Amioun in Arabic: أميون and other scripts of the name, are most probably transliterated from the original Amyūn. It is the capital town of the predominantly Greek Orthodox area Koura District (i.e. χωριά, villages in Greek) in the North of Lebanon.
Amioun’s name is very ancient and can be traced back to the earliest Semitic and Aramean periods. The name was actually cited in the letters of Tell el Amarna, which were sent in the 14 th century B.C. by local governors in Lebanon to their overlords, the pharaohs of Egypt. Those letters provide information on conditions in Lebanon at that time. Cited in those letters is the word “ Amia”, a name that might have been used to refer to the site of present-day Amioun. In his etymological study of the names of Lebanon’s towns and villages, Anis Freiha thinks that Amioun’s name is derived from the Semitic – Aramaic word “ Emun” , which means a fortified and invincible fort.
Amioun has a population of around 15,000. The large majority are followers of the Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch. Amioun is the 2nd largest entirely Greek Orthodox city in Lebanon and the whole Middle East second to Ashrafieh, a region in East Christian Beirut. The inhabitants of the city are descendants of Phoenicians,Greeks and Ghassanids and they speak Arabic as a first language. The major political party in the city is the Syrian Social Nationalist Party. There are also supporters of the Free Patriotic Movement, Marada Movement, Lebanese Communist Party, Kataeb and Lebanese Forces. There is a large population of people from Amioun around the world.