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state in western Asia
not to be confused with Styria “ syrian Arab Republic ” redirects here. For the syrian Arab Republic from 1961 to 1963, see moment Syrian Republic This article is about the modern submit of Syria. For other uses, see Syria ( disambiguation )

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Syria ( Arabic : سُورِيَا‎ or Arabic : سُورِيَة‎, romanized : Sūriyā ), formally the Syrian Arab Republic ( Arabic : ٱلْجُمْهُورِيَّةُ ٱلْعَرَبِيَّةُ ٱلسُّورِيَّةُ‎, romanized : al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah ), is a state in western Asia, bordering Lebanon to the southwest, the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the confederacy, and Israel to the southwest. Its capital and largest city is Damascus. A area of fecund plains, high mountains, and deserts, Syria is home to diverse cultural and religious groups, including the majority syrian Arabs, Kurds, Turkmens, Assyrians, Armenians, Circassians, [ 9 ] Mandaeans, [ 10 ] and Greeks. religious groups include Sunnis, Christians, Alawites, Druze, Isma’ilis, Mandaeans, Shiites, Salafis, and Yazidis. Arabs are the largest heathen group, and Sunnis are the largest religious group. Syria is a one republic consisting of 14 governorates and is the only country that politically espouses Ba’athism. It is a extremity of one international organization other than the United Nations, the Non-Aligned Movement ; it was suspended from the Arab League in November 2011 [ 11 ] and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, [ 12 ] and self-suspended from the Union for the Mediterranean. [ 13 ] The appoint “ Syria ” historically referred to a broad region, broadly synonymous with the Levant, and known in Arabic as al-Sham. The modern state of matter encompasses the sites of several ancient kingdoms and empires, including the Eblan civilization of the 3rd millennium BC. Aleppo and the capital city Damascus are among the oldest continuously populate cities in the global. [ 14 ] In the Islamic earned run average, Damascus was the seat of the Umayyad Caliphate and a peasant capital of the Mamluk Sultanate in Egypt. The advanced syrian state was established in the mid-20th hundred after centuries of Ottoman rule, and after a brief period as a french mandate, the newly created state represented the largest arab state to emerge from the once Ottoman -ruled syrian provinces. It gained de jure independence as a parliamentary republic on 24 October 1945, when the Republic of Syria became a establish member of the United Nations, an act which legally ended the former french Mandate, although french troops did not leave the country until April 1946. The post-independence period was disruptive, with many military coups and coup attempts shaking the area from 1949 to 1971. In 1958, Syria entered a brief union with Egypt called the United Arab Republic, which was terminated by the 1961 syrian coup d’état. The democracy was renamed as the Arab Republic of Syria in late 1961 after the December 1 constitutional referendum of that year, and was increasingly unstable until the 1963 Ba’athist coup d’état, since which the Ba’ath Party has maintained its exponent. Syria was under Emergency Law from 1963 to 2011, efficaciously suspending most constitutional protections for citizens. Bashar al-Assad has been president of the united states since 2000 and was preceded by his father Hafez al-Assad, [ 15 ] who was in office from 1971 to 2000. Throughout his rule, Syria and the rule Ba’ath Party have been condemned and criticized for diverse human rights abuses, including frequent executions of citizens and political prisoners, and massive censoring. [ 16 ] [ 17 ] Since March 2011, Syria has been embroiled in a multi-sided civil war, with a count of countries in the region and beyond involved militarily or otherwise. As a result, a number of self-proclaimed political entities have emerged on syrian district, including the syrian opposition, Rojava, Tahrir al-Sham and Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. Syria was ranked last on the Global Peace Index from 2016 to 2018, [ 18 ] making it the most fierce state in the universe due to the war. The battle has killed more than 570,000 people, [ 19 ] caused 7.6 million internally displace people ( July 2015 UNHCR estimate ) and over 5 million refugees ( July 2017 registered by UNHCR ), [ 20 ] making population judgment unmanageable in holocene years .

etymology

respective sources indicate that the identify Syria is derived from the eighth century BC Luwian term “ Sura/i ”, and the derivative ancient greek list : Σύριοι, Sýrioi, or Σύροι, Sýroi, both of which originally derived from Aššūrāyu ( Assyria ) in northerly Mesopotamia. [ 21 ] [ 22 ] however, from the Seleucid Empire ( 323–150 BC ), this term was besides applied to The Levant, and from this point the Greeks applied the term without eminence between the Assyrians of Mesopotamia and Arameans of the Levant. [ 23 ] [ 24 ] Mainstream advanced academician public opinion powerfully favors the argumentation that the Greek discussion is related to the blood relation Ἀσσυρία, Assyria, ultimately derived from the akkadian Aššur. [ 25 ] The greek diagnose appears to correspond to phoenician ʾšr “ Assur ”, ʾšrym “ Assyrians ”, recorded in the eighth century BC Çineköy inscription. [ 26 ] The area designated by the son has changed over time. classically, Syria lies at the easterly end of the Mediterranean, between Arabia to the south and Asia Minor to the north, stretching inland to include parts of Iraq, and having an changeable border to the northeast that Pliny the Elder describes as including, from west to east, Commagene, Sophene, and Adiabene. [ 27 ] By Pliny ‘s time, however, this larger Syria had been divided into a numeral of provinces under the Roman Empire ( but politically mugwump from each other ) : judea, late renamed Palaestina in AD 135 ( the region corresponding to contemporary Israel, the palestinian Territories, and Jordan ) in the extreme southwest ; Phoenice ( established in AD 194 ) correspond to modern Lebanon, Damascus and Homs regions ; Coele-Syria ( or “ hollow Syria ” ) south of the Eleutheris river, and Iraq. [ 28 ]

history

Ancient ancientness

Since approximately 10,000 BC, Syria was one of the centers of neolithic age culture ( known as Pre-Pottery Neolithic A ) where farming and cattle breeding appeared for the first gear clock in the global. The pursue neolithic age period ( PPNB ) is represented by orthogonal houses of Mureybet culture. At the prison term of the pre-pottery Neolithic, people used vessels made of stone, gyps and bite birdlime ( Vaisselle blanche ). Finds of obsidian tools from Anatolia are evidences of early trade relations. Cities of Hamoukar and Emar played an authoritative role during the late Neolithic and Bronze Age. Archaeologists have demonstrated that refinement in Syria was one of the most ancient on land, possibly preceded by merely those of Mesopotamia. The earliest recorded autochthonal culture in the area was the Kingdom of Ebla [ 29 ] near contemporary Idlib, northern Syria. Ebla appears to have been founded around 3500 BC, [ 30 ] [ 31 ] [ 32 ] [ 33 ] [ 34 ] and gradually built its luck through trade with the Mesopotamian states of Sumer, Assyria, and Akkad, angstrom well as with the Hurrian and Hattian peoples to the northwest, in Asia Minor. [ 35 ] Gifts from Pharaohs, found during excavations, confirm Ebla ‘s contact with Egypt .
Ishqi-Mari, king of the Second Kingdom of Mari, circa 2300 BC. One of the earliest written textbook from Syria is a trade agreement between Vizier Ibrium of Ebla and an ambiguous kingdom called Abarsal c. 2300 BC. [ 36 ] [ 37 ] Scholars believe the terminology of Ebla to be among the oldest known written Semitic languages after Akkadian. recent classifications of the Eblaite lyric have shown that it was an East Semitic language, closely related to the akkadian language. [ 38 ] Ebla was weakened by a long war with Mari, and the unharmed of Syria became separate of the Mesopotamian Akkadian Empire after Sargon of Akkad and his grandson Naram-Sin ‘s conquests ended Eblan domination over Syria in the beginning one-half of the twenty-third century BC. [ 39 ] [ 40 ] By the twenty-first century BC, Hurrians settled the northerly east parts of Syria while the rest of the region was dominated by the Amorites. Syria was called the Land of the Amurru ( Amorites ) by their Assyro-Babylonian neighbors. The Northwest Semitic speech of the Amorites is the earliest attested of the Canaanite languages. Mari reemerged during this time period, and saw renewed prosperity until conquered by Hammurabi of Babylon. Ugarit besides arose during this time, circa 1800 BC, stopping point to mod Latakia. Ugaritic was a semitic terminology loosely related to the Canaanite languages, and developed the Ugaritic rudiment, [ 41 ] considered to be the world ‘s earliest known rudiment. The ugaritic kingdom survived until its destruction at the hands of the marauding aryan Sea Peoples in the twelfth century BC in what was known as the Late Bronze Age Collapse which saw alike kingdoms and states witness the same destruction at the pass of the Sea Peoples. Yamhad ( advanced Aleppo ) dominated northern Syria for two centuries, [ 42 ] although Eastern Syria was occupied in the 19th and 18th centuries BC by the Old Assyrian Empire ruled by the Amorite Dynasty of Shamshi-Adad I, and by the Babylonian Empire which was founded by Amorites. Yamhad was described in the tablets of Mari as the mightiest submit in the cheeseparing east and as having more vassals than Hammurabi of Babylon. [ 42 ] Yamhad imposed its authority over Alalakh, [ 43 ] Qatna, [ 44 ] the Hurrians states and the Euphrates Valley down to the borders with Babylon. [ 45 ] The army of Yamhad campaigned as far away as Dēr on the frame of Elam ( modern Iran ). [ 46 ] Yamhad was conquered and destroyed, along with Ebla, by the indo-european Hittites from Asia Minor circa 1600 BC. [ 47 ] From this time, Syria became a battle ground for diverse foreign empires, these being the Hittite Empire, Mitanni Empire, Egyptian Empire, Middle Assyrian Empire, and to a lesser degree Babylonia. The Egyptians initially occupied a lot of the south, while the Hittites, and the Mitanni, much of the union. however, Assyria finally gained the upper hand, destroying the Mitanni Empire and annexing huge swathes of territory previously held by the Hittites and Babylon .
[48][49] Syrians bringing presents to Pharaoh Tuthmosis III, as depicted in the grave of Rekhmire, circa 1450 BCE ( actual painting and interpretational drawing ). They are labeled “ Chiefs of Retjenu “. Around the fourteenth hundred BC, assorted semite peoples appeared in the sphere, such as the semi-nomadic Suteans who came into an abortive conflict with Babylonia to the east, and the West Semitic talk Arameans who subsumed the earlier Amorites. They excessively were subjugated by Assyria and the Hittites for centuries. The Egyptians fought the Hittites for control over westerly Syria ; the fight reached its zenith in 1274 BC with the Battle of Kadesh. [ 50 ] [ 51 ] The west remained part of the Hittite empire until its end c. 1200 BC, [ 52 ] while easterly Syria largely became function of the Middle Assyrian Empire, [ 53 ] who besides annexed much of the west during the reign of Tiglath-Pileser I 1114–1076 BC. With the destruction of the Hittites and the refuse of Assyria in the late eleventh hundred BC, the Aramean tribe gained control of much of the inside, founding states such as Bit Bahiani, Aram-Damascus, Hamath, Aram-Rehob, Aram-Naharaim, and Luhuti. From this compass point, the region became known as Aramea or Aram. There was besides a synthesis between the Semitic Arameans and the remnants of the indo-european Hittites, with the establish of a number of Syro-Hittite states centered in north central Aram ( Syria ) and south central Asia Minor ( advanced Turkey ), including Palistin, Carchemish and Sam’al .
A Canaanite group known as the Phoenicians came to dominate the coasts of Syria, ( and besides Lebanon and northern Palestine ) from the thirteenth century BC, founding city states such as Amrit, Simyra, Arwad, Paltos, Ramitha and Shuksi. From these coastal regions, they finally spread their influence throughout the Mediterranean, including construct colonies in Malta, Sicily, the iberian peninsula ( modern Spain and Portugal ), and the coasts of North Africa and most importantly, founding the major city express of Carthage ( in advanced Tunisia ) in the ninth hundred BC, which was much later to become the center of a major empire, rivaling the Roman Empire. Syria and the westerly half of Near East then fell to the huge Neo Assyrian Empire ( 911 BC – 605 BC ). The Assyrians introduced Imperial Aramaic as the tongue franca of their empire. This speech was to remain dominant in Syria and the entire Near East until after the arab Islamic seduction in the 7th and 8th centuries AD, and was to be a fomite for the diffuse of Christianity. The Assyrians named their colonies of Syria and Lebanon Eber-Nari. assyrian domination ended after the Assyrians greatly weakened themselves in a serial of barbarous inner civil wars, followed by attacks from : the Medes, Babylonians, Chaldeans, Persians, Scythians and Cimmerians. During the fall of Assyria, the Scythians ravaged and plundered much of Syria. The death stand of the assyrian akkadian united states army was at Carchemish in northern Syria in 605 BC. The assyrian Empire was followed by the Neo-Babylonian Empire ( 605 BC – 539 BC ). During this period, Syria became a battle ground between Babylonia and another former Assyrian colony, that of Egypt. The Babylonians, like their assyrian neo-aramaic relations, were victorious over Egypt .

authoritative antiquity

Ancient city of Palmyra before the war The Achaemenid Empire, founded by Cyrus the Great, annexed Syria along with Babylonia to its conglomerate in 539 BC. The Persians retained Imperial Aramaic as one of the diplomatic languages of the Achaemenid Empire ( 539 BC – 330 BC ), arsenic well as the assyrian diagnose for the new satrapy of Aram/Syria Eber-Nari. Syria was conquered by the Greek Macedonian Empire, ruled by Alexander the Great circa 330 BC, and consequently became Coele-Syria province of the Greek Seleucid Empire ( 323 BC – 64 BC ), with the Seleucid kings styling themselves ‘King of Syria ‘ and the city of Antioch being its capital begin from 240. thus, it was the Greeks who introduced the identify “ Syria ” to the region. primitively an indo-european corruption of “ Assyria ” in northern Mesopotamia, the Greeks used this term to describe not merely Assyria itself but besides the lands to the west which had for centuries been under assyrian dominion. [ 54 ] thus in the Greco-Roman world both the Arameans of Syria and the Assyrians of Mesopotamia ( mod day Iraq ) to the east were referred to as “ Syrians ” or “ Syriacs ”, despite these being distinct peoples in their own veracious, a confusion which would continue into the modern populace. Eventually parts of southerly Seleucid Syria were taken by Judean Hasmoneans upon the slow decay of the Hellenistic Empire. Syria concisely came under armenian control from 83 BC, with the conquests of the armenian king Tigranes the Great, who was welcomed as a savior from the Seleucids and Romans by the syrian people. however, Pompey the Great, a general of the Roman Empire, tease to Syria and captured Antioch, its capital, and turned Syria into a Roman state in 64 BC, therefore ending armenian restraint over the region which had lasted two decades. Syria prospered under Roman predominate, being strategically located on the silk road, which gave it massive wealth and importance, making it the battlefield for the rival Romans and Persians .
Palmyra, a rich and sometimes brawny native Aramaic -speaking kingdom originate in northern Syria in the second century ; the Palmyrene established a trade network that made the city one of the richest in the Roman conglomerate. finally, in the late third century AD, the Palmyrene king Odaenathus defeated the persian emperor butterfly Shapur I and controlled the entirety of the Roman East while his successor and widow Zenobia established the Palmyrene Empire, which briefly conquered Egypt, Syria, Palestine, much of Asia Minor, Judah and Lebanon, before being last brought under Roman operate in 273 AD. The northern Mesopotamian Assyrian kingdom of Adiabene controlled areas of north east Syria between 10 AD and 117 AD, before it was conquered by Rome. [ 55 ] The Aramaic terminology has been found as far afield as Hadrian ‘s Wall in Ancient Britain, [ 56 ] with an inscription written by a Palmyrene emigrant at the site of Fort Arbeia. [ 57 ] control of Syria finally passed from the Romans to the Byzantines, with the split in the Roman Empire. [ 35 ] The largely Aramaic -speaking population of Syria during the flower of the Byzantine Empire was probably not exceeded again until the nineteenth hundred. Prior to the Arab Islamic Conquest in the seventh hundred AD, the bulge of the population were Arameans, but Syria was besides family to Greek and Roman govern classes, Assyrians still dwelt in the north east, Phoenicians along the coasts, and Jewish and armenian communities were besides extant in major cities, with Nabateans and pre-Islamic Arabs such as the Lakhmids and Ghassanids dwell in the deserts of southerly Syria. Syriac Christianity had taken retain as the major religion, although others still followed Judaism, Mithraism, Manicheanism, Greco-Roman Religion, Canaanite Religion and Mesopotamian Religion. Syria ‘s big and booming population made Syria one of the most crucial of the Roman and Byzantine provinces, particularly during the 2nd and 3rd centuries ( AD ). [ 58 ]
The ancient city of Apamea, an authoritative commercial center and one of Syria ‘s most comfortable cities in classical antiquity Syrians held considerable amounts of power during the Severan dynasty. The matriarch of the family and Empress of Rome as wife of emperor Septimius Severus was Julia Domna, a syrian from the city of Emesa ( modern day Homs ), whose family held ancestral rights to the priesthood of the deity El-Gabal. Her big nephews, besides Arabs from Syria, would besides become Roman Emperors, the first being Elagabalus and the second, his cousin Alexander Severus. Another Roman emperor who was a syrian was Philip the Arab ( Marcus Julius Philippus ), who was born in Roman Arabia. He was emperor butterfly from 244 to 249, [ 58 ] and ruled concisely during the Crisis of the one-third Century. During his reign, he focused on his dwelling township of Philippopolis ( advanced day Shahba ) and began many construction projects to improve the city, most of which were halted after his death. Syria is significant in the history of Christianity ; Saulus of Tarsus, well known as the Apostle Paul, was converted on the Road to Damascus and emerged as a meaning figure in the christian church at Antioch in ancient Syria, from which he left on many of his missionary travel. ( Acts 9:1–43 [ inappropriate external link? ] )

Middle Ages

Muhammad ‘s first interaction with the people and tribes of Syria was during the Invasion of Dumatul Jandal in July 626 [ 59 ] where he ordered his followers to invade Duma, because Muhammad received intelligence that some tribes there were involved in highway looting and preparing to attack Medina itself. [ 60 ] William Montgomery Watt claims that this was the most significant expedition Muhammad ordered at the time, even though it received fiddling notification in the primary sources. Dumat Al-Jandal was 800 kilometres ( 500 mile ) from Medina, and Watt says that there was no contiguous menace to Muhammad, other than the possibility that his communications to Syria and supplies to Medina being interrupted. Watt says “ It is tempting to suppose that Muhammad was already envisaging something of the expansion which took place after his death ”, and that the rapid march of his troops must have “ impress all those who heard of it ”. [ 61 ] William Muir besides believes that the dispatch was important as Muhammad followed by 1000 men reached the confines of Syria, where distant tribes had now learnt his name, while the political horizon of Muhammad was extended. [ 59 ]
By AD 640, Syria was conquered by the Arab Rashidun united states army led by Khalid ibn al-Walid. In the mid-7th century, the Umayyad dynasty, then rulers of the empire, placed the capital of the empire in Damascus. The country ‘s exponent declined during later Umayyad principle ; this was chiefly due to dictatorship, putrescence and the result revolutions. The Umayyad dynasty was then overthrown in 750 by the Abbasid dynasty, which moved the capital of empire to Baghdad. Arabic – made official under Umayyad rule [ 62 ] – became the dominant allele speech, replacing greek and Aramaic of the Byzantine era. In 887, the Egypt-based Tulunids annexed Syria from the Abbasids, and were subsequently replaced by once the Egypt-based Ikhshidids and still former by the Hamdanids originate in Aleppo founded by Sayf al-Dawla. [ 63 ]
Sections of Syria were held by French, English, Italian and german overlords between 1098 and 1189 AD during the Crusades and were known jointly as the Crusader states among which the primary one in Syria was the Principality of Antioch. The coastal mountainous region was besides occupied in depart by the Nizari Ismailis, the alleged Assassins, who had intermittent confrontations and truces with the Crusader States. by and by in history when “ the Nizaris faced renewed frankish hostilities, they received timely aid from the Ayyubids. ” [ 64 ] After a century of Seljuk rule, Syria was largely conquered ( 1175–1185 ) by the Kurdish liberator Salah ad-Din, laminitis of the Ayyubid dynasty of Egypt. Aleppo fell to the Mongols of Hulegu in January 1260, and Damascus in March, but then Hulegu was forced to break off his attack to return to China to deal with a succession quarrel. A few months late, the Mamluks arrived with an army from Egypt and defeated the Mongols in the Battle of Ain Jalut in Galilee. The Mamluk leader, Baibars, made Damascus a provincial capital. When he died, might was taken by Qalawun. In the interim, an emir named Sunqur al-Ashqar had tried to declare himself rule of Damascus, but he was defeated by Qalawun on 21 June 1280, and fled to northerly Syria. Al-Ashqar, who had married a Mongol woman, appealed for avail from the Mongols. The Mongols of the Ilkhanate took Aleppo in October 1280, but Qalawun persuaded Al-Ashqar to join him, and they fought against the Mongols on 29 October 1281, in the second Battle of Homs, which was won by the Mamluks. [ 65 ] In 1400, the Muslim Turco-Mongol conqueror Tamurlane invaded Syria, in which he sacked Aleppo, [ 66 ] and captured Damascus after defeating the Mamluk army. The city ‘s inhabitants were massacred, except for the artisans, who were deported to Samarkand. [ 67 ] Tamurlane besides conducted specific massacres of the Aramean and Assyrian Christian populations, greatly reducing their numbers. [ 68 ] By the end of the fifteenth century, the discovery of a ocean path from Europe to the Far East ended the necessitate for an overland trade route through Syria .
syrian women, 1683

Ottoman Syria

In 1516, the Ottoman Empire invaded the Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt, conquering Syria, and incorporating it into its conglomerate. The Ottoman system was not burdensome to Syrians because the Turks respected Arabic as the terminology of the Quran, and accepted the mantle of defenders of the religion. Damascus was made the major entrepot for Mecca, and as such it acquired a holy character to Muslims, because of the beneficial results of the countless pilgrims who passed through on the hajj, the pilgrimage to Mecca. [ 69 ]
Ottoman government followed a organization that led to peaceful coexistence. Each ethno-religious minority— Arab Shia Muslim, Arab Sunni Muslim, Aramean – Syriac Orthodox, Greek Orthodox, Maronite Christians, assyrian Christians, Armenians, Kurds and Jews —constituted a millet. [ 70 ] The religious heads of each community administered all personal condition laws and performed certain civil functions adenine well. [ 69 ] In 1831, Ibrahim Pasha of Egypt renounced his loyalty to the Empire and overrun Ottoman Syria, capturing Damascus. His short-run rule over the domain attempted to change the demographics and social structure of the region : he brought thousands of egyptian villagers to populate the plains of Southern Syria, rebuild Jaffa and settled it with seasoned egyptian soldiers aiming to turn it into a regional capital, and he crushed peasant and Druze rebellions and deported non-loyal tribesmen. By 1840, however, he had to surrender the area back to the Ottomans. From 1864, Tanzimat reforms were applied on Ottoman Syria, carving out the provinces ( vilayets ) of Aleppo, Zor, Beirut and Damascus Vilayet ; Mutasarrifate of Mount Lebanon was created, vitamin a well, and soon after the Mutasarrifate of Jerusalem was given a separate condition .
During World War I, the Ottoman Empire entered the battle on the side of Germany and the Austro-Hungarian Empire. It ultimately suffered frustration and loss of manipulate of the entire Near East to the british Empire and French Empire. During the conflict, genocide against autochthonal christian peoples was carried out by the Ottomans and their allies in the phase of the armenian genocide and assyrian neo-aramaic genocide, of which Deir ez-Zor, in Ottoman Syria, was the final examination address of these death marches. [ 71 ] In the midst of World War I, two Allied diplomats ( Frenchman François Georges-Picot and Briton Mark Sykes ) secretly agreed on the post-war division of the Ottoman Empire into respective zones of charm in the Sykes-Picot Agreement of 1916. initially, the two territories were separated by a surround that ran in an about true note from Jordan to Iran. however, the discovery of oil in the region of Mosul merely before the end of the war led to so far another negotiation with France in 1918 to cede this region to the british zone of influence, which was to become Iraq. The destine of the intercede province of Zor was left unclear ; its occupation by arabian nationalists resulted in its attachment to Syria. This frame was recognized internationally when Syria became a League of Nations mandate in 1920 [ 72 ] and has not changed to date .

In 1920, a ephemeral independent Kingdom of Syria was established under Faisal I of the Hashemite family. however, his convention over Syria ended after only a few months, following the Battle of Maysalun. french troops occupied Syria late that year after the San Remo conference proposed that the League of Nations put Syria under a french mandate. General Gouraud had according to his secretary de Caix two options : “ Either build a syrian state that does not exist … by smoothing the rupture which still divide it ” or “ educate and maintain all the phenomenon, which require our arbitration that these divisions give ”. De Caix added “ I must say only the second option interests me ”. This is what Gouraud did. [ 73 ] [ 74 ] In 1925, Sultan al-Atrash led a revolt that broke out in the Druze Mountain and spread to engulf the whole of Syria and parts of Lebanon. Al-Atrash won respective battles against the french, notably the Battle of al-Kafr on 21 July 1925, the Battle of al-Mazraa on 2–3 August 1925, and the battles of Salkhad, al-Musayfirah and Suwayda. France sent thousands of troops from Morocco and Senegal, leading the french to regain many cities, although resistance lasted until the give of 1927. The french sentence Sultan al-Atrash to death, but he had escaped with the rebels to Transjordan and was finally pardoned. He returned to Syria in 1937 after the bless of the Syrian-French Treaty .
Syria and France negotiated a treaty of independence in September 1936, and Hashim al-Atassi was the beginning president to be elected under the first incarnation of the modern republic of Syria. however, the treaty never came into force because the french Legislature refused to ratify it. With the fall of France in 1940 during World War II, Syria came under the control of Vichy France until the british and absolve french occupied the nation in the Syria-Lebanon campaign in July 1941. Continuing imperativeness from syrian nationalists and the british forced the french to evacuate their troops in April 1946, leaving the area in the hands of a republican government that had been formed during the mandate. [ 75 ]

independent syrian Republic

turbulence dominated syrian politics from independence through the late 1960s. In May 1948, syrian forces invaded Palestine, together with other Arab states, and immediately attacked jewish settlements. [ 76 ] Their president Shukri al-Quwwatli instructed his troops in the battlefront, “ to destroy the Zionists ”. [ 77 ] [ 78 ] The Invasion purpose was to prevent the administration of the State of Israel. [ 79 ] Toward this end, the syrian politics engaged in an active summons of recruiting former Nazis, including several former members of the Schutzstaffel, to build up their armed forces and military intelligence capabilities. [ 80 ] Defeat in this war was one of several trigger factors for the March 1949 Syrian coup d’état by Col. Husni al-Za’im, described as the first military overrule of the Arab World [ 79 ] since the beginning of the Second World War. This was soon followed by another overthrow, by Col. Sami al-Hinnawi, who was himself promptly deposed by Col. Adib Shishakli, all within the same class. [ 79 ] Shishakli finally abolished multipartyism wholly, but was himself overthrown in a 1954 coup d’etat and the parliamentary system was restored. [ 79 ] however, by this meter, baron was increasingly concentrated in the military and security administration. [ 79 ] The helplessness of Parliamentary institutions and the mismanagement of the economy led to unrest and the determine of Nasserism and other ideologies. There was fecund land for assorted Arab patriot, syrian nationalist, and socialist movements, which represented estrange elements of company. notably included were religious minorities, who demanded radical reform. [ 79 ] In November 1956, as a direct result of the Suez Crisis, [ 81 ] Syria signed a treaty with the Soviet Union. This gave a foothold for communist influence within the government in exchange for military equipment. [ 79 ] Turkey then became concern about this increase in the military capability of syrian military engineering, as it seemed feasible that Syria might attempt to retake İskenderun. only heated debates in the United Nations lessened the threat of war. [ 82 ]
Aleppo in 1961 On 1 February 1958, syrian President Shukri al-Quwatli and Egypt ‘s Nasser announced the confluence of Egypt and Syria, creating the United Arab Republic, and all syrian political parties, ampere well as the communists therein, ceased overt activities. [ 75 ] interim, a group of syrian Ba’athist officers, alarmed by the party ‘s hapless military position and the increasing fragility of the union, decided to form a hidden Military Committee ; its initial members were Lieutenant-Colonel Muhammad Umran, Major Salah Jadid and Captain Hafez al-Assad. Syria seceded from the union with Egypt on 28 September 1961, after a coup d’etat .

Ba’athist Syria

The ensuing instability following the 1961 coup culminated in the 8 March 1963 Ba’athist coup d’etat. The coup d’etat was engineered by members of the arabian Socialist Ba’ath Party, led by Michel Aflaq and Salah al-Din al-Bitar. The new syrian cabinet was dominated by Ba’ath members. [ 75 ] [ 79 ] On 23 February 1966, the Military Committee carried out an intra-party overrule, imprisoned President Amin Hafiz and designated a regionalist, civilian Ba’ath government on 1 March. [ 79 ] Although Nureddin al-Atassi became the formal lead of state, Salah Jadid was Syria ‘s effective ruler from 1966 until November 1970, [ 83 ] when he was deposed by Hafez al-Assad, who at the fourth dimension was Minister of Defense. [ 84 ] The coup led to a split within the original pan-Arab Ba’ath Party : one Iraqi-led ba’ath motion ( ruled Iraq from 1968 to 2003 ) and one Syrian-led ba’ath apparent motion was established. In the beginning half of 1967, a low-key state of war existed between Syria and Israel. Conflict over Israeli cultivation of land in the Demilitarized Zone led to 7 April pre-war antenna clashes between Israel and Syria. [ 85 ] When the Six-Day War broke out between Egypt and Israel, Syria joined the war and attacked Israel as well. In the final days of the war, Israel turned its attention to Syria, capturing two-thirds of the Golan Heights in under 48 hours. [ 86 ] The get the better of caused a rip between Jadid and Assad over what steps to take future. [ 87 ]
Quneitra village, largely destroyed before the Israeli withdrawal in June 1974. Disagreement developed between Jadid, who controlled the party apparatus, and Assad, who controlled the military. The 1970 retrograde of syrian forces sent to aid the PLO during the “ Black September “ hostilities with Jordan reflected this discrepancy. [ 88 ] The world power struggle culminated in the November 1970 Syrian Corrective Revolution, a bloodless military overthrow that installed Hafez al-Assad as the strongman of the government. [ 84 ] On 6 October 1973, Syria and Egypt initiated the Yom Kippur War against Israel. The Israel Defense Forces reversed the initial syrian gains and pushed deep into syrian territory. [ 89 ]
In the late 1970s, an Islamist rebellion by the Muslim Brotherhood was aimed against the government. Islamists attack civilians and off-duty military personnel, leading security forces to besides kill civilians in retaliatory strikes. The rise had reached its orgasm in the 1982 Hama massacre, [ 90 ] when some 10,000 – 40,000 people were killed by regular syrian Army troops. In a major switch in relations with both other Arab states and the western worldly concern, Syria participated in the US-led Gulf War against Saddam Hussein. Syria participated in the multilateral Madrid Conference of 1991, and during the 1990s engaged in negotiations with Israel. These negotiations failed, and there have been no far direct Syrian-Israeli talks since President Hafez al-Assad ‘s meeting with then President Bill Clinton in Geneva in March 2000. [ 91 ]
Hafez al-Assad died on 10 June 2000. His son, Bashar al-Assad, was elected president in an election in which he ran unopposed. [ 75 ] His election saw the birth of the Damascus Spring and hopes of reform, but by fall 2001, the authorities had suppressed the apparent motion, imprisoning some of its lead intellectuals. [ 92 ] rather, reforms have been limited to some market reforms. [ 15 ] [ 93 ] [ 94 ] On 5 October 2003, Israel bombed a site near Damascus, claiming it was a terrorist train facility for members of Islamic Jihad. [ 95 ] In March 2004, syrian Kurds and Arabs clashed in the northeastern city of al-Qamishli. Signs of rioting were seen in the cities of Qamishli and Hasakeh. [ 96 ] In 2005, Syria ended its military presence in Lebanon. [ 97 ] [ 98 ] On 6 September 2007, foreign fountain fighters, suspected as Israeli, reportedly carried out Operation Orchard against a suspect nuclear reactor under construction by north korean technicians. [ 99 ]

syrian Civil War

The ongoing syrian Civil War was inspired by the arabian spring revolutions. It began in 2011 as a chain of peaceful protests, followed by an alleged crackdown by the syrian Army. [ 100 ] In July 2011, Army defectors declared the geological formation of the Free syrian Army and began forming fighting units. The opposition is dominated by Sunni Muslims, whereas the moderate government figures are broadly associated with Alawites. [ 101 ] The war besides involves rebel groups ( IS and al-Nusra ) and assorted foreign countries, leading to claims of a proxy war in Syria. [ 102 ] According to versatile sources, including the United Nations, astir to 100,000 people had been killed by June 2013, [ 103 ] [ 104 ] [ 105 ] including 11,000 children. [ 106 ] To escape the violence, 4.9 million [ 107 ] Syrian refugees have fled to neighboring countries of Jordan, [ 108 ] Iraq, [ 109 ] Lebanon, and Turkey. [ 110 ] [ 111 ] An calculate 450,000 syrian Christians have fled their homes. [ 112 ] [ needs update ] By October 2017, an calculate 400,000 people had been killed in the war according to the UN. [ 113 ]

major economic crisis

On 10 June 2020, hundreds of protesters returned to the streets of Sweida for the fourth straight day, rallying against the collapse of the nation ‘s economy, as the syrian beat plummeted to 3,000 to the dollar within the by week. [ 114 ] On 11 June, Prime Minister Imad Khamis was dismissed by President Bashar al-Assad, amid anti-government protests over deteriorating economic conditions. [ 115 ] The new lows for the syrian currency, and the dramatic increase in sanctions, began to appear to raise fresh concerns about the survival of the Assad politics. [ 116 ] [ 117 ] [ 118 ] Analysts noted that a resolution to the current bank crisis in Lebanon might be crucial to restoring stability in Syria. [ 119 ] Some analysts began to raise concerns that Assad might be on the verge of losing ability ; but that any such crash in the regimen might cause conditions to worsen, as the solution might be mass chaos, quite than an improvement in political or economic conditions. [ 120 ] [ 121 ] [ 122 ] Russia continued to expand its influence and military function in the areas of Syria where the main military conflict was occurring. [ 123 ] Analysts noted that the approaching implementation of new heavy sanctions under the US Caesar Act could devastate the syrian economy, ruin any chances of recovery, demolish regional stability, and do nothing but destabilize the entire region. [ 124 ] The first new sanctions took effect on 17 June. There will be extra sanctions implemented in August, in three different groups. There are increasing reports that food is becoming unmanageable to find, the country ‘s economy is under severe blackmail, and the unharmed regimen could collapse due to the sanctions. [ 125 ]

geography

Syria lies between latitudes 32° and 38° N, and longitudes 35° and 43° E. The climate varies from the humid Mediterranean seashore, through a semiarid steppe zone, to arid defect in the east. The state consists by and large of arid tableland, although the northwest partially bordering the Mediterranean is fairly fleeceable. Al-Jazira in the northeast and Hawran in the south are important agrarian areas. The Euphrates, Syria ‘s most important river, crosses the area in the east. Syria is one of the fifteen states that comprise the alleged “ cradle of culture “. [ 126 ] Its kingdom straddles the “ northwest of the Arabian plate “. [ 127 ] petroleum in commercial quantities was first discovered in the northeast in 1956. The most important petroleum fields are those of Suwaydiyah, Qaratshui, Rumayian, and Tayyem, near Dayr az–Zawr. The fields are a natural extension of the Iraqi fields of Mosul and Kirkuk. Petroleum became Syria ‘s leadership lifelike resource and head export after 1974. Natural flatulence was discovered at the field of Jbessa in 1940. [ 75 ]

biodiversity

Syria contains four tellurian ecoregions : syrian xeric grasslands and shrublands, eastern Mediterranean conifer-sclerophyllous-broadleaf forests, Southern Anatolian montane conifer and deciduous forests, and Mesopotamian shrub defect. [ 128 ] The area had a 2019 Forest Landscape Integrity Index mean score of 3.64/10, ranking it 144th globally out of 172 countries. [ 129 ]

Politics and government

Syria is formally a unitary democracy. The current fundamental law of Syria, adopted in 2012, effectively transformed the state into a semi-presidential democracy due to the constitutional good for the election of individuals who do not form separate of the National Progressive Front. [ 130 ] The President is Head of State and the Prime Minister is Head of Government. [ 131 ] The legislature, the Peoples Council, is the body creditworthy for passing laws, approving government appropriations and debate policy. [ 132 ] In the event of a vote of no confidence by a simple majority, the Prime Minister is required to tender the resignation of their politics to the President. [ 133 ] Two alternate governments formed during the syrian Civil War, the syrian Interim Government ( formed in 2013 ) and the syrian Salvation Government ( formed in 2017 ), control portions of the north-west of the nation and operate in resistance to the syrian Arab Republic. The executive branch consists of the president of the united states, two frailty presidents, the prime minister, and the Council of Ministers ( cabinet ). The constitution requires the president to be a Muslim [ 134 ] but does not make Islam the state religion. On 31 January 1973, Hafez al-Assad implemented a new constitution, which led to a national crisis. Unlike previous constitutions, this one did not require that the President of Syria be a Muslim, leading to fierce demonstrations in Hama, Homs and Aleppo organized by the Muslim Brotherhood and the ulama. They labelled Assad the “ foe of Allah “ and called for a jihad against his rule. [ 135 ] The government survived a series of armed revolts by Islamists, chiefly members of the Muslim Brotherhood, from 1976 until 1982. The constitution gives the president the right to appoint ministers, to declare war and express of emergency, to issue laws ( which, except in the sheath of emergency, require ratification by the People ‘s Council ), to declare amnesty, to amend the united states constitution, and to appoint civil servants and military personnel. [ 136 ] According to the 2012 constitution, the president is elected by syrian citizens in a target election. Syria ‘s legislative ramify is the unicameral People ‘s Council. Under the previous fundamental law, Syria did not hold multi-party elections for the legislature, [ 136 ] with two-thirds of the seats automatically allocated to the regnant coalescence. [ 137 ] On 7 May 2012, Syria held its first elections in which parties outside the govern coalition could take part. Seven modern political parties took region in the elections, of which Popular Front for Change and Liberation was the largest opposition party. The armed anti-government rebels, however, chose not to field candidates and called on their supporters to boycott the elections. As of 2008 the President is the Regional Secretary of the Ba’ath party in Syria and drawing card of the National Progressive Front governing coalescence. Outside of the alliance are 14 illegal Kurdish political parties. [ 138 ] Syria ‘s judicial branches include the Supreme Constitutional Court, the High Judicial Council, the Court of Cassation, and the State Security Courts. Islamic jurisprudence is a main source of legislation and Syria ‘s judicial system has elements of Ottoman, French, and Islamic laws. Syria has three levels of courts : courts of first gear example, courts of appeals, and the constitutional court, the highest court. religious courts handle questions of personal and class jurisprudence. [ 136 ] The Supreme State Security Court ( SSSC ) was abolished by President Bashar al-Assad by legislative decree No. 53 on 21 April 2011. [ 139 ] The Personal Status Law 59 of 1953 ( amended by Law 34 of 1975 ) is basically a codify shariah. [ 140 ] Article 3 ( 2 ) of the 1973 constitution declares Islamic jurisprudence a main source of legislation. The code of Personal Status is applied to Muslims by shariah courts. [ 141 ] As a resultant role of the ongoing civil war, respective alternative governments were formed, including the syrian Interim Government, the Democratic Union Party and localized regions governed by shariah jurisprudence. Representatives of the syrian Interim government were invited to take up Syria ‘s seat at the Arab League on 28 March 2013 and [ 142 ] was recognised as the “ sole representative of the syrian people ” by several nations including the United States, United Kingdom and France. [ 143 ] [ 144 ] [ 145 ] parliamentary elections were held on 13 April 2016 in the government-controlled areas of Syria, for all 250 seats of Syria ‘s unicameral legislature, the Majlis al-Sha’ab, or the People ‘s Council of Syria. [ 146 ] even before results had been announced, several nations, including Germany, the United States and the United Kingdom, have declared their refusal to accept the results, largely citing it “ not representing the will of the syrian people. ” [ 147 ] however, representatives of the russian Federation have voiced their hold of this election ‘s results. Syria ‘s system of politics is considered to be non-democratic by the north american NGO Freedom House. [ 148 ]

military

The President of Syria is commander in chief of the syrian arm forces, comprising some 400,000 troops upon mobilization. The military is a conscript coerce ; males serve in the military upon reaching the historic period of 18. [ 149 ] The obligatory military serve period is being decreased over clock time, in 2005 from two and a half years to two years, in 2008 to 21 months and in 2011 to year and a half. [ 150 ] About 20,000 syrian soldiers were deployed in Lebanon until 27 April 2005, when the final of Syria ‘s troops left the country after three decades. [ 149 ] The separation of the Soviet Union—long the principal source of prepare, material, and credit for the syrian forces—may have slowed Syria ‘s ability to acquire advanced military equipment. It has an armory of surface-to-surface missiles. In the early 1990s, Scud -C missiles with a 500-kilometre ( 310-mile ) range were procured from North Korea, and Scud-D, with a range of up to 700 kilometres ( 430 miles ), is allegedly being developed by Syria with the help of North Korea and Iran, according to Zisser. [ 151 ]

extraneous relations

Ensuring national security, increasing influence among its Arab neighbors, and securing the reappearance of the Golan Heights, have been the primary coil goals of Syria ‘s extraneous policy. At many points in its history, Syria has seen acerb tension with its geographically cultural neighbors, such as Turkey, Israel, Iraq, and Lebanon. Syria enjoyed an improvement in relations with respective of the states in its area in the twenty-first century, prior to the arabian spring and the syrian Civil War. Since the ongoing civil war of 2011, and consort killings and human rights abuses, Syria has been increasingly isolated from the countries in the region, and the wide international community. diplomatic relations have been severed with several countries including : Britain, Canada, France, Italy, Germany, Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, the United States, Belgium, Spain, and the arabian states of the Persian Gulf. [ 152 ]

Countries that support the syrian politics

Countries that support the syrian rebels Map of world and Syria ( loss ) with military affair. From the Arab league, Syria continues to maintain diplomatic relations with Algeria, Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, Sudan and Yemen. Syria ‘s ferocity against civilians has besides seen it suspended from the Arab League and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation in 2012. Syria continues to foster good relations with its traditional allies, Iran and Russia, who are among the few countries which have supported the syrian politics in its conflict with the syrian opposition. Syria is included in the European Union ‘s european neighborhood Policy ( ENP ) which aims at bringing the EU and its neighbors closer .

International disputes

In 1939, while Syria was still a french mandate the french ceded the Sanjak of Alexandretta to Turkey as part of a treaty of friendship in World War II. In order to facilitate this, a faulty election was done in which ethnic Turks who were primitively from the Sanjak but lived in Adana and other areas near the surround in Turkey came to vote in the elections, shifting the election in favor of secession. Through this, the Hatay Province of Turkey was formed. The go by the French was very controversial in Syria, and alone five years late Syria became independent. [ 153 ] The western two-thirds of Syria ‘s Golan Heights area are since 1967 occupied by Israel and were in 1981 effectively annexed by Israel, [ 154 ] [ 155 ] whereas the eastern one-third is controlled by Syria, with the UNDOF maintaining a buffer zone in between, to implement the ceasefire of the Purple Line. Israel ‘s 1981 Golan annexation law is not recognized in international law. The UN Security Council condemned it in Resolution 497 ( 1981 ) as “ null and void and without external legal effect. ” Since then, General Assembly resolutions on “ The Occupied syrian Golan ” reaffirm the illegality of Israeli occupation and annexation. [ 156 ] The syrian government continues to demand the return of this territory. [ citation needed ] The only remaining domain Syria has in the Golan is a strip of territory which contains the abandon city of Quneitra, the governorate ‘s de facto capital Madinat al-Baath and many small villages, by and large populated by Circassians such as Beer Ajam and Hader. [ dubious – discuss ] In March 2019, U.S. President Donald Trump announced that the United States will recognize Israel ‘s annexation of the Golan Heights. [ 157 ]
In early 1976, Syria entered Lebanon, beginning their twenty-nine-year military presence. Syria entered on the invitation of Suleiman Franjieh, the Maronite Christian president of the united states at the time to help aid the lebanese christian militia against the palestinian militia. [ 158 ] [ 159 ] Over the watch 15 years of civil war, Syria fought for dominance over Lebanon. The syrian military remained in Lebanon until 26 April 2005 in response to domestic and international imperativeness after the character assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister, Rafik Hariri. [ 160 ] Another quarrel territory is the Shebaa farms, located in the overlap of the Lebanese-Syrian border and the Israeli occupied Golan Heights. The farms, which are 11 km retentive and about 3 kilometers wide were occupied by Israel in 1981, along with stay of the Golan Heights. [ 161 ] so far following syrian army advances the israeli occupation ended and Syria became the de facto ruling might over the farms. Yet after Israeli secession from Lebanon in 2000, Hezbollah claimed that the withdrawal was not complete because Shebaa was on lebanese – not syrian – district. [ 162 ] After studying 81 different maps, the United Nations concluded that there is no evidence of the abandon farmlands being lebanese. [ 163 ] Nevertheless, Lebanon has continued to claim ownership of the district .

Human rights

Wounded civilians arrive at a hospital in Aleppo, October 2012 The position for human rights in Syria has long been a meaning concern among independent organizations such as Human Rights Watch, who in 2010 referred to the area ‘s criminal record as “ among the worst in the world. ” [ 164 ] The US State Department funded Freedom House [ 165 ] ranked Syria “ not release ” in its annual Freedom in the World survey. [ 166 ] The authorities are accused of arresting majority rule and human rights activists, censoring websites, detaining bloggers, and imposing locomotion bans. arbitrary detention, distortion, and disappearances are widespread. [ 167 ] Although Syria ‘s constitution guarantees gender equality, critics say that personal statutes laws and the penal code discriminate against women and girls. furthermore, it besides grants indulgence for alleged ‘ Honour killing ‘. [ 167 ] As of 9 November 2011 during the rise against President Bashar al-Assad, the United Nations reported that of the over 3500 full deaths, over 250 deaths were children ampere unseasoned as two years old, and that boys equally young as 11 years honest-to-god have been gang-rape by security services officers. [ 168 ] [ 169 ] People opposing President Assad ‘s dominion claim that more than 200, by and large civilians, were massacred and about 300 injure in Hama in shelling by the Government forces on 12 July 2012. [ 170 ] In August 2013, the government was suspected of using chemical weapons against its civilians. US Secretary of State John Kerry said it was “ undeniable ” that chemical weapons had been used in the country and that President Bashar al-Assad ‘s forces had committed a “ moral obscenity ” against his own people. “ Make no error, ” Kerry said. “ President Obama believes there must be accountability for those who would use the global ‘s most flagitious weapon against the world ‘s most vulnerable people. Nothing today is more serious, and nothing is receiving more serious scrutiny ”. [ 171 ] The Emergency Law, effectively suspending most constituent protections, was in effect from 1963 until 21 April 2011. [ 139 ] It was justified by the government in the light of the continuing war with Israel over the Golan Heights. In August 2014, UN Human Rights headman Navi Pillay criticized the international community over its “ paralysis ” in dealing with the more than 3-year-old civil war gripping the area, which by 30 April 2014, had resulted in 191,369 deaths with war crimes, according to Pillay, being committed with total impunity on all sides in the conflict. Minority Alawites and Christians are being increasingly targeted by Islamists and other groups fighting in the syrian civil war. [ 172 ] [ 173 ] In April 2017, the U.S. Navy carried out a missile attack against a syrian vent base [ 174 ] which had allegedly been used to conduct a chemical weapons attack on syrian civilians, according to the uracil government. [ 175 ]

administrative divisions

Syria is divided into 14 governorates, which are sub-divided into 61 districts, which are further divided into sub-districts. The democratic Federation of Northern Syria, while de facto autonomous, is not recognized by the state as such .

agrarian reform

agrarian reform measures were introduced into Syria which consisted of three interconnected programs : Legislation regulation the relationship between agriculture laborers and landowners : legislation governing the ownership and use of secret and country domain farming and directing the economic organization of peasants ; and measures reorganizing agrarian production under state control. [ 176 ] Despite gamey levels of inequality in estate ownership these reforms allowed for build up in redistribution of land from 1958 to 1961 than any other reforms in Syria ‘s history, since independence. The first law passed ( Law 134 ; passed 4 September 1958 ) in answer to refer about peasant mobilization and expanding peasants ‘ rights. [ 177 ] This was designed to strengthen the position of sharecroppers and agricultural laborers in relation to nation owners. [ 177 ] This law led to the creation of the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, which announced the implementation of new laws that would allow the regulation of working condition specially for women and adolescents, set hours of workplace, and introduce the principle of minimum wage for paid laborers and an equitable division of harvest for sharecroppers. [ 178 ] Furthermore, it obligated landlords to honor both written and oral contracts, established collective dicker, contained provisions for workers ‘ compensation, health, house, and use services. [ 177 ] Law 134 was not designed strictly to protect workers. It besides acknowledged the rights of landlords to form their own syndicates. [ 177 ]

Internet and telecommunications

Telecommunications in Syria are oversee by the Ministry of Communications and Technology. [ 179 ] In addition, syrian Telecom plays an built-in function in the distribution of government internet access. [ 180 ] The syrian Electronic Army serves as a pro-government military cabal in internet and has been long considered an enemy of the hacktivist group Anonymous. [ 181 ] Because of internet censoring laws, 13,000 internet activists were arrested between March 2011 and August 2012. [ 182 ]

economy

As of 2015, the syrian economy relies upon inherently treacherous tax income sources such as dwindling customs and income taxes which are heavily bolstered by lines of citation from Iran. [ 183 ] Iran is believed to spend between $ 6 billion and US $ 20 billion a year on Syria during the syrian Civil War. [ 184 ] The syrian economy has contracted 60 % and the syrian lebanese pound has lost 80 % of its measure, with the economy becoming part state-owned and part war economy. [ 185 ] At the beginning of the ongoing syrian Civil War, Syria was classified by the World Bank as a “ lower center income nation. ” [ 186 ] In 2010, Syria remained dependent on the petroleum and agribusiness sectors. [ 187 ] The oil sector provided approximately 40 % of export earnings. [ 187 ] Proven offshore expeditions have indicated that large sums of oil exist on the Mediterranean Sea floor between Syria and Cyprus. [ 188 ] The department of agriculture sector contributes to about 20 % of GDP and 20 % of employment. oil reserves are expected to decrease in the coming years and Syria has already become a net vegetable oil importer. [ 187 ] Since the civil war began, the economy shrink by 35 %, and the syrian cypriot pound has fallen to one-sixth of its prewar value. [ 189 ] The government increasingly relies on credit from Iran, Russia and China. [ 189 ]
The economy is highly regulated by the government, which has increased subsidies and tightened deal controls to assuage protesters and protect foreign currency reserves. [ 3 ] Long-run economic constraints include foreign deal barriers, declining vegetable oil output, high unemployment, rising budget deficits, and increasing pressure on water supplies caused by heavy use in department of agriculture, rapid population emergence, industrial expansion, and water pollution. [ 3 ] The UNDP announced in 2005 that 30 % of the syrian population lives in poverty and 11.4 % exist below the subsistence floor. [ 75 ] Syria ‘s share in ball-shaped exports has eroded gradually since 2001. [ 190 ] The real number per head GDP growth was good 2.5 % per year in the 2000–2008 time period. [ 190 ] Unemployment is high at above 10 %. poverty rates have increased from 11 % in 2004 to 12.3 % in 2007. [ 190 ] In 2007, Syria ‘s main exports include crude oil, refined products, sensitive cotton, clothe, fruits, and grains. The bulk of syrian imports are natural materials all-important for industry, vehicles, agricultural equipment, and heavy machinery. Earnings from vegetable oil exports vitamin a well as remittances from syrian workers are the government ‘s most significant sources of extraneous exchange. [ 75 ] political imbalance poses a significant terror to future economic development. [ 191 ] Foreign investment is constrained by ferocity, government restrictions, economic sanctions, and external isolation. Syria ‘s economy besides remains hobbled by state bureaucracy, falling petroleum production, rising budget deficits, and inflation. [ 191 ] anterior to the civil war in 2011, the government hoped to attract fresh investment in the tourism, natural natural gas, and service sectors to diversify its economy and reduce its dependence on oil and farming. The politics began to institute economic reforms aimed at liberalizing most markets, but those reforms were slow and ad hoc, and have been completely reversed since the outbreak of conflict in 2011. [ 192 ]
A cove in Latakia in 2014 As of 2012, because of the ongoing syrian civil war, the prize of Syria ‘s overall exports has been slashed by two-thirds, from the figure of US $ 12 billion in 2010 to only US $ 4 billion in 2012. [ 193 ] Syria ‘s GDP declined by over 3 % in 2011, [ 194 ] and is expected to further refuse by 20 % in 2012. [ 195 ] As of 2012, Syria ‘s oil and tourism industries in particular have been devastated, with US $ 5 billion lost to the ongoing conflict of the civil war. [ 193 ] Reconstruction needed because of the ongoing civil war will cost angstrom much as US $ 10 billion. [ 193 ] Sanctions have sapped the government ‘s finance. US and European Union bans on vegetable oil imports, which went into effect in 2012, are estimated to cost Syria about $ 400 million a month. [ 196 ] Revenues from tourism have dropped dramatically, with hotel occupation rates falling from 90 % before the war to less than 15 % in May 2012. [ 197 ] Around 40 % of all employees in the tourism sector have lost their jobs since the begin of the war. [ 197 ] In May 2015, ISIS captured Syria ‘s phosphate mines, one of the syrian governments survive head sources of income. [ 198 ] The following calendar month, ISIS blew up a gas pipeline to Damascus that was used to generate heating system and electricity in Damascus and Homs ; “ the name of its crippled for now is defense of key resources to the government ” an analyst stated. [ 199 ] In addition, ISIS was closing in on Shaer natural gas plain and three other facilities in the area—Hayan, Jihar and Ebla—with the loss of these western gasoline fields having the likely to cause Iran to further subsidize the syrian government. [ 200 ] Syria is home to a burgeoning illegal drugs industry hunt by associates and relatives of the syrian president, Bashar al-Assar. [ 201 ] It chiefly produces captagon, an addictive amphetamine popular in the arab world. As of 2021, the export of illegal drugs eclipsed the country ‘s legal exports, leading the New York Times to call Syria “ the worldly concern ’ sulfur newest narcostate “. [ 201 ] The drug exports allow the syrian politics to generate hard currency and to bypass western sanctions. [ 201 ]

petroleum diligence

Syria ‘s petroleum industry has been subject to sharp descent. In September 2014, ISIS was producing more vegetable oil than the government at 80,000 bbl/d ( 13,000 m3/d ) compared to the government ‘s 17,000 bbl/d ( 2,700 m3/d ) with the syrian Oil Ministry stating that by the end of 2014, anoint output had plunged farther to 9,329 bbl/d ( 1,483.2 m3/d ) ; ISIS has since captured a further petroleum airfield, leading to a projected anoint production of 6,829 bbl/d ( 1,085.7 m3/d ). [ 183 ] In the third year of the syrian Civil War, the deputy economy minister Salman Hayan stated that Syria ‘s two chief anoint refineries were operating at less than 10 % capability. [ 202 ] historically, the area produced heavy-grade vegetable oil from fields located in the northeast since the late 1960s. In the early 1980s, light-grade, low-sulphur petroleum was discovered near Deir ez-Zor in easterly Syria. Syria ‘s rate of vegetable oil output has decreased dramatically from a top out close to 600,000 barrels per day ( 95,000 m3/d ) ( bpd ) in 1995 down to less than 182,500 bbl/d ( 29,020 m3/d ) in 2012. [ 203 ] Since 2012 the output has decreased even more, reaching in 2014 32,000 barrels per day ( 5,100 m3/d ) ( bpd ). official figures quantity the product in 2015 at 27,000 barrels per day ( 4,300 m3/d ), but those figures have to be taken with caution because it is unmanageable to estimate the petroleum that is presently produced in the maverick held areas. prior to the rise, more than 90 % of syrian vegetable oil exports were to EU countries, with the remainder going to Turkey. [ 197 ] Oil and accelerator revenues constituted in 2012 around 20 % of entire GDP and 25 % of full politics gross. [ 197 ]
Expressway M5 near Al-Rastan

transmit

Syria has four international airports ( Damascus, Aleppo, Lattakia and Kamishly ), which serve as hub for syrian Air and are besides served by a assortment of extraneous carriers. [ citation needed ] The majority of syrian cargo is carried by syrian Railways ( the syrian railway company ), which links up with turkish State Railways ( the Turkish counterpart ). For a relatively developing nation, Syria ‘s railroad track infrastructure is good maintained with many express services and modern trains. [ 204 ] The road network in Syria is 69,873 kilometres ( 43,417 miles ) long, including 1,103 kilometres ( 685 miles ) of expressways. The country besides has 900 kilometres ( 560 miles ) of navigable but not economically significant waterways. [ 3 ]

Water supply and sanitation

Syria is a semiarid country with scarce water resources. The largest water consuming sector in Syria is agriculture. domestic water function stands at only about 9 % of full water use. [ 205 ] A big challenge for Syria before the civilwar was its high population growth ( in 2006 the growth rate was 2.7 % [ citation needed ] ), leading to quickly increasing necessitate for urban and industrial water. [ 206 ]

Demographics

Historical populationsYearPop.±% p.a.1960 4,565,000— 1970 6,305,000+3.28%1981 9,046,000+3.34%1994 13,782,000+3.29%2004 17,921,000+2.66%2011 21,124,000+2.38%2015 18,734,987−2.96%2019 18,528,105−0.28%2019 estimate[207]
Source: Central Bureau of Statistics of the Syrian Arab Republic, 2011[208]
Most people live in the Euphrates River valley and along the coastal plain, a fat strip between the coastal mountains and the abandon. overall population concentration in Syria before the Civil War was about 99 per square kilometer ( 258 per squarely mile ). [ citation needed ] According to the World Refugee Survey 2008, published by the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants, Syria hosted a population of refugees and mental hospital seekers numbering approximately 1,852,300. The huge majority of this population was from Iraq ( 1,300,000 ), but ample populations from Palestine ( 543,400 ) and Somalia ( 5,200 ) besides lived in the nation. [ 209 ] In what the UN has described as “ the biggest humanitarian emergency of our earned run average ”, [ 210 ] by 2014 about 9.5 million Syrians, half the population, had been displaced since the outbreak of the syrian Civil War in March 2011 ; [ 211 ] 4 million were outside the state as refugees. [ 212 ] By 2020, the UN estimated that over 5.5 million Syrians were living as refugees in the region, and 6.1 million others were internally displaced. [ 213 ]

heathen groups

Damascus, traditional clothe Syrians are an overall autochthonal levantine people, closely related to their immediate neighbors, such as lebanese, Palestinians, Jordanians and Jews. [ 214 ] [ 215 ] Syria has a population of approximately 18,500,000 ( 2019 appraisal ). syrian Arabs, together with some 600,000 palestinian not including the 6 million refugees outside the country. Arabs make up roughly 74 % of the population. [ 3 ] The autochthonal Assyrians and Western Aramaic -speakers number around 400,000 people, [ 216 ] with the western Aramaic-speakers living chiefly in the villages of Ma’loula, Jubb’adin and Bakh’a, while the Assyrians chiefly reside in the north and northeast ( Homs, Aleppo, Qamishli, Hasakah ). many ( particularly the Assyrian group ) still retain several Neo-Aramaic dialects as speak and written languages. [ 217 ] The second-largest ethnic group in Syria are the Kurds. They constitute about 9 % [ 218 ] to 10 % [ 219 ] of the population, or approximately 1.6 million people ( including 40,000 Yazidis [ 219 ] ). Most Kurds reside in the northeastern corner of Syria and most speak the Kurmanji form of the Kurdish terminology. [ 218 ] The third largest ethnic group are the turkish -speaking syrian Turkmen /Turkoman. There are no dependable estimates of their total population, with estimates ranging from several hundred thousand to 3.5 million. [ 220 ] [ 221 ] [ 222 ] The fourthly largest ethnic group are the Assyrians ( 3–4 % ), [ 219 ] followed by the Circassians ( 1.5 % ) [ 219 ] and the Armenians ( 1 % ), [ 219 ] most of which are the descendants of refugees who arrived in Syria during the armenian genocide. Syria holds the 7th largest armenian population in the populace. They are chiefly gathered in Aleppo, Qamishli, Damascus and Kesab .
The ethno-religious musical composition of Syria There are besides smaller cultural minority groups, such as the Albanians, Bosnians, Georgians, Greeks, Persians, Pashtuns and Russians. [ 219 ] however, most of these cultural minorities have become Arabized to some degree, particularly those who practice the Muslim religion. [ 219 ] The largest concentration of the syrian diaspora outside the arab worldly concern is in Brazil, which has millions of people of Arab and other Near Eastern ancestries. [ 223 ] Brazil is the first nation in the Americas to offer human-centered visa to syrian refugees. [ 224 ] The majority of Arab Argentines are from either lebanese or syrian background. [ 225 ]

religion

Sunni Muslims make up between 69 and 74 % of Syria ‘s population [ 3 ] and Sunni Arabs account for 59–60 % of the population. Most Kurds ( 8.5 % ) [ 226 ] and most Turkoman ( 3 % ) [ 226 ] are Sunni and bill for the dispute between Sunnis and Sunni Arabs, while 13 % of Syrians are Shia Muslims ( particularly Alawite, Twelvers, and Ismailis but there are besides Arabs, Kurds and Turkoman ), 10 % christian [ 3 ] ( the majority are Antiochian Greek Orthodox, the rest are syrian Orthodox, Greek Catholic and other Catholic Rites, Assyrian Church of the East, Armenian Orthodox, Protestants and other denominations ), and 3 % Druze. [ 3 ] Druze number about 500,000, and concentrate chiefly in the southern area of Jabal al-Druze. [ 227 ] President Bashar al-Assad ‘s family is Alawite and Alawites dominate the government of Syria and hold key military positions. [ 228 ] In May 2013, SOHR stated that out of 94,000 killed during the syrian Civil War, at least 41,000 were Alawites. [ 229 ] Christians ( 1.2 million ), a ample count of whom are found among Syria ‘s population of palestinian refugees, are divided into respective sects : Chalcedonian Antiochian Orthodox make up 45.7 % of the christian population ; the Catholics ( Melkite, Armenian Catholic, Syriac Catholic, Maronite, Chaldean Catholic and Latin ) make up 16.2 % ; the armenian Apostolic Church 10.9 %, the Syriac Orthodox make up 22.4 % ; assyrian neo-aramaic church of the East and several smaller christian denominations account for the remainder. many christian monasteries besides exist. many christian Syrians belong to a eminent socio-economic class. [ 230 ] Syria was once home to a substantial population of Jews, with large communities in Damascus, Aleppo, and Qamishii. Due to a combination of persecution in Syria and opportunities elsewhere, the Jews began to emigrate in the second gear half of the nineteenth century to Great Britain, the United States, and Israel. The summons was completed with the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948. Today only a few Jews remain in Syria .

Languages

Arabic is the official language of the country. several mod Arabic dialects are used in everyday biography, most notably Levantine in the west and Mesopotamian in the northeasterly. According to The Encyclopedia of Arabic Language and Linguistics, in accession to Arabic, the play along languages are spoken in the nation, in order of the total of speakers : Kurdish, [ 231 ] Turkish, [ 231 ] Neo-Aramaic ( four dialects ), [ 231 ] Circassian, [ 231 ] Chechen, [ 231 ] Armenian, [ 231 ] and finally Greek. [ 231 ] however, none of these minority languages have official condition. [ 231 ] Aramaic was the tongue franca of the region before the second coming of Arabic, and is still spoken among Assyrians, and Classical Syriac is even used as the liturgical speech of respective Syriac Christian denominations. Most unusually, western Neo-Aramaic is placid spoken in the village of Ma’loula equally well as two neighbor villages, 56 kilometer ( 35 mile ) northeastern of Damascus. english and french are wide spoken as second languages, but English is more often used. [ citation needed ]

Largest cities

culture

Dabke combines circle dance and line dancing and is widely performed at weddings and other joyous occasions. Syria is a traditional society with a long cultural history. [ 232 ] Importance is placed on family, religion, education, self-discipline and obedience. Syrians ‘ taste for the traditional arts is expressed in dances such as the al-Samah, the Dabkeh in all their variations, and the sword dancing. marriage ceremonies and the births of children are occasions for the bouncy demonstration of tribe customs. [ 233 ]

literature

The literature of Syria has contributed to Arabic literature and has a gallant custom of oral and written poetry. syrian writers, many of whom migrated to Egypt, played a crucial character in the nahda or Arab literary and cultural revival of the nineteenth century. outstanding contemporary syrian writers include, among others, Adonis, Muhammad Maghout, Haidar Haidar, Ghada al-Samman, Nizar Qabbani and Zakariyya Tamer. Ba’ath Party rule, since the 1966 coup d’etat, has brought about renewed censoring. In this context, the music genre of the historical fresh, spearheaded by Nabil Sulayman, Fawwaz Haddad, Khyri al-Dhahabi and Nihad Siris, is sometimes used as a entail of expressing disagree, critiquing the present through a word picture of the past. syrian tribe narrative, as a subgenre of historical fiction, is imbued with charming platonism, and is besides used as a mean of veiled criticism of the present. Salim Barakat, a syrian émigré live in Sweden, is one of the leading figures of the genre. contemporary syrian literature besides encompasses skill fiction and futuristic utopiae ( Nuhad Sharif, Talib Umran ), which may besides serve as media of protest .

music

The syrian music scene, in particular that of Damascus, has long been among the Arab global ‘s most crucial, specially in the battlefield of classical Arab music. Syria has produced respective pan-Arab stars, including Asmahan, Farid al-Atrash and singer Lena Chamamyan. The city of Aleppo is known for its muwashshah, a form of Andalous sung poetry popularized by Sabri Moudallal, arsenic good as for popular stars like Sabah Fakhri .

Media

television receiver was introduced to Syria and Egypt in 1960, when both were partially of the United Arab Republic. It broadcast in black and white until 1976. syrian soap operas have considerable market penetration throughout the easterly Arab universe. [ 234 ] closely all of Syria ‘s media outlets are state-owned, and the Ba’ath Party controls closely all newspapers. [ 235 ] The authorities operate respective news agencies, [ 236 ] among them Shu’bat al-Mukhabarat al-‘Askariyya, employing many operatives. [ 237 ] During the syrian Civil War many of Syria ‘s artists, poets, writers and activists have been incarcerated, and some have been killed, including famed cartoonist Akram Raslam. [ 238 ]

Sports

The most popular sports in Syria are football, basketball, naiant, and tennis. Damascus was home to the fifth and seventh Pan Arab Games .

cuisine

syrian cuisine is rich and varied in its ingredients, linked to the regions of Syria where a specific smasher has originated. syrian food largely consists of southern Mediterranean, Greek, and Southwest asian dishes. Some syrian dishes besides evolved from turkish and french cook : dishes like shish kabob, stuffed zucchini/courgette, and yabraʾ ( stuff grape leaves, the password yabraʾ deriving from the turkish word yaprak, meaning leaf ). The chief dishes that form syrian cuisine are kibbeh, hummus, tabbouleh, fattoush, labneh, shawarma, mujaddara, shanklish, pastırma, sujuk and baklava. Baklava is made of filo pastry filled with chop nuts and soaked in honey. Syrians frequently serve selections of appetizers, known as meze, before the independent run. Za’atar, minced gripe, and cheese manakish are popular hors d’œuvres. The Arabic flatbread khubz is always eaten in concert with meze. Drinks in Syria change, depending on the fourth dimension of day and the occasion. Arabic coffee bean is the most well-known hot drink, normally prepared in the morning at breakfast or in the evening. It is normally served for guests or after food. Arak, an alcoholic toast, is a well-known beverage, served by and large on special occasions. other syrian beverages include ayran, jallab, egg white coffee, and a locally manufactured beer called Al Shark. [ 239 ]

education

education is complimentary and compulsory from ages 6 to 12. Schooling consists of 6 years of chief education followed by a 3-year general or vocational aim period and a 3-year academic or vocational broadcast. The second 3-year period of academic education is required for university admission. sum registration at post-secondary schools is over 150,000. The literacy pace of Syrians aged 15 and older is 90.7 % for males and 82.2 % for females. [ 240 ] [ 241 ]
UIS adult literacy rate of Syria Since 1967, all schools, colleges, and universities have been under close politics supervision by the Ba’ath Party. [ 242 ] There are 6 express universities in Syria [ 243 ] and 15 private universities. [ 244 ] The lead two state of matter universities are Damascus University ( 210,000 students as of 2014 ) [ 245 ] and University of Aleppo. [ 246 ] The top secret universities in Syria are : syrian Private University, Arab International University, University of Kalamoon and International University for Science and Technology. There are besides many higher institutes in Syria, like the Higher Institute of Business Administration, which offer undergraduate and graduate programs in commercial enterprise. [ 247 ] According to the Webometrics Ranking of World Universities, the top-ranking universities in the nation are Damascus University ( 3540th cosmopolitan ), the University of Aleppo ( 7176th ) and Tishreen University ( 7968th ). [ 248 ]

Health

In 2010, spending on healthcare accounted for 3.4 % of the state ‘s GDP. In 2008, there were 14.9 physicians and 18.5 nurses per 10,000 inhabitants. [ 249 ] The liveliness anticipation at parentage was 75.7 years in 2010, or 74.2 years for males and 77.3 years for females. [ 250 ]