Afrin is both a district and city of the Aleppo Governorate

Aleppo Governorate

Aleppo Governorate is one of the fourteen governorates of Syria. It is the most populous governorate in Syria with a population of more than 4,744,000 , almost 23% of the total population of Syria. The governorate is the fifth in area with an area of 18,482 km², about 10% of the total area of...

, Syria

Syria

Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....

. The district includes the city of 80,000 inhabitants and 366 surrounding villages and farms. The region of Afrin with its 490,000 inhabitants is next to Kurd-Dagh

Kurd-Dagh

Kurd-Dagh or Kurd Mountain , also called Aleppo Mountain , is a highland region in northwestern Syria and southeastern Turkey. It is located in the Aleppo Governorate of Syria and Kilis Province of Turkey.-Location and description:Mount Kurd is part of the Limestone Massif of northwestern Syria...

 ("Mountain of the Kurds"). The district has a surface of 2.033 km square and e.g. consists of seven municipalities (Afrin (center), Jindêrês, Sharan, Mobetan/Mahbatli, Rajo, Bulbul, Shiyê) with 366 villages like Katma

Katma

Qaṭma, mainly Kurdish village in Northwestern Syria. Qatma lies between Afrin and Aleppo. The total population in Qatma amounts to approx. 5000 - 6000 inhabitants .-Religions:...

, Kastall, Kibar and Rajo. The name of Afrin in Kurdish means "fruitfully creation" or "blessing".

The Afrin River

Afrin River

The Afrin River is a tributary of the Orontes River in Turkey and Syria. It rises in the Kartal Mountains in Gaziantep Province, Turkey, flows south through the city of Afrin in Syria, then reenters Turkey. It joins the Karasu at the site of the former Lake Amik, and its waters now flow to the...

 flows through the city.

The first resistance against French

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

troops was based on DECO and Shikakies tribes in northern Afrin. The city was later built by France as a commercial center.