Latakia
principal port city of Syria
Latakia (; Arabic: اللَّاذِقِيَّة, romanized: al-Lāḏiqiyya; Syrian pronunciation: [el.laːdˈʔɪjje]), officially Lattakia, is the principal port city of Syria and capital city of the Latakia Governorate located on the Mediterranean coast. Historically, it has also been known as Laodicea in Syria or Laodicea ad Mare. In addition to serving as a port, the city is a significant manufacturing center for surrounding agricultural towns and villages. According to a 2023 estimate, the population of the city is 709,000, its population greatly increased as a result of the Syrian Revolution, which led to an influx of internally displaced persons from rebel held areas. It is the 5th-largest city in Syria after Aleppo, Damascus, Homs and Hama. Cape Apostolos Andreas, the north-eastern tip of Cyprus, is about 109 kilometres (68 mi) away.
Although the site of the city has been inhabited since the 2nd millennium BC, the city was founded as a Greek city in the 4th century BC under the rule of the Greek Seleucid Empire. Latakia was subsequently ruled by the Romans and Byzantines, followed by the Rashiduns, Umayyads and Abbasids during the 7th–10th centuries AD. Byzantine ruling groups frequently attacked the city, periodically recapturing it before losing it again to Arab powers, particularly the Fatimids. Afterward, Latakia was ruled successively by the Seljuk Turks, Crusaders, Ayyubids, Mamluks, and the Ottomans. Following World War I, Latakia was assigned to the French mandate of Syria, in which it served as the capital of the autonomous territory of the Alawites.
“Latakia” enters the record as principal port city of Syria. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Latakia, principal and port can confirm, complicate or overturn.
Why this record matters
“Latakia” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Latakia, principal and port provides the most credible route into that argument.
Maps, plans, fabric surveys and administrative records can establish how the site’s name, extent and function changed over time. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 13, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q200030. VIAF identifies the subject as 135413368. The Library of Congress control number is n81099142. Authority coordinates are 35.520, 35.778. 2 of 5 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2023.
Architectural summaries often privilege surviving fabric and can understate demolished phases, contested use or displaced communities. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Latakia”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Latakia primary sources, Latakia archive and Latakia research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Latakia”?
- What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
- Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Latakia” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.