Afrin, Syria
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Afrin عفرين Efrîn |
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view of Afrin (2009 photograph)
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 Afrin
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| Coordinates: 36°30′30″N 36°52′9″E / 36.50833°N 36.86917°E | |
| Country |
 Syria
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| Governorate | Aleppo |
| District | Afrin |
| Subdistrict | Afrin |
| de facto |
 Rojava
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| Elevation | 270 m (890 ft) |
| Population (2004 census) | |
| • Total | 172,095 |
| Time zone | EET (UTC+2) |
| • Summer (DST) | EEST (UTC+3) |
| Website | Official website |
Afrin (Arabic: عفرين / ALA-LC: ʿAfrīn or ʿIfrīn; Kurdish: Efrîn) is a district as well as a city in northern Syria. As a district (mantiqah) of the Syrian Arab Republic, it is part of the Aleppo Governorate. However, since 2012, the Syrian government has lost control of the district, and as the capital of Afrin Canton (Kurdish: Kantona Efrînê) it is now part of the de facto autonomous region of Rojava. The total population of the district as of 2005[update] was recorded at 172,095 people, of whom 36,562 lived in the town of Afrin itself. The town and district are named for the Afrin River. The town of Afrin is located next to a bridge of the Aleppo road. The city is split into two distinct halves by the river.
About 8 km south of the town of Afrin, there are the remains of a Neo-Hittite (Iron Age) settlement known as Tell Ain Dara. The Afrin valley was part of Roman Syria, until the Muslim conquest in 637. The Afrin river was known as Oinoparas in the Seleucid era, in the Roman era the name became Ufrenus, whence the Arab vernacular ʿAfrīn, ʿIfrīn, adopted as Kurdish Efrîn.
The area was briefly conquered by the Principality of Antioch, but again came under Muslim rule in 1260 following the Mongol invasions. In the Ottoman period, the area was part of the Kilis Province.
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