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184-476: Often the term "Wadi Hauran" is used to refer to the larger geographic area including the wadi itself and its surrounding hills, in addition to small wadis branching from it. Bounded by steep banks and at a depth varying between 150 and 200 metres (490 and 660 ft) the valley is the deepest in Iraq. Although it is usually dry there are oases located in the eastern part of the valley, and in rainy seasons can become

368-577: A 363 earthquake destroyed many structures it declined further, eventually being abandoned. The Sasanian Empire in the east became the Byzantines' rivals, and frequent confrontations sometimes led to the Sasanids controlling some parts of the region, including Transjordan. In 629, during the Battle of Mu'tah in what is today Karak Governorate , the Byzantines and their Arab Christian clients ,

552-418: A Ba'athist party state into a totalitarian dictatorship marked by his pervasive grip on the party, armed forces , secret police , media, education sector, religious and cultural spheres and all aspects of civil society. He assigned Alawite loyalists to key posts in the military forces , bureaucracy , intelligence and the ruling elite. A cult of personality revolving around Hafiz and his family became

736-479: A Mediterranean climate , while the eastern and northeastern areas of the country are arid desert. Although the deserts reach high temperatures, the heat is usually moderated by low humidity and a daytime breeze, while the nights are cool. Summers, lasting from May to September, are hot and dry, with temperatures averaging around 32 °C (90 °F) and sometimes exceeding 40 °C (104 °F) between July and August. The winter, lasting from November to March,

920-669: A 26 kilometres (16 mi) shoreline on the Gulf of Aqaba in the Red Sea but is otherwise landlocked. The Yarmuk River , an eastern tributary of the Jordan, forms part of the boundary between Jordan and Syria (including the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights ) to the north. The other boundaries are formed by several international and local agreements and do not follow well-defined natural features. The highest point

1104-527: 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. In 1925, Sultan al-Atrash led a revolt that broke out in the Druze Mountain and spread to engulf the whole of Syria and parts of Lebanon. Al-Atrash won several battles against

1288-528: A core tenet of Ba'athist ideology , which espoused that Assad dynasty was destined to rule perennially. 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. The village of Quneitra was largely destroyed by the Israeli army. In the late 1970s, an Islamist uprising by

1472-470: 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 Hafiz al-Assad. Syria seceded from the union with Egypt on 28 September 1961, after a coup and terminated the political union. The instability which followed

1656-500: A high Human Development Index , ranking 99th, and is considered a lower middle income economy. The Jordanian economy , one of the smallest economies in the region, is attractive to foreign investors based upon a skilled workforce. The country is a major tourist destination, also attracting medical tourism with its well-developed health sector . Nonetheless, a lack of natural resources, large flow of refugees, and regional turmoil have hampered economic growth. Jordan takes its name from

1840-646: A lesser degree Babylonia . The Egyptians initially occupied much of the south, while the Hittites, and the Mitanni, 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. Around the 14th century BC, various Semitic peoples appeared in the area, such as the semi-nomadic Suteans who came into an unsuccessful conflict with Babylonia to

2024-711: A level of autonomy by forming the Decapolis , a ten-city league. Jerash is one of the best preserved Roman cities in the East; it was even visited by Emperor Hadrian during his journey to Palestine. In 324 AD, the Roman Empire split and the Eastern Roman Empire, later known as the Byzantine Empire , continued to control or influence the region until 636. Christianity had become legal within

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2208-766: 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 President Hafiz al-Assad's meeting with then President Bill Clinton in Geneva in 2000. Hafiz al-Assad died on 10 June 2000. His son, Bashar al-Assad ,

2392-522: A majority vote of no confidence by the elected House of Representatives. After a bill is proposed by the government, it must be approved by the House of Representatives then the Senate and becomes law after being ratified by the king. A royal veto on legislation can be overridden by a two-thirds vote in a joint session of both houses. The parliament also has the right of interpellation . The 65 members of

2576-541: A national army; and that free trade be maintained between Transjordan and the rest of the region. Abdullah, the second son of Sharif Hussein, arrived from Hejaz by train in Ma'an in southern Transjordan on 21 November 1920 to redeem the Greater Syrian Kingdom his brother had lost. Transjordan then was in disarray, widely considered to be ungovernable with its dysfunctional local governments. Abdullah gained

2760-583: A number of provinces under the Roman Empire (but politically independent from each other): Judaea , later renamed Palaestina in AD 135 (the region corresponding to modern-day Israel , the Palestinian Territories, and Jordan) in the extreme southwest; Phoenice (established in AD 194) corresponding to modern Lebanon, Damascus and Homs regions; Coele-Syria (or "Hollow Syria") and south of

2944-456: A number of times since, is the legal framework that governs the monarch, government, bicameral legislature and judiciary. The king retains wide executive and legislative powers from the government and parliament . The king exercises his powers through the government that he appoints for a four-year term, which is responsible before the parliament that is made up of two chambers: the Senate and

3128-631: A period of relative prosperity in the 16th century but were later abandoned. Transjordan was of marginal importance to the Ottoman authorities. As a result, Ottoman presence was virtually absent and reduced to annual tax collection visits. More Arab Bedouin tribes moved into Transjordan from Syria and the Hejaz during the first three centuries of Ottoman rule, including the Adwan , the Bani Sakhr and

3312-512: A semiarid 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. Al-Jazira in the northeast and 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 ". Its land straddles

3496-593: A short-lived independent Kingdom of Syria was established under Faisal I of the 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

3680-530: A suspected nuclear reactor under construction by North Korean technicians. The Syrian civil war is an ongoing internal violent conflict in Syria. It is a part of the wider Arab Spring , a wave of upheaval throughout the Arab World . Public demonstrations across Syria began on 26 January 2011 and developed into a nationwide uprising. Protesters demanded the resignation of President Bashar al-Assad ,

3864-452: A system that led to peaceful coexistence. Each ethno-religious minority— Arab Shia Muslim , Arab Sunni Muslim , Aramean - Syriac Orthodox , Greek Orthodox , Maronite Christians , Assyrian Christians , Armenians , Kurds and Jews —constituted a millet . The religious heads of each community administered all personal status laws and performed certain civil functions as well. In 1831, Ibrahim Pasha of Egypt renounced his loyalty to

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4048-528: A watercourse. The landscape in this part of the Iraq desert is undulating and barren. The wadi flows from near the Jordanian border and traverses east through the Iraq desert till it meets the Euphrates near the town of Alaleya . The wadi collects water from an area encompassing most of Anbar province, and is at an elevation of 83 meters. Basically Wadi Hauran was a river in the past but it dried after

4232-459: Is Ar-Rutbah , an Iraqi town and seat of Ar-Rutba District . Its name means 'wet land' in Arabic because it can receive 114.3 mm of rain per year. Its total current population is 22,370 inhabitants, all of them Arabs and Sunnis . People earn their living by agriculture and small business. The wadi has three dams constructed in the wadi to collect rainwater for grazing sheep and camels during

4416-558: Is Jabal Umm al Dami , at 1,854 m (6,083 ft) above sea level, while the lowest is the Dead Sea −420 m (−1,378 ft), the lowest land point on Earth . Jordan has a diverse range of habitats, ecosystems and biota because of its varied landscapes and environments. The Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature was set up in 1966 to protect and manage Jordan's natural resources. Nature reserves in Jordan include

4600-470: Is Syria's capital and largest city. With a population of 25.0 million across an area of 185,180 square kilometres (71,500 sq mi), it is the 57th most populous and 87th largest country. The name "Syria" historically referred to a wider region , broadly synonymous with the Levant, and known in Arabic as al-Sham . The modern state encompasses the sites of several ancient kingdoms and empires, including

4784-652: Is a presidential state that nominally permits the candidacy of individuals who do not form part of the Ba'ath -controlled National Progressive Front . Despite this, Syria remains a one-party state with an extensive secret police apparatus that curtails any independent political activity. The new constitution introduced single-handedly by the Assad regime , without participation of the Syrian opposition , has bolstered its authoritarian character by bestowing extraordinary powers on

4968-575: Is also a refuge for thousands of Christian Iraqis fleeing persecution. While Jordan continues to accept refugees, the large Syrian influx during the 2010s has placed substantial strain on national resources and infrastructure. The sovereign state is a constitutional monarchy , but the king holds wide executive and legislative powers. Jordan is a founding member of the Arab League and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation . The country has

5152-426: Is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the south and the east, Iraq to the north-east , Syria to the north , and Israel and Palestine ( West Bank ) to the west. The east is an arid plateau irrigated by oases and seasonal streams. Major cities are overwhelmingly located on the north-western part of the kingdom with its fertile soils and relatively abundant rainfall. These include Irbid , Jerash and Zarqa in

5336-464: Is considered to be a rare event in the country, and Jordan's internal security was dramatically improved afterwards. No major terrorist attacks have occurred since then. Abdullah and Jordan are viewed with contempt by Islamic extremists for the country's peace treaty with Israel, its relationship with the West, and its mostly non-religious laws. The Arab Spring were large-scale protests that erupted in

5520-543: Is extremely limited, and the country is ranked 2nd worst in the 2024 World Press Freedom Index . Syria is the most corrupt country in the Middle East and was ranked the 2nd lowest globally on the 2023 Corruption Perceptions Index . The country has also become the epicentre of a state-sponsored multi-billion dollar illicit drug cartel , the largest in the world. The civil war has resulted in more than 600,000 deaths, with pro-Assad forces causing more than 90% of

5704-510: Is home to diverse ethnic and religious groups . Arabs are the largest ethnic group, and Sunni Muslims are the largest religious group. It is now the only country that is governed by Ba'athists , who advocate Arab socialism and nationalism . The country's current Ba'athist government is a totalitarian dictatorship with a comprehensive cult of personality around the Assad family , and has attracted widespread criticism for its severe domestic repression and war crimes . Being ranked 4th worst in

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5888-463: Is relatively cool, with temperatures averaging around 11.08 °C (52 °F). Winter also sees frequent showers and occasional snowfall in some western elevated areas. Over 2,000 plant species have been recorded. Many of the flowering plants bloom in the spring after the winter rains and the type of vegetation depends largely on the levels of precipitation. The mountainous regions in the northwest are clothed in forests, while further south and east

6072-437: Is represented by rectangular houses of Mureybet culture. At the time of the pre-pottery Neolithic, people used containers made of stone, gyps, and burnt lime ( 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

6256-641: The 1948 Arab–Israeli War , Jordan intervened in Palestine together with many other Arab states. Following the war, Jordan controlled the West Bank , and on 24 April 1950 Jordan formally annexed these territories after the Jericho Conference . In response, some Arab countries demanded Jordan's expulsion from the Arab League . On 12 June 1950, the Arab League declared that the annexation

6440-729: The 1961 coup culminated in the 8 March 1963 Ba'athist coup . The takeover was engineered by members of the 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. Since the 1963 seizure of power by its Military Committee , the Ba'ath party has ruled Syria as a totalitarian state . Ba'athists took control over country's politics, education, culture, religion and surveilled all aspects of civil society through its powerful Mukhabarat (secret police). Syrian Arab Armed forces and secret police were integrated with

6624-624: The Arab Federation as a response to the formation of the rival United Arab Republic between Nasser's Egypt and Syria. The union lasted only six months, being dissolved after Iraqi King Faisal II (Hussein's cousin) was deposed by a bloody military coup on 14 July 1958 . Jordan signed a military pact with Egypt just before Israel launched a preemptive strike on Egypt to begin the Six-Day War in June 1967, where Jordan and Syria joined

6808-451: The Arab world in 2011, demanding economic and political reforms. Many of these protests tore down regimes in some Arab nations, leading to instability that ended with violent civil wars. In response to domestic unrest , Abdullah replaced his prime minister and introduced reforms including reforming the constitution and laws governing public freedoms and elections. Proportional representation

6992-741: The Austro-Hungarian Empire . It ultimately suffered defeat and loss of control of the entire Near East to the British Empire and 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 Assyrian genocide , of which Deir ez-Zor , in Ottoman Syria, was the final destination of these death marches. In

7176-694: The Battle of Hattin (1187) near Lake Tiberias just north of Transjordan, the Crusaders lost to Saladin , the founder of the Ayyubid dynasty (1187–1260). The Ayyubids built the Ajloun Castle and rebuilt older castles to be used as military outposts against the Crusaders. Villages in Transjordan under the Ayyubids became important stops for Muslim pilgrims going to Mecca who travelled along

7360-543: The Bronze Age (3600–1200 BC). Wadi Feynan became a regional centre for copper extraction: the metal was exploited on a large scale to produce bronze. Trade and movement of people in the Middle East peaked, spreading cultural innovations and whole civilizations to spread. Villages in Transjordan expanded rapidly in areas with reliable water-resources and arable land. Ancient Egyptian populations expanded towards

7544-784: 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 also occupied in part by the Nizari Ismailis , the so-called 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

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7728-830: The Dana Biosphere Reserve , the Azraq Wetland Reserve , the Shaumari Wildlife Reserve and the Mujib Nature Reserve . The climate varies greatly; generally, the further inland from the Mediterranean, there are greater contrasts in temperature and less rainfall. The average elevation is 812 m (2,664 ft) above sea level. The highlands above the Jordan Valley, mountains of the Dead Sea and Wadi Araba and as far south as Ras Al-Naqab are dominated by

7912-703: The Eblan civilization of the 3rd millennium BC . Damascus and Aleppo are cities of great cultural significance. During the Islamic rule, Damascus was the seat of the Umayyad Caliphate and a provincial capital for the Mamluk Sultanate in Egypt . The modern Syrian state was established in the mid-20th century after centuries of Ottoman rule , as a French Mandate. The newly created state represented

8096-540: The Eleutheris river . Since approximately the 11th millennium BC, Syria was one of the centers of Neolithic culture (known as Pre-Pottery Neolithic A ), where agriculture and cattle breeding first began to appear. The site of Tell Qaramel in Aleppo Governorate has several round stone towers dated to 10650 BC, making them the oldest structures of this kind in the world. The Neolithic period ( PPNB )

8280-554: The European Union states , the Gulf Cooperation Council states , and other countries have condemned the use of violence against the protesters. 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. The Arab League suspended Syria's membership over

8464-626: The Ghassanids , staved off an attack by a Muslim Rashidun force that marched northwards towards the Levant from the Hejaz. The Byzantines however were defeated by the Muslims in 636 at the decisive Battle of the Yarmuk just north of Transjordan. Transjordan was an essential territory for the conquest of Damascus. The Rashidun caliphate was followed by that of the Umayyads (661–750). Under

8648-402: The Greco-Roman world both the Arameans of Syria and the 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 Syria were taken by the Jewish Hasmoneans dynasty upon the slow disintegration of

8832-454: The Hejaz desert, up to as far north as Damascus , which it controlled for a short period (85–71 BC). The Nabataeans massed a fortune from their control of the trade routes, often drawing the envy of their neighbours. Petra, Nabataea's capital, flourished in the 1st century AD, driven by its extensive water irrigation systems and agriculture. The Nabataeans were talented stone carvers , building their most elaborate structure, Al-Khazneh , in

9016-461: The Hejaz Railway in 1908—stretching across the length of Transjordan and linking Damascus with Medina —helped the population economically, as Transjordan became a stopover for pilgrims. Increasing policies of Turkification and centralization adopted by the Ottoman Empire in the wake of the 1908 Young Turk Revolution disenchanted the Arabs of the Levant, which contributed to the development of an Arab nationalist movement. These changes led to

9200-426: The Hellenistic Empire. Syria briefly came under 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 , its capital, and turned Syria into a Roman province in 64 BC, thus ending Armenian control over

9384-449: The House of Representatives . The judiciary is independent according to the constitution but in practice often lacks independence. The king is the head of state and commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces . He can declare war and peace, ratify laws and treaties, convene and close legislative sessions, call and postpone elections, dismiss the government, and dissolve the parliament. The appointed government can also be dismissed through

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9568-399: The Howeitat . These tribes laid claims to different parts of the region, and with the absence of a meaningful Ottoman authority, Transjordan slid into a state of anarchy that continued until the 19th century. This led to a short-lived occupation by the Wahhabi forces (1803–1812), an ultra-orthodox Islamic movement that emerged in Najd (in modern-day Saudi Arabia). Ibrahim Pasha , son of

9752-454: The Hurrian and Hattian peoples to the northwest, in Asia Minor . Gifts from Pharaohs , found during excavations, confirm Ebla's contact with 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. Scholars believe the language of Ebla to be among the oldest known written Semitic languages after Akkadian . Recent classifications of

9936-455: The Hurrians states and the Euphrates Valley down to the borders with Babylon. The army of Yamhad campaigned as far away as Dēr on the border of Elam (modern Iran). Yamhad was conquered and destroyed, along with Ebla, by the Hittites from Asia Minor circa 1600 BC. 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

10120-406: The Jordan River , which forms much of the country's northwestern border. While several theories for the origin of the river's name have been proposed, it is most plausible that it derives from the Hebrew word Yarad ( ירד ), meaning "the descender", reflecting the river's declivity. Much of the area that makes up modern Jordan was historically called Transjordan , meaning "across the Jordan";

10304-414: 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 , 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

10488-417: The Late Pleistocene , which resulted in the formation of numerous remains-preserving wetlands in the region. Past lakeshore environments attracted different groups of hominids, and several remains of tools dating from the Late Pleistocene have been found there. Scientists have found the world's oldest known evidence of bread-making at a 14,500-year-old Natufian site in Jordan's northeastern desert. During

10672-460: The Levant , and from this point the Greeks applied the term without distinction between the Assyrians of Mesopotamia and Arameans of the Levant. Mainstream modern academic opinion strongly favors the argument that the Greek word is related to the cognate Ἀσσυρία , Assyria , ultimately derived from the Akkadian Aššur . The Greek name appears to correspond to Phoenician ʾšr "Assur", ʾšrym "Assyrians", recorded in

10856-503: The 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 Hama massacre , when more than 40,000 people were killed by Syrian military troops and Ba'athist paramilitaries. It has been described as the "single deadliest act" of violence perpetrated by any state upon its own population in modern Arab history In

11040-467: 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 (539 BC – 330 BC), as well as the Assyrian name for the new satrapy of Aram/Syria Eber-Nari . Syria was later conquered by the Macedonian Empire which was ruled by Alexander the Great c. 330 BC, and consequently became Coele-Syria province of

11224-453: The Neolithic period (10,000–4,500 BC), there was a transition there from a hunter-gatherer culture to a culture with established populous agricultural villages. 'Ain Ghazal , one such village located at a site in the eastern part of present-day Amman , is one of the largest known prehistoric settlements in the Near East . Dozens of plaster statues of the human form, dating to 7250 BC or earlier, have been uncovered there; they are one of

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11408-406: The Paleolithic period. Three kingdoms developed in Transjordan during the Iron Age : Ammon , Moab and Edom , which were conquered by the Assyrian and later Babylonian empires. In the third century BC, the Arab Nabataeans established their kingdom centered in Petra . The Greco-Roman period saw the establishment of several cities in Transjordan that comprised the Decapolis . Later,

11592-411: The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) led by Yasser Arafat during the " Black September (also known as the Jordan Civil War of 1970)" hostilities with Jordan reflected this disagreement. The power struggle culminated in the November 1970 Syrian Corrective movement , a bloodless military coup that installed Hafiz al-Assad as the strongman of the government. General Hafiz al-Assad transformed

11776-410: The Presidency and a Ba'athist political committee continues to be responsible for authorization of political parties. The ruling Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party governs Syria as a totalitarian police state , through its control of the Syrian military and security apparatus. 50th edition of Freedom in the World , the annual report published by Freedom House in 2023, designates Syria as "Worst of

11960-429: The Rabat summit conference in 1974, in the aftermath of the Yom-Kippur War, Jordan and the rest of the Arab League agreed that the PLO was the "sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people". Subsequently, Jordan renounced its claims to the West Bank in 1988. At the 1991 Madrid Conference , Jordan agreed to negotiate a peace treaty sponsored by the US and the Soviet Union. The Israel–Jordan peace treaty

12144-457: The Schutzstaffel , to build up their armed forces and military intelligence capabilities. Defeat in this war was one of several trigger factors for the March 1949 Syrian coup d'état by Col. Husni al-Za'im , described as the first military overthrow of the Arab World since the start of the Second World War. This was soon followed by another overthrow, by Col. Sami al-Hinnawi , who was himself quickly deposed by Col. Adib Shishakli , all within

12328-470: 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. Lands that constitute modern day Syria were part of

12512-470: 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. 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. Thus in

12696-568: The eleventh-most populous Arab country . The dominant majority, or around 95% of the country's population, is Sunni Muslim , with the rest being mostly Arab Christian . Jordan was mostly unscathed by the violence that swept the region following the Arab Spring in 2010. From as early as 1948, Jordan has accepted refugees from multiple neighbouring countries in conflict. An estimated 2.1 million Palestinian refugees , most of whom hold Jordanian citizenship, as well as 1.4 million Syrian refugees , were residing in Jordan as of 2015. The kingdom

12880-416: The governor of the Egypt Eyalet , rooted out the Wahhabis under the request of the Ottoman sultan by 1818. In 1833 Pasha turned on the Ottomans and established his rule over the Levant. His policies led to the unsuccessful peasants' revolt in Palestine in 1834. Transjordanian cities of As-Salt and Al-Karak were destroyed by Pasha's forces for harboring a peasants' revolt leader . Egyptian rule

13064-412: The total civilian casualties . The war led to a massive refugee crisis , with an estimated 7.6 million internally displaced people (July 2015 UNHCR figure) and over 5 million refugees (July 2017 registered by UNHCR ). The war has also worsened economic conditions, with more than 90% of the population living in poverty and 80% facing food insecurity . The Arab League , the United States ,

13248-399: The white-spectacled bulbul . Four terrestrial ecoregions lie with Jordan's borders: Syrian xeric grasslands and shrublands , Eastern Mediterranean conifer-sclerophyllous-broadleaf forests , Mesopotamian shrub desert , and Red Sea Nubo-Sindian tropical desert and semi-desert . Jordan is a unitary state under a constitutional monarchy . Its constitution , adopted in 1952 and amended

13432-565: The "northwest of the Arabian plate ". Petroleum in commercial quantities was first discovered in the northeast in 1956. The most important oil fields are those of al-Suwaydiyah , Karatchok , Rmelan near al-Hasakah , as well as al-Omar and al-Taym fields near 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

13616-605: The 13th century BC, founding city states such as Amrit , Simyra , Arwad , Paltos , Ramitha , and Shuksi . From these coastal regions, they eventually spread their influence throughout the Mediterranean , including building colonies in Malta , Sicily, the Iberian peninsula (modern Spain and Portugal ), and the coasts of North Africa and most significantly, founding the major city-state of Carthage (in modern Tunisia ) in

13800-439: The 2016 election), Christians (9 seats) and Circassians and Chechens (3 seats). Courts are divided into three categories: civil, religious, and special. The civil courts deal with civil and criminal matters, including cases brought against the government. The civil courts include magistrate courts, courts of first instance, courts of appeal, high administrative courts which hear cases relating to administrative matters, and

13984-495: The 2024 Fragile States Index , Syria is one of the most dangerous places for journalists . Freedom of press is extremely limited, and the country is ranked 2nd worst in the 2024 World Press Freedom Index . It is the most corrupt country in the MENA region and was ranked the 2nd lowest globally on the 2023 Corruption Perceptions Index . Syria has also become the epicentre of a state-sponsored multi-billion dollar illicit drug cartel ,

14168-466: The 2nd and 3rd centuries (AD). 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 ), 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,

14352-516: The 7th and 8th centuries AD, and was to be a vehicle for the spread of Christianity. The Assyrians named their colonies of Syria and Lebanon Eber-Nari . Assyrian domination ended after the Assyrians greatly weakened themselves in a series of brutal internal civil wars, followed by attacks from: the Medes , Babylonians , Chaldeans , Persians , Scythians and Cimmerians . During the fall of Assyria,

14536-544: The 8th century BC Çineköy inscription . 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 . By Pliny's time, however, this larger Syria had been divided into

14720-528: 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

14904-627: The Arabist cause, offered support. The revolt started on 5 June 1916 from Medina and pushed northwards until the fighting reached Transjordan in the Battle of Aqaba on 6 July 1917. The revolt reached its climax when Faisal entered Damascus in October 1918 and established an Arab-led military administration in OETA East , later declared as the Arab Kingdom of Syria , both of which Transjordan

15088-710: The Ayyubids." After a century of Seljuk rule, Syria was largely conquered (1175–1185) by the Kurdish liberator Salah ad-Din , founder of the Ayyubid dynasty of Egypt. Aleppo fell to the Mongols of Hulegu in January 1260, and Damascus 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 Mamluks arrived with an army from Egypt and defeated

15272-464: The Ba'ath party apparatus; after the purging of traditional civilian and military elites by the new regime. The 1963 Ba'athist coup marked a "radical break" in modern Syrian history , after which Ba'ath party monopolised power in the country to establish a one-party state and shaped a new socio-political order by enforcing its state ideology . On 23 February 1966, the neo-Ba'athist Military Committee carried out an intra-party rebellion against

15456-409: The Ba'athist Old Guard ( Aflaq and Bitar ), imprisoned President Amin al-Hafiz and designated a regionalist, civilian Ba'ath government on 1 March. Although Nureddin al-Atassi became the formal head of state, Salah Jadid was Syria's effective ruler from 1966 until November 1970, when he was deposed by Hafiz al-Assad , who at the time was Minister of Defense. The coup led to the schism within

15640-557: The British stated their willingness to recognize the independence of a unified Arab state stretching from Aleppo to Aden under the rule of the Hashemites. British High Commissioner Herbert Samuel travelled to Transjordan on 21 August 1920 to meet with As-Salt's residents. He there declared to a crowd of 600 Transjordanian notables that the British government would aid the establishment of local governments in Transjordan, which

15824-466: The Commander of Anbar Intelligence Body, eight army officers and 13 soldiers. Then in 2007 the bridge over the wadi was destroyed by an improvised explosive device . On 22 June 2014, the town of Ar-Rutbah was attacked by ISIL militants, who came from Wadi Hauran by 50 armed vehicles, and occupied the town after sporadic clashes with Iraqi Security Forces. Despite Iraqi Prime Minister announcing

16008-618: The Eblaite language have shown that it was an East Semitic language , closely related to the Akkadian language . Ebla was weakened by a long war with Mari , and the whole of Syria became part of the Mesopotamian Akkadian Empire after Sargon of Akkad and his grandson Naram-Sin 's conquests ended Eblan domination over Syria in the first half of the 23rd century BC. By the 21st century BC, Hurrians settled in

16192-531: 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

16376-471: 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 Sultan al-Atrash to death, but he had escaped with the rebels to Transjordan and

16560-561: The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. The country captured and annexed the West Bank during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War until it was occupied by Israel in 1967 . Jordan renounced its claim to the territory to the Palestinians in 1988 and signed a peace treaty with Israel in 1994. Jordan is a semi-arid country, covering an area of 89,342 km (34,495 sq mi) with a population of 11.5 million, making it

16744-587: The Islamic era began after end of Byzantine rule that set off Islamic empires of the Rashidun , Umayyad , Abbasid , and the Ottoman . Following the 1916 Great Arab Revolt during World War I , former Ottoman Syria was partitioned , leading to the establishment of the Emirate of Transjordan in 1921, which became a British protectorate. In 1946, the country gained independence and became officially known as

16928-697: The Levant and came to control both banks of the Jordan River. During the Iron Age (1200–332 BC), after the withdrawal of the Egyptians, Transjordan was home to the kingdoms of Ammon , Edom and Moab . These peoples spoke Semitic languages of the Canaanite group ; archaeologists have concluded that their polities were tribal kingdoms rather than states. Ammon was located in the Amman plateau; Moab in

17112-748: The Levant. As had happened during the Roman era, growth of maritime trade diminished Transjordan's central position, and the area became increasingly impoverished. After the decline of the Abbasids, Transjordan was ruled by the Fatimid Caliphate (969–1070), then by the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem (1115–1187). The Crusaders constructed several castles as part of the Lordship of Oultrejordain, including Montreal and Al-Karak. During

17296-576: The Levant. In Transjordan and with Ottoman support, Circassians first settled in the long-abandoned vicinity of Amman in 1867 and later in the surrounding villages. The Ottoman authorities' establishment of its administration, conscription and heavy taxation policies led to revolts in the areas it controlled. Transjordan's tribes in particular revolted during the Shoubak (1905) and the Karak revolts (1910), which were brutally suppressed. The construction of

17480-579: The Middle Assyrian Empire, 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 . There

17664-565: 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

17848-745: 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 . In 1400, the Muslim Turco-Mongol conqueror Tamurlane invaded Syria, in which he sacked Aleppo , and captured Damascus after defeating the Mamluk army. The city's inhabitants were massacred, except for

18032-575: The Palestinians had limited involvement against the Israeli forces, the events at Karameh gained wide recognition and acclaim in the Arab world. As a result, there was an upsurge of support for Palestinian paramilitary elements (the fedayeen ) within Jordan from other Arab countries. The fedayeen activities soon became a threat to Jordan's rule of law. In September 1970, the Jordanian army targeted

18216-647: The Roman culture. Some Edomites survived longer – driven by the Nabataeans, they had migrated to southern Judea , which became known as Idumaea ; they were later converted to Judaism by the Hasmoneans . Alexander the Great 's conquest of the Persian Empire in 332 BC introduced Hellenistic culture to the Middle East. After Alexander's death in 323 BC, the empire split among his generals, and in

18400-534: 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. The uprising has sectarian undertones, though neither faction in the conflict has described sectarianism as playing a major role. The opposition is dominated by Sunni Muslims, whereas

18584-504: The Syrian government, 9,815–10,146 people, including 3,430 members of the security forces, 2,805–3,140 insurgents and up to 3,600 civilians, have been killed in fighting with what they characterize as "armed terrorist groups." To escape the violence, tens of thousands of Syrian refugees have fled the country to neighboring Jordan , Iraq and Lebanon , as well to Turkey . The total official UN numbers of Syrian refugees reached 42,000 at

18768-680: The Umayyad Caliphate, several desert castles were constructed in Transjordan, including: Qasr Al-Mshatta and Qasr Al-Hallabat . The Abbasid Caliphate 's campaign to take over the Umayyad's began in a village in Transjordan known as Humayma . The powerful 749 earthquake is thought to have contributed to the Umayyads' defeat by the Abbasids , who moved the caliphate's capital from Damascus to Baghdad . During Abbasid rule (750–969), several Arab tribes moved northwards and settled in

18952-531: The area back to the Ottomans. From 1864, Tanzimat reforms were applied on Ottoman Syria, carving out the provinces (vilayets) of Aleppo , Zor , Beirut and Damascus Vilayet ; Mutasarrifate of Mount Lebanon was created, as well, and soon after the Mutasarrifate of Jerusalem was given a separate status. During World War I , the Ottoman Empire entered the conflict on the side of Germany and

19136-587: The artisans, who were deported to Samarkand . Tamurlane also conducted specific massacres of the Aramean and Assyrian Christian populations, greatly reducing their numbers. By the end of the 15th century, the discovery of a sea route from Europe to the Far East ended the need for an overland trade route through Syria. In 1516, the Ottoman Empire invaded the Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt , conquering Syria, and incorporating it into its empire. The Ottoman system

19320-474: The beginning of the second millennium, a lordship was established in the area under the name of Oultrejordain . The oldest known evidence of hominid habitation in Jordan dates back at least 200,000 years. Jordan is a rich source of Paleolithic human remains (up to 20,000 years old) due to its location within the Levant , where various migrations out of Africa converged, and its more humid climate during

19504-898: The building projects that he initiated in Moab and commemorates his glory and his victory against the Israelites. The stele constitutes one of the most important archeological parallels to accounts recorded in the Bible . At the same time, Israel and the Kingdom of Aram-Damascus competed for control of the Gilead. Around 740–720 BC, Israel and Aram-Damascus were conquered by the Neo-Assyrian Empire . The kingdoms of Ammon, Edom and Moab were subjugated but were allowed to maintain some degree of independence. Then in 627 BC, following after

19688-808: The capital of empire to Baghdad . Arabic – made official under Umayyad rule – became the dominant language, replacing Greek and Aramaic of the Byzantine era. In 887, the Egypt-based Tulunids annexed Syria from the Abbasids, and were later replaced by once the Egypt-based Ikhshidids and still later by the Hamdanids originating in Aleppo founded by Sayf al-Dawla . Sections of Syria were held by French, English, Italian and German overlords between 1098 and 1189 AD during

19872-801: The city one of the richest in the Roman empire. Eventually, in the late 3rd century AD, 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 AD. The northern Mesopotamian Assyrian kingdom of Adiabene controlled areas of north east Syria between 10 AD and 117 AD, before it

20056-917: The city, most of which were halted after his death. Syria is significant in the history of Christianity ; Saulus of Tarsus, better known as the Apostle Paul , was converted on the Road to Damascus and emerged as a significant figure in the Christian Church at Antioch in ancient Syria. Muhammad 's first interaction with the people of Syria was during the Invasion of Dumatul Jandal in July 626 where he ordered his followers to invade Duma, because Muhammad received intelligence that some tribes there were involved in highway robbery and preparing to attack Medina itself. William Montgomery Watt claims that this

20240-680: The civil one. Syria Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant . It is bounded by 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 comprising 14 governorates . Damascus

20424-415: The conflict appears to have settled into a frozen state. Although roughly 30% of the country is controlled by opposition forces, heavy fighting has largely ceased and there is a growing regional trend toward normalizing relations with the regime of Bashar al-Assad. Syria lies between latitudes 32° and 38° N , and longitudes 35° and 43° E . The climate varies from the humid Mediterranean coast, through

20608-425: The constitutional court which was set up in 2012 in order to hear cases regarding the constitutionality of laws. Although Islam is the state religion , the constitution preserves religious and personal freedoms. Religious law only extends to matters of personal status such as divorce and inheritance in religious courts, and is partially based on Islamic sharia law. The special court deals with cases forwarded by

20792-531: 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 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. Upheaval dominated Syrian politics from independence through

20976-571: The country between 1949 and 1971. In 1958, Syria entered a brief union with Egypt , which was terminated in the 1961 coup d'état and was renamed as the Arab Republic of Syria in constitutional referendum . The 1963 coup d'état carried out by the military committee of the Ba'ath Party established a one-party state and ran Syria under emergency law from 1963 to 2011, effectively suspending constitutional protections for citizens. Internal power-struggles within Ba'athist factions caused further coups in 1966 and 1970 , which eventually resulted in

21160-422: The defeat of ISIL in December 2017, the group retains natural hideouts in its gorges. 33°58′52″N 42°33′23″E  /  33.98111°N 42.55639°E  / 33.98111; 42.55639 Jordan Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia . Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to

21344-482: The disintegration of the Assyrians' empire, Babylonians took control of the area. Although the kingdoms supported the Babylonians against Judah in the 597 BC sack of Jerusalem , they rebelled against Babylon a decade later. The kingdoms were reduced to vassals , a status they retained under the Persian and Hellenic empires. By the beginning of Roman rule around 63 BC, the kingdoms of Ammon, Edom and Moab had lost their distinct identities and were assimilated into

21528-418: The east, and the 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 . The west remained part of the Hittite empire until its destruction c. 1200 BC, while eastern Syria largely became part of

21712-576: The empire in 313 after co-emperors Constantine and Licinius signed an edict of toleration. In 380, the Edict of Thessalonica made Christianity the official state religion. Transjordan prospered during the Byzantine era, and Christian churches were built throughout the region. The Aqaba Church in Ayla was built during this era; it is considered to be the world's first purpose built Christian church . Umm ar-Rasas in southern Amman contains at least 16 Byzantine churches. Meanwhile, Petra's importance declined as sea trade routes emerged, and after

21896-410: The end much of Transjordan was disputed between the Ptolemies based in Egypt and the Seleucids based in Syria. The Nabataeans , nomadic Arabs based south of Edom, managed to establish an independent kingdom in 169 BC by exploiting the struggle between the two Greek powers. The Nabataean Kingdom controlled much of the trade routes of the region, and it stretched south along the Red Sea coast into

22080-612: The end of the Last glacial period . The wadi offers a good pastures for the Bedouin and their cattle. Wadi Hauran serves as a good breeding ground for many wild animals such as hare , Rüppell's fox , gray wolf and goitered gazelle , while the surrounding cliffs of the wadi constitute a good breeding ground for resident birds and immigrants like the bustard , sandgrouse , saker falcon , and Egyptian vulture . Flora in Wadi Hauran include many desert and semi desert plants such as Artemisia , shrub , Astragalus Achillea , Acacia , and Alhagi . The main settlement in Wadi Hauran

22264-451: The fedayeen and the resultant fighting led to the expulsion of Palestinian fighters from various PLO groups into Lebanon, in a conflict that became known as Black September . In 1973, Egypt and Syria waged the Yom Kippur War on Israel, and fighting occurred along the 1967 Jordan River cease-fire line. Jordan sent a brigade to Syria to attack Israeli units on Syrian territory but did not engage Israeli forces from Jordanian territory. At

22448-422: 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 Roman Arabia . He was emperor from 244 to 249, 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

22632-592: The first century AD. It is believed to be the mausoleum of the Arab Nabataean King Aretas IV . Roman legions under Pompey conquered much of the Levant in 63 BC, inaugurating a period of Roman rule that lasted four centuries. In 106 AD, Emperor Trajan annexed Nabataea unopposed and rebuilt the King's Highway which became known as the Via Traiana Nova road. The Romans gave the Greek cities of Transjordan—Philadelphia (Amman), Gerasa (Jerash), Gedara (Umm Quays), Pella (Tabaqat Fahl) and Arbila (Irbid)—and other Hellenistic cities in Palestine and southern Syria,

22816-571: The former crown prince of Jordan, who was placed under house arrest, after having been accused of working to "destabilize" the kingdom. Jordan sits strategically at the crossroads of the continents of Asia, Africa and Europe, in the Levant area of the Fertile Crescent , a cradle of civilization . Its area is 89,341 square kilometres (34,495 sq mi), and it is 400 kilometres (250 mi) long between its northernmost and southernmost points; Umm Qais and Aqaba respectively. The kingdom lies between 29° and 34° N , and 34° and 40° E . It

23000-615: The foundation for Aqaba 's free-trade zone and Jordan's flourishing information and communication technology sector. He also set up five other special economic zones. However, during the following years Jordan's economy experienced hardship as it dealt with the effects of the Great Recession and spillover from the Arab Spring . Al-Qaeda under Abu Musab al-Zarqawi 's leadership launched coordinated explosions in three hotel lobbies in Amman on 9 November 2005, resulting in 60 deaths and 115 injured. The bombings, which targeted civilians, caused widespread outrage among Jordanians. The attack

23184-503: The government's response to the crisis, but sent an observer mission in December 2011, as part of its proposal for peaceful resolution of the crisis. The latest attempts to resolve the crisis has been made through the appointment of Kofi Annan, as a special envoy to resolve the Syrian crisis in the Middle East. Some analysts however have posited the partitioning the region into a Sunnite east, Kurdish north and Shiite / Alawite west. Twelve years into Syria's devastating civil war,

23368-465: The highlands east of the Dead Sea; and Edom in the area around Wadi Araba in the south. The northwestern region of the Transjordan, known then as Gilead , was settled by the Israelites . The three kingdoms continually clashed with the neighbouring Hebrew kingdoms of Israel and Judah , centered west of the Jordan River. One record of this is the Mesha Stele , erected by the Moabite king Mesha in 840 BC; in an inscription on it, he lauds himself for

23552-441: The kidnapping of Iranian nationals. The UN Commission of Inquiry has also documented abuses of this nature in its February 2012 report, which also includes documentation that indicates rebel forces have been responsible for displacement of civilians. Being ranked 8th last on the 2024 Global Peace Index and 4th worst in the 2024 Fragile States Index , Syria is one of the most dangerous places for journalists . Freedom of press

23736-447: The largest Arab state to emerge from the formerly Ottoman -ruled Syrian provinces. It gained de jure independence as a parliamentary republic in 1945 when the new Republic became a founding member of the United Nations, an act which legally ended the former French mandate. French troops departed in April 1946, granting de facto independence. The post-independence period was tumultuous, with multiple military coup attempts shaking

23920-411: The largest in the world. Several sources indicate that the name Syria is derived from the 8th century BC Luwian term "Sura/i", and the derivative ancient Greek name: Σύριοι , Sýrioi , or Σύροι , Sýroi , both of which originally derived from Aššūr ( Assyria ) in northern Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq). However, from the Seleucid Empire (323–150 BC), this term was also applied to

24104-461: The late 1960s. In May 1948, Syrian forces invaded Palestine , together with other Arab states, and immediately attacked Jewish settlements. Their president Shukri al-Quwwatli instructed his troops in the front, "to destroy the Zionists". The Invasion purpose was to prevent the establishment of the State of Israel . Toward this end, the Syrian government engaged in an active process of recruiting former Nazis , including several former members of

24288-607: The leading government figures are Alawites , affiliated with Shia Islam. As a result, the opposition is winning support from the Sunni Muslim states, whereas the government is publicly supported by the Shia dominated Iran and the Lebanese Hezbollah . According to various sources, including the United Nations , up to 13,470–19,220 people have been killed, of which about half were civilians, but also including 6,035–6,570 armed combatants from both sides and up to 1,400 opposition protesters. Many more have been injured, and tens of thousands of protesters have been imprisoned. According to

24472-401: The midst of World War I , two Allied diplomats (Frenchman François Georges-Picot and 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

24656-532: The northeastern city of al-Qamishli . Signs of rioting were seen in the cities of Qamishli and Hasakeh . In 2005, Syria ended its military presence in Lebanon. Assassination of Rafic Hariri in 2005 led to international condemnation and triggered a popular Intifada in Lebanon , known as "the Cedar Revolution" which forced the Assad regime to end its 29-year old of military occupation in Lebanon . On 6 September 2007, foreign jet fighters, suspected as Israeli, reportedly carried out Operation Orchard against

24840-486: 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 language of the Amorites is the earliest attested of the Canaanite languages . Mari reemerged during this period, and saw renewed prosperity until conquered by Hammurabi of Babylon. Ugarit also arose during this time, circa 1800 BC, close to modern Latakia . Ugaritic

25024-591: The northwest are clothed in natural forests of pine , deciduous oak , evergreen oak , pistachio and wild olive . Mammal and reptile species include, the long-eared hedgehog , Nubian ibex , wild boar , fallow deer , Arabian wolf , desert monitor , honey badger , glass snake , caracal , golden jackal and the roe deer , among others. Bird include the hooded crow , Eurasian jay , lappet-faced vulture , barbary falcon , hoopoe , pharaoh eagle-owl , common cuckoo , Tristram's starling , Palestine sunbird , Sinai rosefinch , lesser kestrel , house crow and

25208-439: The northwest, the capital Amman and As-Salt in the central west, and Madaba , Al-Karak and Aqaba in the southwest. Major towns in the east are the oasis towns of Azraq and Ruwaished . In the west, a highland area of arable land and Mediterranean evergreen forestry drops suddenly into the Jordan Rift Valley . The rift valley contains the Jordan River and the Dead Sea , which separates Jordan from Israel. Jordan has

25392-409: The oldest large-scale representations of humans ever found. During the Chalcolithic period (4500–3600 BC), several villages emerged in Transjordan including Tulaylet Ghassul in the Jordan Valley ; a series of circular stone enclosures in the eastern basalt desert from the same period have long baffled archaeologists. Fortified towns and urban centres first emerged in the southern Levant early in

25576-449: The original pan-Arab Ba'ath Party : one Iraqi-led ba'ath movement (ruled Iraq from 1968 to 2003) and one 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 Demilitarized Zone led to 7 April pre-war aerial clashes between Israel and Syria. When the Six-Day War broke out between Egypt and Israel, Syria joined

25760-487: The outbreak of the 1916 Arab Revolt during World War I , which ended four centuries of stagnation under Ottoman rule. The revolt was led by Sharif Hussein of Mecca, scion of the Hashemite family of the Hejaz, and his sons Abdullah , Faisal and Ali . Locally, the revolt garnered the support of the Transjordanian tribes, including Bedouins, Circassians and Christians . The Allies of World War I , including Britain and France whose imperial interests converged with

25944-595: 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, though the unrest continued. According to some witnesses, soldiers, who refused to open fire on civilians, were summarily executed by the Syrian Army. The Syrian government denied reports of defections, and blamed armed gangs for causing trouble. Since early autumn 2011, civilians and army defectors began forming fighting units, which began an insurgency campaign against

26128-408: The peace treaty. On 7 February 1999, Abdullah II ascended the throne upon the death of his father Hussein, who had ruled for nearly 50 years. Abdullah embarked on economic liberalization when he assumed the throne, and his reforms led to an economic boom which continued until 2008. Abdullah II has been credited with increasing foreign investment, improving public-private partnerships and providing

26312-400: The provisions of the mandate dealing with Jewish settlement. On 11 April 1921 the Emirate of Transjordan was established with Abdullah as emir. In September 1922, the Council of the League of Nations recognized Transjordan as a state under the terms of the Transjordan memorandum . Transjordan remained a British mandate until 1946, but it had been granted a greater level of autonomy than

26496-463: The region of Mosul just before the end of the war led to yet 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 by Arab nationalists resulted in its attachment to Syria . This border was recognized internationally when Syria became a League of Nations mandate in 1920 and has not changed to date. In 1920,

26680-425: The region west of the Jordan River. Multiple difficulties emerged upon the assumption of power in the region by the Hashemite leadership. In Transjordan, small local rebellions at Kura in 1921 and 1923 were suppressed by Abdullah's forces with the help of the British. Wahhabis from Najd regained strength and repeatedly raided the southern parts of his territory, seriously threatening the emir's position. The emir

26864-403: 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. 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

27048-480: The route that connected Syria to the Hejaz. Several of the Ayyubid castles were used and expanded by the Mamluks (1260–1516), who divided Transjordan between the provinces of Karak and Damascus. During the next century Transjordan experienced Mongol attacks, but the Mongols were ultimately repelled by the Mamluks at the Battle of Ain Jalut (1260). In 1516 the Ottoman Caliphate 's forces conquered Mamluk territory . Agricultural villages in Transjordan witnessed

27232-420: The same year. Shishakli eventually abolished multipartyism altogether, but was himself overthrown in a 1954 coup and the parliamentary system was restored. However, by this time, power was increasingly concentrated in the military and security establishment. The weakness of Parliamentary institutions and the mismanagement of the economy led to unrest and the influence of Nasserism and other ideologies. There

27416-423: The secret 1916 Sykes–Picot Agreement , which divided the region into French and British spheres of influence, and the 1917 Balfour Declaration , in which Britain announced its support for the establishment of a "national home" for Jews in Palestine. This was seen by the Hashemites and the Arabs as a betrayal of their previous agreements with the British, including the 1915 McMahon–Hussein Correspondence , in which

27600-559: The seizure of power by Hafiz al-Assad . He effectively established an Alawi minority rule to consolidate power within his family. After Assad's death , his son Bashar al-Assad inherited the presidency in 2000. Since 2011, Syria has been embroiled in a multi-sided civil war , with involvement of different countries . Three political entities – the Syrian Interim Government , Syrian Salvation Government , and Rojava – have emerged in Syrian territory to challenge Assad's rule. A country of fertile plains, high mountains, and deserts, Syria

27784-450: The south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories to the west. The Jordan River , flowing into the Dead Sea , is located along the country's western border. Jordan has a small coastline along the Red Sea in its southwest, separated by the Gulf of Aqaba from Egypt . Amman is the country's capital and largest city , as well as the most populous city in the Levant . Modern-day Jordan has been inhabited by humans since

27968-448: 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. 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. Meanwhile,

28152-451: The summer. They are the Hussayniyah dam built in the 1990s, the Rutba dam, and the Hauran barrage. The wadi was mentioned by Yaqut al-Hamawi and possibly Al Tabari and was traditionally the territory of the al-Qayn tribes. In the 19th century many Druze fleeing persecution entered the western part of the catchment, and in the 1870s the wadi was captured by Jabal Shammar . On 27 March 1917 British forces captured 2,000 Turkish troops at

28336-406: The term is used to denote the lands east of the river. The Hebrew Bible uses the term עבר הירדן Ever ha'Yarden ( lit.   ' the other side of the Jordan ' ) for the area. Early Arab chronicles call the river Al-Urdunn (a term cognate to the Hebrew Yarden ). Jund Al-Urdunn was a military district around the river in the early Islamic era. Later, during the Crusades in

28520-443: The throne in 1953 at age 17. Jordan witnessed great political uncertainty in the following period. The 1950s was a period of political upheaval, as Nasserism and Pan-Arabism swept the Arab World. On 1 March 1956, King Hussein Arabized the command of the Army by dismissing a number of senior British officers, an act made to remove remaining foreign influence in the country. In 1958, Jordan and neighbouring Hashemite Iraq formed

28704-694: The time, while unofficial number stood at as many as 130,000. UNICEF reported that over 500 children have been killed, Another 400 children have been reportedly arrested and tortured in Syrian prisons. Both claims have been contested by the Syrian government. Additionally, over 600 detainees and political prisoners have died under torture. Human Rights Watch accused the government and Shabiha of using civilians as human shields when they advanced on opposition held-areas. Anti-government rebels have been accused of human rights abuses as well, including torture, kidnapping, unlawful detention and execution of civilians, Shabiha and soldiers. HRW also expressed concern at

28888-489: The trust of Transjordan's tribal leaders before scrambling to convince them of the benefits of an organized government. Abdullah's successes drew the envy of the British, even when it was in their interest. The British reluctantly accepted Abdullah as ruler of Transjordan after having given him a six-month trial. In March 1921, the British decided to add Transjordan to their Mandate for Palestine , in which they would implement their " Sharifian Solution " policy without applying

29072-467: The upper Senate are directly appointed by the king, the constitution mandates that they be veteran politicians, judges and generals who previously served in the government or in the House of Representatives. The 130 members of the lower House of Representatives are elected through party-list proportional representation in 23 constituencies for a 4-year term. Minimum quotas exist in the House of Representatives for women (15 seats, though they won 20 seats in

29256-497: The vegetation becomes more scrubby and transitions to steppe-type vegetation. Forests cover 1.5 million dunums (1,500 km ), less than 2% of Jordan, making Jordan among the world's least forested countries, the international average being 15%. Plant species and genera include the Aleppo pine , Sarcopoterium , Salvia dominica , black iris , Tamarix , Anabasis , Artemisia , Acacia , Mediterranean cypress and Phoenecian juniper . The mountainous regions in

29440-442: The wadi. Since 2003, Wadi Hauran has been an insurgent stronghold and among more dangerous areas in Iraq due to its location in the midst of the desert, away from any paved roads. Many clashes have taken place in the Wadi. The most serious attack to date occurred on 20 December 2013, resulted in the killing of 24 combatants, including the Commander of the 7th Division, Brigadier Mohamed al-Karawi, his assistant Brigadier Noman Mohamed,

29624-409: 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. The defeat caused a split between Jadid and Assad over what steps to take next. Disagreement developed between Jadid, who controlled the party apparatus, and Assad, who controlled the military. The 1970 retreat of Syrian forces sent to aid

29808-406: The war. The Arab states were defeated, and Jordan lost control of the West Bank to Israel. The War of Attrition with Israel followed, which included the 1968 Battle of Karameh where the combined forces of the Jordanian Armed Forces and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) repelled an Israeli attack on the Karameh camp on the Jordanian border with the West Bank. Despite the fact that

29992-489: The world . Yamhad (modern Aleppo ) dominated northern Syria for two centuries, 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 of Babylon. Yamhad imposed its authority over Alalakh , Qatna ,

30176-484: Was forcibly ended in 1841, with Ottoman rule restored. Only after Pasha's campaign did the Ottoman Empire try to solidify its presence in the Syria Vilayet , which Transjordan was part of. A series of tax and land reforms ( Tanzimat ) in 1864 brought some prosperity back to agriculture and to abandoned villages; the end of virtual autonomy led a backlash in other areas of Transjordan. Muslim Circassians and Chechens , fleeing Russian persecution , sought refuge in

30360-442: Was a Semitic language loosely related to the Canaanite languages, and developed the Ugaritic alphabet , 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 the capital city Damascus are among the oldest continuously inhabited cities in

30544-459: Was a temporary, practical measure and that Jordan was holding the territory as a "trustee" pending a future settlement. King Abdullah was assassinated at the Al-Aqsa Mosque in 1951 by a Palestinian militant, amid rumors he intended to sign a peace treaty with Israel. Abdullah was succeeded by his son Talal , who established the country's modern constitution in 1952. Illness caused Talal to abdicate to his eldest son Hussein , who ascended to

30728-420: 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". William Muir also believes that the expedition was important as Muhammad followed by 1000 men reached the confines of Syria, where distant tribes had now learnt his name, while the political horizon of Muhammad was extended. By AD 640, Syria

30912-424: 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 . A Canaanite group known as the Phoenicians came to dominate the coasts of Syria, (and also Lebanon and northern Palestine ) from

31096-417: Was conquered by the Arab Rashidun army led by Khalid ibn al-Walid . In the mid-7th century, the Umayyad dynasty , then rulers of the empire, placed the capital of the empire in Damascus. The country's power declined during later Umayyad rule; this was mainly due to totalitarianism, corruption and the resulting revolutions. The Umayyad dynasty was then overthrown in 750 by the Abbasid dynasty , which moved

31280-399: Was conquered by Rome. The Aramaic language has been found as far afield as Hadrian's Wall in Ancient Britain, with an inscription written by a Palmyrene emigrant at the site of Fort Arbeia . Control of Syria eventually passed from the Romans to the Byzantines , with the split in the Roman Empire. The largely Aramaic -speaking population of Syria during the heyday of the Byzantine Empire

31464-433: Was discovered at the field of Jbessa in 1940. 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 . The country had a 2019 Forest Landscape Integrity Index mean score of 3.64/10, ranking it 144th globally out of 172 countries. Syria

31648-503: Was elected president in an election in which he ran unopposed. 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. Instead, reforms have been limited to some market reforms. On 5 October 2003, Israel bombed a site near Damascus , claiming it was a terrorist training facility for members of Islamic Jihad . In March 2004, Syrian Kurds and Arabs clashed in

31832-465: Was eventually pardoned. He returned to Syria in 1937 after the signing of the Syrian-French Treaty. Syria and France negotiated a 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

32016-485: Was fertile ground for various Arab nationalist , Syrian nationalist , and socialist movements, which represented disaffected elements of society. Notably included were religious minorities, who demanded radical reform. In November 1956, as a direct result of the Suez Crisis , Syria signed a pact with the Soviet Union . This gave a foothold for Communist influence within the government in exchange for military equipment. Turkey then became worried about this increase in

32200-402: 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, the pilgrimage to Mecca. Ottoman administration followed

32384-400: Was one of the most ancient on earth, perhaps preceded by only that of Mesopotamia . The earliest recorded indigenous civilization in the region was the Kingdom of Ebla near present-day Idlib , northern Syria. Ebla appears to have been founded around 3500 BC, and gradually built its fortune through trade with the Mesopotamian states of Sumer , Assyria , and Akkad , as well as with

32568-489: Was part of. During this period, the southernmost region of the country, including Ma'an and Aqaba , was also claimed by the neighbouring Kingdom of Hejaz . The nascent Hashemite Kingdom over the region of Syria was forced to surrender to French troops on 24 July 1920 during the Battle of Maysalun ; the French occupied only the northern part of Syria, leaving Transjordan in a period of interregnum . Arab aspirations failed to gain international recognition, due mainly to

32752-422: Was probably not exceeded again until the 19th century. Prior to the Arab Islamic Conquest in the 7th century AD, the bulk of the population were Arameans , but Syria was also home to 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

32936-416: Was raised to the status of a kingdom under the name of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan in Arabic, with Abdullah as its first king; although it continued to be referred to as the Hashemite Kingdom of Transjordan in English until 1949. 25 May is now celebrated as the nation's Independence Day , a public holiday . Jordan became a member of the United Nations on 14 December 1955. On 15 May 1948, as part of

33120-481: Was re-introduced to the Jordanian parliament in the 2016 general election , a move which he said would eventually lead to establishing parliamentary governments. Jordan was left largely unscathed from the violence that swept the region despite an influx of 1.4 million Syrian refugees into the natural resources-lacking country and the emergence of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). On 4 April 2021, 19 people were arrested , including Prince Hamzeh ,

33304-400: Was signed on 26 October 1994. In 1997, in retribution for a bombing , Israeli agents entered Jordan using Canadian passports and poisoned Khaled Mashal , a senior Hamas leader living in Jordan. Bowing to intense international pressure, Israel provided an antidote to the poison and released dozens of political prisoners, including Sheikh Ahmed Yassin , after King Hussein threatened to annul

33488-409: Was the most significant expedition Muhammad ordered at the time, even though it received little notice in the primary sources. Dumat Al-Jandal was 800 kilometres (500 mi) 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

33672-415: Was to be kept separate from that of Palestine. The second meeting took place in Umm Qais on 2 September, where the British representative Major Fitzroy Somerset received a petition that demanded: an independent Arab government in Transjordan to be led by an Arab prince (emir); land sale in Transjordan to Jews be stopped as well as the prevention of Jewish immigration there; that Britain establish and fund

33856-426: Was unable to repel those raids without the aid of the local Bedouin tribes and the British, who maintained a military base with a small Royal Air Force detachment close to Amman. The Treaty of London , signed by the British government and the Emir of Transjordan on 22 March 1946, recognised the independence of the state. On 25 May 1946, the day that the treaty was ratified by the Transjordan parliament, Transjordan

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