Hama Governorate

Hama Governorate (Arabic: مُحافظة حماة‎ / ALA-LC: Muḥāfaẓat Ḥamā) is one of the 14 governorates of Syria. It is situated in western-central Syria, bordering Idlib and Aleppo Governorates to the south, Raqqa Governorate to the west, Homs Governorate to the north, and Tartus and Latakia Governorate to the east. It is the only Governorate (excluding Damascus) that does not border a foreign country. Measures of its area vary from 8,844 km2[1] to 8,883 km2,[2] with its capital being the city of Hama.

Hama

مُحافظة حماة
Ḥamā
Governorate
Map of Syria with Hama highlighted
Coordinates (Hama): 35.2°N 37.2°E / 35.2; 37.2
Country Syria
CapitalHama
Manatiq (Districts)5
Government
 • GovernorMohammad Abdullah al-Hazzouri
Area
 • Total8,883 km2 (3,430 sq mi)
 Estimates range between 8,844 km² and 8,883 km²
Population
 (2011)
 • Total1,628,000
 • Density180/km2 (470/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+2 (EET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+3 (EEST)
ISO 3166 codeSY-HM
Main language(s)Arabic

History

Archaeological sites

Modern Syria

Hama has historically been a centre of opposition to the Assad regime, and it was the centre of an uprising in the late 1970s to the early 1980s that resulted in the 1982 Hama massacre.[3][4]

Syrian Civil War

The city was one of several that saw anti-Assad protests in 2011, the violent suppression of which ultimately led to the outbreak of civil war.[5] Despite this, for the most part the governorate has stayed under the Syrian Government's control, with exceptions of parts of the north-west in the early years of the conflict.[6] The eastern desert regions of the governorate fell under the control of Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant by 2016,[7] but by September 2017 the Syrian Army had managed to oust them.[8]

Geography

The western regions of the governorate are part of the Syrian Coastal Mountain Range (Nusayriyah Mountains), running north to south.[9] Roughly parallel with the mountains to the east is the Al-Ghab Plain, with the Orontes river flowing through it, Hama city lies on this river.[10] The central and eastern regions of the governorate consists of flatter desert terrain.

Settlements

The provincial capital is Hama; other major settlements include Akakir, Al-Hamraa, Al Qastal, Al-Saan, Aqarib as Safi, At Tammazah, Ithriya, Kafr Buhum, Karnaz, Mahardah, Masyaf, Murak, Qalaat al-Madiq, Qasr Ibn Wardan, Sabburah, Salamiyah, Shaykh Hilal, Shaytalun, Suran and Tayyibat at Turki.

Districts

The governorate is divided into five districts (manatiq). The districts are further divided into 22 sub-districts (nawahi):

Demographics

As per the 2004 Syrian census the population was 1,385,000.[1] A 2011 UNOCHA estimate put the population at 1,628,000, though this has likely changed since the start of the war.[11]

Sunni Muslims form the majority at 61%, followed by Alawites (19%), Ismailis (12%), Christian (7%) and Shi'ite Muslims (1%).[12]

  • Map of Hama Governorate
  • Abu Qubays castle
  • Salamiyyah
  • Roman bridge in Mahardah
  • Shayzar
  • Hama

References
  1. "Syria Provinces". www.statoids.com.
  2. http://www.citypopulation.de/Syria.html
  3. "Syria: Bloody Challenge to Assad". Time. 8 March 1982.
  4. JOHN KIFNER (12 February 1982). "Syrian Troops Are Said To Battle Rebels Encircled in Central City". The New York Times. Hama (Syria); Syria. Retrieved 20 January 2012.
  5. "'Half a million' protest on streets of Hama - Middle East". Al Jazeera English. 8 July 2011. Retrieved 3 August 2011.
  6. "Rebels seize towns in central Syria". Reuters. 19 December 2012. Archived from the original on 19 December 2012. Retrieved 20 December 2012.
  7. "Syrian Army begins new offensive to liberate Raqqa". Al-Masdar news. 2 June 2016.
  8. "Breaking: ISIS agrees to surrender all its territory in rural Hama to the Syrian Army". AMN - Al-Masdar News | المصدر نيوز. 2017-09-21. Retrieved 2017-09-21.
  9. Federal Research Division, Library of Congress (2005) "Country Profile: Syria" page 5
  10. "Asi-Orontes Basin". Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. 2016. Retrieved 18 March 2018.
  11. Syrian Arab Republic - Governorates profile (PDF), UNOCHA, June 2014, retrieved 20 March 2020
  12. Hussain Ibrahim Qutrib (2016), "Useful Syria" and Demographic Changes in Syria (PDF), King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies, retrieved 20 March 2020
  • ehama The First Complete website for hama news and services
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