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Azaz أَعْزَاز
City
AzazLocation in Syria
Coordinates: 36°35′10″N 37°02′41″E / 36.5861°N 37.0447°E / 36.5861; 37.0447
Country	Syria
Governorate	Aleppo
District	Azaz
Subdistrict	Azaz
Control	Turkey Syrian Interim Government
Elevation	560 m (1,840 ft)
Population
• Total	31,623
Time zone	UTC+2 (EET)
• Summer (DST)	+3

Azaz (Arabic: أَعْزَاز, romanized: ʾAʿzāz) is a city in northwest Syria, roughly 20 miles (32 kilometres) north-northwest of Aleppo. According to the Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), Azaz had a population of 31,623 at the 2004 census. As of 2015, its inhabitants were almost entirely Sunni Muslims, mostly Arabs but also some Kurds and Turkmen.

It is historically significant as the site of the Battle of Azaz between the Crusader States and the Seljuk Turks on June 11, 1125. It is close to a Syria–Turkey border crossing, which enters Turkey at Öncüpınar, south of the city of Kilis. It is the capital of the Syrian Interim Government.

History

The city was known in ancient times with different names: in Hurrian as Azazuwa, in Medieval Greek as Αζάζιον (Azázion), in Old Aramaic as Ḥzz (later evolved in Neo-Assyrian as Ḫazazu).

Early Islamic period

In excavations of the site of Tell Azaz, considerable quantities of ceramics from the early and middle Islamic periods were found. Despite the importance of Azaz as indicated by archaeological finds, the settlement was rarely mentioned in Islamic texts prior to the 12th century. However, a visit to the town by the Muslim musician Ishaq al-Mawsili (767–850) gives some indication of Azaz's importance during Abbasid rule. The Hamdanids of Aleppo (945–1002) built a brick citadel at Azaz. It was a square fortress with two enclosures, situated atop a tell.

On 10 August 1030, Tubbal near Azaz became the scene of a humiliating defeat of the Byzantine emperor Romanos III at the hands of the Mirdasids. In December of the same year, the Byzantine generals Niketas of Mistheia and Symeon besieged and captured Azaz, and burned Tubbal to the ground in retaliation.

Crusader period

During the Crusader era, Azaz, which was referred to in Crusader sources as "Hazart", became of particular strategic significance due to its topography and location, overlooking the surrounding region. In the hands of the Muslims, Azaz stymied communications between the Crusader states of Edessa and Antioch, while in Crusader hands it threatened the major Muslim city of Aleppo. Around December 1118, the Crusader prince Roger of Antioch and the Armenian prince Leo I besieged and captured Azaz from the Turcoman prince Ilghazi of Mardin.

In January 1124, Balak and Toghtekin, the Burid atabeg of Damascus, breached Azaz's defenses, but were repulsed by Crusader reinforcements. In April 1125, the Seljuk atabeg Aqsunqur al-Bursuqi of Mosul and Toghtekin invaded the Principality of Antioch and surrounded Azaz. In response, in May or June 1125, a 3,000-strong Crusader coalition commanded by King Baldwin II of Jerusalem confronted and defeated the 15,000-strong Muslim coalition at the Battle of Azaz, raising the siege of the town.

However, the Crusaders' strength in the region was dealt a blow following the Zengid capture of Edessa in 1144. Afterward, the other fortresses in the County of Edessa, including Azaz, gradually became neglected. In 1146, Humphrey II of Toron sent sixty knights to reinforce the garrison at Azaz. Despite its strong fortifications, the fortress of Azaz finally fell to the Muslims under the Zengid emir of Aleppo, Nur ad-Din in June 1150.

13th–20th centuries

The Ayyubid emir of Aleppo, al-Aziz Uthman, rebuilt the earlier Hamdanid structure at Azaz with stone. During Ayyubid rule, in 1226, the local historian Yaqut al-Hamawi, described Azaz as a "fine town", referring to the settlement as "Dayr Tell Azaz". It was the center of a district bearing its name that also included the market towns or forts of Kafr Latha, Mannagh, Yabrin, Arfad, Tubbal and Innib. The Mamluk Sultanate ruled over the area from the 13th century. The Ottomans entered the area in 1516 with a victory at the Battle of Marj Dabiq. Azaz continued to be inhabited by Turkmen in the Ottoman era. It was a sanjak administrative division along with that of Kilis. After the fall of the Ottoman Empire in the early 20th century, the new Syria-Turkey border ran just north of Azaz. The town was first part of the French colonial empire's Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon and, from 1946, the independent state of Syria.

Syrian civil war

On 19 July 2012, during the Syrian civil war, rebels opposed to the Syrian government succeeded in capturing the town. The town is highly valued as a logistical supply route close to the Turkish–Syrian border.

The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant took control of Azaz in October 2013, but withdrew from the city in February 2014 after having been cut off from the rest of its territory.

Following the departure of ISIL, Azaz was left under the control of Northern Storm, a brigade under the authority of the Islamic Front, nominally a part of the Free Syrian Army (FSA) at that time. A Sharia Committee was responsible for the administration of sharia law, and was policed by the Northern Storm brigade. A Civil Council governed the field of public services. During its northern offensive in 2015, ISIL approached Azaz, but fell short of directly assaulting the city; taking Kafra and surrounding territory. While regular ISIL forces were finally expelled from the Aleppo Governorate in October 2016, the January 2017 Azaz bombing was attributed to ISIL.

In January 2015, al-Nusra Front had a limited presence in the town and controlled one mosque. By October 2015, the control of the town was shared between Al-Nusra and a brigade of the FSA.

Turkey began organising Turkmen militia bases in Azaz during the People's Protection Units (YPG) advance against ISIL in 2015, in order to prevent the Kurdish YPG from obtaining a land bridge between the Afrin and Kobanî Cantons. The Turkish government declared Azaz to be a "red line" which Kurdish forces must not cross. Azaz became one of the first towns to come under the Turkish occupation of northern Syria during the 2016 Operation Euphrates Shield. By late 2017, Azaz was the headquarters of the Syrian Interim Government.

Climate

Azaz has a hot-summer Mediterranean climate (Köppen climate classification Csa).

References

1. General Census of Population and Housing 2004 Archived 2012-12-09 at archive.today. Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS). Aleppo Governorate. (in Arabic)
2. Selin Girit (18 February 2016). "Syria conflict: Why Azaz is so important for Turkey and the Kurds". BBC News. Archived from the original on 30 November 2016. Retrieved 10 November 2016.
3. "Turkey's Idlib Incursion and the HTS Question: Understanding the Long Game in Syria". War on the Rocks. October 31, 2017. Archived from the original on June 4, 2019. Retrieved April 12, 2018.
4. ^ Eger, p. 88.
5. ^ Bylinsky 2004, p. 161.
6. ^ Deschamps 1973, p. 343.
7. Halm, Heinz (2003). Die Kalifen von Kairo: Die Fatimiden in Ägypten, 973–1074 [The Caliphs of Cairo: The Fatimids in Egypt, 973–1074] (in German). Munich: C. H. Beck. pp. 341–342. ISBN 3-406-48654-1.
8. ^ Deschamps 1973, p. 344.
9. "He received the odjaklik revenues of the sanjaks of Kilis and Azaz," p29. The Journal of Ottoman Studies, 2000.
10. "Syrian TV shows images of Assad as battles rage on for control of Damascus" Archived 2012-07-20 at the Wayback Machine, Al-Arabiya News
11. Holmes, Oliver (28 February 2014). "Al Qaeda splinter group withdraws from Syrian town near Turkey". Reuters. Archived from the original on 12 March 2016. Retrieved 10 November 2016.
12. Chulov, Martin (21 February 2016). "Azaz: the border town that is ground zero in Syria's civil war". The Guardian. Guardian News and Media Limited. Archived from the original on 9 November 2016. Retrieved 10 November 2016.
13. Dick, Marlin (17 December 2013). "FSA alliance pushes back against Islamic Front". Daily Star. Archived from the original on 28 March 2019. Retrieved 8 January 2014.
14. ^ "Special Report: Northern Storm and the Situation in Azaz (Syria)". MERIA Journal. 7 January 2015. Archived from the original on 24 May 2019. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
15. Adam Withnall (1 June 2015). "Battle for Azaz: Isis threatens yet another city as fighting reaches crucial Turkey border crossing". The Independent. Archived from the original on 30 April 2018. Retrieved 28 January 2018.
16. Syrian Kurdish leader: Moscow wants to work with us Archived 2015-10-11 at the Wayback Machine Al Monitor, 8 October 2015
17. "Turkish Army Allow Turkmen Militia to Enter Northern Syria and Establish a Base Near the Border". 26 August 2015.
18. Banco, Erin (8 November 2015). "Turkey, US, Syrian ISIS-Free Safe Zone: Turkmen Brigades Move Into Syria, Al-Nusra Moves Out, Soldiers Say". International Business Times. Archived from the original on 11 November 2016. Retrieved 10 November 2016.
19. Deniz Serinci (25 February 2016). "Rebels claim Kurdish force will 'change 'demographic balance' in Syria's Azaz region". Rudaw Media Network. Archived from the original on 10 November 2016. Retrieved 10 November 2016.
20. Charles Lister (31 October 2017). "Turkey's Idlib Incursion and the HTS Question: Understanding the Long Game in Syria". War on the Rocks. Archived from the original on 4 June 2019. Retrieved 8 May 2019.
21. al-Khateb, Khaled. "Idlib still wary of attack despite Turkish-Russian agreement". Al-Monitor. Archived from the original on 8 May 2019. Retrieved 8 May 2019.

Bibliography

• Bylinski, Janusz (2004). "Three Minor Fortresses in the Realm of the Ayyubid Rulers of Homs in Syria: Shumaimis, Tadmur (Palmyra) and al-Rahba". In Faucherre, Nicolas; Mesqui, Jean; Prouteau, Nicolas (eds.). La fortification au temps des croisades. Presses universitaires Rennes. ISBN 978-2-86847-944-0.
• Deschamps, Paul (1973). Les châteaux des Croisés en terre sainte III: la défense du comté de Tripoli et de la principauté d'Antioche (in French). Paris: Librairie Orientaliste Paul Geuthner.

v t e Aleppo Governorate
Capital: Aleppo
Mount Simeon District Mount Simeon Subdistrict Aleppo Abtin Assan Ayn al-Kabira Azzan Duwayr al-Zaytun Haddadin Hayyan Hilan Hreibel Kafr Saghir Khan Tuman Maghayer Khan Tuman Maratat al-Muslimiyah al-Muslimiyah al-Muslimiyah al-Shamaliyah Qarras Rasm Assan Saqlaya Siefat Tell Shair Samaan Tell Shughayb al-Dhahabiyah al-Wadihi Tell ad-Daman‎ Subdistrict Tell al-Daman Abu Rweil Ameriyeh Arjel Atshana Sharqiya Atshana Gharbiya Ballas Ballas al-Jadida Batranah Burda Buwaida Saghira Deir Saliba Hmeidi Hober Jubb Aleis Kafr Obeid al-Mintar Mreiqes Oweinat Kabira Rasm al-Mofakker Tabara al-Khusheir Um al-Karamel Haritan Subdistrict Haritan Anadan Babis Bashkoy Hayyan Fah Kafr Bssin Kafr Hamrah Maarat al-Artiq Naqqarin Shaykh Najjar Shaykh Zayat Shamer Yaqed al-Adas Darat Izza Subdistrict Darat Izza Bshantara Basrtun Bishqatin Kafrantin al-Hoteh Hur Injarah Irhab Qabtan al-Jabal al-Sakhriyah Taqad al-Hadher Subdistrict al-Hadher al-Eiss Dalamah Jmeimeh Maryamin Samaan Tell Dadin al-Zirbah Subdistrict al-Zirbah Abad Arada Banes Barnah Barqum Bawabiyah Humayrah Huweir al-Eiss Jazraya Jubb Kas Kassibeh Othmaniya Kabira Rasm al-Eiss Talafeh Tell Allush Tell Hidyah Zitan Ziyara Samaan Zammar Subdistrict Zammar
Azaz District Azaz Subdistrict Azaz al-Fayruziyah Jarez Kafr Kalbin Kafr Khasher Kaljibrin Al-Krum Ma'arin al-Malikiyah Maraanaz Menagh Nayarah Naddah al-Salameh Shamarikh Shamarin Sijaraz Tatiyah Tulayl ash-Sham Yahmul Akhtarin Subdistrict Akhtarin Ablah Aq Burhan Arshaf Bahwartah Baruza Dabiq Dudyan Duweidan Ghaytun Ghurur Ka'ibah Kadrish Qabtan Qar Kalbin Taanah Tal'ar Gharbi Tal'ar Sharqi Tall Battal Tall Tanah Tat Hims Turkman Bareh Ziadiyah Tell Rifaat Subdistrict Tell Rifaat Ahras Deir Jamal Kafr Naseh Kafr Naya Shaykh Issa Tell Jabin Mare' Subdistrict Mare' Fafin Herbel Ma'arat Umm Hawsh Sunbul Talalin Tell Qarah Nubl Subdistrict Nubl Bayanoun Mayer Ratyan al-Zahraa Sawran Subdistrict Sawran Baraghida Bel Duwaybiq Hawar Kilis Ihtaimlat al-Judaydah Kafra Kafr Burayshah Kafr Shoush Murayghil Rael Shuwayrin al-Yaarubiyah al-Yamamah Az-Zahiriyah Zayzafun
Afrin District Afrin Subdistrict Afrin Ain Dara Awlad al-Arab Barad Baselhaya Basuta Basufan Beit Adin Burj Abdullah Inab Kafr Nabu Kalota Kimar Maryamin Oqayba Qibar Bulbul Subdistrict Bulbul Burj Haider Darmashkanli Deir Ballut Fafertin Jalbul Karzahayel Jandairis Subdistrict Jindires Jalamah Kafr Safra Maabatli Subdistrict Maabatli Rajo Subdistrict Rajo Meidan Ekbis Sharran Subdistrict Sharran Qatma Shaykh al-Hadid Subdistrict Shaykh al-Hadid
Atarib District Atarib Subdistrict Atarib al-Abzamo Batibo al-Jinah Ibbin Samaan Subdistrict Ibbin Samaan Kafr Halab Kafr Karmin Kafr Naha Kafr Nasih al-Atarib Kafr Nuran Maarat Atarib Awayjil al-Sahharah al-Shaykh Ali Urum al-Kubra Subdistrict Urum al-Kubra Urum al-Sughra
Ayn al-Arab District Ayn al-Arab Subdistrict Ayn al-Arab al-Farazdaq al-Haqel Jaadat al-Samaawat al-Jalbiyah Subdistrict al-Jalbiyah Jubb Faraj Kabir Mil Qibbah Qinayah Ramilah Ras al-Ayn Qibli Sarrin Subdistrict Sarrin Shuyukh Fawqani Shuyukh Tahtani Subdistrict Shuyukh Tahtani Tell Abyad Tahtani
Al-Bab District Al-Bab Subdistrict al-Bab Abu Jabbar Abu Taltal Ameriyeh Arima Subdistrict Arima Arran Barlahin Bizaah al-Burj Deir Qaq Haddabat Haji Kusa Hezwan Kherbet Kiyar Maran Oweishiyeh Qabbasin Al-Rai Subdistrict Al-Rai Sosyan Tadef Subdistrict Tadef Tell Rahal al-Waqf
Dayr Hafir District Dayr Hafir Subdistrict Dayr Hafir Humaymah Kabirah al-Jabbul Umm el-Marra Kuweires Sharqi Subdistrict Kuweires Sharqi Mazburah al-Raa'i Rasm al-Abed Rasm Harmil al-Imam Subdistrict Rasm Harmil al-Imam Shaykh Ahmad Tell Ayoub
Jarabulus District Jarabulus Subdistrict Jarabulus al-Bir Fawqani al-Bir Tahtani al-Hajaliah al-Haluwaniyah al-Jamel Amarnah Ayn al-Bayda Balaban Dabis Haymar Jarabulus Tahtani Marma al-Hajar Mazaalah Qandariyah Qirata Qirq Maghar Umm Rutha Tahtani Yusuf Bayk Zugharah Ghandoura Subdistrict Ghandoura Al-Kuliya Al-Shahid Al-Qadi Arab Azzah Belis Fursan Jubb al-Dam Lilawa Nabghah Tell Aghbar‎ Tell Hajar Qubbat at-Turkuman al-Suwaydah
Manbij District Manbij Subdistrict Manbij Abu Kahf Subdistrict Abu Kahf Abu Qilqil Subdistrict Abu Qilqil Arab Hassan Kabir Awsajli Kabir Dakhirah Dandaniya Hamir Labidah Hayyah Kabirah Jubb Hamza Al-Khafsah Subdistrict Al-Khafsah Khan al-Humr al-Maamurah al-Mahsanah Khafsah Maskanah Subdistrict Maskanah Mallah Mujammaa Huttin al-Nasiriyah Fawqani Qashlat Yusef Basha Ras al-Ayn al-Bumane' Saan al-Ghazal al-Tadamon Talhuthan Tell Aswad Tell Akhdar Tishrin al-Zahirah Zunqul
As-Safira District As-Safira Subdistrict as-Safira Abu Jurayn al-Safirah Aqrabah Banan Subdistrict Banan al-Hajib Subdistrict al-Hajib Hawwaz Khanasir Subdistrict Khanasir Qulayaa Rasm Al-Nafl al-Samiriyah Tat Tell Aran Subdistrict Tell Aran Tell Hasil Zira'ah

v t e Cities and towns of Syria
Governorate centres	Aleppo Damascus Daraa Deir ez-Zor Hama al-Hasakah Homs Idlib Latakia Quneitra Raqqa Rif Dimashq Suwayda Tartus
District centres	Abu Kamal Afrin Ariha Atarib Ayn al-Arab Azaz al-Bab Baniyas Darayya Dayr Hafir Douma Duraykish Fiq al-Haffah Harem Izra' Jableh Jarabulus Jisr ash-Shughur Maarat al-Numaan al-Malikiyah Manbij Masyaf Mayadin Mhardeh al-Mukharram al-Foqani an-Nabk Palmyra Qamishli Qardaha Qatana Qudsaya al-Qusayr al-Qutayfah Ra's al-'Ayn al-Rastan as-Safira Safita Salamiyah Salkhad al-Sanamayn Shahba ash-Shaykh Badr al-Suqaylabiyah Talkalakh al-Tall Tell Abyad al-Thawrah Yabroud Zabadani
Sub-district centres	Abu Qilqil Abu al-Thuhur Akhtarin Amuda Arbeen Arima al-Ariqah al-Arishah Armanaz Arwad al-Asharah Assal al-Ward Awj Ayn al-Fijah Ayn Halaqim Ayn Issa Ayn al-Nasr Babbila Banan Barri Sharqi Beit Jinn Binnish Bir al-Helou Bosra Bulbul Busayrah Da'el al-Dana Darat Izza Darkush al-Darbasiyah Deir Atiyah al-Dimas al-Dumayr Furqlus Ghabaghib Ghandoura al-Ghariyah al-Ghizlaniyah al-Hader Hadidah al-Hajar al-Aswad al-Hajib Hajin al-Hamidiyah al-Hamraa Harasta Harbnafsah Harran al-Awamid al-Hirak Hish Hisyah al-Hawl Huraytan al-Huwash Ibbin Samaan Ihsim Jayrud al-Jalaa al-Janudiyah Jaramana al-Jarniyah Jasim al-Jawadiyah Jubb al-Jarrah Jubb Ramlah Jindires al-Jiza al-Qabu Kafr Batna Kafr Nabl Kafr Takharim Kafr Zita al-Karamah al-Kasrah Kessab al-Khafsah Khan Shaykhun Khasham Kirnaz Kuwayris Sharqi Khanaser Khirbet Ghazaleh Khirbet al-Tin Mahmoud al-Kiswah Ma'arrat Misrin Maabatli Maadan Maaloula Madaya Mahin Malah al-Malihah al-Mansurah Mare' Markada Mashta al-Helu Maskanah al-Masmiyah al-Mazraa Muhambal Muhasan al-Musayfirah al-Mushannaf Muzayrib al-Nashabiyah al-Nasirah Nawa Nubl al-Qadmus al-Qahtaniyah Qalaat al-Madiq Qarah al-Qaryatayn al-Qurayya Qurqania Rajo Rankus Rasm Harmil al-Imam al-Rai al-Riqama al-Ruhaybah al-Saan Saasaa Sabburah al-Sabe' Biyar al-Sabkhah Sadad Sahnaya Saidnaya Salqin Saraqib Sarmin Sarrin Sawran Sebei al-Shaddadah al-Shajara Shaqqa Sharran Shathah Shaykh al-Hadid al-Shaykh Maskin Shayukh Tahtani Shin Sinjar Sirghaya Slinfah Suluk al-Surah al-Saghirah al-Suwar Suran al-Susah al-Sukhnah al-Tabni Talbiseh Taldou al-Tamanah Tasil Tell al-Daman Tell Hamis Tell Rifaat Tell Salhab Tell Tamer Tedef Thiban Uqayribat Urum al-Kubra Wadi al-Oyun al-Yaarubiyah al-Zirbah az-Ziyarah

• Cities in Syria
• Populated places in Azaz District
• Towns in Aleppo Governorate