and Kafr Aya to the south, al-Qusayr , Qattinah and al-Buwaydah al-Sharqiyah to the southwest, Khirbet Tin Nur to the west, al-Dar al-Kabirah to the northwest, al-Ghantu , Teir Maalah , al-Mukhtariyah and Talbiseh to the north, al-Mishirfeh to the northeast and Fairouzeh and Zaidal to the east. The Old City is the most condensed area of Homs, and it includes
14840-436: The tablets on which was written the decree of the senate and told him to read it. The decree demanded that he should abort his attack on Alexandria and immediately stop waging the war on Ptolemy. When the king said that he would call his friends into council and consider what he ought to do, Popilius drew a circle in the sand around the king's feet with the stick he was carrying and said, "Before you step out of that circle give me
14980-558: The throne after his brother's capture. He faced the enormous task of restoring a rapidly crumbling empire, one facing threats on multiple fronts. Hard-won control of Coele-Syria was threatened by the Jewish Maccabee rebels. Once-vassal dynasties in Armenia, Cappadocia, and Pontus were threatening Syria and northern Mesopotamia ; the nomadic Parthians, brilliantly led by Mithridates I of Parthia , had overrun upland Media (home of
15120-742: The throne around 246 BC. Seleucus II was soon dramatically defeated in the Third Syrian War against Ptolemy III of Egypt and then had to fight a civil war against his own brother Antiochus Hierax . Taking advantage of this distraction, Bactria and Parthia seceded from the empire. In Asia Minor too, the Seleucid dynasty seemed to be losing control: the Gauls had fully established themselves in Galatia , semi-independent semi-Hellenized kingdoms had sprung up in Bithynia , Pontus , and Cappadocia , and
15260-544: The throne in 223 BC. Although initially unsuccessful in the Fourth Syrian War against Egypt, which led to a defeat at the Battle of Raphia (217 BC), Antiochus would prove himself to be the greatest of the Seleucid rulers after Seleucus I himself. He spent the next ten years on his anabasis (journey) through the eastern parts of his domain and restoring rebellious vassals like Parthia and Greco-Bactria to at least nominal obedience. He gained many victories such as
15400-859: The title Hems . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Hems&oldid=1078713370 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Homs Homs ( UK : / h ɒ m s / HOMSS , US : / h ɔː m s , h ɔː m z , h ʊ m s / HAWMSS , HAWMZ , HUUMSS ; Arabic : حِمْص / ALA-LC : Ḥimṣ [ħɪmsˤ] ; Levantine Arabic : حُمْص / Ḥomṣ [ħɔmsˤ] ), known in pre-Islamic Syria as Emesa ( / ˈ ɛ m ə s ə / EM -ə-sə ; Ancient Greek : Ἔμεσα , romanized : Émesa ),
15540-414: The uprising. The Center for Documenting Violations in Syria claims that at least 1,770 people have been killed in Homs since the uprising began. On 9 December 2015, under a UN-negotiated deal, the remnants of anti-government forces and their families, that had been under siege the al-Waer district for three years, began to evacuate from the city. The Governorate of Homs is the largest in Syria. Homs,
15680-550: The usurping general Diodotus Tryphon —held out in Antioch . Meanwhile, the decay of the Empire's territorial possessions continued apace. By 143 BC, the Jews in the form of the Maccabees had fully established their independence. Parthian expansion continued as well. In 139 BC, Demetrius II was defeated in battle by the Parthians and was captured. By this time, the entire Iranian Plateau had been lost to Parthian control. Demetrius Nicator's brother, Antiochus VII Sidetes , took
15820-538: The west in the neighbourhood of Jouret al-Shayyah, and further west are the upscale neighbourhoods of Qusoor, al-Qarabis, al-Baghtasia, al-Mahatta, al-Hamra, al-Inshaat, Karm al-Shami, al-Ghouta and Baba Amr . The suburb of al-Waer is located even further west, separated from the city by areas of farmland called al-Basatin and the Orontes River forming a green belt where it is forbidden to build anything. The Baath University complex and dormitories are located on
15960-415: The west, including repeated wars with Ptolemy II and a Celtic invasion of Asia Minor —distracting attention from holding the eastern portions of the Empire together. Towards the end of Antiochus II's reign, various provinces simultaneously asserted their independence, such as Bactria and Sogdiana under Diodotus , Cappadocia under Ariarathes III , and Parthia under Andragoras . A few years later,
16100-418: The west, lies the more recent and modern suburb of al-Waer. The city spans an area of 4,800 hectares (19 sq mi). Homs is located 162 kilometres (101 mi) north of Damascus , 193 kilometres (120 mi) south of Aleppo , 47 kilometres (29 mi) south of Hama , and 186 kilometres (116 mi) southeast of Latakia on the Mediterranean coast. Nearby towns and villages include al-Rayyan to
16240-469: The western-southern edge of the city next to the neighbourhood of Akrama. Homs has a hot-summer Mediterranean climate ( Köppen climate classification : Csa ). Homs' location ensures that it receives softening influences and breezes from the Mediterranean. As a result, the city has a much milder climate than nearby Hama, with higher average rainfall of 18 inches (460 mm) instead of 14 inches (360 mm), but it also experiences greater winds. Homs
16380-419: The winter of 130/129 BC, his army was scattered in winter quarters throughout Media and Persis when the Parthian king, Phraates II , counter-attacked. Moving to intercept the Parthians with only the troops at his immediate disposal, he was ambushed and killed at the Battle of Ecbatana in 129 BC. Antiochus Sidetes is sometimes called the last great Seleucid king. After the death of Antiochus VII Sidetes, all of
16520-523: The year later used as the foundation date of the Seleucid Empire. The rise of Seleucus in Babylon threatened the eastern extent of the territory of Antigonus I Monophthalmus in Asia. Antigonus, along with his son Demetrius I Poliorcetes , unsuccessfully led a campaign to annex Babylon. The victory of Seleucus ensured his claim of Babylon and legitimacy. He ruled not only Babylonia, but the entire enormous eastern part of Alexander's empire, as described by
16660-726: Was captured by the 5th Cavalry Division of the Allied forces . During the French mandate , Homs was part of the State of Damascus . It was considered for some time to become the capital of the Syrian Federation . In Autumn 1925, the city joined Damascus and the southern Druze chieftains in a full-blown revolt against French rule. In 1932, the French moved their military academy from Damascus to Homs to be established in 1933, later known as Homs Military Academy , and it remained
16800-560: Was "threatened with ruin." He stated that when the city was conquered by the Muslims they turned half of its church into a mosque. For around thirty years during the 10th century, Homs was raided by the Byzantines led by Nikephoros II Phokas in October 968, and its inhabitants were subject to slaughter and plunder while the Great Mosque of al-Nuri was briefly restored as a church. In 974–975, John I Tzimiskes managed to control
16940-558: Was annexed to the Roman province of Syria , between 72 and the date of the construction of the Tomb of Sampsigeramus (78–79). Under the Romans, Emesa began to show attributes of a Greek city-state and traces of Roman town planning still remain. Its transformation into a major city was completed under the reign of Emperor Antoninus Pius (138–161) when Emesa began to mint coins . By the 3rd century, it grew prosperous and well integrated into
17080-760: Was assassinated by Ptolemy Ceraunus on landing in Europe. His son and successor, Antiochus I Soter , was left with an enormous realm consisting of nearly all of the Asian portions of the Empire, but faced with Antigonus II Gonatas in Macedonia and Ptolemy II Philadelphus in Egypt, he proved unable to pick up where his father had left off in conquering the European portions of Alexander's empire. Antiochus I (reigned 281–261 BC) and his son and successor Antiochus II Theos (reigned 261–246 BC) were faced with challenges in
17220-541: Was bombed by the Israeli Air Force (IAF) during the 1973 Yom Kippur War . From May 2011 – May 2014, the city was under siege by the Syrian Army and security forces. The Syrian government claims it is targeting "armed gangs" and "terrorists" in the area. According to the Syrian opposition, Homs has since become a "blighted city", where authorities regularly block deliveries of medicine, food and fuel to
17360-544: Was compelled to make peace and sign the Treaty of Apamea (188 BC), the main clause of which saw the Seleucids agree to pay a large indemnity, to retreat from Anatolia and to never again attempt to expand Seleucid territory west of the Taurus Mountains . The Kingdom of Pergamum and the Republic of Rhodes , Rome's allies in the war, gained the former Seleucid lands in Anatolia. Antiochus died in 187 BC on another expedition to
17500-504: Was executed for treason. It was in 32 that Heliopolis and the Beqaa Valley came under the kingdom's control. Relations with the Roman government grew closer when King Sohaemus inherited the kingship. Under him, Emesa sent the Roman military a regular levy of archers and assisted them in their siege of Jerusalem in 70. Sohaemus had died in 73. According to Maurice Sartre , the dynasty was very likely deprived of its kingdom, which
17640-490: Was exported as far as the Ottoman capital Istanbul . In addition to weaving industries, there were olive oil presses and water mills for wheat and sesame , while grapes and rice , grown in the surrounding marshlands from the 16th century, were found in abundance in the city's markets. Moreover, the markets of Homs were the center of a trade in livestock, where flocks of sheep and goats coming from Aleppo met camels and cattle moving north from Damascus. The coming of
17780-509: Was forced from the city by the populace. On his return home, Antiochus died in Isfahan in 164 BC. After the death of Antiochus IV Epiphanes , the Seleucid Empire became increasingly unstable. Frequent civil wars made central authority tenuous at best. Epiphanes' young son, Antiochus V Eupator , was first overthrown by Seleucus IV's son, Demetrius I Soter in 161 BC. Demetrius I attempted to restore Seleucid power in Judea particularly, but
17920-423: Was in decay and only its covered markets "retained their beauty." In 1785 French traveller, Volney wrote of the city's once great importance and its current "miserable" condition. He described it as a large, but ruined village administratively dependent on Damascus. The Ottomans did little to revitalise Homs or ensure its security against Bedouin raids. Tribal unrest throughout the 17th and 18th centuries resulted in
18060-492: Was incorporated into the Ottoman Empire and consequently suffered a greater political eclipse, but it continued to thrive as an economic center, processing the agricultural and pastoral products that flowed to it from surrounding districts. Homs was particularly well known for silk and wool weaving, especially the alaja , which was mottled muslin run through with gold threads and used in feminine apparel. This silk
18200-526: Was located in the city, and Islamic tradition claims his fingerprints are engraved on it. Despite repression by the Umayyads, Homs remained a center of Shia Islam for a while longer. As a stronghold of the Banu Kalb, a Yamani tribe, the city became heavily involved in the Qays–Yaman rivalry . The last Umayyad caliph, Marwan II , enjoyed the support of the Qays and subsequently razed the city walls in response to
18340-461: Was often a prize. In 1149 the Mosul -based Zangids under Nur al-Din captured the city. Muslim geographer al-Idrisi noted in 1154 that Homs was populous, had paved streets, possessed one of the largest mosques in Syria, contained open markets, and was frequented by travellers attracted to its "products and rarities of all kinds." He also reported that its residents were "pleasant; living with them
18480-412: Was one of the largest cities in Syria in the 12th century with a population of 7,000. In 1785, the inhabitants of Homs numbered more than 2,000 and the population was divided almost evenly between Eastern Orthodox Christians and Muslims. The 1860s saw a rise in the population to 15,000–20,000. By 1907, Homs had roughly 65,000 inhabitants, of which two-thirds were Muslims and the remainder Christians. In
18620-581: Was overrun by the invasion of northern nomads. One of the Greco-Bactrian kings, Demetrius I of Bactria , invaded India around 180 BC to form the Indo-Greek Kingdoms . The rulers of Persis , called Fratarakas , also seem to have established some level of independence from the Seleucids during the 3rd century BC, especially from the time of Vahbarz . They would later overtly take the title of Kings of Persis , before becoming vassals to
18760-447: Was overthrown in 150 BC by Alexander Balas —an impostor who (with Egyptian backing) claimed to be the son of Epiphanes. Alexander Balas reigned until 145 BC when he was overthrown by Demetrius I's son, Demetrius II Nicator . Demetrius II proved unable to control the whole of the kingdom, however. While he ruled Babylonia and eastern Syria from Damascus , the remnants of Balas' supporters—first supporting Balas' son Antiochus VI , then
18900-535: Was presumably mostly from a desire not to train and arm the people who were an overwhelming majority in the trade and governmental centers of the Empire in Antioch and Babylon, risking revolt. While a revolt in a remote place could be put down by resolute action from the center, an uprising in Syria-Coele would have undermined the kingdom's very existence. Following losses of territory in Asia Minor during
19040-419: Was put under the authority of a regent, Perdiccas , and the vast territories were divided among Alexander's generals, who thereby became satraps at the Partition of Babylon , all in that same year. Alexander's generals, known as diadochi , jostled for supremacy over parts of his empire following his death. Ptolemy I Soter , a former general and then current satrap of Egypt , was the first to challenge
19180-637: Was the bishop of Emesa. During the Byzantine–Sasanian War of 602–628 , Emesa fell in 613 to Shahrbaraz and was in Sasanian hands until near the end of the war. Prior to the Muslim conquest of the Levant , tribes of Arabia , particularly the Banu Kalb , settled around Emesa, ensuring its position as an important center for the Qays and Yaman tribes . The Byzantine emperor Heraclius abandoned
19320-475: Was the third-largest city in Syria after Aleppo to the north and the capital Damascus to the south. Its population reflected Syria's general religious diversity, composed of Sunni and Alawite Muslims, and Christians . There are a number of historic mosques and churches in the city, and it is close to the Krak des Chevaliers castle, a World Heritage Site . Homs did not emerge into the historical record until
19460-444: Was times of simultaneous peace and rebellion in various parts of the empire. In general, the Seleucids allowed local religions to operate undisturbed, such as incorporating Babylonian religious tenets , to gain support. Tensions around the integration of Judaism were present during the reign of the Seleucid governments. Though previous governments had managed a relatively seamless integration of Judean religious and cultural practices,
19600-542: Was well established under the Byzantine Empire ; however, few ancient Christian inscriptions exist in Homs today. Under the Byzantines, the city became an important center for Eastern Christianity . Initially a diocese , Homs was given the status of ecclesiastical metropolis after the discovery of John the Baptist 's head in a nearby cave in 452. Nemesius , who lived in the fourth or early fifth century AD,
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