Abil Explained

Official Name:Abil
Other Name:Abel
Native Name:آبل
Settlement Type:Village
Pushpin Map:Syria
Pushpin Label Position:bottom
Pushpin Mapsize:250
Pushpin Map Caption:Location in Syria
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Type1:Governorate
Subdivision Name1:Homs
Subdivision Type2:District
Subdivision Name2:Homs
Subdivision Type3:Subdistrict
Subdivision Name3:Homs
Population As Of:2004
Population Total:2,873
Population Blank1 Title:Ethnicities
Coordinates:34.6372°N 36.6761°W

Abil (Arabic: آبل, also spelled Abel or Aabel) is a village in central Syria, administratively part of the Homs Governorate, located 10 kilometers south of Homs. Nearby localities include al-Nuqayrah and Kafr Aya to the north, Maskanah to the northeast, Judaydat al-Sharqiyah to the east, Shinshar to the southeast, Damina al-Sharqiyah to the south, al-Buwaydah al-Sharqiyah to the southwest and Qattinah to the west. According to the Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), Abil had a population of 2,873 in the 2004 census.[1] Its inhabitants are predominantly Sunni Muslims.[2]

Abil is identified the Roman era settlement of Abila Lysaniae.[3] The medieval Syrian geographer Yaqut al-Hamawi visited the village in the 1220s, noting it was "A village of Hims, lying near the city, to the south, and about 2 miles distant."[4]

Bibliography

Notes and References

  1. http://www.cbssyr.org/new%20web%20site/General_census/census_2004/NH/TAB04-1-2004.htm General Census of Population and Housing 2004
  2. Smith, 1841, p. 176.
  3. Lipinski, 2000, p. 250.
  4. le Strange, 1890, p. 381.