Homs (Arabic, حمص Ḥimṣ) is a midwestern city in Syria, the capital of the Homs Governorate. It is the largest governorate and the third most important city in the country. The city is a connection point and is located on the Orontes river. It is 450 m above the sea level, and is located 160 Km away from Damascus and 190 Km away from Aleppo and dates back to 2300 BC. In Roman times it was known as Emesa, . The Krak des Chevaliers is built on the mountain gap near Homs. It is also home to the Tomb of Khalid bin Walid, a famous and celebrated Muslim Warrior. The 2002 population estimate of the city is 1,033,000. Arabic ( or just ) is the largest living member of the Semitic language family in terms of speakers. ... Location of the Homs Governorate Homs Governorate (Arabic: مُحافظة حمص) is one of the fourteen governorates (provinces) of Syria. ... The Orontes or ‘Asi is a river of Lebanon and Syria. ... Damascus at sunset Damascus ( translit: Also commonly: الشام ash-Shām) is the largest city of Syria and is also the capital. ... Old Town viewed from Aleppo Citadel Aleppo (or Halab Arabic: ‎, ) is a city in northern Syria, capital of the Aleppo Governorate. ... (Redirected from 2300 BC) (24th century BC - 23rd century BC - 22nd century BC - other centuries) (4th millennium BC - 3rd millennium BC - 2nd millennium BC) Events 2334 - 2279 BC (short chronology) Sargon of Akkads conquest of Mesopotamia 2217 - 2193 BC - Nomadic invasions of Akkad 2205 BC - Foundation of the Xia... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Krak des Chevaliers Gothic cloister by the fortress yard Krak des Chevaliers (also Crac des Chevaliers, fortress of the knights in a mixture of Arabic and French) was the headquarters of the Knights Hospitaller in Syria during the Crusades. ... Khalid bin Walid (AKA:Syaifullah/Sword of Allah);(584 - 642) was a Muslim Arab soldier and general. ... A Muslim (Arabic: مسلم, Turkish: Müslüman, Persian and Urdu: مسلمان, Bosnian: Musliman) is an adherent of Islam. ...

Emesa

The Emesa temple to the sun god El Gabal, with the holy stone, on the reverse of this bronze coin by Roman usurper Uranius Antoninus.

Emesa had a temple to the Syrian sun god El Gebal (Aramaic), also called Elagabalus (Latin) and Heliogabalus (Greek). During Roman times Emesa was ruled by its local dynasty of priest-kings (see Royal Family of Emesa). It was the birthplace of the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, better known as Elagabalus, who was a hereditary priest of the his namesake deity and succeeded his cousin Caracalla in 218. Emesa was also Roman Emperor Aurelian's headquarter during his campaign against Queen Zenobia of Palmyra. It was taken in 636 by the Muslims, who renamed it Homs. In 1516 it passed into Ottoman hands, where it remained until the creation of Syria after World War I (1914–18). Homs is a thriving agricultural market centre and has oil and sugar refineries. It is the central link between the interior cities and the Mediterranean Sea coast. Uranius Antoninus. ... Uranius Antoninus. ... Usurpers were a common feature of the late Roman Empire, especially from the so-called crisis of the third century onwards, when political instability became the rule. ... Literary sources place the usurpation of Uranius during the reigns of Heliogabalus or Alexander Severus. ... The Royal Family of Emesa was a native Syrian dynasty of Priest-Kings in Emesa (modern Homs, Syria). ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... A bust depicting Elagabalus. ... Caracalla (April 4, 186 – April 8, 217) was Roman Emperor from 211 – 217. ... Lucius Domitius Aurelianus (September 9, 214–275), known in English as Aurelian, Roman Emperor (270–275), was the second of several highly successful soldier-emperors who helped the Roman Empire regain its power during the latter part of the third century and the beginning of the fourth. ... Zenobia coin reporting her title, Augusta. ...

External links

• http://www.acrosssyria.blogspot.com
• http://www.homslife.com/
• http://www.homsonline.com/
• http://www.syriagate.com/Syria/about/cities/Homs/
• http://www.syriatourism.org/Destinations/homs.htm

Coordinates: 34°44′N 36°43′E Map of Earth showing lines of latitude (horizontally) and longitude (vertically), Eckert VI projection; large version (pdf, 1. ...