Syria

Introduction & Quick Facts
Land
- Relief
- Drainage
- Soils
- Climate
  - Temperature and precipitation
  - The winds
- Plant and animal life
People
- Ethnic and linguistic groups
- Religion
- Settlement patterns
  - Traditional regions
  - Rural settlement
  - Urban settlement
- Demographic trends
Economy
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing
- Resources and power
- Manufacturing
- Finance
- Trade
- Services
- Labor and taxation
- Transportation
Government and society
- Constitutional framework
  - During Baʿath Party rule
  - Transitional constitution under Ahmed al-Sharaa
- Local government
- Justice
- Political process
- Security
- Health and welfare
- Housing
- Education
Cultural life
- Daily life and social customs
- The arts
- Cultural institutions
- Sports and recreation
- Media and publishing
History
- Early history
- Hellenistic and Roman periods
  - The Hellenistic Age
  - Roman provincial organization
  - Economy and culture
  - Byzantine Syria
- Medieval period
  - Islamic conquest
  - The Umayyads
  - The ʿAbbāsids
  - From the 9th to the 12th century
  - The Ayyubids and Mamluks
- Ottoman period
  - Ottoman government, 16th–17th centuries
  - Decline of Ottoman authority
  - Egyptian domination
  - Ottoman rule restored
  - World War I
- The French mandate
- World War II and independence
- Early years of independence
  - The colonels
  - The union with Egypt, 1958–61
  - The “secessionist” regime, 1961–63
- Baʿathist Syria after 1963
  - Emergence and fracture of the Syrian Baʿath
  - Ideology and foreign policy to 1990
  - Foreign engagement and domestic change since 1990
    - Foreign policy
    - Domestic challenges
    - Uprising and civil war
      Spread of ISIL into eastern Syria and international involvement in the war
      Turning point in the war
      Rebels’ 2024 offensive and the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad

References & Edit History Facts & Stats

Images, Videos & Interactives

Political map of Syria showing international boundaries, major cities, and provinces. Neighboring countries Turkey, Iraq, Jordan, Israel, and Lebanon are labeled, with the Mediterranean Sea to the west. The map includes a locator inset highlighting Syria's position in the Middle East.

The Umayyad Mosque in Damascus, Syria, features prominent minarets and a large central dome, surrounded by city buildings and satellite dishes under a cloudy sky.

Map highlighting Syria in the Middle East, shaded in tan, with surrounding countries labeled, including Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan and Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and Lebanon to the west. The Mediterranean Sea is shown to the west of Syria, and the capital city, Damascus, is marked.

Map of Syria showing physical features such as major mountain ranges, rivers, lakes, and salt flats. Key features include the Anti-Lebanon Mountains, Mount Hermon, the Euphrates River, Lake Al-Asad, and the Orontes River. Neighboring countries-Turkey, Iraq, Jordan, Israel, and Lebanon-are labeled, and an inset locator map shows Syria's position within the Middle East.

Map showing the Tigris and Euphrates river basin and its drainage network across Turkey, Syria, and Iraq, with color shading for elevation, major dams, canals, lakes, and boundaries with neighboring countries. The green areas indicate lower elevations along the river valleys, while higher elevations are shaded in brown and orange. A small locator map in the corner shows the basin's position within the Middle East.

Syria: Ethnic composition

Syria: Religious affiliation

Syria: Urban-rural

At a Glance

default image

Syria: Media

country, Asia

Videos

When was the ancient citadel of Aleppo built?

When was the ancient citadel of Aleppo built?

An overview of the ancient citadel of Aleppo, Syria.

Video: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Images

Syria

In December 2024, after more than a decade of civil war, rebel forces took control...

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Political map of Syria showing international boundaries, major cities, and provinces. Neighboring countries Turkey, Iraq, Jordan, Israel, and Lebanon are labeled, with the Mediterranean Sea to the west. The map includes a locator inset highlighting Syria's position in the Middle East.

Syria

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

The Umayyad Mosque in Damascus, Syria, features prominent minarets and a large central dome, surrounded by city buildings and satellite dishes under a cloudy sky.

Damascus: Umayyad Mosque

Umayyad Mosque, Damascus.

© semultura/stock.adobe.com

Map highlighting Syria in the Middle East, shaded in tan, with surrounding countries labeled, including Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan and Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and Lebanon to the west. The Mediterranean Sea is shown to the west of Syria, and the capital city, Damascus, is marked.

Syria

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Map of Syria showing physical features such as major mountain ranges, rivers, lakes, and salt flats. Key features include the Anti-Lebanon Mountains, Mount Hermon, the Euphrates River, Lake Al-Asad, and the Orontes River. Neighboring countries-Turkey, Iraq, Jordan, Israel, and Lebanon-are labeled, and an inset locator map shows Syria's position within the Middle East.

physical features of Syria

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Map showing the Tigris and Euphrates river basin and its drainage network across Turkey, Syria, and Iraq, with color shading for elevation, major dams, canals, lakes, and boundaries with neighboring countries. The green areas indicate lower elevations along the river valleys, while higher elevations are shaded in brown and orange. A small locator map in the corner shows the basin's position within the Middle East.

Tigris and Euphrates river basin

The Tigris and Euphrates river basin and its drainage network.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Ancient stone columns and arches of Bostra's Roman ruins in Syria, with a tall, partially intact gateway framed against the sky in the background.

Syria: ancient city of Bostra

Ancient city of Bostra, Syria, designated a World Heritage site in 1980.

© Hazimsn/Dreamstime.com

Damascus

Damascus

Damascus, Syria.

© urf—iStock/Getty Images

A sheepherder walks with a flock of sheep along a dirt path near traditional domed mud-brick buildings on the outskirts of a Syrian village near Aleppo.

Aleppo, Syria

Sheepherder with his flock on the outskirts of a village near Aleppo, Syria.

Shostal Associates

Two large wooden waterwheels stand beside a stone aqueduct over a calm river in Hamah, Syria.

Hama, Syria: waterwheel

Waterwheel, Hama, Syria.

© Valery Shanin/Shutterstock.com

View of the Israel-Syrian border at the Golan Heights, showing a dry, open landscape with clusters of white tents visible on the Syrian side.

Golan Heights

Golan Heights, near the Syrian-Israeli border.

© Barak Shacked/Shutterstock.com

Syrian hexagonal tile

Syrian hexagonal tile

Hexagonal ceramic tile, Ottoman Syria, c. 1430; in the Brooklyn Museum, New York....

Photograph by Trish Mayo. Brooklyn Museum, New York, Museum Collection Fund, 07.175

Stone fortress Krak des Chevaliers stands atop a hill in Syria, with thick defensive walls, towers, and arched entryways, overlooking a distant mountain landscape.

Krak des Chevaliers

Krak des Chevaliers, Qalʿat al-Ḥiṣn, Syria.

© Voyagerix/Shutterstock.com

Palmyra, Syria: colonnade

Palmyra, Syria: colonnade

The colonnade of the main thoroughfare, with the ruins of a castle in the background,...

© remonaldo/Fotolia

The Monumental Arch at Palmyra, Syria, stands in front of rows of ancient stone columns and scattered ruins under a blue sky.

Palmyra, Syria: monumental arch

Monumental arch on the Grand Colonnade, Palmyra, Syria.

© Rafal Cichawa/stock.adobe.com

The Triumphal Arch of Septimius Severus, also known as Tetraporticus, stands as a large ancient stone structure with four arches in Latakia, Syria, surrounded by a low fence and greenery.

Latakia, Syria: Arch of Septimius Severus

Triumphal arch of Septimius Severus, Latakia, Syria.

© mohammad alzain/Shutterstock.com

People walk through the main entrance of the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus, Syria, beneath arched doorways and decorative mosaics.

Damascus: Great Mosque of Damascus

The main entrance of the Great Mosque, constructed by the Umayyads, in Damascus.

Salah Malkawi/Getty Images

The Toppling of the Assad Regime

The Toppling of the Assad Regime

Syrians standing near the fallen statue of Hafez al-Assad, the founder of the Assad...

© Orhan Qereman/Reuters

View of densely packed buildings in Aleppo, Syria, with the historic Citadel of Aleppo, a large stone fortress, visible on a mound in the background.

Aleppo, Syria

The city of Aleppo, Syria, with the medieval citadel in the background.

© OPIS/Shutterstock.com

Baghdad Railway

Baghdad Railway

Baghdad Railway on the Haradara Bridge, north of Aleppo, Syria.

Reinhard Dietrich

Aleppo, Syria: citadel's Throne Room

Aleppo, Syria: citadel's Throne Room

The restored ceiling of the Aleppo citadel's Throne Room, initially constructed during...

© iStockphoto/Thinkstock

Aleppo, Syria: citadel gate

Aleppo, Syria: citadel gate

Gate of the medieval citadel of Aleppo, Syria.

© iStockphoto/Thinkstock

People gather and perform ablutions in the courtyard of the Great Mosque of Aleppo, with the mosque's domed fountain and tall minaret visible under a clear sky.

Great Mosque of Aleppo, Syria

The Great Mosque of Aleppo, Syria, in 2007.

© homeros/Shutterstock.com

Stone ruins of the south facade of the martyrium at Qal'at as-Sim'an, also known as the Church of Saint Simeon, with arches and partial walls near Aleppo, Syria.

Aleppo, Syria: Qalʿat al-Simʿān

South facade of the martyrium at Qalʿat al-Simʿān near Aleppo, Syria.

© Dbajurin/Dreamstime.com

Syrian Civil War: Aleppo

Syrian Civil War: Aleppo

A man holds the body of his son, who was killed in a suicide bombing in October 2012,...

Manu Brabo—AP/Shutterstock.com

Syria

Syria

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Audio

National anthem of Syria

The instrumental version of the national anthem of Syria.

Interactives

Syria: Ethnic composition

Syria: Ethnic composition

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Syria: Religious affiliation

Syria: Religious affiliation

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Syria: Urban-rural

Syria: Urban-rural

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Syria: Age breakdown

Syria: Age breakdown

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

population density of Syria

population density of Syria

Population density of Syria.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Syria: Major import sources

Syria: Major import sources

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Syria: Major export destinations

Syria: Major export destinations

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

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