Aleppo

**Aleppo** ( Ḥalab , ither names) is the lairgest ceety in Sirie an the caipital o Aleppo Govrenorate, the maist muckle Sirie govrenorate. Wi a population o 2,301,570 (2005 offeecial estimate), it is an aa the lairgest ceety in the Levant.

Aleppo is ane o the auldest continuously inhabitit ceeties in the warld; it haes been inhabitit syne aiblins as early as the 6t millenium BC. Excavations at Tell Qaramel (25&nbsp;km north o Aleppo) shaw the aurie tae hae been inhabitit syne the 11t millenium BC, which maks it the auldest kent human dounset in the warld. Excavations at Tell as-Sawda an Tell al-Ansari, juist sooth o the auld ceety o Aleppo, shaw that the aurie wis occupee'd syne at least the latter pairt o the 3rd millennium BC; an this is an aa whan Aleppo is first mentioned in cuneiform tablets unearthed in Ebla an Mesopotamie, in which it is notit for its commercial an military proficiency. Sic a lang history is probably due tae its bein a strategic tradin pynt midway atween the Mediterranean Sea an Mesopotamie.

For centuries, Aleppo haes been Greater Sirie's lairgest ceety an the Ottoman Empire's third, efter Constantinople an Cairo. Awtho relatively close tae Damascus in distance, Aleppo is distinct in identity, airchitectur an cultur, aw shaped bi a markedly different history an geography.

The ceety's significance in history haes been its location at the end o the Silk Road, which passed throu central Asie an Mesopotamie. When the Suez Canal wis inauguratit in 1869, trade wis divertit tae sea an Aleppo began its slow decline. At the faw o the Ottoman Empire efter Warld War I, Aleppo cedit its northren hinterland tae modren Turkey, as well as the important railwey connectin it tae Mosul. Then in the 1940s it lost its main access tae the sea, Antioch an Alexandretta (Iskenderun), an aa tae Turkey. Feenally, the isolation o Sirie in the past few decades further exacerbatit the situation, awtho aiblins it is this vera decline that haes helped tae preserve the auld ceety o Aleppo, its mediaeval airchitectur an traditional heritage. Aleppo is nou experiencin a noticeable revival an is slowly returnin tae the spotlicht. It recently wan the title o the "Islamic Caipital o Cultur 2006", an haes an aa witnessed a wave o successfu restorations o its treasured monuments. 

The toun wis unco important durin the Syrien Civil War. The toun wis taen bi the Syrien opposition on the 27th o November, 2024. It was frae here that the furthir onslaucht taearts Damascus began, that led the owerthrow o Bashar al-Assad's regime.

## Etymology

Aleppo wis kent tae antiquity as *Khalpe*, *Khalibon*, an tae the Greeks as *Beroea* (Βέροια). Durin the Crusades, an again durin the French Mandate for Sirie an the Lebanon, the name *Alep* wis uised: "Aleppo" is an Italianised version o this. Housomeivver, the auncient name o the ceety, **Halab**, is o obscure oreegin. Some hae proposed that Halab means 'iron' or 'copper' in Amorite leids syne it wis a major soorce o thir metals in antiquity. *Halaba* in Aramaic means white, referrin tae the colour o soil an marble abundant in the aurie. Anither proposed etymology is that the name Halab means "gave oot milk," comin frae the auncient tradeetion that Aubraham gae milk tae travelers as thay muivit throughoot the region. The colour o his cous wis ashen (Arab. *shaheb*); therefore the ceety is an aa cawed **Halab ash-Shahba** ("he milked the ash-coloured").

## Internaitional relations

The ceety o Aleppo is the caipital o Aleppo Govrenorate an the centre o Jabal Semaan destrict. Aleppo Ceety Cooncil is the govrenin body o the ceety, but the govrenor in his turn, enjoys the heichest authority in the ceety as well as the whole govrenorate.

### Twin touns — sister ceeties
Currently, Aleppo haes fower sister an pairtner ceeties:
* İzmir, Turkey syne 5 Mey 1993.
* Lyon, Fraunce syne 18 October 2000.
* Gaziantep, Turkey syne 13 November 2005.
* Brest, Belaroushie syne 28 Januar 2010.

## References