The border between theSyrian Arab Republic and theRepublic of Turkey (Arabic:الحدود السورية التركية,romanized: alhudud alsuwriat alturkia;Turkish:Suriye–Türkiye sınırı) is 909 kilometres (565 mi) long, and runs from theMediterranean Sea in the west to thetripoint withIraq in the east.^[2] It runs acrossUpper Mesopotamia for some 400 kilometres (250 mi), crossing theEuphrates and reaching as far as theTigris. Much of the border follows theSouthern Turkish stretch of theBaghdad Railway, roughly along the37th parallel between the 37th and 42nd eastern meridians. In the west, it almost surrounds the TurkishHatay Province, partly following the course of theOrontes River and reaching theMediterranean coast at the foot ofJebel Aqra.

Syria–Turkey border الحدود السورية التركية Suriye–Türkiye sınırı
Characteristics
Entities	Syria Turkey
Length	911 km (566 mi)[1]
Enclave and exclaves	None
History
Established	1921 Treaty of Ankara (1921)
Current shape	1923 Treaty of Lausanne
Treaties	Treaty of Ankara (1921),Treaty of Lausanne,Franco-Turkish Agreement of 1939

Since Turkey's 1939 appropriation of theHatay State, the Syrian–Turkish border touches theMediterranean coast atRas al-Bassit, south ofMount Aqra (35°55′44″N35°55′04″E / 35.9288°N 35.9178°E /35.9288; 35.9178).Hatay province borders the SyrianLatakia andIdlib governorates. The westernmost (and southernmost) border crossing is at35°54′18″N36°00′36″E / 35.905°N 36.010°E /35.905; 36.010, some 3 km west ofYayladağı. The border reaches itssouthernmost point at35°48′29″N36°09′07″E / 35.808°N 36.152°E /35.808; 36.152, 2 km west ofBidama, to include the now-abandoned village of Topraktutan (Beysun) in Hatay.^[3]

The border runs north and east, following theOrontes River for a part of its course, where in 2011 construction of aSyria–Turkey Friendship Dam began (but was delayed by the Syrian Civil War),^[4] and east to theBab al-Hawa Border Crossing on theİskenderun–Aleppo road, then further north to the border between Hatay andGaziantep Province, where it turns sharply east outside ofMeidan Ekbis (Afrin District), at36°49′48″N36°39′54″E / 36.830°N 36.665°E /36.830; 36.665.

With the exception of Hatay province, the Turkish side of the border is entirely within theSoutheastern Anatolia Region. East of Meidan Ekbis, the border stretches eastward for some 400 km, roughly following the37th parallel north and passing the37th to42nd meridians. FromAl-Rai toNusaybin/Qamishli, the border follows the tracks of theKonya-Baghdad Railway. It crosses theEuphrates River atJarabulus/Karkamış and passes north of the border town ofKobanî (Ayn al Arab) (built in 1912 as part of the Baghdad Railway construction project). TheRaqqa Governorate'sTell Abyad District borders the TurkishŞanlıurfa Province, including the divided border town ofTell Abyad/Akçakale. TheAl-Hasakah Governorate, still borderingŞanlıurfa Province, has a border crossing atRas al-Ayn, connecting toCeylanpınar. Some 100 km east of Ceylanpınar, the border passes the border town ofNusaybin in the TurkishMardin Province (ancientNisibis, the birthplace ofEphraim the Syrian), next to SyrianQamishli. The SyrianAleppo Governorate has a 221 kilometres (137 mi) long northern boundary with the TurkishKilis,Gaziantep, andŞanlıurfa provinces.^{[citation needed]}

On the Turkish side, theEuropean route E90 runs alongside the length of the border, crossing theEuphrates atBirecik and theTigris atCizre. For the final 30 km the border follows the course of the Tigris, turning towards the south-east, until it reaches the Iraq-Syria-Turkeytripoint at37°06′22″N42°21′18″E / 37.106°N 42.355°E /37.106; 42.355.

At the start of the 20th century the entire border region was part of theOttoman Empire. During theFirst World War, theArab Revolt (supported by the British) ousted the Ottomans fromSyria andMesopotamia. HoweverBritain andFrance secretly agreed to partition the area between them in 1916 via theSykes–Picot Agreement.^[5]

In 1920 Syria formally became a Frenchmandatory territory, being initially split into a number of states, including the French-controlledSanjak of Alexandretta (modern Hatay province).^[5] By the 1920Treaty of Sèvres Anatolian Turkey was to be partitioned, with the Syrian-Turkish frontier placed further north than its current position.^[6]Turkish nationalists protested the treaty, contributing to the outbreak theTurkish War of Independence; the Turkish success in this conflict rendered Sèvres obsolete.^[5] A new border more favourable to Turkey was drawn by the Franco-TurkishTreaty of Ankara in 1921 after negotiations between French Prime MinisterAristide Briand and Turkish Foreign MinisterYusuf Kemal Bey.^[5][7][8] By the 1923Treaty of Lausanne Turkey's independence was recognised and a more generous territorial settlement was agreed upon, with Turkey formally renouncing any claim to Arab lands.^[9] Following Lausanne, the Syrian-Turkish frontier was delimited more precisely betweenMeidan Ekbis andNusaybin in 1926, and between Nusaybin and the tripoint withIraq in 1929.^[5] A Final Delimitation Protocol covering the entire boundary east of Hatay was then confirmed and deposited with theLeague of Nations on 3 May 1930.^[5]

A special case was Turkey's Hatay province, which remained autonomous until 1923. In 1938, in the wake of theFranco-Syrian Treaty of Independence (1936), theSanjak of Alexandretta became theHatay State and was annexed by Turkey as Hatay Province in 1939.^[10] The Hatay section of the boundary was delimited in 1938 and confirmed the following year, being marked on the ground by numerous pillars. Hatay was then formally transferred to Turkey on 23 July 1939.^[5]

Syria gained independence in 1944, and the frontier then became the border between two sovereign states.^[5] When Turkey joinedNATO (1952) and theOSCE (1973), its boundary with Syriawas recognized as a border by these organisations. Syria continued to claim Hatay province as part ofGreater Syria, depicting the region as part of Syria on official maps.^{[11][12][13][14]}

Since the outbreak of the Syrian civil war in 2011, tensions across the border have increased. In addition torepeated border incidents there has also been a substantialinflux of refugees across the border to Turkey.^[15] Turkey began construction ofa border barrier in 2014.^[16][17]

According to theSyrian Observatory for Human Rights, 471 Syrians civilians, including 86 children and 45 women, have been killed by theTurkish gendarmerie at the Syrian–Turkish border since the beginning of the Syrian civil war.^[18]

From west to east, as of 18 April 2023.^[19]

•  
  Map of the Syria–Turkey border
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  A section of the border wall built by Turkey
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  Map of theTigris–Euphrates river system across the eastern part of the Syro-Turkish border
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  The Syrian town ofKessab, with the peak ofMount Aqra (Turkey) in the background

• Hatay dispute
• Syria–Turkey barrier
• Syria–Turkey relations
• Syrian–Turkish border clashes during the Syrian Civil War
  • Northern Syria Buffer Zone
• Syrian Turkmen
• Refugees of the Syrian Civil War