Arab al-Mulk عرب الملك Beldi al-Melek | |
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Village | |
  Arab al-Mulk | |
| Coordinates:35°16′2″N35°55′32″E / 35.26722°N 35.92556°E /35.26722; 35.92556 | |
| Country |  Syria |
| Governorate | Latakia Governorate |
| District | Jableh District |
| Nahiyah | Jableh |
| Population (2004 census)[1] | |
• Total | 3,580 |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (EET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+3 (EEST) |
Arab al-Mulk (Arabic:عرب الملك, also spelledArab al-Milk,Beldi al-Melek,Balda al-Milk orBeldeh) is a coastal village in northwesternSyria, administratively part of theJableh District in theLatakia Governorate, located south ofLatakia. Nearby localities includeJableh to the north,Ayn al-Sharqiyah to the northeast,Qurfays andDweir Baabda to the east andBaniyas to the south. According to theSyria Central Bureau of Statistics, Arab al-Mulk had a population of 3,580 in the 2004 census.[1] The inhabitants are mixed, withSunni Muslims ofBedouin origins generally residing in the northern part of the village, andAlawites living in the southern part which is known as Beldi al-Melek.[2]
It is situated off theMediterranean coast, on the right bank of the Sinn tributary (Nahr as-Sinn) as it empties into the sea. It occupies a small peninsula. The southern part of the village on the left bank is known as Beldi al-Melek. To the immediate northwest of the village is a small creek that measures around 110 meters long and 60 meters wide.[3]
Arab al-Mulk is the site of the ancientPhoenician settlement ofPaltos.[4] The ancient town is believed to have existed between the 6th-5th centuries BCE, as indicated by its mention in thedithyrambs of Greek writerSimonides of Keos. Simonides claimedMemnon was buried near Paltos. It came underSeleucid control by the 1st century BCE.[5] The town prospered in this era, known as theLate Hellenistic Period.[6] Excavations at the site carried out in 1958 reveal a lengthy period, between the 5th and 1st centuries BCE, where there was no settlement activity in the northern Arab al-Mulk part of the village.[7]
Paltos later served as a military camp forGaius Cassius Longinus during the period in which it was part of the province ofSyria. The town is mentioned by Greek geographerStrabo in the last quarter of the 1st century BCE as a coastal town of theAradians and was later mentioned as one of the cities of Syria. When the Province of Syria was divided into Syria Prima and Phoenicia in 194 CE, Paltos marked the border between the two and was included in Syria Prima.[5][8]
As the center of influence along the coast began to shift northward during the 2nd century, it is possible that Paltos experienced a recessionary period between the 3rd and 4th centuries.[6] Under theSeveran administration inRome, coins were minted in the town.[5] Bronze coins found in the village in the late 1950s by a Danish expedition included those minted underConstantius II (336-361),Arcadius (395-408) andJustinian I (527-565.)[9] Paltos continued to be inhabited and began to prosper throughout the lateRoman rule and during theByzantine era (5th-6th centuries CE).[6] It had aChristian community, possibly contained abasilica church,[6] and served as adiocese (bishop's seat) during Byzantine rule. In 528 Paltos, along withGabla andLaodicea, formed part of theTheodorias Province, with Laodicea as capital.[5]
During theMuslim conquest of Syria, in the 630s, theArab generalUbadah ibn As-Samit conquered Paltos and soon after the town "fell into ruin",[10] as stated by medieval Syrian geographerYaqut al-Hamawi who visited the site in 1229. The inhabitants were thereafter transferred to other localities. TheUmayyad leaderMu'awiya utilized building materials from Paltos to reconstruct nearbyJableh.[5]
Settlement activity ceased from the time of the Muslim conquest until the period between the 9th and 11th centuries. The ruins of a fortified tower dating to the 11th century are located in the Beldi al-Melek part of the village, suggesting aCrusader presence.[11] According to Syrian history expert Warwick Ball, the Crusaders built a small fort on the site.[4] This castle was acquired by theKnights Hospitaller in the 1160s.[12] They referred to it asBelda orBeaude.[3] The fort became part of the Hospitaller stronghold ofMargat, along with the castles ofBaarin andQorfeis.[13] In 1271 theMamluks under the leadership ofSultan Baibars gained control of Belda and its territories soon after the Crusader garrison at theKrak des Chevaliers fortress was defeated.[14]
The modern locality receives its name′Arab al-Mulk as a result of its settlement byBedouin ('Arab) and the likelihood that the village was part of the imperial holdings (mulk) of variousOttoman sultans (16th-early 20th centuries) who owned vast swathes of territory along the Syrian coastline.[2] The names roughly translate as follows:Arab al-Mulk being "Arabs of the royal demense" andBalda al-Mulk being "Balda the royal demense",Balda being the Arabic version of the Greek Paltos.[7] In the late 19th-century the part of Arab al-Mulk south of the al-Sinn tributary was marked by the vast ruins of Paltos, while just north of the stream stood a largecaravanserai (khan).[15] The ruins of minor medieval fortifications at the Balda al-Mulk neighborhood were noted by travelers.[9] A number of CircassianBzhedug refugees were settled in Arab al-Mulk in 1878, though many would later move further in-land.[16]
Paltos.
Lajjun Guy le Strange.
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