Al-Fu'ah الفوعة |
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Village | |
Coordinates: 35°58′54″N 36°42′6″E / 35.98167°N 36.70167°E | |
Country | Syria |
Governorate | Idlib |
District | Idlib |
Subdistrict | Binnish |
Population (2004) | |
• Total | 10,264 |
Time zone | EET (UTC+2) |
• Summer (DST) | EEST (UTC+3) |
Al-Fu'ah (Arabic: الفوعة, also spelled al-Fouaa and al-Fo'ua) is a town in northern Syria, administratively part of the Idlib Governorate, located northeast of Idlib. Nearby localities include Kafriya to the west, Maarrat Misrin to the northwest, Zardana to the north, Taftanaz to the northeast, Ta'um to the east and Binnish and Sarmin to the south. The plain surrounding al-Fu'ah is well known for growing olives and figs.
According to the Syria Central Bureau of Statistics, the town had a population of 10,264 in the 2004 census. The inhabitants are predominantly Shia Muslims.
During the Crusades, the town was a barrier fortress of the Principality of Antioch. However, after the capture of Baldwin II of Edessa, the inhabitants of al-Fu'ah and nearby Maarrat Misrin and Sarmin revolted against their Crusader rulers in 1104, inflicting heavy casualties against their troops. The town was later captured by Fakhr al-Mulk Radwan in 1104.Aq Sunqur of Mosul occupied al-Fu'a, along with Sarmin, in 1126.
Al-Fu'ah was visited by Syrian geographer Yaqut al-Hamawi in the early 13th-century, during Ayyubid rule. He noted that it was a "large village in the neighborhood of Halab. From it the convent called Dair Fu'ah takes its name."