Areimeh

Syria, Syria

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Areimeh is a small village in northwestern Syria, located in the Tartus District of the Tartus Governorate.

It is historically significant for the medieval fortress of Arima, perched on an oval hilltop about 170 meters above sea level in the northern Akkar Plain near the Jabal Ansariyah mountains. The fortress, now in ruins, stretches about 300 meters in length and features two courtyards and a redoubt separated by ditches, with towers guarding the entrance.

Arima fortress was built to protect the Crusader route between Tortosa (Tartus) and Tripoli, key strongholds in the County of Tripoli during the Crusades. It first appears in historical records in 1148 when held by Raymond II, Count of Tripoli, but soon passed through various hands including Bertrand of Toulouse, Muslim forces under Nur al-Din, the Knights Templar, and later Saladin.

The fortress witnessed numerous battles and was eventually taken by the Muslim Mamluk Sultanate in 1291, symbolizing the complex medieval history of Crusader and Muslim interactions in the region.