Aleppo (Arabic: ﺣﻠﺐ‎) is the largest city in Syria and serves as the capital of Aleppo Governorate, the most populous Syrian governorate. It is located in northwestern Syria 310 kilometres (193 miles) from Damascus. With an official population of 2,132,100 (2004 census), it is also one of the largest cities in the Levant.For centuries, Aleppo was the region of Syria's largest city and the Ottoman Empire's third, after Constantinople and Cairo.