(see v. 145 of ajal (see v.3 of Sūrat al-Ahqāf (q.v.) ) until the further

Aleppo Important city in Syria. In Arabic it is called Halab. The site of the city was settled long before the rise of Islam. During the period of the Umayyads (q. v.) Aleppo had little importance. However, as the later capital of the Hamdānids (q.v.) it achieved an initial fame before being stormed and devastated by the Byzantines in 351/962. Aleppo later came under the rule of the Mamlūks (q.v.) and then the Ottomans (q.v.). Today Aleppo ranks as the second major city in Syria after Damascus (q.v.).