Jableh (also spelt Jebleh, Jabala, Jablah and Gabala; Arabic: جبلة) is a coastal city on the Mediterranean in Syria.[1] with c. 40,000 inhabitants. Jableh was part of the Principality of Antioch, one of the Crusader States, until it was captured by Saladin in 1189 during the Third Crusade. One famous resident was Hugh of Jabala, the city's bishop, who reported the fall of Edessa to Pope Eugene III, and was the first person to speak of Prester John. The city is home to the tomb and the mosque of Sultan Ibrahim Bin Adham, a famous Sufi mystic who renounced his throne and devoted himself to prayers for the rest of his life. In antiquity Jableh was an important Roman city, one of the main remains of this period is a theatre, capable of housing c. 7,000 spectators. Near the seashores even older remains were found dating to the Iron Age or Phoenician Era. On less than 1 kilometer of the city centre lays the ancient site of Gibala, today known as Tell Tweini. This city was inhabited from the third millennium B.C.E. until the Persian period.
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