Portal:Syria

The Syria Portal

Flag of Syria	Emblem of Syria

Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to the north 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 the 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.

Following the Arab Spring in 2011, Syria became embroiled in a multi-sided civil war with the involvement of several countries, leading to a refugee crisis in which more than 6 million refugees were displaced from the country. In response to rapid territorial gains made by the Islamic State during the civil war in 2014 and 2015, several countries intervened on behalf of various factions opposing it, leading to its territorial defeat in 2017 in both central and eastern Syria. Thereafter, three political entities—the Syrian Interim Government, Syrian Salvation Government, and the Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria—emerged in Syrian territory to challenge Assad's rule. In late 2024, a series of offensives from a coalition of opposition forces led to the capture of Damascus and the fall of Assad's regime. By 2025, the war had left Syria's economy in a poor state, following years of international sanctions that were later eased. (Full article...)

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The Syrian Armed Forces (الجيش العربي السوري) (Arabic: القوات المسلحة العربية السورية, romanized: al-Quwwāt al-Musallaḥah al-Arabīyah as-Sūrīyah) are the military forces of Syria.

Up until the fall of Bashar al-Assad's Ba'ath Party regime in December 2024, the Syrian Arab Armed Forces were the state armed forces. They consisted of the Syrian Arab Army, Syrian Arab Air Force, Syrian Arab Navy, Syrian Arab Air Defence Force, and paramilitary forces, such as the National Defence Forces. According to the 2012 Constitution of Ba'athist Syria, the President of Syria was the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces. The Minister of Defense held the position of Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Army and Armed Forces. (Full article...)

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Great Mosque of Aleppo

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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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Fakhri performing in Tunisia in 1973

Sabah al-Din Abu Qaws (Arabic: صباح الدين أبو قوس; May 2, 1933 – November 2, 2021), also known as Sabah Fakhri (Arabic: صباح فخري, Syrian Arabic pronunciation: [sˤɑˈbɑːħ ˈfæχɾi]), was a Syrian tenor singer from Aleppo.

With over 50 years of fame and popularity as a singer, Sabah Fakhri modified and popularized the then-fading forms of traditional Arabic music Muwashahat and Qudud Halabiya. He was well known for his beautiful strong vocals, impeccable control and execution of Maqamat and harmony, as well as his dominant and charismatic performances on stage. In the Arab world, he is regarded as one of the greatest artists of all time. (Full article...)

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General images

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

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