Amioun

Amioun أميون (Arabic) Αμιούν (Greek)
City
Amioun Clock Tower
Amioun Location within Lebanon
Coordinates: 34°18′0″N 35°48′0″E / 34.30000°N 35.80000°E / 34.30000; 35.80000Coordinates: 34°18′0″N 35°48′0″E / 34.30000°N 35.80000°E / 34.30000; 35.80000
Country	Lebanon
Governorate	North Lebanon Governorate
District	Koura District
Founded by	Phoenicians
Area
• Total	1,137 km2 (439 sq mi)
	along the "Cedars' way"
Highest elevation	330 m (1,080 ft)
Lowest elevation	298 m (978 ft)
Population (2010)
• Total	10,658
• Religion	99.5% Eastern Orthodox
Time zone	EET (UTC+2)
• Summer (DST)	EEST (UTC+3)
Dialing code	+961 6
Website	http://www.amioun.org

Amioun (Arabic: أميون, transl. Amyūn‎‎, Greek: Αμιούν) is the capital of the predominantly Greek Orthodox Koura District (i.e. χώρα, "country" in Greek) in the north of Lebanon.

The town of Amioun derives its name from the Aramaic language, meaning "'am Yawan" "place of the Greeks", with a possible alternative root fortified town. Amioun is located on the top of an ancient hill dating back to before the 2nd millennium B.C., and the town was called "Amia" during this period. The word Amia was cited in the letters of Tell el Amarna, which were sent in the 14th century B.C. by local governors to their overlords, the pharaohs of Egypt. In his etymological study of the names of Lebanon’s towns and villages, historian Anis Freiha asserted that Amia is in turn derived from the Semitic word emun, meaning "invincible fort".

Amioun has a population of 10,658 most of whom live outside of Lebanon, mainly in Massachusetts in the United States and in Sydney and Melbourne in Australia and visit Lebanon during the summer. Almost all the residents are followers of the Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch. Amioun is the largest all Eastern Orthodox town in Lebanon and 4th in the whole Levant after Mhardeh, Al-Suqaylabiyah and Kafr Buhum in Syria. The major political parties in the town are the Syrian Social Nationalist Party, the Free Patriotic Movement, the Lebanese Communist Party, and the Lebanese Forces. The inhabitants of the city are of Phoenician, Byzantine Greek and Ghassanid descent.