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Latakia or Latakiyah ( Al-Ladhiqiyah, , transliterated as Laodicea, Laodikeia or Laodiceia, ; ) is the principal port city of Syria, capital of the Latakia Governorate. Its population is 554,000.
many Seleucid cities, Laodicea was named after a member of the ruling dynasty; "Laodicea" was named by Seleucus I Nicator in honor of his mother Laodice. This Greek name survives in its Arabic form as "al-Ladhiqiyyah", from which the French "Lattaquié" and English "Latakia" or "Lattakia" derive.
site, on the peninsula, has been occupied for a long time.
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Latakia or Latakiyah ( Al-Ladhiqiyah, , transliterated as Laodicea, Laodikeia or Laodiceia, ; ) is the principal port city of Syria, capital of the Latakia Governorate. Its population is 554,000.
Etymology
Like many Seleucid cities, Laodicea was named after a member of the ruling dynasty; "Laodicea" was named by Seleucus I Nicator in honor of his mother Laodice. This Greek name survives in its Arabic form as "al-Ladhiqiyyah", from which the French "Lattaquié" and English "Latakia" or "Lattakia" derive.
History
Ancient settlement and founding
The site, on the peninsula, has been occupied for a long time. The Phoenicians had a city here named Ramitha, and to the Greeks it was known as Leukê Aktê 'white coast'. Ramitha dates at least to the second millennium BC and was a part of the kingdom of Ugarit a few miles further north. As Ugarit declined at the end of the second millennium BC the better natural harbor facilities at Ramitha increased its importance.
The settlement became part of the Assyrian Empire, later falling to the Persians, who incorporated into their fifth satrapy, Abar Nahara, beyond the river. It was taken by Alexander the Great in 333 BC following his victory at Battle of Issus over the Persian army led by Darius III, which began the era of Hellenism in Syria.
After the death of Alexander in 323 BC, Northern Syria fell under the control of Seleucus I Nicator. He founded the city of Laodicea on the site, one of five cities named after his mother Laodice. Laodicea became a main center of Greek culture and one of the new satrapal headquarters. It was the main harbor for Apamea with witch it was linked with a road across the Nusayri mountains. Laodicaea became a major port second to Seleucia. It formed a tetrapolis, with Antioch, Seleucia Pieria and Apamea linking the four main cities of Seleucid Syria into a union known as the Syrian tetrapolis.
The city was described in Strabo's Geographica:
Roman rule
In 64 BC the Roman legate Pompey formally abolished the Seleucid kingdom, and created the new Roman province of Syria. During the struggle for power between Augustus Caesar and Marcus Antonius, the latter managed to win temporary support from Laodicea during his brief governorship of Syria through the remission of certain taxes and the promise of autonomy. Following the defeat of Marcus Antonius, Laodicea's name was modified by the Romans to Laodicea-ad-Mare and the city flourished again as an entrepôt for East-West trade, second only to Antioch. This commerce was systemized with the construction of the Via Maris, a coastal road that ran south from Antioch to Damascus and Beirut via Laodicea. In the first century BC, Herod the Great, king of Judaea, furnished the city with an aqueduct, the remains of which stand to the east of the town. Initially the Romans deployed four legions in Syria, one of which, the Legio VI Ferrata, was probably based in Laodicea.
In 193 the city was sacked by the governor of Syria, Pescennius Niger in his revolt against the new emperor Septimius Severus. In 194 Septimius Severus reorganized Syria into five new provinces. One of these Coele-Syria, including all of norther Syria, briefly had its capital in Laodicea before reverting to Antioch. Septimius Severus considered Antioch to be more degenerate than Laodicea, and sought to punish it for having supported the aspirations of his rival Pescennius Niger.
Septimius Severus endowed Laodicea with four colonnaded streets witch divided the city into a series of rectangles. Roman Laodicea, based on the foundations of the Seleucid grid, was laid out along a vertical axis stretching for 1.5-2 kilometers from north to south, linking the center of the town with the northern road to Antioch, and forming the main commercial street or cardus maximus. The east-west axis consisted of three main streets: the first linked the port to the citadel, the second linked the port to the Apamea road, and the third linked the port to a monumental four-way arch, or tetrapyle, which was erected at the point of intersection with the north-south colonnaded avenue. Septimius also endowed the town with baths, a theatre, a hippodrome, numerous sanctuaries and other public buildings. Rome regarded Laodicea as a key strategic seaport in the prized province of Syria.
Throughout the third and fourth centuries Laodicea remained dependent on Antioch. In 272 the city was seized by Zenobia, the queen of the Palmyrene Empire, following her abortive attempt to take Antioch from Emperor Aurelian. After the revolt of Antioch, in 378, Laodicea returned to imperial favor and enjoyed prosperity under the Byzantine Empire which was established in Constantinople following the split of the Roman Empire late in the fourth century. In 494 the town was damaged by the first of a long series of earthquakes. In 528 Emperor Justinian I created a new province of Theodorias out of the coastal belt around Laodicea, which was rebuilt and fortified against the increasing Persian threat.
There seems to have been a sizable Jewish population at Laodicea in the first century. The heretic Apollinarius was bishop of Laodicea in the 4th century. The city minted coins from an early date.
Early Islamic era
Laodicea fell to the Rashidun army in 638, under general Abu Ubaida, who reportedly had trenches dug around the town so that even horsemen could advance unobserved; they then pretended to retreat to Hims, only to return at night and surprise the inhabitants. Christians who had left the city were allowed to return and retain their church. Laodicea was known to the Muslims as "al-Ladhiqiyah" or "Latakia", and Umar ibn al-Khattab, the reigning caliph during its capture, assigned it to the administration of Jund Hims.
During its rule by the Umayyads, the town was devastated by a Byzantine raid in 705, and again in 719 when a Byzantine force supported by a fleet, burnt the town and took many of its inhabitants into captivity. Restorations and reconstruction of the buildings and fortifications was begun by Caliph Umar II, who also ransomed the inhabitants from the Byzantines. His successor Yazid II improved the fortifications and reinforced the Muslim garrison.
In the late 10th century, the Byzantines, under Emperor Nicephorus II Phocas, began taking advantage of the confusion and instability in the late Abbasid era, seizing parts of the Islamic territory. In 970 Latakia fell, but in 980, the Fatimids captured the town and its Byzantine governor, Karmaruk, was later beheaded in Cairo. Finally, late in the century, it fell to the Turks under the suzerainty of Banu Munqidh of Shaizar who ceded it to the Seljuk sultan Malik Shah I in 1086. However, by then many of Latakia's great public buildings were already in ruins.
Crusader, Ayyubid, and Mamluk rule
The first crusades reached Syria in 1097, and on August 19, 1097, twenty-eight ships from Cyprus, under Guynemer of Boulogne penetrated Latakia's harbor and sacked the town and made it and made it part of the Principality of Antioch. During the crusade the southern ports of Latakia and Baniyas were handed over to Byzantine officials by Robert of Normandy and Raymond of St. Gills. But a few years later, in August 1099 Bohemond laid siege to Latakia with the help of a Pisan fleet. But within a few months Bohemond was taken prisoner by Danishmend. Seven months later his nephew Tancred assumed the regency and laid embarked on to Latakia again. This time it fell to him in 1103 after an eighteen-month siege. The following year, however, a Byzantine fleet under Admiral Cantacuzenus once more forced the Franks to capitulate, though the Byzantines were unable to take the citadel. It was not until 1108 that the franks were able to consolidate their hold. With the aid of a Pisan fleet, Tancred seized Latakia after Bohemond had promised it to Emperor Alexios I Komnenos as part of the treaty of Devol in 1108. For their services the Pisans and the Genoese were granted enclaves in the town as well as the right to trade freely in the port and the principality.
Under the Franks, Latakia which became known as "La Liche", covered an area of and consisted of three separate parts. The port, originally an open bay with marble quay stones laid by the Romans, remained an important commercial center. The town proper was encircled by a continuous line of fortifications, now vanished. On two hills stood twin castles dominating the town. In Crusader times the town had a French presence, a sizable Muslim population, and a large Greek Orthodox community, two of whose churches remain intact, the Church of the Virgin and the Church of St. Nicholas.
In 1126 the cities of Latakia and Jableh formed part of the dowry of Princess Alice, daughter of King Baldwin II of Jerusalem, who made an unsuccessful bid to assume the regency of Antioch. Alice later donated a house in the town to the Christian Knights Hospitallers, who made it their principal base in the region. In April 1126 Emir Sawar, governor of Aleppo, launched a raid and sacked the town, taking away many prisoners and large amounts of booty. The town was further devastated by earthquakes in 1157 and 1170, and by attacks on the port.
On July 21, 1188 Saladin arrived before the walls of Latakia and forced the capitulation of the Crusaders two days later. By then, it had become a well-fortified and wealthy city. Saladin appointed Emir Sunkur al-Kilati as governor and gave the town a strong Muslim garrison. Guy de Lusignan, the Jerusalem king captured in the Battle of Hattin, was reportedly imprisoned and held for ransom in Latakia for a while. In August 1190, Saladin had the port dismantled to prevent its capture by the advance of the Third Crusade. After a failed attempt, Bohemond II succeeded in briefly taking the city in 1197, but he retreated soon after. Again under Muslim control, the city was rebuilt and the citadel restored. The Franks of Tripoli and the Hospitallers unsuccessfully attacked the town several more times. In the early part of the thirteenth century a great mosque, Masjid al-Kabir, was constructed.
In 1207 the city's sizable Venetian community received a trading concession from the Muslim governor. The agreement did not last long though; in December 1223, an army from Aleppo, fearing the onset of the Fifth Crusade, destroyed all the defenses and dismantled the citadel. Arab geographer, Yaqut al-Hamawi, wrote that Latakia under the Ayyubids was "an ancient Greek city, with many antique buildings, and has fine dependencies, also an excellently-built harbor." He also mentioned that the city was formerly a part of Jund Hims, but by 1225, it was counted under the Aleppo District. With the first of the Mongol invasions and the coming to power of the Mamluks, Bohemond VI took possession of the town and rewarded the Knights Hospitallers for their support by allotting them half of the town and half of the surrounding areas. The Genoese were thus reestablished at the expense of the Venetians.
Following the fall of the Principality of Antioch in 1268 to the Mamluks under Sultan Baibars, King Hugo III of Antioch signed a treaty with Baybars concerning Latakia. In the treaty, concluded on July 4, 1275, the town obtained its freedom from the Muslims in return for an annual tribute. Remaining as a truncated Crusader enclave, Latakia had lost its prominence and was already declining as other ports such as Tripoli and Alexandria developed.
Baibars was forced to surrender Latakia to Emir Sunkur of Damascus on July 24, 1281. Baibars regained control of the city after the fall of Sunkur. In 1287 an earthquake devastated the town and caused widespread damage to the fortifications, destroying the Pigeon Tower, the Pier Tower and the lighthouse. Taking advatage of this misfortune Sultan Qalawun, who had already captured the great Hospitallers fortress of Margat, immediately dispatched Emir Turuntay to attack the town. On April 20, 1287, Latakia fell to Turuntay.
In circa 1300, Arab geographer al-Dimashqi noted that there was no running water in Latakia and that trees were scarce, but the city's port was "a wonderful harbor... full of large ships". Latakia suffered from the constant wars and pillagers. It was attacked and burned again in 1366 by Peter I of Cyprus. Much of the town was in ruins and was less populated than the rival ports of Tripoli and Beirut and the port was in a serious state of decline by 1450.
Ottoman rule
musicians from Latakia, 1920's]]
Latakia came under Ottoman control after 1516, and was part of Ottoman Syria. The city continued to decline and by the middle of the sixteenth century the town had become a small dependent village. In Ottoman times, Latakia was noted for its cotton, olives, walnuts, mulberry trees and for its vineyards.
In the early eighteenth century, Latakia was governed by Yasin Bey and subject to the Sanjak of Tripoli, but a major uprising in the town resulted in him and his family's removal from authority. A new mosque, Masjid al-Jadid, was erected by the Ottoman governor of Damascus between 1733-1743. In 1810 and 1823 two earthquakes caused major damage in the town and other coastal areas of Syria.
Despite losing its prominence as an important town, the port itself continued to remain extremely active and economically valuable. The port was receiving more than 100 ships annually in 1835 but the harbor itself was silted up and could only contain between four or six small boats. By the end of the nineteenth century it received around 120 steamships and around 570 sail boats annually, most of which could only anchor outside of the harbor itself. In 1888, when Wilayat Beirut was established, Latakia became its northernmost town.
In the Ottoman period, the region of Latakia became predominantly Alawi. The city itself, however, contained significant numbers of Sunni and Christian inhabitants. The landlords in the countryside tended to be Sunni while the peasants were mostly Alawi. Like the Druzes who also had a special status before the end of World War I, the Alawis had a strained relationship with the Ottoman overlords. In fact, they were not even given the status of millet, although they enjoyed relative autonomy.
French Mandate period
in 1926]]
In the beginning of the twentieth century Latakia was a small town with a population of 7000, ruled from Beirut. After the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in World War I, the town fell under the French mandate established on August 31, 1920. Latakia became the capital of the autonomous territory of the Alawites, with a government under the authority of the mandatory French administration. In 1922 this territory, composed of Latakia and Tartus, became the State of Alawites and was integrated into the Federations of States. The French quickly set about restoring the port facilities by rebuilding the north and south moles and deepening the harbor from two to six meters.
In December 1924 French General Weygand announced the secession of the State of Alawites, which was proclaimed independent in 1925. In 1930 a fundamental law created a government of Latakia, and by 1931 the population of Latakia had grown to 20,000. In 1932 a plan for a new deep-water harbor was proposed.
The government of Latakia was incorporated into Syria in 1936, but it benefited from a special administration under the authority of the Syrian government. In the same year the French were authorized to station troops in Latakia for five more years. With the loss of the ports of Alexandretta and Antioch to Turkey in 1939, Latakia became the main port in Syria, and there remained no alternative but to develop its port facilities.
In 1939 Latakia again became the capital of the autonomous territory of the Alawites, once again separate from Syria, only to be integrated once more in June 1944 following the "Proclamation of Syrian Unity," which was confirmed in 1947 with the "Proclamation of Independence."
Modern era
An extensive port project was proposed in 1948, and construction work began in 1950, with a $6 million loan from Saudi Arabia. By 1951 the first stage of the construction was completed and the port handled an increasing amount of Syria's overseas trade. A major highway linked Latakia with Aleppo and the Euphrates valley in 1968, and was supplemented by the completion of a railway line to Hims. The port became even more important after 1975, due to the troubled situation in Lebanon and the loss of Beirut and Tripoli as ports. In 1971, the port handled 1,630,000 tons of cargo. During the 1970s the port was expanded, and in 1981 it handled 3,593,000 tons of imported goods and 759,000 of exports.
In 1973 during the Yom Kippur War, the naval Battle of Latakia between Israel and Syria, just offshore, was the first to be fought using missiles and ECM (electronic countermeasures). All but a few classical buildings have been destroyed, often by earthquakes; those remaining include a Roman triumphal arch and Corinthian columns known as the colonnade of Bacchus.
Geography
Latakia is located north-west of Damascus, south-west from Aleppo, north-west of Hims, and north of Tartus. Nearby towns and villages include Kasab to the north, Al-Haffah, Deirmama, Slinfah and Qardaha to the east in the mountain range and Jableh and Baniyas to the south.
Climate
Demographics
In the beginning of the 20th century, Latakia had a population of roughly 7,000 inhabitants, however, the Journal of the Society of Arts recorded a population of 25,000 in 1905. In a 1992 estimate, Latakia had a population of 284,000, rising to 357,562 in the 1994 census. The city's population continued to rise, reaching an estimated 402,000 residents in 2002.
Latakia itself has a Sunni Muslim majority, while the rural hinterland has an Alawite Muslim majority of roughly 70%, with Christians making up 14%, Sunnis making up 12%, and Ismailis representing the remaining 2%. The city still serves as the capital of the Alawite population, and is a major cultural center for the religion. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, large numbers of Alawites immigrated to the city of Damascus in the south. A small, but significant Greek Orthodox population exists in Latakia which serves as a diocese, and the largest congregation of the Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch.
An Armenian community of 3,500 still lives in the city, and there also exists a small Greek community. Within the city boundaries is the "unofficial" Latakia camp, established in 1956, and that had a population of 6,354 Palestinian refugees, mostly from Jaffa and the Galilee. The entire population speaks Arabic, mostly in the North Levantine dialect.
Economy
The Port of Latakia is the main route in Syria for containers, though it also handles a good deal of metals, machinery, chemicals and food stuffs. In 2004, 5.1m tonnes were unloaded and 1m tonnes were loaded from Latakia port. New quay investments are under way in the port. The port is managed by a semi-autonomous state company. Latakia has an extensive agricultural hinterland. Exports include bitumen and asphalt, cereals, cotton, fruits, eggs, vegetable oil, pottery, and tobacco. Cotton ginning, vegetable-oil processing, tanning, and sponge fishing serve as local industries for the city.
The Cote d'Azur Beach of Latakia is Syria's premier coastal resort, and activities undertaken there include water-skiing, jet-skiing, and windsurfing. The city contains eight hotels, two of which have five-star ratings; Both the Cote d'Azur de Cham Hotel and Lé Merdien Lattiquie Hotel are located north of the city, at Cote d'Azur. The latter hotel has 274 rooms and is the only international hotel in the city.
Compared to other Syrian cities, window shopping and evening strolls in the markets is considered "a favorite past-time" in Latakia. Numerous designer-label stores line 8 Azar Street, and the heart of the city's shopping area is the series of blocks enclosed by 8 Azar Street, Yarnouk Street, and Saad Zaghoul Street in the city center. Cinemas in Latakia include Ugarit Cinema, al-Kindi, and a smaller theater off al-Moutanabbi Street.
Culture
Latakia tobacco
Latakia tobacco is a specially prepared tobacco originally produced in Syria and named after the port city of Latakia. Now the tobacco is mainly produced in Cyprus. It is cured over a stone pine or oak wood fire, which gives it an intense smokey-peppery taste and smell. Too strong for most people's tastes to smoke straight, it is used as a "condiment" or "blender" (a basic tobacco mixed with other tobaccos to create a blend), especially in English, Balkan, and some American Classic blends. McConnell, however, as of 2009, proposes a pure Latakia pipe tobacco.
Festivals
Latakia is home to a major annual festival, Al-Mahaba Festival. The festival is held between August 2-12 and includes cultural events, sports competitions and musical concerts. The festival is held in the Latakia Sports City complex. and is a landmark of the city. The Festival of Flowers is held at the same time and include flower arrangements and exhibitions.
Other festivals include, Latakia in Memory Festival, which is aimed at reviving the ancient history of Latakia. Held annually on September 16 for three days, the festival includes carnivals, and panoramic exhibitions on Ugarit and ancient Laodicea, ancient Phoenician boats contest and exhibition and wind surfing contests.
Sports
Latakia is the home city of two football clubs; Teshrin Sports Club was founded in 1947, and Hutteen Sports Club was founded in 1945. Both teams are based in the al-Assad Stadium which carries a capacity of 35,000 people. Just north of the city is the Latakia Sports City complex which built in 1987 to host the 1987 Mediterranean Games, and presently holds key sporting events in Latakia. The complex includes an Olympic-size stadium with some 45,000 seats, a diving pool, a covered swimming pool, and an Olympic-sized swimming pool, as well as a tennis club with eleven courts and a yacht club.
Education
In elementary level (6-15 years), Latakia has 167812 students enrolled in 615 schools with a capacity of 5824 classes, and staffed by 10446 teachers. In high school level, Latakia has 16968 students (54% of which are females) enrolled in 613 classes, and staffed by 4992 teachers.
The University of Latakia was founded in 1971 and renamed Tishreen University ("University of October") in 1976, to commemorate the victory Syria claimed in the October War of 1973. There are 25,660 students enrolled in the university, 57% of which are females. The city houses a branch of the Arab Academy for Science and Technology and Maritime Transport.
Local infrastructure
Landmarks
The modern city still exhibits faint traces of its former importance, notwithstanding the frequent earthquakes with which it has been visited. The marina is built upon foundations of ancient columns, and there are in the town, an old gateway and other antiquities, as also sarcophagi and sepulchral caves in the neighbourhood. This gateway is a remarkable triumphal arch, at the southeast corner of the town, almost entire: it is built with four entrances, like the Forum Jani at Rome. It is conjectured that this arch was built in honour of Lucius Verus, or of Septimius Severus. (Description of the East, vol. ii. p. 197.) Fragments of Greek and Latin inscriptions, are dispersed all over the ruins, but entirely defaced.
Notable points of interest in the nearby include the massive Saladin's Castle and the ruins of Ugarit, where some of the earliest alphabetic writings have been found. There are also several popular beaches. There are numerous mosques in Latakia, including the 13th century Great Mosque, the 18th century Jadid Mosque, constructed by Suleiman Pasha Azem. The large Naissa Mosque was built in 1989 and is named after Naissa Assad, the mother of Hafez al-Assad.
Healthcare
Latakia has 16 hospitals offering 1278 beds, with an average of 1 bed for every 663 person. It has 94 health centers with an average of 9011 person for each center. The number of medical doctors is 1696, with 499 person per doctor. The number of dentists is 888, and the number of pharmacists is 448.
The main and biggest hospital in Latakia, is The National Hospital of Latakia on Baghdad Street. Al-Assad University Hospital on 8 Azar Street provides the main educational supplement to Tishreen University's medical students. The more modern Tishreen University Hospital was built as part of the Tishreen University complex and is in the final stages of furnishing.
Transportation
Latakia is linked by road to Aleppo, Hims, Tripoli, and Beirut. The main commercial coastal road of the city is Jamal Abdel Nasser Street, named after former president Gamal Abdel Nasser. Lined with hotels, restaurants and the city museum, the street starts in central Latakia along the Mediterranean coast and ends at Hitteen Square. From the square it branches southwest into al-Maghrebi al-Arabi Street, south into 8 Azar Street which continues south to form Baghdad Avenue—the main north-south road—branching into Beirut Street and Nadim Hassan Street along the southern coastline. From the southern portion of Jamal Abdel Nasser Street branch off al-Yarmouk Street and al-Quds Street, the latter which ends at al-Yaman Square in western Latakia, then continues west into Abdel Qader al-Husseini Street. North from al-Yaman Square Souria Avenue and south of the square is al-Ourouba Street. Souria Avenue ends in al-Jumhouriah Square, then continues north as al-Jumhouriah Street.
Much of the city is accessible by taxi and other forms of public transportation. Buses transport people to various Syrian, Lebanese, and Turkish cities, including Aleppo, Damascus, Deir ez-Zor, Palmyra, Tripoli, Beirut, Safita, Hims, Hama, Antakya, and Tartous. The "luxury" Garagat Pullman Bus Station is located on Abdel Qader al-Husseini Street and there are at least a dozen private companies based at station. On the same street is the older Hob-Hob Bus Station operates a "depart when full" basis to Damascus and Aleppo. Local microbuses run between al-Yaman Square and the city center, as well as between the station on al-Jalaa Street and the city center. There's also a microbus station with buses departing to Qalaat Salah ed-Din, Qardaha, Kassab, and Jableh.
Latakia's train station is located on al-Yaman Square, and services include two daily runs to Aleppo, and one weekly run to Damascus via Tartous. In 2005 approximately 512,167 passengers left from Latakia's train station. The Bassel Al-Assad International Airport is located south of Latakia. The Port of Latakia is also a part of 6 organized cruises between Alexandria, Izmir and Beirut. There are also irregular ferry services to Cyprus. In 2005 approximately 27939 passengers used to the port.
Sister Cities
See also
Bibliography
External links
- Latakia news and services
- eLatakia Governmental Online Services
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