Portal:Syria

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The Syria Portal

Flag of Syria	Emblem of Syria

Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to the north and northwest, Iraq to the east and southeast, Jordan to the south, and Israel and Lebanon to the southwest. It is a republic under a provisional government and comprises 14 governorates. Damascus is Syria's capital and largest city. With a population of 26 million across an area of 185,180 square kilometres (71,500 sq mi), it is the 56th-most populous and 87th-largest country.

During the Arab Spring in 2011, members of the Syrian opposition organized protests against the Assad regime in what became known as the Syrian Revolution. After the government responded to protests with lethal violence, the Free Syrian Army was formed and the revolution descended into a multifaceted and destructive 13-year civil war that led to the involvement of several countries and a refugee crisis in which more than 6 million people were displaced. Rebel forces' progress was undone after the emergence of the Islamic State, which by May 2015 occupied two-thirds of the country. Alongside rebel and government counteroffensives, several countries led a campaign that resulted in the territorial defeat of the Islamic State in 2017. After defeat in the four-year Battle of Aleppo, the Free Syrian Army fragmented and struggled. Thereafter, three political entities—the Syrian Interim Government, Syrian Salvation Government, and the Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria—remained in Syrian territory to challenge Assad's rule. By 2020, the civil war became a frozen conflict, and Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) consolidated the remaining rebel groups in its stronghold of controlled areas in the northwest. HTS then led a series of offensives alongside other opposition forces, culminating in the fall of Damascus and fall of the Assad regime on 8 December 2024.

A country of fertile plains, high mountains, plateaus, and deserts, Syria is home to diverse ethnic and religious groups. Levantine Arabs are the largest ethnic group, and Sunni Muslims are the largest religious group. (Full article...)

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The history of Syria covers events which occurred on the territory of the Syrian Arab Republic and in the region of Syria. The territory of the Syrian Arab Republic was occupied and ruled by several empires, including the Sumerians, Egyptians, Amorites, Ugarites, Hittites, Mitanni, Assyrians, Babylonians, Canaanites, Phoenicians, Arameans, Persians, Greeks and Romans. Syria is considered to have emerged as an independent country for the first time on 24 October 1945, upon the signing of the United Nations Charter by the Syrian government, effectively ending France's mandate by the League of Nations to "render administrative advice and assistance to the population" of Syria, which came in effect in April 1946.

On 21 February 1958, Syria merged with Egypt to create the United Arab Republic after plebiscitary ratification of the merger by voters in both countries, but seceded from it in 1961, thereby recovering its full independence. From 1963 until 2024, the Syrian Arab Republic was ruled by the Ba’ath Party, with the Assad family exclusively in power since 1971. Following the fall of the Assad regime, Syria entered a political transition under the transitional government on 29 March 2025. (Full article...)

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Fruit market in Hama

Did you know...

… that Syria is one of the world's oldest civilizations, dating from the Palaeolithic era (c. 800,000 BCE)
… that Syria was part of the Ottoman Empire for approximately 400 years.
… that Syria's name comes from an ancient kingdom called Assyria.
… that the Syrian cities of Damascus and Aleppo are some of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world.
… that the 2024 Syrian opposition offensives led to the fall of the Assad regime after more than two decades in power?

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Asaad at the 2018 Asian Games

Man Asaad (Arabic: معن أسعد / ALA-LC: Maʻn Asʻad, Arabic pronunciation: [maʕn ˈʔasʕad]; born 20 November 1993) is a Syrian heavyweight weightlifter who competes in the +109 kg category. He won the bronze medal in the men's +109 kg event at the 2020 Summer Olympics held in Tokyo, Japan. (Full article...)

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General images

The following are images from various Syria-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1Azm Palace, 18th century residence of Ottoman governor of Damascus (from Culture of Syria)
Image 2Azm Palace, 18th century residence of Ottoman governor of Damascus (from Culture of Syria)
Image 3The inauguration of President Hashim al-Atassi in 1936 (from History of Syria)
Image 4Female figurine, Syria, 5000 BCE (from History of Syria)
Image 5Syrian army column in Lebanon (from History of Syria)
Image 6Russian planes bombing positions of the Assad's enemies. (from History of Syria)
Image 7Philip the Arab, Roman Emperor (from History of Syria)
Image 8Salah Jadid (right) alongside Ba'ath party founder Michel Aflaq (left) shortly after the 1963 coup. Neo-Ba'athist Military Committee led by Jadid and Hafez al-Assad later overthrew the National Command in another coup in 1966, leading to a schism within Baathist movement (from History of Syria)
Image 9Killing of Rafic Hariri triggered a massive Intifada against Syrian occupation of Lebanon in 2005, which led to the withdrawal of Syrian military forces after global backlash (from History of Syria)
Image 10A group of Syrian musicians from Aleppo (from Music of Syria)
Image 11Coin of Bambyce, c. 340–332 BC (from History of Syria)
Image 12Ottoman Syria, circa 1683 (See: list of territories) (from History of Syria)
Image 13Landscape of Syrian mountain. (from Music of Syria)
Image 14From 1831 until 1841, Syria was governed by Egypt under Muhammad Ali (from History of Syria)
Image 15The Roman Theatre at Bosra, one of Syria's best preserved monuments from Roman times. Syria's long and rich history plays a huge part in its culture. (from Culture of Syria)
Image 16Alleged Syrian nuclear reactor site destroyed in air strikes by Israeli Air Force during Operation Outside the Box. (Photo from video released by the US government) (from History of Syria)
Image 17Nizar Qabbani's style explored themes of love, eroticism, religion, and Arab nationalism. (from Culture of Syria)
Image 18Palmyra, one of Roman Syria's most prospering cities (from History of Syria)
Image 19Syrian artillery crew during Yom Kippur War against Israel (from History of Syria)
Image 20Parts of Syria and neighbouring countries formed a part of the Roman Empire (from History of Syria)
Image 21The States of the French Mandate (from History of Syria)
Image 22Syrian opposition offensives that overthrew Assad's regime in 11 days (from History of Syria)
Image 23Krak des Chevaliers from the South-West (from History of Syria)
Image 24Map marking boundary between British and French territory (from History of Syria)
Image 25Citadel of Aleppo (from History of Syria)
Image 26Former flag of Syria (1932–58), now used by the Syrian opposition and Free Syrian militias (from History of Syria)
Image 27The Roman Theatre at Bosra, one of Syria's best preserved monuments from Roman times. Syria's long and rich history plays a huge part in its culture. (from Culture of Syria)
Image 28Al-Fayhaa Sports Complex (from Culture of Syria)
Image 29Kousa mahshi (from Culture of Syria)
Image 30Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa (left) with European Council President António Costa at the Arab League summit on Gaza, in Cairo, 3 March 2025 (from History of Syria)
Image 31Ottoman-Syrian dress in the 19th century. (from History of Syria)
Image 32Al-Fayhaa Sports Complex (from Culture of Syria)
Image 33Kousa mahshi (from Culture of Syria)
Image 34Opposition demonstration in Baniyas, 29 April 2011 (from History of Syria)
Image 35Stuck and abandoned tank of the Assad's forces on the road to Damascus, December. (from History of Syria)
Image 36Syrian government forces tank. (from History of Syria)
Image 37Fattoush, an example of Syrian cuisine (from Culture of Syria)
Image 38Israeli tanks advancing on Golan Heights during the 1967 Six-Day War. Then Defence Minister Hafez al-Assad was widely blamed for the failure of Syrian military, intensifying his rivalry with Jadid (from History of Syria)
Image 39Empress Julia Domna (from History of Syria)
Image 40The Church of Saint Simeon Stylites near Aleppo (from History of Syria)
Image 41Syrian tank during October war, 1973 (from History of Syria)
Image 42Fattoush, an example of Syrian cuisine (from Culture of Syria)
Image 43Roman Theatre at Bosra, considered to be one of the World's best preserved Roman Theatre (from History of Syria)
Image 44Children killed by the Assad regime in the Ghouta chemical attack, the deadliest chemical weapons attack in the 21st century (from History of Syria)
Image 45President Adib Shishakli (from History of Syria)
Image 46Maktab Anbar in the Ancient City of Damascus (from Culture of Syria)
Image 47The Ancient city of Apamea, Syria, one of Syria's most important commercial centres in Hellenistic times (from History of Syria)
Image 48Nizar Qabbani's style explored themes of love, eroticism, religion, and Arab nationalism. (from Culture of Syria)
Image 49Umayyad Mosque (from History of Syria)
Image 50Maktab Anbar in the Ancient City of Damascus (from Culture of Syria)

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