This citadel is 60 km north-west of Aleppo. It was named after the hermit Saint
Simon (Sam’an), a shepherd from northern Syria, who became a monk after a
revelation in a dream. Following Saint Simon’s death in 459 , the Emperor
Zenon ordered that a cathedral be built where the saint used to pray.
The layout was original, centering on the famous column from which Saint Simon
used to preach. Four basilicas , arranged in the shape of a cross, opened into
an octagon covered by a dome, in the center of which stood the holy column.
It is a beautiful church built on the ridge of the hill where Saint Simon had taken
up “residence”. Simplicity and harmony combine to make the ruins of the Basilica
of St. Simon (an earthquake destroyed parts of the church less than half a
century after it had been built) a masterpiece of pre-Islamic art in Syria.
In the 10th century, some towers and walls were erected. It was then called
“Qal’at Sam’an” (Simon’s Citadel). It became the center of conflict between
Byzantium and the Hamadani kingdom; in 986, the son of Sayf al-Dawla alHamadani finally captured it.