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Coordinates: 35°36′N 36°14′E / 35.60°N 36.24°E / 35.60; 36.24
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|photo = Syria 2004 CIA map-2010-07-09.JPG
|photo = Syria 2004 CIA map-2010-07-09.JPG
|photo_caption = Coastal Mountain Range
|photo_caption = Coastal Mountain Range
|map_caption = Map of Syria showing the mountain range
|map_caption = Map of Syria showing the Mountain range
|location = [[Syria]]
|location = [[Syria]]
|elevation_m = {{convert|1562|m}}
|elevation_m = 1562
|other_name = جبال لبنان الشرقية|highest=[[Nabi Yunis]]
|other_name =سلسلة الجبال الساحلية |highest= Nabi Yunis
|map_image =
|map_image =
|length_km = 150
|length_km = 150
|range_coordinates= {{Coord|34|N|36.5|E|region:SY|display=inline,title}}}}
|range_coordinates= {{Coord|35.60|N|36.24|E|region:SY|display=inline,title}}}}


The '''Coastal Mountain Range''' ({{lang-ar|سلسلة الجبال الساحلية}} ''Silsilat al-Jibāl as-Sāḥilīyah'') is a mountain range in northwestern [[Syria]] running north–south, parallel to the coastal plain.<ref name="Syria-profile">Federal Research Division, Library of Congress (2005) [http://memory.loc.gov/frd/cs/profiles/Syria.pdf "Country Profile: Syria"] page 5</ref> The mountains have an average width of {{convert|32|km}}, and their average peak elevation is just over {{convert|1,200|m}} with the highest peak, Nabi Yunis, reaching {{convert|1562|m}}, east of [[Latakia]].<ref name="Syria-profile" /> In the north the average height declines to {{convert|900|m}}, and to {{convert|600|m}} in the south.
The '''Coastal Mountain Range''' ({{lang-ar|سلسلة الجبال الساحلية}}, ''Silsilat al-Jibāl as-Sāḥilīyah'') also called '''Jabal al-Ansariya''', '''Jabal an-Nusayria''' or '''Jabal al-`Alawīyin''' (Ansari, Nusayri or Alawi Mountains) is a mountain range in northwestern [[Syria]] running north–south, parallel to the coastal plain.<ref name="Syria-profile">Federal Research Division, Library of Congress (2005) [http://memory.loc.gov/frd/cs/profiles/Syria.pdf "Country Profile: Syria"] (PDF), page 5.</ref> The mountains have an average width of {{convert|32|km}}, and their average peak elevation is just over {{convert|1,200|m}} with the highest peak, Nabi Yunis, reaching {{convert|1562|m}}, east of [[Latakia]].<ref name="Syria-profile" /> In the north the average height declines to {{convert|900|m}}, and to {{convert|600|m}} in the south.

This mountain range has been home to an [[Alawites|Alawite population]] since the [[Middle Ages]].<ref name=":0" />


==Name==
==Name==
Classically, this range was known as the '''Bargylus''';<ref>Hackett, Horatio B. (editor) (1870) ''Dr. William Smith's Dictionary of the Bible: comprising its antiquities, biography, geography, and natural history'' (Volume IV, Regum-Melech to Zuzims) Hurd and Houghton, New York, [https://books.google.com/books?id=FhhrlPxX3d0C&pg=PA3142 page 3142], {{OCLC|325913985}}</ref> a name mentioned by [[Pliny the Elder]].<ref>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/dictionarygreek08smitgoog|title=Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography: Iabadius-Zymethus|publisher=Little, Brown and Company|author=William Smith|page= [https://archive.org/details/dictionarygreek08smitgoog/page/n1095 1071]|year= 1857}}</ref> The Greek "Bargylus" had its roots in the name of an ancient city-kingdom called [[Barga (kingdom)|Barga]] most probably located in the vicinity of the mountains;<ref>{{cite book|first=Emil Orgetorix Gustav|last=Forrer|chapter=Barga|title=Reallexikon der Assyriologie|language= de|volume= 1|editor1-first=Erich|editor1-last=Ebeling|editor2-first=Bruno|editor2-last=Meissner|page= 401|year= 1928|publisher=Walter de Gruyter & Co|oclc=718866}}</ref> it was a city of the [[Ebla]]ite Empire in the third millennium BC,<ref name="cedar">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0Rwals-oh6kC&pg=PA121|title= Eblaitica: Essays on the Ebla Archives and Eblaite Language, Volume 4|author1=Cyrus Herzl Gordon |author2=Gary Rendsburg |author3=Nathan H. Winter |page= 121|isbn= 978-1-57506-060-6|year= 2002}}</ref> and then a vassal kingdom of the [[Hittites]],<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1A0OgvXfHlQC&pg=PA227|title=Ugarit in Retrospect: Fifty Years of Ugarit and Ugaritic|author=Gordon Douglas Young|page= 227|year= 1981|isbn=9780931464072}}</ref> who named the mountain range after Barga.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=orNZAAAAYAAJ|title=The International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia|volume= 3|author=James Orr|page= 1400|year= 1930}}</ref>
Classically, this range was known as the '''Bargylus''',<ref>Hackett, Horatio B. (editor) (1870) ''Dr. William Smith's Dictionary of the Bible: comprising its antiquities, biography, geography, and natural history'' (Volume IV, Regum-Melech to Zuzims) Hurd and Houghton, New York, [https://books.google.com/books?id=FhhrlPxX3d0C&pg=PA3142 page 3142], {{OCLC|325913985}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Millar |first=Fergus |title=The Roman Near East: 31 BC–AD 337 |date=1995-03-15 |publisher=Harvard University Press |isbn=978-0-674-77886-3 |edition= |location=Cambridge, Massachusetts |pages=17 |quote=These limestone hills rising to some 1500 m, the ancient Mons Bargylus or present Jebel Ansariyeh, inhabited by an Alawi population since the Middle Ages, have never been open to archaeological investigation, and remain an almost complete blank in the archaeological and social map of the region.}}</ref> a name mentioned by [[Pliny the Elder]].<ref>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/dictionarygreek08smitgoog|title=Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography: Iabadius-Zymethus|publisher=Little, Brown and Company|author=William Smith|page= [https://archive.org/details/dictionarygreek08smitgoog/page/n1095 1071]|year= 1857}}</ref> The {{lang-el|Μπάργκυλος|Bargylus}}) had its roots in the name of an ancient city-kingdom called [[Barga (kingdom)|Barga]] most probably located in the vicinity of the mountains;<ref>{{cite book|first=Emil Orgetorix Gustav|last=Forrer|chapter=Barga|title=Reallexikon der Assyriologie|language= de|volume= 1|editor1-first=Erich|editor1-last=Ebeling|editor2-first=Bruno|editor2-last=Meissner|page= 401|year= 1928|publisher=Walter de Gruyter & Co|oclc=718866}}</ref> it was a city of the [[Ebla]]ite Empire in the third millennium BC,<ref name="cedar">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0Rwals-oh6kC&pg=PA121|title= Eblaitica: Essays on the Ebla Archives and Eblaite Language, Volume 4|author1=Cyrus Herzl Gordon |author2=Gary Rendsburg |author3=Nathan H. Winter |page= 121|isbn= 978-1-57506-060-6|year= 2002}}</ref> and then a vassal kingdom of the [[Hittites]],<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1A0OgvXfHlQC&pg=PA227|title=Ugarit in Retrospect: Fifty Years of Ugarit and Ugaritic|author=Gordon Douglas Young|page= 227|year= 1981|isbn=9780931464072}}</ref> who named the mountain range after Barga.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=orNZAAAAYAAJ|title=The International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia|volume= 3|author=James Orr|page= 1400|year= 1930}}</ref>


In the medieval period were known as the '''Jabal Bahra''' ({{lang|ar|جبل بهراء}}) after the Arab tribe of [[Bahra (tribe)|Bahra’]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Salibi |first1=Kamal |title=A House of Many Mansions: The History of Lebanon Reconsidered |date=2005 |publisher=I. B. Tauris |location=Londo |isbn=1860649122 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=t_amYLJq4SQC}}</ref> They are also sometimes known as the '''Nusayriyah Mountains''' or the '''Ansarieh mountains''' ({{lang|ar|جبال النصيرية}} ''Jibāl an-Nuṣayriyah'') or the '''Alawiyin Mountains''' ({{lang|ar|جبال العلويين}} ''Jibāl al-‘Alawīyin''); both of these names refer to the [[Alawites|Alawi]] [[ethnoreligious group]] which has traditionally lived there, though the former term is based on an [[Alawites#Etymology|antiquated label]] for the community that is now considered insulting.
In the medieval period were known as the '''Jabal Bahra''' ({{lang|ar|جبل بهراء}}) after the Arab tribe of [[Bahra (tribe)|Bahra’]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Salibi |first1=Kamal |title=A House of Many Mansions: The History of Lebanon Reconsidered |date=2005 |publisher=I. B. Tauris |location=Londo |isbn=1860649122 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=t_amYLJq4SQC}}</ref> They are also sometimes known as the '''Nusayriyah Mountains''' or the '''Ansarieh Mountains''' ({{lang|ar|جبال النصيرية}} ''Jibāl an-Nuṣayriyah'') or the '''Alawiyin Mountains''' ({{lang|ar|جبال العلويين}} ''Jibāl al-‘Alawīyin''); both of these names refer to the [[Alawites|Alawi]] [[ethnoreligious group]] which has traditionally lived there, though the former term is based on an [[Alawites#Etymology|antiquated label]] for the community that is now considered insulting.


==Geography==
==Geography==
The western slopes catch moisture-laden winds from the [[Mediterranean Sea]] and are thus more fertile and more heavily populated than the eastern slopes. The [[Orontes River]] flows north alongside the range on its eastern verge in the [[Ghab valley]], a {{convert|64|km}} [[Trench#Geology|longitudinal trench]],<ref>[http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/578856/Syria/29930/Relief#ref=ref404080 Encyclopædia Britannica – Syria]</ref> and then around the northern edge of the range to flow into the Mediterranean. South of [[Masyaf]] there is a large northeast-southwest [[Fault (geology)#Strike-slip faults|strike-slip fault]] which separates An-Nusayriyah Mountain from the coastal [[Lebanon Mountains]] and the [[Anti-Lebanon Mountains]] of [[Lebanon]], in a feature known as the [[Homs Gap]].<ref name="Syria-profile" />
The western slopes catch moisture-laden winds from the [[Mediterranean Sea]] and are thus more fertile and more heavily populated than the eastern slopes. The [[Orontes River]] flows north alongside the range on its eastern verge in the [[Ghab valley]], a {{convert|64|km}} [[Trench#Geology|longitudinal trench]],<ref>[http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/578856/Syria/29930/Relief#ref=ref404080 Encyclopædia Britannica – Syria]</ref> and then around the northern edge of the range to flow into the Mediterranean. South of [[Masyaf]] there is a large northeast-southwest [[Fault (geology)#Strike-slip faults|strike-slip fault]] which separates An-Nusayriyah Mountain from the coastal [[Mount Lebanon]] and the [[Anti-Lebanon Mountains]] of [[Lebanon]], in a feature known as the [[Homs Gap]].<ref name="Syria-profile" />


Between 1920 and 1936, the mountains formed parts of the eastern border of the [[Alawite State]] within the [[French Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon]].
Between 1920 and 1936, the mountains formed parts of the eastern border of the [[Alawite State]] within the French [[Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon]].


== See also ==
== See also ==
*[[Turkmen Mountain]]
*[[Turkmen Mountain]]
*[[Wildlife of the Levant]]


==References==
==References==
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{{Authority control}}
{{Authority control}}

{{Coord|35|15|N|36|06|E|region:SY_type:mountain_source:kolossus-dewiki|display=title}}


[[Category:Mountain ranges of Syria]]
[[Category:Mountain ranges of Syria]]

Latest revision as of 12:38, 8 July 2024

Syrian Coastal Mountain Range
سلسلة الجبال الساحلية
Coastal Mountain Range
Highest point
PeakNabi Yunis
Elevation1,562 m (5,125 ft)
Dimensions
Length150 km (93 mi)
Geography
LocationSyria
Range coordinates35°36′N 36°14′E / 35.60°N 36.24°E / 35.60; 36.24

The Coastal Mountain Range (Arabic: سلسلة الجبال الساحلية, Silsilat al-Jibāl as-Sāḥilīyah) also called Jabal al-Ansariya, Jabal an-Nusayria or Jabal al-`Alawīyin (Ansari, Nusayri or Alawi Mountains) is a mountain range in northwestern Syria running north–south, parallel to the coastal plain.[1] The mountains have an average width of 32 kilometres (20 mi), and their average peak elevation is just over 1,200 metres (3,900 ft) with the highest peak, Nabi Yunis, reaching 1,562 metres (5,125 ft), east of Latakia.[1] In the north the average height declines to 900 metres (3,000 ft), and to 600 metres (2,000 ft) in the south.

This mountain range has been home to an Alawite population since the Middle Ages.[2]

Name

[edit]

Classically, this range was known as the Bargylus,[3][2] a name mentioned by Pliny the Elder.[4] The Greek: Μπάργκυλος, romanizedBargylus) had its roots in the name of an ancient city-kingdom called Barga most probably located in the vicinity of the mountains;[5] it was a city of the Eblaite Empire in the third millennium BC,[6] and then a vassal kingdom of the Hittites,[7] who named the mountain range after Barga.[8]

In the medieval period were known as the Jabal Bahra (جبل بهراء) after the Arab tribe of Bahra’.[9] They are also sometimes known as the Nusayriyah Mountains or the Ansarieh Mountains (جبال النصيرية Jibāl an-Nuṣayriyah) or the Alawiyin Mountains (جبال العلويين Jibāl al-‘Alawīyin); both of these names refer to the Alawi ethnoreligious group which has traditionally lived there, though the former term is based on an antiquated label for the community that is now considered insulting.

Geography

[edit]

The western slopes catch moisture-laden winds from the Mediterranean Sea and are thus more fertile and more heavily populated than the eastern slopes. The Orontes River flows north alongside the range on its eastern verge in the Ghab valley, a 64 kilometres (40 mi) longitudinal trench,[10] and then around the northern edge of the range to flow into the Mediterranean. South of Masyaf there is a large northeast-southwest strike-slip fault which separates An-Nusayriyah Mountain from the coastal Mount Lebanon and the Anti-Lebanon Mountains of Lebanon, in a feature known as the Homs Gap.[1]

Between 1920 and 1936, the mountains formed parts of the eastern border of the Alawite State within the French Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon.

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c Federal Research Division, Library of Congress (2005) "Country Profile: Syria" (PDF), page 5.
  2. ^ a b Millar, Fergus (1995-03-15). The Roman Near East: 31 BC–AD 337. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. p. 17. ISBN 978-0-674-77886-3. These limestone hills rising to some 1500 m, the ancient Mons Bargylus or present Jebel Ansariyeh, inhabited by an Alawi population since the Middle Ages, have never been open to archaeological investigation, and remain an almost complete blank in the archaeological and social map of the region.
  3. ^ Hackett, Horatio B. (editor) (1870) Dr. William Smith's Dictionary of the Bible: comprising its antiquities, biography, geography, and natural history (Volume IV, Regum-Melech to Zuzims) Hurd and Houghton, New York, page 3142, OCLC 325913985
  4. ^ William Smith (1857). Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography: Iabadius-Zymethus. Little, Brown and Company. p. 1071.
  5. ^ Forrer, Emil Orgetorix Gustav (1928). "Barga". In Ebeling, Erich; Meissner, Bruno (eds.). Reallexikon der Assyriologie (in German). Vol. 1. Walter de Gruyter & Co. p. 401. OCLC 718866.
  6. ^ Cyrus Herzl Gordon; Gary Rendsburg; Nathan H. Winter (2002). Eblaitica: Essays on the Ebla Archives and Eblaite Language, Volume 4. p. 121. ISBN 978-1-57506-060-6.
  7. ^ Gordon Douglas Young (1981). Ugarit in Retrospect: Fifty Years of Ugarit and Ugaritic. p. 227. ISBN 9780931464072.
  8. ^ James Orr (1930). The International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia. Vol. 3. p. 1400.
  9. ^ Salibi, Kamal (2005). A House of Many Mansions: The History of Lebanon Reconsidered. Londo: I. B. Tauris. ISBN 1860649122.
  10. ^ Encyclopædia Britannica – Syria