Al-Rastan

Al-Rastan
الرستن
City
Ar-Rastan (on hill in background) and waterwheel (forefront) separated by Orontes River, 1930s
Ar-Rastan (on hill in background) and waterwheel (forefront) separated by Orontes River, 1930s
Al-Rastan is located in Syria
Al-Rastan
Al-Rastan
Location in Syria
Coordinates: 34°55′N 36°44′E / 34.917°N 36.733°E / 34.917; 36.733
Country Syria
GovernorateHoms
DistrictAl-Rastan
SubdistrictAl-Rastan
Elevation
430 m (1,410 ft)
Population
 (2004)[1]
 • Total39,834
Time zoneUTC+2 (EET)
 • Summer (DST)+3

Al-Rastan (Arabic: الرستن) is the third largest city in the Homs Governorate,[2] located 25 kilometers (16 mi) north of its administrative capital Homs and 22 kilometers (14 mi) from Hama. Nearby localities include Talbiseh and al-Ghantu to the south, al-Zaafaraniyah and al-Mashrafah to the southeast, Murayj al-Durr to the northeast, Tumin to the north, Deir al-Fardis to the northwest and Kafr Nan and the Houla village cluster to the west.[3] Ar-Rastan had a population of nearly 40,000 in 2004.[1]

It occupies the site of the Hellenistic-era city of Arethusa (Ancient Greek: Ἀρέθουσα)[4] and still contains some of its ancient ruins. It continued to exist as a relatively small, but strategic town throughout the early Islamic and Ottoman eras. Ar-Rastan is situated adjacently south of the large bridge linking Homs and Hama.[5] The total land area of the town is 350 hectares.[6] It is the site of the al-Rastan Dam, a major dam on the Orontes River that has a retaining capacity of 225 million m3. The dam is principally used for irrigation.[7] The city also contains one of Syria's principal marlstone quarries.[8]

From the start of the Syrian Civil War until 2018, Ar-Rastan served as a major opposition stronghold and had been the site of much fighting between Syrian Armed Forces and rebels of various factions. The Syrian government retook control of the city on 15 May 2018 as part of an agreement which allowed rebels and their families safe passage to rebel-held parts of northern Syria in exchange for surrendering the territory along with their heavy weapons.

  1. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference CBS was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ The first two largest cities in the Homs Governorate according to the Central Bureau of Statistics' 2004 census are Homs (652,609 Archived 2012-07-31 at archive.today) and Tadmur (51,323). (in Arabic)
  3. ^ Map depicting surrounding localities of ar-Rastan. Rastan Map. Mapcarta.
  4. ^ Stephanus of Byzantium, Ethnica, §A116.5
  5. ^ Bar'el, Zvi. Report: Assad's air force pounds population centers in Syria's Rastan. Haaretz. 4 March 2012. Retrieved 28 June 2012.
  6. ^ الرستن جمال الطبيعة وأصالة التاريخ. E-Syria. 21 October 2009.
  7. ^ Water for the Fields. Talis. Retrieved 28 June 2012.
  8. ^ Britannica, p. 19.