Ancient city of AleppoAleppo was the largest Syrian city before the Syrian Civil War; however, it is now the second largest city in Syria, after the capital Damascus. The original ancient name, Halab, has survived as the current Arabic name of the city. However, the term alab might be derived from Hebrew, which is related to a folktale of Abraham, who milked his sheep to feed the poor in the city of Aleppo. Other terms for Halab can be related to iron copper or white.