Research topic: Homs

Homs or Hims , city (1995 est. pop. 455,000), capital of Homs governorate, W central Syria, on the Orontes River. It is a commercial center located in a fertile plain where wheat, grapes, fruit, and vegetables are grown. Manufactures include refined petroleum, flour, fertilizer, processed foods, handicrafts, and silk, cotton, and woolen textiles. The city is a road and rail junction and has an oil refinery. In ancient times Homs, then called Emesa, was the site of a great temple to Baal (or Helios-Baal), the sungod. Emesa came into startling prominence in the early 3d cent. AD when a priest... Read more