Jableh جبلة جبلة الروح |
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A collage of Jableh.
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Location in Syria | |
Coordinates: 35°21′N 35°55′E / 35.350°N 35.917°E | |
Country | Syria |
Governorate | Latakia Governorate |
District | Jableh District |
Nahiyah | Jableh |
Elevation | 16 m (52 ft) |
Population | |
• Total | 80,000 |
Time zone | EET (UTC+2) |
• Summer (DST) | EEST (UTC+3) |
Jableh (Arabic: جبلة; Turkish: Cebele) Ǧabla), also spelt Jebleh, Jabala, Jablah or Gabala, is a coastal city on the Mediterranean in Syria, 25 km (16 mi) north of Baniyas and 25 km (16 mi) south of Latakia, with c. 80,000 inhabitants (2008). It contains the tomb and mosque of Sultan Ibrahim Bin Adham, a Sufi mystic who renounced his throne and devoted himself to prayers for the rest of his life.
Jableh has been inhabited since at least the second millennium BCE. The city was part of the Ugaritic kingdom and was mentioned as "Gbʿly" in the archives of the city c. 1200 BC. In antiquity Jableh (then called Gabala) was an important Hellenistic and then Roman city. One of the main remains of this period is a theatre, capable of housing c. 7,000 spectators. Near the seashores even older remains were found dating to the Iron Age or Phoenician Era.
In the medieval period, Jableh was part of the Principality of Antioch, one of the Crusader States, until it was captured by Saladin in 1189 during the Third Crusade. One famous resident was Hugh of Jabala, the city's bishop, who reported the fall of Edessa to Pope Eugene III, and was the first person to speak of Prester John.
Jableh is the seat of the Roman Catholic titular bishopric of Gabala .