What is "khanasir"

Khanasir ( / ALA-LC: Khanāṣir), also spelt Khanaser, is a town located in Syria's as-Safira District. It is one of twenty-four towns and villages located in the Khanasir valley, an area with a population of 11,000 people.

The town is situated on the site of the ancient village of Anasartha, enclosed within ramparts in western Syria; Malalas records that it was a kastron (fortified hilltop settlement) that was designated a polis by the Byzantine emperor Justinian I. A qanat dating back to Byzantine times that served as the water source for the village remained operational well into the 20th century. According to Robert L. France, Byzantine-era remains of Anasartha "are visible on the street, in newly built walls, and inside residential houses," in Khanasir today.