Qastun

{{Infobox settlement   | official_name = Qastun | native_name = قسطون | other_name = {{lower|0.2em|Kastun}} | settlement_type = Town  | image_skyline = | image_caption = | image_flag = | image_seal = | image_shield = | nickname = | motto = | image_map = | map_caption = | pushpin_map = Syria  | pushpin_label_position = bottom | pushpin_mapsize = 250 | pushpin_map_caption = Location in Syria | parts_type =  | coordinates = {{coord|35|41|5|N|36|23|28|E|region:SY|display=inline,title}} | subdivision_type = Country | subdivision_name = {{flagicon image|Flag of the Syrian revolution.svg}} [[Syria]] | subdivision_type1 = [[Governorates of Syria|Governorate]] | subdivision_name1 = [[Hama Governorate|Hama]] | subdivision_type2 = [[Districts of Syria|District]] | subdivision_name2 = [[Al-Suqaylabiyah District|Al-Suqaylabiyah]] | subdivision_type3 = [[Nahiyah|Subdistrict]] | subdivision_name3 = [[Al-Ziyarah]] | government_footnotes =  | leader_title = | leader_name =  | unit_pref = Metric  | elevation_footnotes =  | elevation_m = | elevation_ft =  | population_footnotes = | population_total = 6,187 | population_as_of = 2004 | population_note =  |timezone = [[Eastern European Time|EET]] |utc_offset = +2 |timezone_DST = [[Eastern European Summer Time|EEST]] |utc_offset_DST = +3  | postal_code_type =  | postal_code = | area_code = | website = | footnotes = }} '''Qastun''' ({{langx|ar|قسطون}}), also spelled '''Kastun''' or '''Kustun''', is a village in northern [[Syria]], administratively part of the [[Hama Governorate]], located northwest of [[Hama]] and 35 kilometers southwest of [[Idlib]].<ref>Lipinsky, 2000, p. 274.</ref> It is situated in the [[Ghab plain]], on the eastern bank of the [[Orontes River]]. Nearby localities include [[al-Ziyarah]] to the west, [[Qarqur]] to the northwest, [[Farikah, Idlib Governorate|Farikah]] to the north, [[Maaratah]] to the northeast, [[al-Muzarah]] to the southeast and [[al-Ankawi]] to the south. According to the [[Central Bureau of Statistics (Syria)|Syria Central Bureau of Statistics]], Qastun had a population of 6,187 in the 2004 census, making it the largest locality in the [[Al-Ziyarah Nahiyah|al-Ziyarah sub-district]] (''[[nahiyah]]'').<ref name="CBS">[https://archive.today/20121220223837/http://www.cbssyr.org/new%20web%20site/General_census/census_2004/NH/TAB05-7-2004.htm General Census of Population and Housing 2004]. [[Central Bureau of Statistics (Syria)|Syria Central Bureau of Statistics]] (CBS). Hama Governorate. {{in lang|ar}}</ref>

==History== Qastun is identified as the ancient [[Aramean]] town of Qattun or "Qatan" of the [[Iron Age]]. It is listed in an [[Neo-Assyrian|Assyrian]] text from [[Kultepe]]. The site of the ancient town is about 16 hectares and is spread between the two parts of Qastun i.e. Qastun al-Gharbi and Qastun al-Sharqi. The latter sits on an elevation 25 meters above the surrounding territory alongside the Qastun River.<ref>Lipinsky, 2000, p. 273.</ref>

The Syrian geographer [[Yaqut al-Hamawi]] visited Qastun during [[Ayyubid dynasty|Ayyubid]] rule in 1225, noting that it was "a fortress that was in the district of [[Al-Ruj Plain|Ar Ruj]] in the Halab (Aleppo) Province."<ref>le Strange, 1890, p. [https://archive.org/stream/palestineundermo00lestuoft#page/490/mode/1up 490].</ref> During the conflict between the [[Mamluk Sultanate (Cairo)|Mamluk]]s (successors to the Ayyubids) and a [[Ilkhanate|Mongol]]-[[Mongol Armenia|Armenian]] alliance, an elite Mongol force of some 1,500 soldiers raided Qastun in 1271, massacring and plundering its [[Turkoman (ethnonym)|Turkoman]] inhabitants.<ref>Amitai-Preiss, 2005, p. 125.</ref> In the Spring of 1298, a Mamluk army led by [[al-Muzaffar III Mahmud]], the Ayyubid vassal of [[Hama]], launched a campaign to conquer Armenian-held [[Cilicia]], but only reached Qastun, before being recalled to [[Aleppo]].<ref>Stewart, 2001, p. 113.</ref>

===Modern era=== When the nearby [[Zeyzoun Dam]] collapsed in June 2002, floods destroyed and damaged hundreds of houses in Qastun and the nearby villages of Qarqur, al-Ziyarah and Zeizoun.<ref>[http://img.static.reliefweb.int/report/syrian-arab-republic/syria-calls-urgent-disaster-aid-after-10-killed-dam-burst Syria calls for urgent disaster aid after 10 killed in dam burst] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304041407/http://img.static.reliefweb.int/report/syrian-arab-republic/syria-calls-urgent-disaster-aid-after-10-killed-dam-burst |date=2016-03-04 }}. ''[[Agence France-Presse]]''. 2002-07-05.</ref>

According to the [[Syrian Observatory for Human Rights]], a man was shot dead at a security checkpoint in Qastun on 4 September 2012, during the ongoing [[Syrian civil war]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=3 Sep 2011 |title=ICRC chief visits Syria as death toll rises |url=https://www.geo.tv/latest/29375 |access-date=2024-09-30 |website=www.geo.tv |language=en}}</ref> According to an opposition activist from Hama, 25 children were killed by shooting or stabbing in Qastun and nearby al-Aqbayr on 6 June 2012 by pro-government forces.<ref>Ahmad, Meher. [https://archive.today/20130416051554/http://www.wrmea.org/wrmea-archives/515-washington-report-archives-2011-2015/september-2012/11383-waging-peace-syrian-humanitarian-situation-sours.html Syrian Humanitarian Situation Sours]. Washington Report on Middle East Affairs. September 2012. Page. 65.</ref>

==References== {{reflist|2}}

==Bibliography== {{refbegin}} *{{cite book|first=Reuven|last=Amitai-Preiss|title=Mongols and Mamluks: The Mamluk-Ilkhanid War, 1260-1281|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DFO-eV9cQ0sC&q=Qastun+Syria|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2005|isbn=0521522900}} *{{cite book|first=Edward|last=Lipinsky|title=The Aramaeans: Their Ancient History, Culture, Religion|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rrMKKtiBBI4C&q=Tell+Rif'at|publisher=Peeters Publishers|year=2000|isbn=9042908599}} *{{cite book|first=Angus Donal|last=Stewart|title=The Armenian Kingdom and the Mamluks: War and Diplomacy During the Reigns of Hetʻum II (1289-1307)|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tlgRqLA0EHsC&q=Qastun+Hama|publisher=BRILL|year=2001|isbn=9004122923}} *{{Citation|title=Palestine Under the Moslems: A Description of Syria and the Holy Land from A.D. 650 to 1500|url=https://archive.org/details/palestineundermo00lestuoft|first1=Guy|last1=le Strange|year=1890|publisher=Committee of the [[Palestine Exploration Fund]]}} {{refend}}

[[Category:Populated places in al-Suqaylabiyah District]] [[Category:Populated places in al-Ghab Plain]]