Arwad أرواد Aradus | |
|---|---|
 Satellite image of Arwad | |
  Arwad  Arwad | |
| Coordinates:34°51′22″N35°51′32″E / 34.85611°N 35.85889°E /34.85611; 35.85889 | |
| Country |  Syria |
| Governorate | Tartus |
| District | Tartus |
| Subdistrict | Arwad |
| Area | |
• Total | 0.2 km2 (0.08 sq mi) |
| Population (2004 census)[1] | |
• Total | 4,403 |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (EET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+3 (EEST) |
| Area code(s) | Country code: 963, City code: 43 |
| Climate | CSa |
Arwad (Phoenician:𐤀𐤓𐤅𐤃,romanized: ʾrwd;Arabic:أرواد,romanized: ʾArwād), theclassicalAradus, is a town inSyria on an eponymousisland in theMediterranean Sea. It is the administrative center of the ArwadSubdistrict (nahiyah), of which it is the only locality.[1] It is the only inhabited island in Syria. It is located 3 km (1.9 mi) fromTartus (the ancient Tortosa), Syria's second-largest port.
Today, Arwad is mainly a fishing town. According to theSyria Central Bureau of Statistics, during the 2004 census, it had a population of 4,403, predominantlyArabSunni Muslims.[2] Plans were unveiled in May 2016 to renovate the island to become a tourist attraction.[3] The island is currently surrounded by ancient Phoenician era walls.
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The originalPhoenician city was namedArwad𐤀𐤓𐤅𐤃ʾrwd[5] and was located on an island named (𐤀𐤉𐤍𐤊ʾynk).[6] It is mentioned in theAnnals of Thutmose III at theKarnak Temple asIrtu.[4] It eventually became known asArvad,Arpad, andArphad.[7] These werehellenized asÁrados (Ancient Greek:Ἄραδος), which wasLatinized asAradus. InArabic, it becameArwad (أرواد).
Under theSeleucid Empire,Antiochus I renamed it Antioch after himself orthe father ofSeleucus the Great. It was distinguished fromseveral other cities of that name asAntioch orAntiochia in Pieria (Ancient Greek:Ἀντιόχεια τῆς Πιερίας,Antiókeia tēs Pierías).
Its site is also known asRuad Island.
Arwad has been continuously inhabited since at least the 3rd millennium BC. it was mentioned in the archive of the Royal Palace ofEbla, then atAlalakh.[8]
The island was settled in the early 2nd millennium BC by thePhoenicians. Located some 50 kilometres (31 mi) north ofTripolis, it was a barren rock covered with fortifications and houses several stories in height. The island was about 800 m long by 500 m wide, surrounded by a massive wall, and an artificial harbor was constructed on the east toward the mainland. It developed into a trading city in early times, as did most of the Phoenician cities on this coast. It had a powerful navy, and its ships are mentioned in the monuments ofEgypt andAssyria. In theBible, an "Arvad" is noted as the forefather of the "Arvadites", a Canaanite people.[9] The Phoenicians collected rain water in cisterns and shipped fresh water to the island, eventually discovering an undersea freshwater spring nearby.[10]
The city of Arwad seems to have had a sort ofhegemony over the northern Phoenician cities, from the mouth of the Orontes to the northern limits ofLebanon, something like that ofSidon in the south. It brought under its authority some of the neighboring cities on the mainland, such asMarat (present-day Amrit) andSumur, the former nearly opposite the island and the latter some kilometers to the south. It had its own local dynasty and coinage, and some of the names of its kings have been recovered.
Thutmose III of Egypt took it in his campaign in north Syria (1472 BC), and it is noticed in the campaigns ofRamesses II in the early part of the 13th century BC.[11]
It is also mentioned in theAmarna letters as being in league with theAmorites in their attacks on the Egyptian possessions in Syria.[12]
About 1200 BC or a little later, it was sacked by invaders fromAsia Minor or the islands, as were most of the cities on the coast.[13] but it recovered when they were driven back.
Its maritime importance is indicated by the inscriptions of the Assyrian kings.Tiglath-pileser I (c. 1020 BC) boasts that he sailed in the ships of Arwad.Ashurnasirpal II (c. 876 BC) made it tributary, but it revolted and 200 men of Arwad were mentioned among the allies ofHadadezer ofAram Damascus at theBattle of Qarqar, when all Syria seems to have been in league againstShalmaneser III (c. 854). At this time, the king of Arwad was Mattan Baal. It was afterward tributary toTiglath-pileser III andSennacherib; under Sennacherib, its king was Abd-Ilihitc. 701.Ashurbanipal (c. 664) compelled its king Yakinlu to submit and send one of his daughters to become a member of the royal harem.[14]
Under the Persians, Arwad was allowed to unite in a confederation withSidon andTyre, with a common council at Tripolis.[15] TheBook of Ezekiel refers to its seamen and soldiers in the service ofTyre.[16]
WhenAlexander the Great invaded Syria in 332 BC, Arwad submitted without a struggle under her king Strato, who sent his navy to aid Alexander in the reduction of Tyre. It seems to have received the favor of theSeleucid kings ofSyria and enjoyed the right of asylum for political refugees. It is mentioned in a rescript from Rome about 138 BC in connection with other cities and rulers of the East, to show favor to theJews. This was after Rome had begun to interfere in the affairs ofJudea andSyria and indicates that Arwad was still of considerable importance at that time.
The city has been cited[17] as one of the first known examples of arepublic in theLevant region, in which the people, rather than a monarch, are described as sovereign. The island was important as a base for commercial ventures into theOrontes valley.
Arwad inaugurated a new civic era in 259 BC, when its traditional royalty disappeared, and it became a free independent city within theSeleucid kingdom, during the reign ofAntiochus II.[18]
In Roman times, Arwad fiercely resistedMark Antony when he came to Syria to find money there. When the city refused to co-operate, it was besieged in 38 BC, then eventually surrendered, which marked the end of its independence in 34–35 BC.[19]
The city of Aradus, as it was then called, became a Christianbishopric.Athanasius reports that, underRoman EmperorConstantine the Great, Cymatius, the Chalcedonian bishop of Aradus and also ofAntaradus (whose names indicate that they were neighbouring towns facing each other) was driven out by theArians. At theFirst Council of Constantinople in 381, Mocimus appears as bishop of Aradus. At the time of theCouncil of Ephesus (431), some sources speak of a Musaeus as bishop of Aradus and Antaradus, while others mention only Aradus or only Antaradus. Alexander was at theCouncil of Chalcedon in 451 as bishop of Antaradus, Paulus as bishop of Aradus, while, at a synod held at Antioch shortly before, Paulus took part as bishop of both Aradus and Antaradus.
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In 458, Atticus signed, as bishop of Aradus, the letter of the bishops of the province ofPhoenicia Prima to Byzantine EmperorLeo I the Thracian protesting about the murder ofProterius of Alexandria. Theodorus or Theodosius, who died in 518, is mentioned as bishop of Antaradus in a letter from the bishops of the province regardingSeverus of Antioch that was read at a synod held byPatriarch Mennas of Constantinople. The acts of theSecond Council of Constantinople in 553 were signed by Asyncretius as bishop of Aradus. At the time of the Crusades, Antaradus, by then called Tartus or Tortosa, was aLatin Church diocese, whose bishop also held the titles of Aradus andMaraclea (perhaps Rachlea).
It was united to the see ofFamagusta in Cyprus in 1295.[20][21][22] No longer a residential bishopric, Aradus is today listed by theCatholic Church as atitular see.[23]
During the later part of the 13th century, in the time of theCrusades, the island of Ruad was used as abridgehead or staging area by the Crusaders. It was the last piece of land that the Crusaders maintained in the Holy Land.
The Crusaders had lost control of the mainland in 1291 (seeFall of Acre), and the dwindlingKingdom of Jerusalem had been relocated to the island ofCyprus. In late 1300, in an attempt to coordinate military operations with theMongol leaderGhazan,[24] the Cypriots prepared a land-based force of approximately 600 men: 300 underAmalric of Lusignan, son ofHugh III of Cyprus, and similar contingents from theTemplars andHospitallers.[24] The men and their horses were ferried from Cyprus to a staging area on Ruad,[24][25] from which they launched raids onTortosa while awaiting Mongol reinforcements.[25][26] When the Mongols failed to arrive, the majority of the Christian forces returned to Cyprus, though a garrison was left on Ruad which was manned by rotating groups of different Cypriot forces.Pope Clement V formally awarded ownership of the island to theKnights Templar, who (in 1302) maintained a garrison with 120 knights, 500 bowmen and 400 Syrian helpers, under the TemplarMaréchal (Commander-in-Chief)Barthélemy de Quincy.
In February 1301, the Mongols did arrive with a force of 60,000, but could do little else than engage in some raids around Syria. The Mongol leaderKutluka stationed 20,000 horsemen in theJordan Valley to protectDamascus, where a Mongol governor was installed.[27] Soon however, they had to withdraw.
TheEgyptian Mamluks, who had been systematically re-establishing control overPalestine and Syria, sought to take Ruad as well. A Mamluk fleet landed a force on the island, engaging in combat with the entrenched Templars, and then establishing a lengthy siege, culminating with theFall of Ruad, and the Crusaders surrendering on September 26, 1302, following a promise of safe conduct.[28] However, the promise was not honored: all the bowmen and Syrian helpers were killed, and the Templar knights were sent to Cairo prisons.[29]
DuringWWI, the island was occupied by the French navy on 1 September 1915, under the leadership of AdmiralLouis Dartige du Fournet, including warships such asJauréguiberry,Jeanne d'Arc andDestrées.[30] Later on,Albert Trabaud [ca] was appointed as its governor. Afterwards, the island was bombed by the Ottomans in November 1917, but their attack was repulsed by French sailors.
Under theFrench Mandate the dungeons of the fortress were used as a prison for those opposing French rule, as the captives' still-visible graffiti attest.[31][32]
In 1945, at the end ofWWII, France wanted to preserve the island, hence started working to build a military base, in a geopolitical framework, to maintain a military position in the region, and to keep a cultural influence. But as a result of pressure from the United States, the island was ceded unconditionally to Syria at the end of 1945, a decision confirmed in 1946.
During the later half of the 20th century and the 21st century, the island's economy became more reliant on tourism, fishing and boatbuilding.[10] This tourism focused economy was greatly impacted by theSyrian Civil War, due to the decreased travel to Syria. However, there has been no conflict on the island during the war, and it has been controlled by government forces from the beginning of the war until theFall of the Assad regime on December 8th 2024. TheCOVID-19 pandemic has also affected the island's economy, further weakening the tourism industry, with many local businesses losing potential tourist related income.[33]
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34°51′22″N35°51′30″E / 34.85611°N 35.85833°E /34.85611; 35.85833
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