Maryamin مريمين Mariamin | |
|---|---|
Village | |
  Maryamin Location in Syria | |
| Coordinates:34°53′06″N36°26′20″E / 34.88498°N 36.438816°E /34.88498; 36.438816 | |
| Country |  Syria |
| Governorate | Homs |
| District | Homs |
| Subdistrict | Taldou |
| Population (2018) | |
• Total | ~12‘000 |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (EET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+3 (EEST) |
Maryamin (Arabic:مريمين, also spelledMariamin orMeriamen) is a village in centralSyria, administratively part of theHoms Governorate starting from 2008 after being part of theHama Governorate,[1] located inHoms Gap southwest ofHama. Nearby localities includeAqrab,Nisaf andBaarin to the north,Kafr Kamrah andMashta al-Helu to the west,Shin,al-Shinyah andal-Qabu to the south, andTaldou andTell Dahab to the east. According to theSyria Central Bureau of Statistics, Maryamin had a population of 4,174 in the 2004 census.[2] Its inhabitants are predominantlyAlawites.[3][4]
Maryamin is believed to be located on the site of a town founded byRamses II of theNew Kingdom of Egypt.[7]
Maryamin, or ancient "Mariamme", was mentioned byPliny the Elder and in late Roman lists.[8] The town likely served as the capital of the Mariamnitai tribe,[9] but very little mention of the Roman town survives.[8] The Roman Catholic Church still maintains a titular "Bishop ofMariamme".
An important late fourth-century mosaic[6] from theByzantine era was discovered in the ruins of a villa in Maryamin in 1960.[10] The mosaic has an area of 20 square meters and depicts six female musicians playing instruments. The depiction is one of the few artifacts that give an indication on how theorgan was used in antiquity.[5] The other instruments seen in the mosaic are a pair of forked cymbals, a doubleaulos, anoxyvaphi (a percussion instrument, here consisting of eight yellow-coloured metal bowls played with two sticks), akithara (a type oflyre), and cymbals.[6] The mosaic is currently displayed at theregional museum of Hama.[10]
The Syrian geographerYaqut al-Hamawi noted that Maryamin was "one of the villages ofHims" when he visited in 1225, duringAyyubid rule.[11]
During the first decade of Ottoman rule, Maryamin's population consisted of 22 households. By the end of the 16th century, the number had increased to 51 households, in addition to 20bachelors (who were taxed separately).[12]
In 1929 Maryamin and a number of other Alawite villages in theMasyaf district were transferred to theAlawite State after negotiations with their landlords. The villages' cultivated lands were distributed among the peasantry that worked them.[13] In the early 1960s Maryamin had a population of 600 residents. It was a center for growing grape vines and contained a number of springs.[7]
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