Tell (archaeology)In archaeology, a tell or tel (borrowed into English from تَلّ, tall, 'mound' or 'small hill'), is an artificial topographical feature, a species of mound consisting of the accumulated and stratified debris of a succession of consecutive settlements at the same site, the refuse of generations of people who built and inhabited them, and of natural sediment. Tells are most commonly associated with the ancient Near East, but they are also found elsewhere, such as Southern and parts of Central Europe, from Greece and Bulgaria to Hungary and Spain and in North Africa.
JarabulusJarabulus (جَرَابُلُس, ALA-LC: , Aleppo dialect: ; Cerablus or Carablus; Cerablûs) is a Syrian city administratively belonging to Aleppo Governorate, under the de facto control of the Syrian Opposition. Jarabulus lies on the western bank of the Euphrates and north of Lake Assad, just south of the Syria–Turkey border and the Turkish town of Karkamış. In the 2004 census, the city had a population of 11,570. The population has increased significantly during the Syrian civil war.
TakfiriTakfiri (تَكْفِيرِيّ, lit. "excommunicational") is an Arabic and Islamic term denoting a Muslim who excommunicates one of his/her coreligionists, i.e. who accuses another Muslim of being an apostate. Since according to the traditional interpretations of Islamic law (sharīʿa) the punishment for apostasy is the death penalty, and potentially a cause of strife and violence within the Muslim community (Ummah), an ill-founded accusation of takfīr is considered a major forbidden act (haram) in Islamic jurisprudence, with one ḥadīth declaring that one who wrongly declares another Muslim to be an unbeliever is himself an apostate.
HamaHama (حَمَاة DIN, ħaˈmaː; ħ(ə)mɑθ; Biblical Hebrew: חֲמָת Ḥamāṯ) is a city on the banks of the Orontes River in west-central Syria. It is located north of Damascus and north of Homs. It is the provincial capital of the Hama Governorate. With a population of 854,000 (2009 census), Hama is the fourth-largest city in Syria after Damascus, Aleppo and Homs. The city is renowned for its seventeen norias used for watering the gardens, which are locally claimed to date back to 1100 BC.
Right of returnThe right of return is a principle in international law which guarantees everyone's right of voluntary return to, or re-entry to, their country of origin or of citizenship. The right of return is part of the broader human rights concept freedom of movement and is also related to the legal concept of nationality. While many states afford their citizens the right of abode, the right of return is not restricted to citizenship or nationality in the formal sense.
LeishmaniasisLeishmaniasis is a wide array of clinical manifestations caused by parasites of the Trypanosomatida genus Leishmania. It is generally spread through the bite of phlebotomine sandflies, Phlebotomus and Lutzomyia, and occurs most frequently in the tropics and sub-tropics of Africa, Asia, the Americas, and southern Europe. The disease can present in three main ways: cutaneous, mucocutaneous, or visceral. The cutaneous form presents with skin ulcers, while the mucocutaneous form presents with ulcers of the skin, mouth, and nose.
GaziantepGaziantep (ɡaːˈziantep), historically Aintab and still informally called Antep (ˈantep), is a major city in south-central Turkey. It is the capital of the Gaziantep Province, in the westernmost part of Turkey's Southeastern Anatolia Region and partially in the Mediterranean Region. It is located approximately east of Adana and north of Aleppo, Syria and situated on the Sajur River. The city is thought to be located on the site of ancient Antiochia ad Taurum and is near ancient Zeugma.
Provisional governmentA provisional government, also called an interim government, an emergency government, or a transitional government, is an emergency governmental authority set up to manage a political transition generally in the cases of a newly formed state or following the collapse of the previous governing administration. Provisional governments are generally appointed, and frequently arise, either during or after civil or foreign wars, or during difficult times such as during invasion, economic crisis, or widespread infiltration of saboteurs and counter-revolutionaries such as during the French Revolution.
Mustard gasMustard gas or sulfur mustard is any of several chemical compounds that contain the chemical structure SCH2CH2Cl. In the wider sense, compounds with the substituent are known as sulfur mustards and nitrogen mustards (X = Cl, Br), respectively. Such compounds are potent alkylating agents, which can interfere with several biological processes. Also known as mustard agents, this family of compounds are infamous cytotoxic and blister agents with a long history of use as chemical weapons.
Rojava conflictThe Rojava conflict, also known as the Rojava Revolution, is a political upheaval and military conflict taking place in northern Syria, known among Kurds as Western Kurdistan or Rojava. During the Syrian civil war that began in 2011, a Kurdish-dominated coalition led by the Democratic Union Party as well as some other Kurdish, Arab, Syriac-Assyrian, and Turkmen groups have sought to establish a new constitution for the de facto autonomous region, while military wings and allied militias have fought to maintain control of the region.
