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View of Salamiyah
View of Sawamiyah
The moder of Cairo
Salamiyah is located in Syria
Location in Syria
Coordinates: 35°0′42.48″N 37°3′9″E﻿ / ﻿35.0118000°N 37.05250°E﻿ / 35.0118000; 37.05250Coordinates: 35°0′42.48″N 37°3′9″E﻿ / ﻿35.0118000°N 37.05250°E﻿ / 35.0118000; 37.05250
Country Syria
GovernorateHama Governorate
DistrictSawamiyah District
Settwed3500 BCE
475 m (1,558 ft)
 (2004 census)
 • Totaw66,724
 • Ednicities
 • Rewigions
Ismaiwis, Awawites
Time zoneUTC+2 (EET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+3 (EEST)
Area code(s)33
A fuww view of Shmemis (spring 1995)

Sawamiyah (Arabic: سلميةSawamīya) is a city and district in western Syria, in de Hama Governorate. It is wocated 33 kiwometres (21 miwes) soudeast of Hama, 45 kiwometres (28 miwes) nordeast of Homs. The city is nicknamed de "moder of Cairo" because it was de birdpwace of de second Fatimid Cawiph Muhammad aw-Qaim Bi-Amriwwah, whose dynasty wouwd eventuawwy estabwish de city of Cairo, and de earwy headqwarters of his fader Abduwwah aw-Mahdi Biwwah who founded de Fatimid Cawiphate. The city is an important center of de Shi'ite Nizari Isma'iwi and Taiyabi Isma'iwi Muswim schoows and awso de birdpwace of poet Muhammad aw-Maghut. The popuwation of de city is 66,724 (2004 census).[1]


Sawamiyah is an ancient city which was first known during Babywonian times in 3500 BC. It was de dwewwed in by Sumerians at around 3000 BC, de Amorites around 2400 BC, de Aramaeans around 1500 BC, and de Nabateans around 500 BC. The city was destroyed for de first time by de Assyrians in de year 720 BC. After being rebuiwt, de city was part of de Roman Empire and ruwed by de Royaw famiwy of Emesa, a Roman Cwient Kingdom of Ancient Rome where dey buiwt de famous Chmemis Castwe on de remains of a former vowcano, 5 kiwometres (3.1 miwes) nordwest of Sawamiyah.

During de Byzantine Empire, Sawamiyah existed as a Christian center wif its own autocephawic Archbishop, untiw de city was destroyed for a second time during de Persian invasion of Syria of 637 during de Byzantine-Sassanid Wars by commander Kisra Ibrawiz who razed de city to de ground. The city was rebuiwt again in de Iswamic era by Abduwwah ibn Saweh ibn Awi aw-Abassi, de Abbasid governor of soudern and center Syria, in 754 and was settwed by some Hashimites during de Abbasid era, and aw-Abbasi's son Muhammad ibn Abduwwah ibn Saweh transformed de city into an important commerciaw center.[2]

According to Isma'iwi Muswims, deir Imam, Isma'iw ibn Jafar died and was buried in de city after going into hiding during de eighf century. The city became de secret headqwarters of de Isma'iwi movement from de earwy ninf century untiw 902, it was from dere dat missionaries were originawwy sent for propagating de Isma'iwi teachings in different regions. It was from Sawamiyah, dat de Isma'iwi Imams secretwy guided de activities of deir fowwowers from Norf Africa to Persia, Azerbaijan, and Centraw Asia. According to confwicting histories, de Isma'iwi Imam, and first Fatimid Cawiph, Abduwwah aw-Mahdi Biwwah was eider born in Sawamiyah or came to de city in 882 from Khuzistan, in modern-day Iran where he was raised by his uncwe Abuw Shawaghwagh de Hujjah (awso cawwed Lahiq) or weader of de Isma'iwis of Sawamiyah, one of de twewve Isma'iwi communities at de time. Abduwwah's son Muhammad aw-Qa'im Bi-Amriwwah, an Isma'iwi Imam and de second Fatimid Cawiph, was born in Sawamiyah in de wate ninf century, and bof weft de city to estabwish de Fatimid state in nordern Africa in de earwy tenf century.

After de deaf of Abuw Shawaghwagh in 899, a dispute arose between Sawamiyah Isma'iwis due to de fact dat he weft no mawe descendants and apparentwy had designated his nephew Abduwwah as his spirituaw successor and weader of de Sawamiyah Isma'iwi movement. Thereafter, a schism spwit de movement, provoked by Abduwwah's cwaims on de imamate for himsewf and his descendants. Hamdan Qarmat and 'Abdan, who may have previouswy drifted swightwy away from de doctrine propagated by de weadership, broke off deir support. Qarmat's fowwowers wouwd eventuawwy be known as de Qarmatians, and after Abduwwah fwed from Sawamiyah to found de Fatimid Isma'iwi state in Norf Africa in 899, de Qarmatis wouwd reject de wegitimacy of de Fatamids. In 903, Sawamiyah was destroyed for de dird time by an invasion from de rebew Qarmatians under Yahya ibn Zikrawayh.

Sawamiyah is mentioned by historians as a very smaww town wif wimited ruraw settwement conseqwent to de Qarmatian invasion untiw de earwy Ottoman period wherein it was apparentwy deserted due to wack of protection from Bedouin attacks. Sawamiyah was rebuiwt when permission by de Ottoman Suwtan Abduw Hamid II drough a firman in Juwy 1849 gave permission for de emigration of Isma'iwis wed by Isma'iw bin Muhammad, de Isma'iwi amir of Qadmus in nordern Syria. Isma'iwis from Qadmus and Masyaf among oder smawwer towns and viwwages emigrated to de newwy rebuiwt city which was first occupied by onwy sixteen famiwies and by 1861, Sawamiyah became an agricuwturaw viwwage. The finaw major Isma'iwi immigration to Sawamiyah occurred in 1919.

Sawamiyah is currentwy de wargest popuwation center of Isma'iwi Muswims in de Arab worwd. The remains of Prince Awy Khan, de fader of de current Nizari Isma'iwi Imam Aga Khan IV, are buried in de city. The headqwarters of de Isma'iwi Shia Higher Counciw of Syria are in de city, as are dozens of Jama'at Khana. During de mid-twentief century, Sawamiyah saw a growf of rewigious diversity wif de buiwding of de first Sunni mosqwe, and now de city is home to awmost a dozen Sunni mosqwes and a Ja'fari Shia mosqwe in de city's Qadmusite Quarter which is home to most of de city's Idna Ashari Shia which migrated to de city after ednic and rewigious cwashes in deir hometown of Qadmus in de earwy twentief century. Currentwy, a wittwe more dan hawf of de city's residents are Isma'iwi.[3]

In 1934, Muhammad aw-Maghut, de poet credit for being de fader of free verse Arab poetry, was born in Sawamiyah. In 1991, visitors from de Dawoodi Bohra sect of Isma'iwi Shia Iswam in Yemen buiwt de Mosqwe of Imam Isma'iw adjacent to de grave of de Isma'iwi Imam Isma'iw. The mosqwe was buiwt by order of deir weader de Da'i aw-Mutwaq Mohammed Burhanuddin according to an inscription on de mosqwe's waww. Awdough currentwy used for worship by Sunni Muswims, de mosqwe and mausoweum are visited in rewigious piwgrimages by Dawoodi Bohra worwdwide.

Situation of wand access in Nordern Centraw Syria during Syrian Civiw War
Sawamiyah is wocated at de crossroads

From 2012 to 2017, wif de devewopment of frontwines in Syrian Civiw War, de city grew in its strategic importance. Wif Aw-Rastan becoming a pocket outside government controw awong de Homs-Hama Motorway, and de devewopments in Idwib governorate resuwting in de government awso wosing controw of warge segments of de main Hama-Aweppo Highway, de Homs-Sawamiyah, Hama-Sawamiyah, and Sawamiyah-Idriya-Aweppo roads became major wines connecting dese government-hewd areas. This importance was why de town was de target of occasionaw ISIL or rebew mortar attacks. Awso, some of de town's citizens have participated in protests during de Civiw War.[4] The importance of Sawamiyah diminished fowwowing de Syrian Army's securing of de Homs-Hama Motorway on February 1, 2018, during de Nordwestern Syria campaign.

Tomb, Imam Abaduwwah, Sawamia
Mosqwe Imam Abaduwwah, Sawamia, Syria, renovated by Dawoodi Bohra

Residence history of Sawamiyah[edit]

As per[5] de residence history of Sawamiyah is as fowwows:

"The Ismaiwi dais in search of a new residence for deir Imam came to Sawamia and inspected de town and approached de owner, Muhammad bin Abduwwah bin Saweh, who had transformed de town into a fwourishing commerciaw centre. They towd him dat dere was a Hashimite merchant from Basra who was desirous of settwing in de town, uh-hah-hah-hah. He readiwy accepted and pointed out to dem a site awong de main street in de market, where existed a house bewonging to a certain Abu Farha. The Ismaiwi dais bought it for deir Imam and informed him about it. Wafi Ahmad arrived to his new residence as an ordinary merchant. He soon puwwed down de owd buiwding and had new ones buiwt in its pwace; and awso buiwt a new waww around it. He awso buiwt a tunnew inside his house, weading to de desert, whose wengf was about 12 miwes (19 kiwometres). Money and treasures were carried on camews to de door of dat tunnew at night. The door opened and de camews entered wif deir woads inside de house."

The photo pwaced here shows de mausoweum of de Imam. Near his kabra mubarak ("bwessed grave"), de tunnew opening stiww exists.


The city is an agricuwturaw center, wif a wargewy agricuwture based economy. Mate is extremewy popuwar in Sawamiyah and a drink of major cuwturaw importance in sociaw gaderings.

Main sights[edit]

  • A hammam of uniqwe architecture, wikewy dating from de Ayyubid era, sits in de town center, near a warge underground Byzantine cistern which is said to wead aww de way to Shmemis castwe. There awso exists one waww from an ancient Byzantine citadew.
  • The castwe, of Roman-Greek origins.
  • Wawws, rebuiwt by Zengi
  • Mosqwe of aw-Imam Isma'iw, which originated as an Ancient Greek tempwe of Zeus, and was turned into a church in Byzantine times.
  • Remains of Roman canaws, used for agricuwture


Sawamiyah has a cowd semi-arid cwimate (Köppen cwimate cwassification BSk).

Cwimate data for Sawamiyah
Average high °C (°F) 11.3
Daiwy mean °C (°F) 6.3
Average wow °C (°F) 1.4
Average precipitation mm (inches) 57
Source: [6]


  1. ^ Sawamyah city popuwation Archived 2013-01-13 at
  2. ^ See Ya'qwbi, qwoted in we Strange, 1890, p. 528
  3. ^ Syria's diverse minorities, BBC, 9 December 2011
  4. ^
  5. ^ Wafi Ahmad in Sawamia
  6. ^ "Cwimate: Sawamiyah". Retrieved September 29, 2018.


Externaw winks[edit]