Arwad

Arwad (𐤀𐤓𐤅𐤃; أرواد), the classical Aradus, is a town in Syria on an eponymous island in the Mediterranean Sea. It is the administrative center of the Arwad Subdistrict (nahiyah), of which it is the only locality. It is the only inhabited island in Syria. It is located from Tartus (the ancient Tortosa), Syria's second-largest port. Today, Arwad is mainly a fishing town. According to the Syria Central Bureau of Statistics, during the 2004 census, it had a population of 4,403, predominantly Syrian Sunni Muslims. Plans were unveiled in May 2016 to renovate the island to become a tourist attraction. The original Phoenician city was named Arwad 𐤀𐤓𐤅𐤃 and was located on an island named (𐤀𐤉𐤍𐤊 ). It is mentioned in the Annals of Thutmose III at the Karnak Temple as Irtu. It eventually became known as Arvad, Arpad, and Arphad. These were hellenized as Árados (Ἄραδος), which was Latinized as Aradus. In Arabic, it became Arwad (أرواد). Under the Seleucid Empire, Antiochus I renamed it Antioch after himself or the father of Seleucus the Great. It was distinguished from several other cities of that name as Antioch or Antiochia in Pieria (Ἀντιόχεια τῆς Πιερίας, Antiókeia tôs Pierías). Its site is also known as Ruad Island. The island was settled in the early 2nd millennium BC by the Phoenicians. Located some north of Tripolis, it was a barren rock covered with fortifications and houses several stories in height. The island was about 800 m long by 500 m wide, surrounded by a massive wall, and an artificial harbor was constructed on the east toward the mainland. It developed into a trading city in early times, as did most of the Phoenician cities on this coast. It had a powerful navy, and its ships are mentioned in the monuments of Egypt and Assyria. In the Bible, an "Arvad" is noted as the forefather of the "Arvadites", a Canaanite people. The Phoenicians collected rain water in cisterns and shipped fresh water to the island, eventually discovering an undersea freshwater spring nearby.