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Baarin بعرينBi'rin
Village
BaarinLocation in Syria
Coordinates: 34°56′29″N 36°24′46″E / 34.94139°N 36.41278°E / 34.94139; 36.41278
Country	Syria
Governorate	Hama
District	Masyaf
Subdistrict	Awj
Elevation	400 m (1,300 ft)
Population
• Total	5,559
Time zone	UTC+2 (EET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+3 (EEST)

Baarin (Arabic: بعرين, Baʿrīn or Biʿrīn) is a village in northern Syria, administratively part of the Hama Governorate, located in Homs Gap roughly 38 kilometers (24 mi) southwest of Hama. Nearby localities include Taunah and Awj to the south, Aqrab and Houla to the southeast, Nisaf, Ayn Halaqim and Wadi al-Uyun to the west, Masyaf, Deir Mama and Mahrusah to the north, and Deir al-Fardis and al-Rastan to the east. According to the Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), Baarin had a population of 5,559 in the 2004 census. Baarin is also the largest locality in the Awj nahiyah ("subdistrict") which comprises thirteen villages with a population of 33,344. The village's inhabitants are predominantly Alawites.

Today, Baarin spans about 2,923 hectares (7,220 acres) between houses, commercial buildings and agricultural land. The village is built on the hillside below the medieval fortress of Baarin, and is situated along the main road between Masyaf and Hama. The majority of the inhabitants are farmers, while the rest work in services and trade. The main water source of the village is the nearby al-Tannur spring.

History

Medieval period

In the early 12th-century Baarin served as a fortress of the Crusaders who referred to it as "Mons Ferrandus" or "Montferrand." In 1133 Pons, Count of Tripoli escaped to Baarin for refuge where, according to chronicler William of Tyre, he was shortly besieged by the Muslim army of Aleppo led by Zangi before being rescued by King Fulk of Jerusalem.

After a failed attempt to capture Homs, in July 1137 Zangi besieged Baarin's fortress. However, the main purpose of the offensive was not to land a blow to the Crusaders, but rather, to increase the southward expansion of Zangi's kingdom towards Damascus, which was ruled by a rival Muslim dynasty, and nearby Homs which was protected by Damascus. Fulk and Raymond of Tripoli attempted to relieve Baarin, but were preempted by Zangi's forces who engaged them in the hills outside the fortress. Raymond was captured, but Fulk managed to find safe haven in Baarin. Afterward Zangi renewed the siege. News that further Crusader reinforcements from Jerusalem and Tripoli were approaching compelled Zangi to accept Baarin's capitulation in late August, an act he had refused earlier. The Crusaders' garrison in the fortress had been unaware of the arrival of reinforcements. The besieged garrison were allowed to exit, prisoners were released and the strategic fortress of Baarin, which had been a source of disruption for Muslim forces, fell to Zangi's control.

In the summer of 1138 Zangi once again attempted to capture Homs and managed to successfully negotiate an agreement with that town's ruler Shihab al-Din Mahmud whereby Homs would be ceded to Zangi in return for Mahmud's possession of Baarin and another two fortresses in the area. In August 1142 Raymond of Tripoli granted a number of fiefs to the Knights Hospitaller, including Baarin. However, there is no record suggesting that the Crusaders captured the fortress from the Muslims by that time, suggesting that the revenues of the district of Baarin were at least partially under Crusader control or treated that way by Tripoli.

Between May–June 1175 the Ayyubid army, under Sultan Saladin's command, captured Baarin from the Zengid ruler Izz al-Din ibn al-Za'frani who controlled no other fiefs. In 1178 Saladin transferred the fiefs of Baarin, Kafartab, and lands in Maarrat al-Nu'man to his ally Shams al-Din Ali from the Banu al-Daya family as compensation for forcefully removing him from the valuable fortress of Baalbek. In 1198 the Ayyubid ruler of Aleppo and Saladin's son az-Zahir Ghazi, allocated Baarin as a fief to al-Mansur ibn Turanshah. In 1202-03 a treaty was established between the Ayyubid rivals al-Adil I of Egypt (Saladin's brother) and az-Zahir whereby al-Mansur would remain in control of Baarin and the nearby towns of Hama and Salamiyah.

During a conflict between the Ayyubid rulers of Egypt and Hama, Nasir Kilij-Arslan of Hama was imprisoned by al-Kamil of Egypt and only released when Kilij-Arslan handed Hama over to his brother al-Muzaffar II Mahmud. Baarin remained in Kilij-Arslan's control. In 1229 the Hospitallers raided Baarin in response to a raid by the Ayyubid sultan al-Kamil (al-Adil's successor) against the Crusader-held Krak des Chevaliers (Hisn al-Akrad) fortress. In late 1230 the Crusaders launched another attack against Baarin, plundering the town and other villages in its district. Men and women were taken captive, as well as a large group of Turkomans.

During the Mamluk era Baarin served as one of three chief administrative towns in the mamlaka ("province") of Hama after the city of Hama itself. In 1301 a hailstorm hit the area of Baarin. In the 14th century the town was visited by Syrian-Ayyubid historian and geographer, Abu'l-Fida, who described it as having "springs round it and gardens, and lies 1 march west, and rather south of Hamah. There are near here the remains of an ancient town called Ar Rafaniyyah (Raphanea), much celebrated in history. Hisn (the fort) of Barin was built by the Franks in 480 and odd (about 1090). The Muslims afterwards took it and kept it awhile, and then dismantled it." Until 1496-97 immigrants from Baarin to Hama were forced to reside in the same area and were taxed collectively. This practice ended when a decree abolished the collective tax and permitted Baarin migrants to live where they chose.

Modern era

Swiss traveler John Lewis Burckhardt passed through Baarin in the beginning of the 19th-century, during Ottoman rule, describing it as "ruined castle." In 1838 English scholar Eli Smith classified Baarin as an Alawite village. Baarin was visited by Albert Socin in the early 20th-century. Between the 18th and 19th centuries, Baarin was one of the two villages in the Sanjak of Hama to form its own muqata'ah, a fiscal entity (normally a cluster of villages) that served as a tax farm. The other single-village muqata'a was Kafroun. Between 1815 and 1890, there were two reported incidents related to a blood feud between the residents of the village and the Bedouin tribe of al-Turki, where members of the latter killed villagers. In these cases diyya ("blood money") was paid to settle the conflict.

In the early 1960s it was described as a large village and the fortress was completely destroyed. When author and expert in Ismai'li studies Peter Willey visited Baarin in a 1970 expedition, he noted the town's large medieval castle was mostly in ruins, "although it must have been a substantial building."

In late October 2011, several Syrian security forces personnel from Baarin were killed in clashes with opposition rebels or roadside bomb attacks during the Syrian Civil War. According to free-lance journalist Nir Rosen, tensions existed between Baarin and the Sunni-majority village cluster of Houla to the east. Baarin hosted a number of Alawite families fleeing Aqrab after apparent intimidation by that village's residents.

References

Notes

1. General Census of Population and Housing 2004 Archived 2013-01-13 at archive.today. Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS). Hama Governorate. (in Arabic)
2. ^ Rosen, Nir. A Tale of Two Villages. Al Jazeera English. 2011-10-24.
3. ^ Boulanger, 1966, p. 452.
4. ^ "موقع محافظة حماة" قرية بعرين (in Arabic). محافظة حماة. 29 September 2010. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 1 January 2013.
5. ^ Willey, 2005, p. 227.
6. ^ Mikaberidze, 2011, p. 967.
7. Stevenson, 1907, p. 132.
8. Stevenson, 1907, p. 137.
9. Abridge, 2010, p. 193.
10. Stevenson, 1907, p. 138.
11. Stevenson, 1907, p. 142.
12. Stevenson, 1907, p. 147.
13. Sato, 1997, p. 45.
14. Stevenson, 1907, p. 211.
15. Humphreys, 1977, p. 33.
16. Sato, 1997, pp. 55-56.
17. Sato, 1997, p. 48.
18. Richards, 2008, p. 297. Translation of Ibn al-Athir's work.
19. ^ Richards, 2008, p. 298. Translation of Ibn al-Athir's work.
20. Ziadeh, 1953, p. 14.
21. Guo, 1998, p. 55.
22. Le Strange, 1890, p. 427.
23. Lapidus, 1967, p. 272.
24. Burckhardt, 1822, p. 155.
25. Smith, in Robinson and Smith, 1841, vol 3, 2nd appendix, p. 180
26. Socin, 1906, p. 367.
27. Douwes, 2000, p. 133.
28. Douwes, 2000, p. 23.
29. Rosen, Nir. A Tale of Two Syrian Villages: Part Two. Al Jazeera English. 2011-10-26.

Bibliography

• Asbridge, Thomas (2010). The Crusades: The Authoritative History of the War for the Holy Land. HarperCollins. ISBN 978-0060787288.
• Boulanger, Robert (1966). The Middle East, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Iraq, Iran. Hachette.
• Burckhardt, John Lewis (1822). Travels in Syria and the Holy Land. J. Murray. Burckhardt syria.
• Douwes, Dick (2000). The Ottomans in Syria: a history of justice and oppression. I.B. Tauris. ISBN 1860640311.
• Guo, Li (1998). Early Mamluk Syrian Historiography: Al-Yūnīnī's Dhayl Mirʼāt al-Zamān. BRILL. ISBN 9004110283.
• Humphreys, R. Stephen (1977). From Saladin to the Mongols: The Ayyubids of Damascus, 1193-1260. SUNY Press. ISBN 0-87395-263-4.
• Lapidus, Ira Marvin (1967). Muslim Cities in the later Middle Ages. Harvard University Press. Barin.
• Le Strange, G. (1890). Palestine Under the Moslems: A Description of Syria and the Holy Land from A.D. 650 to 1500. Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund.
• Mikaberidze, Alexander (2011). Conflict and Conquest in the Islamic World: A Historical Encyclopedia: A Historical Encyclopedia. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 978-1598843361.
• Richards, D. Donald Sidney; ʻIzz al-Dīn Ibn al-Athīr (2008). Years 589-629/1193-1231: The Ayyūbids After Saladin and the Mongol Menace. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. ISBN 9780754640790.
• Robinson, E.; Smith, E. (1841). Biblical Researches in Palestine, Mount Sinai and Arabia Petraea: A Journal of Travels in the year 1838. Vol. 3. Boston: Crocker & Brewster.
• Satō, Tsugitaka (1997). State and Rural Society in Medieval Islam: Sultans, Muqtaʻs, and Fallahun. BRILL. ISBN 9789004106499.
• Socin, A. (1906). Palestine and Syria with the chief routes through Mesopotamia and Babylonia: Handbook for Travellers. Karl Baedeker. Birin Hama.
• Stevenson, William Barron (1907). The Crusaders in the East: A Brief History of the Wars of Islam with the Latins in Syria During the Twelfth and Thirteenth Centuries. Cambridge University Press. barin hama.
• Willey, Peter; Institute of Ismaili Studies (2005). Eagle's nest: Ismaili castles in Iran and Syria. I.B.Tauris. ISBN 978-1-85043-464-1.
• Ziadeh, Nicola A. (1953). Urban Life In Syria Under the Early Mamluks. Greenwood Press.

v t e Hama Governorate
Hama District Hama Subdistrict Hama Abu Dardah Abu Mansaf Adabas al-Alamein Amarat Aslan Arzah Awja al-Janah Ayyo Bahra Bayad Besirin al-Buraq Billin al-Daminah Ghawr al-Assi al-Hashimiyah Hawayiz Umm Jurn Hawir al-Salib Jajiyah Jarjara Jarjisa Jibrin Jinan Jumaqliyah Juziyah Kafraa Kafr Amim Kafr Buhum Kafr al-Tun Kassun al-Jabal al-Khula al-Khalidiyah Khitab Maar Daftein Maarin al-Jabal Maar Shuhur al-Mubattan Madbaa Maqtaa al-Hajar Matnin Mubarakat Muraywid al-Narjis al-Nazaza Qamhana Qubaybat al-Assi al-Rabiaa Raabun al-Ruqaita Safinah Samrah Sawa Shihat Hama Shiraaya Surayhin Suwak al-Shamali al-Suwayda al-Gharbiyah al-Suwayda al-Sharqiyah Taqsis Tayzin Tishrin Tuwaym Tell al-Nahr Tell Qartal Umm al-Amad Umm al-Tuyour Zabada Zor Abu Dardah Zor al-Sarmiyah Zor Taqsis Hirbnafsah Subdistrict Hirbnafsah Aqrab Akrad Ibrahim Baja Birin Bisin al-Biyah Bulous Deir al-Fardis al-Humayri Jidrin al-Jafiah Kafr Qadah Khirbet Aref Khirbet al-Jami Khirbet al-Qasr al-Muah Musa al-Houla Qufaylun al-Rawda Suma'ah Talaf al-Tulaysiyah al-Janubiyah Toumin Zara'a Suran Subdistrict Suran Atshan Buwaydah Fan Shamali al-Junaynah Kawkab Khafsin Khirbet al-Hajama Lahaya Maardis Maarkaba Ma'an Masasneh Murak Qasr Abu Samrah Qasr al-Makhram Qubaybat Abu al-Huda Shatheh Taybat al-Imam Taybat al-Ism al-Tulaysiyah Umm Haratayn Zor Abu Zayd Zor al-Haysa al-Sharqiyah Hamraa Subdistrict Al-Hamraa Abu Ajwa al-Ala al-Anz Arfa Aziziyah Baroudiyah Bayud Dali Duma Fayda Halabiyah Huways Ibn Hadib Haymaniyah al-Hazim Janat al-Sawarnah Jubb al-Uthman Jubb al-Safa Junaynah Jadduah Shamaliyah Kharsan Maaloula Muwaylah al-Sirwana Maar Shamali Qanater Qasr Ali Qasr Ibn Wardan Rabda Rasm Anz Rasm al-Daheriyah Rasm al-Ward Ruhayyah Shihat al-Hamraa al-Samaqiyah al-Qibliyah Suruj Tarfawi Tharwat Tulayhat Tuwal Dabaghin Umm Habes Umm Turaykat al-Qibliyah Umm Zahmak al-Zughbah
Al-Suqaylabiyah District Al-Suqaylabiyah Subdistrict Al-Suqaylabiyah Abr Bayt Sayf Abu Klifun Ammurin Anab Ayn al-Kurum Ayn Waridah Ballunah Breij al-Hurra Hawrat Ammurin Hayalin Jurniyat al-Tar Karamah al-Khandaq al-Gharbi al-Khandaq al-Sharqiyah Khansaa Maksar Mashta' al-Shalahmah Nabi al-Tib Qalaat Jaras Rawdat al-Tar al-Rihana Saidiyah Salba Saqiyat Najm Shahta al-Shajar Tahunat al-Halawa Tell Kumbatri Tell al-Titeen Uwaynah Shathah Subdistrict Shathah Ayn Jurjin Farikah Haydariyah Jubb al-Ghar Jurin Mashta Mahfuz Maradash Na'ur Jurin Nubl al-Khatib Qatrat al-Rihan Rihana Tell Salhab Subdistrict Tell Salhab Abu Qubays Abu Faraj Al-Asharinah Birat al-Jabal Ayn al-Jurn Hawayeq Hawr al-Mawsil Kanayes al-Kashati Khareb al-Latma Mazhal Nahr al-Bared Ras al-Jurn Tamaza Tubah Ziyarah Subdistrict Al-Ziyarah al-Amara al-Amqiyah Tahta al-Ankawi Awja al-Tuba al-Bahsa Barakah Duqmaq Duwayr al-Akrad Ayn al-Hamaam Fawru Khirbet al-Naqus Mansura Maarana Mashik al-Qahira Qarqur Qastal al-Burayj Qastun Qulaydin al-Safsafa Sirmaniyah al-Sindiyana Tell Wasit Zayzun al-Zaqum Qalaat al-Madiq Subdistrict Qalaat al-Madiq Ashrafiyah al-Bani al-Aziziyah Bab al-Taqa al-Barid Deir Sunbul al-Huwayz al-Huwayz al-Shamali al-Hamra al-Hawash al-Humayrat al-Hurriyah Hawijah Fauqa Hawijah Sayyad Hawijat al-Sallah Jamasat Udayat al-Jayyid Kafr Nabudah al-Karim Kawri al-Kurkat Mastarihat Afamiyah Midan Ghazal Qabr Fidda al-Qahirah Qiratah al-Ramlah al-Rasif Salihiyah Sahariyah Shahranaz al-Sha'irah Tell Huwash Tamana al-Ghab al-Thuwarah al-Tuwayni al-Zitiyah
Masyaf District Masyaf Subdistrict Masyaf Anbura al-Bayda al-Bayyadiyah Biqraqa al-Bustan Biqasqas Deir Huwayt Deir Mama Deir al-Salib al-Findara Hayalin al-Haylunah al-Hurayf Jobet Kalakh Kafr Aqid al-Laqbah Mashta Deir Mama Matna al-Nahda Qabu Shamsiyah Qayrun Qurtuman Rabu al-Rusafa al-Shamsiyah al-Shiha Sighata al-Suwaydah Tayr Jamlah Tayr Jubbah Tell Afar al-Zamaliyah al-Zaynah Awj Subdistrict Awj Akakir Baarin Bishanin Huwayr al-Turukman Kafr Kamra Khirbet Nisaf Khanazir Nisaf Qarmas Qasraya Ta'unah Zor Baarin Ayn Halaqim Subdistrict Ain Halaqim Ayn al-Shams Aq Duqar Asheq Omar Ba'amrah Barshin Bayt Atiq Bayt Natar al-Dulaybah Hermel Hikr Bayt Atiq Kahf al-Habash Khirbet Hazur al-Majawi al-Mashrafah Qasr al-Ayan Tin al-Sabil Jubb Ramlah Subdistrict Jubb Ramlah Alamiyah Asilah Deir Shamil Dimu Hanjur Hizanu Julaymadun Jarajis Kanafu Khan Jalaymadun Maarin Mahrusah Mushashin Qurayyat Qurin Sarmiyah Sulukiyah Uqayrabah Zahraa Zawi Wadi al-Uyun Subdistrict Wadi al-Uyun Ammuriyah Ayn al-Bayda Ayn Farraj Ayn al-Karam Bashawi Bayt Raqata Barayzah Bir al-Wadi Birat al-Jurd Duwayr al-Mashayekh Jabita Kafr Laha Kamaliyah Marha Maysara Naqir Qussiyah al-Sindiyana Tamarqiyah Zaytuna
Mahardah District Mahardah Subdistrict Mahardah Abu Ubaydah Abu Rubays al-Arid Halfaya Huwat al-Judaydah Kafr Hud Khirbet Subin Khunayzir Maarzaf (al-Qubeir) al-Majdal Shaizar Shir Safsafiyah Tell Malah Tell Sikkin Tremseh Zilaqiat Zawr al-Qaadah Kafr Zita Subdistrict Kafr Zita Arba'in Hamamiyat Latmin al-Sayyad al-Zakah Karnaz Subdistrict Karnaz al-Asman al-Jalamah Jubbayn al-Lataminah al-Mughayr Shaykh Hadid
Salamiyah District Salamiyah Subdistrict Salamiyah Ali Kasun Bardunah Buwaydah Dunaybah Danin Duwaybah Fan Qibli Fan Wastani al-Ghawi Halban Jamala al-Kafat Karim Khafiyah Khunayfis Kaytalun al-Malih Marj Mattar Nawa Qablahat Qubbat al-Kurdi al-Rubbah al-Sabil Safawi Samnah Shakara Shaykh Ali Sibaa Shaykh Rih Smakh Sunaydah Tell Ada Tell Dahab Tell Hasan Basha Tell Khaznah Tell Sinan Taldara Tirad Thawra Thayl al-Jal Tiba al-Turki Tuba Tulul al-Humur Umm al-Amad Umm Tuwaynah al-Uwayr Zighrin Barri Subdistrict Barri Sharqi Abu Hanaya Abu Habilat Akash Arshunah Barri al-Gharbi Furaytan al-Hardanah al-Khurayjah Mafkar al-Gharbi Mafkar Sharqi Salam Gharbi Tell al-Tut Tell Jadid Umm Mil Sabburah Subdistrict Sabburah Abu Khanadiq Aqarib Fawrah al-Judaydah Jadduah Jubb Zurayq Jissin Khunayfis al-Dawsa Mabujah Qanafath Qubaybat Salba Samiriyah Shahba Shuhayb Tell Abd al-Aziz Tell al-Ghir Tell al-Shih Umm Khurayzah Uqayribat Subdistrict Uqayribat Abu Dali Abu Hakfa Abu al-Fashafish Bustan al-Subeih Dakhilah Hamada al-Omar Hanutah Haddaj Jani al-Albawi Jubb Abyad Jubb Dakhilah Jayruh Makhbuta Masud Mashrafah Na'imiyah Makaymin Shamali Qastal Rasm al-Abid Rasm Elahmar Rasm al-Bardakana Ruwaydah Suha Tabara al-Hamra Tahmaz Saan Subdistrict Al-Saan Abu Hurayk Abu al-Ghor Abu al-Qusur Amya Aniq Bajra Awja–Qabasin al-Arab al-Ayah Baghadid Harat al-Sharqiyah Hasu al-Qiblawi Ithriya Jakuziyah Jubb Khasara Makharib Mawilah Rahjan Rasm al-Ahmar Rasm Amun Sarha Shaykh Hilal al-Suwayah Umm Mayal

• Populated places in Masyaf District
• Alawite communities in Syria