Mount Simeon

Mount Simeon
Mount Simeon Location of Mount Simeon
Highest point
Elevation	876 m (2,874 ft)
Coordinates	36°16′34″N 36°49′21″E / 36.2760°N 36.8225°E / 36.2760; 36.8225
Naming
English translation	جبل سمعان
Language of name	ar
Geography
Location	Aleppo Governorate, Syria

Mount Simeon or Mount Simon (Arabic: جبل سمعان Jabal Simʻān [ˈʒæbæl sɪmˈʕaːn]), also called Mount Laylūn (Arabic: جبل ليلون, is a highland region in Aleppo Governorate in northern Syria. The mountain is located in the Mount Simeon and Aʻzāz districts of Aleppo Governorate.

It is named for Symeon the Stylite a Christian who lived atop a column in the region for 37 years and for whom a large monastery complex was established.^[1]

Mount Simeon is part of the Limestone Massif in the western part of the Aleppo plateau. It is located about 20 km northwest of Aleppo. The mountain runs for 50 km from north to south with a width range of 20–40 km and average elevation of 500–600 m. The highest point is Sheikh Barakāt (876 m) in the southern part of the mountain.

The valley of River ʻIfrīn runs between Mount Simeon and Mount Kurd to the west. Aʻzāz valley marks the northern boundary of the mountain, beyond which lies the Aʻzāz plain and Mount Barṣa (Barṣāyā) on the Aintab plateau. The valley of river Quweiq runs along the eastern side of the mountain. South of the mountain lie the Dāna and Atarib plains. Old routes connecting Qinnasrin to Antioch run through these plains to the ʻIfrīn valley at its westward turn and separate Mount Simeon from Ḥārim Mountains to the south.

• William Kelly Prentice, Greek and Latin Inscriptions in Syria. Princeton University Archaeological Expeditions to Syria in 1904–1905 and 1909.