TheSyrian Desert (Arabic:بادية الشامBādiyat Ash-Shām), also known as theNorth Arabian Desert,[1] theJordanian steppe, theSyrian Steppe, or theBadiya, orBadiyat al-Sham,[2] is a region ofdesert,semi-desert, andsteppe, covering about 500,000 square kilometers (200,000 square miles) ofWest Asia, including parts of northernSaudi Arabia, easternJordan, southernSyria, and westernIraq. It accounts for about 85% of the land area of Jordan[3] and 55% of Syria.[4] To the south, it borders and merges into theArabian Desert.[5] The land is open, rocky or gravellydesert pavement, cut with occasionalwadis, or river valleys, generally dry riverbeds.[6][7][8][1]
Several parts of the Syrian Desert have been referred to separately such as thePalmyrene desert aroundPalmyra, and theHoms desert.[9] The eastern section of the Syrian Desert, that within borders of Iraq, can be referred to (within Iraqi context) as the Western Desert.[10][11]
The nameShamiyah has also been used for the Syrian Desert.[12] The name has been translated in the past asBadiyat al-Sham orBadiyat ash-Sham.[11][10]
The 700–900-metre high (2,300–3,000 ft) region in the middle of the desert is theHamad Plateau, a rather flat, stonysemi-desert consisting oflimestone bedrock covered withchert gravel. What little rain arrives on the plateau flows into localsalt flats. The highest peaks of the plateau are those of the 1,000 m (3,300 ft)+Khawr um Wual in Saudi Arabia, and the 960-metre high (3,150 ft)Jebel Aneiza, at the bordertripoint of Jordan, Iraq and Saudi Arabia.[13][14]
Together with the other deserts of theArabian Peninsula, the Hamad Desert has been described as one of the most arid deserts of the world.[15]
Palmyra was an important trading center located in the Syrian desertView of the Syrian Desert
The desert was historically inhabited bynomadicArabs (Bedouins) and nomadicAramean tribes, and many tribes still remain in the region, their members living mainly in towns and settlements built near oases. Some Bedouin still maintain their traditional way of life in the desert.Safaitic inscriptions,proto-Arabic texts written by literate Bedouin, are found throughout the Syrian Desert. These date roughly from the first century BC to the fourth century AD.
One of the most important ancient settlements in the Syrian desert isPalmyra; first mentioned in the second millennium BC, the city was an important trading center inRoman times, and its people were renowned merchants who took advantage of its strategic position on theSilk Road linking the Far East to the Mediterranean Sea, by taxing caravans that were passing by, establishing colonies on the silk road, and trading in the rare commodities from the far east, thus bringing enormous wealth to their city.
Another important ancient settlement is the city ofDura-Europos on theEuphrates. Originally a fortress,[18] it was founded during theSeleucid Empire and initially given the nameDura, which means "Fortress",[19] but was calledEuropos by theGreeks.[19] The combinationDura-Europos is a modern invention.[19] The city prospered, mainly for its location on theEuphrates, fostering commercial and military connections betweenMesopotamia to the Mediterranean.[19] After it was raided by theSasanian emperorShapur I in the 250s, most of its citizens fled, and under Sasanian rule, the city was abandoned.[19]
During theIraq War, the desert served as a major supply line for theIraqi resistance, with the Iraq portion of the desert becoming a primary stronghold of theSunni resistance operating in theAl Anbar Governorate, particularly after theMulti-National Force – Iraq capture ofFallujah during theSecond Battle of Fallujah. Aseries of Coalition military operations were relatively ineffective at removing theinsurgency presence in the Desert. As the resistance began to gain control of the surrounding areas, coalition spokesmen began to downplay the importance of the Syrian Desert as a center of operations; nevertheless the Syrian Desert remained one of the primary routes for smuggling equipment and insurgents due to its location near theSyrian border. By September 2006, the resistance had gained control of virtually all of the Anbar Governorate and had moved most of their forces, equipment and leaders further east to resistance-controlled cities near the Euphrates river.[22][23][24][25]
During theSyrian civil war and concurrentWar in Iraq,ISIS managed to occupy most of the desert region in both Iraq and Syria between 2013 and 2015 during theAnbar campaign andEastern Syria offensive. Starting in December 2016 and throughout 2017, several campaigns successfully retook the entire region from the terrorist group, leaving onlysporadic skirmishes.[26]
With low rainfall and poor-quality soils, today the region is principally used asrangeland for livestock.Bedouin herdsmen, many of whom are stillnomadic, graze about twelve million sheep and goats here, as well as a smaller number of camels.[27]
TheInternational Fund for Agricultural Development aims to alleviaterural poverty, and in 1995, in cooperation with the Syrian government, it started a project to rehabilitate over a million hectares of degraded land in the Syrian Badia. In some areas, when grazing was restricted, there was a spontaneous return of many of the native plants. In other areas which were more heavily degraded, grazing restrictions were supplemented by reseeding and the planting of fodder species. By the time the project ended in 2010, nearly a quarter of a million hectares had been reseeded, and nearly a hundred thousand hectares had been planted with native fodder shrubs. The result has been a great success, with some herdsmen reporting tenfold increases in the productivity of their livestock.[27]
^"Syrian Desert". Archived from the original on 13 January 2008. Retrieved13 January 2008.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
^Annual Review, Volume 2. Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses. 1973. p. 476. Retrieved3 February 2017.
^abMudīrīyat al-Āthār al-Qadīmah al-ʻĀmmah (1964)."Sumer".سومر.20. Directorate General of Antiquities.: 10.The western desert of Iraq forms the eastern half of the Badiyat ash-Sham (The Syrian Desert)
^abStudies, Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International (1956).Area Handbook on Iraq. Pr. by Human Relations Area Files. p. 34.The Western Desert. The western reaches of Iraq form part of the "Badiyat al-Sham" or "al-Shamiya", the Syrian Desert.
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