Tell Sultan تل سلطان | |
|---|---|
Village | |
  Tell Sultan | |
| Coordinates:35°49′22″N36°57′13″E / 35.82278°N 36.95361°E /35.82278; 36.95361 | |
| Country |  Syria |
| Governorate | Idlib |
| District | Idlib |
| Subdistrict | Abu al-Thuhur |
| Population (2004 census)[1] | |
• Total | 2,389 |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (EET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+3 (EEST) |
Tell Sultan (Arabic:تل سلطان; also spelledTall as-Sultan) is a town in northwesternSyria, administratively part of theIdlib Governorate, located southeast of Idlib and 37 kilometers southwest ofAleppo. Nearby localities includeAbu al-Thuhur to the southeast,Tell Mardikh to the southwest,Saraqib to the west andTell Touqan to the northwest. According to theSyria Central Bureau of Statistics, Tell Sultan had a population of 2,389 in the 2004 census.[1]
Tell as-Sultan translates as the 'Sultan's Hill'. It received this name afterAlp Arslan, thesultan of theSeljuk Empire, encamped at the hill during hissiege ofAleppo in 1070 CE.[2]Saladin and hisAyyubid army decisively defeated theZengid army led byGhazi II Saif ud-Din in a battle on the site of Tell Sultan in 1176.[3]
The town was visited in the early 13th century by the geographerYaqut al-Hamawi who noted it was a "day's march from Halab (Aleppo) towardsDamascus" and that it contained "acaravanserai and a rest-house for travelers".[4] Later, in 1232, the regent queen of Aleppo,Dayfa Khatun receivedFatima Khatun, the daughter of Ayyubid sultanal-Kamil, andBaha ad-Din ibn Shaddad at a ceremony in Tell Sultan.[5]
