Ḵanāṣir

Khanaser lies southeast of Aleppo in a valley between the cultivated country and the Syrian steppe. Known to early Arab writers as Khunasira, it became a fortified estate and a residence of Umayyad caliphs. Al-Walid visited in 709, and Umar II frequently stayed there during his reign. The settlement's position on the edge of the desert gave the rulers of Damascus access to both the settled plains and the open country beyond.