al-Biyah البيه | |
|---|---|
Village | |
  al-Biyah Location in Syria | |
| Coordinates:34°59′3″N36°41′21″E / 34.98417°N 36.68917°E /34.98417; 36.68917 | |
| Country |  Syria |
| Governorate | Hama |
| District | Hama |
| Subdistrict | Hirbnafsah |
| Population (2004) | |
• Total | 1,703 |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (EET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+3 (EEST) |
| City Qrya Pcode | C3047 |
Al-Biyah (Arabic:البيه; also transliteratedAlbiyya orAlbaya) is aSyrian village located in theHirbnafsah Subdistrict inHama District. According to theSyria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), al-Biyah had a population of 1,803 in the 2024 census.[1] Its inhabitants are predominantlyGreek Orthodox Christians.
According to 16th-century OttomanDefter records, Al-Biyah (referred to asElbiyât) was one of a handful of Christian villages in theHama Sanjak. Its population rose from 31 households in 1526 to 99 households and 71bachelors in 1594.[2] It is mentioned by PatriarchMacarius III Ibn al-Za'im (r. 1647–1672) as one of the Christian villages located betweenHama andHoms. He noted the village was part of a diocese called 'Euchaita' under PatriarchMichael VI Sabbagh (r. 1576–1581) but that his successor, PatriarchIbn Ziyada, split Euchaita between Hama and Homs, assigning al-Biyah to the latter, after Euchaita's metropolitan Malachi died.[3] The village continued to be inhabited in the 17th century,[3]
According to an 1828 tax record, al-Biyah was a grain-growing village of 58feddans.[4] By 1838 it was listed as akhirba (uninhabited ruin).[5]
In 1992 al-Biyah was incorporated into the municipality ofToumin.[6]
