Editing Aleppo (section)

{{Short description|City in Aleppo Governorate, Syria}}
{{about|the city}}
{{Redirect|Halab}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2020}}
{{Infobox settlement
<!--See the Table at Infobox Settlement for all fields and descriptions of usage-->| name               = Aleppo
| native_name        = {{lang|ar|ﺣَﻠَﺐ}}
| settlement_type    = [[Metropolis]]
| image_skyline      = {{photomontage
|spacing             = 2
|color               = white
|color_border        = white
|border              = 1
|photo1a = Aleppo old city image.jpg
|photo2a = Aleppo Citadel entrance - seen from southeast 9933.jpg
|photo2b = Aleppo souq 9189.jpg
|photo3a = Hotel Baron Aleppo at night.jpg
|photo3b =Aleppo Great Mosque front at courtyard 8991.jpg
|photo4a = Saint Elijah Maronite Cathedral, Aleppo (4).jpg
|photo4b = Aleppo queik River.jpg
|photo5a = Aleppo at night11.jpg
|size=250
}}
| image_caption      = [[Ancient City of Aleppo]], [[Citadel of Aleppo|Aleppo Citadel]], Entrance to [[al-Madina Souq]], [[Great Mosque of Aleppo]], [[Baron Hotel]], [[Cathedral of Saint Elijah, Aleppo|Saint Elijah Cathedral]], [[Queiq|Queiq River]] and Panorama of Aleppo at night
| image_flag         = 
| flag_size          = 
| image_seal         = [[File:Seal of Aleppo.png|100px]]
| seal_size          = 
| image_shield       = 
| shield_size        = 
| nickname           = Al-Shahbaa ({{langx|ar|الشَّهْبَاء|ash-Shahbāʾ}}){{efn|Al-Shahbaa ({{langx|ar|الشهباء}}), is an adjective which means "white-colored mixed with black".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.almaany.com/home.php?language=arabic&lang_name=%D8%B9%D8%B1%D8%A8%D9%8A&word=%D8%B4%D9%8E%D9%87%D9%92%D8%A8%D8%A7%D8%A1%D9%8F |title=معنى كلمة شَهْباءُ في معجم المعاني الجامع والمعجم الوسيط – معجم عربي عربي – صفحة 1 |author=Almaany Team |work=almaany.com |access-date=22 June 2014 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20140622140420/http://www.almaany.com/home.php?language=arabic&lang_name=%D8%B9%D8%B1%D8%A8%D9%8A&word=%D8%B4%D9%8E%D9%87%D9%92%D8%A8%D8%A7%D8%A1%D9%8F |archive-date=22 June 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref>}}
| motto              = 
| image_map          = 
| map_caption        = 
| pushpin_map        = Syria#Mediterranean east#Asia#Syria Aleppo
| pushpin_label_position = 
| pushpin_relief     = yes
| pushpin_mapsize    = 
| pushpin_map_caption = Location of Aleppo in Syria
| coordinates        = {{Coord|36.20|N|37.16|E|region:SY_type:city|display=inline,title}}
| subdivision_type   = Country
| subdivision_name   = {{flagicon image|Flag of the Syrian revolution.svg}} [[Syria]]
| subdivision_type1  = [[Governorates of Syria|Governorate]]
| subdivision_type2  = [[Districts of Syria|District]]
| subdivision_type3  = [[Nahiyah|Subdistrict]]
| subdivision_name1  = [[Aleppo Governorate|Aleppo]]
| subdivision_name2  = [[Mount Simeon District|Mount Simeon]] (Jabal Semaan)
| subdivision_name3  = Mount Simeon (Jabal Semaan)
| subdivision_type4  = Control
| subdivision_name4  = [[Syrian transitional government]]
| established_title  = First settled
| established_date   = {{circa|5000}} [[Anno Domini|BC]]
| established_title2 = First city council
| established_date2  = 1868
| established_title3 = 
| parts_type         = 
| parts_style        = 
| government_footnotes = 
| government_type    = [[Mayor–council government]]
| leader_title       = [[List of governors of Aleppo Governorate|Governor]]
| leader_name        = [[Azzam al-Gharib]]
| leader_title1      = Mayor
| leader_name1       = Mohammed Ali al-Aziz
| area_footnotes     = 
| area_total_km2     = 190
| area_land_km2      = 
| area_water_km2     = 
| elevation_footnotes = 
| elevation_m        = 379
| elevation_ft       = 1243
| population_total   = 2,098,210
| population_as_of   = 2021 est.
| population_density_km2 = auto
| population_metro   = 
| population_density_metro_km2 = auto
| population_rank    = [[List of cities in Syria|2nd in Syria]] <br/>[[List of largest cities in the Arab world|18th in the Arab World]]
| population_demonym = {{langx|ar|حلبي Ḥalabi}}<br />{{langx|en|Aleppine}}<ref>{{cite web |title=Aleppine |url=https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/aleppine |work=Lexico |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |access-date=12 February 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170213164149/https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/aleppine |archive-date=13 February 2017 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
| population_note    = 
| postal_code_type   = 
| postal_code        = 
| area_code          = Country code: 963 <br /> City code: 21
| geocode            = C1007
| unemployment_rate  = 
| blank_name_sec2    = [[International airport]]
| blank_info_sec2    = [[Aleppo International Airport]]
| footnotes          = Sources: Aleppo city area<ref name="Syr-news1"/> Sources: City population<ref name="Population facts">[[Central Bureau of Statistics (Syria)|Central Bureau of Statistics]] (CBS). [http://www.cbssyr.org/new%20web%20site/General_census/census_2004/NH/TAB02-1-2004.htm Aleppo Subdistrict Population] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120520173518/http://www.cbssyr.org/new%20web%20site/General_census/census_2004/NH/TAB02-1-2004.htm |date=20 May 2012}}.</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/09/warplanes-mount-strikes-rebel-held-aleppo-160924080435839.html |title='Ferocious' air strikes pummel Aleppo as ground gained |publisher=[[Al Jazeera]] |date=24 September 2016 |access-date=4 October 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161006003251/http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/09/warplanes-mount-strikes-rebel-held-aleppo-160924080435839.html |archive-date=6 October 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://reliefweb.int/report/syrian-arab-republic/syrian-arab-republic-aleppo-situation-report-no-14-20-january-2017-enar |title=Syrian Arab Republic: Aleppo Situation Report No. 14 (20 January 2017) – Highlights of the Report of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs |date=21 January 2017 |access-date=4 February 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170205095457/http://reliefweb.int/report/syrian-arab-republic/syrian-arab-republic-aleppo-situation-report-no-14-20-january-2017-enar |archive-date=5 February 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="wrldrew">{{Cite web |url=https://worldpopulationreview.com/world-cities/aleppo-population |access-date=24 April 2022 |website=worldpopulationreview.com |title=Aleppo population 2021 |archive-date=12 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220612134323/https://worldpopulationreview.com/world-cities/aleppo-population |url-status=live }}</ref>
{{designation list
 |embed = yes
 |designation1 = WHS
 |designation1_offname = [[Ancient City of Aleppo]]
 |designation1_date = 1986 <small>(10th [[World Heritage Committee|session]])</small>
 |designation1_number = [https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/21 21]
 |designation1_criteria = iii, iv
 |designation1_type = Cultural
 |designation1_free1name = Region
 |designation1_free1value = [[List of World Heritage Sites in the Arab States|Arab States]]
 }}
| utc_offset         = +3
| blank_name         = [[Köppen climate classification|Climate]]
| blank_info         = [[Semi-arid climate#Cold semi-arid climates|BSk]]
| module             = {{Infobox mapframe |wikidata=yes |zoom=11 |height=250 |stroke-width=2 | {{WikidataCoord|display=i}}}}
}}

'''Aleppo'''{{efn|{{IPAc-en|ə|ˈ|l|ɛ|p|oʊ}} {{respell|ə|LEP|oh}}; {{langx|ar|ﺣَﻠَﺐ}}, <small>[[ALA-LC]]:</small> {{Transliteration|ar|ALA|Ḥalab}}, <!--north Levantine pronunciation-->{{IPA|ar|ˈħalab|IPA}}}} is a city in [[Syria]], which serves as the capital of the [[Aleppo Governorate]], the most populous [[Governorates of Syria|governorate of Syria]].<ref name="UNDATA">{{cite web |url=http://data.un.org/CountryProfile.aspx?crName=Syrian%20Arab%20Republic |title=Syrian Arab republic |publisher=UN Data |date=24 October 1945 |access-date=11 March 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120307172846/http://data.un.org/CountryProfile.aspx?crName=Syrian%20Arab%20Republic |archive-date=7 March 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref> With an estimated population of 2,098,000 residents {{as of|2021|post=,|lc=y}}<ref>{{Cite web |title=Population of Aleppo from 1950-2022 |url=https://www.macrotrends.net/cities/22608/aleppo/population |access-date=August 21, 2022 |website=[[Macrotrends]] |archive-date=21 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220821145240/https://www.macrotrends.net/cities/22608/aleppo/population |url-status=live }}</ref> it is Syria's largest city by urban area, and was the largest by population until it was surpassed by [[Damascus]], the capital of Syria. Aleppo is also the largest city in Syria's [[Governorates of Syria|northern governorates]] and one of the [[List of largest cities in the Levant region by population|largest cities]] in the [[Levant]] region.<ref>[http://www.cbssyr.org/new%20web%20site/General_census/census_2004/NH/TAB02-1-2004.htm Aleppo city population] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120520173518/http://www.cbssyr.org/new%20web%20site/General_census/census_2004/NH/TAB02-1-2004.htm |date=2012-05-20 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.aksalser.com/?page=view_news&id=dea2316c19d685faf12f9850768f87b7 |title=بـ 4.6 ملايين نسمة .. محافظة حلب الأعلى سكانياً في سورية &#124; عكس السير دوت كوم |access-date=28 June 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170917033118/http://www.aksalser.com/?page=view_news&id=dea2316c19d685faf12f9850768f87b7 |archive-date=17 September 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Syria Cities by Population 2025 |url=https://worldpopulationreview.com/cities/syria#:~:text=Syria%20Overview,-Syria%20has%202&text=The%20largest%20city%20in%20Syria,areas%20divided%20across%20several%20categories. |access-date=2025-04-04 |website=worldpopulationreview.com}}</ref>

Aleppo is one of [[List of cities by time of continuous habitation#West Asia|the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world]]; it may have been inhabited since the sixth millennium BC.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Versaci |first1=Antonella |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-h1iEAAAQBAJ |title=Conservation of Architectural Heritage |last2=Bougdah |first2=Hocine |last3=Akagawa |first3=Natsuko |last4=Cavalagli |first4=Nicola |date=2022-03-01 |publisher=Springer Nature |isbn=978-3-030-74482-3 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Research |first=United Nations Institute for Training and |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SbqbDwAAQBAJ |title=Five years of conflict: the state of cultural heritage in the Ancient City of Aleppo; A comprehensive multi-temporal satellite imagery-based damage analysis for the Ancient City of Aleppo |date=2019-05-30 |publisher=UNESCO Publishing |isbn=978-92-3-100284-7 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Murakami |first1=Nancy J. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BhyeEAAAQBAJ |title=Integrative Social Work Practice with Refugees, Asylum Seekers, and Other Forcibly Displaced Persons |last2=Akilova |first2=Mashura |date=2022-11-25 |publisher=Springer Nature |isbn=978-3-031-12600-0 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Alafandi |first=Rami |date=2013-01-01 |title=ARCHITECTURAL HERITAGE OF ALEPPO: PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE |url=https://www.academia.edu/7278317 |journal=International Conference on Universal Design in the Built Environment}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Ibrahim |first=S. |date=2020-07-24 |title=Decision-Making Methodology Between Revitalisation and Rehabilitation of World Heritage City Centers. Case Study: The Ancient City of Aleppo (Syria) |journal=The International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences |language=en |volume=XLIV-M-1-2020 |pages=255–262 |doi=10.5194/isprs-archives-XLIV-M-1-2020-255-2020 |doi-access=free |bibcode=2020ISPAr44M1..255I |s2cid=221663582 |issn=2194-9034}}</ref> Excavations at Tell as-Sawda and Tell al-Ansari, just south of the [[old city of Aleppo]], show that the area was occupied by [[Amorites]] by the latter part of the third millennium BC.<ref>''The Oxford Encyclopedia of Archaeology in the Near East'' (1997)</ref> That is also the time at which Aleppo is first mentioned in [[cuneiform]] tablets unearthed in [[Ebla]] and [[Mesopotamia]], which speak of it as part of the Amorite state of [[Yamhad]], and note its commercial and military importance.<ref>''[[Britannica Concise Encyclopedia]]'' (2010){{full citation needed|date=July 2019}}</ref> Such a long history is attributed to its strategic location as a trading center between the [[Mediterranean Sea]] and Mesopotamia. For centuries, Aleppo was the largest city in the [[Syria (region)|Syrian region]], and the [[Ottoman Empire]]'s third-largest after [[Ottoman Constantinople|Constantinople]] (now [[Istanbul]]) and [[Cairo]].<ref name="Encyclopedia of the Ottoman Empire">{{cite book |author1=Gábor Ágoston |author2=Bruce Alan Masters |title=Encyclopedia of the Ottoman Empire |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QjzYdCxumFcC&pg=PA30 |year=2010 |publisher=[[Infobase Publishing]] |isbn=978-1-4381-1025-7 |page=30 |access-date=12 October 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140704184455/http://books.google.com/books?id=QjzYdCxumFcC&pg=PA30 |archive-date=4 July 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Russell, Alexander (1794) The natural history of Aleppo">[[Alexander Russell (naturalist)|Russell, Alexander]] (1794), ''[[The Natural History of Aleppo]]'', 2nd Edition, Vol. I, [https://books.google.com/books?id=7PfaAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA1 pp. 1–2] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191029010328/https://books.google.com/books?id=7PfaAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA1 |date=29 October 2019 }}</ref><ref name="Gaskin, James J. 1846 Geography and sacred history of Syria p.33">Gaskin, James J. (1846), [https://archive.org/details/geographyandsac00gaskgoog/page/n45 <!-- pg=33 --> ''Geography and sacred history of Syria''] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191029010339/https://books.google.com/books?id=9SoEAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA33 |date=29 October 2019 }}, pp. 33–34</ref> The city's significance in history has been its location at one end of the [[Silk Road]], which passed through [[Central Asia]] and [[Mesopotamia]]. When the [[Suez Canal]] was inaugurated in 1869, much trade was diverted to sea and Aleppo began its slow decline.

At the [[fall of the Ottoman Empire]] after [[World War I]], Aleppo lost its northern [[hinterland]] to modern [[Turkey]], as well as the important [[Baghdad Railway]] connecting it to [[Mosul]]. In 1939, it lost its main access to the sea, by [[Antakya]] and [[İskenderun]], also to Turkey. The growth in importance of Damascus in the past few decades further exacerbated the situation. This decline may have helped to preserve the old city of Aleppo, its medieval architecture and traditional heritage. It won the title of the Islamic Capital of Culture 2006 and has had a wave of successful restorations of its historic landmarks. The [[Battle of Aleppo (2012–2016)|battle of Aleppo]] occurred in the city during the [[Syrian civil war]], and many parts of the city suffered massive destruction.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://archnet.org/collections/54/sites/6414 |title=Collections – Aga Khan Collection – Aga Khan Historic Cities Programme – Aleppo Citadel Restoration |work=[[Archnet]] |access-date=13 July 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140523070541/http://archnet.org/collections/54/sites/6414 |archive-date=23 May 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite web |date=2022-09-20 |title=The Destruction of Aleppo: The Impact of the Syrian War on a World Heritage City |url=https://www.getty.edu/part-2/10-bandarin/ |access-date=2022-10-12 |website=[[Getty Museum]] |language=en }}{{Dead link|date=July 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> Affected parts of the city are currently undergoing reconstruction.<ref name=":0">{{cite news |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/news/world/middle-east/aleppo-rebuilds-itself-from-destruction-of-war-1.3267526 |title=Aleppo rebuilds itself from destruction of war |last=Jansen |first=Michael |newspaper=[[The Irish Times]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171205093121/https://www.irishtimes.com/news/world/middle-east/aleppo-rebuilds-itself-from-destruction-of-war-1.3267526 |archive-date=5 December 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.trtworld.com/mea/aleppo-looks-to-rebuild-after-years-of-war-417651 |title=Aleppo looks to rebuild after years of war |last=Al Burai |first=Ahmed |website=[[TRT World]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171205143602/https://www.trtworld.com/mea/aleppo-looks-to-rebuild-after-years-of-war-417651 |archive-date=5 December 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref> An estimated 31,000 people were killed in Aleppo during the conflict.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.vdc-sy.info/index.php/en/martyrs/1/c29ydGJ5PWEua2lsbGVkX2RhdGV8c29ydGRpcj1ERVNDfGFwcHJvdmVkPXZpc2libGV8ZXh0cmFkaXNwbGF5PTB8cHJvdmluY2U9NnxzdGFydERhdGU9MjAxMi0wNy0xOXxlbmREYXRlPTIwMTYtMTItMjJ8 |title=Aleppo: Latest Killed |website=[[Center for Documentation of Violations in Syria]] |access-date=17 August 2020 |archive-date=5 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181205141059/http://www.vdc-sy.info/index.php/en/martyrs/1/c29ydGJ5PWEua2lsbGVkX2RhdGV8c29ydGRpcj1ERVNDfGFwcHJvdmVkPXZpc2libGV8ZXh0cmFkaXNwbGF5PTB8cHJvdmluY2U9NnxzdGFydERhdGU9MjAxMi0wNy0xOXxlbmREYXRlPTIwMTYtMTItMjJ8 |url-status=dead}}</ref>