Hama (Arabic: حَمَاة Ḥamāh, [ħaˈmaː]; Syriac: ܚܡܬ, romanized: ħ(ə)mɑθ, lit. 'fortress'; Biblical Hebrew: חֲמָת Ḥamāṯ) is a city on the banks of the Orontes River in west-central Syria. It is located 213 km (132 mi) north of Damascus and 46 kilometres (29 mi) north of Homs. It is the provincial capital of the Hama Governorate. With a population of 854,000 (2009 census), Hama is the fourth-largest city in Syria after Damascus, Aleppo and Homs.