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{{Short description|Country in West Asia}}{{redirect|Syrian Arab Republic|other uses|Syrian Republic|and|Syria (disambiguation)}}{{pp-move}}{{pp|small=yes}}<!--Do not change to protection padlock or add pp-extended, it is unnecessary-->{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2025}}{{Infobox country| conventional_long_name = Syrian Arab Republic| common_name            = Syria| native_name            = {{native name|ar|اَلْجُمْهُورِيَّةُ ٱلْعَرَبِيَّةُ ٱلْسُوْرِيَّة|italics=off}}<br />{{transliteration|ar|al-Jumhūriyyah al-ʿArabiyyah as-Sūriyyah}} <!-- DIACRITICS ARE IMPORTANT IN LEVANTINE ARABIC. REFRAIN FROM REMOVING DIACRITICS WITHOUT TALK PAGE CONSENSUS-->| image_flag             = Flag of the Syrian revolution.svg<!--DO NOT CHANGE THIS TO THE BAATHIST FLAG OR THE INDEPENDENCE FLAG, THE INTERIM CONSTITUTION SAYS IT ALL-->| flag_border            = yes| flag_type              = [[Flag of Syria|Flag]]| image_coat             = [[File:Emblem of Syria.svg|90px]]<!--DO NOT REMOVE 'DE FACTO' UNTIL IT IS MADE OFFICIAL--><!-- DO NOT CHANGE THE CoA TO THE RIGHT FACING VARIATION AS IT HAS NOT BEEN UPDATED IN MONTHS AND IS ONLY USED ON 1 SPECIFIC WEBSITE-->| symbol_type            = [[Emblem of Syria|Emblem]]{{efn|Although widely used in Syrian transitional government websites and documents, the emblem of Syria is unofficial since the fall of the Assad regime and therefore is ''de facto''. In addition, the [[2025 Interim Constitution of Syria|Interim Constitution of 2025]] does not specify an official emblem.}}| national_anthem        = {{lang|AR|فِي سَبِيلِ المَجد}}<br />{{transliteration|ar|Fī Sabīli al-Majd}}<br />"[[Fī Sabīli al-Majd|In Pursuit of Glory]]" (''de facto'')<!--It would be great if a recording of this anthem is uploaded and added here.--><ref>{{cite web | url=https://almashhad.com/article/773112298002792-News/191647995589717-%D8%AD%D9%82%D9%8A%D9%82%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%86%D8%B4%D9%8A%D8%AF-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%88%D8%B7%D9%86%D9%8A-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B3%D9%88%D8%B1%D9%8A-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AC%D8%AF%D9%8A%D8%AF-%D8%AA%D8%AA%D8%B5%D8%AF%D8%B1-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AA%D8%B1%D9%86%D8%AF/ | title=حقيقة النشيد الوطني السوري الجديد تتصدر الترند | date=9 December 2024 }}</ref><br><br>{{lang|ar|حُمَاةَ الدَّيَّارِ}}<br />{{transliteration|ar|Ḥumāt ad-Diyār}}<br />"[[Guardians of the Homeland]]" (''de jure''){{efn|After the fall of the Assad regime, it was briefly relinquished. Shortly thereafter, it was reinstated by the [[Syrian caretaker government]]. However, on 18 January 2025, a ''de facto'' new anthem, '''In Pursuit of Glory''', was played in a football match after the [[Syrian Football Association]] notified [[FIFA]] that they were using a new anthem. Ever since then, it has been unclear whether this anthem will still be used.}}{{parabr}}{{center|[[File:National Anthem of Syria.ogg]]}} <!-- DIACRITICS ARE IMPORTANT IN LEVANTINE ARABIC. REFRAIN FROM REMOVING DIACRITICS WITHOUT TALK PAGE CONSENSUS-->| national_motto         =| image_map              = {{Switcher|[[File:Syria (orthographic projection) disputed.svg|frameless]]<br />{{Legend|#336830|Location of Syria}}{{Legend|#61E760|[[Israeli-occupied territories]]}}{{efn|Syria's past claims over Turkey's [[Hatay Province]] are not shown.}}|Show globe|[[File:Syria - Location Map (2024) - SYR - UNOCHA.svg|upright=1.15|frameless]]|Show map of Syria|default=1}}| capital                = [[Damascus]]| coordinates            = {{Coord|33|30|N|36|18|E|type:city}}| largest_city           = capital| official_languages     = [[Modern Standard Arabic|Arabic]]<ref>{{Citation |title=Syria |date=3 March 2025 |work=The World Factbook |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/syria/#people-and-society |access-date=6 March 2025 |publisher=Central Intelligence Agency |language=en}}</ref><ref>https://constitutionnet.org/sites/default/files/2025-03/2025.03.13%20-%20Constitutional%20declaration%20%28English%29.pdf</ref>| ethnic_groups          = 80–90% [[Arabs]]<br />9–10% [[Kurds]]<br/>1–10% [[Ethnic groups in Syria|others]]| ethnic_groups_year     = 2021| religion               = {{Tree list}}* 94.17% [[Islam in Syria|Islam]]** 79.19% [[Sunni Islam|Sunni]]** 14.10% [[Shia Islam|Shia]]***10–13% [[Alawites|Alawism]]* 3% [[Druze]]* 2.5–3.84% [[Christianity in Syria|Christianity]]* 1.99% [[Religion in Syria|other]]{{Tree list/end}}| religion_year          = 2024| government_type        = Unitary [[presidential republic]] under a [[Syrian transitional government|provisional government]]| leader_title1          = [[President of Syria|President]]| leader_name1           = [[Ahmed al-Sharaa]]| leader_title2          = | leader_name2           = | legislature            = [[People's Assembly of Syria|People's Assembly]]| established_event1     = [[Arab Kingdom of Syria]]| established_date1      = 8 March 1920| established_event2     = [[State of Syria]] under [[Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon|French mandate]]| established_date2      = 1 December 1924| established_event3     = [[First Syrian Republic]]| established_date3      = 14 May 1930| established_event5     = End of the [[Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon|French mandate]]| established_date5      = 17 April 1946| established_event6     = Part of the [[United Arab Republic]]| established_date6      = {{nowrap|22 February 1958}} – {{nowrap|28 September 1961}}| established_event7     = [[1963 Syrian coup d'état|Beginning of Ba'athist rule]]| established_date7      = {{nowrap|8 March 1963}}| established_event8     = [[Fall of the Assad regime|Ba'athist regime overthrown]]| established_date8      = {{nowrap|8 December 2024}}| established_event9     = Current Interim Constitution| established_date9      = {{nowrap|13 March 2025}}| established_event10    = [[Syrian transitional government|Current provisional government]] established| established_date10     = {{nowrap|29 March 2025}}| area_km2               = 185180<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mofa.gov.sy/cweb/MOEX_NEW/syria/Overview.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120511155611/http://mofa.gov.sy/cweb/MOEX_NEW/syria/Overview.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=11 May 2012|title=Syrian ministry of foreign affairs}}</ref>| area_rank              = 87th<!-- Area rank should match [[List of countries and dependencies by area]]-->| area_sq_mi             = 71479<!-- Do not remove per [[WP:MOSNUM]] -->| percent_water          = 1.1| population_estimate    = {{IncreaseNeutral}} 25,255,139<ref name="World-o-metre">{{Cite web |title=Syria Population |url=https://datacommons.org/place/country/SYR |access-date=9 January 2025 |website=Datacommons.org}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/syria-population/ | title=Syria Population (2025) - Worldometer }}</ref>| population_estimate_year = 2025| population_estimate_rank = 57th| population_density_km2 = 118.3| population_density_sq_mi = 306.5<!--Do not remove per [[WP:MOSNUM]]-->| population_density_rank = 70th| GDP_PPP                = {{nowrap|$50.28 billion<ref name=CIA>{{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/syria/#people-and-society|title=Syria|work=The World Factbook|publisher=Central Intelligence Agency|access-date=7 April 2021|archive-date=3 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210203054123/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/syria/#people-and-society|url-status=live}}</ref><!--end nowrap:-->}}| GDP_PPP_year           = 2021| GDP_PPP_rank           = | GDP_PPP_per_capita     = $3,300<ref name="CIA" />| GDP_PPP_per_capita_rank = | GDP_nominal            = {{nowrap|$9.8 billion<ref name="CIA" />}}| GDP_nominal_year       = 2022| GDP_nominal_per_capita = $800| GDP_nominal_per_capita_rank = | Gini                   = 26.6<!-- number only -->| Gini_year              = 2022| Gini_change            = decrease<!--increase/decrease/steady -->| Gini_ref               = <ref>{{cite web|url=http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SI.POV.GINI/|title=World Bank GINI index|publisher=World Bank|access-date=22 January 2013|archive-date=9 February 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150209003326/http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SI.POV.GINI|url-status=live}}</ref>| Gini_rank              = | HDI                    = 0.564<!--number only-->| HDI_year               = 2023<!-- Please use the year to which the data refers, not the publication year -->| HDI_change             = decrease<!-- increase/decrease/steady -->| HDI_ref                = <ref name="UNHDR">{{Cite web |date=6 May 2025 |title=Human Development Report 2025 |url=https://hdr.undp.org/system/files/documents/global-report-document/hdr2025reporten.pdf|url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250506051232/https://hdr.undp.org/system/files/documents/global-report-document/hdr2025reporten.pdf |archive-date=6 May 2025 |access-date=6 May 2025 |publisher=[[United Nations Development Programme]]}}</ref>| HDI_rank               = 162nd| currency               = [[Syrian pound]]| currency_code          = SYP| time_zone              = [[Arabia Standard Time|AST]]| utc_offset             = +3| utc_offset_DST         = | time_zone_DST          = | calling_code           = [[Telephone numbers in Syria|+963]]| iso3166code            = SY| cctld                  = [[.sy]]<br />[[سوريا.]]| religion_ref           = <ref name=":4" /><ref>{{cite web | url=https://theconversation.com/why-syrias-reconstruction-may-depend-on-the-fate-of-its-minorities-245913 | title=Why Syria's reconstruction may depend on the fate of its minorities | date=18 December 2024 }}</ref>| demonym                = Syrian| today                  = | ethnic_groups_ref      = <ref name="CIA - The World Factbook">{{cite web|title=Syria: People and society|url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/syria/#people-and-society|website=The World Factbook|date=10 May 2022|publisher=CIA|access-date=30 December 2021|archive-date=3 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210203054123/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/syria/#people-and-society|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://2009-2017.state.gov/outofdate/bgn/syria/35817.htm|title=Syria (10/03)}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.voanews.com/a/syria_religious_ethinic_groups/1568679.html|title=Syria's Religious, Ethnic Groups|date=20 December 2012}}</ref><ref name="Khalifa2013"/><ref name=Shoup>{{citation|last=Shoup|first=John A.|year=2018|title=The History of Syria|page=6|publisher=[[ABC-CLIO]]|isbn=978-1440858352|quote=Syria has several other ethnic groups, the Kurds... they make up an estimated 9 percent...Turkomen comprise around 4-5 percent of the total population. The rest of the ethnic mix of Syria is made of Assyrians (about 4 percent), Armenians (about 2 percent), and Circassians (about 1 percent).}}</ref>}}'''Syria''',{{Efn|{{langx|ar|سُورِيَة|Sūriyah}}, or {{langx|ar|سُورِيَا|Sūriyā|label=none}}}} officially the '''Syrian Arab Republic''',{{Efn|{{langx|ar|اَلْجُمْهُورِيَّةُ ٱلْعَرَبِيَّةُ ٱلْسُوْرِيَّة|al-Jumhūriyyah al-ʿArabiyyah as-Sūriyyah|links=no}}}}<!-- Do not add "اَلْجُمْهُورِيَّةُ ٱلْعَرَبِيَّةُ ٱلْسُورِيَا", It is unofficial. --><ref>{{cite web|url=https://pministry.gov.sy|title=Prime Minister of the Syrian Arab Republic|publisher=Syrian transitional government|access-date=11 December 2024}}</ref> is a country in [[West Asia]] located in the [[Eastern Mediterranean]] and the [[Levant]]. It borders the [[Mediterranean Sea]] to the west, [[Turkey]] to [[Syria–Turkey border|the north]], [[Iraq]] to [[Iraq–Syria border|the east and southeast]], [[Jordan]] to [[Jordan–Syria border|the south]], and [[Israel]] and [[Lebanon]] to [[Lebanon–Syria border|the southwest]]. It is a [[republic]] under [[Syrian transitional government|a transitional government]] and comprises [[Governorates of Syria|14 governorates]]. [[Damascus]] is the capital and largest city. With a population of 25 million across an area of {{Convert|185180|km2|sqmi}}, it is the [[List of countries and dependencies by population|57th-most]] populous and [[List of countries and dependencies by area|87th-largest]] country.The name "Syria" historically referred to a [[Syria (region)|wider region]]. The modern state encompasses the sites of several ancient kingdoms and empires, including the [[Ebla]]n civilization. Damascus was the seat of the [[Umayyad Caliphate]] and a provincial capital under the [[Mamluk Sultanate]]. The modern Syrian state was established in the mid-20th century [[Ottoman Syria|after centuries of Ottoman rule]], as a [[Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon|French Mandate]]. The state represented the largest Arab state to emerge from the formerly [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]]-ruled [[Ottoman Syria|Syrian provinces]]. It gained ''de jure'' independence as a [[parliamentary republic]] in 1945 when the [[First Syrian Republic]] became a founding member of the [[United Nations]], an act which legally ended the French Mandate. French troops [[Levant Crisis|withdrew]] in April 1946, granting the nation ''de facto'' independence. The post-independence period was tumultuous, with [[Syrian coup d'état (disambiguation)|multiple coup attempts]] between 1949 and 1971. In 1958, Syria entered a [[United Arab Republic|brief pan-Arab union]] with [[Egypt]], which was terminated following a [[1961 Syrian coup d'état|1961 coup d'état]]. The [[1963 Syrian coup d'état|1963 coup d'état]] carried out by the [[Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party – Syria Region#Military Bureau|military committee]] of the [[Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party – Syria Region|Ba'ath Party]] established a [[one-party state]], which [[Ba'athist Syria|ran Syria]] under martial law from 1963 to 2011. Internal power-struggles within [[Ba'athism|Ba'athist]] factions caused further coups in [[1966 Syrian coup d'état|1966]] and [[Corrective Movement (Syria)|1970]], the latter of which saw [[Hafez al-Assad]] come to power. Under Assad, Syria became a [[Dynasty|hereditary dictatorship]]. [[Death and state funeral of Hafez al-Assad|Assad died]] in 2000, and he was succeeded by his son, [[Bashar al-Assad|Bashar]].Since the [[Arab Spring]] in 2011, Syria has been embroiled in a [[Syrian civil war|multi-sided civil war]] with the [[Foreign involvement in the Syrian civil war|involvement of several countries]], leading to a [[Refugees of the Syrian civil war|refugee crisis]] in which more than 6 million refugees were displaced from the country. In response to rapid territorial gains made by the [[Islamic State]] during the civil war in 2014 and 2015, [[War against the Islamic State|several countries intervened]] on behalf of various factions opposing it, leading to its territorial defeat in 2017 in both [[Central Syria campaign|central]] and [[Raqqa campaign (2016–2017)|eastern]] Syria. Thereafter, three political entities – the [[Syrian Interim Government]], [[Syrian Salvation Government]], and the [[Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria]] – emerged in Syrian territory to challenge Assad's rule. In late 2024, [[2024 Syrian opposition offensives|a series of offensives]] from a coalition of [[Syrian opposition to Bashar al-Assad|opposition forces]] led to the [[Fall of Damascus (2024)|capture of Damascus]] and the [[Fall of the Assad regime|fall of Assad's regime]]. In early 2025, the war has left [[Economy of Syria|Syria's economy]] in a poor state, exacerbated by many still-remaining [[International sanctions against Syria|international sanctions]].<ref>{{Cite news |title=Syria's economy, still strangled by sanctions, is on its knees |url=https://www.economist.com/briefing/2025/03/06/syrias-economy-still-strangled-by-sanctions-is-on-its-knees |access-date=7 March 2025 |newspaper=The Economist |issn=0013-0613}}</ref>A country of fertile plains, high mountains, and deserts, Syria is home to [[Ethnic groups in Syria|diverse ethnic and religious groups]]. [[Arabs]] are the largest ethnic group, and [[Sunni Islam|Sunni Muslims]] are the largest religious group.== Etymology == <!--linked-->{{Main|Name of Syria}}Several sources indicate that the name ''Syria'' is derived from the 8th century BC [[Luwian]] term "Sura/i", and the derivative [[ancient Greek]] name: {{lang|el|Σύριοι}}, ''{{transliteration|grc|Sýrioi}}'', or {{lang|el|Σύροι}}, ''{{transliteration|grc|Sýroi}}'', both of which originally derived from Aššūr ([[Assyria]]) in northern [[Mesopotamia]] (present-day Iraq and north-eastern Syria).<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Rollinger|first1=Robert|year=2006|title=The terms "Assyria" and "Syria" again|journal=Journal of Near Eastern Studies|volume=65|issue=4|pages=284–287|doi=10.1086/511103|s2cid=162760021|issn=0022-2968}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Frye|first1=R. N.|year=1992|title=Assyria and Syria: Synonyms|journal=Journal of Near Eastern Studies|volume=51|issue=4|pages=281–285|doi=10.1086/373570|s2cid=161323237}}</ref> However, from the [[Seleucid Empire]] (323–150 BC), this term was also applied to the [[Levant]],<ref>{{Cite book|last=Adam|url=https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Nestorian_Monument:_An_Ancient_Record_of_Christianity_in_China/Translation_of_the_Nestorian_Inscription|title=Stele to the Propagation in China of the Jingjiao of Daqin|year=781|translator-last=Wylie|translator-first=Alexander|chapter=Translation of the Nestorian Inscription|translator-link=Alexander Wylie (missionary)|access-date=2 March 2023|archive-date=26 March 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230326023958/https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Nestorian_Monument:_An_Ancient_Record_of_Christianity_in_China/Translation_of_the_Nestorian_Inscription|url-status=live}}</ref> and from this point the Greeks applied the term without distinction between the [[Assyrian people|Assyrians]] of Mesopotamia and [[Arameans]] of the Levant.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Herodotus|url=https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/History_of_Herodotus/Book_7|title=The History of Herodotus (Rawlinson)|access-date=19 January 2023|archive-date=4 October 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221004183722/https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/History_of_Herodotus/Book_7|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|first=John|last=Joseph|title=Assyria and Syria: Synonyms?|url=http://www.jaas.org/edocs/v11n2/JohnJoseph.pdf|year=2008|access-date=21 July 2009|archive-date=21 May 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130521091130/http://www.jaas.org/edocs/v11n2/JohnJoseph.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> Mainstream modern academic opinion strongly favors the argument that the Greek word is related to the cognate {{lang|el|Ἀσσυρία}}, ''{{transliteration|grc|[[Assyria]]}}'', ultimately derived from the [[Akkadian language|Akkadian]] ''{{transliteration|akk|[[Assur|Aššur]]}}''.<ref>First proposed by [[Theodor Nöldeke]] in 1881; cf. {{cite web|last=Harper|first=Douglas|url=http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=Syria|title=Syria|work=Online Etymology Dictionary|date=November 2001|access-date=13 June 2007|archive-date=13 May 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130513183105/http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=Syria|url-status=live}}</ref> The Greek name appears to correspond to [[Phoenician language|Phoenician]] ''{{lang|phn|ʾšr}}'' "Assur", ''{{lang|phn|ʾšrym}}'' "Assyrians", recorded in the 8th-century BC [[Çineköy inscription]].<ref name="Rollinger">{{Cite journal|last=Rollinger|first=Robert|date=1 October 2006|title=The Terms "Assyria" and "Syria" Again|url=https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/511103|journal=Journal of Near Eastern Studies|volume=65|issue=4|pages=283–287|doi=10.1086/511103|s2cid=162760021|issn=0022-2968|access-date=19 January 2023|archive-date=19 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230119094915/https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/511103|url-status=live}}</ref>The area designated by the word has changed over time. Classically, Syria lies at the eastern 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 uncertain border to the northeast that [[Pliny the Elder]] describes as including, from west to east, [[Commagene]], [[Sophene]], and [[Adiabene]].<ref>{{cite book|author=Pliny|author-link=Pliny the Elder|chapter-url=https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/L/Roman/Texts/Pliny_the_Elder/5*.html|title=Natural History|chapter=Book 5 Section 66|publisher=University of Chicago|others=77AD|date=March 1998|isbn=978-84-249-1901-6|access-date=20 February 2021|archive-date=6 February 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240206025205/https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/L/Roman/Texts/Pliny_the_Elder/5%2A.html|url-status=live}}</ref>By Pliny's time, however, this larger Syria had been divided into a number of provinces under the [[Roman Empire]] (but politically independent from each other): [[Judaea (Roman province)|Judaea]], later renamed [[Palestine (region)|Palaestina]] in AD 135 (the region corresponding to modern-day [[Israel]], the Palestinian territories, and Jordan) in the extreme southwest; [[Phoenice (Roman province)|Phoenice]] (established in 194) corresponding to modern Lebanon, Damascus and Homs regions; [[Coele-Syria]] (or "Hollow Syria") and south of the [[An Nahr al Kabir|Eleutheris river]].<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/578856/Syria/29905/Roman-provincial-organization#default|title=Syria :: Roman provincial organization|encyclopedia=Britannica Online Encyclopedia|access-date=25 October 2008|archive-date=19 December 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091219035534/http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/578856/Syria/29905/Roman-provincial-organization#default|url-status=live}}</ref>== History =={{Main|History of Syria}}=== Ancient antiquity ==={{More sources|section|date=April 2025}}[[File:Tell Halaf Raubvogel Seitenansicht.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Reconstructed sculpture of a bird from [[Tell Halaf]]]]The [[Natufian culture]] was the first to become sedentary around the 11th millennium BC<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Lieberman |first=Daniel E. |date=1991 |title=Seasonality and gazelle hunting at Hayonim Cave : new evidence for "sedentism" during the Natufian |url=https://www.persee.fr/doc/paleo_0153-9345_1991_num_17_1_4538 |journal=Paléorient |volume=17 |issue=1 |pages=47–57 |doi=10.3406/paleo.1991.4538}}</ref> and became one of the centers of [[Neolithic]] culture (known as [[PPNA|Pre-Pottery Neolithic A]]), where agriculture and cattle breeding first began to appear. The site of [[Tell Qaramel]] has several round stone towers dated to 10650 BC, making them the oldest structures of this kind in the world.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Tobolczyk|first=Marta|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5PUBEAAAQBAJ&dq=..+oldest+known+masonry+structures+in+the+world.+Some+journals+have+already+declared+the+site+Tell+Qaramel+to+be+the+oldest+city+or+the+oldest+proto+city.+Further+excavations+need+to+be+carried+out+to+ascertain+whether+this+assumption+is&pg=PA79|title=The Art of Building at the Dawn of Human Civilization: The Ontogenesis of Architecture|date=18 September 2020|publisher=Cambridge Scholars Publishing|isbn=978-1-5275-5971-4|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Tell Qaramel|url=https://pcma.uw.edu.pl/en/2019/01/11/tell-qaramel-2/|access-date=14 September 2024|website=pcma.uw.edu.pl}}</ref> The Neolithic period ([[Pre-Pottery Neolithic B]]) is represented by rectangular houses of [[Mureybet]] culture. At the time, people used containers made of stone, gyps, and burnt lime ([[White Ware|Vaisselle blanche]]). The discovery of [[obsidian]] tools from [[Anatolia]] are evidence of early trade. The ancient cities of [[Hamoukar]] and [[Emar]] played an important role during the late Neolithic and Bronze Age. Archaeologists have demonstrated that civilization in Syria was one of the most ancient on earth, perhaps preceded by only that of [[Mesopotamia]].[[File:Ishqi-Mari (dark background).jpg|thumb|upright|[[Ishqi-Mari]], king of the Second Kingdom of [[Mari, Syria|Mari]], circa 2300 BC]]The earliest recorded indigenous civilization in the region was the Kingdom of [[Ebla]]<ref>Pettinato, Giovanni. The Archives of Ebla; Gelb, I. J. "Thoughts about Ibla: A Preliminary Evaluation" in Monographic Journals of the Near East, Syro-Mesopotamian Studies 1/1 (May 1977) pp. 3–30.</ref> near present-day [[Idlib]], northern Syria. Ebla appears to have been founded around 3500 BC<ref>{{cite book|first=William J.|last=Hamblin|title=Warfare in the Ancient Near East to 1600 BC: Holy Warriors at the Dawn of History|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=biyDDd0uKGMC&pg=PT239|year=2006|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-134-52062-6|page=239}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|first1=Ian|last1=Shaw|first2=Robert|last2=Jameson|title=A Dictionary of Archaeology|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8HKDtlPuM2oC&pg=PA211|year=2008|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|isbn=978-0-470-75196-1|page=211}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|first=Ross|last=Burns|title=Monuments of Syria: A Guide|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=z_IBAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA155|year=2009|publisher=I.B.Tauris|isbn=978-0-85771-489-3|page=155}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AaZg0ypYrnQC&pg=PA35|title=Ebla and its Landscape: Early State Formation in the Ancient Near East|first1=Paolo|last1=Matthiae|first2=Nicoló|last2=Marchetti|page=35|publisher=Left Coast Press|isbn=978-1-61132-228-6|date=31 May 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|first1=Victor Harold|last1=Matthews|first2=Don C.|last2=Benjamin|title=Old Testament Parallels: Laws and Stories from the Ancient Near East|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4sjpB5HlT-YC&pg=PA241|year=1997|publisher=Paulist Press|isbn=978-0-8091-3731-2|page=241|author1-link=Victor Harold Matthews}}</ref> and gradually built its fortune through trade with the Mesopotamian states of [[Sumer]], [[Assyria]], and [[Akkad (city)|Akkad]], as well as with the [[Hurrian]] and [[Hattians|Hattian]] peoples to the northwest, in [[Asia Minor]].<ref name="LibraryofCongress">{{Cite web|title=About the Ancient Area of Greater Syria|url=https://www.thoughtco.com/ancient-area-of-greater-syria-121182|access-date=19 January 2023|website=ThoughtCo|language=en|archive-date=8 July 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170708040109/https://www.thoughtco.com/ancient-area-of-greater-syria-121182|url-status=live}}</ref> Gifts from [[Pharaoh]]s, found during excavations, confirm Ebla's contact with [[Ancient Egypt|Egypt]]. One of the earliest written texts from Syria is a trading agreement between Vizier [[Ibrium]] of Ebla and an ambiguous kingdom called [[Abarsal]] {{c.|2300 BC}}. This is known as the [[Treaty between Ebla and Abarsal]].<ref>{{cite book|author=Kenneth Anderson Kitchen|title=On the Reliability of the Old Testament|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Kw6U05qBiXcC|year=2003|publisher=Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing|isbn=978-0-8028-4960-1|page=285}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Neff |first=Stephen C. |title=Justice among Nations |title-link=Justice Among Nations |publisher=Harvard University Press |year=2014 |isbn=978-0-674-72654-3 |page=14}}</ref> Scholars believe the [[Eblaite language|language of Ebla]] to be among the oldest known written [[Semitic languages]] after [[Akkadian language|Akkadian]]. Recent classifications of the Eblaite language have shown that it was an [[East Semitic language]], closely related to the [[Akkadian language]].<ref>{{cite journal|title=The Aramaic Language and Its Classification|journal=Journal of Assyrian Academic Studies|volume=14|issue=1|url=http://www.jaas.org/edocs/v14n1/e8.pdf|access-date=17 February 2008|archive-date=9 September 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080909222746/http://www.jaas.org/edocs/v14n1/e8.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> Ebla was weakened by a long war with [[Mari, Syria|Mari]], and the whole of Syria became part of the Mesopotamian [[Akkadian Empire]] after [[Sargon of Akkad]] and his grandson [[Naram-Sin of Akkad|Naram-Sin]]'s conquests ended Eblan domination over Syria in the first half of the 23rd century BC.<ref>{{cite book|first=Trevor|last=Bryce|title=Ancient Syria: A Three Thousand Year History|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=q8Z7AgAAQBAJ&pg=PA16|year=2014|publisher=OUP Oxford|isbn=978-0-19-100292-2|page=16}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0Rwals-oh6kC&pg=PA68|year=1990|title=Eblaitica: Essays on the Ebla Archives and Eblaite Language, Volume 4|first1=Cyrus Herzl|last1=Gordon|first2=Gary|last2=Rendsburg|first3=Nathan H.|last3=Winter|page=68|publisher=Eisenbrauns|isbn=978-1-57506-060-6}}</ref>By the 21st century BC, Hurrians settled in the northern 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 [[Amorite language]] is the earliest attested of the [[Canaanite languages]]. [[Mari, Syria|Mari]] reemerged during this period until conquered by [[Hammurabi]] of Babylon. [[Ugarit]] also arose during this time, circa 1800 BC, close to modern [[Latakia]]. [[Ugaritic language|Ugaritic]] was a Semitic language loosely related to the Canaanite languages and developed the [[Ugaritic alphabet]],<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0_KnI588AnkC&pg=PA22|title=The Early Alphabet|first=John F.|last=Healey|page=22|year=1990|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=978-0-520-07309-8}}</ref> considered to be the world's earliest known alphabet. The Ugaritic kingdom survived until its destruction at the hands of the marauding Indo-European [[Sea Peoples]] in the 12th century BC in what was known as the Late [[Bronze Age Collapse]].[[Aleppo]] and Damascus are among the [[List of oldest continuously inhabited cities|oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Neolithic Tell Ramad in the Damascus Basin of Syria|url=http://ancientneareast.tripod.com/Ramad.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061111111827/http://ancientneareast.tripod.com/Ramad.html|archive-date=11 November 2006|access-date=25 January 2013|publisher=Archive}}</ref> [[Yamhad]] (modern Aleppo) dominated northern Syria for two centuries,<ref name="google44">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_oTh51M5XF4C&pg=PA44|title=Mari and Karana: Two Old Babylonian Cities|first=Stephanie|last=Dalley|author-link=Stephanie Dalley|page=44|isbn=978-1-931956-02-4|year=2002|publisher=Gorgias Press}}</ref> 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 state in the near east and as having more vassals than Hammurabi.<ref name="google44" /> Yamhad imposed its authority over [[Alalakh]],<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HmTOoQmf23AC&pg=PA285|year=2005|title=Canaan in the Second Millennium B.C.E.|first=Nadav|last=Naʼaman|page=285|publisher=Eisenbrauns|isbn=978-1-57506-113-9}}</ref> [[Qatna]],<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FF5-7JVj4jYC&pg=PA32|date=1973|title=The Cambridge Ancient History|author=Iorwerth Eiddon Stephen Edwards|page=32|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-08230-3}}</ref> the Hurrians states, and the [[Euphrates]] valley down to the borders with Babylon.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=biyDDd0uKGMC&pg=PT254|year=2006|title=Warfare in the Ancient Near East to 1600 BC|first=William J.|last=Hamblin|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-134-52062-6|page=259}}</ref> The army of Yamhad campaigned as far away as [[Der (Sumer)|Dēr]] on the border of [[Elam]] (modern Iran).<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=J8GgNzv1LfsC&pg=PA2|title=The Military Establishments at Mari|first=Jack M.|last=Sasson|page=2+3|year=1969}}</ref> Yamhad was conquered and destroyed, along with Ebla, by the [[Hittites]] from [[Asia Minor]] circa 1600 BC.<ref>Relations between God and Man in the Hurro-Hittite Song of Release, Mary R. Bachvarova, ''Journal of the American Oriental Society'', Jan–Mar SAAD 2005</ref> From this time, Syria became a battle ground for various foreign empires, these being the [[Hittite Empire]], [[Mitanni]] Empire, [[Egyptian Empire]], [[Middle Assyrian Empire]], and to a lesser degree [[Babylonia]]. The Egyptians initially occupied much of the south, while the Hittites and the Mitanni occupied much of the north. However, Assyria eventually gained the upper hand, destroying the Mitanni Empire and annexing huge swathes of territory previously held by the Hittites and Babylon.{{multiple image|perrow=2|total_width=400 | caption_align=center| align = right| direction =vertical| image1 = Syrians bringing presents in the tomb of Rekhmire (actual).jpg| image2 = Syrians bringing presents in the tomb of Rekhmire.jpg| footer=Syrians bringing presents to Pharaoh [[Tuthmosis III]], as depicted in the tomb of [[Rekhmire]], circa 1450 BCE (actual painting and interpretational drawing). They are labeled "Chiefs of [[Retjenu]]".<ref>"The foreigners of the fourth register, with long hairstyles and calf-length fringed robes, are labeled Chiefs of Retjenu, the ancient name tor the Syrian region. Like the Nubians, they come with animals, in this case horses, an elephant, and a bear; they also offer weapons and vessels most likely filled with precious substance." in {{cite book|last1=Hawass|first1=Zahi A.|last2=Vannini|first2=Sandro|title=The lost tombs of Thebes: life in paradise|date=2009|publisher=Thames & Hudson|page=120|isbn=9780500051597|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YjZZAAAAYAAJ|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Zakrzewski|first1=Sonia|last2=Shortland|first2=Andrew|last3=Rowland|first3=Joanne|title=Science in the Study of Ancient Egypt|date=2015|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-317-39195-1|page=268|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=w6pACwAAQBAJ&pg=PA268|language=en}}</ref>}}Around the 14th century BC, various [[Semitic people]] appeared in the area, such as the semi-nomadic [[Suteans]] who came into an unsuccessful conflict with Babylonia to the east, and the [[West Semitic languages|West Semitic]] speaking [[Arameans]] who subsumed the earlier Amorites. They too were subjugated by Assyria and the Hittites for centuries. The Egyptians fought the Hittites for control over western Syria; the fighting reached its zenith in 1274 BC with the [[Battle of Kadesh]].<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WOxnM3WJYJgC&pg=PA475|title=The Philosophy of Historiography|first=John|last=Lange|year=2006|publisher=Open Road Integrated Media, Incorporated|isbn=978-1-61756-132-0|page=475}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EClaAtUb2TAC&pg=PA23|title=Ramses II and His Time|first=Immanuel|last=Velikovsky|page=23|isbn=978-1-906833-74-9|year=2010|publisher=Paradigma}}</ref> The west remained part of the Hittite empire until its destruction {{c.|1200 BC}},<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1A0OgvXfHlQC&pg=PA24|title=Ugarit in Retrospect|first=Douglas|last=Frayne|page=23,24,25|isbn=978-0-931464-07-2|year=1981|publisher=Eisenbrauns}}</ref> while eastern Syria largely became part of the Middle Assyrian Empire,<ref>Georges Roux, Ancient Iraq, 3rd ed., Penguin Books, London, 1991, p.381</ref> who also annexed much of the west during the reign of [[Tiglath-Pileser I]] 1114–1076 BC. With the destruction of the Hittites and the decline of Assyria in the late 11th century BC, the Aramean tribes gained control of much of the interior, founding states such as [[Bit Bahiani]], [[Aram-Damascus]], [[Hamath]], [[Aram-Rehob]], [[Aram-Naharaim]], and [[Luhuti]]. From this point, the region became known as [[Aramea]] or [[Aram (biblical region)|Aram]]. There was also a synthesis between the Semitic Arameans and the remnants of the Indo-European Hittites, with the founding of a number of [[Syro-Hittite]] states centered in north central Aram (Syria) and south central Asia Minor (modern Turkey), including [[Palistin]], [[Carchemish]] and [[Sam'al]].[[File:Amrit01.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.15|[[Amrit]] Phoenician Temple]]A [[Canaanite languages|Canaanite]] group known as the [[Phoenicians]] came to dominate the coasts of Syria, (and also Lebanon and northern [[Palestine (region)|Palestine]]) from the 13th century BC, founding [[city states]] such as [[Amrit]], [[Simyra]], [[Arwad]], [[Arab al-Mulk|Paltos]], [[Latakia#Ancient settlement and founding|Ramitha]], and [[Tell Sukas|Shuksi]].<ref>Meir Edrey (2019). ''Phoenician Identity in Context: Material Cultural Koiné in the Iron Age Levant''. Alter Orient und Altes Testament. Vol. 469. Germany: Ugarit-Verlag – Buch- und Medienhandel Münster. pp. 23–24. {{ISBN|978-3-86835-282-5}}</ref> From these coastal regions, they eventually spread their influence throughout the [[Mediterranean]], including building colonies in [[Malta]], Sicily, the [[Iberian peninsula]], and the coasts of North Africa and most significantly, founding the major city-state of [[Carthage]] in the 9th century BC, which was much later to become the center of a major empire, rivaling the [[Roman Republic]].Syria and the western half of [[Near East]] then fell to the vast [[Neo Assyrian Empire]] (911 BC – 605 BC). The Assyrians introduced [[Imperial Aramaic]] as the [[lingua franca]] of their empire. This language was to remain dominant in Syria and the entire [[Near East]] until after the [[Islamic]] conquest in the 7th and 8th centuries AD, and was to be a vehicle for the spread of Christianity.<ref>Bedford, Peter R. (2009). "The Neo-Assyrian Empire". In Morris, Ian; Scheidel, Walter (eds.). ''The Dynamics of Ancient Empires: State Power from Assyria to Byzantium''. Oxford: Oxford University Press. {{ISBN|978-0-19-537158-1}}</ref> The Assyrians named their colonies of Syria and Lebanon [[Eber-Nari]].<ref>Tuell 1991, p. 51.</ref> Assyrian domination ended after the Assyrians greatly weakened themselves in a series of brutal internal civil wars, followed by attacks from: the [[Medes]], [[Babylonians]], [[Chaldea]]ns, [[Persian people|Persians]], [[Scythians]] and [[Cimmerians]]. During the fall of Assyria, the [[Scythians]] ravaged and plundered much of Syria. The last stand of the Assyrian 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 relations, were victorious over Egypt.=== Classical antiquity ==={{Main|Eber-Nari|Coele-Syria|Roman Syria|Syria Palaestina}}[[File:The story of the ancient nations - a text-book for high schools (1912) (14766210391).jpg|thumb|[[Antioch]] in Syria became the capital of the Hellenistic [[Seleucid Empire]] in 240 BC]]Lands that constitute modern-day Syria were part of the Neo-Babylonian Empire and had been annexed by the [[Achaemenid Empire]] in 539 BC. Led by [[Cyrus the Great]], the Achaemenid Persians retained [[Imperial Aramaic]] as one of the diplomatic languages of their empire, as well as the Assyrian name for the new [[satrapy]] of Aram/Syria [[Eber-Nari]]. Syria was conquered by the [[Macedonian Empire]] which was ruled by [[Alexander the Great]] {{c.|330 BC}} and consequently became [[Coele-Syria]] province of the [[Seleucid Empire]] (323 BC – 64 BC), with the Seleucid kings styling themselves "King of Syria" and the city of Antioch being its capital starting from 240 BC. Thus, it was the Greeks who introduced the name "Syria" to the region. Originally an Indo-European corruption of "Assyria" in northern Mesopotamia (Iraq), the Greeks used this term to describe not only Assyria itself but also the lands to the west which had for centuries been under Assyrian dominion.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Rollinger|first1=Robert|year=2006|title=The terms "Assyria" and "Syria" again"|url=https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/511103|journal=Journal of Near Eastern Studies|volume=65|issue=4|pages=284–287|doi=10.1086/511103|s2cid=162760021|access-date=19 January 2023|archive-date=19 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230119094915/https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/511103|url-status=live}}</ref> Thus in the [[Greco-Roman]] world both the [[Arameans]] of Syria and the [[Old Assyrian Empire|Assyrians]] of Mesopotamia (modern day [[Iraq]]) to the east were referred to as "Syrians" or "Syriacs", despite these being distinct peoples in their own right, a confusion which would continue into the modern world. Eventually parts of southern [[Seleucid Empire|Seleucid]] Syria were taken by the [[Jews|Jewish]] [[Hasmonean dynasty]] upon the slow disintegration of the [[Hellenistic period|Hellenistic]] Empire.[[File:Palmyra 03.jpg|thumb|left|Ancient city of [[Palmyra]] before the war]]Syria briefly came under [[Armenians|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]], rode to Syria and captured Antioch and turned Syria into a [[Roman Syria|Roman province]] in 64 BC, thus ending Armenian control over the region which had lasted two decades. Syria prospered under Roman rule, being strategically located on the [[Silk Road]], which gave it massive wealth and importance, making it the battleground for the rivaling Romans and Persians.[[File:Bosra pano Syria.jpg|thumb|[[Roman Theatre at Bosra]] in the province of [[Arabia Petraea|Arabia]], present-day Syria]][[File:The Jupiter temple in Damascus.jpg|thumb|[[Temple of Jupiter, Damascus]]]][[Palmyra]], a rich and sometimes powerful native Aramaic-speaking kingdom, arose in northern Syria in the 2nd century; the Palmyrene established a trade network that made the city one of the richest in the Roman Empire. In the late 3rd century the Palmyrene king [[Odaenathus]] defeated the Persian emperor [[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 finally brought under Roman control in 273.The northern Mesopotamian [[Neo-Assyrian|Assyrian]] kingdom of [[Adiabene]] controlled areas of north east Syria between 10 and 117, before it was conquered by Rome.<ref>Hist. xviii., vii. 1</ref> The Aramaic language has been found as far afield as [[Hadrian's Wall]] in [[Roman Britain]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/charlottehigginsblog/2009/oct/13/hadrians-wall|title=When Syrians, Algerians and Iraqis patrolled Hadrian's Wall|first=Charlotte|last=Higgins|work=The Guardian|date=13 October 2009|access-date=13 December 2016|archive-date=8 September 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130908040020/https://www.theguardian.com/culture/charlottehigginsblog/2009/oct/13/hadrians-wall|url-status=live}}</ref> with an inscription written by a Palmyrene emigrant at the site of Fort [[Arbeia]].<ref>Palmyra: Mirage in the Desert, Joan Aruz, 2018, page 78.</ref> Control of Syria eventually passed from the Romans to the [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantines]] with the split in the Roman Empire.<ref name="LibraryofCongress" /> The largely Aramaic-speaking population of Syria during the heyday of the Byzantine Empire was probably not exceeded again until the 19th century. Prior to the [[Early Muslim conquests|Arab Islamic Conquest]] in the 7th century, the bulk of the population were Arameans, but Syria was also home to [[Greek people|Greek]] and Roman ruling classes, Assyrians still dwelt in the north east, Phoenicians along the coasts, and Jewish and Armenian communities were also extant in major cities, with Nabateans and pre-Islamic [[Arabs]] such as the [[Lakhmids]] and [[Ghassanids]] dwelling in the deserts of southern Syria. [[Syriac Christianity]] had taken hold as the major religion, although others still followed [[Judaism]], [[Mithraism]], [[Manicheanism]], [[Classical mythology|Greco-Roman Religion]], [[Canaanite Religion]] and [[Mesopotamian Religion]]. Syria's large and prosperous population made Syria one of the most important of the Roman and Byzantine provinces, particularly during the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD.<ref name="Cavendish Corporation 2006 183">{{cite book|last=Cavendish Corporation|first=Marshall|title=World and Its Peoples|publisher=[[Marshall Cavendish]]|year=2006|isbn=978-0-7614-7571-2|page=[https://archive.org/details/worlditspeoplesm0000unse/page/183 183]|url=https://archive.org/details/worlditspeoplesm0000unse/page/183}}</ref>[[File:Apamea 02.jpg|thumb|left|The ancient city of [[Apamea, Syria|Apamea]], an important commercial center and one of Syria's most prosperous cities in classical antiquity]]Syrians held considerable 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]]), [[Royal family of Emesa|whose family]] held hereditary rights to the priesthood of the god [[El-Gabal]]. Her great nephews, also Arabs from Syria, would also 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 [[Arabia Petraea|Roman Arabia]]. He was emperor from 244 to 249<ref name="Cavendish Corporation 2006 183" /> and ruled briefly during the [[Crisis of the Third Century]]. During his reign, he focused on his home town of Philippopolis (modern 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]]; Saul of Tarsus, better known as the [[Apostle Paul]], was [[Conversion of Paul the Apostle|converted on the road to Damascus]] and emerged as a significant figure in the Christian Church at Antioch in ancient Syria.=== Middle Ages ===[[File:Caliphate 740-en.svg|thumb|240px|[[Umayyad Caliphate]] (green) with its capital in Damascus around 740]][[Muhammad]]'s first interaction with the people of Syria was during the [[invasion of Dumatul Jandal]] in July 626<ref name="autogenerated2">{{citation|title=The life of Mahomet|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YDwBAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA225|first=William|last=Muir|publisher=Smith, Elder & Co|year=1861|pages=225–226}}</ref> where he ordered his followers to invade Duma, because Muhammad received intelligence that some tribes there were involved in highway robbery and were preparing to attack [[Medina]].<ref name="Mubarakpuri, The Sealed Nectar pp. 193-194">{{Cite web|date=23 June 2011|title=Military Platoons and Missions between the Battle of Uhud and the Battle of the Confederates|url=http://www.witness-pioneer.org/vil/Books/SM_tsn/ch4s8.html|access-date=19 January 2023|pages=193–194|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110623154138/http://www.witness-pioneer.org/vil/Books/SM_tsn/ch4s8.html|archive-date=23 June 2011}}</ref> [[William Montgomery Watt]] claims that this was the most significant expedition Muhammad ordered at the time, even though it received little notice in the primary sources. [[Dumat Al-Jandal]] was {{convert|500|mi|km|order=flip}} from Medina, and Watt says that there was no immediate threat to Muhammad, other than the possibility that his communications to Syria and supplies to Medina would be 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 "impressed all those who heard of it".<ref name="Muhammad at Medina">{{Cite book|last=Montgomery Watt W.|url=http://archive.org/details/muhammadatmedina029655mbp|title=Muhammad At Medina|date=1956|publisher=Oxford At The Clarendon Press.|others=Osmania University, Digital Library Of India|page=35|quote=This expedition receives scant notice in the sources, but in some ways it is the most significant so far. As Dumah was some 800 km (500 mi) from Medina there can have been no immediate threat to Muhammad, but it may be, as Caetani suggests, 1 that communications with Syria were being interrupted and supplies to Medina stopped. It is tempting to suppose that was already envisaging something of the expansion which took place after his death.}}</ref> [[William Muir]] also believes that the expedition was important as Muhammad followed by 1,000 men reached the confines of Syria, where distant tribes had learnt his name, while the political horizon of Muhammad was extended.<ref name="autogenerated2" />[[File:Umayyad_Mosque-Dome_of_the_Treasury211099.jpg|thumb|[[Qubbat al-Khazna]] of the [[Umayyad Mosque]], built under orders from the [[Abbasid Caliphate|Abbasid]] governor of Damascus, [[Fadl ibn Salih]], in 789.<ref>{{cite book|title=White banners: contention in ʻAbbāsid Syria, 750-880|first=Paul M.|last=Cobb|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2C6KIBw4F9YC&q=Fadl+Salih+Ali|publisher=SUNY Press|year=2001|isbn=0-7914-4880-0|page=151}}</ref>|210x210px]][[File:Arabischer Maler um 730 002.jpg|thumb|Umayyad [[fresco]] from [[Qasr al-Hayr al-Gharbî]], built in the early 7th century]]By 640, Syria [[Muslim conquest of the Levant|was conquered]] by the [[Rashidun army]] led by [[Khalid ibn al-Walid]]. In the mid-7th century, the [[Umayyad dynasty]] placed the capital of the empire in Damascus. The country's power declined during later Umayyad rule; this was mainly through totalitarianism, corruption and the resulting revolutions. The Umayyad dynasty was overthrown in 750 by the [[Abbasid dynasty]], which moved the capital of empire to [[Baghdad]]. [[Arabic language|Arabic]] – made official under Umayyad rule<ref>{{cite web|title=The Art of the Umayyad Period (661–750)|date=October 2001 |url=https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/umay/hd_umay.htm|publisher=Met Museum|access-date=21 July 2020|archive-date=20 September 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200920005127/https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/umay/hd_umay.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> – became the dominant language, replacing [[Greek language|Greek]] and [[Aramaic language|Aramaic]] of the Byzantine era. In 887, the Egypt-based [[Tulunids]] annexed Syria from the Abbasids and were later replaced by the Egypt-based [[Ikhshidid dynasty|Ikhshidids]] and then by the [[Hamdanid]]s originating in Aleppo founded by [[Sayf al-Dawla]].<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/578856/Syria|title=Syria: History|encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica|access-date=25 January 2013|archive-date=25 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150525033119/http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/578856/Syria|url-status=live}}</ref>Sections of Syria were held by French, English, Italian and German overlords between 1098 and 1189 during the [[Crusades]] and were known collectively as the [[Crusader states]], among which the primary one in Syria was the [[Principality of Antioch]]. The coastal mountainous region was occupied in part by the [[Nizaris|Nizari Ismailis]], the so-called [[Order of Assassins|Assassins]], who had intermittent confrontations and truces with the Crusader States. Later in history when "the Nizaris faced renewed Frankish hostilities, they received timely assistance from the Ayyubids."<ref>Farhad Daftary. ''A Short History of the Ismailis.'' 1998, Edinburg, UK. Edinburg University Press. Page 146.</ref> After a century of Seljuk rule, Syria was largely conquered (1175–1185) by the [[Kurdish people|Kurdish]] liberator [[Saladin|Salah ad-Din]], founder of the [[Ayyubid]] dynasty of Egypt. [[Siege of Aleppo (1260)|Aleppo fell]] to the [[Mongols]] of [[Hulegu]] in January 1260; Damascus fell in March, but then Hulegu was forced to break off his attack to return to China to deal with a succession dispute.A few months later, the [[Mamluk]]s 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, power was taken by [[Qalawun]]. In the meantime, an emir named [[Sunqur al-Ashqar]] had tried to declare himself ruler of Damascus, but he was defeated by Qalawun on 21 June 1280 and fled to northern Syria. Al-Ashqar, who had married a Mongol woman, appealed for help 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.<ref>{{cite book|title=Timeframe AD 1200–1300: The Mongol Conquests|publisher=Time-Life Books|year=1989|isbn=978-0-8094-6437-1|pages=[https://archive.org/details/mongolconquestst00time/page/59 59–75]|url=https://archive.org/details/mongolconquestst00time/page/59}}</ref> In 1400, the Muslim [[Turco-Mongol tradition|Turco-Mongol]] conqueror [[Tamurlane]] invaded Syria, in which he [[Sack of Aleppo (1400)|sacked Aleppo]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.everything2.com/index.pl?node_id=1433425|title=Battle of Aleppo|publisher=Everything2.com|date=22 February 2003|access-date=25 January 2013|archive-date=26 June 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070626194212/http://www.everything2.com/index.pl?node_id=1433425|url-status=live}}</ref> and [[Siege of Damascus (1400)|captured Damascus]] after defeating the Mamluk army. The city's inhabitants were massacred, except for the artisans who were deported to [[Samarkand]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/ht/08/wae/ht08wae.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090428055820/http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/ht/08/wae/ht08wae.htm|archive-date=28 April 2009|title=The Eastern Mediterranean, 1400–1600 A.D|publisher=Metmuseum.org|access-date=23 April 2011}}</ref> Tamurlane conducted massacres of the Assyrian Christian population, greatly reducing their numbers.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/26/magazine/is-this-the-end-of-christianity-in-the-middle-east.html|title=Is This the End of Christianity in the Middle East?|website=The New York Times|date=22 July 2015|access-date=8 January 2021|archive-date=22 July 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150722154939/https://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/26/magazine/is-this-the-end-of-christianity-in-the-middle-east.html|url-status=live}}</ref> By the end of the 15th century, the discovery of a sea route from Europe to the [[Far East]] ended the need for an [[Silk Road|overland trade route]] through Syria.=== Ottoman Syria ==={{main|Ottoman Syria}}[[File:Illustration from Views in the Ottoman Dominions by Luigi Mayer, digitally enhanced by rawpixel-com 57.jpg|thumb|[[Tartus]] in Ottoman Syria, from an 1810 illustration by [[Luigi Mayer]]]][[File:Gustav Bauernfeind - The Gate Of The Great Umayyad Mosque, Damascus.jpg|thumb|"The Gate Of The Great [[Umayyad Mosque]], Damascus" by [[Gustav Bauernfeind]], 1890]]In 1516, the [[Ottoman Empire]] invaded the [[Mamluk Sultanate|Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt]], conquering Syria and incorporating it into its empire. The Ottoman system was not burdensome to Syrians because the Turks respected Arabic as the language of the [[Quran]] and accepted the mantle of defenders of the faith. 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]].<ref name="Syria – Ottoman Empire">{{cite web|url=http://countrystudies.us/syria/7.htm|title=Syria – Ottoman|publisher=Library of Congress Country Studies|access-date=25 January 2013|archive-date=5 November 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151105005145/http://countrystudies.us/syria/7.htm|url-status=live}}{{PD-notice}}</ref>Ottoman administration followed a system that led to peaceful coexistence. Each ethno-religious minority—Arab [[Shia Muslim]], Arab [[Sunni Muslim]], [[Syriac Orthodox]], [[Greek Orthodox]], [[Maronite Christians]], [[Assyrian Christians]], [[Armenians]], [[Kurds]] and [[Jews]]—constituted a [[Millet (Ottoman Empire)|millet]].<ref>a b Stanford J. Shaw, "Dynamics of Ottoman Society and administration", in "History of the Ottoman Empire and Modern Turkey"</ref> The religious heads of each community administered all personal status laws and performed certain civil functions as well.<ref name="Syria – Ottoman Empire" /> In 1831, [[Ibrahim Pasha of Egypt]] renounced his loyalty to the empire and overran [[Ottoman Syria]], capturing Damascus. His short-term 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]], rebuilt [[Jaffa]] and settled it with veteran 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 Vilayet|Aleppo]], [[Sanjak of Zor|Zor]], [[Beirut Vilayet|Beirut]] and [[Damascus Vilayet]]; [[Mutasarrifate of Mount Lebanon]] was created, and soon after the [[Mutasarrifate of Jerusalem]] was given a separate status.[[File:Armenian woman kneeling beside dead child in field.png|thumb|[[Armenians|Armenian]] deportees near Aleppo during the [[Armenian genocide]], 1915|left]]During [[World War I]], the Ottoman Empire entered the conflict as a [[Central Powers|Central Power]]. It ultimately suffered defeat and loss of control of the entire [[Near East]] to the [[British Empire]] and [[French colonial empire|French Empire]]. During the conflict, genocide against indigenous Christian peoples was carried out by the Ottomans and their allies in the form of the [[Armenian genocide]] and [[Sayfo|Assyrian genocide]], of which [[Deir ez-Zor]] in Ottoman Syria was the final destination of these death marches.<ref>"Pouring a People into the Desert:The "Definitive Solution" of the Unionists to the Armenian Question", Fuat Dundar, ''A Question of Genocide'', ed. Ronald Grigor Suny, Fatma Muge Gocek and Norman M. Naimark, (Oxford University Press, 2011), 280–281.</ref> In the midst of World War I, two [[Allies of World War I|Allied]] diplomats (Frenchman [[François Georges-Picot]] and [[British people|Briton]] [[Mark Sykes]]) secretly agreed on the post-war division of the Ottoman Empire into respective zones of influence in the [[Sykes-Picot Agreement]] of 1916. Initially, the two territories were separated by a border that ran in an almost straight line from Jordan to Iran. However, the discovery of oil in the region of [[Mosul]] just before the end of the war led to yet [[1918 Clemenceau–Lloyd George Agreement (Middle East)|another negotiation with France in 1918]] to cede this region to the British zone of influence, which was to become Iraq. The fate of the intermediate province of Zor was left unclear; its [[Occupation of Zor|occupation by Arab nationalists resulted in its attachment to Syria]]. This border was recognized internationally when Syria became a [[League of Nations]] mandate in 1920<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/fr/IMG/pdf/III_-_Protmand_modifie_mandat.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080626065208/http://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/fr/IMG/pdf/III_-_Protmand_modifie_mandat.pdf|archive-date=26 June 2008|title=Mandat Syrie-Liban|access-date=25 January 2013|language=fr}}</ref> and has not changed to date.=== French Mandate ==={{Main|Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon|Mandatory Syrian Republic}}[[File:Hashim Atassi Inauguration 1936.jpg|thumb|The inauguration of President [[Hashim al-Atassi]] in 1936]]In 1920, a short-lived independent [[Arab Kingdom of Syria|Kingdom of Syria]] was established under [[Faisal I of Iraq|Faisal I]] of the [[Hashemites|Hashemite]] family. However, his rule over Syria ended after only a few months, following the [[Battle of Maysalun]]. French troops occupied Syria later 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 nation that does not exist... by smoothing the rifts which still divide it" or "cultivate and maintain all the phenomena, 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.<ref>{{cite book|first=James|last=Barr|title=a line in the sand. Britain, France and the struggle that shaped the Middle East|publisher=Simon & Schuster|year=2011|isbn=978-1-84737-453-0}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|first1=Peter N.|last1=Stearns|first2=William Leonard|last2=Langer|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MziRd4ddZz4C|title=The Encyclopedia of World History|chapter=The Middle East, p. 761|publisher=Houghton Mifflin Books|year=2001|isbn=978-0-395-65237-4}}</ref>In 1925, [[Sultan al-Atrash]] led [[Great Syrian Revolt|a revolt]] that broke out in the [[Jabal al-Druze|Druze Mountain]] and spread to engulf the whole of Syria and parts of Lebanon. Al-Atrash won several 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 spring of 1927. The French sentenced al-Atrash to death, but he had escaped with the rebels to Transjordan and was eventually pardoned. He returned to Syria in 1937 after the signing of the Syrian-French Treaty.[[File:Ghouta rebels in 1925.jpg|thumb|Syrian rebels in [[Ghouta]] during the [[Great Syrian Revolt]] against French colonial rule in the 1920s|left]]Syria and France negotiated a [[Franco-Syrian Treaty of Independence (1936)|treaty of independence]] in September 1936, and [[Hashim al-Atassi]] was the first 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 Free French occupied the country in the [[Syria-Lebanon campaign]] in July 1941. Continuing pressure from Syrian nationalists and the British [[Levant Crisis|forced the French]] to evacuate their troops in April 1946, leaving the country in the hands of a republican government that had been formed during the mandate.<ref name="USDoS">{{cite web|url=https://2009-2017.state.gov/outofdate/bgn/syria/85051.htm|title=Background Note: Syria|work=[[United States Department of State]], Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, May 2007|access-date=21 May 2019|archive-date=22 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190722082421/https://2009-2017.state.gov/outofdate/bgn/syria/85051.htm|url-status=live}}{{PD-notice}}</ref>=== Independent Syrian Republic ==={{Main|Second Syrian Republic|United Arab Republic|1963 Syrian coup d'état}}Upheaval dominated Syrian politics from independence through the late 1960s. In May 1948, Syrian forces invaded [[Palestine (region)|Palestine]], together with other Arab states, and immediately [[Battles of the Kinarot Valley|attacked Jewish settlements]].<ref>Gelber, 2006, pp. 138</ref> President [[Shukri al-Quwatli|Shukri al-Quwwatli]] instructed his troops in the front, "to destroy the Zionists".<ref>Morris, 2008, pp. 253, 254</ref><ref>Tal, 2004, pp. 251</ref> The invasion purpose was to prevent the establishment of the state of Israel.<ref name="Britan">{{cite web|url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/578856/Syria/29922/World-War-II-and-independence|title=Syria: World War II and independence|date=23 May 2023|publisher=Britannica Online Encyclopedia|access-date=23 October 2008|archive-date=26 September 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100926105853/http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/578856/Syria/29922/World-War-II-and-independence|url-status=live}}</ref> Toward this end, the Syrian government engaged in an active process of recruiting former [[Nazism|Nazis]], including several former members of the [[Schutzstaffel]], to build up their armed forces and military intelligence capabilities.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Chen|first=Chern|date=8 August 2018|title=Former Nazi Officers in the Near East: German Military Advisors in Syria, 1949–56|url=https://doi.org/10.1080/07075332.2017.1367705|journal=The International History Review|volume=40|issue=4|pages=732–751|doi=10.1080/07075332.2017.1367705|s2cid=158837784|issn=0707-5332}}</ref> Defeat in this war was one of several trigger factors for the [[March 1949 Syrian coup d'état]] by Colonel [[Husni al-Za'im]], described as the first military overthrow of the [[Arab World]]<ref name="Britan" /> since the start of the Second World War. This was soon followed by another overthrow, by Colonel [[Sami al-Hinnawi]], who was quickly deposed by Colonel [[Adib Shishakli]], all within the same year.<ref name="Britan" />[[File:Syrien 1961 Aleppol 1.jpg|thumb|Aleppo in 1961|left]]Shishakli eventually abolished multipartyism altogether but was overthrown in a [[1954 Syrian coup d'état|1954 coup]], and the parliamentary system was restored.<ref name="Britan" /> However, by this time, power was increasingly concentrated in the military and security establishment.<ref name="Britan" /> The weakness of Parliamentary institutions and the mismanagement of the economy led to unrest and the influence of [[Nasserism]] and other ideologies. There was fertile ground for various [[Arab nationalist]], [[Syrian nationalism|Syrian nationalist]], and socialist movements, which represented disaffected elements of society. Notably included were religious minorities, who demanded radical reform.<ref name="Britan" />In November 1956, as a direct result of the [[Suez Crisis]],<ref>{{cite news|last=Robson|first=John|url=http://www.torontosun.com/2012/02/10/syria-hasnt-changed-but-the-world-has|title=Syria hasn't changed, but the world has|newspaper=Toronto Sun|date=10 February 2012|access-date=25 January 2013|archive-date=18 January 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160118010341/http://www.torontosun.com/2012/02/10/syria-hasnt-changed-but-the-world-has|url-status=live}}</ref> Syria signed a pact with the [[Soviet Union]]. This gave a foothold for communist influence within the government in exchange for military equipment.<ref name="Britan" /> [[Turkey]] then became worried about this increase in the strength of Syrian military technology, as it seemed feasible that Syria might attempt to retake [[İskenderun]]. Only heated debates in the United Nations lessened the threat of war.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Brecher|first1=Michael|first2=Jonathan|last2=Wilkenfeld|title=A Study of Crisis|publisher=[[University of Michigan Press]]|year=1997|pages=345–346|isbn=978-0-472-10806-0}}</ref>=== United Arab Republic ===[[File:Nasser addresses Aleppo, 1960.jpg|thumb|[[Gamal Abdel Nasser]] at [[Aleppo]], 1960]]On 1 February 1958, Syrian President [[Shukri al-Quwatli]] and Egypt's Nasser announced the merging of Egypt and Syria, creating the [[United Arab Republic]], and all Syrian political parties, as well as the communists therein, ceased overt activities.<ref name="USDoS" /> Meanwhile, a group of Syrian Ba'athist officers, alarmed by the party's poor position and the increasing fragility of the union, decided to form a secret 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 [[1961 Syrian coup d'état|coup]] and terminated the political union.==== Land reform ====Agrarian reform measures were introduced which consisted of three interrelated programs: legislation regulating the relationship between agriculture laborers and landowners; legislation governing the ownership and use of private and state domain land and directing the economic organization of peasants; and measures reorganizing agricultural production under state control.<ref>Heydemann, Steven. Authoritarianism in Syria. Ithaca: Cornell UP, 1999. Print. Pg.110</ref> Despite high levels of inequality in land ownership these reforms allowed for more progress 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) was in response to concern about peasant mobilization and expanding peasants' rights.<ref name="Heydemann, Steven 19992">Heydemann, Steven. Authoritarianism in Syria. Ithaca: Cornell UP, 1999. Print.</ref> This was designed to strengthen the position of sharecroppers and agricultural laborers in relation to land owners.<ref name="Heydemann, Steven 19992" /> 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 especially for women and adolescents, set hours of work, and introduce the principle of minimum wage for paid laborers and an equitable division of harvest for sharecroppers.<ref>Heydemann, Steven. Authoritarianism in Syria. Ithaca: Cornell UP, 1999. Print. Pg 111.</ref> Furthermore, it obligated landlords to honor both written and oral contracts, established collective bargaining, contained provisions for workers' compensation, health, housing, and employment services.<ref name="Heydemann, Steven 19992" /> Law 134 was not designed strictly to protect workers. It also acknowledged the rights of landlords to form their own syndicates.<ref name="Heydemann, Steven 19992" />=== Ba'athist Syria ==={{Main|Ba'athist Syria}}The instability which followed the [[1961 Syrian coup d'état|1961 coup]] culminated in the [[1963 Syrian coup d'état|8 March 1963 Ba'athist coup]]. The takeover was engineered by members of the [[Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party – Syria Region|Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party]], led by [[Michel Aflaq]] and [[Salah al-Din al-Bitar]]. The new Syrian cabinet was dominated by Ba'ath members.<ref name="USDoS" /><ref name="Britan" /> From the [[1963 Syrian coup d'état|1963 seizure of power]] by its [[Military Committee (Syria)|Military Committee]] to the [[fall of Assad's regime|fall of the regime]] in 2024, the Ba'ath party ruled Syria as a dictatorship which has been frequently described as [[totalitarian]],{{Efn|Sources describing Syria as a totalitarian state:*{{Cite book |last=Khamis, B. Gold, Vaughn |first=Sahar, Paul, Katherine |title=The Oxford Handbook of Propaganda Studies |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2013 |isbn=978-0-19-976441-9 |editor-last=Auerbach, Castronovo |editor-first=Jonathan, Russ |location=New York, NY |pages=422 |chapter=22. Propaganda in Egypt and Syria's "Cyberwars": Contexts, Actors, Tools, and Tactics}}*{{Cite book |last=Wieland |first=Carsten |title=Syria and the Neutrality Trap: The Dilemmas of Delivering Humanitarian Aid Through Violent Regimes |publisher=I. B. Tauris |year=2018 |isbn=978-0-7556-4138-3 |location=London |pages=68 |chapter=6: De-neutralizing Aid: All Roads Lead to Damascus}}*{{Cite book |last=Meininghaus |first=Esther |title=Creating Consent in Ba'thist Syria: Women and Welfare in a Totalitarian State |publisher=I. B. Tauris |year=2016 |isbn=978-1-78453-115-7 |pages=1–33 |chapter=Introduction}}*{{Cite book |last1=Sadiki |first1=Larbi |title=Routledge Handbook of the Arab Spring: Rethinking Democratization |last2=Fares |first2=Obaida |publisher=Routledge |year=2014 |isbn=978-0-415-52391-2 |pages=147 |chapter=12: The Arab Spring Comes to Syria: Internal Mobilization for Democratic Change, Militarization and Internationalization}}|name=tots}} although some scholars have rejected this description.<ref name="nt1">{{cite book|title=Creating Consent in Ba'thist Syria: Women and Welfare in a Totalitarian State|year=2016|isbn=978-1784531157|quote=Exceptionally, Perthes explicitly rejects the notion of Syria being totalitarian, stating that: [...]  The state, under Asad's regime, has become authoritarian, not totalitarian.}}</ref><ref name="nt2">"As Lisa Weeden (1999, 27-30) argues, this system was not totalitarian but rather an authoritarian regime..." // Matthieu Rey. 2003: A Turning Point in the Formation in the Syrian Youth. Protests and Generations: Legacies and Emergences in the Middle East, North Africa and the Mediterranean, Brill, pp. 99-121, 2017, 9789004338159</ref> Ba'athists took control over country's politics, education, culture, religion and surveilled all aspects of civil society through its powerful ''[[Military Intelligence Directorate (Syria)|Mukhabarat]]'' (secret police). [[Syrian Arab Armed Forces|Syrian Arab Armed forces]] and secret police were integrated with the Ba'ath party apparatus; after the purging of traditional civilian and military elites by the regime.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Wieland|first=Carsten|title=Syria and the Neutrality Trap|publisher=I.B. Tauris|year=2021|isbn=978-0-7556-4138-3|location=New York}}</ref>[[File:General Hafez al-Assad (1930-2000), the new president of Syria in November 1970.png|thumb|upright|[[Hafez al-Assad]], president of Syria (1970–2000)]]The 1963 Ba'athist coup marked a "radical break" in [[History of Syria#Modern history|modern Syrian history]], after which Ba'ath party monopolised power in the country to establish a [[one-party state]] and shaped a socio-political order by enforcing its [[neo-Ba'athism|state ideology]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Atassi|first=Karim|title=Syria, the Strength of an Idea: The Constitutional Architectures of Its Political Regimes|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=2018|isbn=978-1-107-18360-5|location=New York|page=252|chapter=6: The Fourth Republic|doi=10.1017/9781316872017}}</ref> On 23 February 1966, the neo-Ba'athist Military Committee carried out an [[1966 Syrian coup d'état|intra-party rebellion]] against the Ba'athist Old Guard ([[Michel Aflaq|Aflaq]] and [[Salah al-Din al-Bitar|Bitar]]), imprisoned President [[Amin al-Hafiz]] and designated a regionalist, civilian Ba'ath government on 1 March.<ref name="Britan" /> Although [[Nureddin al-Atassi]] became the formal head of state, [[Salah Jadid]] was Syria's effective ruler from 1966 until November 1970,<ref>{{cite news|title=Salah Jadid, 63, Leader of Syria Deposed and Imprisoned by Assad|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/08/24/obituaries/salah-jadid-63-leader-of-syria-deposed-and-imprisoned-by-assad.html|work=The New York Times|date=24 August 1993|access-date=18 February 2017|archive-date=17 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180117115720/http://www.nytimes.com/1993/08/24/obituaries/salah-jadid-63-leader-of-syria-deposed-and-imprisoned-by-assad.html|url-status=live}}</ref> when he was deposed by [[Hafez al-Assad]], who at the time was Minister of Defense.<ref name="ps" />The coup led to the schism within the original pan-Arab Ba'ath Party: one [[Ba'ath Party (Iraqi-dominated faction)|Iraqi-led ba'ath movement]] (ruled Iraq from 1968 to 2003) and one [[Ba'ath Party (Syrian-dominated faction)|Syrian-led ba'ath movement]] was established. In the first half of 1967, a low-key state of war existed between Syria and Israel. Conflict over Israeli cultivation of land in the [[Israel–Syria Mixed Armistice Commission|Demilitarized Zone]] led to [[Origins of the Six-Day War#Israel and Syria|7 April pre-war aerial clashes]] between Israel and Syria.<ref name="Tessler1994">{{cite book|first=Mark A.|last=Tessler|title=A History of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3kbU4BIAcrQC&pg=PA382|year=1994|publisher=Indiana University Press|isbn=978-0-253-20873-6|page=382}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite news|title=A Campaign for the Books|magazine=Time|date=1 September 1967|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,837237,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081215142006/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,837237,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=15 December 2008}}</ref> The defeat caused a split between Jadid and Assad over what steps to take next.<ref name="Khatib2012">{{cite book|first=Line|last=Khatib|title=Islamic Revivalism in Syria: The Rise and Fall of Ba'thist Secularism|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=S6FMnCyvCu4C&pg=PA34|date=23 May 2012|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-0-415-78203-6|page=34}}</ref> Disagreement developed between Jadid, who controlled the party apparatus, and Assad, who controlled the military. The 1970 retreat of Syrian forces sent to aid the [[Palestine Liberation Organization]] led by [[Yasser Arafat]] during the "[[Black September in Jordan|Black September]] (also known as the Jordan Civil War of 1970)" hostilities with Jordan reflected this disagreement.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/11/28/nixon.papers/index.html|title=Jordan asked Nixon to attack Syria, declassified papers show|publisher=CNN|date=28 November 2007|access-date=25 October 2008|archive-date=25 February 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080225014545/http://edition.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/11/28/nixon.papers/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref>The power struggle culminated in the November [[1970 Syrian Corrective Revolution|1970 Syrian Corrective movement]], a bloodless military coup that installed Hafez al-Assad as the strongman of the government.<ref name="ps">{{cite book|last=Seale|first=Patrick|author-link=Patrick Seale|title=Asad: The Struggle for the Middle East|publisher=[[University of California Press]]|year=1988|isbn=978-0-520-06976-3|url=https://archive.org/details/asadofsyriastrug00seal}}</ref> Assad transformed a Ba'athist party state into a dictatorship marked by his pervasive grip on the party, [[Syrian Arab Armed Forces|armed forces]], [[Military Intelligence Directorate (Syria)|secret police]], media, education sector, religious and cultural spheres and all aspects of civil society. He assigned [[Alawites|Alawite]] loyalists to key posts in the military forces, bureaucracy, [[Military Intelligence Directorate (Syria)|intelligence]] and the ruling elite. A cult of personality revolving around Hafez and his family became a core tenet of [[Assadism|Ba'athist ideology]],<ref name="The Sturdy House That Assad Built2">{{cite magazine|first=Michael|last=Bröning|date=7 March 2011|title=The Sturdy House That Assad Built|url=http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/67561/michael-broening/the-sturdy-house-that-assad-built|magazine=Foreign Affairs|access-date=10 March 2011|archive-date=7 May 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110507025111/http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/67561/michael-broening/the-sturdy-house-that-assad-built|url-status=live}}</ref> which espoused that [[Assad dynasty]] was destined to rule perennially.<ref>{{Cite book|last=P. Miller, H. Rand|first=Andrew, Dafna|title=Re-Engaging the Middle East|publisher=Brookings Institution Press|year=2020|isbn=9780815737629|location=Washington D.C.|page=28|chapter=2: The Syrian Crucible and Future U.S. Options}}</ref> 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 deeper into Syrian territory.<ref>{{cite book|last=Rabinovich|first=Abraham|author-link=Abraham Rabinovich|title=The Yom Kippur War: The Epic Encounter That Transformed the Middle East|publisher=[[Schocken Books]]|year=2005|location=New York City|isbn=978-0-8052-4176-1|page=302}}</ref> The village of [[Quneitra]] was largely destroyed by the Israeli army. In the late 1970s, an [[Islamist uprising in Syria|Islamist uprising]] by the [[Muslim Brotherhood of Syria|Muslim Brotherhood]] was aimed against the government. Islamists attacked civilians and off-duty military personnel, leading security forces to also kill civilians in retaliatory strikes. The uprising had reached its climax in the 1982 [[1982 Hama massacre|Hama massacre]],<ref>{{cite web|first=Itzchak|last=Weismann|url=http://www.ou.edu/mideast/Additional%20pages%20-%20non-catagory/Sufism%20in%20Syriawebpage.htm|title=Sufism and Sufi Brotherhoods in Syria and Palestine|publisher=University of Oklahoma|access-date=30 January 2013|archive-date=24 February 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090224193103/http://www.ou.edu/mideast/Additional%20pages%20-%20non-catagory/Sufism%20in%20Syriawebpage.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> when more than 2,000 to 25,000{{sfnp|Carré|Michaud|1983|page=159}}-40,000 people (Islamist and civilians) were killed by [[Syrian Armed Forces|Syrian military]] troops and Ba'athist paramilitaries.<ref name="wright2008">[[#Reference-Wright-2008|Wright 2008:{{spaces}}243-244]]</ref><ref name="Amos">{{Cite web|last=Amos|first=Deborah|date=2 February 2012|title=30 Years Later, Photos Emerge From Killings In Syria|url=https://www.npr.org/2012/02/01/146235292/30-years-later-photos-emerge-from-killings-in-syria|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120202213317/https://www.npr.org/2012/02/01/146235292/30-years-later-photos-emerge-from-killings-in-syria|archive-date=2 February 2012|website=[[NPR]]}}</ref> It has been described as the "single deadliest act" of violence perpetrated by any state upon its own population in [[Modern Middle East|modern Arab history]]<ref name="wright2008" /><ref name="Amos"/>In a major shift in relations with both other [[Arab states]] and the Western world, Syria participated in the United States-led [[Gulf War]] against [[Saddam Hussein]]. The country participated in the multilateral [[Madrid Conference of 1991]], and during the 1990s engaged in negotiations with Israel along with Palestine and Jordan. These negotiations failed, and there have been no further direct Syrian-Israeli talks since Assad's meeting with U.S. President [[Bill Clinton]] in [[Geneva]] in 2000.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.forward.com/articles/7655/|title=Syria Makes Overture Over Negotiations|publisher=Forward.com|first=Marc|last=Perelman|date=11 July 2003|access-date=25 October 2008|archive-date=18 April 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060418080104/http://www.forward.com/articles/7655/|url-status=live}}</ref>==== Involvement of Lebanese war ===={{Main|Syrian occupation of Lebanon}}Hafez al-Assad died on 10 June 2000. His son, [[Bashar al-Assad]], was elected president in [[Syrian presidential election, 2000|an election]] in which he ran unopposed.<ref name="USDoS" /> His election saw the birth of the [[Damascus Spring]] and hopes of reform, but by autumn 2001 the authorities had suppressed the movement, imprisoning some of its leading intellectuals.<ref name="Alan">{{cite book|last=George|first=Alan|title=Syria: neither bread nor freedom|year=2003|publisher=Zed Books|location=London|isbn=978-1-84277-213-3|pages=56–58|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dFdbVVcKsSIC}}</ref> Instead, reforms have been limited to some market reforms.<ref name="The Sturdy House That Assad Built2" /><ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/2579331.stm|title=Profile: Syria's Bashar al-Assad|access-date=25 October 2008|work=BBC News|archive-date=2 October 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081002105231/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/2579331.stm|url-status=live}}</ref> On 5 October 2003 Israel [[Ain es Saheb airstrike|bombed a site near Damascus]], claiming it was a terrorist training facility for members of [[Islamic Jihad Movement in Palestine|Islamic Jihad]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/israel-launches-strikes-on-syria-in-retaliation-for-bomb-attack-582373.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110515112138/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/israel-launches-strikes-on-syria-in-retaliation-for-bomb-attack-582373.html|archive-date=15 May 2011|title=Israel launches strikes on Syria in retaliation for bomb attack|work=The Independent|access-date=23 October 2008|location=London|first=Justin|last=Huggler|url-status=dead|date=6 October 2003}}</ref> In March 2004, [[Syrian Kurds]] and Arabs [[2004 Al-Qamishli riots|clashed]] in [[al-Qamishli]]. Signs of rioting were seen in Qamishli and [[Al-Hasakah|Hasakeh]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.naharnet.com/domino/tn/Newsdesk.nsf/Story/8A24116B9C5C2F34C2256E59002D08F0?OpenDocument&PRINT|title=Naharnet Newsdesk – Syria Curbs Kurdish Riots for a Merger with Iraq's Kurdistan|publisher=Naharnet.com|access-date=25 October 2008|archive-date=15 January 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090115085137/http://www.naharnet.com/domino/tn/Newsdesk.nsf/Story/8A24116B9C5C2F34C2256E59002D08F0?OpenDocument&PRINT|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2005, Syria ended its military presence in Lebanon.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4322477.stm|work=BBC News|title=Syria sidesteps Lebanon demands|date=6 March 2005|access-date=28 April 2010|first=Orla|last=Guerin|archive-date=3 December 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121203171910/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4322477.stm|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Killing of Rafic Hariri|Assassination]] of [[Rafic Hariri]] in 2005 led to international condemnation and triggered a popular ''[[Cedar Revolution|Intifada]]'' in [[Lebanon]], known as "the Cedar Revolution", which forced the [[Assad regime]] to end its 29-year-old [[Syrian occupation of Lebanon|military occupation in Lebanon]].<ref name="The Los Angeles Times">{{cite news|title=Last Syrian troops out of Lebanon|url=https://www.newspapers.com/search/#query=Last+Syrian+troops+out+of+lebanon&dr_year=2005-2005|access-date=17 March 2020|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=27 April 2005|archive-date=3 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181003153501/https://www.newspapers.com/search/#query=Last+Syrian+troops+out+of+lebanon&dr_year=2005-2005|url-status=live}}</ref> On 6 September 2007, foreign jet fighters, suspected as Israeli, reportedly carried out [[Operation Orchard]] against a suspected nuclear reactor under construction by [[North Korea]]n technicians.<ref>{{cite news|first=David|last=Sanger|title=Israel Struck Syrian Nuclear Project, Analysts Say|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/14/washington/14weapons.html|work=The New York Times|date=14 October 2007|access-date=15 October 2007|archive-date=16 April 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090416205816/http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/14/washington/14weapons.html|url-status=live}}</ref>==== Syrian Revolution and Civil War ===={{Main|Syrian Revolution|Syrian Civil War}}[[File:Syrian civil war 01 12 2015.png|thumb|Military situation in December 2015. [[Islamic State]]-[[Territory of the Islamic State|controlled territory]] is in grey.]]Nepotism of ruling elites and [[authoritarian]] regime caused [[Syrian Revolution]] as part of the wider [[Arab Spring]]. Public demonstrations across Syria began on 26 January 2011 and developed into a nationwide uprising. Protesters demanded the resignation of Assad, the overthrow of his government, and an end to nearly five decades of Ba'ath Party rule. Since spring 2011, the Syrian government deployed the Syrian Army to quell the uprising, and several cities were besieged,<ref>{{cite news|date=5 May 2011|title=Syrian army tanks 'moving towards Hama'|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-13343540|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120120162820/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-13343540|archive-date=20 January 2012|access-date=20 January 2012|work=BBC News}}</ref><ref name="http">{{cite news|date=17 May 2011|title='Dozens killed' in Syrian border town|url=http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2011/05/201151722757252901.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121105132142/http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2011/05/201151722757252901.html|archive-date=5 November 2012|access-date=12 June 2011|work=Al Jazeera}}</ref> though the unrest continued. According to some witnesses, soldiers, who refused to open fire on civilians, were summarily executed by the Syrian Army.<ref name="defect">{{cite news|date=8 June 2011|title='Defected Syria security agent' speaks out|url=http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2011/06/201168175624573155.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120613182945/http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2011/06/201168175624573155.html|archive-date=13 June 2012|access-date=21 June 2011|work=Al Jazeera}}</ref> The Syrian government denied reports of defections, and blamed armed gangs for causing trouble.<ref name="crackdown">{{cite news|title=Syrian army starts crackdown in northern town |url=http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2011/06/201161064328691559.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110617051245/http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2011/06/201161064328691559.html|archive-date=17 June 2011|access-date=12 June 2011|work=Al Jazeera}}</ref> Since early autumn 2011, civilians and army defectors began forming fighting units, which began an [[Syrian Civil War|insurgency campaign]] against the Syrian Army. The insurgents unified under the banner of the [[Free Syrian Army]] and fought in an increasingly organized fashion; however, the civilian component of the armed opposition lacked an organized leadership.<ref name=":2">{{cite news|last=Sengupta|first=Kim|date=20 February 2012|title=Syria's sectarian war goes international as foreign fighters and arms pour into country|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/syrias-sectarian-war-goes-international-as-foreign-fighters-and-arms-pour-into-country-7216665.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120222015819/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/syrias-sectarian-war-goes-international-as-foreign-fighters-and-arms-pour-into-country-7216665.html|archive-date=22 February 2012|access-date=22 February 2012|work=The Independent|location=Antakya}}</ref>[[File:Pro-government Syrians demonstration in Damascus after US missile strike 06.jpg|left|thumb|Pro-Assad demonstration in the capital Damascus after [[April 2018 missile strikes against Syria|US-led missile strikes]] in April 2018]]The [[Arab League]], the United States, the European Union states, the [[Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf|Gulf Cooperation Council states]], and other countries have condemned the use of violence against the protesters.<ref name=":2" /> China and Russia have avoided condemning the government or applying sanctions, saying that such methods could escalate into foreign intervention. However, military intervention has been ruled out by most countries.<ref>{{cite news|date=14 January 2012|title=Syria crisis: Qatar calls for Arabs to send in troops|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-16561493|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180411093108/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-16561493|archive-date=11 April 2018|access-date=20 June 2018|work=BBC News}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|date=1 November 2011|title=NATO rules out Syria intervention|url=http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2011/11/201111103948699103.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111111043821/http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2011/11/201111103948699103.html|archive-date=11 November 2011|access-date=12 November 2011|work=Al Jazeera}}</ref><ref name=":3">{{Cite web|last=Iddon|first=Paul|date=9 June 2020|title=Russia's expanding military footprint in the Middle East|url=https://www.newarab.com/analysis/russias-expanding-military-footprint-middle-east|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230119094918/https://www.newarab.com/analysis/russias-expanding-military-footprint-middle-east|archive-date=19 January 2023|access-date=19 January 2023|language=en}}</ref> The Arab League suspended Syria's membership over the government's response to the crisis,<ref>{{cite news|last=MacFarquhar|first=Neil|date=12 November 2011|title=Arab League Votes to Suspend Syria|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/13/world/middleeast/arab-league-votes-to-suspend-syria-over-its-crackdown-on-protesters.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111113011207/http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/13/world/middleeast/arab-league-votes-to-suspend-syria-over-its-crackdown-on-protesters.html|archive-date=13 November 2011|access-date=12 November 2011|work=The New York Times}}</ref> but sent an [[Arab League Monitors in Syria|observer mission]] in December 2011, as part of its [[Syrian conflict peace proposals|proposal for peaceful resolution]] of the crisis.<ref name=":3" />By 2024, the Syrian civil war had resulted in more than 600,000 deaths,<ref>{{Cite web|date=15 March 2024|title=Syrian Revolution 13 years on {{!}} Nearly 618,000 persons killed since the onset of the revolution in March 2011|url=https://www.syriahr.com/en/328044/|website=SOHR}}</ref> with pro-Assad forces causing more than 90% of the [[Casualties of the Syrian civil war|total civilian casualties]].{{efn|Sources:<ref>{{cite news |title=Cumulative number of civilian deaths in Syria from 2011 to 2023, by party responsible |url=https://www.statista.com/statistics/697138/civilian-deaths-in-syria-by-party-responsible/ |work=[[Statista]] |date=8 August 2024}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|date=20 June 2022|title=Assad, Iran, Russia committed 91% of civilian killings in Syria|work=Middle East Monitor|url=https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20220620-assad-iran-russia-committed-91-of-civilian-killings-in-syria/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230104153837/https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20220620-assad-iran-russia-committed-91-of-civilian-killings-in-syria/|archive-date=4 January 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=September 2022|title=Civilian Death Toll|url=https://snhr.org/blog/2021/06/14/civilian-death-toll/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220305114908/https://snhr.org/blog/2021/06/14/civilian-death-toll/|archive-date=5 March 2022|website=SNHR}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|date=19 June 2022|title=91 percent of civilian deaths caused by Syrian regime and Russian forces: rights group|work=The New Arab|url=https://www.newarab.com/news/syria-regime-and-russia-caused-91-deaths-report|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230105112752/https://www.newarab.com/news/syria-regime-and-russia-caused-91-deaths-report|archive-date=5 January 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=2020 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Syria|url=https://www.state.gov/reports/2020-country-reports-on-human-rights-practices/syria/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220702114009/https://www.state.gov/reports/2020-country-reports-on-human-rights-practices/syria/|archive-date=2 July 2022|website=U.S Department of State}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=11 January 2015|title=In Syria's Civilian Death Toll, The Islamic State Group, Or ISIS, Is A Far Smaller Threat Than Bashar Assad|url=https://www.syriahr.com/en/9311/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220406183001/https://www.syriahr.com/en/9311/|archive-date=6 April 2022|website=SOHR}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=11 March 2021|title=Assad's War on the Syrian People Continues|url=https://www.syriahr.com/en/208389/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210313163249/https://www.syriahr.com/en/208389/|archive-date=13 March 2021|website=SOHR}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Roth|first=Kenneth|date=9 January 2017|title=Barack Obama's Shaky Legacy on Human Rights|url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2017/01/09/barack-obamas-shaky-legacy-human-rights|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210202082511/https://www.hrw.org/news/2017/01/09/barack-obamas-shaky-legacy-human-rights|archive-date=2 February 2021|website=Human Rights Watch}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=The Regional War in Syria: Summary of Caabu event with Christopher Phillips|url=https://www.caabu.org/news/news/regional-war-syria-summary-caabu-event-christopher-phillips|website=Council for Arab-British Understanding|access-date=5 January 2023|archive-date=9 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161209022611/https://www.caabu.org/news/news/regional-war-syria-summary-caabu-event-christopher-phillips|url-status=live}}</ref>}} Between March 2011 and March 2021, more than 306,000 civilians were killed in the civil war.'''<ref>{{Cite news |last=Farge |first=Emma |date=28 June 2022 |title=War has killed 1.5% of Syria's population: UN estimate |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/syria-civilian-death-toll-over-306000-since-2011-un-2022-06-28/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220628101243/https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/syria-civilian-death-toll-over-306000-since-2011-un-2022-06-28/ |archive-date=28 June 2022 |access-date=28 June 2022 |work=Reuters |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=UN Human Rights Office estimates more than 306,000 civilians were killed over 10 years in Syria conflict |url=https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2022/06/un-human-rights-office-estimates-more-306000-civilians-were-killed-over-10 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220701075327/https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2022/06/un-human-rights-office-estimates-more-306000-civilians-were-killed-over-10 |archive-date=1 July 2022 |access-date=1 July 2022 |website=Ohchr.org}}</ref>''' The war led to a [[Refugees of the Syrian civil war|massive refugee crisis]], with an estimated 7.6 million [[Forced displacement|internally displaced people]] (July 2015 [[UNHCR]] figure) and over 5 million refugees (July 2017 registered by [[United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees|UNHCR]]).<ref>{{cite web|title=UNHCR Syria Regional Refugee Response|url=http://data.unhcr.org/syrianrefugees/regional.php|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180219072255/http://www.data.unhcr.org/syrianrefugees/regional.php|archive-date=19 February 2018|access-date=9 August 2013|publisher=United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)}}</ref> The war has also worsened economic conditions, with more than 90% of the population living in poverty and 80% facing food insecurity.{{Efn|<ref>{{Cite web|date=18 October 2022|title=Syria: Unprecedented rise in poverty rate, significant shortfall in humanitarian aid funding|url=https://reliefweb.int/report/syrian-arab-republic/syria-unprecedented-rise-poverty-rate-significant-shortfall-humanitarian-aid-funding-enar|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221102114516/https://reliefweb.int/report/syrian-arab-republic/syria-unprecedented-rise-poverty-rate-significant-shortfall-humanitarian-aid-funding-enar|archive-date=2 November 2022|website=Reliefweb}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=2022|title=Every Day Counts: Children of Syria cannot wait any longer|url=https://www.unicef.org/syria/every-day-counts|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220713133947/https://www.unicef.org/syria/every-day-counts|archive-date=13 July 2022|website=unicef}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=15 March 2022|title=Hunger, poverty and rising prices: How one family in Syria bears the burden of 11 years of conflict|url=https://reliefweb.int/report/syrian-arab-republic/hunger-poverty-and-rising-prices-how-one-family-syria-bears-burden-11|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220316060615/https://reliefweb.int/report/syrian-arab-republic/hunger-poverty-and-rising-prices-how-one-family-syria-bears-burden-11|archive-date=16 March 2022|website=reliefweb}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|date=14 January 2022|title=UN Chief says 90% of Syrians live below poverty line|url=https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20220114-un-chief-says-90-of-syrians-live-below-poverty-line/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221203030404/https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20220114-un-chief-says-90-of-syrians-live-below-poverty-line/|archive-date=3 December 2022}}</ref>}}{{Efn|Sources:* <ref name="CNN OIC">{{cite news|date=14 August 2012|title=Regional group votes to suspend Syria; rebels claim downing of jet|publisher=CNN|url=https://edition.cnn.com/2012/08/13/world/meast/syria-unrest/index.html?hpt=hp_t1|access-date=14 August 2012|archive-date=15 August 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120815211356/http://edition.cnn.com/2012/08/13/world/meast/syria-unrest/index.html?hpt=hp_t1|url-status=live}}</ref>* {{Cite news|date=16 August 2012|title=Islamic bloc suspends Syria membership over crisis|work=DW News|url=https://www.dw.com/en/islamic-bloc-suspends-syria-membership-over-crisis/a-16169355|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180627112504/http://www.dw.com/en/islamic-bloc-suspends-syria-membership-over-crisis/a-16169355|archive-date=27 June 2018}}* {{Cite news|date=16 August 2012|title=Organisation of Islamic Cooperation suspends Syria|work=Ahram Online|url=https://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/2/8/50565/World/Region/Organisation-of-Islamic-Cooperation-suspends-Syria.aspx|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180701041619/https://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/2/8/50565/World/Region/Organisation-of-Islamic-Cooperation-suspends-Syria.aspx|archive-date=1 July 2018}}* {{Cite news|date=16 August 2012|title=OIC Suspends Syria Over Crackdown|work=RFE/RL|url=https://www.rferl.org/a/oic-suspends-syria/24678392.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230208075035/https://www.rferl.org/amp/oic-suspends-syria/24678392.html|archive-date=8 February 2023}}}}==== Rise and fall of Islamic State, intervention of foreign countries and creation of several rebel factions ===={{main|War against the Islamic State|Foreign involvement in the Syrian civil war}}[[File:Destroyed_neighborhood_in_Raqqa.png|thumb|IS's capital [[Raqqa]] suffered extensive damage during the [[Battle of Raqqa (2017)|battle of Raqqa]] in June–October 2017]]Taking an advantage of ongoing civil war, the [[Islamic State of Iraq and Syria]] (ISIS) won many battles against the rebel factions and the Syrian government in 2014. ISIS was able to seize control of large parts of Eastern Syria, prompting a United States-led coalition to launch an [[War against the Islamic State|aerial bombing campaign]] against ISIS, while providing [[US intervention in the Syrian civil war|ground support]] and supplies to the [[Syrian Democratic Forces]] (SDF), a Kurdish-dominated coalition led by the [[People's Defense Units]] (YPG).In August 2016, Turkey launched a [[Turkish intervention in the Syrian civil war|multi-pronged invasion]] of northern Syria, in response to the creation of the Kurdish-led [[Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria]], also known as Rojava, while also fighting ISIS and government forces in the process. During this time, Turkey helped establish the [[Syrian National Army]] (SNA) out of remnants of the Free Syrian Army. [[Iranian intervention in the Syrian civil war|Iran]] and later Russia also [[Russian intervention in the Syrian civil war|intervened]] the civil war in behalf of Assad government to defeat ISIS and attack both SDF and SNA. The ISIS eventually lost its territory after the [[Fall of Mosul|fall of IS in Mosul]] and increasingly resorted to more terror bombings and insurgency operations that continues in present.==== Rebel offensive and fall of the Ba'athist regime ===={{Main|2024 Syrian opposition offensives|Fall of the Assad regime}}[[File:Syrian Civil War map (November 24, 2023).svg|thumb|Military situation before the [[2024 Syrian opposition offensives|opposition offensives]] in late 2024.<br />Territories controlled by the [[Syrian Democratic Forces|SDF]] and the [[United States]] (yellow), [[Islamic State|IS]] (grey), the [[Syrian Arab Armed Forces]], [[Russia]] and [[Iran]] (red), [[Syrian National Army|SNA]] and [[Turkey]] (light green), [[Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham]] (white), [[Revolutionary Commando Army|SFA]] and the [[United States]] (teal).]]In December 2024, violence flared up once again. Rebel factions, led by the Islamist group Hayat [[Tahrir al-Sham]] (HTS), [[Battle of Aleppo (2024)|took control of Aleppo]] in a lightning offensive, prompting a retaliatory airstrike campaign by Syrian regime forces, supported by [[Russian Aerospace Forces|Russian aviation assets]]. The strikes, which targeted population centers and several hospitals in [[Insurgency in Idlib|rebel-held]] city of [[Idlib]], resulted in at least 25 deaths according to the White Helmets rescue group. NATO issued a joint statement calling for the protection of civilians and critical infrastructure to prevent further displacement and ensure humanitarian access. They stressed the urgent need for a Syrian-led political solution, in accordance with UN Security Council Resolution 2254, which advocates for dialogue between the Syrian government and opposition forces.The [[2024 Syrian opposition offensives|rebel offensive]], which had begun on 27 November, continued its [[2024 Hama offensive|advance into Hama province]] following their capture of Aleppo.<ref>{{cite news|title=Syria: US, Germany, France, UK call for de-escalation|date=2 December 2024|url=https://www.dw.com/en/syria-us-germany-france-uk-call-for-de-escalation/a-70933512|website=DW News|access-date=2 December 2024}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=4 December 2024|title=Fighting Worsens Already Dire Conditions in Northwestern Syria|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/03/world/middleeast/syria-civil-war-rebels-aleppo.html|website=The New York Times}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Syrian hospital hit in air attack on opposition-held Idlib|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/program/newsfeed/2024/12/3/syrian-hospital-hit-in-air-attack-on-opposition-held-idlib|access-date=5 December 2024|website=Al Jazeera|language=en}}</ref> On 30 November, Brigader General [[Hossam Louka]], director of the [[General Security Directorate (Syria)|General Security Directorate]], attempted to stage a coup in Damascus while Bashar al-Assad was in Moscow, but would be foiled by Bashar's younger brother [[Maher al-Assad|Maher]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Julian |first1=Hana Levi |title=Attempted Coup D’Etat Taking Place in Damascus |url=https://www.jewishpress.com/news/middle-east/syria/attempted-coup-detat-taking-place-in-damascus/2024/11/30/ |website=[[The Jewish Press]] |access-date=18 April 2025}}</ref> On 4 December, fierce clashes erupted in Hama province as the Syrian army engaged rebel forces in a bid to halt their advance on the key city of [[Hama]]. Government forces claimed to have launched a counteroffensive with air support, pushing back rebel factions, including HTS, around six miles from the city. However, despite reinforcements, the rebels captured the city on 5 December.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Syria rebels capture major city of Hama after military withdraws|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cql5r2px4yyo|access-date=5 December 2024|website=www.bbc.com|date=5 December 2024 |language=en-GB}}</ref> The fighting led to widespread displacement, with nearly 50,000 people fleeing the area and over 600 casualties reported, including 104 civilians.<ref>{{cite news|title=Syrian army launches counterattack as rebels push towards Hama|date=4 December 2024|url=https://www.france24.com/en/middle-east/20241204-syrian-army-launches-counterattack-as-rebels-push-towards-hama|website=France24|access-date=4 December 2024}}</ref>[[File:Syrian Civil War map (ISW-CTP).svg|thumb|Military situation after the [[fall of the Assad regime]] in December 2024.<br />Territories controlled by the [[Syrian Armed Forces]] (white) and [[Southern Operations Room|SOR]] (pink), [[Turkey]] and [[Syrian National Army|SNA]] (light green), the [[United States]] and [[Syrian Democratic Forces|SDF]] (yellow), [[Islamic State|IS]] (grey), the [[Syrian|Syrian uncertain/mixed]] (red/light grey), the [[United States]] and [[Revolutionary Commando Army|SFA]] (teal).]]Rebel forces reached the outskirts of [[Homs]] on 5 December, beginning a [[2024 Homs offensive|three-day battle]] for the city. Simultaneously, an HTS-coordinated<ref>{{Cite web |date=8 December 2024 |title=What was behind Daraa's rapid fall, and did HTS participate? |url=https://syriadirect.org/what-was-behind-daraas-rapid-fall-and-did-hts-participate/ |access-date= |website=syriadirect.org}}</ref><ref name=":32">{{Cite news |last=Christou |first=William |date=14 December 2024 |title='The army just ran away': how Bashar al-Assad lost his brutal grip on Syria |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/dec/14/the-army-just-ran-away-how-bashar-al-assad-lost-his-brutal-grip-on-syria |access-date=14 December 2024 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref> [[Southern Syria offensive (2024)|mass uprising]] led by a [[Southern Operations Room|coalition of Druze tribes and opposition forces]] captured the southern cities of [[Suwayda]] and [[Daraa insurgency|Daraa]] by 6 December,<ref>{{Cite web |date=6 December 2024 |title=Anti-Assad rebels take most of southern Syrian region of Deraa, say reports |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cn0x1n996z4o |access-date=7 December 2024 |work=BBC}}</ref> and rapidly advanced northwards to encircle Damascus over the following day.<ref name="Al-Khalidi & Azhari 2024-12-07">{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/syria-rebels-celebrate-captured-homs-set-sights-damascus-2024-12-07/|last1=Al-Khalidi|first1=Suleiman|last2=Azhari|first2=Timour|title=Syrian rebels topple Assad, transforming Middle East|publisher=[[Reuters]]|date=8 December 2024}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=7 December 2024 |title=Syria's Government Battles Multiple Rebel Uprisings |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/07/world/middleeast/syria-assad-homs-damascus-rebels.html |access-date= |website=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref> Homs was captured by rebel forces by the early morning of 8 December, leaving no major regime strongholds between the rebel advance and Damascus itself.<ref name="Captured">{{Cite web |title=Syrian army quits Homs, cutting Assad off from coast |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/syrian-rebels-seize-fourth-city-close-homs-threat-assads-rule-2024-12-07/ |work=[[Reuters]]}}</ref>Cut off from the [[Alawites|Alawite]] heartland of [[Tartus Governorate|Tartus]] and [[Latakia Governorate|Latakia]] governorates, faced with a rebel pincer from both north and south bearing down on Damascus, and with no hope of foreign intervention from the regime's Russian and Iranian benefactors, Assadist authority over remaining regime-held territories rapidly disintegrated.<ref>{{cite web |author=Vijay Prashad |date=11 December 2024 |title=The fall of the Assad government in Syria |url=https://peoplesdispatch.org/2024/12/11/the-fall-of-the-assad-government-in-syria/ |access-date=13 December 2024 |website=peoplesdispatch.org}}</ref><ref name="reuters">{{cite web |author1=Samia Nakhoul |author2=Maya Gebeily |author3=Parisa Hafezi |author4=Suleiman Al-Khalidi |date=13 December 2024 |title=Assad's final hours in Syria: Deception, despair and flight |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/assads-final-hours-syria-deception-despair-flight-2024-12-13/ |access-date=14 December 2024 |website=Reuters}}</ref> The [[Syrian Armed Forces|Syrian Arab Armed Forces]] melted away as its soldiers abandoned their weapons and uniforms,<ref name="guard2024">{{Cite news |last1=Christou |first1=William |last2=Michaelson |first2=Ruth |date=8 December 2024 |title=Syrian rebels say they have advanced into Damascus as residents report sound of gunfire |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/dec/07/syria-rebels-have-reached-damascus-suburbs-insurgent-commander-says |access-date=8 December 2024 |work=[[The Observer]] |location=London |issn=0029-7712}}</ref> many [[Desertion|deserting]] across the border to [[Iraq]] and [[Lebanon]]. Opposition forces [[Fall of Damascus (2024)|captured]] the capital Damascus on 8 December, toppling Bashar al-Assad's government and ending the Assad family's 53-year-long rule over the country.<ref name="fall">{{cite news|title=Syrian rebels topple President Assad, prime minister calls for free elections|url=https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/syria-rebels-celebrate-captured-homs-set-sights-damascus-2024-12-07/|access-date=8 December 2024|publisher=Reuters|date=8 December 2024}}</ref> Assad fled to [[Moscow]] with his family, where he was granted asylum.<ref>{{Cite web |date=8 December 2024 |title=Ousted Syrian leader Assad flees to Moscow after fall of Damascus, Russian state media say |url=https://apnews.com/article/syria-assad-sweida-daraa-homs-hts-qatar-816e538565d1ae47e016b5765b044d31 |access-date=9 December 2024 |website=AP News |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=8 December 2024 |title=Syrians celebrate end of the Assad family's half-century rule after president flees to Moscow – CBS News |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/syria-civil-war-assad-fall-damascus-opposition/ |access-date=9 December 2024 |website=www.cbsnews.com |language=en-US}}</ref>=== Transitional Government Syria: Interim Period ===[[File:Syrian rebels in Aleppo, 30 November 2024.png|thumb|Syrian revolutionaries toppling a statue of [[Bassel al-Assad]] in [[New Aleppo]], 30 November 2024|left]]Following the [[fall of the Assad regime]], Assad's ninth prime minister [[Mohammad Ghazi al-Jalali]], with support from the opposition and [[Ahmed al-Sharaa]], remained at his post in a caretaker capacity until a [[Syrian caretaker government|caretaker government]] led by [[Mohammed al-Bashir]] was formed the following day.<ref>{{cite web |date=8 December 2024 |title=الجولاني: المؤسسات العامة ستبقى تحت إشراف رئيس الوزراء السابق |trans-title=Al-Julani: Public institutions will remain under the supervision of the former Prime Minister |url=https://aawsat.com/العالم-العربي/المشرق-العربي/5089360-الجولاني-المؤسسات-العامة-ستبقى-تحت-إشراف-رئيس-الوزراء-السابق |website=aawsat.com |language=ar}}</ref><ref name="ilkha.com">{{cite web | url=https://ilkha.com/english/world/mohammed-al-bashir-appointed-as-syria-s-prime-minister-after-assad-s-fall-431618 | title=Mohammed al-Bashir appointed as Syria's prime minister after Assad's fall |website=Ilke News Agency}}</ref> Al-Jalali called for fresh elections so that the Syrian people may choose their new leaders.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Lamb|first=Kate|date=8 December 2024|title=What's next? Syrian PM calls for free elections|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2024/dec/07/syria-rebels-reach-damascus-bashar-al-assad?CMP=share_btn_url&page=with%3Ablock-67553d768f0896ed0c237334#block-67553d768f0896ed0c237334|access-date=8 December 2024|work=The Guardian}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Syrian rebels topple President Assad, prime minister calls for free elections|url=https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/syria-rebels-celebrate-captured-homs-set-sights-damascus-2024-12-07/|access-date=8 December 2024|website=Reuters}}</ref>Prior to the fall of the Assad regime, Mohammed al-Bashir headed the [[Syrian Salvation Government]] (SSG) formed in the province of [[Idlib]] by [[Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham]] (HTS), the Islamist militant organization which led the overthrow of Assad in December 2024. In general, the formation of the Transitional Government was scaling of the SSG "to the whole of Syria", as the composition of the new government was almost the same as of the one of the SSG. According to a report by the Syrian Network for Human Rights, critics and opponents of the HTS were subject to repression in forms of enforced disappearances and tortures.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/12/15/what-to-know-about-syrias-new-caretaker-government | title=What to know about Syria's new caretaker government }}</ref>[[File:Flag of the Syrian Transitional Government (Shahada).svg|thumb|A [[Islamic flag|''Tawhid'' flag]] is sometimes displayed by the [[Syrian caretaker government|caretaker government]] in addition to the Independence Flag;<ref name="flag1" /><ref name="flag2" /> prior to the formation of the government, ''Tawhid'' flags were used by [[Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham|HTS]]<ref>{{cite web |date=6 December 2024 |title=Syrian rebel leader speaks to CNN in exclusive interview |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2024/12/06/world/video/abu-mohammad-al-jolani-syria-rebel-leader-karadsheh-digvid |work=CNN}}</ref><ref>{{cite tweet |number=1864223163866882498 |user=Levant_24_ |title=Mohammad Al-Bashir, Prime Minister of SSG |date=4 December 2024 |access-date=13 January 2025 |url=https://x.com/Levant_24_/status/1864223163866882498}}</ref>|left]]Shortly after the fall of the Assad regime, [[2024 Israeli invasion of Syria|Israel commenced a ground invasion]] of the [[Purple Line (ceasefire line)|Purple Line]] buffer zone near the Golan Heights, as well as commencing a series of airstrikes against Syrian military depots and naval bases.<ref name="NYT 12-8">{{Cite news |last=Bergman |first=Ronen |date=8 December 2024 |title=Israeli Ground Forces Cross into Syria, Officials Say |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/08/world/middleeast/israel-demilitarized-zone-syria.html |access-date=9 December 2024 |work=The New York Times}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Fabian |first=Emanuel |title=Israeli strikes in Syria target weaponry it fears could be acquired by hostile forces |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/israeli-strikes-in-syria-weaponry-it-fears-could-be-acquired-by-hostile-forces/ |access-date=9 December 2024 |website=www.timesofisrael.com |language=en-US}}</ref> The [[Israel Defense Forces|Israeli Defense Forces]] claims that it is destroying Ba'athist military infrastructure, including chemical weapons plants, so that the rebels cannot use them.<ref name="NYT 12-8" />Despite the collapse of the Assad regime, Turkish-backed [[Syrian National Army]] fighters in northern Syria continued their [[2024 Manbij offensive|offensive]] against U.S.-backed [[Syrian Democratic Forces]] (SDF) forces until a ceasefire was reached on 11 December.<ref>{{cite news |title=As Assad falls, fighting intensifying over northern Syria town |url=https://www.voanews.com/a/as-assad-falls-fighting-intensifying-over-northern-syria-town-/7891689.html |work=VOA News |date=8 December 2024}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=11 December 2024 |title=Kurdish-led Force Announces US-brokered Truce In Syria's Manbij |url=https://www.barrons.com/news/syria-kurdish-led-force-announces-us-brokered-truce-with-turkish-backed-fighters-in-manbij-16117fe4 |access-date= |website=[[Barron's]] |language=en-US}}</ref> In February 2025, the SDF, the [[Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria|Autonomous Administration]], and the [[Syrian Democratic Council]] decided in a meeting that SDF would merge with the [[Syrian Armed Forces]]. The [[Operation Inherent Resolve|International Coalition against ISIS]] voiced support for continued dialogue between the SDF and the new Syrian government as well.<ref>{{Cite web |date=18 February 2025 |title=SDF says it will be joining the Syrian army |url=https://www.voanews.com/a/voa-kurdish-sdf-says-it-will-be-joining-the-syrian-army/7980107.html |access-date=22 February 2025 |website=Voice of America |language=en}}</ref>The prime minister of the transitional government, Mohammed al-Bashir, has promised to allow Christians and other minorities to continue practicing their religion without interference. However, this has been met with doubts as many rebel forces had previous connections to [[al-Qaeda]] and the [[Islamic State]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kumar |first=Anugrah |date=8 December 2024 |title=Christians in Syria face 'uncertain, perilous future' under HTS, persecution watchdog warns |url=https://www.christianpost.com/news/christians-in-syria-face-perilous-future-watchdog-warns.html |access-date= |website=[[Christian Post]] |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last1=Tulloch |first1=Joseph |last2=Cetera |first2=Roberto |date=9 December 2024 |title=After Assad, Syria's Christians hope for 'rebirth' of country |url=https://www.vaticannews.va/en/church/news/2024-12/syrias-christians-cautiously-optimistic-fall-assad-government.html |access-date= |website=[[Vatican News]] |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Kajjo |first=Sirwan |date=6 December 2024 |title=Rights groups cautious about Islamist rebels' pledges to protect Syrian minorities |url=https://www.voanews.com/a/rights-groups-cautious-about-islamist-rebels-pledges-to-protect-syrian-minorities/7890287.html |access-date= |website=[[Voice of America]] |language=en}}</ref> The use of a variation of the [[Islamic flag|''Tawhid'' flag]] by the new government alongside [[Flag of Syria|the opposition flag]] also raised worries, as it implies that the new state may be [[Islam and secularism|less secular]].<ref name="flag1">{{Cite news |date=11 December 2024 |title=Syrians concerned by HTS flag displayed during interim PM speech |url=https://www.newarab.com/news/syrians-concerned-hts-flag-displayed-during-interim-pm-speech |work=[[The New Arab]]}}</ref><ref name="flag2">{{Cite web |last=Smith |first=Alexander |date=11 December 2024 |title=Why a photo of Syria's interim leader could hint at trouble ahead |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/syria-interim-prime-minister-salafist-flag-hayat-tahrir-al-sham-rcna183726 |access-date= |website=[[NBC News]] |language=en}}</ref> [[Aisha al-Dibs]] was appointed as the Minister of Women's Affairs on 22 December 2024.<ref>[https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/12/22/women-will-play-a-key-role-in-a-new-syria-says-minister Women will play a key role in a new Syria, says minister] 22 December 2024. [[Al-Jazeera English]]</ref>On 12 December 2024, a spokesman of the transitional government speaking to [[Agence France-Presse]] said that during the government's three-month term, the [[Constitution of Syria|constitution]] and [[People's Assembly of Syria|parliament]] would be suspended and that a 'judicial and human rights committee' would be established to review the constitution, prior to making amendments.<ref>{{Cite web |last=AFP |date=12 December 2024 |title=Syria's new govt says to suspend constitution, parliament for three months |url=https://www.brecorder.com/news/40337254/syrias-new-govt-says-to-suspend-constitution-parliament-for-three-months |access-date=12 December 2024 |website=Brecorder |language=en}}</ref>[[File:Ahmed al-Sharaa and Mazloum Abdi 2.jpg|right|thumb|220px|Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa and SDF leader Mazloum Abdi agree to integrate the SDF into the Syrian transitional government.]]On 29 January 2025, during the [[Syrian Revolution Victory Conference]] in [[Presidential Palace, Damascus|Presidential Palace]], the Syrian General Command appointed [[Ahmed al-Sharaa]] as president for the transitional period after he had served as the ''[[de facto]]'' leader following the fall of the Assad regime.<ref name="english.enabbaladi.net">{{Cite web |date=29 January 2025 |title=General Command appoints Ahmed al-Sharaa as President of Syria |url=https://english.enabbaladi.net/archives/2025/01/general-command-appoints-ahmed-al-sharaa-as-president-of-syria/ |access-date=15 February 2025 |website=[[Enab Baladi]]}}</ref> In March 2025, the UK-based [[Syrian Observatory for Human Rights|SOHR]] reported that Syrian security forces and pro-government fighters had committed a [[2025 massacres of Syrian Alawites|massacre of more than 1500 Alawite civilians]] during [[March 2025 Western Syria clashes|clashes in western Syria]].<ref>{{cite news |title=2 days of clashes and revenge killings in Syria leave more than 1,000 people dead |url=https://apnews.com/article/syria-alawites-sectarian-killings-coast-assad-hts-610cdee1d5762d3ecb75c700fb7cf5f2 |work=Associated Press |date=9 March 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=German foreign minister on Syria visit reopens Damascus embassy |url=https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20250320-german-foreign-minister-on-syria-visit-reopens-damascus-embassy |work=France 24 |date=20 March 2025}}</ref> On 10 March 2025, the SDF agreed to merge with the Syrian Armed Forces after SDF leader [[Mazloum Abdi]] met with al-Sharaa.<ref>{{cite news|title= Kurdish-led SDF agrees to integrate with Syrian government forces |url= https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cedlx0511w7o|website=BBC News|access-date=11 March 2025}}</ref> Three days later al-Sharaa signed an [[2025 Interim Constitution of Syria|interim constitution]] covering a five-year transitional period.<ref>{{Cite web |date=14 March 2025 |title=Syria gets temporary constitution for five-year transition |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c70ely2p6e4o |access-date=17 March 2025 |website=www.bbc.com |language=en-GB}}</ref>On 29 March 2025, the [[Syrian transitional government]] was announced by Syrian President [[Ahmed al-Sharaa]] at a ceremony at the [[Presidential Palace, Damascus|Presidential Palace]] in [[Damascus]],<ref name=":022">{{Cite web |title=نص الإعلان الدستوري لسوريا 2025 |url=https://www.aljazeera.net/encyclopedia/2025/3/14/%D9%86%D8%B5-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A5%D8%B9%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%86-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AF%D8%B3%D8%AA%D9%88%D8%B1%D9%8A-%D9%84%D8%B3%D9%88%D8%B1%D9%8A%D8%A7-2025 |access-date=29 March 2025 |website=الجزيرة نت |language=ar}}</ref> in which the new ministers were sworn in and delivered speeches outlining their agendas.<ref>{{Cite web |date=29 March 2025 |title=وزراء الحكومة السورية يقدمون خططهم ويؤدون القسم الدستوري |url=https://www.syria.tv/%D9%88%D8%B2%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%A1-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AD%D9%83%D9%88%D9%85%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B3%D9%88%D8%B1%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D9%8A%D9%82%D8%AF%D9%85%D9%88%D9%86-%D8%AE%D8%B7%D8%B7%D9%87%D9%85-%D9%88%D9%8A%D8%A4%D8%AF%D9%88%D9%86-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%82%D8%B3%D9%85-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AF%D8%B3%D8%AA%D9%88%D8%B1%D9%8A |access-date=29 March 2025 |website=[[Syria TV (Fadaat Media)]] |language=ar}}</ref> The government replaced the [[Syrian caretaker government]], which was formed following the fall of the Assad regime on 8 December 2024.<ref>{{Cite web |title=At protest, Tel Aviv mayor vows to shut down the country if the government ignores a High Court ruling |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog-march-29-2025/ |access-date=29 March 2025 |website=www.timesofisrael.com |language=en-US}}</ref> Since then, a number of Western governments have lifted the [[International sanctions against Syria|sanctions on Syria]], most notably the United States and the United Kingdom.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Viser |first=Matt |last2=Birnbaum |first2=Michael |date=2025-05-13 |title=Trump pulls sanctions on Syria, extends olive branch to Iran |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/05/13/trump-iran-syria-middle-east/ |access-date=2025-05-13 |work=The Washington Post |language=en-US |issn=0190-8286}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-04-24 |title=UK lifts sanctions on Syrian defence ministry |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c2ewv7y32r1o |access-date=2025-05-13 |website=BBC News |language=en-GB}}</ref>== Geography =={{Main|Geography of Syria}}[[File:Water_Stress,_Top_Countries_(2020).svg|thumb|Syria is the twelfth most water-stressed country in the world.]][[File:Deir Ez-Zor Euphrates 9929.jpg|left|thumb|The Euphrates is the longest and one of the oldest rivers in [[Western Asia]]]]Syria's climate varies from the humid Mediterranean coast, through a semi-arid steppe zone, to arid desert in the east. The country consists mostly of arid plateau, although the northwest part bordering the Mediterranean is fairly green. [[Upper Mesopotamia|Al-Jazira]] in the northeast and [[Hauran|Hawran]] in the south are important agricultural areas. The [[Euphrates]], Syria's most important river, crosses the country in the east. Syria is one of the fifteen states that comprise the so-called "[[cradle of civilization]]".<ref>{{cite book|last=F. A. Schaeffer|first=Claude|title=Syria and the Cradle of Civilization: The Findings of Claude F a Schaeffer in Ras Shamra|publisher=Trubner & Company|year=2003|isbn=978-1-84453-129-5}}</ref> Its land straddles the northwest of the [[Arabian plate]].<ref>''Egyptian Journal of Geology'' – Volume 42, Issue 1 – Page 263, 1998</ref>Petroleum in commercial quantities was first discovered in the northeast in 1956. The most important oil fields are those of [[al-Suwaydiyah]], [[Karatchok Field|Karatchok]], [[Rmelan]] near [[al-Hasakah]], as well as [[al-Omar field|al-Omar]] and [[Al-Taym Field|al-Taym]] fields near [[Deir ez-Zor|Dayr az–Zawr]]. The fields are a natural extension of the Iraqi fields of [[Mosul]] and [[Kirkuk]]. Petroleum became Syria's leading natural resource and chief export after 1974. Natural gas was discovered at the field of Jbessa in 1940.<ref name="USDoS" />=== Biodiversity ==={{Main|Wildlife of Syria}}{{See also|Environmental issues in Syria}}Syria contains four terrestrial ecoregions: [[Syrian xeric grasslands and shrublands]], [[Eastern Mediterranean conifer-sclerophyllous-broadleaf forests]], [[Southern Anatolian montane conifer and deciduous forests]], and [[Mesopotamian shrub desert]].<ref name="DinersteinOlson2017">{{cite journal|last1=Dinerstein|first1=Eric|last2=Olson|first2=David|last3=Joshi|first3=Anup|last4=Vynne|first4=Carly|last5=Burgess|first5=Neil D.|last6=Wikramanayake|first6=Eric|last7=Hahn|first7=Nathan|last8=Palminteri|first8=Suzanne|last9=Hedao|first9=Prashant|last10=Noss|first10=Reed|last11=Hansen|first11=Matt|last12=Locke|first12=Harvey|last13=Ellis|first13=Erle C|last14=Jones|first14=Benjamin|last15=Barber|first15=Charles Victor|last16=Hayes|first16=Randy|last17=Kormos|first17=Cyril|last18=Martin|first18=Vance|last19=Crist|first19=Eileen|last20=Sechrest|first20=Wes|last21=Price|first21=Lori|last22=Baillie|first22=Jonathan E. M.|last23=Weeden|first23=Don|last24=Suckling|first24=Kierán|last25=Davis|first25=Crystal|last26=Sizer|first26=Nigel|last27=Moore|first27=Rebecca|last28=Thau|first28=David|last29=Birch|first29=Tanya|last30=Potapov|first30=Peter|last31=Turubanova|first31=Svetlana|last32=Tyukavina|first32=Alexandra|last33=de Souza|first33=Nadia|last34=Pintea|first34=Lilian|last35=Brito|first35=José C.|last36=Llewellyn|first36=Othman A.|last37=Miller|first37=Anthony G.|last38=Patzelt|first38=Annette|last39=Ghazanfar|first39=Shahina A.|last40=Timberlake|first40=Jonathan|last41=Klöser|first41=Heinz|last42=Shennan-Farpón|first42=Yara|last43=Kindt|first43=Roeland|last44=Lillesø|first44=Jens-Peter Barnekow|last45=van Breugel|first45=Paulo|last46=Graudal|first46=Lars|last47=Voge|first47=Maianna|last48=Al-Shammari|first48=Khalaf F.|last49=Saleem|first49=Muhammad|display-authors=1|title=An Ecoregion-Based Approach to Protecting Half the Terrestrial Realm|journal=BioScience|volume=67|issue=6|year=2017|pages=534–545|issn=0006-3568|doi=10.1093/biosci/bix014|pmid=28608869|pmc=5451287}}</ref> The country had a 2019 [[Forest Landscape Integrity Index]] mean score of 3.64/10, ranking it 144th globally out of 172 countries.<ref name="FLII-Supplementary">{{cite journal|last1=Grantham|first1=H. S.|last2=Duncan|first2=A.|last3=Evans|first3=T. D.|last4=Jones|first4=K. R.|last5=Beyer|first5=H. L.|last6=Schuster|first6=R.|last7=Walston|first7=J.|last8=Ray|first8=J. C.|last9=Robinson|first9=J. G.|last10=Callow|first10=M.|last11=Clements|first11=T.|last12=Costa|first12=H. M.|last13=DeGemmis|first13=A.|last14=Elsen|first14=P. R.|last15=Ervin|first15=J.|last16=Franco|first16=P.|last17=Goldman|first17=E.|last18=Goetz|first18=S.|last19=Hansen|first19=A.|last20=Hofsvang|first20=E.|last21=Jantz|first21=P.|last22=Jupiter|first22=S.|last23=Kang|first23=A.|last24=Langhammer|first24=P.|last25=Laurance|first25=W. F.|last26=Lieberman|first26=S.|last27=Linkie|first27=M.|last28=Malhi|first28=Y.|last29=Maxwell|first29=S.|last30=Mendez|first30=M.|last31=Mittermeier|first31=R.|last32=Murray|first32=N. J.|last33=Possingham|first33=H.|last34=Radachowsky|first34=J.|last35=Saatchi|first35=S.|last36=Samper|first36=C.|last37=Silverman|first37=J.|last38=Shapiro|first38=A.|last39=Strassburg|first39=B.|last40=Stevens|first40=T.|last41=Stokes|first41=E.|last42=Taylor|first42=R.|last43=Tear|first43=T.|last44=Tizard|first44=R.|last45=Venter|first45=O.|last46=Visconti|first46=P.|last47=Wang|first47=S.|last48=Watson|first48=J. E. M.|display-authors=1|title=Anthropogenic modification of forests means only 40% of remaining forests have high ecosystem integrity – Supplementary Material|journal=Nature Communications|volume=11|issue=1|year=2020|page=5978|issn=2041-1723|doi=10.1038/s41467-020-19493-3|pmid=33293507|pmc=7723057|bibcode=2020NatCo..11.5978G}}</ref>== Government and politics =={{Main|Government of Syria}}{{See also|Elections in Syria|Syrian civil war}}=== Post-Ba'athist Syria (2024–present) ===[[File:Επίσκεψη Υπουργού Εξωτερικών, Γιώργου Γεραπετρίτη, στη Συρία (Δαμασκός, 09.02.2025) (cropped).jpg|thumb|Syrian President [[Ahmed al-Sharaa]] with Greek Foreign Minister [[Giorgos Gerapetritis]] in Syria on 9 February 2025]]Syria is currently undergoing a political transition following the [[fall of the Assad regime]] on 8 December 2024.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Assad regime falls. What happens now? |url=https://www.brookings.edu/articles/the-assad-regime-falls-what-happens-now/ |access-date=24 March 2025 |website=Brookings |language=en-US}}</ref> A [[Syrian caretaker government|caretaker government]], led by [[Mohammed al-Bashir]] has been formed to govern the country.<ref>{{Cite news |date=9 December 2024 |title=Syria Rebel Group Political Chief to Form Temporary Government |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-12-09/syria-rebel-group-political-chief-to-form-temporary-government |access-date=9 December 2024 |work=Bloomberg.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last1=Picheta |first1=Rob |last2=Regan |first2=Helen |date=9 December 2024 |title=After decades of brutal rule, Bashar al-Assad's regime has been toppled. Here's what we know |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2024/12/09/middleeast/syria-assad-rebels-explainer-intl-hnk/index.html |access-date=10 December 2024 |website=CNN |language=en}}</ref> On 29 January 2025, during the [[Syrian Revolution Victory Conference]] in [[Presidential Palace, Damascus|Presidential Palace]], the Syrian General Command appointed [[Ahmed al-Sharaa]] as president for the transitional period after he had served as the ''[[de facto]]'' leader following the fall of the Assad regime.<ref name="english.enabbaladi.net"/> On 13 March 2025, al-Sharaa ratified the [[2025 Interim Constitution of Syria|interim constitution]], which will be valid for five years.<ref name="CNN20250313">{{Cite news |title=Syrian leader signs constitution that puts the country under an Islamist group's rule for 5 years |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2025/03/13/middleeast/syria-constitution-ap-intl/index.html |access-date=13 March 2025 |website=CNN |language=en}}</ref><ref name="WP20250313">{{Cite news |date=13 March 2025 |title=Syrian leader signs constitution that puts the country under an Islamist group's rule for 5 years |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/03/13/syria-constitution-assad-alsharaa/be14baa8-000a-11f0-b7a7-d938159de2bc_story.html |access-date=13 March 2025 |newspaper=The Washington Post}}</ref> The constitution sets a [[presidential system]],<ref>{{cite web |date=14 March 2025 |title=sweeping powers, ignores minority rights |url=https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20250314-syria-s-new-constitution-gives-sweeping-powers-ignores-minority-rights |accessdate=16 March 2025 |publisher=France24}}</ref> without the position of [[Prime Minister of Syria|prime minister]].<ref>{{cite web |date=12 March 2025 |title=Syria's Constitutional Draft Set for Release as Fact-Finding Committee Begins Investigations |url=https://www.watanserb.com/en/2025/03/12/syrias-constitutional-draft-set-for-release-as-fact-finding-committee-begins-investigations/ |accessdate=16 March 2025 |publisher=Watan News}}</ref> The [[People's Assembly of Syria|People's Assembly]] has been established to serve as an interim parliament during the five-year transition, overseeing the drafting of a new permanent constitution.<ref name=":02">{{Cite web |date=13 March 2025 |title=Syrian leader signs constitution that puts the country under an Islamist group's rule for 5 years |url=https://apnews.com/article/syria-constitution-assad-alsharaa-4caa2074f20155c2399451d9669e435b |access-date=13 March 2025 |website=Associated Press News}}</ref> On 29 March 2025, the [[Syrian transitional government]] was announced by al-Sharaa at a ceremony at the [[Presidential Palace, Damascus|Presidential Palace]] in [[Damascus]],<ref name=":023">{{Cite web |title=نص الإعلان الدستوري لسوريا 2025 |trans-title=Text of the Constitutional Declaration of Syria 2025 in|url=https://www.aljazeera.net/encyclopedia/2025/3/14/نص-الإعلان-الدستوري-لسوريا-2025 |date=14 March 2025 |access-date=29 March 2025 |website=[[Al Jazeera Arabic]] |language=ar |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250314135843/https://www.aljazeera.net/encyclopedia/2025/3/14/نص-الإعلان-الدستوري-لسوريا-2025 |archive-date=14 March 2025 |url-status=live}}</ref> in which the new ministers were sworn in and delivered speeches outlining their agendas.<ref>{{Cite web |date=29 March 2025 |title=وزراء الحكومة السورية يقدمون خططهم ويؤدون القسم الدستوري |trans-title=Syrian government ministers present their plans and take the constitutional oath |url=https://www.syria.tv/%D9%88%D8%B2%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%A1-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AD%D9%83%D9%88%D9%85%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B3%D9%88%D8%B1%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D9%8A%D9%82%D8%AF%D9%85%D9%88%D9%86-%D8%AE%D8%B7%D8%B7%D9%87%D9%85-%D9%88%D9%8A%D8%A4%D8%AF%D9%88%D9%86-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%82%D8%B3%D9%85-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AF%D8%B3%D8%AA%D9%88%D8%B1%D9%8A |access-date=29 March 2025 |website=[[Syria TV (Fadaat Media)|Syria TV]] |language=ar}}</ref> The government replaced the [[Syrian caretaker government]], which was formed following the fall of the Assad regime on 8 December 2024.<ref>{{Cite web |title=At protest, Tel Aviv mayor vows to shut down the country if the government ignores a High Court ruling |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog-march-29-2025/ |access-date=29 March 2025 |website=www.timesofisrael.com |language=en-US}}</ref>=== Ba'athist Syria (1963–2024) ==={{Main|Ba'athist Syria|Politics of Ba'athist Syria}}The Syrian Arab Republic was a [[presidential republic|presidential state]]<ref>* {{Cite web|date=13 January 2023|title=Syrian Arab Republic|url=https://www.auswaertiges-amt.de/en/aussenpolitik/syria/227502|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230325011403/https://www.auswaertiges-amt.de/en/aussenpolitik/syria/227502|archive-date=25 March 2023|website=Federal Foreign Office}}* {{Cite web|title=Syria: Government|url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/syria/#government|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210203054123/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/syria/|archive-date=3 February 2021|website=CIA World Factbook}}* {{Cite web|title=Syria Government|url=https://www.countryreports.org/country/Syria/government.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230127053848/https://www.countryreports.org/country/Syria/government.htm|archive-date=27 January 2023}}* {{Cite web|date=26 February 2021|title=Syrian Arab Republic: Constitution, 2012|url=https://www.refworld.org/docid/5100f02a2.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190305071852/https://www.refworld.org/docid/5100f02a2.html|archive-date=5 March 2019|website=refworld}}</ref> that nominally permitted the candidacy of individuals who were not part of the Ba'ath-controlled [[National Progressive Front (Syria)|National Progressive Front]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Syria: Government|url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/syria/#government|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210203054123/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/syria/|archive-date=3 February 2021|website=CIA World Factbook}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=26 February 2021|title=Syrian Arab Republic: Constitution, 2012|url=https://www.refworld.org/docid/5100f02a2.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190305071852/https://www.refworld.org/docid/5100f02a2.html|archive-date=5 March 2019|website=refworld}}</ref> Despite this, Syria remained a one-party state with an extensive [[General Intelligence Directorate (Syria)|secret police]] apparatus that curtailed any independent political activity.<ref name="auto1">{{Cite web|title=Freedom in the World 2023: Syria|url=https://freedomhouse.org/country/syria/freedom-world/2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230309145759/https://freedomhouse.org/country/syria/freedom-world/2023|archive-date=9 March 2023|website=[[Freedom House]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Lucas|first=Scott|date=25 February 2021|title=How Assad Regime Tightened Syria's One-Party Rule|work=EA Worldview|url=https://eaworldview.com/2021/02/how-assad-regime-tightened-syrias-one-party-rule/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210225110507/https://eaworldview.com/2021/02/how-assad-regime-tightened-syrias-one-party-rule/|archive-date=25 February 2021}}</ref> The constitution introduced unilaterally by the Assad regime, without the participation of the [[Syrian opposition]], had bolstered its authoritarian character by bestowing extraordinary powers on the presidency, and a Ba'athist political committee continued to be responsible for authorization of political parties.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Szmolk|first=Inmaculada|title=Political Change in the Middle East and North Africa: After the Arab Spring|publisher=Edinburgh University Press|year=2017|isbn=978-1-4744-1528 6|location=Edinburgh, United Kingdom|pages=132–133, 414–417}}</ref>[[File:Ali Khamenei meets Bashar al-Assad in Tehran 20190225 03.jpg|thumb|Syrian President [[Bashar al-Assad]] with Ayatollah [[Ali Khamenei]] in Tehran, Iran, 25 February 2019]]The ruling Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party governed Syria as a [[police state]] through its control of the [[Syrian Arab Armed Forces|Syrian military]] and security apparatus;<ref>*{{Cite book|last=Khamis, B. Gold, Vaughn|first=Sahar, Paul, Katherine|title=The Oxford Handbook of Propaganda Studies|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2013|isbn=978-0-19-976441-9|editor-last=Auerbach, Castronovo|editor-first=Jonathan, Russ|location=New York|page=422|chapter=22. Propaganda in Egypt and Syria's "Cyberwars": Contexts, Actors, Tools, and Tactics}}* {{Cite book|last=Wieland|first=Carsten|title=Syria and the Neutrality Trap: The Dilemmas of Delivering Humanitarian Aid Through Violent Regimes|publisher=I. B. Tauris|year=2018|isbn=978-0-7556-4138-3|location=London|page=68|chapter=6: De-neutralizing Aid: All Roads Lead to Damascus}}* {{Cite book|last=Ahmed|first=Saladdin|title=Totalitarian Space and the Destruction of Aura|publisher=Suny Press|year=2019|isbn=9781438472911|location=Albany, New York|pages=144, 149}}* {{Cite book|last=Hensman|first=Rohini|title=Indefensible: Democracy, Counterrevolution, and the Rhetoric of Anti-Imperialism|publisher=Haymarket Books|year=2018|isbn=978-1-60846-912-3|location=Chicago, Illinois|chapter=7: The Syrian Uprising}}</ref> this system has frequently been described as [[totalitarian]],{{efn|name="tots"}} although some scholars have preferred the term [[authoritarian]].<ref name="nt1"/><ref name="nt2"/><ref name="Heydemann, Steven 19992" /> The 50th edition of [[Freedom in the World]], published by [[Freedom House]] in 2023, designated Syria as "Worst of the Worst" among the "Not Free" countries and gave it the lowest score (1/100) alongside [[South Sudan]].<ref name="auto1"/><ref>{{Cite web|date=March 2023|title=Freedom in the World: 2023|url=https://freedomhouse.org/sites/default/files/2023-03/FIW_World_2023_DigtalPDF.pdf|edition=50th anniversary|page=31|website=[[Freedom House]]|access-date=12 May 2023|archive-date=6 May 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230506235359/https://freedomhouse.org/sites/default/files/2023-03/FIW_World_2023_DigtalPDF.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>According to the [[Constitution of Syria#Constitution of 2012|2012 Syrian constitution]], the [[President of Syria]] was the head of the Syrian state, while the [[Prime Minister of Syria]] was nominally the head of government,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.scribd.com/doc/81771718/Qordoba-Translation-of-the-Syrian-Constitution-Modifications-15-2-2012|title=Constitution of Syria. Articles 83–118|via=Scribd|date=15 February 2012|access-date=30 January 2013|archive-date=2 May 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200502203942/https://www.scribd.com/doc/81771718/Qordoba-Translation-of-the-Syrian-Constitution-Modifications-15-2-2012|url-status=live}}</ref>{{Unreliable source?|date=December 2024}} although real power in the system lay with the presidency.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Syria|url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Syria/Local-government|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240214220233/https://www.britannica.com/place/Syria/Local-government|archive-date=14 February 2024|website=Encyclopædia Britannica}}</ref> The legislature, the [[People's Assembly of Syria|People's Assembly]], was the body responsible for passing laws, approving government [[appropriation (law)|appropriations]] and debating policy.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.scribd.com/doc/81771718/Qordoba-Translation-of-the-Syrian-Constitution-Modifications-15-2-2012|title=Constitution of Syria. Article 75(1)(2)(4)|via=Scribd|date=15 February 2012|access-date=30 January 2013|archive-date=2 May 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200502203942/https://www.scribd.com/doc/81771718/Qordoba-Translation-of-the-Syrian-Constitution-Modifications-15-2-2012|url-status=live}}</ref>{{Unreliable source?|date=December 2024}} In the event of a [[vote of no confidence]] by a simple majority, the prime minister was required to tender the resignation of their government to the president.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.scribd.com/doc/81771718/Qordoba-Translation-of-the-Syrian-Constitution-Modifications-15-2-2012|title=Constitution of Syria. Article 77(2)|via=Scribd|date=15 February 2012|access-date=30 January 2013|archive-date=2 May 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200502203942/https://www.scribd.com/doc/81771718/Qordoba-Translation-of-the-Syrian-Constitution-Modifications-15-2-2012|url-status=live}}</ref>{{Unreliable source?|date=December 2024}} Since the rule of Hafez al-Assad, the Ba'athist political system was centered around a comprehensive [[Al-Assad family#Cult of Personality|cult of personality]] focused on the [[al-Assad family]];<ref>{{Cite book|last=Wedeen|first=Lisa|title=Ambiguities of Domination: Politics, Rhetoric, and Symbols in Contemporary Syria|publisher=University of Chicago Press|year=2015|isbn=978-0-226-33337-3|location=Chicago|pages=ix-xii, 1–4, 16–18, 30–40|chapter=|doi=10.7208/9780226345536|doi-broken-date=1 November 2024}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Rubin|first=Barry|title=The Middle East|publisher=Routledge|year=2015|isbn=978-0-7656-8094-5|location=New York|pages=58, 233}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Al-Shami, Meckfessel|first=Leila, Shon|date=1 August 2023|title=Why the US Far Right Loves Bashar al-Assad|url=https://newlinesmag.com/argument/why-the-us-far-right-loves-bashar-al-assad/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240325104046/https://newlinesmag.com/argument/why-the-us-far-right-loves-bashar-al-assad/|archive-date=25 March 2024}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Phillips|first=Christopher|title=Everyday Arab Identity|publisher=Routledge|year=2013|isbn=978-0-415-68488-0|location=New York|pages=49–70}}</ref> with Alawite loyalists of the Ba'ath party dominating key positions in the military apparatus, secret police, and political establishment.<ref name="The Sturdy House That Assad Built2" />The executive branch consisted of the president, two [[Vice President of Syria|vice presidents]], the prime minister, and the [[Council of Ministers of Syria|Council of Ministers]] (cabinet). The constitution required the president to be a Muslim but did not make Islam the state religion.<ref name="autogenerated1"/><ref name="const">{{cite web|url=http://www.servat.unibe.ch/icl/sy00000_.html|title=Constitution of Syria|access-date=22 October 2008|archive-date=6 April 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080406034310/http://www.servat.unibe.ch/icl/sy00000_.html|url-status=live}}</ref> 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 traditional ''[[ulama]]''. They labelled Assad the "enemy of [[Allah]]" and called for a ''[[jihad]]'' against his rule.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Middle Eastern Leaders and Islam: A Precarious Equilibrium|last=Alianak|first=Sonia|publisher=Peter Lang|year=2007|isbn=978-0-8204-6924-9|page=55}}</ref> The government survived a series of [[Islamist uprising in Syria|armed revolts]] led mostly by [[Islamist]]s of the [[Muslim Brotherhood]], between 1976 and 1982, through a series of repressions and massacres. The constitution gave the president the right to appoint ministers, to declare war and [[state of emergency]], to issue laws (which, except in the case of emergency, require ratification by the People's Council), to declare amnesty, to amend the constitution, and to appoint civil servants and military personnel.<ref name="autogenerated1">{{cite web|url=https://2009-2017.state.gov/outofdate/bgn/syria/85051.htm|title=Syria (05/07)|publisher=State.gov|access-date=25 October 2008|archive-date=22 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190722082421/https://2009-2017.state.gov/outofdate/bgn/syria/85051.htm|url-status=live}}{{PD-notice}}</ref> According to the 2012 constitution, the president was elected by Syrian citizens in a direct election. Syria's legislative branch was the unicameral People's Council. The People's Council primarily served as an institution to validate Syria's one-party system and re-affirm the legislative proceedings of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath party.<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Schlager, Weisblatt|first1=Neil, Jayne|title=World Encyclopedia of Political Systems and Parties|last2=A. Faksh|first2=Mahmud|publisher=Facts on File|year=2006|isbn=0-8160-5953-5|edition=4th|location=New York|page=1303|chapter=Syrian Arab Republic}}</ref>There was no independent judiciary in Syria, since all judges and prosecutors were required to be Ba'athist appointees.<ref name="auto1"/> Syria's judicial branches include the [[Supreme Constitutional Court of Syria|Supreme Constitutional Court]], the [[High Judicial Council]], the Court of Cassation, and the [[Security agency|State Security]] Courts. [[Islamic]] jurisprudence was a main source of legislation and Syria's judicial system had elements of [[Mecelle|Ottoman]], [[French law|French]], and [[Sharia|Islamic]] laws. Syria had three levels of courts: courts of first instance, courts of appeals, and the constitutional court, the highest [[tribunal]]. Religious courts handled questions of personal and family law.<ref name="autogenerated1" /> The Supreme State Security Court was abolished by Bashar al-Assad in 2011.<ref name="decree53">{{cite news|url=http://sana.sy/eng/21/2011/04/22/pr-342711.htm|title=Decrees on Ending State of Emergency, Abolishing SSSC, Regulating Right to Peaceful Demonstration|agency=Syrian Arab News Agency|date=22 April 2011|access-date=30 January 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120328221640/http://sana.sy/eng/21/2011/04/22/pr-342711.htm|archive-date=28 March 2012}}</ref> As a result of the ongoing civil war, various alternative governments were formed, including the [[Syrian Interim Government]], the [[Democratic Union Party (Syria)|Democratic Union Party]] and localized regions governed by sharia. Representatives of the Syrian Interim government were invited to take up Syria's seat at the Arab League in 2013 and<ref name="guardian.co.uk">{{cite news|last=Black|first=Ian|title=Syrian opposition takes Arab League seat|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/mar/26/syrian-opposition-appeals-nato-support|newspaper=The Guardian|date=26 March 2013|access-date=13 December 2016|archive-date=21 August 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130821111815/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/mar/26/syrian-opposition-appeals-nato-support|url-status=live}}</ref> was recognised as the "sole representative of the Syrian people" by several nations including the United States, United Kingdom, and France.<ref name="bbc.co.uk">{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-20406562|title=Syria conflict: UK recognises opposition, says William Hague|publisher=BBC|date=20 November 2012|access-date=28 August 2013|archive-date=20 November 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121120171018/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-20406562|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="bbc">{{cite web|first=Hugh|last=Schofield|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-20319787|title=Syria: France backs anti-Assad coalition|publisher=BBC|date=13 November 2012|access-date=28 August 2013|archive-date=11 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171011082928/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-20319787|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="usatoday.com">{{cite news|last=Madhani|first=Aamer|title=Obama says U.S. will recognize Syrian opposition|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2012/12/11/al-nusra-designated-terrorists/1760755/|newspaper=USA Today|date=12 December 2012|access-date=15 September 2017|archive-date=19 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230119094918/https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2012/12/11/al-nusra-designated-terrorists/1760755/|url-status=live}}</ref>[[File:Bab Dreeb Demonstration, Homs.jpg|thumb|[[Syrian revolution|Protest against the Assad regime]] in the city of [[Homs]], 3 February 2012]][[Elections in Syria|Syria's elections]] are conducted through a [[Sham election|sham process]]; characterised by wide-scale [[Rigging election|rigging]], repetitive voting and absence of [[voter registration]] and verification systems.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Shaar, Akil|first=Karam, Samy|date=28 January 2021|title=Inside Syria's Clapping Chamber: Dynamics of the 2020 Parliamentary Elections|url=https://www.mei.edu/publications/inside-syrias-clapping-chamber-dynamics-2020-parliamentary-elections#footnote-14|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210128162146/https://www.mei.edu/publications/inside-syrias-clapping-chamber-dynamics-2020-parliamentary-elections|archive-date=28 January 2021|website=Middle East Institute}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last1=Awad|last2=Favier|first1=Ziad|first2=Agnès|date=30 April 2020|title=Elections in Wartime: The Syrian People's Council (2016–2020)|url=https://cadmus.eui.eu/bitstream/handle/1814/66949/RPR_2020_07.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y|publisher=Middle East Directions Programme at Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies|via=[[European University Institute]]|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210129205045/https://cadmus.eui.eu/bitstream/handle/1814/66949/RPR_2020_07.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y|archive-date=29 January 2021}}</ref><ref name="auto2">{{Cite web|last=Abdel Nour|first=Aymen|date=24 July 2020|title=Syria's 2020 parliamentary elections: The worst joke yet|url=https://www.mei.edu/publications/syrias-2020-parliamentary-elections-worst-joke-yet|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210128170936/https://www.mei.edu/publications/syrias-2020-parliamentary-elections-worst-joke-yet|archive-date=28 January 2021|website=Middle East Institute}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://gr.euronews.com/2016/04/13/syrian-parliamentary-elections-take-place-to-the-backdrop-of-fighting-in-aleppo/|title=Συρία: Βουλευτικές εκλογές για την διαπραγματευτική ενίσχυση Άσαντ|first=Γιώργος|last=Αϊβαλιώτης|date=13 April 2016|work=euronews.com|access-date=15 April 2016|archive-date=17 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160417214710/http://gr.euronews.com/2016/04/13/syrian-parliamentary-elections-take-place-to-the-backdrop-of-fighting-in-aleppo/|url-status=live}}</ref> 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."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.efsyn.gr/arthro/ekloges-sti-syria-eno-i-empolemi-katastasi-paramenei|title=Εκλογές στη Συρία, ενώ η εμπόλεμη κατάσταση παραμένει|date=13 April 2016|work=efsyn.gr|access-date=15 April 2016|archive-date=16 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160416044401/http://www.efsyn.gr/arthro/ekloges-sti-syria-eno-i-empolemi-katastasi-paramenei|url-status=dead}}</ref> However, representatives of the Russian Federation have voiced their support of this election's results. Various independent observers and international organizations have denounced the Assad regime's electoral conduct as a scam; with the United Nations condemning it as illegitimate elections with "no mandate".<ref>{{Cite news|last=Kossaify|first=Ephrem|date=22 April 2021|title=UN reiterates it is not involved in Syrian presidential election|work=Arab News|url=https://www.arabnews.com/node/1846771/%7B%7B|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210422181511/https://www.arabnews.com/node/1846771/middle-east|archive-date=22 April 2021}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Cheeseman|first=Nicholas|title=How to Rig an Election|date=2019|publisher=Yale University Press|isbn=978-0-300-24665-0|pages=140–141|oclc=1089560229}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Norris|first1=Pippa|last2=Martinez i Coma|first2=Ferran|last3=Grömping|first3=Max|date=2015|title=The Year in Elections, 2014|url=https://sites.google.com/site/electoralintegrityproject4/projects/expert-survey-2/the-year-in-elections-2015|journal=Election Integrity Project|language=en|quote=The Syrian election ranked as worst among all the contests held during 2014.|access-date=12 May 2023|archive-date=15 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210415091339/https://sites.google.com/site/electoralintegrityproject4/projects/expert-survey-2/the-year-in-elections-2015|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="auto2"/> [[Electoral Integrity Project]]'s 2022 Global report designated Syrian elections as a "facade" with the worst electoral integrity in the world alongside [[Comoros]] and [[Central African Republic]].<ref>{{Cite web|date=May 2022|title=Electoral Integrity Global Report 2019-2021|url=https://www.electoralintegrityproject.com/globalreport2019-2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221209095338/https://www.electoralintegrityproject.com/globalreport2019-2021|archive-date=9 December 2022|website=Electoral Integrity Project}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Garnett, S. James, MacGregor|first=Holly Ann, Toby, Madison .|date=May 2022|title=2022. Year in Elections Global Report: 2019-2021. The Electoral Integrity Project.|url=https://static1.squarespace.com/static/58533f31bebafbe99c85dc9b/t/62bb1188ea129d15fd58abac/1656426896778/Electoral+Integrity+Global+Report+2019-2021+0.1.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220722201335/https://static1.squarespace.com/static/58533f31bebafbe99c85dc9b/t/62bb1188ea129d15fd58abac/1656426896778/Electoral+Integrity+Global+Report+2019-2021+0.1.pdf|archive-date=22 July 2022|publisher=University of East Anglia|website=Electoral Integrity Project}}</ref> Three alternative governments formed during the [[Syrian civil war]], the [[Syrian Interim Government]] (formed in 2013), [[Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria|Rojava]] (formed in 2016) and the [[Syrian Salvation Government]] (formed in 2017), control northern areas of the country and operated independently of the Syrian Arab Republic.=== Administrative divisions ===Syria is divided into 14 [[Governorates of Syria|governorates]], which are subdivided into 61 [[Districts of Syria|districts]], which are further divided into sub-districts.{| border="0" cellpadding="3"|-! | No. || Governorate || Capital|-| rowspan="15" | [[File:Syria, administrative divisions - Nmbrs - colored.svg|thumb|upright=2|Governorates of Syria]]|-| 1 || [[Latakia Governorate|Latakia]] || [[Latakia]]|-| 2 || [[Idlib Governorate|Idlib]] || [[Idlib]]|-| 3 || [[Aleppo Governorate|Aleppo]] || [[Aleppo]]|-| 4 || [[Raqqa Governorate|Raqqa]] || [[Raqqa]]|-| 5 || [[Al-Hasakah Governorate|Al-Hasakah]] || [[Al-Hasakah]]|-| 6 || [[Tartus Governorate|Tartus]] || [[Tartus]]|-| 7 || [[Hama Governorate|Hama]] || [[Hama]]|-| 8 || [[Deir ez-Zor Governorate|Deir ez-Zor]] || [[Deir ez-Zor]]|-| 9 || [[Homs Governorate|Homs]] || [[Homs]]|-| 10 || [[Damascus Governorate|Damascus]] || [[Damascus]]|-| 11 || [[Rif Dimashq Governorate|Rif Dimashq]] || [[Douma, Syria|Douma]]|-| 12 || [[Quneitra Governorate|Quneitra]] || [[Quneitra]]|-| 13 || [[Daraa Governorate|Daraa]] || [[Daraa]]|-| 14 || [[As-Suwayda Governorate|Al-Suwayda]] || [[Al-Suwayda]]|}==== Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria ====The [[Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria]] (AANES), while de facto autonomous, is not recognized by the country as such. The AANES, also known as Rojava,{{efn|The name "Rojava" ("The West") was initially used by the region's [[Democratic Union Party (Syria)|PYD]]-led government, before its usage was dropped in 2016.{{sfnp|Lister|2015|p=154}}{{sfnp|Allsopp|van Wilgenburg|2019|p=89}}<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.kurdistan24.net/en/news/51940fb9-3aff-4e51-bcf8-b1629af00299/-Rojava--no-longer-exists---Northern-Syria--adopted-instead-|title='Rojava' no longer exists, 'Northern Syria' adopted instead|website=Kurdistan24|access-date=14 October 2022|archive-date=31 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161231011741/https://www.kurdistan24.net/en/news/51940fb9-3aff-4e51-bcf8-b1629af00299/-Rojava--no-longer-exists---Northern-Syria--adopted-instead-|url-status=live}}</ref> Since then, the name is still used by locals and international observers.}} consists of self-governing [[Regions of North and East Syria|sub-regions]] in the areas of [[Afrin Region|Afrin]], [[Jazira Region|Jazira]], [[Euphrates Region|Euphrates]], [[Raqqa]], [[Al-Thawrah|Tabqa]], [[Manbij]] and [[Deir ez-Zor Governorate|Deir Ez-Zor]].{{sfnp|Allsopp|van Wilgenburg|2019|pp=97–98}}<ref name="Second conference of Shahba region">{{cite web|url=http://cantonafrin.com/en/news/view/1658.a-delegation-from-the-democratic-administration-of-self-participate-in-the-second-conference-of-the-el--shahba-region.html|title=Delegation from the Democratic administration of Self-participate of self-participate in the first and second conference of the Shaba region|date=4 February 2016|publisher=Cantonafrin.com|access-date=12 June 2016|archive-date=9 August 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160809175326/http://cantonafrin.com/en/news/view/1658.a-delegation-from-the-democratic-administration-of-self-participate-in-the-second-conference-of-the-el--shahba-region.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> The region gained its de facto autonomy in 2012 in the context of the ongoing [[Rojava conflict]] and the wider Syrian civil war, in which its official military force, the [[Syrian Democratic Forces]] (SDF), has taken part.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-49973218|title=Turkey's Syria offensive explained in four maps|date=14 October 2019|work=BBC News|access-date=1 November 2019|archive-date=10 October 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191010081358/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-49973218|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Syria Kurds adopt constitution for autonomous federal region|url=https://www.alaraby.co.uk/english/news/2016/12/30/syria-kurds-adopt-constitution-for-autonomous-federal-region|access-date=5 October 2018|publisher=TheNewArab|date=31 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181005194832/https://www.alaraby.co.uk/english/news/2016/12/30/syria-kurds-adopt-constitution-for-autonomous-federal-region|archive-date=5 October 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>While entertaining [[Foreign relations of North and East Syria|some foreign relations]], the region is not officially recognized as autonomous by the government of Syria or any state<ref name=russia-mediates>{{cite news|title=Syria's war: Assad on the offensive|url=https://www.economist.com/news/21690203-city-was-once-syrias-largest-faces-siege-assadu2019s-grip-tightens|access-date=1 May 2016|newspaper=[[The Economist]]|date=13 February 2016|archive-date=23 February 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180223145327/https://www.economist.com/news/21690203-city-was-once-syrias-largest-faces-siege-assadu2019s-grip-tightens|url-status=live}}</ref> though it has been recognized by the regional [[Parliament of Catalonia|Catalan Parliament]].<ref>{{Cite web|date=26 October 2021|title=Umar: Catalonian recognition of AANES is the beginning|url=http://www.hawarnews.com/en/haber/umar-catalonian-recognition-of-aanes-is-the-beginning-h27342.html|url-status=live|access-date=27 October 2021|website=[[Hawar News Agency]]|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211026094527/https://hawarnews.com/en/haber/umar-catalonian-recognition-of-aanes-is-the-beginning-h27342.html|archive-date=26 October 2021}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=van Wilgenburg|first=Wladimir|author-link=Wladimir van Wilgenburg|date=21 October 2021|title=Catalan parliament recognizes administration in northeast Syria|url=https://www.kurdistan24.net/en/story/25991-Catalan-parliament-recognizes-administration-in-northeast-Syria|url-status=live|access-date=27 October 2021|website=[[Kurdistan24]]|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211021074228/https://www.kurdistan24.net/en/story/25991-Catalan-parliament-recognizes-administration-in-northeast-Syria|archive-date=21 October 2021}}</ref> The AANES has widespread support for its universal democratic, sustainable, autonomous pluralist, equal, and feminist policies in dialogues with other parties and organizations.<ref name="tandfonline.com">{{Cite journal|url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14650045.2018.1554564|doi=10.1080/14650045.2018.1554564|title=Beyond Orientalism: Exploring the Distinctive Feminism of democratic confederalism in Rojava|year=2018|last1=Shahvisi|first1=Arianne|journal=Geopolitics|volume=26|issue=4|pages=1–25|s2cid=149972015|access-date=14 October 2022|archive-date=9 May 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220509020623/https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14650045.2018.1554564|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://anfenglish.com/news/german-mp-jelpke-rojava-needs-help-against-corona-pandemic-42546|title=German MP Jelpke: Rojava needs help against Corona pandemic|website=ANF News|access-date=14 October 2022|archive-date=27 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210427171838/https://anfenglish.com/news/german-mp-jelpke-rojava-needs-help-against-corona-pandemic-42546|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|title=Gender Revolution in Rojava: The Voices beyond Tabloid Geopolitics|first1=Bahar|last1=Şimşek|first2=Joost|last2=Jongerden|date=29 October 2018|journal=Geopolitics|volume=26|issue=4|pages=1023–1045|doi=10.1080/14650045.2018.1531283|doi-access=free|hdl=1887/87090|hdl-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Burç|first=Rosa|date=22 May 2020|title=Non-territorial autonomy and gender equality: The case of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria – Rojava|url=http://www.doiserbia.nb.rs/img/doi/0353-5738/2020/0353-57382003319B.pdf|journal=Philosophy and Society|volume=31|issue=3|pages=277–448|doi=10.2298/FID2003319B|s2cid=226412887|access-date=14 October 2022|archive-date=17 June 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220617192825/http://www.doiserbia.nb.rs/img/doi/0353-5738/2020/0353-57382003319B.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> Northeastern Syria is polyethnic and home to sizeable ethnic Kurdish, Arab and Assyrian populations, with smaller communities of ethnic [[Syrian Turkmen|Turkmen]], [[Armenians in Syria|Armenians]], [[Circassians]],<ref>{{cite book|last=Gammer|first=Moshe|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5CVBWjMAtLEC|title=The Caspian Region: The Caucasus|publisher=Routledge|year=2004|isbn=978-0-203-00512-5|volume=2|page=64|access-date=22 October 2017|archive-date=11 February 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230211033935/https://books.google.com/books?id=5CVBWjMAtLEC|url-status=live}}</ref> and [[Yazidis]].{{sfnp|Allsopp|van Wilgenburg|2019|pp=xviii, 112}}{{sfnp|Zabad|2017|pp=219, 228–229}}<ref>{{Cite book|last=Schmidinger|first=Thomas|title=The Battle for the Mountain of the Kurds|publisher=PM Press, Kairos|year=2019|isbn=978-1-62963-651-1|location=Oakland, CA|page=12|translator-last=Schiffmann|translator-first=Thomas|quote=Afrin was the home to the largest Ezidi minority in Syria.}}</ref>The supporters of the region's administration state that it is an officially secular polity{{sfnp|Allsopp|van Wilgenburg|2019|pp=xviii, 66, 200}}<ref name="marriage">{{cite web|date=20 February 2016|title=Syria Kurds challenging traditions, promote civil marriage|url=http://aranews.net/2016/02/syria-kurds-challenging-traditions-promote-civil-marriage/|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160222111444/http://aranews.net/2016/02/syria-kurds-challenging-traditions-promote-civil-marriage/|archive-date=22 February 2016|access-date=23 August 2016|publisher=[[ARA News]]}}</ref> with direct democratic ambitions based on an anarchistic, feminist, and libertarian socialist ideology promoting decentralization, gender equality,{{sfnp|Zabad|2017|p=219}}{{sfnp|Allsopp|van Wilgenburg|2019|pp=156–163}} environmental sustainability, social ecology and pluralistic tolerance for religious, cultural and political diversity, and that these values are mirrored in [[Constitution of North and East Syria|its constitution]], society, and politics, stating it to be a model for a [[Federalization of Syria|federalized Syria]] as a whole, rather than outright independence.<ref>{{cite news|title=PYD leader: SDF operation for Raqqa countryside in progress, Syria can only be secular|url=http://aranews.net/2016/05/poyd-leader-current-sdf-operation-recapture-northern-countryside-raqqa-not-city/|access-date=8 October 2016|publisher=[[ARA News]]|date=28 May 2016|archive-date=1 October 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161001094203/http://aranews.net/2016/05/poyd-leader-current-sdf-operation-recapture-northern-countryside-raqqa-not-city/|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="utopia">{{cite news|last=Ross|first=Carne|date=30 September 2015|title=The Kurds' Democratic Experiment|work=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/30/opinion/the-kurds-democratic-experiment.html|access-date=20 May 2016|archive-date=18 June 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190618184815/https://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/30/opinion/the-kurds-democratic-experiment.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=In der Maur|first1=Renée|last2=Staal|first2=Jonas|title=Stateless Democracy|date=2015|publisher=BAK|location=Utrecht|isbn=978-90-77288-22-1|page=19|url=http://newworldsummit.eu/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/NWA5-Stateless-Democracy1.pdf|chapter=Introduction|access-date=19 April 2016|archive-date=25 October 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161025095239/http://newworldsummit.eu/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/NWA5-Stateless-Democracy1.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name=Jongerden>{{cite web|url=http://www.ekurd.net/mismas/articles/misc2012/12/turkey4358b.pdf|title=Rethinking Politics and Democracy in the Middle East|last=Jongerden|first=Joost|date=6 December 2012|publisher=[[Ekurd.net]]|access-date=9 October 2016|archive-date=15 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160315143043/http://ekurd.net/mismas/articles/misc2012/12/turkey4358b.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> The region's administration has also been accused by some partisan and non-partisan sources of authoritarianism and support of the Syrian government.{{sfnp|Allsopp|van Wilgenburg|2019|pp=94, 130–131, 184}} However, despite this the AANES has been the most democratic system in Syria, with direct open elections, universal equality, respecting human rights within the region, as well as defense of minority and religious rights within Syria.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Knapp|first1=Michael|last2=Jongerden|first2=Joost|date=2014|title=Communal Democracy: The Social Contract and Confederalism in Rojava|url=https://journal.equinoxpub.com/CIS/article/view/9744|journal=Comparative Islamic Studies|language=en|volume=10|issue=1|pages=87–109|doi=10.1558/cis.29642|issn=1743-1638|access-date=19 January 2023|archive-date=19 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230119162824/https://journal.equinoxpub.com/CIS/article/view/9744|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|url=https://read.dukeupress.edu/south-atlantic-quarterly/article-abstract/115/1/184/3804/The-Rojava-Experience-Possibilities-and-Challenges|title=The Rojava Experience: Possibilities and Challenges of Building a Democratic Life|first1=Bülent|last1=Küçük|first2=Ceren|last2=Özselçuk|date=1 January 2016|journal=South Atlantic Quarterly|volume=115|issue=1|pages=184–196|via=read.dukeupress.edu|doi=10.1215/00382876-3425013|access-date=14 October 2022|archive-date=27 April 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220427094931/https://read.dukeupress.edu/south-atlantic-quarterly/article-abstract/115/1/184/3804/The-Rojava-Experience-Possibilities-and-Challenges|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Barkhoda|first=Dalir|title=The Experiment of the Rojava System in Grassroots Participatory Democracy: Its Theoretical Foundation, Structure, and Strategies|url=https://www.academia.edu/30582442|access-date=19 January 2023|archive-date=8 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230408083524/https://www.academia.edu/30582442|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="tandfonline.com"/><ref>{{Cite journal|url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14650045.2018.1508016|doi=10.1080/14650045.2018.1508016|title=When Öcalan met Bookchin: The Kurdish Freedom Movement and the Political Theory of Democratic Confederalism|year=2018|last1=Gerber|first1=Damian|last2=Brincat|first2=Shannon|journal=Geopolitics|volume=26|issue=4|pages=1–25|s2cid=150297675|access-date=14 October 2022|archive-date=27 April 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220427094729/https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14650045.2018.1508016|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imemo.ru/files/File/magazines/puty_miru/2016/02/04Moberg.pdf|title=NATION-BUILDING IN ROJAVA: PARTICIPATORY DEMOCRACY AMIDST THE SYRIAN CIVL WAR|website=Imemo.ru|access-date=4 December 2021|archive-date=22 June 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220622151413/https://www.imemo.ru/files/File/magazines/puty_miru/2016/02/04Moberg.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://repository.bilkent.edu.tr/bitstream/handle/11693/36653/bilkent-research-paper.pdf?sequence=1|format=PDF|title=RUPTURES AND RIPPLE EFFECTS IN THE MIDDLE EAST AND BEYOND|website=Repository.bilkent.edu.tr|access-date=4 December 2021|archive-date=18 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210718174324/http://repository.bilkent.edu.tr/bitstream/handle/11693/36653/bilkent-research-paper.pdf?sequence=1|url-status=live}}</ref>{{Excessive citations inline|reason=if we need 7 cites for one sentence please put them after the relevant comma to save work for anyone checking source text integrity|date=December 2024}}In 2019, the SDF announced that it had reached an agreement with the Syrian Army which allowed the latter to enter the SDF-held cities of [[Manbij]] and [[Kobani]] in order to dissuade a Turkish attack on those cities as part of the cross-border offensive by Turkish and Turkish-backed Syrian rebels.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-syria-security-towns-report-idUSKBN1WS0K0|title=Report: Syrian army to enter SDF-held Kobani, Manbij|website=Reuters|date=14 October 2019|access-date=1 November 2019|archive-date=13 October 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191013164335/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-syria-security-towns-report-idUSKBN1WS0K0|url-status=live}}</ref> The Syrian Army also deployed in the north of Syria together with the SDF along the Syrian-Turkish border and entered into several SDF-held cities such as Ayn Issa and Tell Tamer.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-syria-security-government-sdf-idUSKBN1WS0PF|title=Syrian army to deploy along Turkish border in deal with Kurdish-led forces|website=Reuters|date=14 October 2019|access-date=1 November 2019|archive-date=22 October 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191022053311/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-syria-security-government-sdf-idUSKBN1WS0PF|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/syrian-army-moves-to-confront-turkish-forces-as-us-withdraws/|title=Syrian army moves to confront Turkish forces as US withdraws|website=Times of Israel|date=14 October 2019|access-date=1 November 2019|archive-date=14 October 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191014110752/https://www.timesofisrael.com/syrian-army-moves-to-confront-turkish-forces-as-us-withdraws/|url-status=live}}</ref> Following the creation of the [[Second Northern Syria Buffer Zone]] the SDF stated that it was ready to work cooperatively with the Syrian Army if a political settlement between the Syrian government and the SDF was achieved.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-syria-security-idUKKBN1X319A|title=Syrian Kurds accuse Turkey of violations, Russia says peace plan on track|website=Reuters|date=24 October 2019|access-date=1 November 2019|archive-date=24 October 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191024140036/https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-syria-security-idUKKBN1X319A|url-status=dead}}</ref>=== Foreign relations ==={{Main|Foreign relations of Syria}}[[File:Diplomatic relations of Syria.svg|thumb|[[List of diplomatic missions of Syria|Diplomatic relations of Syria]]]]; Ba'athist eraEnsuring national security, increasing influence among its Arab neighbors, and securing the return of the [[Golan Heights]], have been the primary goals of Syria's foreign policy. At many points in its history, Syria has seen virulent tension with its geographically cultural neighbors, such as Turkey, Israel, Iraq, and Lebanon. Syria enjoyed an improvement in relations with several of the states in its region in the 21st century, prior to the Arab Spring and the Syrian civil war.Since the ongoing civil war of 2011 and associated killings and human rights abuses, Syria has been increasingly isolated from the countries in the region and the wider international community. Diplomatic relations have been severed with several countries including: Britain, Canada, France, Italy, Germany, Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, United States, Belgium, Spain, and the Arab states of the Persian Gulf.<ref>{{cite web|last=Strenger|first=Carlo|url=http://www.haaretz.com/news/middle-east/assad-takes-a-page-out-of-russia-s-book-in-his-war-against-rebels-1.411789|title=Assad takes a page out of Russia's book in his war against rebels|work=Haaretz|date=8 February 2012|access-date=15 January 2013|archive-date=9 February 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120209101845/http://www.haaretz.com/news/middle-east/assad-takes-a-page-out-of-russia-s-book-in-his-war-against-rebels-1.411789|url-status=live}}</ref>[[File:Syria military involvement.svg|thumb|upright=1.15|Map of world and Syria (red) with military involvement:{{legend|red|Countries that supported the government of Bashar al-Assad}}{{legend|blue|Countries that supported the Syrian opposition}}]]From the Arab league, Syria continues to maintain diplomatic relations with Algeria, Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, Sudan and Yemen. Following its violent suppression of the Arab Spring protests of the 2011 Syrian Revolution, the Syrian government was suspended from the Arab League in November 2011 for over 11 years, until its reinstatement in 2023.<ref name="NYT Arab League">{{cite news|last=MacFarquhar|first=Neil|date=12 November 2011|title=Arab League Votes to Suspend Syria|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/13/world/middleeast/arab-league-votes-to-suspend-syria-over-its-crackdown-on-protesters.html|access-date=12 November 2011|archive-date=13 November 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111113011207/http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/13/world/middleeast/arab-league-votes-to-suspend-syria-over-its-crackdown-on-protesters.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Syria also quit the [[Union for the Mediterranean]].<ref>{{cite news|date=1 December 2012|title=Syria suspends its membership in Mediterranean union|publisher=Xinhua News Agency|url=http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2011-12/01/c_131282989.htm|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111206201635/http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/world/2011-12/01/c_131282989.htm|archive-date=6 December 2011}}</ref> After 11 years, the Arab League readmitted Syria.<ref>{{Cite news|date=7 May 2023|title=Arab League brings Syria back into its fold after 12 years|work=Al Jazeera|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/5/7/arab-league-agrees-to-bring-syria-back-into-its-fold|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230507172435/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/5/7/arab-league-agrees-to-bring-syria-back-into-its-fold|archive-date=7 May 2023}}</ref> The [[Organisation of Islamic Cooperation]] suspended Syria in August 2012 citing "deep concern at the [[List of massacres in Syria|massacres]] and inhuman acts" perpetrated by forces loyal to Bashar al-Assad.<ref name="CNN OIC"/>==== International disputes ===={{See also|Turkish occupation of northern Syria|Israeli occupation of the Golan Heights}}In 1939, while Syria was still a French mandate the French allowed a plebiscite regarding the [[Sanjak of Alexandretta]] joining 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 originally from the Sanjak but lived in [[Adana]] and other areas near the border 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 move by the French was very controversial in Syria, and only five years later Syria became independent.<ref name="Morris9">{{cite book|chapter=[[The New Turkey#Chapter 9: Crossroads|Chapter 9: Crossroads]]|author=Morris, Chris|title=The New Turkey|publisher=[[Granta Books]]|pages=[https://archive.org/details/newturkeyquietre0000morr_l7s3/page/203 203–227]|location=London|year=2005|isbn=978-1-86207-865-9|title-link=The New Turkey|author-link=Chris Morris (journalist)}}</ref> Despite the Turkish annexation of the Sanjak of Alexandretta, the Syrian government has refused to recognize Turkish sovereignty over the region since Independence, except for a short period in 1949.<ref name="AlexandrettaTurkeyRelations">{{cite journal|last1=Sanjian|first1=Avedis K.|title=The Sanjak of Alexandretta (Hatay): Its Impact on Turkish-Syrian Relations (1939–1956)|journal=The Middle East Journal|date=1956|volume=10|issue=4|pages=379–394|jstor=4322848|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/4322848|access-date=22 December 2022|archive-date=22 December 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221222083853/https://www.jstor.org/stable/4322848|url-status=live}}</ref>[[File:Golan heights border.jpg|thumb|[[Golan Heights]] was occupied by Israel since the [[Six-Day War]].|left]]The western two-thirds of Syria's Golan Heights region are since 1967 [[Israeli-occupied territories|occupied by Israel]] and were in 1981 [[Golan Heights Law|effectively annexed]] by [[Israel]],<ref name="occupiedSyrian">*"The international community maintains that the Israeli decision to impose its laws, jurisdiction and administration in the occupied Syrian Golan is null and void and without international legal effect." {{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DqIv03qWPc0C|title=The situation of workers of the occupied Arab territories|author=International Labour Office|edition=International government publication|publisher=International Labour Office|year=2009|isbn=978-92-2-120630-9|page=23}}. * "...occupied Syrian Golan Heights..." ([http://www.al-bab.com/arab/docs/league/peace02.htm The Arab Peace Initiative, 2002] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090604091304/http://www.al-bab.com/arab/docs/league/peace02.htm |date=4 June 2009 }}, ''www.al-bab.com''. Retrieved 1 August 2010.)* In 2008, a plenary session of the United Nations General Assembly voted by 161–1 in favor of a motion on the "occupied Syrian Golan" that reaffirmed support for UN Resolution 497. ([https://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2008/ga10794.doc.htm General Assembly adopts broad range of texts, 26 in all, on recommendation of its fourth Committee, including on decolonization, information, Palestine refugees] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110628235312/http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2008/ga10794.doc.htm |date=28 June 2011 }}, United Nations, 5 December 2008.)* "the Syrian Golan Heights territory, which Israel has occupied since 1967". Also, "the Golan Heights, a 450-square mile portion of southwestern Syria that Israel occupied during the 1967 Arab-Israeli war." ([https://fpc.state.gov/documents/organization/62681.pdf CRS Issue Brief for Congress: Syria: U.S. Relations and Bilateral Issues] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180918231125/https://fpc.state.gov/documents/organization/62681.pdf |date=18 September 2018 }}, Congressional Research Service. 19 January 2006)</ref><ref name="InternationalCommunityOccupiedTerritory">Occupied territory:* "Israeli-occupied Golan Heights" (Central Intelligence Agency. [https://books.google.com/books?id=pqanFyF6nI0C&pg=PA339 CIA World Factbook 2010], Skyhorse Publishing Inc., 2009. p. 339. {{ISBN|1-60239-727-9}}.)* "...the United States considers the Golan Heights to be occupied territory subject to negotiation and Israeli withdrawal..." ([https://fpc.state.gov/documents/organization/9570.pdf "CRS Issue Brief for Congress: Israeli-United States Relations"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030424042458/https://fpc.state.gov/documents/organization/9570.pdf |date=24 April 2003 }}, Congressional Research Service, 5 April 2002. pg. 5. Retrieved 1 August 2010.)* "Occupied Golan Heights" ([http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/travelling-and-living-overseas/travel-advice-by-country/middle-east-north-africa/israel-occupied Travel advice: Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090720052803/http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/travelling-and-living-overseas/travel-advice-by-country/middle-east-north-africa/israel-occupied |date=20 July 2009 }}, UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office. Retrieved 1 August 2010.)* "In the ICRC's view, the Golan is an occupied territory." ([http://www.icrc.org/web/eng/siteeng0.nsf/htmlall/israel-golan-311207?OpenDocument&style=custo_print ICRC activities in the occupied Golan during 2007] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210215201012/https://www.icrc.org/en?OpenDocument=&style=custo_print |date=15 February 2021 }}, International Committee of the Red Cross, 24 April 2008.)</ref> whereas the eastern third is controlled by Syria, with the [[United Nations Disengagement Observer Force|UNDOF]] maintaining a buffer zone in between, to implement the ceasefire of the [[Purple Line (ceasefire line)|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 international legal effect." Since then, General Assembly resolutions on "The Occupied Syrian Golan" reaffirm the illegality of Israeli occupation and annexation.<ref>{{Cite web|date=12 October 2020|title=About Us – Al-Marsad – المرصد|url=https://golan-marsad.org/about-us/#background|access-date=19 January 2023|language=en-US|archive-date=26 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210126103226/https://golan-marsad.org/about-us/#background|url-status=live}}</ref> The Syrian government continues to demand the return of this territory.<ref>{{Cite journal|title=Resolving the Future of the Occupied Syrian Golan|url=https://www.odu.edu/content/dam/odu/offices/mun/2017/ib-2017-fourth-golan.pdf|journal=Old Dominion University Model United Nations|access-date=9 May 2022|archive-date=17 August 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220817185558/https://odu.edu/content/dam/odu/offices/mun/2017/ib-2017-fourth-golan.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>[[File:2024 Israeli invasion of Syria.png|thumb|190px|Israeli-occupied [[Golan Heights]] and [[2024 Israeli invasion of Syria|Israeli invasion of Syria]] in December 2024]]During [[2024 Israeli invasion of Syria|its invasion of Syria]] in December 2024, Israel took control of the U.N.-patrolled buffer zone on Syrian territory, a move that violated the [[Agreement on Disengagement between Israel and Syria|1974 disengagement agreement]] with Syria.<ref>{{cite news |title=Netanyahu says Israeli troops will occupy a buffer zone inside Syria for the foreseeable future |url=https://apnews.com/article/syria-war-assad-israel-news-17-december-2024-4d7f0b35e08d5e853c776193272fb2d6 |work=AP News |date=18 December 2024}}</ref> On 23 February 2025, Israeli Prime Minister [[Benjamin Netanyahu]] demanded the complete demilitarization of southern Syria in the provinces of [[Quneitra Governorate|Quneitra]], [[Daraa Governorate|Daraa]] and [[Suwayda Governorate|Suweyda]], and the withdrawal of Syrian forces from Syrian territory south of Damascus.<ref>{{cite news |title=Israel demands complete demilitarisation of southern Syria |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvgenz02lp8o |work=BBC |date=24 February 2025}}</ref> Israeli Defense Minister [[Israel Katz]] said that Israeli forces would remain in southern Syria "for an indefinite period of time to protect our communities and thwart any threat."<ref>{{cite news |title=Netanyahu says Israel won't allow Syrian forces 'south of Damascus' |url=https://www.voanews.com/a/netanyahu-says-israel-won-t-allow-syrian-forces-south-of-damascus-/7985248.html |work=VOA News |date=23 February 2025}}</ref> Syria's new regime under transitional President [[Ahmed al-Sharaa]] condemned Israel's occupation of Syrian lands and demanded Israel's withdrawal.<ref>{{Cite web |date=25 February 2025 |title=Syria calls for Israel's withdrawal from its lands, national dialogue closing statement says |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/syria-calls-israels-withdrawal-its-lands-national-dialogue-closing-statement-2025-02-25/ |website=Reuters}}</ref>The [[Turkish Armed Forces]] and its ally the [[Syrian National Army]] have [[Turkish occupation of northern Syria|occupied areas of northern Syria]] since 2016, during the Syrian civil war.<ref>{{cite news |title='We are still at war': Syria's Kurds battle Turkey months after Assad's fall |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4g0w0x28yxo |work=BBC |date=25 February 2025}}</ref>In early 1976, Syria entered Lebanon, beginning their 29-year [[Syrian occupation of Lebanon|military presence]]. Syria entered on the invitation of Suleiman Franjieh, the Maronite Christian president at the time to help aid the Lebanese Christian militias against the Palestinian militias.<ref name="St. Petersburg Times">{{cite news|title=Political foe of Syrians wounded on Beirut street|url=https://www.newspapers.com/search/#ymd=1976-11-12&query=syria+lebanon&p_place=FL&oquery=syria+lebanon++November+12%2C+1976|access-date=17 March 2020|agency=St. Petersburg Times|publisher=Tampa Bay Times (previously named the St. Petersburg Times through 2011)|date=12 November 1976|archive-date=3 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181003153501/https://www.newspapers.com/search/#ymd=1976-11-12&query=syria+lebanon&p_place=FL&oquery=syria+lebanon++November+12%2C+1976|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Syria's role in Lebanon|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/focus/lebanon/2007/07/200852517306599517.html|publisher=Al Jazeera|access-date=11 August 2020|archive-date=16 November 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111116171903/https://www.aljazeera.com/focus/lebanon/2007/07/200852517306599517.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Over the following 15 years of [[Lebanese Civil War|Lebanese civil war]], Syria fought for control over Lebanon. The Syrian military remained in Lebanon until 2005 in response to domestic and international pressure after the assassination of Lebanese Prime Minister [[Rafik Hariri]].<ref name="BBC">{{cite news|title=Syrian troops leave Lebanese soil|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4484325.stm|website=BBC News|date=26 April 2005|publisher=BBC|access-date=11 August 2020|archive-date=16 September 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120916053503/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4484325.stm|url-status=live}}</ref>Another disputed territory is the [[Shebaa farms]], located in the intersection of the [[Lebanese-Syrian border]] and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. The farms, which are 11{{spaces}}km long and about 3 kilometers wide were occupied by Israel in 1981, along with rest of the Golan Heights.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/5281178.stm|title=Israeli views on Shebaa Farms harden|date=25 August 2006|work=BBC News|access-date=30 December 2017|archive-date=29 August 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060829163202/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/5281178.stm|url-status=live}}</ref> Yet following Syrian army advances the Israeli occupation ended and Syria became the de facto ruling power over the farms. Yet after Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon in 2000, [[Hezbollah]] claimed that the withdrawal was not complete because Shebaa was on Lebanese – not Syrian – territory.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3289532,00.html|title=Shebaa Farms – nub of conflict|date=8 October 2006|work=Ynetnews|last1=Berman|first1=Yaniv|last2=Line|first2=Media|access-date=30 December 2017|archive-date=19 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230119094921/https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3289532,00.html|url-status=live}}</ref> After studying 81 maps, the United Nations concluded that there is no evidence of the abandoned farmlands being Lebanese.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jpost.com/Israel/Har-Dov-withdrawal-not-on-the-table|title=Har Dov withdrawal not on the table|work=The Jerusalem Post|date=26 July 2006|access-date=30 December 2017|archive-date=25 March 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140325013533/http://www.jpost.com/Israel/Har-Dov-withdrawal-not-on-the-table|url-status=live}}</ref> Nevertheless, Lebanon has continued to claim ownership of the territory.=== Military ===[[File:VOA Arrott - A View of Syria, Under Government Crackdown 08.jpg|thumb|right|A [[Syrian Army]] soldier manning a checkpoint outside of [[Damascus]] shortly after the outbreak of the [[Syrian civil war]], 2012]]The President of Syria is commander in chief of the [[Syrian Arab Armed Forces|Syrian Armed Forces]], comprising some 400,000 troops upon mobilization.The military is a conscripted force; males serve 30 months in the military upon reaching the age of 18.<ref>{{cite web |title=Syria: Government and Political Conditions |url=https://2009-2017.state.gov/outofdate/bgn/syria/25610.htm#:~:text=President%20Bashar%20Al%2DAsad%20is,reaching%20the%20age%20of%2018 |publisher=U.S. Department of State |date= |access-date=9 December 2024 }}</ref> The obligatory military service period is being decreased over 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/xinhua/2011-03-20/content_2068776.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110503190742/http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/xinhua/2011-03-20/content_2068776.html|archive-date=3 May 2011|title=Syria reduces compulsory military service by three months|work=China Daily|date=20 March 2011|access-date=23 April 2011}}</ref>The breakup of the Soviet Union—long the principal source of training, material, and credit for the Syrian forces—may have slowed Syria's ability to acquire modern military equipment. It has an arsenal of surface-to-surface missiles. In the early 1990s, [[Scud]]-C missiles with a {{convert|500|km|adj=on|abbr=off}} range were procured from North Korea, and Scud-D, with a range of up to {{convert|700|km|abbr=off}}, is allegedly being developed by Syria with the help of North Korea and Iran, according to Zisser.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Zisser |first=Eyal |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/syrias-embrace-of-wmd/article25680138/ |title=Syria's embrace of WMD |work=The Globe and Mail |date=28 September 2004 |archive-date=20 February 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250220001228/https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/syrias-embrace-of-wmd/article25680138/ }}</ref>Syria received significant financial aid from [[Arab states of the Persian Gulf]] as a result of its participation in the [[Gulf War|Persian Gulf War]], with a sizable portion of these funds earmarked for military spending. Iran and Russia are biggest suppliers of military aid to the Assad-led Syrian Government.=== Human rights ==={{See also|Human rights in Ba'athist Syria}}[[File:Wounded civilians arrive at hospital Aleppo.jpg|thumb|Wounded civilians arrive at a hospital in Aleppo, October 2012.|left]]Prior to the fall of the Assad regime, the situation for [[human rights in Syria]] has long been a significant concern among independent organizations such as [[Human Rights Watch]], who in 2010 referred to the country's record as "among the worst in the world."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-syria-rights-idUSTRE70N5S620110124|title=Syria among worst for rights abuses: HRW report|date=24 January 2011|work=Reuters|access-date=5 July 2021|archive-date=24 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924150754/http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/01/24/us-syria-rights-idUSTRE70N5S620110124|url-status=live}}</ref> The 2011 [[Freedom House]] report<ref name="debate">{{cite news|title=Bush enters debate on freedom in Iran|url=https://www.ft.com/content/364cda0e-c016-11da-939f-0000779e2340|first=Guy|last=Dinmore|date=31 March 2006|work=Financial Times|access-date=6 April 2006|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180311050710/https://www.ft.com/content/364cda0e-c016-11da-939f-0000779e2340|archive-date=11 March 2018}}{{subscription required}}</ref> ranked Syria "Not Free" in its annual [[Freedom in the World]] survey.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://freedomhouse.org/template.cfm?page=363&year=2011&country=8143|title=Freedom in the World Report: Syria|date=January 2011|access-date=22 August 2011|archive-date=23 December 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111223011741/http://freedomhouse.org/template.cfm?page=363&year=2011&country=8143|url-status=dead}}</ref> The Ba'ath regime was a totalitarian dictatorship that has been internationally condemned for its domestic and political repression, including [[Capital punishment in Syria|summary executions]], [[Internet censorship in Syria|massive censorship]],<ref>{{Cite book|title=World Report 2019: Rights Trends in Syria|date=17 December 2018|publisher=Human Rights Watch|chapter=Syria: Events of 2018|chapter-url=https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2019/country-chapters/syria|access-date=18 October 2019|archive-date=31 October 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191031220356/https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2019/country-chapters/syria|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=OHCHR {{!}} IICISyria Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic|url=https://www.ohchr.org/En/HRBodies/HRC/IICISyria/Pages/IndependentInternationalCommission.aspx|access-date=19 October 2020|website=www.ohchr.org|archive-date=22 February 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130222060625/https://www.ohchr.org/En/HRBodies/HRC/IICISyria/Pages/IndependentInternationalCommission.aspx|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Enforced disappearance|forced disappearances]],<ref name="ReferenceA">{{Cite web|date=30 November 2022|title=Syria: Families of 'Disappeared' Deserve Answers|url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2022/11/30/syria-families-disappeared-deserve-answers|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230201233504/https://www.hrw.org/news/2022/11/30/syria-families-disappeared-deserve-answers|archive-date=1 February 2023|website=[[Human Rights Watch]]}}</ref><ref name="ohchr.org">{{Cite web|date=2 August 2022|title=A/76/890: Missing people in the Syrian Arab Republic — Report of the Secretary-General|url=https://www.ohchr.org/en/documents/reports/a76890-missing-people-syrian-arab-republic-report-secretary-general|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230105143530/https://www.ohchr.org/en/documents/reports/a76890-missing-people-syrian-arab-republic-report-secretary-general|archive-date=5 January 2023|website=United Nations-OHCHR}}</ref> etc. as well as numerous crimes against Syrian civilians perpetrated during the civil war, such as massacres, [[List of Syrian civil war barrel bomb attacks|barrel-bombings]], chemical attacks, etc.<ref>{{Cite news|date=5 January 2023|title=Syria: Chemical weapons pose unacceptable threat, and are a 'danger to us all'|url=https://press.un.org/en/2023/sc15276.doc.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230218181235/https://news.un.org/en/story/2023/01/1132182|archive-date=18 February 2023|work=UN News}}</ref><ref name="press.un.org">{{Cite web|date=8 May 2023|title=Syria's Chemical Weapons Declaration Remains Incomplete, Disarmament Chief Tells Security Council|url=https://press.un.org/en/2023/sc15276.doc.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230511180420/https://press.un.org/en/2023/sc15276.doc.htm|archive-date=11 May 2023}}</ref>The authorities are accused of arresting democracy and human rights activists, censoring websites, detaining bloggers, and imposing travel bans. Arbitrary detention, torture, and disappearances are widespread.<ref name="ReferenceA"/><ref name="ohchr.org"/><ref name="hrw.org">{{cite book|title=Syria: Events of 2008|date=13 January 2009|url=https://www.hrw.org/en/node/79303|publisher=Human Rights Watch|access-date=4 December 2016|archive-date=4 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200804061316/https://www.hrw.org/en/node/79303|url-status=live}}</ref> Although Syria's constitution guarantees gender equality, critics say that personal statutes laws and the penal code discriminate against women and girls. Moreover, it also grants leniency for so-called honour killing.<ref name="hrw.org" /> As of 9 November 2011 during the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad, the United Nations reported that of the over 3,500 deaths, over 250 deaths were children as young as two years old, and that boys as young as 11 years old have been gang-raped by security services officers.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052970203935604577066623669457632|url-access=subscription|title=More than 250 children among dead, U.N. says|first=Joe|last=Lauria|work=The Wall Street Journal|date=29 November 2011|access-date=29 November 2011|archive-date=10 July 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170710042103/https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052970203935604577066623669457632|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/2011/11/28/world/meast/syria-un-report/index.html|title=UN report: Syrian forces commit 'gross violations' of human rights|website=CNN|date=29 November 2011|access-date=29 November 2011|archive-date=29 November 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111129205607/http://www.cnn.com/2011/11/28/world/meast/syria-un-report/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Free Syrian Army|People opposing President Assad's rule]] claim that more than 200, mostly civilians, were massacred and about 300 injured in Hama in shelling by the government forces on 12 July 2012.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/article3634445.ece|website=The Hindu|title=200 massacred in Hama, claim Syrian activists|date=13 July 2012|access-date=13 July 2012|archive-date=18 January 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160118010341/http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/article3634445.ece|url-status=dead}}</ref>In August 2013, the government was suspected of using chemical weapons against its civilians. U.S. Secretary of State [[John Kerry]] said it was "undeniable" that chemical weapons had been used in the country and that al-Assad's forces had committed a "moral obscenity" against his own people. "Make no mistake," Kerry said. "President Obama believes there must be accountability for those who would use the world's most heinous weapon against the world's most vulnerable people. Nothing today is more serious, and nothing is receiving more serious scrutiny".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/aug/26/syria-us-un-inspection-kerry|first1=Paul|last1=Lewis|first2=Martin|last2=Chulov|first3=Julian|last3=Borger|first4=Nicholas|last4=Watt|title=Iran warns west against military intervention in Syria|work=The Guardian|date=27 August 2013|access-date=28 August 2013|archive-date=26 August 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130826202448/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/aug/26/syria-us-un-inspection-kerry|url-status=live}}</ref> The Emergency Law, effectively suspending most constitutional protections, was in effect from 1963 until 21 April 2011. It was justified by the government in the light of the continuing war with Israel over the Golan Heights.<ref name="autogenerated1" /><ref name="decree53" />In August 2014, [[Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights|UN Human Rights]] chief [[Navi Pillay]] criticized the international community over its "paralysis" in dealing with the civil war gripping the country, which by 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 were targeted by Islamists and other groups.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/14/world/middleeast/christians-squeezed-out-by-violent-struggle-in-north-syria.html|url-access=subscription|title=Christians Squeezed Out by Violent Struggle in North Syria|date=13 February 2013|author=Güsten, Susanne|work=The New York Times|access-date=18 February 2017|archive-date=3 January 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190103011009/https://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/14/world/middleeast/christians-squeezed-out-by-violent-struggle-in-north-syria.html?pagewanted=all|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Syria: Sunnis Threatening to Massacre Minority Alawites|url=http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/151013|publisher=Arutz Sheva|date=23 December 2011|first=Elad|last=Behari|access-date=19 October 2014|archive-date=16 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181116081719/http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/151013|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|date=5 January 2023|title=Syria: Chemical weapons pose unacceptable threat, and are a 'danger to us all'|work=UN News|url=https://press.un.org/en/2023/sc15276.doc.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230218181235/https://news.un.org/en/story/2023/01/1132182|archive-date=18 February 2023}}</ref><ref name="press.un.org"/> Three years later in April 2017, the U.S. Navy carried out a [[2017 Shayrat missile strike|missile attack]] against a Syrian air base<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.foxnews.com/world/us-launches-missiles-into-syria-in-response-to-chemical-weapons-attack|title=US launches missiles into Syria in response to chemical weapons attack|first=Jennifer|last=Griffin|publisher=[[Fox News]]|date=6 April 2017|access-date=7 April 2017|archive-date=7 April 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170407014153/http://www.foxnews.com/world/2017/04/06/us-launches-missiles-into-syria-in-response-to-chemical-weapons-attack.html|url-status=live}}</ref> which had allegedly been used to conduct a [[Khan Shaykhun chemical attack|chemical weapons attack]] on Syrian civilians, according to the U.S. government.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/turkish-autopsies-confirm-chemical-weapons-used-in-syria-attack-that-killed-scores/2017/04/06/4d660ac4-1aa7-11e7-8003-f55b4c1cfae2_story.html|title=Deadly nerve agent sarin used in Syria attack, Turkish Health Ministry says|first=Louisa|last=Loveluck|date=6 April 2017|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=7 April 2017|archive-date=5 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190405061642/https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/turkish-autopsies-confirm-chemical-weapons-used-in-syria-attack-that-killed-scores/2017/04/06/4d660ac4-1aa7-11e7-8003-f55b4c1cfae2_story.html|url-status=live}}</ref> In November 2021, the U.S. Central Command called a 2019 airstrike that killed civilians in Syria "legitimate". The acknowledgement came after a New York Times investigation said the military had concealed the death of dozens of non-combatants.<ref>{{Cite web|date=15 November 2021|title=US claims 2019 Syria airstrike investigated by NY Times 'legitimate'|url=https://www.france24.com/en/americas/20211115-us-claims-2019-syria-airstrike-investigated-by-ny-times-legitimate|access-date=9 May 2022|website=France 24|language=en|archive-date=15 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211115001816/https://www.france24.com/en/americas/20211115-us-claims-2019-syria-airstrike-investigated-by-ny-times-legitimate|url-status=live}}</ref>== Economy =={{Main|Economy of Syria}}[[File:GDP per capita development of Syria.svg|class=skin-invert-image|thumb|Historical development of real GDP per capita in Syria, since 1820]][[File:Damascus, Syria, The city square.jpg|thumb|[[Damascus]] before the war, 2008]]The ongoing civil war have left a negative impact on Syria's economy. However, Syria's economy began changing much before the beginning of the war. Syria's share in global exports has eroded gradually since 2001.<ref name="wbgrowth10">{{cite web |date=21 February 2011 |title=Economic Challenges and Reform Options for Syria: A Growth Diagnostics Report |url=http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTDEBTDEPT/Resources/468980-1218567884549/5289593-1224797529767/5506237-1270144995464/DFSG03SyriaFR.pdf |publisher=World Bank |page=10}}</ref> The real per capita GDP growth was just 2.5% per year in the 2000–2008 period.<ref name="wbgrowth10" /> Poverty rates increased from 11% in 2004 to 12.3% in 2007.<ref name="wbgrowth10" /> In 2007, main exports included crude oil, refined products, raw cotton, clothing, fruits, and grains. The bulk of imports are raw materials essential for industry, vehicles, agricultural equipment, and heavy machinery. Earnings from oil exports as well as remittances from Syrian workers are the government's most important sources of foreign exchange.<ref name="USDoS" />[[File:Al-Hamidiyah Souq 02.jpg|thumb|[[Al-Hamidiyah Souq]] in Damascus in 2010|left]]Despite this, prior to the war, Syria was one of the most dynamic markets in the Middle East.<ref name=":7">{{Cite web |title=Ousted Assad regime leaves Syria, economy in ruins |url=https://www.aa.com.tr/en/economy/ousted-assad-regime-leaves-syria-economy-in-ruins/3427778 |access-date=16 March 2025 |website=www.aa.com.tr}}</ref> The government visioned a transition of Syria into a free market economy.<ref name=":7" /> The rising oil reserves triggered rapid growth in the economy, creating business opportunities for foreign firms and investments, as the booming oil and gas industry and infrastructure projects made Syria an attractive market.<ref name=":7" /> Prior to the war the government hoped to attract new investment in the tourism, natural gas, and service sectors to diversify its economy and reduce its dependence on oil and agriculture.<ref name=":7" /> The government began to institute economic reforms aimed at liberalizing most markets, but those reforms were slow and ad hoc, and were completely reversed since the outbreak of conflict.<ref>{{cite news |date=4 July 2012 |title=Syria reverts to socialist economic policies to ease tension |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-syria-economy-socialist-idUSBRE8630FA20120704 |access-date=27 October 2012 |work=Reuters}}</ref> The [[UNDP]] announced in 2005 that 30% of the population lived in poverty, and 11.4% live below the subsistence level.<ref name="USDoS" /> At the outset of the civil war, Syria was classified by the [[World Bank]] as a "lower middle income country,"<ref name="data.worldbank.org">{{cite web |title=Country and Lending Groups |url=http://data.worldbank.org/about/country-classifications/country-and-lending-groups |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110318125456/http://data.worldbank.org/about/country-classifications/country-and-lending-groups |archive-date=18 March 2011 |access-date=26 July 2012 |publisher=World Bank}}</ref> though in 2010 Syria remained dependent on the oil and [[agriculture sector]]s.<ref name="wbbrief">{{cite web |title=Syria Country Brief, September 2010 |url=http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTSYRIANARAB/Resources/Syria_Web_brief.pdf |publisher=World Bank}}</ref> The oil sector provided about 40% of export earnings.<ref name="wbbrief" />During the civil war, the [[Economy of Syria|Syrian economy]] relied upon dwindling customs and income taxes which are heavily bolstered by lines of credit from Iran,<ref name="revenues_shrink">{{cite news |date=30 May 2015 |title=Syria regime revenues shrink as losses mount |url=https://www.dailystar.com.lb/Business/Regional/2015/May-30/299784-syria-regime-revenues-shrink-as-losses-mount.ashx |access-date=31 May 2015 |work=The Daily Star |agency=Agence France-Presse}}</ref> Russia and China.<ref name="economycrumble">{{cite news |date=13 July 2013 |title=Syria Weighs Its Tactics as Pillars of Its Economy Continue to Crumble |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/14/world/middleeast/government-in-syria-searches-for-answers-as-economy-crumbles.html |access-date=13 July 2013 |newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref> Iran is believed to have spent between $6{{spaces}}billion and US$20{{spaces}}billion per year on Syria during the first four years of the civil war.<ref>{{cite news |date=11 June 2015 |title=Iran spends billions to prop up Assad |url=https://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2015/Jun-11/301349-iran-spends-billions-to-prop-up-assad.ashx |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190517021040/http://www.dailystar.com.lb//News/Middle-East/2015/Jun-11/301349-iran-spends-billions-to-prop-up-assad.ashx |archive-date=17 May 2019 |access-date=11 June 2015 |publisher=TDA |agency=Bloomberg}}</ref> The [[Syrian pound]] lost 80% of its value, with the economy becoming part [[State-owned enterprise|state-owned]] and part [[war economy]].<ref>{{cite web |date=23 June 2015 |title=Syria's economy cut in half by conflict |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-33244164 |access-date=24 June 2015 |work=BBC News}}</ref> Proven [[Offshore drilling|offshore]] expeditions have indicated that large sums of oil exist on the Mediterranean Sea floor between Syria and Cyprus.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iW9VAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA209 |title=Transactions of the American Institute of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers |date=1921 |publisher=The Institute of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers}}</ref> The 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 become a net oil importer.<ref name="wbbrief" /> {{As of|2012}}, the value of overall exports was slashed by two-thirds, from the figure of US$12{{spaces}}billion in 2010 to only US$4{{spaces}}billion in 2012.<ref name="AFP economy">{{cite news |title=Syria's battling economy may hold on with help from friends |url=https://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iIP7T7v6W5nxdJfSVrQhm5aszqgQ?docId=CNG.7610691ef383e1f07fd5e86d87ebce6e.561 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120823112658/https://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iIP7T7v6W5nxdJfSVrQhm5aszqgQ?docId=CNG.7610691ef383e1f07fd5e86d87ebce6e.561 |archive-date=23 August 2012 |access-date=28 August 2012 |agency=Agence France-Presse}}</ref>Since 2012, oil and tourism industries in particular have been devastated, with $5{{spaces}}billion lost.<ref name="AFP economy" /> Sanctions have sapped the government's finances. U.S. and European Union bans on oil imports, which went into effect in 2012, are estimated to cost Syria about $400{{spaces}}million per month.<ref name="shortap">{{cite news |date=22 January 2013 |title=Syrians struggle with shortages as economy buckles |url=http://hosted2.ap.org/KRGIFM/a7000fba28184ed9b6491e7afba69917/Article_2013-01-22-Syria-Floundering%20Economy/id-5e0da121530445049c514a7ebd88e494 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130513183900/http://hosted2.ap.org/KRGIFM/a7000fba28184ed9b6491e7afba69917/Article_2013-01-22-Syria-Floundering%20Economy/id-5e0da121530445049c514a7ebd88e494 |archive-date=13 May 2013 |agency=Associated Press}}</ref> Around 40% of all employees in the tourism sector lost their jobs since the beginning of the war.<ref name="economyhang">{{cite web |date=20 June 2012 |title=The Syrian Economy: Hanging by a Thread |url=http://carnegieendowment.org/2012/06/20/syrian-economy-hanging-by-thread/dwq7 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130513183233/http://carnegieendowment.org/2012/06/20/syrian-economy-hanging-by-thread/dwq7 |archive-date=13 May 2013 |publisher=Carnegie Endowment for International Peace}}</ref> In May 2015, [[ISIS]] captured Syria's phosphate mines, one of the Syrian government's last chief sources of income.<ref>{{cite web |last=Sherlock |first=Ruth |date=27 May 2015 |title=Isil seizes Syrian regime's lucrative phosphate mines |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/syria/11633289/Isil-seizes-Syrian-regimes-lucrative-phosphate-mines.html |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220110/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/syria/11633289/Isil-seizes-Syrian-regimes-lucrative-phosphate-mines.html |archive-date=10 January 2022 |access-date=11 June 2015 |work=The Telegraph}}{{cbignore}}</ref> The following month, ISIS blew up a gas pipeline to Damascus that was used to generate heating and electricity in Damascus and Homs; "the name of its game for now is denial of key resources to the regime" an analyst stated.<ref>{{cite news |date=10 June 2015 |title=IS blows up Syria gas pipeline serving capital: monitor |url=https://news.yahoo.com/blows-syria-gas-pipeline-serving-capital-monitor-171653865.html |access-date=11 June 2015 |publisher=Yahoo News |agency=Agence France-Presse}}</ref> In addition, ISIS was closing in on Shaer gas field and three other facilities in the area—Hayan, Jihar and Ebla—with the loss of these western gas fields having the potential to cause Iran to further subsidize the Syrian government.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Shaheen |first1=Kareem |date=11 June 2015 |title=String of losses in Syria leaves Assad regime increasingly precarious |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jun/11/syria-losses-east-assad-regime-precarious |access-date=11 June 2015 |work=The Guardian}}</ref> Reconstruction will cost as much as $10{{spaces}}billion.<ref name="AFP economy" /> [[Aleppo soap]] is a popular product of Syria.The economy was highly regulated by the government, which increased subsidies and tightened trade controls to assuage protesters and protect [[foreign currency reserve]]s.<ref name="CIA" /> Long-run economic constraints include foreign trade barriers, declining oil production, high unemployment, rising budget deficits, and increasing pressure on water supplies caused by heavy use in agriculture, rapid population growth, industrial expansion, and water pollution.<ref name="CIA" /> In 2024, the World Bank estimated that the Syrian GDP had contracted by 84% from 2010 to 2023. As of 2023, its GDP was $6.2 billion. Syria's new government has vowed to stamp out the production of captagon, which makes up a major portion of the informal economy. The new government will also face challenges in securing and resuming the production of oil, as rebuilding the industry will require significant investments with no guarantee of a return.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Mounier-Kuhn |first=Angélique |date=1 January 2025 |title=Syrian economy on its knees |url=https://mondediplo.com/2025/01/03syria-box |access-date=12 February 2025 |website=Le Monde diplomatique |language=en}}</ref>[[File:Beach Latakia 4.jpg|thumb| A cove in [[Latakia]] in 2014]]=== Energy ==={{Excerpt|Energy in Syria}}=== Agriculture ==={{Excerpt|Agriculture in Syria}}=== Transport ==={{Main|Transport in Syria}}[[File:جسر الرستن الكبير.jpg|thumb|Expressway M5 near [[Al-Rastan]], [[Homs Governorate|Homs]]]]Syria has four international airports ([[Damascus International Airport|Damascus]], [[Aleppo International Airport|Aleppo]], [[Bassel Al-Assad International Airport|Lattakia]] and [[Qamishli Airport|Qamishli]]), which serve as hubs for [[Syrian Air]] and are also served by a variety of foreign carriers.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/144596963|title=Syria|year=2007|publisher=EBizguides|first=Matthew|last=Bennett|others=Turismo y Comunicaciones Spain. Ministerio de Transportes|isbn=978-84-935202-0-5|location=Madrid|page=210|oclc=144596963}}</ref> The majority of Syrian cargo is carried by [[Syrian Railways]].{{Citation needed|date=December 2024}} As of 2024 there are no international rail services, but [[high-speed rail in Turkey]] is being extended close to the border.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Mersin-Adana-Gaziantep Hızlı Tren Projesi |url=https://www.tcdd.gov.tr/projeler/mersin-adana-gaziantep-hizli-tren-projesi}}</ref> The road network in Syria is {{convert|69873|km|abbr=off}} long, including {{convert|1103|km|abbr=off}} of expressways. The country also has {{convert|900|km|abbr=off}} of navigable but not economically significant waterways.<ref name=CIA />=== Internet and telecommunications ===[[Telecommunications in Syria]] are overseen by the [[Ministry of Communications and Technology (Syria)|Ministry of Communications and Technology]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.moct.gov.sy/moct/?q=ar|title=وزارة الاتصالات والتقانة|publisher=Moct.gov.sy|access-date=28 August 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130820050013/http://moct.gov.sy/moct/?q=ar|archive-date=20 August 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref> In addition, [[Syrian Telecom]] plays an integral role in the distribution of government internet access.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ste.gov.sy/|title=AT&T – 4G LTE, Cell Phones, U-verse, TV, Internet & Phone Service|publisher=Ste.gov.sy|access-date=28 August 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130723080155/https://www.ste.gov.sy/|archive-date=23 July 2013}}</ref> The [[Syrian Electronic Army]] serves as a pro-government military faction in cyberspace and has been long considered an enemy of the [[Hacktivism|hacktivist]] group [[Anonymous (group)|Anonymous]].<ref>{{cite web|last=Katerji|first=Oz|url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/the-syrian-electronic-army-hacked-the-bbc/|title=The Syrian Electronic Army Are at Cyber War with Anonymous|work=Vice (magazine)|date=4 April 2013|access-date=28 August 2013}}</ref> Because of [[internet censorship]] laws, 13,000 internet activists were arrested in 2011 and 2012.<ref>{{Cite book|doi=10.1007/978-94-007-5860-5_21|volume=215|pages=177–186|series=Lecture Notes in Electrical Engineering|year=2013|last1=Eissa|first1=T|last2=Cho|first2=Gi-Hwan|title=IT Convergence and Security 2012|chapter=Internet Anonymity in Syria, Challenges and Solution|isbn=978-94-007-5859-9}}</ref>=== Water supply and sanitation ==={{Main|Water supply and sanitation in Syria}}Syria is a semiarid country with scarce water resources. The largest water consuming sector in Syria is agriculture. Domestic water use stands at only about 9% of total water use.<ref name="Agriculutre">{{Citation|last1=Salman|first1=M.|title=The utilization of water resources for agriculture in syria: analysis of the current situation and future challenges|date=1 March 2004|url=https://www.worldscientific.com/doi/abs/10.1142/9789812702753_0031|work=International Seminar on Nuclear War and Planetary Emergencies ? 30th Session|pages=263–274|series=The Science and Culture Series ? Nuclear Strategy and Peace Technology|publisher=WORLD SCIENTIFIC|doi=10.1142/9789812702753_0031|isbn=978-981-238-820-9|access-date=19 January 2023|last2=Mualla|first2=W.}}</ref> A big challenge for Syria before the civil war was its high population growth (in 2006 the growth rate was 2.7%<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/424551565105634645/pdf/Growth-after-War-in-Syria.pdf|title=Growth after War in Syria}}</ref>), leading to rapidly increasing demand for urban and industrial water.<ref name="World Bank">World Bank (2001). Syrian Arab Republic Irrigation Sector Report. Rural Development, Water and Environment Group, Middle East and North Africa Region, Report No. 22602-SYR [https://web.archive.org/web/20081012215523/http://www-wds.worldbank.org/servlet/WDSContentServer/WDSP/IB/2001/09/21/000094946_01090804014647/Rendered/PDF/multi0page.pdf]</ref>=== Drug industry ==={{main|Syrian Captagon industry}}Prior to the fall of the Ba'athist regime on 8 December 2024, Syria was home to a burgeoning [[Prohibition of drugs|illegal drugs]] industry run by associates and relatives of Bashar al-Assad.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|last1=Hubbard|first1=Ben|last2=Saad|first2=Hwaida|author2-link=Hwaida Saad|date=5 December 2021|title=On Syria's Ruins, a Drug Empire Flourishes|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/05/world/middleeast/syria-drugs-captagon-assad.html|archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20211228/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/05/world/middleeast/syria-drugs-captagon-assad.html|archive-date=28 December 2021|url-access=limited|access-date=6 December 2021|issn=0362-4331}}{{cbignore}}</ref> It mainly produced [[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 world's newest [[Narco-state|narcostate]]".<ref name=":0" /> The drug exports allow the government to generate hard currency and bypass [[International sanctions against Syria|international sanctions]].<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite web|last1=Rose|last2=Söderholm|first1=Caroline|first2=Alexander|date=April 2022|title=The Captagon Threat: A Profile of Illicit Trade, Consumption, and Regional Realities|url=https://newlinesinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/20220404-Captagon_Report-NLISAP-final-.pdf|website=New Lines Institute|pages=2–39|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220412214650if_/https://newlinesinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/20220404-Captagon_Report-NLISAP-final-.pdf|archive-date=12 April 2022}}</ref><ref name="auto">{{Cite web|date=14 December 2022|title=Is the Syrian Regime the World's Biggest Drug Dealer?|url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/syria-captagon-pills-drug-trade/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221215143400/https://www.vice.com/en/article/v7v8k8/syria-captagon-pills-drug-trade|archive-date=15 December 2022|url-status=live|website=Vice World News}}</ref> Captagon was Syria's primary export, valued at a minimum of US$3.4 billion annually, surpassing the country's largest legal export, olive oil, which is valued at around US$122 million per year.<ref>{{Cite news|date=19 July 2021|title=Syria has become a narco-state|newspaper=The Economist|url=https://www.economist.com/middle-east-and-africa/2021/07/19/syria-has-become-a-narco-state|access-date=27 December 2023|issn=0013-0613}}</ref>== Demographics =={{Main|Demographics of Syria|List of cities in Syria}}{{Further|Syrians}}{{Historical populations| source = [[Central Bureau of Statistics (Syria)|Central Bureau of Statistics]] of the Syrian Arab Republic, 2011<ref name=cbspop>{{cite web|title=Population Existed in Syria According To Censuses (1960, 1970, 1981, 1994, 2004) And Estimates of Their Number in Mid Years 2005–2011(000)|url=http://www.cbssyr.sy/yearbook/2011/Data-Chapter2/TAB-10-2-2011.htm|publisher=Central Bureau of Statistics|access-date=18 October 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151023010741/http://www.cbssyr.sy/yearbook/2011/Data-Chapter2/TAB-10-2-2011.htm|archive-date=23 October 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref>| title = Historical populations| percentages = pagr| 1960 |4565000| 1970 |6305000| 1981 |9046000| 1994 |13782000| 2004 |17921000| 2011 |21124000| 2015 |18734987| 2019 |18528105| footnote=2019 estimate<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://population.un.org/wpp/DataQuery/|title=World Population Prospects – Population Division|publisher=United Nations}}</ref>}}Most people live in the [[Euphrates|Euphrates River valley]] and along the coastal plain, a fertile strip between the coastal mountains and the desert. Overall population density before the civil war was about 99 per square kilometre (258 per square mile).<ref>{{Cite journal|title=INTRODUCTION_-SYRIA_CONTEXT|url=https://hwb.gov.wales/api/storage/a2190b93-e3a3-433f-8316-8e47a692f7b9/1-INTRODUCTION_-SYRIA_CONTEXT..pdf|journal=Pead Tracey}}</ref> According to the ''World Refugee Survey 2008'', published by the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants, Syria hosted a population of refugees and asylum seekers numbering approximately 1,852,300. The vast majority of this population was from Iraq (1,300,000), but sizeable populations from [[Palestine (region)|Palestine]] (543,400) and [[Somalia]] (5,200) also lived in the country.<ref name="World Refugee Survey 2008">{{cite news|title=World Refugee Survey 2008|publisher=U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants|date=19 June 2008|url=http://www.refugees.org/resources/refugee-warehousing/archived-world-refugee-surveys/2008-world-refugee-survey.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121228132236/http://www.refugees.org/resources/refugee-warehousing/archived-world-refugee-surveys/2008-world-refugee-survey.html|archive-date=28 December 2012}}</ref>In what the UN has described as "the biggest humanitarian emergency of our era",<ref>{{cite web|last=Politi|first=Daniel|date=30 August 2014|title=U.N.: Syria Crisis Is 'Biggest Humanitarian Emergency of Our Era'|url=http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2014/08/30/u_n_syria_crisis_is_biggest_humanitarian_emergency_of_our_era.html|work=[[Slate (magazine)|Slate]]|access-date=1 September 2014}}</ref> by 2014 about 9.5{{spaces}}million Syrians, half the population, had been displaced since March 2011;<ref name="Reuters Half">{{Cite news|last=Nebehay|first=Stephanie|date=29 August 2014|title=Syrian refugees top 3 million, half of all Syrians displaced – U.N.|url=http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-syria-crisis-refugees-idUKKBN0GT0AZ20140829|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160118010342/http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-syria-crisis-refugees-idUKKBN0GT0AZ20140829|url-status=dead|archive-date=18 January 2016|work=Reuters|access-date=29 August 2014}}</ref> 4{{spaces}}million were outside the country as refugees.<ref>{{cite web|title=Demographic Data of Registered Population|url=http://data.unhcr.org/syrianrefugees/regional.php|publisher=United Nations High Commission for Refugees|access-date=29 August 2014|archive-date=19 February 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180219072255/http://www.data.unhcr.org/syrianrefugees/regional.php|url-status=dead}}</ref> 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.<ref name="The Refugee Brief 2020">{{cite web|title=11 March 2020 – The Refugee Brief|website=The Refugee Brief|date=11 March 2020|url=https://www.unhcr.org/refugeebrief/the-refugee-brief-11-march-2020/|access-date=20 May 2021}}</ref>=== Largest cities ==={{Largest cities of Syria}}=== Ethnic groups ==={{Main|Syrians}}[[File:Damascus, traditional clothing (6364877017).jpg|thumb|Damascus, traditional clothing|left]]Syrians are an overall indigenous [[Levant]]ine people, closely related to their immediate neighbors, such as [[Lebanese people|Lebanese]], [[Palestinians]], [[Demographics of Jordan|Jordanians]] and [[Jews]].<ref>{{cite journal|title=Extensive Female-Mediated Gene Flow from Sub-Saharan Africa into Near Eastern Arab Populations|pmc=1180338|year=2003|last1=Richards|first1=M|last2=Rengo|first2=C|last3=Cruciani|first3=F|last4=Gratrix|first4=F|last5=Wilson|first5=JF|last6=Scozzari|first6=R|last7=MacAulay|first7=V|last8=Torroni|first8=A|volume=72|issue=4|pages=1058–1064|journal=American Journal of Human Genetics|doi=10.1086/374384|pmid=12629598}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://magma.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0410/feature2/online_extra.html|title=In the Wake of the Phoenicians: DNA study reveals a Phoenician-Maltese link|work=National Geographic Magazine|date=October 2004|access-date=30 January 2013|archive-date=29 August 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080829104814/http://magma.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0410/feature2/online_extra.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> Syria has a population of approximately 18,500,000 (2019 estimate). [[Syrian people|Syrian Arabs]], together with some 600,000 [[Palestinians in Syria|Palestinian]] not including the 6{{spaces}}million refugees outside the country make up roughly 74% of the population.<ref name=CIA /> The indigenous [[Assyrians in Syria|Assyrians]] and [[Western Neo-Aramaic|Western Aramaic]]-speakers number around 400,000 people,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/security/2014/04/syria-assyrians-threat-crisis.html|title=Syria's Assyrians threatened by extremists – Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East|work=Al-Monitor |date=28 April 2014 |access-date=24 July 2014}}</ref> with the Western Aramaic-speakers living mainly in the villages of [[Ma'loula]], [[Jubb'adin]] and [[Al-Sarkha (Bakhah)|Bakh'a]], while the Assyrians mainly reside in the north and northeast (Homs, Aleppo, Qamishli, Hasakah). Many (particularly the Assyrian group) still retain several [[Neo-Aramaic]] dialects as spoken and written languages.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.todayszaman.com/newsDetail_getNewsById.action?load=detay&link=140085|title=Turkey-Syria deal allows Syriacs to cross border for religious holidays|work=Today's Zaman|date=26 April 2008|access-date=23 April 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110511073737/http://www.todayszaman.com/newsDetail_getNewsById.action?load=detay&link=140085|archive-date=11 May 2011}}</ref>The second-largest ethnic group in Syria are the [[Kurds in Syria|Kurds]]. They constitute about 9%<ref name="SyriaKurds">{{cite web|url=http://countrystudies.us/syria/23.htm|title=Syria – Kurds|work=[[Library of Congress Country Studies]]}}</ref> to 10%<ref name="Khalifa2013">{{citation|last=Khalifa|first=Mustafa|year=2013|title=The impossible partition of Syria|url=http://www.arab-reform.net/en/node/510|pages=3–5|journal=[[Arab Reform Initiative]]|quote='''Arabs''' constitute the major ethnic group in Syria, making up between 80 and 85% of the population.<br /> '''Kurds''' are the second largest ethnic group in Syria, making up around 10% of the Syrian population and distributed among four regions...with a Yazidi minority that numbers around 40,000...<br />'''Turkmen''' are the third-largest ethnic group in Syria, making up around 4–5% of the population. Some estimations indicate that they are the second biggest group, outnumbering Kurds, drawing on the fact that Turkmen are divided into two groups: the rural Turkmen who make up 30% of the Turkmen in Syria and have kept their mother tongue, and the urban Turkmen who have become Arabised and no longer speak their mother language...<br /> '''Assyrians''' are the fourth-largest ethnic group in Syria. They represent the original and oldest inhabitants of Syria, today making up around 3–4% of the Syrian population...<br /> '''Circassians''' are the fifth-largest ethnic group in Syria, making up around 1.5% of the population...<br /> '''Armenians''' are sixth-largest ethnic group in Syria, making up around 1% of the population...<br /> There are also a small number of other ethnic groups in Syria, including Greeks, Persians, Albanians, Bosnian, Pashtuns, Russians and Georgians...}}</ref> of the population, or approximately 2 million people (including 40,000 [[Yazidis in Syria|Yazidis]]<ref name="Khalifa2013" />). Most Kurds reside in the northeastern corner of Syria and most speak the [[Kurmanji]] variant of the [[Kurdish language]].<ref name="SyriaKurds" /> The third largest ethnic group are the [[Turkish language|Turkish]]-speaking [[Syrian Turkmen]]/Turkoman. There are no reliable estimates of their total population, with estimates ranging from several hundred thousand to 3.5{{spaces}}million.<ref>{{cite news|work=BBC News|publisher=BBC|year=2015|title=Who are the Turkmen in Syria?|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-34910389|quote=There are no reliable population figures, but they are estimated to number between about half a million and 3.5 million.|author-link=BBC}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|work=The New York Times|year=2015|title=Who Are the Turkmens of Syria?|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/25/world/middleeast/who-are-the-turkmens-of-syria.html|quote=Q. How many are there? A. No reliable figures are available, and estimates on the number of Turkmens in Syria and nearby countries vary widely, from the hundreds of thousands up to 3 million or more.|author-link=The New York Times}}</ref><ref name="Turkmenistan">{{Citation |last=Peyrouse |first=Sebastien |title=Turkmenistan: Strategies of Power, Dilemmas of Development |page=62 |year=2015 |publisher=[[Routledge]] |isbn=978-0-230-11552-1 |quote=There are nearly one million [Turkmen] in Syria...}}</ref> The fourth largest ethnic group are the [[Syrian-Assyrians|Assyrians]] (3–4%),<ref name="Khalifa2013" /> followed by the [[Circassians in Syria|Circassians]] (1.5%)<ref name="Khalifa2013" /> and the [[Armenians in Syria|Armenians]] (1%),<ref name="Khalifa2013" /> most of which are the descendants of refugees who arrived in Syria during the [[Armenian genocide]]. Syria holds the [[Armenian diaspora|7th largest Armenian population in the world]]. They are mainly gathered in Aleppo, [[Qamishli]], Damascus and [[Kesab]].[[File:Syria Ethno-religious Map.svg|thumb|The ethno-religious composition of Syria]]There are also smaller ethnic minority groups, such as the [[Albanians]], [[Bosnians]], [[Georgians]], [[Greeks in Syria|Greeks]], [[Persians]], [[Pashtuns]] and [[Russians]].<ref name=Khalifa2013 /> However, most of these ethnic minorities have become [[Arabized]] to some degree, particularly those who practice the [[Muslim]] faith.<ref name=Khalifa2013 /> The largest concentration of the [[Syrian diaspora]] outside the [[Arab world]] is in [[Brazil]], which has millions of people of Arab and other Near Eastern ancestries.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.saudiaramcoworld.com/issue/200505/the.arabs.of.brazil.htm|title=The Arabs of Brazil|publisher=Saudi Aramco World|date=September–October 2005|access-date=30 January 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051126160504/http://www.saudiaramcoworld.com/issue/200505/the.arabs.of.brazil.htm|archive-date=26 November 2005}}</ref> Brazil is the first country in the Americas to offer humanitarian visas to Syrian refugees.<ref>{{cite web|author=United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees|url=http://www.unhcr.org/524555689.html|title=UN refugee agency welcomes Brazil announcement of humanitarian visas for Syrians|publisher=United Nations High Commission for Refugees|access-date=24 July 2014}}</ref> The majority of [[Arab Argentine]]s are from either Lebanese or Syrian background.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fearab.org.ar/inmigracion_sirio_libanesa_en_argentina.php|title=Inmigracion sirio-libanesa en Argentina|language=es|publisher=Confederación de Entidades Argentino Árabes|access-date=30 January 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100620004217/http://www.fearab.org.ar/inmigracion_sirio_libanesa_en_argentina.php|archive-date=20 June 2010}}</ref>=== Languages ==={{Main|Languages of Syria}}[[Modern Standard Arabic|Arabic]] is the [[official language]] of the country.<ref name="CoSAR">{{cite web|title=Constitution of the Syrian Arab Republic – 2012|url=https://www.ilo.org/dyn/natlex/docs/ELECTRONIC/91436/106031/F-931434246/constitution2.pdf|access-date=31 August 2020|publisher=International Labour Organization}}</ref> Several modern [[Varieties of Arabic|Arabic dialects]] are used in everyday life, most notably [[Levantine Arabic|Levantine]] in the west and [[Mesopotamian Arabic|Mesopotamian]] in the northeast. According to ''The Encyclopedia of Arabic Language and Linguistics'', in addition to Arabic, the following languages are spoken in the country, in order of the number of speakers: [[Kurdish language|Kurdish]],<ref name=Behnstedt>{{citation|last=Behnstedt|first=Peter|year=2008|chapter=Syria|title=Encyclopedia of Arabic language and linguistics|volume=4|page=402|publisher=[[Brill Publishers]]|isbn=978-90-04-14476-7}}</ref> [[Turkish language|Turkish]],<ref name=Behnstedt /> [[Neo-Aramaic]] (four dialects),<ref name=Behnstedt /> [[Circassian language|Circassian]],<ref name=Behnstedt /> [[Chechen language|Chechen]],<ref name=Behnstedt /> [[Armenian language|Armenian]],<ref name=Behnstedt /> and finally [[Greek language|Greek]].<ref name=Behnstedt /> However, none of these minority languages have official status.<ref name=Behnstedt />[[Aramaic language|Aramaic]] was the [[lingua franca]] of the region before the advent of [[Classical Arabic|Arabic]], and is still spoken among [[Assyrian people|Assyrians]], and [[Syriac language|Classical Syriac]] is still used as the liturgical language of [[Syriac Christianity|various Syriac Christian denominations]]. Most remarkably, [[Western Neo-Aramaic]] is still spoken in the village of [[Ma'loula]] as well as two neighboring villages, {{convert|35|mi|km|order=flip|abbr=on}} northeast of Damascus. English and French are widely spoken as second languages, but English is more often used.<ref>{{Cite web|date=1 August 2017|title=What Languages Are Spoken in Syria?|url=https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/what-languages-are-spoken-in-syria.html|access-date=9 May 2022|website=WorldAtlas|language=en-US}}</ref>=== Religion ==={{Main|Religion in Syria|Islam in Syria|Christianity in Syria}}[[File:Omayad Mosque of Aleppo Syria.jpg|thumb|left|[[Great Mosque of Aleppo]]]][[Islam in Syria|Islam]] is the largest and predominant religion in Syria, comprising 87% of the population. [[Sunni Islam|Sunni Muslims]] make up around 74% of the population<ref name=CIA /> and Sunni Arabs account for 59–60%. Most Kurds (8.5%)<ref name=Drysdale&Hinnebusch1991>{{citation|last1=Drysdale|first1=Alasdair|last2=Hinnebusch|first2=Raymond A.|year=1991|title=Syria and the Middle East Peace Process|page=[https://archive.org/details/syriamiddleeast00alas/page/222 222]|publisher=[[Council on Foreign Relations]]|isbn=978-0-87609-105-0|url=https://archive.org/details/syriamiddleeast00alas/page/222}}</ref> and most Turkmens (3%)<ref name=Drysdale&Hinnebusch1991 /> are Sunni, while 3% of Syrians are [[Shia Muslims]] (particularly [[Ismailis]], and [[Twelvers]] but there are also Arabs, Kurds and Turkmens), 10% are [[Alawites]], 10% are [[Christians]]<ref name=CIA /> (the majority are Antiochian Greek Orthodox, the rest are Syriac Orthodox, Greek Catholic and other Catholic Rites, Armenian Orthodox, Assyrian Church of the East, Protestants and other denominations), and 3% [[Druzes]].<ref name=CIA /> Druze number around 500,000 and concentrate mainly in the southern area of [[Jabal al-Druze]].<ref name="book">{{cite book|last=Danna|first=Nissim|title=The Druze in the Middle East: Their Faith, Leadership, Identity and Status|publisher=Sussex Academic Press|location=[[Brighton]]|date=December 2003|page=227|isbn=978-1-903900-36-9|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2nCWIsyZJxUC&pg=PA99}}</ref> According to the [[Association of Religion Data Archives]] (ARDA), 94.17% of Syrians are Muslims–79.19% are Sunnis and 14.10% are Shias (including Alawites)–and 3.84% of Syrians are Christians {{As of|2020|lc=y}}.<ref name=":4">{{Cite web |title=Religious Demographics of Syria |url=https://www.thearda.com/world-religion/national-profiles?u=217c |access-date=12 December 2024 |website=[[Association of Religion Data Archives]]}}</ref>Because the [[Assad family]] is Alawite, Alawites have historically dominated key government and military positions.<ref name="The Sturdy House That Assad Built2"/><ref>{{cite journal|jstor=4283331|title=The Alawi Capture of Power in Syria|first=Daniel|last=Pipes|date=1 January 1989|journal=Middle Eastern Studies|volume=25|issue=4|pages=429–450|doi=10.1080/00263208908700793|s2cid=143250254}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=15 March 2019|title=More than 570 thousand people were killed on the Syrian territory within 8 years of revolution demanding freedom, democracy, justice, and equality|url=http://www.syriahr.com/en/?p=120851|publisher=The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights}}</ref>Christians numbering 1.2{{spaces}}million, a sizable number of whom are found among Syria's population of Palestinian and Iraqi refugees, are divided into several sects. The [[Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch|Greek Orthodox]] make up 45.7% of the Christian population; the [[Syriac Orthodox Church|Syriac Orthodox]] make up 22.4%; the [[Armenian Apostolic Church|Armenian Orthodox]] make up 10.9%; the Catholics (including [[Melkite Greek Catholic Church|Greek Catholic]], [[Syriac Catholic Church|Syriac Catholic]], [[Armenian Catholic Church|Armenian Catholic]], [[Maronite Church|Maronite]], [[Chaldean Catholic Church|Chaldean Catholic]] and [[Latin liturgical rites|Latin]]) make up 16.2%; [[Assyrian Church of the East]] and several smaller Christian denominations account for the remainder. Many Christian [[List of Monasteries in Syria|monasteries]] also exist. Many Christian Syrians belong to a high socio-economic class.<ref>{{cite web|first=Tomader|last=Fateh|url=http://www.fw-magazine.com/content/patriarch-antioch-i-will-be-judged-if-i-do-not-carry-church-and-each-one-you-my-heart|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100302140119/http://www.fw-magazine.com/content/patriarch-antioch-i-will-be-judged-if-i-do-not-carry-church-and-each-one-you-my-heart|archive-date=2 March 2010|title=Patriarch of Antioch: I will be judged if I do not carry the Church and each one of you in my heart|work=Forward Magazine|date=25 October 2008|access-date=30 January 2013}}</ref> As per one estimate, the count of Christians affiliated with established denominations in Syria has dropped from approximately 2.5 million before the civil war, to about 500,000 in 2023.<ref>{{Cite news|date=13 July 2023|title=Syria's president wants non-Muslim religions to help end his pariah status|newspaper=The Economist|url=https://www.economist.com/middle-east-and-africa/2023/07/13/syrias-president-wants-non-muslim-religions-to-help-end-his-pariah-status|access-date=27 December 2023|issn=0013-0613}}</ref>Syria was once home to a substantial population of [[History of the Jews in Syria|Jews]], with large communities in Damascus, Aleppo, and [[Qamishli|Qamishii]].<ref name=":5">{{Cite web|title=Jews of Syria|url=https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jews-of-syria|website=jewishvirtuallibrary.org}}</ref> Due to a combination of persecution in Syria and opportunities elsewhere, the Jews began to emigrate in the second half of the 19th century to Great Britain, the United States, and Israel.<ref name=":5" /> The process was completed with the establishment of Israel in 1948.<ref name=":5" /> The remaining Jewish population dwindled as a result of the civil war. Today 100 Jews live in Syria.<ref name=":5" /> The United States is home to a large Syrian Jewish community, which is still considered as Syrian citizens by the Syrian government.=== Education ==={{Main|Education in Syria}}[[File:Aleppo University, Faculty of Arts and Humanities.jpg|thumb|Faculty of Arts and Humanities in [[Aleppo University]]]]Education is free and compulsory from ages 6 to 12. Schooling consists of six years of primary education followed by a three-year general or [[vocational]] training period and a three-year academic or vocational program. The second three-year period of academic training is required for university [[University and college admissions|admission]]. Total enrollment at [[post-secondary]] schools is over 150,000. The [[literacy]] rate of Syrians aged 15 and older is 90.7% for males and 82.2% for females.<ref name="US department of States">{{cite web|url=https://2009-2017.state.gov/outofdate/bgn/syria/85051.htm|title=U.S. Relations With Syria|publisher=State.gov|date=24 October 2012|access-date=25 January 2013}}</ref><ref name="impact-se">{{cite web|url=http://www.impact-se.org/docs/reports/Syria/Syria2001_ch1.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110511081229/http://www.impact-se.org/docs/reports/Syria/Syria2001_ch1.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=11 May 2011|title=Syria's Education System – Report – June 2001|access-date=23 April 2011}}</ref>[[File:UIS Literacy Rate Syria population plus15 1980 2015.png|class=skin-invert-image|thumb|left|[[UNESCO Institute for Statistics|UIS]] adult literacy rate of Syria]]There are six state universities in Syria<ref>{{cite web|author=Ministry of Higher Education|url=http://www.mohe.gov.sy/new/index.php?page=show&ex=2&dir=docs&lang=2&ser=1&cat=1168&ref=home|title=Public universities|publisher=Ministry of Higher Education|date=23 November 2011|access-date=22 January 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121113145303/http://www.mohe.gov.sy/new/index.php?page=show&ex=2&dir=docs&lang=2&ser=1&cat=1168&ref=home|archive-date=13 November 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref> and 15 private universities.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mohe.gov.sy/new/index.php?page=show&ex=2&dir=docs&ex=2&ser=1&lang=2&cat=1521|title=Private universities|publisher=Ministry of Higher Education|date=23 November 2011|access-date=22 January 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121113145919/http://www.mohe.gov.sy/new/index.php?page=show&ex=2&dir=docs&ex=2&ser=1&lang=2&cat=1521|archive-date=13 November 2012}}</ref> The top two state universities are [[Damascus University]] (210,000 students as of 2014)<ref>{{cite web|title=Forward Magazine, Interview with President of Damascus University|url=http://www.fw-magazine.com/content/we-are-still-high-demand-180000-students-and-20000-annual-enrollments|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080618100320/http://www.fw-magazine.com/content/we-are-still-high-demand-180000-students-and-20000-annual-enrollments|archive-date=18 June 2008|date=February 2008}}</ref> and [[University of Aleppo]].<ref>[http://www.fw-magazine.com/content/celebrating-50-years-aleppo-university Forward Magazine, Interview with President of Aleppo University, May 2008]. {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150906214558/http://www.fw-magazine.com/content/celebrating-50-years-aleppo-university |date=6 September 2015 }}</ref> The top private universities in Syria are: [[Syrian Private University]], [[Arab International University]], [[University of Kalamoon]] and [[International University for Science and Technology]]. There are also many higher institutes in Syria, like the Higher Institute of Business Administration, which offer undergraduate and graduate programs in business.<ref>{{cite web|title=Getting education right|url=http://www.fw-magazine.com/content/getting-education-right|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101003162241/http://www.fw-magazine.com/content/getting-education-right|archive-date=3 October 2010|date=March 2008}}</ref>=== Health ==={{Main|Health in Syria}}The [[Syrian civil war|ongoing conflict in Syria]] has profoundly impacted the nation's health demographics and infrastructure.<ref name=":8">{{Cite journal |last1=Kherallah |first1=Mazen |last2=Alahfez |first2=Tayeb |last3=Sahloul |first3=Zaher |last4=Eddin |first4=Khaldoun Dia |last5=Jamil |first5=Ghyath |date=2012-07-01 |title=Health care in Syria before and during the crisis |journal=Avicenna Journal of Medicine |volume=2 |issue=3 |pages=51–53 |doi=10.4103/2231-0770.102275 |doi-access=free |issn=2231-0770 |pmc=3697421 |pmid=23826546}}</ref> As of 2023, the [[World Health Organization]] (WHO) estimated Syria's population at approximately 23.6 million.<ref name=":9">{{Cite web |title=Syrian Arab Republic |url=https://data.who.int/countries/760 |access-date=2025-04-03 |website=datadot |language=en}}</ref>In 2021, the average life expectancy in Syria was 73.1 years.<ref name=":9" /> The infant mortality rate has seen a decline over recent years, with estimates indicating 12.1 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2022.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Syria Infant Mortality Rate 1950-2025 |url=https://www.macrotrends.net/global-metrics/countries/DZA/syria/infant-mortality-rate |access-date=2025-04-03 |website=www.macrotrends.net}}</ref> The under-five mortality rate was reported at 21.4 deaths per 1,000 live births.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Syrian Arab Republic (SYR) - Demographics, Health & Infant Mortality |url=https://data.unicef.org/country/syr/ |access-date=2025-04-03 |website=UNICEF DATA |language=en-US}}</ref>Prior to the conflict, Syria had a maternal mortality ratio of 52 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2009.<ref name=":8" /> However, the ongoing war has disrupted maternal healthcare services, leading to increased risks for pregnant women.The protracted conflict has severely damaged Syria's healthcare infrastructure. As of recent reports, over half of the country's hospitals are non-functional, and approximately 15.3 million people are in need of health support, representing 72% of the population. This marks a 25% increase from 2022, highlighting the escalating health crisis.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-05-27 |title=Syrian Arab Republic: Whole of Syria Health Sector Annual Highlights 2023 - Syrian Arab Republic {{!}} ReliefWeb |url=https://reliefweb.int/report/syrian-arab-republic/syrian-arab-republic-whole-syria-health-sector-annual-highlights-2023 |access-date=2025-04-03 |website=reliefweb.int |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":10">{{Cite web |title=Yemen crisis |url=https://www.who.int/emergencies/situations/syria-crisis |access-date=2025-04-03 |website=www.who.int |language=en}}</ref>Non-communicable diseases, particularly [[Cardiovascular disease|cardiovascular conditions]], were leading causes of death before the conflict. However, since the onset of the war, conflict-related injuries and deaths have surged, significantly altering the health landscape.<ref name=":8" /><ref name=":10" />== Culture =={{Main|Culture of Syria}}[[File:Dabke2.jpg|thumb|[[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.<ref>{{cite book|last=Hopwood|first=Derek|author-link=Derek Hopwood|title=Syria 1945–1986: Politics and Society|publisher=[[Routledge]]|year=1988|isbn=978-0-04-445039-9|url=https://archive.org/details/syria19451986pol0000hopw}}</ref> Importance is placed on family, religion, education, self-discipline and respect. Syrians' taste for the traditional arts is expressed in dances such as the al-Samah, the [[Dabkeh]] in all their variations, and the sword dance. Marriage ceremonies and the births of children are occasions for the lively demonstration of folk customs.<ref name="traditional">{{cite book|last=Salamandra|first=Christa|author-link=Derek Hopwood|title=A New Old Damascus: Authenticity and Distinction in Urban Syria|publisher=[[Indiana University Press]]|year=2004|isbn=978-0-253-21722-6|page=103}}</ref>=== Literature ===[[File:Adonis Cracow Poland May12 2011 Fot Mariusz Kubik 08.JPG|thumb|Poet, essayist and translator [[Adunis]]|left|227x227px]]The [[Syrian literature|literature of Syria]] has contributed to [[Arabic literature]] and has a proud tradition of oral and written poetry. Syrian writers, many of whom migrated to Egypt, played a crucial role in the [[nahda]] or Arab literary and cultural revival of the 19th century. Prominent contemporary Syrian writers include, among others, [[Ali Ahmad Said|Adonis]], [[Muhammad al-Maghut|Muhammad Maghout]], [[Haidar Haidar]], [[Ghada al-Samman]], [[Nizar Qabbani]] and [[Zakariyya Tamer]].Ba'ath Party rule has brought about renewed censorship.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|title=World Report 2019: Rights Trends in Syria|date=17 December 2018|publisher=Human Rights Watch|chapter=Syria: Events of 2018|chapter-url=https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2019/country-chapters/syria}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=OHCHR {{!}} IICISyria Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic|url=https://www.ohchr.org/En/HRBodies/HRC/IICISyria/Pages/IndependentInternationalCommission.aspx|access-date=19 October 2020|website=www.ohchr.org}}</ref> In this context, the genre of the historical novel, spearheaded by Nabil Sulayman, [[Fawwaz Haddad]], Khyri al-Dhahabi and Nihad Siris, is sometimes used as a means of expressing dissent, critiquing the present through a depiction of the past. Syrian [[List of folklores|folk narrative]], as a subgenre of historical fiction, is imbued with [[magical realism]], and is also used as a means of veiled criticism of the present. [[Salim Barakat]], a Syrian émigré living in Sweden, is one of the leading figures of the genre. Contemporary Syrian literature also encompasses science fiction and futuristic [[utopia]]e (Nuhad Sharif, Talib Umran), which may also serve as media of dissent.=== Music ===The [[Music of Syria|Syrian music]] scene, in particular that of Damascus, has long been among the Arab world's most important, especially in the field of [[classical Arab music]]. Syria has produced several 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]], as well as for popular stars like [[Sabah Fakhri]].=== Media ===[[File:Suzan Najm Aldeen - Sep 10, 2018.jpg|thumb|[[Suzan Najm Aldeen]], Syrian actress|left|232x232px]][[Television in Syria|Television was introduced to Syria]] and Egypt in 1960, when both were part of the [[United Arab Republic]]. It broadcast in black and white until 1976.<ref name=":6" /> [[Syrian soap operas]] have considerable market penetration throughout the eastern Arab world.<ref name=":6">{{cite book|last=Salti|first=Rasha|title=Insights into Syrian Cinema: Essays and Conversations with Contemporary Filmmakers|publisher=[[ArteEast]]|year=2006|isbn=978-1-892494-70-2}}</ref>Nearly all of [[Media of Syria|Syria's media]] outlets are state-owned.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.freedomhouse.org/uploads/pfs/371.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101227094624/http://www.freedomhouse.org/uploads/pfs/371.pdf|archive-date=27 December 2010|title=Freedom House report on Syria (2010)|publisher=Freedom House}}</ref> The authorities operate several intelligence agencies,<ref>{{cite book|last=Wright|first=Robin|title=Dreams and shadows, the Future of the Middle East|url=https://archive.org/details/dreamsshadowsfut00wrig|url-access=registration|publisher=Penguin Press|page=[https://archive.org/details/dreamsshadowsfut00wrig/page/214 214]|year=2008|isbn=9781594201110|quote=more than one dozen intelligence agencies}}</ref> among them [[Military Intelligence (Syria)|Shu'bat al-Mukhabarat al-'Askariyya]], employing many operatives.<ref>{{cite book|last=Wright|first=Robin|title=Dreams and shadows, the Future of the Middle East|url=https://archive.org/details/dreamsshadowsfut00wrig|url-access=registration|publisher=Penguin Press|page=[https://archive.org/details/dreamsshadowsfut00wrig/page/230 230]|year=2008|isbn=9781594201110|quote=hundreds of thousands of mukhabarat according to dissident Riad Seif}}</ref> During the civil war many of Syria's artists, poets, writers and activists have been incarcerated, and some have been killed, including famed cartoonist [[Akram Raslam|Akram Raslan]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.syriauntold.com/en/creative/akram-raslan-how-caricatures-shake-tyranny|title=Akram Raslan: How Caricatures Shake Tyranny|date=13 April 2015|publisher=Syria Untold|access-date=23 September 2015}}</ref>=== Cuisine ===[[Syrian cuisine]] is rich and varied in its ingredients, linked to the regions where a specific dish has originated. Syrian food mostly consists of southern Mediterranean, Greek, and Southwest Asian dishes. Some Syrian dishes also evolved from Turkish and French cooking: dishes like [[Kebab|shish kebab]], stuffed zucchini/courgette, and ''[[dolma|yabraʾ]]'' (stuffed grape leaves, the word ''yabraʾ'' deriving from the Turkish word ''yaprak'', meaning leaf).The main dishes are [[kibbeh]], [[hummus]], [[tabbouleh]], [[fattoush]], [[strained yogurt|labneh]], [[shawarma]], [[mujaddara]], [[shanklish]], [[pastırma]], [[sujuk]] and baklava. [[Baklava]] is made of [[filo]] pastry filled with chopped nuts and soaked in [[honey]]. Syrians often serve selections of appetizers, known as [[meze]], before the main course. [[Za'atar]], [[minced beef]], and cheese [[manakish]] are popular [[hors d'œuvres]]. The Arabic flatbread [[khubz]] is always eaten together with meze.Drinks vary, depending on the time of day and the occasion. [[Arabic coffee]] is the most well-known hot drink, usually prepared in the morning at breakfast or in the evening. It is usually served for guests or after food. [[Arak (distilled beverage)|Arak]], an alcoholic drink, is a well-known beverage, served mostly on special occasions. Other Syrian beverages include [[ayran]], [[jallab]], [[white coffee]], and a locally manufactured beer called Al Shark.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.rte.ie/travel/2009/1015/damascus.html|title=Damascus|date=15 October 2009|publisher=Raidió Teilifís Éireann|access-date=26 November 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091204125219/http://www.rte.ie/travel/2009/1015/damascus.html|archive-date=4 December 2009}}</ref>== See also ==* [[Index of Syria-related articles]]* [[Outline of Syria]]== Notes =={{notelist}}== References =={{reflist}}== Sources =={{refbegin}}* {{cite book|last1=Allsopp|first1=Harriet|last2=van Wilgenburg|first2=Wladimir|title=The Kurds of Northern Syria. Volume 2: Governance, Diversity and Conflicts|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9vWlDwAAQBAJ|date=2019|publisher=[[I.B. Tauris]]|location=London; New York City; etc.|isbn=978-1-8386-0445-5}}* Boczek, Boleslaw Adam (2006). ''International Law: A Dictionary''. Scarecrow Press. {{ISBN|0-8108-5078-8}}* Karoubi, Mohammad Taghi (2004). ''Just or Unjust War?'' Ashgate Publishing {{ISBN|0-7546-2375-0}}* {{cite book|last=Lister|first=Charles R.|title=The Syrian Jihad: Al-Qaeda, the Islamic State and the Evolution of an Insurgency|url=https://archive.org/details/CharlesR.ListerTheSyrianJihadAlQaedaTheIslamicStateAndTheEvolutionOfAnInsurgency.|date=2015|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|location=Oxford|isbn=9780190462475}}* {{Citation|title=Forward Magazine|url=http://fw-magazine.com/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20031128015512/http://www.fw-magazine.com/|url-status=dead|archive-date=28 November 2003|type=Syria's English monthly since 2007}}.{{dead link|date=December 2024}}* [https://web.archive.org/web/20121224231822/http://www.orsam.org.tr/tr/trUploads/Yazilar/Dosyalar/2011113_inceleme4.pdf Orsam Suriye Türkleri Raporu-Orsam Syria Turks]* {{Wikicite|id=Wright-2008|reference=Wright, Robin. 2008. ''Dreams and Shadows : the Future of the Middle East''. Penguin.}}* {{cite book|last=Zabad|first=Ibrahim|title=Middle Eastern Minorities: The Impact of the Arab Spring|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XiAlDwAAQBAJ|date=2017|publisher=[[Routledge]]|location=London; New York City|isbn=978-1-472-47441-4}}{{refend}}== Further reading =={{refbegin}}* {{Citation|first=Nikolaos|last=van Dam|url=http://www.themontrealreview.com/2009/The-struggle-for-power-in-Syria-Nikolaos-van-Dam.php|title=The Struggle for Power in Syria: Politics and Society under Asad and the Ba'ath Party|publisher=I. B. Tauris|year=2011}}.* {{cite book|last=Dawisha|first=A. I.|title=Syria and the Lebanese Crisis|year=1980|publisher=St. Martin's Press|isbn=978-0-312-78203-0}}* {{Citation|first=Fred H|last=Lawson|url=http://www.themontrealreview.com/2009/Demystifying-Syria.php|title=Demystifying Syria|publisher=Saqi|year=2010}}.* {{cite book|last=Maoz|first=M.|title=Syria Under Assad|editor-first=A|editor-last=Yaniv|year=1986|publisher=St. Martin's Press|isbn=978-0-312-78206-1}}* {{cite book|last=Paton|first=L. B.|title=The Early History of Syria and Palestine|year=1981|publisher=BiblioBazaar |isbn=978-1-113-53822-2}}* {{cite book|first=Christian C.|last=Sahner|title=Among the Ruins: Syria Past and Present|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2014|isbn=978-0-19-939670-2|url=http://global.oup.com/academic/product/among-the-ruins-9780199396702;jsessionid=096DE7B7596EB6555D9A4B94D99A8333?cc=us&lang=en&}}* {{Citation|first=Alfred|last=Schlicht|title=The role of foreign powers in the history of Lebanon and Syria from 1799 to 1861|journal=Journal of Asian History|volume=14|year=1980}}.* {{cite book|last=Seale|first=Patrick|title=The Struggle for Syria|year=1987|publisher=Yale University Press|isbn=978-0-300-03944-3}}{{refend}}== External links =={{Sister project links |auto=yes}}{{Library resources box}}{{Syria topics}}{{Navboxes| title= Geographic locale| list={{Countries and territories bordering the Mediterranean Sea}}{{Countries and territories of the Middle East}}{{Arabian Plate}}{{Countries of Asia}}}}{{Navboxes| title= International membership| list={{Arab League}}{{Organisation of Islamic Cooperation |collapsed}}}}{{Subject bar|Asia|Middle East|Countries|auto=yes|voy=Syria}}{{Authority control}}{{Coord|35|N|38|E|display=title}}[[Category:Syria| ]][[Category:Countries in Asia]][[Category:Countries and territories where Arabic is an official language]][[Category:Kurdish-speaking countries and territories]][[Category:Eastern Mediterranean]][[Category:Levant]][[Category:Arab republics]][[Category:Member states of the Arab League]][[Category:Member states of the United Nations]][[Category:States and territories established in 1946]][[Category:West Asian countries]][[Category:1946 establishments in Asia]]
Pages transcluded onto the current version of this page (help):
Agriculture in Syria (edit)
Economy of Syria (edit)
Energy in Syria (edit)
Geography of Syria (edit)
History of Syria (edit)
Index of Syria-related articles (edit)
Outline of Syria (edit)
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