Harem, Syria

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Harim (Arabic حارم ) is a small town in the northwest of Syria, which is known for its the time of the Crusaders Harenc called fortification.

Harim is in Idlib province in the north of Djebel il -Ala, the central part of the northern Syrian limestone massif on the edge of the fertile plain of the Nahr al - Asi ( Orontes ). The town was built around the citadel hill. In 1932 there were about 2000 inhabitants, who were all Sunni, and a mosque. The population was calculated for 2010 24 403.

Castle

The castle secured in the Middle Ages the road from Aleppo to Antioch and the Mediterranean. Nikephoros II Phokas The Byzantine emperor conquered the region 959 by the Arabs back and let the fortress as a bridgehead for the conquest of Aleppo build.

The crusaders of the First Crusade took the fortress together with the adjacent fortress Artah in November 1097, before they recorded the siege of Antioch. The fort remained elusive fought between Christians and Muslims. So conquered by Nur ad - Din in 1149 for the first time. A Confederate army of the Crusader states under King Baldwin III. of Jerusalem conquered it back in February 1157. On August 12, 1164 Christians were subject close to the fortress in the battle of Artah in an attempt to relieve the besieged fortress of the Muslims Harenc. In the same year the fort again fell to Nur ad -Din, before it was damaged at the end of the century by an earthquake and then expanded to 1199 by the Ayyubids.

1260 Fortress of invading Mongols was largely destroyed and subsequently lost in importance.