Mount Zāwiya or Mount Rīḥā ( ǧabal Rīḥā) (also in medieval times: Banī-ʻUlaym Mountain ǧabal Banī-ʻUlaym) is a highland region in Idlib Governorate

Idlib Governorate

Idlib Governorate is one of the fourteen governorates of Syria. It is situated in northwestern Syria, bordering Turkey. Its area depends on sources - estimated vary from 5,933 km² to 6,097 km². The Governorate has a population of 1,464,000...

 in northwestern Syria

Syria

Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....

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Location and description

Mount Zāwiya forms the southern group of the Limestone Massif

Limestone Massif

The Limestone Massif or Belus Massif is a name applied to the highlands on the weastern part of the Aleppo plateau in northwestern Syria. The Massif is famed for having the Dead Cities of Syria....

 of the western Aleppo plateau

Aleppo plateau

Aleppo plateau is a low, gently undulating plateau of northern Syria. It lies at the northern end of the junction between the Arabian Plate and the African Plate at the Dead Sea Rift. The plateau lies mostly in the Aleppo Governorate and Idlib Governorate...

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To the north and northwest of the mountain lies the Rouj Plain. The Ghāb Plain

Ghab plain

The Ghab plain is a fertile depression in northwest Syria. The valley was flooded for centuries by the waters of the Orontes River, which transformed it into a swamp...

 is on the western side. South of the mountain are the plains of Ḥamā

Hama Governorate

Hama is one of the fourteen governorates of Syria. It is situated in western-central Syria. Its area depends of sources. It varies from 8,844 km² to 8,883 km². Governorate has a population of 1,593,000...

, and on the eastern side are the plains of Idlib.

The average elevation of Mount Zāwiya is 750 m. The highest point is Mount Ayyūb (939 m). The western side of the mountain is steep, but the eastern side slopes gradually. Many springs and streams arise on the western side and drain into the Rouj and Ghāb plains.

The mountain includes two masses separated by a valley which has many archaeological sites, such as the ancient city of Bārā

Bara, Syria

Bara also called Al-Bara is one of the former "Dead Cities" in northwestern Syria. It is located in the Jebel Riha, approx. 65 km north from Hama and approx. 80 km southwest from Aleppo....

. The northern part of the mountain is called Mount Arbaʻīn (877 m). The ancient city of Ebla

Ebla

Ebla Idlib Governorate, Syria) was an ancient city about southwest of Aleppo. It was an important city-state in two periods, first in the late third millennium BC, then again between 1800 and 1650 BC....

 stands northeast of the mountain, and the ancient city of Apamea

Apamea

Apamea or Apameia is the name of several Hellenistic cities in western Asia, after Apama, the wife of Seleucus I Nicator:*Apamea , on the Tigris near the Euphrates, precise location unknown, now in Iraq...

 stands in the southwest.

The biggest towns on the mountain are Rīḥā (Arīḥā) and Maʻarrat an-Nuʻmān.
35°44′N 36°42′E