Latakia
Latakia (
Arabic: اللاذقية
Al-Ladhiqiyah,
Greek: Λαοδικεία, transliterated as
Laodicea,
Laodikeia or
Laodiceia,
Turkish:
Lazkiye;
Latin:
Laodicea ad Mare) is the principal port city of
Syria. Its population is 554,000.
Laodicea was described by
Strabo (xvi.2.9
et seq.) as admirably built, with an excellent harbor, surrounded by a rich country specially fruitful in vines, the wine of which furnished its chief supply to
Alexandria. The vineyards were planted on the sides of gently-sloping hills, which were cultivated almost to their summits, and extended far to the east, nearly to
Apamea.
The site, on the peninsula, has been occupied for a long time. The
Phoenicians had a city here named Ramitha, and to the Greeks it was known as Leuke Akte. It was re-founded and named Laodicea by
Seleucus I Nicator, after his mother. It was furnished with an aqueduct by Herod the Great (
Joseph. Bel. Jud. i. 21. § 11), a large fragment of which is still to be seen. Strabo mentions that
Dolabella, when he fled to Laodicea before
Cassius, distressed it greatly, and that, being besieged there until his death, he destroyed many parts of the city with him (
43 CE). (
Dict. of Biog. Vol. I. p. 1059.)
An arch from the time of
Septimius Severus has survived. There seems to have been a sizable
Jewish population at Laodicea in the
first century (Joseph.
Ant. xiv. 10 § 20). The heretic
Apollinarius was
bishop of Laodicea in the
4th century. The city minted coins from an early date.
It was devastated by
earthquakes in
494 and
555, and captured by
Arabs in
638. In
1097 it was captured by
Crusaders, and retaken by
Saladin in
1188. From the 16th century to
World War I it was part of the
Ottoman Empire.
|
French colonial flag of the Sanjak of Latakia |
In the Ottoman period, the region of Latakia became predominately Alawi. The city itself, however, contained significant numbers of Sunni and Christian inhabitants. The landlords in the countryside tended to be Sunni while the peasants were mostly Alawi. Like the Druzes who also had a special status before the end of WWI, the Alawis had a strained relationship with the Ottoman overlords. In fact, they were not even given the status of millet, although they enjoyed relative autonomy (Rabinovich, 694). After the government of King Faysal was removed from power, the French governed the region of Latakia as a separate entity and granted it autonomy under the name of "Etat des Alaouites."
Between
September 22,
1930 and
1936, Latakia was the capital of the
Sanjak of Latakia, a nominally automonous state ruled by
France under a
League of Nations mandate. The state extended along the coast and into the mountains inland. As it did for
Alaouites earlier, between
1931 and
1933 France
overprinted
postage stamps of Syria with "LATTAQUIE", and the
Arabic version of the name underneath.
The
Franco-Syrian treaty of 1936 called for the incorporation of the Alawi and Druze states into Syria. Although the French Parlement never ratified the treaty, it was implemented until 1939 when the French High-Commissioner suspended the treaty and reinstated the autonomy of the Alawi and Druze regions. After the 1943 elections, the two areas were integrated into the state of Syria.
In
1973 during the
Yom Kippur War, the naval
Battle of Latakia between
Israel and Syria, just offshore, was the first to be fought using
missiles and
ECM (electronic countermeasures).
The modern city still exhibits faint traces of its former importance, notwithstanding the frequent earthquakes with which it has been visited. The marina is built upon foundations of ancient columns, and there are in the town, an old gateway and other antiquities, as also sarcophagi and sepulchral caves in the neighbourhood. This gateway is a remarkable triumphal arch, at the southeast corner of the town, almost entire: it is built with four entrances, like the
Forum Jani at
Rome. It is conjectured that this arch was built in honour of
Lucius Verus, or of Septimius Severus. (
Description of the East, vol. ii. p. 197.) Fragments of Greek and Latin inscriptions, are dispersed all over the ruins, but entirely defaced.
There are a number of popular beaches around Latakia, and the ruins of
Ugarit, where some of the earliest
alphabetic writings have been found, are just 16 km (10 miles) to the north.
Latakia tobacco is a specially treated tobacco formerly produced in Syria, but now mainly produced in
Cyprus. It is cured over a
stone pine or
oak wood fire, which gives it an intense smoky taste and smell. It is an essential part of many pipe tobacco mixtures, especially so-called "
English blends."
Latakia is the city with the largest proportion of
Alawites in Syria. Famous people from Latakia and its surroundings include
Hafez al-Assad,
Bashar Al-Asad, Adonis (
Ali Ahmad Said) and
Hanna Meena.
|
The governorate of Latakia |
Latakia is also the name of a governorate which contains the city of Latakia. A picture of the location of this governate is to the right.
*Rabinovich, Itamar. "The Compact Minorities and the Syrian State, 1918-1945."
Journal of Contemporary History. (SAGE, London and Beverly Hills). Vol 14. 1979. 693-712.
*
Smith, William (editor);
Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography,
"Laodiceia",
London, (1854)
*
Jewish Encyclopedia, "Laodicea"*
All about Syria*
Images of Latakia from the Syrian Ministry of Tourism*
Interactive map of Latakia*
Castles and fortresses in the Governorate of Latakia *
Audio interview with Latakia resident about life in Latakia 
