Maarrat al-Numan

Ma‘arrat al-Nu‘man معرة النعمان Maarat al-Numaan
A collage of Maarat al-Numan showing city's important landmarks.
Ma‘arrat al-Nu‘man Location in Syria
Coordinates: 35°38′N 36°40′E / 35.633°N 36.667°E / 35.633; 36.667
Country	Syria
Governorate	Idlib
District	Maarrat al-Nu‘man
Subdistrict	Maarrat al-Nu‘man
Occupation	Jaish al-Fatah
Elevation	522 m (1,713 ft)
Population (2004)
• Total	58,008

Maarat al-Numaan (Arabic: مَعَرَّة النُّعْمَان‎‎, Maʿarrat al-Nuʿmān), also known as al-Maʿarra, is a city in northwestern Syria, 33 km (21 mi) south of Idlib and 57 km (35 mi) north of Hama, with a population of about 58,008 (2004 census). It is located at the highway between Aleppo and Hama and near the Dead Cities of Bara and Serjilla. The city, known as Arra to the Greeks, has its present-day name combined of the Greek name and of its first Muslim governor an-Nu‘man ibn Bashir, a companion of Muhammad. The Crusaders called it Marre.

Today the city has a museum with mosaics from the Dead Cities, the Great Mosque of Maarrat al-Numan, a madrassa built by Abu al-Farawis from 1199 and remains of the medieval citadel. The city is also a birthplace of the poet Al-Maʿarri (973–1057).

In 891 Ya‘qubi described Maarrat al-Nu‘man as "an ancient city, now a ruin. It lies in the Hims province." By the time of Estakhri (951) the place had recovered, as he described the city "very full of good things, and very opulent". Figs, pistachios and vines were cultivated. In 1047 Nasir Khusraw visited the city, and described it as a populous town with a stone wall. There was a Friday Mosque, on a height, in the middle of the town. The bazaars were full of traffic. Considerable areas of cultivated land surrounded the town, with plenty of fig-trees, olives, pistachios, almonds and grapes.