Syrian critic and writer Wahb Rumiyyah, a member of the Academy of the Arabic Language in Damascus, passed away on Wednesday, 29 January 2025, at the age of 81.

Born in Latakia in 1944, Rumiyyah enrolled in the Department of Arabic Language at the Faculty of Arts, Damascus University. He later traveled to Egypt for postgraduate studies, earning a master’s degree in literary studies with distinction from the Faculty of Arts, Cairo University, in 1974.

Rumiyyah earned a doctorate in ancient literature in 1977 with first-class honours. He served as a professor of ancient literature at Damascus University, headed the Arabic Language Department at Sana’a University, and was later appointed Dean of the Faculty of Humanities at Damascus University. Since 2016, he had been a member of the Arabic Language Academy in Damascus.

He also served as a refereed researcher for several esteemed publications, including the Knowledge World Series (Kuwait), the Abdulaziz Albabtain Cultural Foundation for Poetic Creativity (Kuwait), the Annals of the Faculty of Arts (Kuwait), the Journal of Arab and Islamic Studies (UAE), the Damascus University’s Journal of Arts and Humanities, and the Journal of Aleppo University Research, among others.

Among his notable works are “The Journey in the Pre-Islamic Poem”, “The Poem of Praise until the End of the Umayyad Period: Between Origins, Revival and Renewal”, “Our Old Poetry and New Criticism”, Poetry and Criticism: From Formation to Vision, and From Cultural Issues”.