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Idlib

Syria · Asia

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City in Syria

About Idlib

Idlib is a city in northwestern Syria, and is the capital of the Idlib Governorate. It has an elevation of nearly 500 meters (1,600 ft) above sea level, and is 59 kilometers (37 mi) southwest of Aleppo. It is located near the border with Turkey.

History

Idlib, along with the rest of Syria, was conquered by the Armenian king Tigranes the Great and incorporated in the Armenian Empire, only to be later conquered by the Roman Pompey the Great around 64 BCE. The city was never of much significance, belonging to the province of Roman Syria under the Roman Empire and later to the Eastern Roman province of Syria Secunda before being conquered by the Arabs around the middle of the seventh century. Not much remains from the city's Roman and Byzantine times, except in its museum. North of the city are the Dead Cities, a collection of important archaeological sites from the Byzantine era. During early Ottoman rule in Syria, beginning in 1516, Idlib was a small timar (fief). The village of Idlib was founded by Fadil Ahmed Pasha, the son of Grand Vizier Köprülü Mehmed Pasha (r. 1656–1661) who appointed him governor of Damascus Eyalet. …

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Culture

The Idlib Regional Museum in the city contains over 17,000 of the Ebla tablets and serves as Idlib's main tourist attraction, excluding the nearby ancient site of Ebla itself. Under the Technical and Financial Cooperation Agreement between the governments of Italy and Syria, the museum was to undergo a restoration and renovation project starting in 2010.

Economy

Idlib is a major production center for olives, cotton, wheat and fruits, particularly cherries. Other principal crops include almonds, sesame seeds, figs, grapes and tomatoes. In 1995 there were roughly 300 hectares planted with various citrus crop. Olive oil pressing and textiles are some of the city's local industries. The nearby city of Aleppo has an important economic presence in Idlib. Idlib is a major agricultural center in Syria. It is also historically significant, containing many "dead cities" and tells. Because of the rapidly declining value of the Syrian pound, the Turkish lira became widespread in Idlib and was adopted as legal tender in the city on 15 June 2020. This was reversed in 2025.

Demographics

In the 2004 census by the Central Bureau of Statistics of Syria, Idlib had a population of 98,791 and in 2010 the population was around 165,000. The inhabitants are mostly Sunni Muslim, although there was previously a significant Christian minority, but by 2022 there was only a single elderly Christian man left in the city. Idlib is divided into six main districts: Ashrafiyah (the most populous), Hittin, Hejaz, Downtown, Hurriyah, and al-Qusour.