Areimeh العريمة Arima | |
|---|---|
Village | |
  Areimeh Location in Syria | |
| Coordinates:34°44′38″N36°2′50″E / 34.74389°N 36.04722°E /34.74389; 36.04722 | |
| Country |  Syria |
| Governorate | Tartus |
| District | Tartus |
| Subdistrict | Safsafa |
| Population (2004) | |
• Total | 507 |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (EET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+3 (EEST) |
| City | C5331 |
Areimeh (Arabic:العريمة,romanized: ʿArīma) is a village in northwesternSyria, administratively part of theTartus District of theTartus Governorate. According to theSyria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), Areimeh had a population of 507 in the 2004 census.[1] It is the site of the medieval fortress of Arima.
Arima is 24 kilometers (15 mi) southeast ofTartus. It is situated on an oval hilltop, 170 meters (560 ft) above sea level, in the northernAkkar Plain, below theJabal Ansariyah mountains. The hill slopes steeply on its north and south to the tributaries of the Nahr al-Abrash river.[2]
The fortress is currently in a ruined state. From its peak it oversees the fortresses of Chastel Blanc andGibelacar (Hisn Akkar). It covers a length of 300 meters (980 ft). It consists of two courtyards and redoubt, all three components separated from each other ditches. The redoubt is an enclosure with two towers on its sides, the larger tower positioned over the entrance to the fortress.[3]
The Arima fortress buttressed the defense ofTartus, one of the two main towns of the CrusaderCounty of Tripoli, and theHoms Gap. The date of Arima's construction is not known and the earliest date it is mentioned in the historical record is 1148, when it was in the possession ofRaymond II, theCount of Tripoli. Raymond II had lost control of the fortress that year to a potential rival,Bertand of Toulouse, the son ofAlfonso Jordan who had been poisoned and killed inCaesarea earlier that year. Bertrand probably seized Arima as it sat between Tartus andTripoli, the seat of the County. Raymond called on the Muslim rulerNur al-Din Zengi to intervene on his behalf. Nur al-Din responded by besieging Arima. The Muslim forces broke a hole through its walls and compelled Bertand to surrender.[3]
Nur al-Din later raided and destroyed Arima andChastel Blanc inSafita in 1171. The fortress was rebuilt soon after and entered the possession of theKnights Templar. The Muslim ruler of Syria and Egypt,Saladin, captured it in 1187 but it eventually reverted to Crusader control until falling to the MuslimMamluk Sultanate in 1291.[3]
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