Portal:Syria

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, Iraq to the east and southeast, Jordan to the south, and Israel and Lebanon to the southwest. It is a republic under a transitional government and comprises 14 governorates. Damascus is the capital and largest city. With a population of 25 million across an area of 185,180 square kilometres (71,500 sq mi), it is the 57th-most populous and 87th-largest country.

Since the Arab Spring in 2011, Syria has been embroiled in a multi-sided civil war with the involvement of several countries, leading to a 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, several countries intervened on behalf of various factions opposing it, leading to its territorial defeat in 2017 in both central and 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, a series of offensives from a coalition of opposition forces led to the capture of Damascus and the fall of Assad's regime. By 2025, the war had left Syria's economy in a poor state, following years of international sanctions that were later eased. (Full article...)

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The Syrian revolution flag, used by opponents to Ba'athist rule

The Syrian opposition was an umbrella term for the Syrian revolutionary organizations that opposed Bashar al-Assad's Ba'athist regime during the Syrian Revolution and Syrian civil war. The opposition factions in Syria became active as grassroots movements during the mass demonstrations against the Ba'athist regime. The Free Syrian Army (FSA) was the most prominent armed revolutionary group in the initial stages of the war; but it declined and became decentralized by 2015. By 2021, Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) had become the strongest armed faction within the Syrian opposition.

In July 2011, as the situation turned into a civil war, defectors from the Syrian Armed Forces formed the Free Syrian Army. In August 2011, dissident groups operating from abroad formed a coalition called the Syrian National Council. A broader organization, the Syrian National Coalition (SNC), was formed in November 2012. Although the groups based abroad established contact with those in Syria, the Syrian opposition suffered during the whole conflict from infighting and a lack of unified leadership, as well as lack of foreign aid as the war became deadlocked. (Full article...)

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Sheep near Krak des Chevaliers

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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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Hamcho in Paris, 2014

Ahmad Saber Hamcho (Arabic: أحمد صابر حمشو; born 25 November 1992) is a Syrian equestrian who competed in individual jumping at the 2012 Summer Olympics. He was the first Syrian to participate in Olympic equestrian events. In December 2019, he qualified for the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. He won two gold medals at the 2022 Mediterranean Games. His younger brother, Amre, became the second Syrian equestrian to qualify to the Olympics, competing in the 2024 Summer Olympics. (Full article...)

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General images

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

Image 1Maktab Anbar in the Ancient City of Damascus (from Culture of Syria)
Image 2Al-Fayhaa Sports Complex (from Culture of Syria)
Image 3Empress Julia Domna (from History of Syria)
Image 4Syrian government forces tank. (from History of Syria)
Image 5The States of the French Mandate (from History of Syria)
Image 6Opposition demonstration in Baniyas, 29 April 2011 (from History of Syria)
Image 7Former flag of Syria (1932–58), now used by the Syrian opposition and Free Syrian militias (from History of Syria)
Image 8Children killed by Assad regime in the Ghouta chemical attack, the deadliest chemical weapons attack in the 21st century (from History of Syria)
Image 9Philip the Arab, Roman Emperor (from History of Syria)
Image 10Stuck and abandoned tank of the Assad's forces on the road to Damascus, December. (from History of Syria)
Image 11A group of Syrian musicians from Aleppo (from Music of Syria)
Image 12The inauguration of President Hashim al-Atassi in 1936 (from History of Syria)
Image 13The Church of Saint Simeon Stylites near Aleppo is considered to be one of the oldest surviving churches in the world (from History of Syria)
Image 14Fattoush, an example of Syrian cuisine (from Culture of Syria)
Image 15Citadel of Aleppo is considered to be one of the oldest and largest castles in the world (from History of Syria)
Image 16Parts of Syria and neighbouring countries formed a part of the Roman Empire (from History of Syria)
Image 17Killing 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 18Nizar Qabbani's style explored themes of love, eroticism, religion, and Arab nationalism. (from Culture of Syria)
Image 19Roman Theatre at Palmyra (from History of Syria)
Image 20Russian planes bombing positions of the Assad's enemies. (from History of Syria)
Image 21Kousa mahshi (from Culture of Syria)
Image 22The 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 23The Umayyad Mosque, Damascus (from History of Syria)
Image 24Map marking boundary between British and French territory (from History of Syria)
Image 25Kousa mahshi (from Culture of Syria)
Image 26Alleged 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 27Azm Palace, 18th century residence of Ottoman governor of Damascus (from Culture of Syria)
Image 28Syrian tank during October war, 1973. (from History of Syria)
Image 29Fattoush, an example of Syrian cuisine (from Culture of Syria)
Image 30Syrian opposition offensives that overthrew Assad's regime in 11 days (from History of Syria)
Image 31Salah 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 32Syrian artillery crew during Yom Kippur War against Israel. (from History of Syria)
Image 33Krak des Chevaliers from the South-West (from History of Syria)
Image 34Israeli 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 35Coin of Bambyce, c. 340–332 BC (from History of Syria)
Image 36Ottoman-Syrian dress in the 19th century. (from History of Syria)
Image 37Syrian army column in Lebanon. (from History of Syria)
Image 38Syrian 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 39The 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 40Azm Palace, 18th century residence of Ottoman governor of Damascus (from Culture of Syria)
Image 41Ruins of the Hama city following the 1982 Hama Massacre that killed over 40,000 Sunni inhabitants. Old city of Hama was completely demolished by the Syrian military bombardment (from History of Syria)
Image 42Maktab Anbar in the Ancient City of Damascus (from Culture of Syria)
Image 43The Ancient city of Apamea, Syria, one of Syria's most important commercial centres and prospering cities in Hellenistic times (from History of Syria)
Image 44Female figurine, Syria, 5000 BCE. Ancient Orient Museum. (from History of Syria)
Image 45Palmyra, one of Roman Syria's most prospering cities (from History of Syria)
Image 46Nizar Qabbani's style explored themes of love, eroticism, religion, and Arab nationalism. (from Culture of Syria)
Image 47Bashar al-Assad in 2000 (from History of Syria)
Image 48Ottoman Syria, circa 1683 (See: list of territories) (from History of Syria)
Image 49Roman Theatre at Bosra (from History of Syria)
Image 50The ancient city of Ugarit (from History of Syria)
Image 51President Adib Shishakli (from History of Syria)
Image 52Landscape of Syrian mountain. (from Music of Syria)
Image 53The world's first alphabet from the ancient city-state of Ugarit, northern Syria. 15th century BCE. (from History of Syria)
Image 54Al-Fayhaa Sports Complex (from Culture of Syria)