Sarmin سَرْمِين | |
|---|---|
Town | |
  Sarmin Location in Syria | |
| Coordinates:35°54′12″N36°43′33″E / 35.90333°N 36.72583°E /35.90333; 36.72583 | |
| Country |  Syria |
| Governorate | Idlib |
| District | Idlib |
| Subdistrict | Sarmin |
| Control |  Syrian Salvation Government (Tahrir al-Sham) |
| Elevation | 390 m (1,280 ft) |
| Population (2004)[1] | |
• Total | 14,530 |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (EET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+3 (EEST) |
Sarmin (Arabic:سَرْمِين,romanized: Sarmīn also spelledSarmeen) is a town in northwesternSyria, administratively part of theIdlib Governorate, located 15 kilometers southeast ofIdlib. It has analtitude of about 390 meters. Nearby localities includeBinnish to the north,Talhiyah to the northeast,Afs to the east,Saraqib to the southeast,al-Nayrab to the south andQminas to southwest. TheTaftanaz Military Airbase is located 9 kilometers (5.6 mi) to the northeast.
According to theSyria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), Sarmin had a population of 14,530 in the 2004 census. It is the only locality in the Sarminnahiyah ("subdistrict").[1] Its inhabitants are predominantlySunni Muslims.[2]
Sarmin was the site of a majormilitary confrontation between theCrusaders and theSeljuk Turks. In the 13th century the town was celebrated, though small, and the inhabitants wereIsmailis, according toYaqut al-Hamawi.[3] TheAyyubid ruler ofHama and scholarAbu'l-Fida described Sarmin as a town with much land and dependencies, with very fertile soil. The town had aFriday mosque and lacked walls.[3] In 1355 Sarmin was visited byIbn Battuta, who wrote of the abundance of trees, mostlyolives, growing there. Soap-making was widely practiced, and their "brick soap" was exported to Damascus and Cairo. In addition, a perfumed soap, colored red and yellow, was produced. Cotton products were also made. He also made reference to a "fine" mosque with nine domes.[3]
Sarmin was shelled during theSyrian Civil War, and one of its mosques was severely damaged.[4] On August 12, 2017, unidentified people killed sevenWhite Helmets in a raid on their office here.[5] A school was hit by artillery, killing 5 children on January 1, 2020.[6]
