Hermon, Mount
(Also known in Arabic as Jabal ash Shaykh, “mountain of the chief”),
mountain in the Anti-Lebanon Range, on the Syrian-Lebanese border. The highest
of its three summits is 2814 m (9232 ft) above sea level, and is the highest
point in Syria. Mount Hermon is the source of
the Jordan River. Remains of ancient temples, one probably dedicated to the
Semitic deity Baal and several bearing Greek inscriptions, are on its slopes.
Mount Hermon is believed by some to have been the site of the transfiguration of
Jesus Christ, though this has traditionally been attributed to Mount Tabor.
Since the 1967 Six-Day War between Israel and several Arab nations, about 100 sq
km (about 40 sq mi) of Mount Hermon's southern and western regions have been
part of the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. Both Syria and Israel maintain
significant military posts on Mount Hermon's slopes.