Portal:Syria

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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 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 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 the 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 faction within the armed forces of the Syrian opposition.

In July 2011, as the situation turned into a civil war, defectors from the Syrian Arab 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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Fruit market in Hama

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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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Amal al-Atrash (Arabic: آمال الأطرش Āmāl al-Aṭrash, North Levantine Arabic pronunciation: [ʔaːˈmaːl elˈʔɑtˤraʃ]; November 25, 1912 – July 14, 1944), known professionally as Asmahan (أسمهان, Arabic pronunciation: [ʔasmaˈhaːn] Asmahān), was a Syrian and Egyptian singer.

Having immigrated to Egypt at the age of three years old from Syria, her family knew the composer Dawood Hosni, and she sang the compositions of Mohamed El Qasabgi and Zakariyya Ahmad. She also sang the compositions of Mohammed Abdel Wahab and her brother Farid al-Atrash, a then rising star musician in his own right. Her voice was one of the few female voices in the Arab music world to pose serious competition to that of Umm Kulthum, who is considered to be one of the Arab world's most distinguished singers of the 20th century. (Full article...)

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General images

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

Image 1Parts of Syria and neighbouring countries formed a part of the Roman Empire (from History of Syria)
Image 2Nizar Qabbani's style explored themes of love, eroticism, religion, and Arab nationalism. (from Culture of Syria)
Image 3The 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 4Azm Palace, 18th century residence of Ottoman governor of Damascus (from Culture of Syria)
Image 5Landscape of Syrian mountain. (from Music of Syria)
Image 6Syrian opposition offensives that overthrew Assad's regime in 11 days (from History of Syria)
Image 7Umayyad Mosque (from History of Syria)
Image 8Kousa mahshi (from Culture of Syria)
Image 9Ottoman-Syrian dress in the 19th century. (from History of Syria)
Image 10Fattoush, an example of Syrian cuisine (from Culture of Syria)
Image 11Map marking boundary between British and French territory (from History of Syria)
Image 12The 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 13Citadel of Aleppo (from History of Syria)
Image 14The world's first alphabet from the ancient city-state of Ugarit, northern Syria. 15th century BCE. (from History of Syria)
Image 15Alleged 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 16From 1831 until 1841, Syria was governed by Egypt under Muhammad Ali (from History of Syria)
Image 17Fattoush, an example of Syrian cuisine (from Culture 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 19Syrian government forces tank. (from History of Syria)
Image 20Coin of Bambyce, c. 340–332 BC (from History of Syria)
Image 21The ancient city of Ugarit (from History of Syria)
Image 22Syrian artillery crew during Yom Kippur War against Israel (from History of Syria)
Image 23Female figurine, Syria, 5000 BCE (from History of Syria)
Image 24Former flag of Syria (1932–58), now used by the Syrian opposition and Free Syrian militias (from History of Syria)
Image 25Roman Theatre at Bosra (from History of Syria)
Image 26Nizar Qabbani's style explored themes of love, eroticism, religion, and Arab nationalism. (from Culture of Syria)
Image 27Salah 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 28Syrian tank during October war, 1973 (from History of Syria)
Image 29Maktab Anbar in the Ancient City of Damascus (from Culture of Syria)
Image 30Russian planes bombing positions of the Assad's enemies. (from History of Syria)
Image 31President Adib Shishakli (from History of Syria)
Image 32Kousa mahshi (from Culture of Syria)
Image 33The Ancient city of Apamea, Syria, one of Syria's most important commercial centres in Hellenistic times (from History of Syria)
Image 34Philip the Arab, Roman Emperor (from History of Syria)
Image 35Opposition demonstration in Baniyas, 29 April 2011 (from History of Syria)
Image 36Maktab Anbar in the Ancient City of Damascus (from Culture of Syria)
Image 37Ottoman Syria, circa 1683 (See: list of territories) (from History of Syria)
Image 38The States of the French Mandate (from History of Syria)
Image 39The inauguration of President Hashim al-Atassi in 1936 (from History of Syria)
Image 40Syrian army column in Lebanon (from History of Syria)
Image 41Krak des Chevaliers from the South-West (from History of Syria)
Image 42Killing 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 43Israeli 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 44Al-Fayhaa Sports Complex (from Culture of Syria)
Image 45Al-Fayhaa Sports Complex (from Culture of Syria)
Image 46The Church of Saint Simeon Stylites near Aleppo (from History of Syria)
Image 47A group of Syrian musicians from Aleppo (from Music of Syria)
Image 48Stuck and abandoned tank of the Assad's forces on the road to Damascus, December. (from History of Syria)
Image 49Empress Julia Domna (from History of Syria)
Image 50Azm Palace, 18th century residence of Ottoman governor of Damascus (from Culture of Syria)