page_title: Ma'arrat al-Nu'man
hierarchical_section_title: Ma'arrat al-Nu'man
context_page_description: Ma'arrat al-Nu'man, also known as al-Ma'arra, is a city in northwestern Syria, 33 km south of Idlib and 57 km north of Hama, with a population of about 58,008 before the Civil War. In 2017, it was estimated to have a population of 80,000, including several displaced by fighting in neighbouring towns. It is located on the highway between Aleppo and Hama and near the Dead Cities of Bara and Serjilla.
  The city, known as Arra to the Greeks, has its present-day name combined from the Aramaic word for cave and that of its first Muslim governor, Nu'man ibn Bashir al-Ansari, a companion of Muhammad, meaning “the Cave of Nu’man.” The Crusaders called it Marre. There are many towns throughout Syria with names that begin with the word Maarat, such as Ma'arrat Misrin and Maarat Saidnaya.
  Today the city has a museum with mosaics from the Dead Cities, a Friday mosque, a madrassa built by Abu al-Farawis in 1199, and remains of the medieval citadel. The city is the birthplace of the poet Al-Maʿarri.
context_section_description: Ma'arrat al-Nu'man (Arabic: مَعَرَّة النُّعْمَان‎, romanized: Maʿarrat al-Nuʿmān), also known as al-Ma'arra, is a city in northwestern Syria, 33 km (21 mi) south of Idlib and 57 km (35 mi) north of Hama, with a population of about 58,008 before the Civil War (2004 census). In 2017, it was estimated to have a population of 80,000, including several displaced by fighting in neighbouring towns. It is located on the highway between Aleppo and Hama and near the Dead Cities of Bara and Serjilla.
  The city, known as Arra to the Greeks, has its present-day name combined from the Aramaic word for cave and that of its first Muslim governor, Nu'man ibn Bashir al-Ansari, a companion of Muhammad, meaning “the Cave of Nu’man.” The Crusaders called it Marre. There are many towns throughout Syria with names that begin with the word Maarat, such as Ma'arrat Misrin and Maarat Saidnaya.
  Today the city has a museum with mosaics from the Dead Cities, a Friday mosque, a madrassa built by Abu al-Farawis in 1199, and remains of the medieval citadel. The city is the birthplace of the poet Al-Maʿarri (973–1057).
caption: Abû Zayd pleads before the Qadi of Ma`arra (1334)
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