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.

Following the Arab Spring in 2011, Syria became 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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Syria is a traditional society with a long cultural history. The Syrian's 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 are occasions for the lively demonstration of folk customs.

The scribes of the city of Ugarit (modern Ras Shamra) created a cuneiform alphabet in the 14th century BC. The alphabet was written in the familiar order we use today like the English language, however with different characters. (Full article...)

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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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The Kingdom of Emesa at its greatest extent

The Emesene (or Emesan) dynasty, also called the Sampsigeramids or the Sampsigerami or the House of Sampsigeramus (Arabic: آل شمسيغرام, romanized: ʾĀl Šamsīġirām), were a Roman client dynasty of Syrian priest-kings known to have ruled by 46 BC from Arethusa and later from Emesa, Syria, until between 72 and 78/79, or at the latest the reign of Emperor Antoninus Pius (138–161). Iamblichus, the famous Neoplatonist philosopher of the third century, was one of their descendants, as was empress Julia Domna, matriarch of the Severan dynasty. (Full article...)

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General images

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

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