Anasartha
|
Khanasir خناصر |
|
|---|---|
 Khanasir
|
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| Coordinates: 35°47′0″N 37°29′50″E / 35.78333°N 37.49722°ECoordinates: 35°47′0″N 37°29′50″E / 35.78333°N 37.49722°E | |
| Country |
 Syria
|
| Governorate | Aleppo |
| District | Al-Safira |
| Subdistrict | Khanasir |
| Population (2004 census) | |
| • Total | 2,397 |
| Time zone | EET (UTC+2) |
| • Summer (DST) | EEST (UTC+3) |
| Area code(s) | Country code: 963 |
Khanasir (Arabic: خناصر / ALA-LC: Khanāṣir), also spelt Khanaser, is a town located in Syria's as-Safira District. It is one of twenty-four towns and villages located in the Khanasir valley, an area with a population of 11,000 people.
The town is situated on the site of the ancient village of Anasartha, enclosed within ramparts in western Syria; Malalas records that it was a kastron (fortified hilltop settlement) that was designated a polis by the Byzantine emperor Justinian I. A qanat dating back to Byzantine times that served as the water source for the village remained operational well into the 20th century. According to Robert L. France, Byzantine-era remains of Anasartha "are visible on the street, in newly built walls, and inside residential houses," in Khanasir today.
The city was mentioned by Pliny the Elder as "Chenneseri"; the etymology of Khanasir does not exist in Aramaic, and an Arabic etymology is unlikely (an implausible one being "Khinsar" which mean "the little finger"). An Akkadian etymology is also possible, with the name deriving from the word "Hunsiru", a variant of the word "Humsiru" meaning a rat or a mouse.
In the Byzantine times, the city was known as Anasartha; along with its surrounding villages, it enjoyed a period of prosperity between the late 4th century and early 6th century. The vast majority of the houses and churches discovered in this region are of that period. The church in Anasartha itself dates from 426.
Its bishop Maras took part in the Council of Chalcedon in 451, and his successor Cyrus was a signatory of the letter that the bishops of the province sent in 458 to the Byzantine Emperor Leo I the Thracian to protest about the killing of Proterius of Alexandria.
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Wikipedia