Al-Qaryatayn (, ), also spelled Karyatayn, Qaratin or Cariatein, is a town in central Syria, administratively part of the Homs Governorate located southeast of Homs. It is situated on an oasis in the Syrian Desert. Nearby localities include Tadmur (Palmyra) to the northeast, Furqlus to the north, al-Riqama and Dardaghan to the northwest, Mahin, Huwwarin and Sadad to the west, Qarah, Deir Atiyah and al-Nabk to the southwest and Jayrud to the south. Al-Qaryatayn translates as "the two villages".
According to the Syria Central Bureau of Statistics, al-Qaryatayn had a population of 14,208 in the 2004 census. It is the administrative center of the al-Qaryatayn nahiyah ("subdistrict") which consists of three localities with a collective population of 16,795 in 2004. Its inhabitants are predominantly Sunni Muslims and Christians.
History
Antiquity
There are numerous Greco-Roman-era buildings located in al-Qaryatayn, including an extensive sanitarium known as Hamaam Balkis ("Bath of Sheba"). During Roman rule, it served as a popular health resort, and a base for the legionary cavalry unit "Equites Promoti Indigenae". There are also a number of Corinthian columns and marble ornaments that date from this era, when nearby Palmyra was a major city in the region; Palmyrene inscriptions were found in the city written by Palmyrene residents and dedicated to the "Great God of Nazala". Prior to Islamic rule in the 7th century CE, the Ghassanids had a military installation in the town.
Early Islamic period
During the Muslim conquest of Syria, al-Qaryatayn's inhabitants resisted Khalid ibn al-Walid's army in the summer of 634. Khalid's forces conquered the town, taking a large plunder from it before proceeding to capture other towns in the area. During Abd al-Malik's reign over the Umayyad Caliphate (646–705), his son al-Walid I used al-Qaryatayn along with adjacent towns in the area as a base of operations. Al-Walid II, who was known to be a corrupt caliph, held parties at the Umayyad palace in al-Qaryatayn during his brief reign between 743 and 744.
In late 1104, the Seljuk prince (emir) Suqman ibn Artuq died in the town on his way to Damascus after being summoned by the ruler of that city, Zahir ad-Din Tughtekin. Arab geographer Yaqut al-Hamawi visited al-Qaryatayn in the early 13th century and described it as "a large village belonging to Hims, and on the desert road. It lies between Hims, Sukhnah, and Arak ... It is two marches from Tadmur [Palmyra]." He also noted its inhabitants were all Christians. A 10,000-member brigade of the Mongol army raided the town and the surrounding region in 1260. Later that year, a Mamluk force led by Emir Salar pursued a retreating Mongol force back to al-Qaryatayn.
Ottoman rule
In the 19th century, al-Qaryatayn's economy, which depended on camel transport services, declined sharply due to the technological advances in transportation of the time, specifically the steamship and the train. This greatly reduced the number of Mecca-bound pilgrims who previously used al-Qaryatayn's inhabitants as guides or transport providers. In the middle part of that century, during the reign of the Egyptian governor of Syria, Ibrahim Pasha, al-Qaryatayn was a small village with mud brick homes. Its inhabitants were recorded as Muslims and Syriac Christians in 1838.