Talbisa

Talbiseh تلبيسة Telbise ( Talbisa )
Village
Talbiseh (background) and sheep grazing (foreground), 1930s
Talbiseh Location in Syria
Coordinates: 34°50′0″N 36°44′0″E / 34.83333°N 36.73333°E / 34.83333; 36.73333
Country	Syria
Governorate	Homs
District	Al-Rastan
Subdistrict	Talbiseh
Elevation	455 m (1,493 ft)
Population (2004)
• Total	30,796
Time zone	EET (UTC+2)
• Summer (DST)	+3 (UTC)

Talbiseh (Turkish: Telbise,Arabic: تلبيسة‎‎, also spelled Talbisa, Tell Bisa, Talbeesa) is a large town in northwestern Syria administratively part of the Homs Governorate, about 10 kilometers north of Homs. Nearby localities include al-Rastan to the north, al-Ghantoo to the southwest and al-Mashrafah to the east. The old town of Talbiseh is situated on an isolated hill. According to the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) Talbiseh had a population of 30,796 in 2004. Its inhabitants are mostly Sunni Muslims with significant Arab and Turkmen ethnic groups.

Talbiseh is built atop an ancient tell ("artificial mound"). In 1945 a large hoard of Byzantine Empire-era copper coins were discovered in Talbiseh. The roughly 835 coins, which dated back to 631 CE, consisted of three specimens depicting the emperors Justin II, Phocas and Heraclius Constantine.

During the Ottoman era, particularly throughout the 18th-century, Talbiseh served as one of the principal rural fortress towns in northern Syria and it was located along what was known as the "Sultanic Road" which led to Istanbul, the seat of the empire. Its importance had grown as a result of the decline of Maarrat al-Nu'man and Hisyah. The Jundi family had normally provided the aghawat (governors) of the fortress, and would later provide three of Hama's governors around the year 1800. During a revolt by the Mawali tribes of northern Syria, the governor of Talbiseh's fortress, Abd al-Razzaq al-Jundi, was executed by the tribesmen.