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Homs 635

Homs in 635 AD

Homs, formerly known as Emesa, is the capital of Homs Governorate in western Syria. It was founded in 2300 BC as the Aramean city of Hamath-zobah ("the fortress surrouding"), named for its citadel and the surrounding plain. In 1274 BC, it was the site of the Battle of Kadesh, the largest chariot battle in history. During the Hellenistic era, the city's name was translated to Emesa by the Greek colonists, who first arrived during Seleucus' reign in the 4th century BC. From 46 BC to 72 AD, Emesa was ruled by Arab pagan priest-kings who served as clients of the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire, and it was annexed in 72 AD and became a Roman colony in 211 AD. Its pagan sun cult was so strong that Christians initially did not settle in the city, but it became an important center for Eastern Christianity under the Byzantines. John the Baptist's head was discovered in a nearby area in 452. Homs fell to the Sassanid Persians in 613 and remained in Persian hands until the end of the Byzantine-Sasanian War of 602-28. It became home to a large Arab tribal population before the Muslim conquest of the Levant, during which Emperor Heraclius abandoned the city to the Rashidun Caliphate before the Siege of Emesa in 637. It became the first city in Syria to have a substantial Muslim population, and 500 of Muhammad's companions (the Sahabah) went on to settle in Homs during the 7th century. The tombs of Khalid ibn al-Walid, his son Abd al-Rahman ibn Khalid, and that of Ubayd Allah ibn Umar are located in Homs. During the conflict between Ali and the Umayyads, the people of Homs sided with Ali, and it became a stronghold of the Shia faith. In 855, the Christian population was expelled following a failed tax revolt, and their churches were burned down and their leaders executed. It went on to be ruled by a succession of Turkish dynasties from the mid-9th century onward, surviving a Crusader siege attempt in 1098. In 1149, the Zengids conquered Homs from the Seljuks, and, by 1154, Homs was populous, had paved streets, boasted a large marketplace, and had one of the largest mosques in Syria. From 1175 to 1262, Homs was ruled by the Ayyubids, and the Mamluks defeated Mongol attacks on Homs in 1260 and 1281. In 1516, Homs became an Ottoman city, and, while it lost its political importance, it continued to thrive as an economic center. It was liberated from Turkish rule following World War I, only to be occupied by France. Homs joined the 1925 rebellion against the French in the "Great Syrian Revolt", but the revolt was crushed, and the French founded the Homs Military Academy in 1933. It became home to a major oil refinery in 1959, and it was bombed by Israel in 1973 during the Yom Kippur War. From May 2011 to May 2014, during the Syrian Civil War, the Syrian Arab Army fought against the Free Syrian Army in the Siege of Homs, recapturing the city after years of death and devastation. In 2017, Homs had a population of 775,404 people, 75% of whom were Sunni Muslims, 15% Alawites, and 10% Christians.

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