Homs

Homs (Arabic, حمص Himş) is a city and governorate in Syria. The city is located on the Orontes river, dating back to 2300 B.C.. In Roman times it was known as Emesa, and it was known as Kadesh during Biblical times. The Krak des Chevaliers is built on the mountain gap near Homs. It is also home to the Tomb of Khalid bin Walid, a famous and celebrated Muslim Warrior. The current population of the city is 700,000.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Emesa had a temple to the Syrian sun god El Gebal (Aramaic), also called Elagabalus (Latin) and Heliogabalus (Greek). During Roman times Emesa was ruled by its local dynasty of priest-kings. It was the birthplace of the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, better known as Elagabalus, who was a hereditary priest of the his namesake deity and succeeded his cousin Caracalla in 218. Emesa was also Roman Emperor Aurelian's headquarter during his campaign against Queen Zenobia of Palmyra.

Arabic: redirect Arabic language...

Syria: Syria is an ancient region and modern state, officially known as the Syrian Arab Republic, in the Middle East. It borders Lebanon to the west, Israel to the southwest, Jordan to the south, Iraq to the east, and Turkey to the north. The border with Israel is disputed as Israel controls, and claims to...

Orontes: REDIRECT Orontes River...