Besirin
village in Syria
Besirin (Arabic: بسيرين; also transliterated Bsirin or Bsarin) is a village in central Syria, administratively part of the Hama District of the Hama Governorate. According to the Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), Besirin had a population of 4,697 in the 2004 census. Its inhabitants are Sunni Muslims.
History
Besirin was mentioned as the hometown of an Orthodox Christian scribe named 'Mattai' on three Syriac manunscripts he produced, which were dated to 1294, 1295 and 1297. In the mid-16th century, Besirin had a Christian community following the Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch. According to the Ottoman Defter record of the Hama Sanjak taken in 1594, the village was an entirely Christian settlement home to 134 households and 11 bachelors. In 1838, it was recorded as a Sunni Muslim village.
References
Bibliography
Brock, Sebastian (2003). "Syriac on Sinai: The Main Connections". In Ruggieri, Vincenzo; Pieralli, Luca (eds.).
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Besirin” as village in Syria. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the places & architecture register because the source frames it as village in Syria. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
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 23, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q12198386. Authority coordinates are 35.022, 36.747. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2004, 1294, 1295 and 1297.
Architectural summaries often privilege surviving fabric and can understate demolished phases, contested use or displaced communities. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. 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 “Besirin”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Besirin primary sources, Besirin archive and Besirin 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 “Besirin”?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
- What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Besirin” 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.