A walking tour through the ancient streets of the coastal city of Tartus, located in western Syria, on Monday morning, June 10, 2024.
The ancient city of Tartus stands on a flat rock plateau extending over a distance of 300 metres. This plateau ends on the western side directly at the beach. William of Tire mentioned it in his old documents when he said: “A beautiful and noble city in its appearance is called Antarados. It was called that because it is located opposite Arados (Arwad Island). "
When the island of Arwad flourished, especially in the Hellenistic Phoenician era, the Arwadians extended their control over the opposite shore to form several regions in the form of a Phoenician federal body that extended from Cimmeria in the south (northern Lebanon) to Jableh in the north to the slopes of the Orontes and then to Masyaf in the east... Tartus was not Which was called at that time Antarados (the Greek name means corresponding to Arwad), except for a base and a fortress that the island built along the coast from which to attack the cities of the interior and to have a commercial and economic center....
Alexander the Great visited Antarados (he lived for a period in the luxurious suburb of Amrit) and described it as: “A (real) city, fully equipped with everything related to civil development and with important commercial activity.”
Antarados (Tartus) and the Virgin Mary:
Christianity came early to the region. It arose in Antarados, one of the first Christian communities. Saint Peter established there one of the oldest churches dedicated to the Virgin Mary and the first altar erected for her (currently Tartus Museum). He also placed there the famous icon of Mary, which is attributed to Saint Luke...
Tartous from the Arab era until the end of the Crusades:
The Muslim Arabs took control in 638 AD, led by Ubadah ibn al-Samit, and then Arabized its name to become Antartus. The city became famous at the beginning of this era because it contained a copy of the Othman Qur’an, at a time when there were only a few copies of the Noble Qur’an in the world.
In February of the year 1099, the Crusaders took control of the city under the leadership of the Count of Toulouse and its name became Tartous. Then, control over it took turns between the King of Byzantium, the Prince of Antioch, and the Prince of Tripoli, who handed it over to his son Alphonse, who in turn fortified it fortified and made it an important military base (can be Through the video, you can see the walls built by Alphonse) and a major port for supplies due to its important maritime geographic location close to Antioch, Cyprus, and Europe.
Saladin in front of the walls of Tartous:
Saladin arrived in Tartous in July of the year 1188 AD, coming from Tripoli. He took control of the southern part of the city after encircling it tightly in the shape of a crescent that extended from sea to sea, and caused severe damage to the cathedral. The residents took refuge in the northern, more fortified part, where he was unable to control. Completely defeated him, so he left the city shortly after having concluded a truce with the Knights Templar.
Tartus did not become completely under the control of the Arabs until August 1291, when Imad al-Din, commander of the army of Sultan Malik al-Ashraf, entered it, and those fleeing the Franks took refuge on the island of Arwad and then on to Cyprus.
Later, in the year 1340, the city lost its fortifications and then submitted to the Mamluks, who gave it its current name (Tartus). During the Ottoman era, its star declined and it became affiliated with the state of Tripoli.
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