• from esyria

The city of Kafr Tab is located in vast and fertile plains, and is located four kilometers northwest of the city of "Khan Shaykhun". It is bordered to the south by the archaeological "Tell Aas", and to the west by "Tell Arji". It is adjacent to the Kingdom of "Aphamea" to the east.

It's strategic location meant it was visited by invaders, conquerors and fortune-seekers. During the time of the greatness of Apamea, Kafrtab was affiliated with it, and it was one of its works in the Middle Ages. Most of the military constructions and fortifications were built on a hilltop, and the Crusaders and then the Muslims took refuge there.

Yaqut al-Hamawi defined it by saying:

Kafr Tab is a neglected valley. It is a town between Ma’arra and the city of Hama, in a parched desert with no water to drink except what they collect from rainwater in cisterns dug in the rock.

Abu al-Fida, who died in 732 AH, described it as follows: Kafrtab is from the fourth region and it is from the army of 'Homs'.

Abu Al-Ala Al-Maari in Al-Luzumiyat said:

I see a river whose people are helpless from water, and whose Euphrates has exhausted them from digging. Likewise, the course of sustenance is a valley without dew, a valley with an abundance of water, and another with a hole.

It is clear from this that the city of Kafr Tab, like Maarat al-Numan, suffered from water poverty, as it had no running river or springs, which made its residents resort to digging wells in the rock to collect rainwater.

Like other towns, it was invaded when the Crusaders entered it in 1098 AD after they had taken control of Ma'arra and its surroundings. Kafr Tab was a crossing point for this campaign heading from Antioch to Jerusalem. They called it "Kafrada" and looted it and caused destruction to it, as they did in most of the Levantine countries. This is in addition to the earthquakes that it was exposed to, and the other campaigns that destroyed it. The last earthquake in 1157 AD was the final nail in the coffin of this city, turning it upside down and eliminating life.

Now this city lies under piles of dirt, although the features of this city are clear from the topography of the site, and it awaits the picks of excavators to uncover it.