Al-Suqaylabiyah

al‑Suqaylabiyah السقيلبية
Church of St. Peter & St. Paul in al-Suqaylabiyah, 2008
al‑Suqaylabiyah Location in Syria
Coordinates: 35°21′56″N 36°23′38″E / 35.36556°N 36.39389°E / 35.36556; 36.39389
Country	Syria
Governorate	Hama
District	Suqaylabiyah
Subdistrict	Suqaylabiyah
Control	Syrian transitional government
Population  (2004)
• Total	13,920
Time zone	UTC+2 (EET)
• Summer (DST)	+3

Al-Suqaylabiyah (Arabic: السقيلبية, romanized: al-Suqaylabīya) is a city in northwestern Syria, administratively part of the Hama Governorate. It is located about 48 kilometers (30 mi) from Hama and overlooks the Ghab Valley. According to the 2004 official census, the town had a population of 13,920.^[1] In 2009, the population was recorded at around 20,000.^[2] Its inhabitants are largely Greek Orthodox Christians.

The city derives its name from Seleucia ad Belum, an ancient Seleucid city that was located in its vicinity. Modern al-Suqaylabiyah was established in the mid to late 19th century, during the late Ottoman period, by Greek Orthodox Christians from the villages of the Syrian coastal mountains, including many emigrants originally from the Hauran. Travelers in the c. 1880s made note of its prosperity. During the French Mandatory period (1920s–1943), it was a large village that grew quality wheat and, rare for the Hama region, its lands were owned by its residents rather than the urban elites of Hama.

Al-Suqaylabiyah developed significantly in the 1960s as a result of the land reclamation projects in the Ghab Valley and became the administrative center of the newly-formed Ghab District in 1964, attaining city status in the process. The city serves as a major agricultural and commercial center for its area, connecting communities in the coastal mountains with the major cities of Syria's interior plain.