Aleppo ﺣﻠﺐ Ḥalab |
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City | ||
Ancient City of Aleppo
Aleppo Citadel • The entrance to al-Madina Souq Great Mosque of Aleppo • Baron Hotel Saint Elias Cathedral • Queiq River Panorama of Aleppo at night |
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Nickname(s): Al-Shahbaa | ||
Location in Syria | ||
Coordinates: 36°13′N 37°10′E / 36.217°N 37.167°E | ||
Country | Syria | |
Governorate | Aleppo Governorate | |
District | Mount Simeon (Jabal Semaan) | |
First settled | 5000 BC | |
First city council | 1868 | |
Government | ||
• Mayor | Ayman Hallaq | |
Area | ||
• Total | 190 km2 (70 sq mi) | |
Elevation | 379 m (1,243 ft) | |
Population 2017 estimate | ||
• Total | 1,800,000 | |
Time zone | EET (UTC+2) | |
• Summer (DST) | EEST (UTC+3) | |
Area code(s) | Country code: 963 City code: 21 |
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Denomym |
Arabic: حلبي Ḥalabi English: Aleppan |
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Sources: Aleppo city area Sources: City population |
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Official name | Ancient City of Aleppo | |
Type | Cultural | |
Criteria | iii, iv | |
Designated | 1986 (10th session) | |
Reference no. | 21 | |
State Party | Syria | |
Region | Arab States |
Sources: Aleppo city area Sources: City population
Aleppo (/əˈlɛpoʊ/; Arabic: ﺣﻠﺐ / ALA-LC: Ḥalab, IPA: [ˈħalab]) is a city in Syria, serving as the capital of the Aleppo Governorate, the most populous Syrian governorate. With an official population of 2,132,100 (2004 census), Aleppo was the largest Syrian city before the Syrian Civil War; however, now Aleppo is likely the second-largest city in Syria after the capital Damascus.
Aleppo is an ancient city, and one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world; it may have been inhabited since the 6th millennium BC. Excavations at Tell as-Sawda and Tell al-Ansari, just south of the old city of Aleppo, show that the area was occupied by Amorites since at least the latter part of the 3rd millennium BC; and this is also when Aleppo is first mentioned in cuneiform tablets unearthed in Ebla and Mesopotamia, in which it is a part of the Amorite state of Yamhad, and noted for its commercial and military proficiency. Such a long history is attributed to its strategic location as a trading center midway between the Mediterranean Sea and Mesopotamia (i.e. modern Iraq).