Tripoli

Tripoli (Tarâbulus, or Atrâbulus), a seaport of Syria, and capital of a province of the same name, is 40 miles NNE. of Beyrout, near the coast, and watered by a small stream, the Kadîsha. In and around the town are many remains of antiquity and traces of Saracenic architecture. Originally an important maritime city of Phœnicia, the ancient Tripolis was besieged and taken by the Crusaders in 1104, and retaken by the Mameluke Kalaûn in 1289. The old town having been laid in ruins by these sieges, a new one was built about 5 miles inland on a spur of the Lebanon range. It was famous in the middle ages for its fruit and gardens, its commerce and industries. The old harbour is small and shallow, and the trade has mostly shifted to Beyrout. Pop. 17,000.