Mayadin
|
Mayadin الميادين |
|
|---|---|
 Mayadin
|
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| Coordinates: 35°1′6″N 40°27′12″E / 35.01833°N 40.45333°E | |
| Country |
 Syria
|
| Governorate | Deir ez-Zor |
| District | Mayadin |
| Subdistrict | Mayadin |
| Occupation |
 Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
|
| Elevation | 195 m (640 ft) |
| Population (2004) | |
| • Total | 44,028 |
Mayadin (Arabic: الميادين/ALA-LC: al-Miyādīn) is a city in eastern Syria. It is the capital of the Mayadin District, part of the Deir ez-Zor Governorate. Mayadin is located about 44 kilometers southeast of Deir ez-Zor. The Euphrates River flows through the town. In the 2004 census, the population was 44,028, making it the second most populous city in the governorate.
Mayadin has been identified to be the ancient Audattha known to Ptolomy, though some suggest Audattha was where Haditha now stands in Iraq.
Mayadin is the successor of the medieval town and fortress of Rahbat Malik ibn Tawk, founded by the Abbasid lord and the original town's namesake, Malik ibn Tawk. Strategically located at a crossroads on the western bank of the Euphrates and considered the key to Syria from Iraq, control of the town was highly contested by the Muslim powers and Bedouin tribes of the region. It grew to become one of the major Muslim towns of the Euphrates valley and was an administrative center.
An earthquake destroyed Rahbat Malik ibn Tawk in 1157, after which it was granted by the Zengid ruler Nur ad-Din to Asad ad-Din Shirkuh, the paternal uncle of future Ayyubid sultan, Saladin. Shirkuh relocated the fortress about four kilometers southwest of the original site. The new settlement, known as "al-Rahba al-Jadida", remained the significant center of the Euphrates region through much of the Ayyubid–Mamluk era (12th–15th centuries), and today is a ruined fortress known as "Qal'at al-Rahba". The original settlement eventually became known as "Mashhad Rahba". The latter was located at the present site of Mayadin.
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