Portal:Syria

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The Syria Portal

Flag of Syria	Emblem of Syria

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

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

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

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During the rule of the Syrian regional branch of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party from 1963 to 2024, and later under the Assad family from 1970 until the regime's collapse in 2024, Ba'athist Syria used different national flags of Syria, all featuring a red, white, and black triband bearing either two or three green stars or the national coat of arms.

Following the 1963 Ba'athist coup d'état, the Revolutionary Command Council adopted a new flag, a red–white–black horizontal triband with three green stars. The three stars represented Egypt, Syria, and Iraq, while also symbolizing the Ba'athist principles of Waḥda, Ḥurriyya, Ishtirākiyya ("unity, freedom, and socialism"). In 1972, after Syria joined Egypt and Libya in the Federation of Arab Republics, the three green stars were replaced by the Hawk of Quraish. Upon the dissolution of the federation, Syria restored the two-star red–white–black tricolour in 1980 by readopting the former flag of the United Arab Republic to symbolize its continued commitment to Arab unity. The flag had been used until 1961, when Syria was part of the United Arab Republic. During the Syrian civil war, the two-star flag became closely associated with the Ba'ath Party and the government of Bashar al-Assad. (Full article...)

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Some columns in the north part on the city of Apamea

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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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Chamamyan in 2021

Lena Chamamyan (Arabic: لينا شماميان; Armenian: Լենա Շամամեան; born 27 June 1980) is a Syrian singer-songwriter, known for her soprano voice and unique style, which fuses jazz, Arabic folk music and Western classical music. (Full article...)

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General images

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

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