Syria in the past. Essay on the political history of Syria in the 20th and early 21st centuries. Local authorities

Plan
Introduction
1 Prehistory
2 In the shadow of ancient civilizations
3 Aram
4 Under the scepter of the Eastern kings
5 Ancient period
6 Medieval history
7 Ottoman period
8 Greater Syria Project
9 French Mandate
10 Modern Syria
Bibliography

Introduction

This article is devoted to the history of Syria.

1. Prehistoric period

About 10 thousand years BC. e. Syria became one of the centers of the Pre-Pottery Neolithic A, where cattle breeding and agriculture appeared for the first time in the world. The subsequent Pre-Pottery Neolithic B is characterized by the rectangular houses of the Mureybet culture. During the pre-ceramic Neolithic, local residents used vessels made of stone, gypsum and burnt lime. Finds of obsidian originating from Anatolia testify to ancient trade relations.

During the Late Neolithic and Early bronze age the cities of Hamukar and Emar played an important role.

Damascus is located in the center of the Guta oasis, which stretches from north to south for 25 km, and from west to east - for 16 km. The first mention of it is known around 2500 BC. e. although archaeological excavations show that the urban population lived here as early as the 4th millennium BC. e. In addition to agriculture, local residents have been engaged in trade since ancient times. This was facilitated by the extremely favorable location of the city - on the edge of the Eastern Desert, near two navigable rivers, at the point where the roads diverged to the west, south, and east. In this regard, Damascus played an important role in the entire centuries-old history of Syria.

2. In the shadow of ancient civilizations

In the III millennium BC. on the territory of Syria there was a Semitic city-state of Ebla, which was part of the circle of the Sumerian-Akkadian civilization. He inherited the traditions of the Neolithic revolution, wrote in cuneiform. The Amorites were disturbing from the south, the Hurrians were advancing from the north. Subsequently, the Amorite state of Yamhad was formed on the territory of Syria, the end of which was put by the invasion of the Hittites. In the 17th century, in the zone of interaction between the Indo-Europeans (Hittites) who invaded from the Balkans and the civilizations of Mesopotamia, the local tribes of the Hurrians form the state of Mitanni. In the XV century. BC. Syria is invaded by the Egyptian pharaoh Thutmose I.

One of the brightest eras of his early history were X-VIII centuries BC. e., when, after the conquests of the kings Rizon I and Tab-Rimmon, the city of Damascus became the center of the powerful Aramaic kingdom, which soon made it the hegemon of all Syria. This dominating position remained with their descendants. At the beginning of the ninth century BC e. the son of Tab-Rimmon, Ben-Hadad I, fought with the kingdom of Israel, and seized part of northern Galilee from the Israelites. But a few decades later, the hegemony of Damascus began to be threatened by the rapidly growing Assyrians. They first collected tribute from the rulers of Syria in 859 BC. e. In order to successfully resist the enemy, the local rulers decided to join forces. The son of Ben-Hadad I, Ben-Hadad II, managed to create a powerful anti-Assyrian alliance, which together with him included the kings of Hamat, Israel, Arvad, Aman and some others. In 854 BC. e. under the walls of the city of Karkara, on the banks of the Orontes River, a fierce battle took place. It was very bloody, but ended to no avail. Some time later, the Assyrian king Shalmaneser III again invaded Syria, laid siege to Damascus, but could not take it.

Dangerous for the Assyrians, however, the coalition of Syrian and Palestinian rulers did not last long. Soon between the Israeli king Ahab and Ben-Hadad II (bibl. Venadad) the war began. At the battle of Rimoth Gilead in 850 BC. e. the Israelites were defeated and Ahab was killed (2 Kings 22:35). Then in 843 BC. e. Ben-Hadad II himself died - one of his close associates, a certain Gazail, taking advantage of the fact that the king was sick, strangled him with a blanket and seized power himself. In 834 BC e. The 120,000th Assyrian army approached Damascus for the second time. The king of Assyria, Shalmaneser III, discovered that the Syrians had taken up positions on Mount Senir, one of the mountain peaks of Lebanon, and dug in there. The Assyrians managed to defeat the Syrian army, and Azail himself was forced to flee to Damascus. The Assyrians surrounded the city and cut down the groves in its vicinity. Shalmaneser III was able to capture a lot of booty, but the city was not taken this time either.

Hazael, king of Syria(2 Kings 15:22), was able to keep the throne after the departure of the Assyrians, and some time later began a war with the Israelites. The Syrians were lucky and actually managed to turn the Israelite king Jehoahaz into a vassal. But in 802 BC. e. The Assyrians again attacked Syria. Adadmerari III, who led the campaign, finally managed to defeat the Syrians and capture their capital Damascus. The Assyrians then seized huge booty and completely sacked the city. Azail had to recognize himself as a vassal of Assyria. But he was again able to hold the throne and ruled until 796 BC. e. The son of Azail, Ben-Hadad III - fought several times with the Israeli king Jegoash, but everything seems to be unsuccessful - the Israelis took back all the previously lost cities from the Syrians. The son of Jehoash, Jeroboam II continued to push Damascus, and even capture vast Syrian territories, which may have included the entire Bekaa valley.

4. Under the scepter of the kings of the East

The next Assyrian king, Tiglath-Pileser III, decided to expand the borders of his state, and for this purpose he began to conquer in the western direction (that is, towards Syria). In 739 BC e. Assyrian troops managed to take Arpad. In 738 BC e. they also captured 19 more Syrian cities. Under these conditions, the Syrian rulers forgot about their strife and rallied around the new Damascus king Rhizon II. The ally of the Syrians was the king of Israel - Fakey, as well as the kings of Gaza and Edom. But the forces of the Syrians were clearly inferior to Assyria. In 734 BC. e. Tiglath-Pileser III conquered Israel, and in 733 B.C. e. The Assyrians took Damascus. The city was badly damaged. The power of the Syrians was undermined. King Rhizon II was captured and executed by the Assyrians, his kingdom became an Assyrian province. After that, most of the Aramaic population was forcibly relocated to the hinterland of Assyria.

The Assyrians were replaced by the Chaldeans and then the Persians.

5. Ancient period

After the Battle of Issus, Alexander the Great, instead of pursuing Darius, moved into Syria. Parmenion captured the entire convoy of the Persian army in Damascus, and Alexander himself occupied Phoenicia. Thus S. in 332 became part of the Macedonian kingdom. After the death of Alexander Vel. S. first belonged to Antigonus, who in the battle of Issus (301) lost his kingdom and life. Syria fell to Seleucus Nicator, under whom she reached her highest development; the borders of the Syrian state reached the Oxus (now the Amu Darya) and the Indus. Seleucus and his son Antiochus founded a number of Hellenistic cities (Seleucia on the Tigris, Seleucia on the Orontes, Antioch, etc.). These newly founded cities became the main instrument for the mixture of nationalities, religion, language and culture, since their inhabitants consisted of Macedonians, Greeks and natives. The successors of Seleucus were not able to retain dominion over a vast territory; in their hands from the beginning of the II century. BC, only one S. remained. In 83, Tigran, the king of Armenia, conquered S., expelled the last Seleucids and annexed the remnants of the Syrian kingdom to his state.

In 64, after Pompey's victory over Mithridates and Tigranes, S. became a Roman province, and Judea was annexed to it. The Roman proconsuls sought to control Syria in every possible way. Antioch soon became the most important city of the province of Asia, and the third city of the whole Roman Empire; since Antioch was inland, the city of Seleucia Pieria served as a harbor for it. Both in Antioch and in the rest of S., the educated strata of society still spoke Greek and retained Greek manners and customs. S. constantly suffered from the invasions of the Parthians. With the weakening of the Roman Empire, the Palmyra kingdom appeared on the territory of Syria. Under the Eastern Roman emperors, S. fell more and more and, finally, became the prey of the Saracens.

6. Medieval history

In 635, S. was devastated and then conquered by the Arabs, who converted a significant part of the Aramaic population to Islam. In the years 660-750, when Damascus served as the residence of the Caliphs, Sakhalin's prosperity began to rise again, but with the decline of the Damascus Caliphate, the country became poorer. The crusades made S. the theater of continuous military clashes for 2 centuries. Here the Principality of Antioch was formed. In 1187, the Egyptian sultan Saladin conquered S. from the crusaders.

In 1260, the declining Ayyubid state was invaded by the Mongols under the leadership of Hulagu Khan, who captured Aleppo and Damascus, but was stopped by Mamluk forces led by Sultan Qutuz at the battle of Ain Jalut in northern Palestine.

7. Ottoman period

Syria was under Egyptian rule until it was conquered in 1517 by the Ottoman Sultan Selim I. Under the Ottomans, Syria was divided into four provinces headed by governors who were directly subordinate to the Istanbul administration. In the 18th century, French influence increased in Syria. Napoleon's soldiers landed on the coast. In 1833 the Egyptian Khedive Megemet-Ali conquered S., but in 1840, as a result of the intervention of European powers, he was forced to return S. back to Turkey. In the late 1850s and early 1860s. bloody feuds broke out between the Druses and the Maronites, which demanded the sending of a French corps and ended with the founding of a semi-autonomous region of the Maronites in Lebanon. The development of an industrial society in Europe contributed to the decline of local crafts and the penetration of European capital.

8. Greater Syria Project

From Europe, through the movement of the Young Turks, the ideas of nationalism penetrate into Syria, which acquire a pan-Arab coloring. During the First World War, the Arabs, mainly from the Hejaz, together with the British, participated in the liberation of Syria from the Ottomans. When the Arab army led by Faisal ibn Hussein entered Damascus in October 1918, it was greeted as a liberator. The city was declared the seat of an independent government for all of Syria, which was perceived as the revival of the Damascus Caliphate. Faisal I traveled to a conference in Paris in 1919, trying in vain to achieve recognition of the rights of the Hashemite dynasty to rule over the Arab East. Returning to Syria, he declared himself king of Syria, twice convened pan-Arab congresses in Damascus, and drafted a constitution in 1920. He did not take into account that Britain, behind his back, agreed to give Syria to France in exchange for giving up the oil-rich region of Mosul.

syrian arab war islam

Islam gained a foothold in Syria in 661, when Damascus became the capital of the Arab Caliphate under the Umayyads. At this time, the Caliphate was already a powerful state, stretching from the Iberian Peninsula to Central Asia. Damascus became the cultural and economic center of the entire Arab world, already in the VIII century being one of the largest cities in the world. In 750, the Umayyads were overthrown by the Abbasid dynasty, after which the capital of the Caliphate moved to Baghdad.

In the XII century, crusader states were formed on the territory of Syria, which lasted less than a hundred years. Since the XIII century, Damascus became the provincial center of the Mamluk Empire. In 1400, Syria was attacked by Turks from Central Asia. Tamerlane defeated the Mamluk detachments, destroyed Damascus and took all his wealth to Samarkand. Since 1517, Syria for 4 centuries became part of Ottoman Empire.

Shortly after the defeat in the First World War, the Ottoman Empire collapsed. In 1920, the Syrian Arab Kingdom was founded with its center in Damascus. Faisal of the Hashemite dynasty, who later became the king of Iraq, was declared king. But the independence of Syria did not last long. A few months later, the French army occupied Syria, defeating the Syrian troops on July 23 at the Battle of the Maysalun Pass. In 1922, the League of Nations decided to divide the former Syrian possessions of the Ottoman Empire between Britain and France. Great Britain received Jordan and Palestine, and France - the modern territory of Syria and Lebanon (the so-called "League of Nations mandate").

In 1926, the country's constitution was introduced, confirming the mandate of France and providing for an elected president and a unicameral parliament.

In 1936, a treaty was signed between Syria and France providing for the independence of Syria, but in 1939 France refused to ratify it. In 1940, France itself was occupied by German troops, and Syria came under the control of the Vichy Regime (Governor - General Dentz). Nazi Germany, having provoked a rebellion by Prime Minister Geilani in British Iraq, sent units of its air force to Syria.

In June - July 1941, with the support of the British troops, the Free French units, led by Generals Charles de Gaulle and Catrou, entered Syria during a bloody conflict with Dentz's troops. General de Gaulle in his memoirs directly pointed out that the events in Iraq, Syria and Lebanon were directly related to the German plans to invade Greece (including the island of Crete), Yugoslavia and the USSR, since they had the task of diverting armed forces allies to secondary theaters of war.

On September 27, 1941, France granted independence to Syria, leaving its troops on its territory until the end of World War II. On January 26, 1945, Syria declared war on Germany and Japan. In April 1946, French troops were evacuated from Syria.

Shukri al-Kuatli, who fought for the country's independence under the Ottoman Empire, became the president of independent Syria. In 1947, a parliament began to operate in Syria. The main political forces were the pro-presidential National Socialist Party of Syria (currently operating only in Lebanon), the Arab Socialist Renaissance Party and the then underground Communist Party of Syria.

After Syria gained independence, attacks on Syrian Jews intensified, and their businesses were boycotted. The new government banned emigration to Palestine, and the teaching of Hebrew in Jewish schools was severely restricted. After the adoption of the UN decision on the partition of Palestine on November 27, 1947, Jewish pogroms took place in Syria. Only in Aleppo, with a Jewish community that lived in the city for 2.5 thousand years and numbered from 6 to 7 thousand Jews, on December 1, 1947, 150 houses, 5 shops and 10 synagogues were destroyed. From 8 to 75 Jews were killed, several hundred were wounded. After the pogrom, many Jews fled the city to Turkey and Lebanon, to the territory of the future Israel and to the USA. In 1948, the Jewish community of Syria, numbering 50,000 in 1900, was reduced to 30,000. The pogroms continued in 1948 and in subsequent years, as a result, Jews were forced to flee almost completely from Syria to Israel, the United States and the countries of South America, and there are currently fewer than 100 Syrian Jews living in Damascus and Lattakia.

In 1948, the Syrian army took a limited part in the Arab-Israeli war launched by the Arab League. At the end of the war, accusations against the government of incompetence and misappropriation of funds began to be heard in the country's parliament, which forced him, after the riots, to resign, and the military to introduce a state of emergency in the country. Colonel Husni al-Zaym came to power, revoking the 1930 constitution, banning political parties, and subsequently proclaiming himself president.

In June 1949, al-Zaim was killed and power passed to Colonel Sami Hinawi, who restored the civilian regime. A People's Council was chosen to adopt the new constitution, with the majority in the Aleppo branch of the National Party, which favors union with Iraq. The idea of ​​a political union with Iraq caused discontent among the military, whose leader was Adib al-Shishakli, and on December 19, Hinawi was removed. On September 5, 1950, a new constitution was proclaimed, according to which Syria became a parliamentary republic, but already in November 1951, the constitution was suspended, and the country's parliament was dissolved. In 1953, Shishakli promulgated a new constitution and, after a referendum, became president.

In February 1954, a military-civilian coalition led by Hashim Bey Khalid al-Atassi came to power in the country, returning the 1950 constitution. In 1954, following the results of the elections, the Arab Socialist Renaissance Party won the majority of seats in parliament, demanding fundamental changes in industry and agriculture. In the elections in 1955, Shukri al-Quatli was elected president of the country, with the support of Saudi Arabia and the conservatives in parliament.

• On March 15, 1956, a collective security treaty was concluded between Syria, Egypt and Saudi Arabia against possible Israeli aggression.
• On February 22, 1958, in the wake of the popularity of the pan-Arab movement and with the US attempts to destabilize the situation in the country, Syria and Egypt united into one state - the United Arab Republic with its center in Cairo. Egyptian leader Gamal Abdel Nasser became the president of the new state, but the Syrians also held many important posts. However, Nasser soon dissolved all Syrian political parties. In Syria, large-scale nationalization of agriculture began, and then industry and the banking sector. On September 28, 1961, a coup d'etat took place in Damascus under the leadership of a group of officers, Syria again declared independence. Nasser decided not to resist the separatists. Thus, the UAR lasted only 3.5 years.

After Syria left the confederation, the country was headed by liberal Nazim al-Qudsi. He returned many nationalized enterprises to their former owners. On March 28, 1962, a coup again took place in the country under the leadership of the same group of army officers. Al-Qudsi and his prime minister were arrested. After 5 days, supporters of the former regime overthrew the interim government, and Al-Qudsi again became the president of the country.

On March 8, 1963, a military coup again took place in Syria, as a result of which the Arab Socialist Renaissance Party (PASV) came to power (the name “Baath” (ar. “revival”) is often used). In 1964, a new constitution was adopted, which established the leading role of the PASV. The country was headed by Amin al-Hafez, who launched radical socialist reforms. In particular, the nationalization of the main sectors of the economy was again carried out. On February 23, 1966, Syria was shaken by the fifth coup in 4 years, led by Salah Jedid and Hafez al-Assad. Amin al-Hafez was overthrown, but the PASV remained in power, and the socialist path of Syria's development remained largely unchanged.

In 1967, during the Six Day War, the Golan Heights were occupied by Israel. Israeli air strikes during the war caused enormous damage to the economy. The failure of the government to ensure the restoration of industry after the war led to anti-government actions in 1968-1969. In November 1970, as a result of the "corrective movement" in the PASP, which was headed by Hafez al-Assad, the Saleh Jadid group was removed from power. Thus, Syria became the main ally Soviet Union in the Middle East. The USSR provided Syria with assistance in modernizing the economy and the armed forces.

In 1973, Syria, along with other Arab states, launched the Yom Kippur War. Unlike the Egyptian theater, where the Israelis quickly managed to seize the initiative and actually withdraw Egypt from the war, military operations on the Syrian front were fierce, especially the battle for El Quneitra, called the “Syrian Stalingrad”. The Syrian troops inflicted heavy losses on the Israelis, which became an indirect reason for the criticism and subsequent resignation of key figures in the Israeli leadership in the person of Golda Meir and Moshe Dayan, but in the end, balance was maintained on the Syrian front. El-Quneitra was held despite the most severe onslaught of the Israelis, but another disputed area - the Golan Heights remained with Israel. By decision of the UN Security Council, at the end of the war in 1973, a buffer zone was created separating Israel and Syria. At the moment, the Golan Heights are controlled by Israel, but Syria is demanding their return.

In 1976, at the request of the Lebanese government, Syrian troops entered the country to stop the civil war. The war ended in 1990 with the establishment of a government in Lebanon that maintains friendly relations with Syria. Syrian troops left Lebanon only in 2005, after the assassination of Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. Syria supported Iran in the Iran-Iraq war of 1980-1988.

In 1976-1982, an armed struggle of Islamists against the ruling Baath Party unfolded in the country, accompanied by mass demonstrations and terrorist attacks. The events were called the Islamic uprising. The uprising was led by the Sunni Muslim Brotherhood. The key episode was the massacre in Hama in February 1982, during which the Syrian army bombed and then stormed the opposition stronghold of the city of Hama. According to various estimates, from 17 to 40 thousand people were killed, including 1,000 soldiers.

After the death of Hafez al-Assad on June 10, 2000, who had ruled the country for almost 30 years, his son Bashar al-Assad was elected president following a referendum.

The US State Department's 2001 report, "The Features of International Terrorism in 2001," published in 2002 identified Syria as a state that supports terrorism. In 2003, in response to criticism of the US-British attack on Iraq, the US accused Syria of supporting terrorism and imposed sanctions on it.

According to some reports, during the Israeli-Lebanese war in 2006, Syria supplied weapons to Hezbollah. With this, in particular, the still strained relations of Syria with some Western countries are connected.

On May 27, 2007, in a referendum, Bashar al-Assad was re-elected for a new seven-year presidential term. He was supported by 97.62% of voters.

From 2006 to 2011, about 60% of Syrian lands experienced an unprecedented drought. “As a result of the mismanagement and squandering of the country’s natural resources, there was a lack of water and desertification of the land.” In some regions, the drought has resulted in 75% loss of crops and 85% loss of livestock, affecting 1.3 million people. Back in 2009, the UN and the Red Cross reported that about 800,000 people lost their livelihoods as a result of the drought. And in 2010, according to the UN, a million people were on the verge of starvation. The resulting situation led to a mass exodus of farmers, pastoralists and the rural population to the cities. In the same Aleppo in 2011, 200 thousand people moved. And this does not take into account previous years, as well as Iraqi refugees after the American invasion.

Authors: N. N. Alekseeva (Nature: a physical and geographical essay), Sh. N. Amirov (Historical essay: Syria from ancient times to the conquests of Alexander the Great), I. O. Gavritukhin (Historical essay: Syria from the conquests of Alexander the Great to Arab conquest), M. Yu. Nechaev (Health), E. A. Alizade. (Literature), T. Kh. Starodub (Architecture and fine arts), D. A. Huseynova (Theatre), A. S. Shakhov (Cinema)Authors: N. N. Alekseeva (Nature: physical and geographical essay), Sh. N. Amirov (Historical essay: Syria from ancient times to the conquests of Alexander the Great); >>

SYRIA, Syrian Arab Republic (Al-Jumhuriya al-Arabiya al-Suriya).

General information

S. is a state in the Southwest. Asia. It borders on Turkey in the north, Iraq in the east, Jordan in the south, Israel in the southwest, and Lebanon in the west; in the west it is washed by the Mediterranean Sea. Pl. 185.2 thousand km 2. Us. OK. 22.0 million people (2014, UN assessment). The capital is Damascus. Official language is Arabic. Monetary unit - sir. lb. Adm.-terr. division: 14 governorates (provinces).

Administrative-territorial division (2011)

Governorate (province)	Area, thousand km 2	Population, million people	Administrative center
Damascus (city)	0,1	1,8
Dara	3,7	1	Dara
Deir ez-Zor	33,1	1,2	Deir ez-Zor
Idlib	6,1	1,5	Idlib
Latakia	2,3	1	Latakia
Reef Dimashq	18	2,8	Damascus
Tartus	1,9	0,8	Tartus
Aleppo (Aleppo)	18,5	4,9	Aleppo (Aleppo)
Hama	10,2	1,6	Hama
Homs	40,9	1,8	Homs
El Quneitra	1,9	0,1	El Quneitra
Al Hasakah	23,3	1,5	Al Hasakah
Er Raqqa	19,6	0,9	Er Raqqa
Es Suwayda	5,6	0,4	Es Suwayda

S. is a member of the UN (1945), the Arab League (1945, membership was suspended in 2011), the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (1972, expelled in 2012), the IMF (1947), the IBRD (1947).

Political system

S. is a unitary state. The constitution was adopted by referendum on February 26, 2012. The form of government is a mixed republic.

The head of state is the president, elected by the population for a 7-year term (with the right to re-election). The president appoints the cabinet of ministers, determines the country's foreign policy and is the supreme commander of the armed forces. forces. According to the Constitution, the President of Syria must be a Muslim.

The supreme body of the legislator. power - unicameral Nar. council (Majlis ash-Shaab). Consists of 250 deputies elected by direct vote for 4 years.

The Council of Ministers is appointed by the President.

Leading politicians. Party: Party Arab. socialist. Renaissance (PASV), Progressive nat. Front, Coalition of Forces for Peaceful Change, etc.

Nature

Relief

Coast preim. low, slightly indented bays. The B. h. of the territory of S. is a plateau, descending from the northwest to the southeast from 1000 to 500–200 m. depression El-Gab with the valley of the river. El Asi (Orontes). Zap. the chain makes up the Ansaria ridge (Al-Nusairiya; height up to 1562 m), the eastern one - the mountains of El-Akrad and Ez-Zawiya (height up to 877 m). Along the border with Lebanon, there is the Anti-Lebanon Range (height up to 2629 m, Mount Talat-Musa) and its south. continuation - the Ash-Sheikh ridge with the highest point N. Mount Ash-Sheikh (Hermon) vys. up to 2814 m. In Anti-Lebanon, there are many karst landforms formed in limestones. To the east of the city of Homs stretches the Tadmor mountain range, consisting of low (up to 1387 m) mountains (Esh-Shaumaria, Esh-Shaar, etc.). In the southwest is a volcanic Ed-Duruz massif (height up to 1803 m). In the southeast - part of the Syrian desert; stratified rocky plains and high plateaus predominate. 500–800 m, takyrs are typical. In east. parts along the river valley. The Euphrates stretches alluvial lowland. To the northeast of it is the Badiyat al-Jazira plateau. 200–450 m remnant hills (mountains Abd al-Aziz height up to 920 m, etc.). Along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea there is a narrow (10–15 km) coastal lowland, divided by mountain spurs into separate sections. plots.

Geological structure and minerals

The territory of S. is located on the north. the outskirts of the Precambrian Arabian platform, in the area of ​​\u200b\u200bdistribution of the Phanerozoic platform cover with a capacity of several. km, composed of shallow-marine terrigenous and carbonate deposits (sandstones, clays, limestones, marls, chalk, etc.) with horizons of cherts and phosphorites, as well as salt rocks. Neogene-Quaternary fluvial, coastal-marine, eolian deposits (sands, sandstones, silts, clays, gravel, limestones) occur on the coastal lowland. In the southwest there are covers of Neogene-Quaternary basalts. In the late Cenozoic part of S.'s territory experienced uplift; a regional seismically active fault (the so-called Levantinsky fault) emerged, along which a rift valley formed, filled with Neogene-Quaternary lacustrine and alluvial deposits. There are deposits of cement and builds. limestone, rock salt and gypsum, sand, gravel, etc.

Main the wealth of the subsoil of S. - oil and natural combustible gas, the deposits of which are located in the center, in the east and northeast, belong to Persian Gulf oil and gas basin. There are deposits of cement limestones, phosphorites, gypsum, rock salt, and natural structures. materials (dolomite, marble, volcanic tuff, sand, gravel).

Climate

On the territory of S. the climate is subtropical. Mediterranean with winter-spring maximum precipitation and summer drought. On the coast, the climate is maritime, cf. January temperatures 12 °C, August 27 °C; rainfall over 800 mm per year. It is cooler in the Ansaria (Al-Nusairiya) ridge, precipitation is up to 1500 mm per year, snow falls in Anti-Lebanon in winter. In Damascus cf. January temperatures 6 °C, August 26 °C; rainfall approx. 200 mm per year. In the southeast direction, the amount of precipitation is reduced to 100 mm per year, and their instability over the years increases. Vost. part of the country has a dry continental climate; cf. January temperatures 4–7 °C (almost annual frosts are typical), August up to 33 °C (max. 49 °C). Winter sowing. the shemal wind and the spring wind khamsin blowing from the direction of the Arabian desert are accompanied by sand and dust storms.

Inland waters

B. h. territory has no external flow, dry erosion valleys (wadis) are characteristic of the flat areas. The rivers belong to the basins of the Persian Gulf, the Mediterranean and the Dead Seas. The largest river is the Euphrates (length in the north 675 km) with tributaries Khabur and Belikh. The Euphrates provides up to 80% of S.'s surface runoff resources and is navigable; its flow is regulated by dams, the largest is Tabka [near the city of Madinat al-Taura (Es-Saura)] with a hydroelectric power station and the El Asad reservoir. Along the north-east. the borders of S. flows r. Tiger. In the northwest, a significant river. El Asi (Orontes). In the southwest, along the border with Jordan, the river flows. Yarmuk (a tributary of the Jordan River), along the border with Lebanon - the river. El-Kebir. The runoff of the river is formed completely within the S.. Barada irrigating the oasis Damascus Huta. The maximum river runoff takes place in winter, in summer there is low water on the rivers. The largest lake is Homs. Groundwater is widely used with the help of wells and karezes; oases are often associated with their outlets to the surface. Powerful underground aquifers are concentrated in the foothill plains of Anti-Lebanon and in the Damascus region. Annually renewable water resources are 16.8 km 3 , water supply is low - 882 m 3 /person. in year. Annual water withdrawal 16.7 km3 , of which 9% is used in housing and communal water supply, 4% - in the industry, 87% - in the village. x-ve. In S., the problems of dividing the flow of the Euphrates River with Turkey and Iraq have not been resolved.

Soils, flora and fauna

On the plateau, sandy-loamy deserts with thin soils of the serozem type are widespread. In the south, stony-gravelly hamads predominate, in places with gypsum-bearing and salt-bearing deposits, in the west and in the center. parts are areas of sandy deserts. In depressions of the relief there are salt marshes. Along the north S.'s borders are common gray-brown and brown soils. The Badiyat-el-Jazira plateau is characterized by light gray soils with a pronounced carbonate horizon. On the coastal lowland, there are brown soils, with height they are replaced by mountain brown and mountain forest soils.

The eastern, arid part of the country is characterized by desert groups with the participation of saxaul, shrubs and semi-shrubs (saltwort, wormwood), ephemers. On the Badiyat-el-Jazira plateau, short-grass steppes with bluegrass, sedge, and other ephemeroids, with the participation of wormwood, are typical. In the Euphrates valley, sections of riverine forests of Euphrates poplar and tamarix have been preserved. Subtropical forests grow in the mountains and along the coast. pines, Cilician fir, small massifs of relic Lebanese cedar have been preserved in the mountains. On the back On the slopes of the Ansaria (Al-Nusairiya) ridge, broad-leaved oak forests are widespread with the participation of evergreen trees and shrubs. The lower parts of the slopes usually cover the secondary formations of maquis and gariga. To the east the slopes of the Ansaria, Antilivan and Ash-Sheikh (Hermon) ranges are dominated by xeromorphic mountain steppes, turning into pistachio woodlands and shrubs in the middle mountain zone, and into semi-deserts in the lower mountain belt.

The animal world is diverse. There are 125 species of mammals, including striped hyena, wolf, jackal, caracal, fennec fox; from ungulates - antelope, wild ass onager, many rodents. In the mountains with forest vegetation, the Syrian bear, wild boar, forest cat are occasionally found, and in the treeless high mountains - the bezoar goat. The avifauna is rich: 360 species of birds, including migratory ones, there are especially many of them in river valleys and on the shores of lakes (storks, herons, ducks), falcons, eagles, and hawks are among the birds of prey. There are 127 species of reptiles. 16 species of mammals, 15 species of birds, 8 species of reptiles are under the threat of extinction.

State and environmental protection

In S., where the most ancient centers of agriculture are located, nature has changed greatly. Forests occupy only 3% of the territory. Main ecological problems are overgrazing, deforestation and fragmentation, fires, habitat destruction, especially along river valleys and along the coast. In east. desertification of landscapes, water and wind erosion, and soil degradation occur in arid regions. The problem of pollution of rivers and reservoirs by municipal and industrial is urgent. drains, including from oil refineries. The network of protected areas includes 19 sites (according to other data, 23) of uncertain status, occupying 0.6% of the territory; lake El Jabbul is a wetland of world importance.

Population

The majority of the population of S. (88.2%) are Arabs - Syrians (84.8%), Palestinians, Egyptians, Jordanians, etc. Kurds and Yezidis live in the north (8%), in the northeast (in the area between the Euphrates and Tigris ) - speakers of the Neo-Assyrian languages ​​zap. Assyrians (1%) and Turoyo (0.1%), as well as Armenians (0.4%); small communities of Neo-Assyrian speakers also live northeast of Damascus. The country is inhabited by Turks (“Turkmen”; 0.6%), people from the Caucasus (0.5%), Persians (0.3%), gypsies, etc.

The population for 1950-2014 increased by 6.5 times (3.4 million people in 1950; 12.3 million people in 1990; 21.9 million people in 2012; military operations, according to the UN , by the beginning of 2015 led to the flight from the country of St. 4 million people). natural us growth. 2.1% (2013), which is due to the mean. birth rate (25 per 1000 inhabitants), 6 times higher than the death rate (4 per 1000 inhabitants). Fertility rate 3.1 children per woman; infant mortality is 17 per 1000 live births. In the age structure of the population, there is a high proportion of people of working age (15-64 years old) - 61%; the proportion of children (under 15 years) - 35%, persons over 65 years - 4%. Wed life expectancy 75 years (men - 72, women - 78). The numerical ratio of men and women is approximately equal. Wed us density. OK. 97 people/km2 (2014). The most dense selenium coast, sowing. part of the country and the governorate of Rif-Dimashq (average density 100–250 people / km 2), as well as areas near large cities (average density near Homs, Hama and others over 1000 people / km 2); the least is the center. and east. areas (less than 25 people / km 2). Share of mountains us. 54% (2013). The largest cities (thousand people, 2014): Aleppo (1602.3), Damascus (1569.4), Homs (775.4), Hama (460.6), Latakia (340.2). Economically active us. OK. 5 million people (2013). In the structure of employment, the service sector accounts for 53%, industry - 32.7%, with. x-va - 14.3% (2012). Unemployment rate 34.9% (2012; 14.9% in 2011). OK. 12% of us. lives below the poverty line (2006).

Religion

A country with a complex religion. composition, up to 90% of us. which are Muslims (2014, estimate). The overwhelming majority are Sunnis (Sufi brotherhoods are widespread); the influential Shia minority includes Nusayris (or Alawites, more than 10%) and Imamis (3%). Ismailis make up 1%. The number of Druzes is estimated at 3–5%. OK. 10-11% of the inhabitants are Christians, predominantly. Orthodox, subordinate to the Patriarchate of Antioch with residence in Damascus. The second largest is the Syrian (Syro-Jacobite) Orthodox Church with its center in Damascus, one of the Ancient Eastern (pre-Chalcedonian) churches. There are followers of the Armenian Apostolic Church. Catholics are divided into Chaldean Catholics, Syro Catholics, Maronites, Greek Catholics, Armenian Catholics and Roman Catholics. The Nestorians are represented by the Assyrian Church of the East and the Ancient Church of the East. In the Jebel Sinjar region, near the border with Iraq, there is a small Yezidi community. Few. the Jewish community remained in Damascus. Serious damage to religion. minorities in the country inflicts weapons. conflict between governments. forces and opposition.

Historical outline

Territory of Syria before the Arab conquest

The oldest monuments of human activity in the region (ca. 800–350 thousand years ago) belong to the Ashelian [main. monuments - between the river. El Asi (Orontes) and r. Euphrates, including Umm-et-Tlel (in the oasis of El-Koum north of Palmyra; layers ca. 20 m, before the Neolithic), etc.]. Then follows the industry Yabrud, then - Hummal and Laminar (about 200-150 thousand years ago; from the Mediterranean to Mesopotamia). The Mousterian era is represented by the Levallois industry (including those with pointed points such as Umm-et-Tlel and others); the early Upper Paleolithic - by Orignac and the Akhmar culture (about 35–17 thousand years ago), the middle and late - by the Kebara culture, on the basis of which Natufian culture .

The territory of S. is included in the most ancient zone of the formation of a producing economy - fertile crescent. Among the supporting monuments dokeramich. Neolithic - Mureybit, Tell-Abr, Tell-Aswad, Ras-Shamra, El-Kdeir, etc. A number of centers of the appearance of ceramic dishes that spread from the middle. 7th millennium BC e. About con. In the 7th millennium, the Hassun culture is recorded in the region, then the influence of the traditions of Samarra and the Khalaf culture spreads, replaced by the sowing culture. Ubeida. From the beginning The 4th millennium marked a new impulse of influences from the South. Mesopotamia, associated with the Sumerian civilization, mountain settlements arise. such as Tell-Brak, Tell-Hamukar in the north-east of the region, then others, including those associated with the metal trade from Anatolia.

From the beginning 3rd thousand communications with the South. They are interrupted by Mesopotamia, a cultural community of "Nineveh 5" is formed with a hierarchy of settlements, proto-cities, temple-adm. centers (see in the article Tell-Khazna). Around ser. In the 3rd millennium, settlements appeared with a bypass wall and gate openings (of the “Kranzhügel” type), correlated with cities and the beginning of Syr proper. civilizations; during the excavations of tell Beydar (the ancient city of Nabad), the oldest in the region (25th century) cuneiform archive (in the East Semitic language, related to Akkadian) was discovered. From the beginning 3rd millennium, in the mountainous regions framing the Great Mesopotamian Plain, migrants from the Caucasus appear, carriers Kura-Araxes culture. At the same time, the Canaanites are settled from the south, and another group of Semites is advancing to the north, which founded the state of Ebla, which competed with that which arose on Wed. Euphrates Marie. At Sargon the Ancient and his successors a number of lands were controlled by Akkad.

About con. In the 3rd millennium, the Amorites settled in the region from the southwest. In con. 19 - beg. 18th century in the northeast, the state of Shamshi-Adad I (Subartu) is formed, which soon collapsed. In the west, the states of Yamkhad and Qatna competed with him and among themselves. To the 2nd floor. 1770s - 1760s (under Zimri-Lim) refers to the last flowering of the state of Mari, crushed by the Babylonian king Hammurabi. From the 17th century a prominent role in the region, along with the Semites, was played by the Hurrians. From the 16th century the struggle for dominance over the region begins Egypt Ancient with Mitanni and Hittite kingdom, in which Assyria also participated. The discovery of the oldest alphabet in the world (c. 15th century; see also Ugaritic letter). According to the Hitto-Egypt. world (1270) b. part of the territory of S. remained under the control of the Hittites, the south - the Egyptians. However, soon Sev. Mesopotamia was conquered by the Assyrians. king Tukulti-Ninurta I (1244-08), and the state of the Hittites, like an Asian. possessions of Egypt, in con. 13 - beginning. 12th centuries fell under the onslaught of the peoples of the sea, who also destroyed a number of cities in the sire. coast of the Mediterranean.

To con. 2nd - beginning. 1st thousand these app. the aliens founded the state of Palestine (the territory of the North. S.), coexisting with the states, where the so-called. late Hittite dynasties. A number of states also arose founded by the Arameans (Achlameans), who penetrated the region along the Euphrates from the 14th century: Bit-Adini (the capital in Til-Barsib), Bit-Bakhiani in the upper reaches of the Khabur (the capital of Guzan is the settlement of Tell-Khalaf), Samal in Cilicia, Bit-Agushi near the city of Aleppo (Haleb) and others. One of them, with its capital in Aram-Damascus (now Damascus; cultural layer no later than the 4th millennium, the first written mention c. Ser. 3- th thousand), after the campaigns of his kings Rizon I and Tabrimmon, becomes the strongest in the region.

From con. 11th c. expansion into the region of Assyria begins. Opposing this so-called. North Sir. the union was crushed by the Assyrians. king Shalmaneser III in 857–856. T. n. Southern Sir. the alliance (supported by the rulers of Phoenicia, Palestine, Egypt, the North Arabian tribes) led by the king of Damascus Hadadezer (Ben Hadad II) in the battle of Karkara (853) managed to stop the Assyrians. However, in 796 Damascus was captured and paid tribute to Assyria. In the 9th–8th centuries Kingdom of Damascus once fought with Israel. In 734 the Assyrians conquered Arpad (North S.) and a number of other states in the region; series resistance sir. states led by the king of Damascus Rizon II, which also relied on an alliance with the kings of Israel, Gaza, Edom, ended with the capture and destruction of Damascus in 732 Tig latpalasar III. Rhizon II was executed, b. h. Aramaic population resettled in ext. regions of Assyria, the region became Assyrian. province.

After the death of Assyria in 612–609, S. became the arena of the struggle between Egypt and Babylonia. In 539 Babylon was captured by the Persians and S. entered Achaemenid state. After the battle of Issus (333) troops Alexander the Great occupied S. During the struggle of the Diadochi, S. went to Antigonus, after the battle of Ipsus (301) entered the Seleucid state. After 190, its decline and disintegration began, in the lands beyond the Euphrates in 132 BC. e. the state of Osroene was formed with its capital in Edessa (then it was part of Parthian kingdom, Armenia, controlled by Rome, in 244 AD. e. destroyed by the Sassanids), part of the southeast. land S. controlled Nabataean kingdom. In 83-69 BC. e. the region captured the arm. Tsar Tigran II, in 64 - Gnaeus Pompey, after which in most of the territory of modern. S. and a number of adjacent lands was organized by Rome. prov. Syria.

From the reign of Octavian Augustus (27 BC - 14 AD) Prov. S. was under imp. management and was one of the most important, given its strategic position (4 legions were located here) and economical. potential (highly developed agriculture and handicrafts, including textile and glass-making). Sir. merchants and craftsmen were known in many cities of Rome. empire. Some Roman. emperors and members of their families were originally from S. Despite the strong Hellenization and the influence of Rome, especially in polyethnic. cities, local culture continued to develop in S. (main arr. based on Aramaic).

From the 1st century S. is one of the centers for the spread of Christianity. On I Ecumenical Council in Nicaea (325) S. represented more than 20 bishops, in 451 Antioch Orthodox Church became autocephalous in the status of a patriarchate. From the 4th c. the region becomes an important center of monasticism, pilgrimage was born here (cf. Simeon the Stylite). In the course of intra-Christian disputes (see Christology), S. became one of the centers of Miaphysitism, its supporters after persecution under imp. Justine I (518-527) founded the Syrian Orthodox Church (finally formed in 629), which spread to the Middle and Wed. East (see Syrian churches).

In 193/194 prov. S. was divided into Celesiria and Sirophenicia. During the reforms Diocletian they entered the diocese of the East. By 350, the Euphrates Prov. (the capital of Hierapolis), after 415 - the provinces of C. I (the capital in Antioch) and C. II [in Apamea (on the Orontes)], in 528 - a small prov. Theodoria. The state, centered in Palmyra, which retained its independence for some time, was annexed to Rome c. 19; became virtually independent in the 260s. under Odenathus; his widow (from 267) Zenobia in 270 put under her control the territory from Egypt to Asia Minor, but in 272 she was defeated by Rome. army. Rome. prov. in Osroene, which was one of the arenas of the struggle against the state of the Sassanids, is known no later than the 4th century.

During the next war between Byzantium and the Sassanids in 609, the region was captured by the troops of Khosrow II, but under a peace treaty with Heraclius I in 628 it was returned to Byzantium.

Syria from the Arab conquest to the Seljuk conquest

All R. 630s as a result of protracted wars with the Sassanids, Byzantium's power in the territory of S. ended. weakened, the dissatisfaction of local residents with tax oppression and religions intensified. intolerance. In 634 Caliph Abu Bekr transferred from the south. Iraq to Damascus detachment led by an Arab. commander Khalid ibn al-Walid. After victories at Ajnadayn, Fahla and Marj es-Suffar, his troops entered Bosra (Busra esh-Sham). In 635 they captured Damascus, in 637 they occupied Baalbek and Homs. Byzant. an army of approx. 100 thousand people launched a counterattack, but in the decisive battle on the river. Yarmuk (636) was put to flight by a smaller force of Muslims; the victors recaptured Damascus and Homs. In 638 Jerusalem and Gaza were occupied, then Aleppo (Aleppo), Antioch (Antakya), Hama and Qinnasrin. In the mountainous regions around Latakia, Tripoli and Sidon (now Saida), resistance to the Muslims continued until mid. 640s Muawiya ibn Abi Sufyan moved the capital of the Caliphate and the residence of the Umayyad dynasty from Medina to Damascus, which remained in this status until 750. During this period, S. became a political. and the cultural center of the growing state, where part of the military flocked. booty and taxes collected in decomp. areas of the caliphate. Under the Umayyads, there was a process of Arabization of the population, Arab. the nobility turned into large landowners, most of the inhabitants of S. converted to Islam, Greek. state the language was replaced by Arabic. lang. (from the beginning of the 8th century). Remained, however, otd. Hellenistic elements. heritage, because the Arabs gradually adopted the culture, social organization and political. system they encountered in sir. cities. Urban planning developed widely, and the influence of both Byzantine and Sasanian architecture was reflected in architecture (the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus, the Great Mosque in Aleppo, the country palace of Mshatta, etc.).

All R. 8th c. The Umayyad dynasty fell into decline, it was replaced by the Abbasid dynasty, which made Baghdad its capital. The population of S. decreased, and the gradual decline of cities began. In the context of the political and economic Instability continued Arabization and Islamization of the Sir. lands. With the beginning of the decline of the Abbasid dynasty, sowing. S.'s borders became more vulnerable to Byzantine attacks. A number of small Muslim and Christian principalities arose in the region, which applied for war. help now to Baghdad, then to Constantinople. The collapse of the Abbasid state led to the capture of Syria by Egypt. emirs Tulunids in 878, in 935 - emirs from the Ikhshidid dynasty. In 969 S. became part of the Fatimid Ismaili caliphate. All R. 10th c. all in. S. the Hamdanid dynasty came to power, whose court was in Aleppo, which led to a short revival of these lands, especially during the reign of Emir Seif ad-Daula (945–967).

Syria before the Ottoman conquest

The development of S. in the 10th–11th centuries was suspended by the conquest of its internal. districts in the 1070s. Seljuks who came from Asia Minor and sowing. Mesopotamia. The tribes that entered the territory of S. were part of the state Seljukids, but soon created two states independent of it with capitals in Damascus and Aleppo. However, they failed to penetrate into the south. the regions of S., which remained under the rule of local rulers (for example, the Tanukids) or were in vassal dependence on Egypt. Fatimids. The collapse of the Seljuk state and the fight against the Fatimids facilitated the capture of the north-west. S. crusaders (see Crusades) and the formation in 1098 on its territory of the Prince of Antioch. Vost. S. broke up into separate. Arab dominions. and Seljuk feudal lords, who fought both with the crusaders and among themselves. In 1154 Turk. the ruler of Aleppo Nur ad-Din managed to unite most of the S. under his rule. After his death (1174), Salah ad-Din annexed the main. part of sir. lands to their possessions. In 1188, after the victory at Hittin (1187), he ousted the crusaders from the mean. parts of the Antioch prince-va. The successors of Salah ad-Din - the Ayyubids retained control only over the internal. areas of S., in the north were forced to resist the Seljuk Konya (Rum) Sultanate, in the west - the state of the Crusaders, in the east - dec. Turk. state formations.

In the 2nd floor. 13th c. S. was under the rule of Egypt. Mamluks. In 1260, it was attacked by the Mongols led by Hulagu, repelled by the Mamluk Sultan Kutuz in the battle of Ain Jalut. Gradually, the power of the Mamluks increased. The new Sultan Baibars succeeded in the 1260s. take strategically important fortified points of the Ismailis in the mountains of S. In the beginning. 1290s Sultan al-Ashraf Salah ad-Din Khalil captured the last fortresses of the Crusaders on Syr. coast of the Mediterranean. At that time, an effective adm. system, trade was restored, the rise of crafts began, and with. x-va. S. reached its peak during the reign of Nasir al-Din Muhammad (1309–40). However, under his immediate successors, as a result of the plague that swept through S. and increased trade competition from the states of Anatolia and North. Africa began the decline of the power of the Mamluks, which opened the way for the Mongols led by Timur to capture Aleppo and Damascus (1401). Despite the success of Mong. troops, to horse. 15th c. Sir. the lands became the object of claims from the Ottomans, Timurids and Iran. Safavids. Taking advantage of the struggle that the Mamluks were forced to wage against the Portuguese, who were raiding the territories adjacent to the Red Metro, the Sultan Ottoman Empire Selim I defeated the Mamluk army at Marj Dabiq in 1516 and conquered Syria.

Syria until the end of the 19th century

As part of the Ottoman Empire, the territory of Serbia was divided into four vilayets with centers in Tripoli, Aleppo, Damascus, and Saida (several more provinces were later created, including Akka), which were ruled by pashas who reported directly to the administration of the sultan. To streamline the collection of taxes and encourage the processing of abandoned lands, special ones were issued. governments. regulations and cadastres, which at first favorably affected the development of c. x-va. However, the strengthening of tax oppression and the growth of arbitrariness of local officials gradually led to stagnation in this area. In the economy of the region means. the role began to play a goal. and Brit. maritime trade. By the 18th century Aleppo and Beirut turned into Ch. shopping centers S. Europe. Penetration into S. was carried out both through the creation of merchants in a number of cities. colonies, which took over almost completely trade relations with Europe, and through an increased influx of missionaries (predominantly Franciscans and Jesuits). Contacts between missionaries and local authorities, as well as the desire of the European. powers to establish their spheres of influence in S. (the French supported the Maronites, the British supported the Druze) led to a gradual stratification of the sires. society. In this situation, separatist tendencies intensified in the provinces, striving to become independent from the center. Ottoman government, and internecine wars. As a result of one of these conflicts, the defeated Druze were resettled in an isolated mountainous region southeast of Damascus, and the region itself received the name. Jebel Druz (Ed-Druz, Ed-Duruz). In con. 18th century b. h. S. came under the rule of Akk Pasha Ahmed al-Jazzar. In 1798–99 the French troops, unable to capture Egypt, landed on the Sir. coast. Al-Jazzar with the help of Brit. fleet managed to stop the French at Akka and force the imp. Napoleon I Bonaparte to return to France.

During the tour.-Egypt. During the war of 1831–33, S. was conquered by Egyptian troops. Pasha Muhammad Ali. He centralized the administration of the country, favored the development of trade, the growth of the cultivated land fund. However, the introduction of recruitment duty, state. corvee and tax increases caused repeated uprisings of the sires. population (1834, 1837–1838, 1840). The Ottoman Empire and the Europeans who supported it took advantage of the weakening of Egyptian power in Serbia. powers: since 1840, the power of the Ottoman sultan was restored in S. At the same time, S. came under the Anglo-Ottoman trade convention of 1838, which opened the sir. market for Europe goods, which dealt a serious blow to local production. The tendency to transition of page - x which was outlined in this connection. Allotments in the possession of the townspeople increased after the law of 1858, which permitted the transfer of communal lands in the villages to private ownership, subject to the payment of higher taxes. From Ser. 19th century Commodity-money relations actively developed in Serbia. Specialization took place. s.-x. regions (Northern S. - cotton, Khauran - grain, Damascus region - fruits), while the decomposition of subsistence farming intensified. In the last quarter 19th century in exchange for granting loans to the Ottoman Empire, the French. companies have received numerous concessions in Syria. Franz. capital financed the construction of highways and railways (with the exception of the Hijaz), modern. port facilities, the organization of regular steamship communications, the laying of telegraph lines.

In connection with the increasing intervention app. powers in economic and political S.'s life to con. 19th century anti-Christian and anti-European sentiments intensified. Local Arabs. the elites were also unhappy with Ottoman rule. In the circles of the Syrian-Lebanese intelligentsia, the ideas of the Arab were developed. nationalism. In the 1870s a society arose led by Ibrahim al-Yaziji, whose goal was to fight Ottoman domination. In the 1890s in Aleppo, Damascus, and Beirut, new organizations appeared that advocated the independence of Serbia from the Ottoman Empire.

Syria in the 1st quarter of the 20th century

Patriotic mood in S. intensified after Young Turk Revolution of 1908. Dozens of social and political organizations were established. newspapers and magazines established legal Arab. patriotic organizations practiced mass rallies and political. disputes. However, it soon became apparent that the changes were limited, and the Young Turks were ready to defend the interests in the main. Turkic-speaking population. The formation of a new political culture was most noticeable among the young and European-educated sir. intelligentsia. It was people from Syria (including Abd al-Kerim Qasem al-Khalil, Seif al-Din al-Khatib, Abd al-Hamid al-Zahrawi) who made up the majority of the activists of the Lit. club. Syrians also dominated such prominent nat. political organizations like "Young Arabia" (1911) and the Ottoman Party adm. decentralization (1912). In 1913, together with the Lebanese Reform League, they convened an Arab in Paris. congress. However, the inability of the Arab. nationalists to involve in their political. the struggle of the broad masses of the population led to the fact that their social base remained rather narrow.

After the entry of the Ottoman Empire into World War I, S. was turned into a base for the German tour. command in the Middle East. The 4th Ottoman army was stationed there, led by A. Jemal Pasha, who led in November. 1914 military-civilian administration and declared military in S. position. Despite the mass repressions that local Christians and Muslims were subjected to during this period. patriots (hundreds of people were executed, thrown into prison, about 10 thousand people were deported), Arab support. nationalism began to grow as a result of a serious crisis in all sectors of the economy, due to an increase in taxes on the military. needs and Brit. blockade of Mediterranean ports during the war. As a result of mass requisitions of food and raw materials carried out by the tour. authorities, in 1915 in a number of sir. food riots took place in the cities, and a partisan movement began in the mountainous regions. In May 1915 in Damascus, an Arab. nationalists from a number of organizations (including Young Arabia and Al-Ahd) under the arms. the son of the sheriff of Mecca Hussein - Faisal (see Faisal I), signed a protocol on the Arab-Brit. cooperation in the war against the Ottoman Empire and Germany, subject to the creation after the war of a single independent Arab. state-va. In Sept. In 1918, an anti-Ottoman uprising began in the Jebel Druz region, which coincided in time with the advance of the British to Damascus. and French troops and an Arab. armies led by Faisal (entered in Oct. 1918). B. h. S. fell under the authority of the British commander of the allied forces. Field Marshal E. G. Allenby; in the west, in the coastal region. Latakia, were French. strength. British-appointed military governor in east S. Faisal first tried to confirm the rights of the Hashemite dynasty to rule all former Arabs. possessions of the Ottomans in accordance with the earlier promises of Great Britain, then insisted on the creation of a Syrian-Transjordanian state headed by himself (earlier, in March 1920, by a resolution adopted at the General Syrian Congress in Damascus, he was proclaimed the constitutional monarch of an independent .). However, in Apr. 1920 by agreement between the French. and Brit. Representatives at the San Remo Conference mandated the League of Nations to govern S. and Lebanon was transferred to France, and to control Iraq, Palestine and Transjordan - to Great Britain. In July 1920 the French troops, overcoming the armament. Sir resistance. patriots, occupied Damascus and established control over the entire S. Faisal was expelled from the country.

Syria during the French Mandate

During the French period S.'s mandate was divided into five autonomous regions (“states”): Damascus, Aleppo, Latakia (“the Alawite state”), Jebel Druz (a Druze region with a center in Es-Suwayda) and Alexandretta (now Iskenderun, transferred to Turkey in 1939 ); in the extreme north-east of the country in the vicinity of Rakka and Deir ez-Zor, a separate section was allocated. a district administered directly from the center; Mount Lebanon was expanded by joining the populated Preim. Shiites of the Bekaa Valley and the Sunni cities of Tripoli, Beirut, Saida and others. The conditions of the mandate were opened by Sir. market for free Europe. trade. Import of cheap foreign goods dealt a huge blow to the sire. textile industry (in 1913-26 the number of weavers in Aleppo was reduced by half, and the number of operating looms by 2/3). Franz. financial monopolies exerted a decisive influence on the economy. life of the country, owned by the French. capital, the "Bank of Syria and Lebanon" had the right to issue, transport, power plants and water pipes belonged to the French.

All R. 1920s in S. there was a number of political. parties, including Communist. party [founded in 1924 as a single party sir. and lebanon. communists; actually Sir. communist party (SKP) since 1944], People's Party or Nar. party (1925), Nat. block (1927). All over S., anti-French forces flared up. speeches. In 1922–23, a Druze uprising in the region was suppressed. Jebel Druz. In July 1925, a new revolt of the Druze began, liberating the entire region in a week and defeating the 4,000-strong detachment of Gen. Michaud. In October, the leaders of the national movements organized an uprising in Aleppo and Damascus, suppressed after two days of art. shelling of Damascus (as a result, about 5 thousand people died). Despite the brutality in the fight against the rebels, the French. the government was forced to change the forms of colonial administration in Syria. In 1925, the "state of Aleppo" and the "state of Damascus" were merged into the "state of Syria." In Apr. 1928 elections were held in the Constituent. assembly. In May 1930, an organic statute (constitution) was adopted in Serbia, proclaiming it a republic (with the French mandate retained). Under the French the regions of Jebel Druz and Latakia, which were isolated from the north, remained in control. In the parliamentary elections in Nov. 1936 won the National. block. Dec. 1936 the new parliament elected H. Atasi as the country's president. National-liberate. movement in S. forced the French. authorities to enter into negotiations with the leaders of the party Nat. block on the conclusion of an agreement based on the recognition of the independence of S. In Dec. 1936 Franco-Syr was signed. an agreement declaring the sovereignty of S., which did not allow France to interfere in the internal. affairs of the country and ensuring the unity of S. (Jebel Druz and Latakia were reunited with S.). France was guaranteed the right to deploy and move troops, as well as to create a military. bases on the territory of Northern Ireland. A three-year transitional period was provided for the abolition of the mandate regime and the entry of Serbia into the League of Nations. Sir. Parliament ratified the treaty on 12/27/1936. However, the government of E. Daladier, who came to power in France, in January. 1939 abandoned the treaty. In response to the protest demonstrations and strikes that began in S., the French. administration introduced a state of emergency in the country, the high commissioner suspended the constitution (abolished in July of the same year) and dissolved the parliament (to manage the internal. the affairs of the country created the so-called. board of directors).

Since the start of World War II on Sept. In 1939, war was declared in S. position, large contingents of French are stationed on its territory. troops. After the capitulation of France in June 1940, the country came under the authority of the Vichy administration; from May 1941, the airfields and transport hubs of S. were used by the Germans. troops. In connection with the violation of traditional trade relations with neighboring countries and the beginning of interruptions in the flow of food and raw materials, economic. the situation and living conditions of the population deteriorated sharply. Feb. 1941 National the bloc, headed by Sh. Kuatli, organized a strike in Damascus, which soon spread to Aleppo, Hama, Homs and Deir ez-Zor. The strike, which lasted 2 months, forced the French. High Commissioner to dissolve the "Board of Directors" and form a Committee headed by the moderate nationalist H. al-Azem, which ruled S. until the autumn of 1941. On 8/7/1941, Britons entered S. troops and units Free France". Between Kuatly, the Free French administration and Brit. representatives reached an agreement, according to which in July 1943 new parliamentary elections were held in the country, which brought victory to the National. bloc (transformed into the National Patriotic Union). According to the agreements concluded in Dec. 1943, French the mandate was canceled, to Sir. the government from 1.1.1944 passed the main. adm. functions. The government of independent S. took a number of measures to strengthen foreign policy. country's sovereignty. Feb. 1945 S. declared war on Germany and Japan. In March, she took part in the creation Arab League. In October she was admitted to the United Nations. However, Britons continued to remain on the territory of S. and French troops. The French government agreed to withdraw troops only if S. would provide her with economic aid. and strategic privileges. Refusal Sir. government to meet these requirements caused in May 1945 clashes between the French. troops and the population of a number of cities (Damascus, Homs, etc. were subjected to artillery shelling). In the fall of 1945, the S. government demanded that Great Britain and France evacuate their military units, and in January. 1946 appealed to the UN Security Council with a request to decide on the immediate withdrawal of troops. 17.4.1946 all foreign. armed forces were withdrawn from the country.

Dec. 1947 S. rejected the UN resolution on the division of Palestine. In May 1948, after the proclamation of the state of Israel, together with other Arab. countries started wars against him. actions (see Arab-Israeli Wars). In the beginning. In 1949, armistice agreements were signed between the adversaries, and a demilitarized zone was established between Israel and Serbia.

Syria after independence

S.'s achievement of independence contributed to the revival of the nat. economy, development prom. (mainly textile and food) production, the emergence of banks, although the role of foreign. capital (predominantly French) remained significant. The beginning of the creation of the state. sector in the economy was put in 1951-1955 by the nationalization (for the ransom) of a number of foreign. companies. In 1955–56, agreements were concluded with the British. by the "Iraq Petroleum Company" and Amer. "Trans-Arabian Pipeline Company" on deduction in favor of S. 50% of the profits they receive for the transportation of oil through oil pipelines passing through the territory of S. In 1946, Sir. Parliament adopted a labor law that translated labor relations into a legal plane. In 1947 a new electoral law was issued introducing direct elections and secret ballot. The situation of the peasant population during this period remained deplorable, most of them were on the rights of sharecroppers and tenants. This, in particular, was due to the internal political. state instability. In the beginning. In 1947, the peasant movement, led by A. Haurani, initiated a campaign to change the law on parliamentary elections. In response, Sh. Kuatli introduced a state of emergency and limited the activities of a number of political parties. parties, which allowed the National. parties to win the parliamentary elections in July 1947, and Kuatli to be re-elected president. Nov. 1948 his government, accused of incompetence and corruption, was forced to resign. By order of the Chief Gen. regimental headquarters. Kh. al-Zaim introduced a state of emergency in the country, the constitution of 1930 was abolished, and the activities of the political. parties are completely prohibited. In 1949, al-Zaima proclaimed himself president, but in mid-August he was killed by his opponents in armed forces. forces during the re-war. coup led by Col. S. Hinawi. Hinawi's desire to bring S. closer to Iraq did not find support in high-ranking army circles. Dec. 1949 Regiment seized power. A. Shishekli, who at first tried to follow the democratic. course (the adoption of a new constitution in 1950, which declared a parliamentary form of government, the provision of broad civil rights and conduct socio-economic. reforms), but already from 1951 (since July 1953 - president) who established the military regime. dictatorships. All political. parties, societies organizations and parliament were dissolved, the constitution was repealed. Uprising in military units in the North. S. in Feb. 1954, supported by people. speeches in Damascus, led to the overthrow of Shishekli. The transitional government, formed in March 1954, headed by H. Atasi, set about restoring the democratic system. institutions. The constitution of 1950 was returned, and the activities of political parties were allowed. parties. However, thanks to the efforts of conservatives, frightened by the desire parties Arab socialist revival carry out large-scale reforms in the industry and the agricultural sector, victory in the presidential elections in August. 1955 won Kuatli again.

In the beginning. 1950s S. was involved in " cold war". All R. 1950s she joined Egypt in the fight against the creation of Turkey, Iraq and Pakistan under the auspices of the United States and Great Britain Baghdad Pact 1955(later Organizations of the Central dialect, SENTO). In 1955–56 Egypt reached an agreement with Egypt on the unification of the military. command and the creation of a common military. advice. The Suez crisis of 1956 further strengthened the Syrian-Egyptian. connections. Feb. 1958 S. and Egypt formed a new state - United Arab Russian Republic(OAR). In Sept. 1958 in Sir. In the region of the UAR, a law on agrarian reform was adopted, which provided for the seizure of landowners means. parts of the lands and their transfer to landless and land-poor peasants. In July 1961, foreigners were nationalized. and private commercial banks and major industrial companies. All political. parties were banned. Against the backdrop of a general unstable economic In the 1940s, the situation of S. (crop failure due to drought, interruptions in supply, the desire of the Egyptians to unify the economic structure of both countries, etc.) began a gradual increase in discontent among the population. Egyptian Decree. President G. A. Nasser on the introduction to S. state. planning and strengthening state. sector paved the way for the new state. coup (carried out on September 28, 1961 by the military command of S.) and S.'s withdrawal from the UAR.

The activity of the new government of M. al-Dawalibi was aimed at the gradual curtailment of the economic ones proclaimed during the period of unification. and social reforms. This caused in decomp. Sir circles. public debate about ways to further develop the country and the possibilities of restoring the UAR. Attempts to expand the private sector of the economy and rely on large land ownership did not receive the support of the population and led to the exit to the political. proscenium of representatives of the middle strata of the sir. society. Their increased activity was reflected in the strengthening of the positions of the PASV.

As a result of military On March 8, 1963, the PASV came to power, the government was headed by one of the right-wing leaders of S. - ad-Din Bitar (until October 1964). Under pressure from representatives of the left wing of the PASV, banks and insurance companies were nationalized in 1963, and a new law on agrarian reform was adopted, which lowered the maximum land holdings. By the summer, they had convinced the government to allow the creation of nationwide trade union associations and the adoption of a new labor law, in accordance with which the role of the state in protecting the rights of workers increased. In Jan. 1965 adopted so-called. Ramadan socialist. the decree that put everything under the control of the state is most significant. Sir. enterprises. Over the next 6 months, a program for further nationalization was implemented. In the course of its implementation, social contradictions and a crisis within the PASW began to grow (moderate and right-wing Baathists, supported by A. Hafez, opposed the left, led by General S. Jadid). Dec. In 1965, the right wing of the PASV, with the participation of Hafez, managed to eliminate the left from all desks. and Mrs. posts. But already on February 23, 1966, the left wing of the PASV, supported by the army and trade unions, expelled the right-wing Baathists from the party and from the country. The new government put forward a program of broad socio-economic. transformations. The nationalization of large industrial enterprises followed. enterprises, banks, insurance companies. State. the sector of the economy took a leading position in the country's economy (in 1967, the state sector accounted for 80–85% of industrial output).

In 1966 - early. 1967 increased tension on the Syrian-Israeli border. In June 1967, the military began. actions, as a result of which part of the Sir. territories, including the Golan Heights and the Quneitra region, was occupied by the Israelis. These events, as well as the inability of the authorities to ensure the restoration of the economy (which means that part of the Syrian enterprises were destroyed or damaged by Israeli air strikes) significantly undermined the reputation of the government and provoked a wave of protests. At the same time, a split was growing within the ruling elite, which created the conditions for a new state. coup in November 1970, as a result of which the military came to power. a wing of the PASV led by H. Assad.

Syria in 1970–2011

With the coming to power of H. Assad, a development strategy was chosen (within the framework of a 5-year plan), which provided for the state. financing and control over the activities of capital-intensive enterprises at the same time. support of trade and investment process in the private sector (especially in construction and agriculture). Sir. private companies benefited from the rise in oil prices that brought prosperity to the Arabs. oil-producing monarchies, from expanding ties with banks and light industry in Lebanon, from strengthening diplomatic. contacts and generous economic help from Saudi. Arabia and Kuwait in con. 1970s The Arab-Israeli war of 1973 showed a marked strengthening of the country's defense capability compared to 1967. However, the use of budgetary funds by the ruling elite and the rapid enrichment of businessmen associated with top officials provoked accusations of corruption, which, together with growing competition between state officials, provoked accusations of corruption. and private firms, gave impetus to the activation of decomp. Islamist movements that began in 1976 anti-government. campaign. In 1977–78, it resulted in a series of attacks on state facilities and the murders of prominent S. and PASV functionaries.

After clashes between the army and the rebels in Aleppo, Hama and Homs in the spring of 1980, the authorities made a number of concessions. At the same time, in July, a decision was made on criminal liability for membership in the organization Muslim Brotherhood. In response, in the fall, a group of influential religions. leaders formed the Islamic Front to coordinate the actions of the radical opposition. The measures taken by the government are to raise wages at enterprises that are dependent on the center. authorities decreased in favor of the local administration, an increase in fiscal pressure on private companies in the manufacturing industry, monopolization in favor of the state. enterprises (including restrictions on private importers) - caused unrest in Hama in Feb. 1982, organized by the Muslim Brotherhood (suppressed by the army under the command of the president's brother, R. Assad). Based on calls for the elimination of corruption, free elections to the Const. assembly and liberalization of the constitution, as well as criticism of H. Assad for supporting Iran in the war with Iraq (see. Iran–Iraq War), groups of the Islamic Front and other underground organizations rallied in the Nat. alliance for the liberation of Syria.

In the beginning. 1980s due to the fall in world oil prices, export earnings have declined significantly, while the military has risen sharply. expenses in connection with the Israeli aggression in Lebanon. Under these conditions, in Jan. The 1985 congress of the PASV criticized the inefficiency and corruption of the state. sector and proposed reorganizing the complex system of exchange rates to reduce illegal currency circulation and losses from black market operations. In the spring of the same year, Prime Minister A. R. al-Qasm began negotiations with the West. governments and financial organizations to attract investment in the village. x-in and services. In 1986, the EEC promised S. appropriate assistance [implemented only after in 1990-91 Damascus supported the operation of the international. coalition against Iraq Kuwait Crisis 1990–91)]. Multi-billion subsidies and loans Arab. The monarchies of the Persian Gulf made it possible to achieve the rapid growth of the Sir. economy (6% in 1990, 8% in 1991), but sharply increased the deficit in the balance of payments of S. Since 1987, the government has stepped up support for private business, continued its policy of rapprochement with the West (including the settlement of Syrian-Israeli relations). Relations with Jordan improved, on the border with which a free trade zone was opened in 2000.

Feb. 1999 H. Assad was re-elected president (99.9% of the vote in a referendum). But given his advanced age, the question of a successor became a question: after the removal of R. Assad from the post of vice president, B. Assad became the likely successor to the head of state. In the July 2000 elections (after the death of the president in June), B. Assad took over as his father, received the support of 97.3% of the vote.

The new head of S. announced his intention to reach a settlement with Israel, subject to the withdrawal of its weapons. forces to the borders of 1967, and in 2002 announced readiness without preliminary. restrictions to resume peace negotiations from the point at which they were interrupted by his predecessor. Taking steps to rapprochement with Iraq, Assad at the same time in order to expand the base of the sir. influence in Lebanon went to the strategic. partnership with Shia radicals from Hezbollah. In 2003, S. sharply condemned Iraq. NATO campaign, for which she was accused of supporting terrorism and harboring S. Hussein's accomplices, followed by US sanctions. In October of the same year, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), after the Islamic Jihad terrorist attack in Haifa, launched an airstrike on camps in the vicinity of Damascus (occupied, according to the Israeli version, by Palestinian radicals, according to the Syrian version, by refugees). The issue of sanctions against S. escalated in February. 2005 after the explosion in Beirut car ex. lebanon. prime min. R. al-Hariri: there were accusations against Damascus, allegedly seeking to destabilize the situation before the parliamentary elections in Lebanon, after in Sept. 2004 UN called for withdrawal of sir. army from the country (in March 2005, the armed forces of S. complied with the relevant resolution). In the spring of 2007, presidential elections were held, which were won by the only candidate B. Assad.

Syrian Civil War

In March 2011, in the city of Dar'a (on the border with Jordan), unrest began under anti-corruption slogans, which, after their harsh suppression, continued under new slogans (trial of those responsible for violence, release of political prisoners, resignation of the governor). The unrest that spread throughout Dar'a later spread to other regions (Latakia, Baniyas, Homs, Hama, and some suburbs of Damascus). By April, the confrontation in the south of S. had reached its maximum. glow. The opposition accused the government of suppressing the protest with hundreds of civilian victims, the government accused the opposition of extremism, massacres of armed forces. forces and security agencies. Against this background, B. Assad announced a political. reforms: the abolition of the state of emergency that had been in effect since 1963, the creation of a social assistance fund for the poor, a reduction in military conscription, and an increase in wages. A commission was established to investigate the events in Dar'a, the governor was dismissed, and more than 300 political prisoners were released from prisons. However, this did not lead to calm, on the contrary, the protests of the opposition increasingly took the form of armed. confrontation.

Feb. In 2012, a new draft constitution was submitted to a referendum, according to which the PASV was deprived of its leading and guiding status and was obliged to participate in elections on an equal basis with other parties. In May, in the first multi-party parliamentary elections, the Nat. unity”, which included the PASV and the Progressive nat. front. Independent parties also entered the parliament (including the opposition Coalition of Forces for Peaceful Changes and regional associations). Soon, more than 100 civilians died in El-Hula under unclear circumstances. The authorities blamed the provocateurs from the opposition. The next presidential elections in June 2014 were held in conditions of de facto. civil wars: according to the official. According to data, 88.7% of voters voted for B. Assad, but the West, in particular the United States, refused to recognize the results of the vote. Part of the territory of S. was under the control of decomp. paramilitaries. organizations (terrorist "Islamic State" in the east, the Islamic Front and the al-Nusra Front in the west, the Syrian National Coalition and the Free Army of S. in the south, Kurdish militias in the north).

At the initiative of the United States, at the NATO summit on September 4–5, 2014, an international coalition against terrorists. organization "Islamic State". On September 23, 2014, the US Armed Forces began air strikes on the positions of the Islamic State in the territory of S. Saud joined the US operation. Arabia, UAE, Jordan; Qatar and Bahrain provided military assistance. On March 15, 2015, Turkey gave permission to the United States to use Incirlik Air Force Base to accommodate Amer. combat unmanned aerial vehicles. From 30.9.2015 to official B. Assad's request for ground air support. military forces in the fight against the "Islamic State" started military. Russian operation in St.

Diplomatic relations between the USSR and S. were established in July 1944. Ros.-sir. Relations are traditionally friendly. Their foundation was laid during the period of close cooperation between the USSR and S. Relations between Russia and S. are based on the mutual trust of the countries and the general mood of their citizens. In 2005, 2006 and 2008 B. Assad visited Russia. In May 2010, Vladimir Putin visited Damascus for the first time in the history of bilateral relations. Political Recent interactions have been focused on issues of intra-Syrian settlement.

economy

S. is a country of average economic level. development among the countries of the South-West. Asia. The volume of GDP is 107.6 billion dollars (2011, at purchasing power parity); in terms of GDP per capita $ 5100. Human Development Index 0.658 (2013; 119th place among 187 countries).

The basis of the economy - p. x-in, fuel industry and trade. In the beginning. 21st century government reforms were aimed at creating a socially oriented market economy under the state. regulation of such areas as finance, energy, railway. and aviation transport. Steps were taken to liberalize the economy, revitalize the private sector, attract foreign. investments, etc. So. damage to the economy (especially in cities) was caused by the armament that began in 2011. conflict between governments. rebel troops and formations. The state grew up. debt, economic growth slowed down. growth, accelerated inflation, etc.; significantly destroyed prom. infrastructure (the oil industry was the hardest hit). By 2015 will destroy. shares of international terrorist organizations (“Islamic State”, etc.) disorganized farms. communications, put the country's economy on the brink of collapse.

In the structure of GDP, the share of the service sector is 60.2%, industry - 22.2%, agriculture, forestry and fisheries - 17.6% (2013, estimate).

Industry

The most developed (before the aggravation of the armed conflict in mid-2012) industries are: oil and natural gas extraction and processing, electric power, chemical, building materials, food and textiles.

Oil production 8.2 million tons (2012, estimate; 19.2 million tons in 2010); main mining areas are located in the northeast (including the Karachuk, Suwaydia, Rumailan deposits; all in the Al-Hasakah governorate) and in the east of the country (including the Omar, Tanak, El-Ward deposits, etc. in the governorate Deir ez-Zor). The largest refineries are in the cities of Baniyas (installed capacity of 6.6 million tons of crude oil per year; Tartus Governorate) and Homs (5.3 million tons). The leading company is Al Furat Petroleum (jointly owned by the state General Petroleum Corporation and several foreign companies).

Natural gas production 16.6 bcm (2012, estimate); main deposits - El-Dubayat and El-Arak (Homs governorate). Gas processing plants - in Deir ez-Zor (installed capacity approx. 4.8 million m 3 per year), as well as near the Omar field (2.4 million m 3), Tadmor (2.2 million . m 3 , Homs governorate), etc.

Electricity production approx. 44 billion kWh (2010); including at thermal power plants - 94% (the largest - "Aleppo", capacity 1065 MW; in Jibrin, Aleppo governorate), at hydroelectric power stations - 6% (the largest - "Tabka" on the Euphrates River, capacity 800 MW; near the city of . Raqqa).

Ferrous metallurgy is represented by steel smelting (10 thousand tons in 2012, estimated; 70 thousand tons in 2011) and production (mainly on the basis of imported raw materials and semi-finished products) of rolled steel and billets (about 130 thousand tons in 2012 , estimate; 890 thousand tons in 2011; plants in the cities of Latakia, Aleppo, etc.).

Mechanical engineering, electrical engineering. and the electronics industry depend on the supply of components from abroad. Among the enterprises are car assembly plants in the cities of Adra (Rif Dimashq governorate) and Hisya (Homs governorate).

Phosphorites are being mined (1.5 million tons in 2012, estimated; 3.5 million tons in 2011; the main deposits are Alsharqiya and Kneifis, west of Tadmor; most of the products are exported), rock salt, etc. Among chemical enterprises prom-sti - factories for the production of a miner. fertilizers, sulfur (as a by-product of oil and natural gas processing), sulfuric acid, ammonia, phosphoric acid, plastics, cosmetics, paints and varnishes, detergents, polymeric materials, etc. C. is one of the leading Arab. countries for the production of pharmaceuticals. drugs. In the beginning. 2010s in S. acted sv. 50 pharmaceuticals companies (approx. 17 thousand employed; main centers - Aleppo and Damascus), providing approx. 90% national drug needs.

The industry of building materials is developed. Production (million tons, 2012, estimate): dolomite 21.2, volcanic tuff 0.5, gypsum 0.3, etc. Output: cement 4 million tons; asphalt 13 thousand tons (2012, estimate; 157 thousand tons in 2010; in the cities of Deir ez-Zor, Kafriya, Latakia governorate, etc.).

Traditionally, the textile industry is of great importance (among the centers are Aleppo, Damascus). The industry is represented by the cotton gin. factories, silk-spinning factories (the main center is Latakia), the production of woolen and cotton yarn, fabrics, ready-made clothes, etc. The leather and footwear industry specializes in the production of shoes, belts, bags, jackets, etc. (including sugar, oil, tobacco, canned vegetables and fruits, drinks). Traditions are widespread. handicrafts: carpet weaving, production decomp. artistic metal products (including Damascus sabers and knives, copper products), silver and gold jewelry, fabrics (Damascus brocade), furniture (including mahogany, inlaid, painted and carved), etc. .

Agriculture

One of the chap. industries of the national economy. In structure of page - x. out of 13.9 million ha, pastures account for 8.2 million ha, arable land - 4.7 million ha, perennial plantations - 1.0 million ha (2011). In the beginning. 2010s the industry satisfied its own. S.'s needs for food and provided light and food-flavored industry with raw materials.

Crop production (about 65% of the value of agricultural production) develops on a narrow coastal strip (fruits, olives, tobacco, and cotton are grown on fertile soils under conditions of high moisture), as well as in the valleys of the El Asi and Euphrates rivers; rainfed (wheat, barley, etc.) and irrigated (including cotton) agriculture is common between Damascus and Aleppo, as well as along the border with Turkey. Cultivated (collection, million tons in 2012, estimate): wheat 3.6, olives 1.0, tomatoes 0.8, potatoes 0.7, barley 0.7, oranges 0.5, watermelons 0.4, apples 0 ,3, other vegetables and fruits, almonds, pistachios, spices, figs, etc. Viticulture. Ch. tech. crops - cotton (raw cotton harvest 359.0 thousand tons, 2012, estimate; main sample in the north of the country) and sugar beet (1027.9 thousand tons).

Animal husbandry (about 35% of the value of agricultural products) is extensive, in semi-desert regions it is nomadic and semi-nomadic. Livestock (million heads, 2013, estimate): poultry 21.7, sheep 14.0, goats 2.0, cattle 0.8. Donkeys, camels, horses and mules are also bred. Production (thousand tons, 2012, estimate): milk 2446.0, meat 382.0, wool 22.0; eggs 2457.8 mln. Beekeeping. Sericulture (in the Orontes river valley). Fishing (in coastal waters; catch is about 12 thousand tons per year).

Services sector

The financial system is regulated by the Central Bank of S. (in Damascus) and is represented by several state institutions. (the largest is Commercial Bank S., in Damascus) and small private ones (which arose in the early 2000s as part of reforms aimed at liberalizing the economy) commercial banks. banks, there are also branches of international. banks (including the National Bank of Qatar). Stock exchange in Damascus (the only one in the country). Foreign tourism (mainly cultural and educational); in 2011 S. visited approx. 2.3 million people (including from Turkey - St. 56%).

Transport

Main mode of transport is automobile. The densest road network is in the west. parts of the country; the total length of roads is 74.3 thousand km (including with hard surface 66.1 thousand km, 2012). Ch. highways (Daraa / border with Jordan - Damascus - Homs - Aleppo, etc.) connect the main. settlements, and also serve for the transit of goods to Turkey and Europe. countries. The total length of railways is 2.8 thousand km (2012). Main lines: Damascus - Homs - Hama - Aleppo - Maidan-Ikbes / border with Turkey; Aleppo - Latakia - Tarsus - Homs; Homs - Palmyra (transportation of phosphorites from deposits near Tadmor to the port of Tartus); Aleppo - Er Raqqa - El Qamishli / border with Turkey. International airports - in Damascus (the largest in the country), Aleppo, Latakia. Ch. sea ports: Latakia (cargo turnover about 3.0 million tons in the early 2010s; export of container cargo, import of food, machinery and equipment, textiles, chemicals, etc.) and Tartus (2.0; export of phosphorites ; import of various metals, building materials, food products). S. has an extensive network of oil pipelines connecting fields with terminals in the sea. ports (Baniyas, Latakia, Tartus) and oil refineries, as well as employees for the transit pumping of oil from Iraq and Saud. Arabia. Oil product pipelines run from Homs and Baniyas to Damascus, Aleppo and Latakia. Gas pipelines from deposits in the east and in the center of S. go to Aleppo (later to Turkey) and Homs (later to Tartus and Baniyas); The section of the Pan-Arab gas pipeline (via Damascus and Homs) transports natural gas from Egypt to the port of Baniyas.

International trade

The volume of foreign trade turnover is 11592 million dollars (2013, estimate), including exports of 2675 million dollars, imports of 8917 million dollars (the ongoing crisis in the country has led to a significant reduction in volumes; in 2012, the volume of exports amounted to 3876 million dollars, imports - 10780 million dollars). Exports are dominated by oil and oil products (more than 1/3 cost), s.-x. products (cotton, dec. vegetables and fruits, wheat, livestock, meat, wool), consumer goods. Ch. buyers (% value, 2012, est.): Iraq 58.4, Saud. Arabia 9.7, Kuwait 6.4. Imported machinery and equipment, food, metals and products from them, decomp. chemicals, etc. Ch. suppliers (% cost): Saudi. Arabia 22.8, UAE 11.2, Iran 8.3.

Armed forces

Armed. forces (AF) number 178 thousand people. (all data for 2014) and consist of the Ground Forces (SV), Air Force and Air Defense, Navy. Military. formations - up to 100 thousand people. (of which about 8 thousand in the gendarmerie). Reserve approx. 300 thousand people, including in the NE - 275 thousand people. Military annual budget of 2.2 billion dollars. In connection with the active hostilities that have been ongoing on the territory of S. since 2015, the numerical strength of its armed forces is undergoing significant changes. changes.

The Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces is the President of the country, who determines the main directions of the military-political. S. course and manages the Armed Forces through the Ministry of Defense and the General Staff. The head of the General Staff (he is also the commander of the SV), the commanders of the types of the Armed Forces and some centers are subordinate to him. MO control.

The direct command of the troops is entrusted to the commanders of the Armed Forces. Most formations and units have a strength below the standard.

NE (110 thousand people) - main. aircraft type. Organizationally consolidated into 3 headquarters of army corps, 12 divisions, 13 det. brigades, 11 dept. regiments of special destination. Reserve: headquarters of a tank division, 4 tank brigades, regiments (31 infantry, 3 artillery, 2 tank). In service with the SV are St. 94 PU operational-tactical. and tactical. missiles, 6 launchers for anti-ship missiles, 4950 tanks (including 1200 under repair and storage), 590 BRM, approx. 2450 infantry fighting vehicles, 1500 armored personnel carriers, St. 3440 field artillery guns (including 2030 towed and 430 self-propelled), approx. 4400 ATGM launchers, up to 500 MLRS, St. 410 mortars, 84 air defense systems, more than 4000 MANPADS, 2050 anti-aircraft artillery guns, several. unmanned aircraft, etc.

The Air Force and Air Defense (about 56 thousand people) are composed of combat and auxiliary. aviation, as well as air defense forces and means. Main body adm. and operational control of the Air Force units is the headquarters, and in the air defense forces - the department. command; aviation is subordinate to them. squadrons. The Air Force is armed with 20 bombers, 130 fighter-bombers, 310 fighters, 14 reconnaissance, 31 combat training and 25 military transport aircraft, 80 combat and 110 transport helicopters. Airplanes and helicopters in the main. obsolete types, ch. arr. MiG-21. The airfield network of S. includes more than 100 airfields, while for basing the modern. only 21 airfields are suitable for aircraft. The main ones are: Abu-ad-Duhur, Aleppo, Blay, Damascus, Dumair, En-Nasiriya, Seykal, Tifor. Reinforced concrete has been built at all airfields based on combat aviation. aircraft shelters. Air defense units are represented by 2 divisions, 25 anti-aircraft missile brigades, radio engineering units. troops. They are armed with approx. 750 missile launchers, approx. 2000 anti-aircraft artillery guns of calibers from 23 to 100 mm.

The Navy (5,000 men) consists of the Navy, Navy Aviation, coast guard and defense units, logistics institutions and educational institutions. The ship's composition includes 2 small anti-submarine ships, 16 missile boats, 3 landing ships, 8 minesweepers, 2 hydrographic. ships, training ship. The Coast Guard and Defense includes infantry. brigade, 12 batteries of P-5 and P-15 anti-ship missile systems, 2 art. division (36 130-mm and 12 100-mm guns), coastal observation battalion. The fleet aviation is armed with 13 helicopters. Basing - Latakia, Tartus.

Private and non-commissioned officers are trained in schools, officers - in the military. academies and abroad. Recruitment of regular armed forces on conscription by males aged 19–40 years, service life 30 months. Mobilization resources 5.1 million people, including those fit for the military. service 3.2 million people. One of the priorities of the military construction of military-political. S.'s management considers deliveries to all types of aircraft modern. military samples. equipment and weapons, ch. arr. from abroad. Great efforts are being made to obtain licenses and organize their production within the country.

healthcare

In S. per 100 thousand inhabitants. there are 150 doctors, 186 persons cf. honey. staff and midwives (2012); 15 hospital beds per 10 thousand inhabitants. (2010). Total health spending is 3.4% of GDP (budget funding 46.1%, private sector 53.9%) (2012). The legal regulation of the health care system is carried out by the Constitution (1973) and the law on psychiatry. assistance (2007). State. healthcare is free. In military conditions. conflict, it needs to be restored as a structure and services for the provision of honey. care and health management systems. The most common infections are tuberculosis, poliomyelitis (2012). Main causes of death: injuries and other external factors, malnutrition, tuberculosis (2014).

Sport

National the Olympic Committee was founded in 1947 and recognized by the IOC in 1948. In the same year, S. athletes made their debut at the London Olympics; subsequently participated in 11 Olympic Games (1968, 1972, 1980–2014) team and in Rome (1960) as part of the United Arab team. Republic. The first Olympic award (silver medal) was won by J. Atiya (Los Angeles, 1984) in freestyle wrestling competitions in the weight category up to 100 kg. At the Olympic Games in Atlanta (1996), multiple record holder S. in decomp. types of athletics and the winner of the World Championship (1995, heptathlon) G. Shuaa won a gold medal in the heptathlon. The bronze Olympic award (Athens, 2004) was awarded to the boxer N. al-Shami in the weight category up to 91 kg. Since 1978 Sir. athletes participate in the Asian Games (with the exception of 1986); 9 gold, 8 silver and 14 bronze medals were won (as of December 1, 2015). Twice Damascus was the capital of the Pan Arab Games (1976, 1992), Sir. athletes won in the team event. The most popular sports in the country are football, basketball, gymnastics, tennis, weightlifting, wrestling, boxing, swimming, athletics. Since 1972, the men's national team has periodically taken part in the World Chess Olympiads.

Education. Scientific and cultural institutions

Education management. institutions are carried out by the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Higher Education. Muslim. educational institutions are under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Waqf Affairs. Main regulatory documents: Decree on the Elimination of Illiteracy (1972), laws - on obligatory. education (1981), on the activities of high fur boots (2006); resolutions of the Ministry of Education - on preschool education (1989, 1991), on prof. education (2000). The education system includes preschool education (paid), compulsory free 6-year primary education, secondary (3-year incomplete and 3-year complete) education, secondary prof. education (ch. arr. on the basis of an incomplete secondary school; a course of up to 3 years), higher education. The Center for Prof.-Techn. education in Aleppo (created in the 1970s with the help of the USSR). On the basis of complete secondary school and secondary prof. educational institutions work 2-year technical. in-you, which give prof. advanced education. Pre-school education covered (2013) 5.3% of children, primary education - 74.2%, secondary - 44.1%. The literacy rate of the population over the age of 15 is 96.4% (2015, data from the UNESCO Institute of Statistics). The largest universities scientific institutions, libraries and museums are located in Damascus, Latakia, Aleppo and Homs.

Mass media

Arabic daily newspapers are published. lang. (all - Damascus): "Al-Baath" ("Renaissance", since 1948, organ of the PASW; circulation about 65 thousand copies), "Al-Saura" ("Revolution", since 1963; about 55 thousand copies), “Tishrin” (“October”, since 1975; approx. 70 thousand copies), “Al-Watan” (“Motherland”, since 2006; approx. 22 thousand copies), “Nidal al-Shaab” (“Struggle of the People”, since 1934; organ of the Central Committee of the Syrian Communist Party). In English. lang. comes out daily gas. "Syria Times" (Damascus; since 1981; approx. 12 thousand copies). Weekly journals are published in Arabic. lang. (all from Damascus): “Nidal al-Fillakhin” (“The Peasants’ Struggle”, since 1965, an organ of the General Federation of Syrian Peasants; approx. 25 thousand copies), “Kifah al-Ummal al-Ishtiraki” (“Socialist workers' struggle", since 1966, an organ of the General Federation of Syrian Trade Unions; about 30,000 copies). Radio broadcasting since 1946 (operated by the government service "Directorate-General of Broadcasting and Television"; Damascus), television broadcasting since 1960 (government commercial service "Syrian Television"; city of Damascus). Governments. Sir. Arab. information agency ("Syrian Arab News Agency"; SANA) has been operating since 1966 (founded in 1965, Damascus).

Literature

Lit-ra Sir. people develops into an Arab. lang. On the territory of S. in the 1st century. n. e. Sir existed. the language in which lit. works (see Syriac literature) and which in the 14th century. the Arab was completely ousted. language. Wed-century. lit-ra S. - part Arab-Muslim culture. In the 19th century in S., which then also included the territories of Lebanon and Palestine, a period of enlightenment began; the desire to update literature is inherent in the work of Adib Ishak (the story "Joys for lovers and delight for the nights", 1874; collection of essays "Pearls", 1909; numerous translations of Western literature). The initiators of Sir. A. Kh. al-Kabbani and I. Farah (historical dramas Cleopatra, 1888; Greed of Women, 1889) became the theater directors. At the origins of a new sir. prose - the work of F. Marrash (books "Forest of Law", 1866, "Journey to Paris", 1867; story "Pearls from Shells", 1872; etc.). An important milestone in the development of Sir. prose became works created in the traditions of the maqama, but devoted to the pressing problems of the sir. societies: N. al-Qasatli, Sh. al-Asali, M. al-Sakal, R. Rizka Sallum (“Diseases of the New Age”, 1909). Patriotic The theme is traditional. poetic form. creativity of M. al-Bizma, H. ad-Din az-Zarkali, H. Mardam-bek. In the 1920s–50s. romanticism dominated in the literature of S., most clearly embodied in the poetry of Sh. Jabri, A. an-Nasir, B. al-Jabal, O. Abu Rish, V. al-Kurunfuli, A. al-Attara, prose by S. Abu Ghanim (collection of stories “Songs of the Night”, 1922), S. al-Kayali (collection “Storm and Light”, 1947), N. al-Ikhtiyar (story “The Return of Christ”, 1930). The emergence of the historical novel - the first major prose writer. genre in the literature of S., is associated with M. al-Arnaut (the novels The Lord of the Quraish, 1929; The Virgin Fatima, 1942; and others). Novels in modern the themes “Greed” (1937), “Fate plays” (1939), “Rainbow” (1946) are created by Sh. al-Jabiri.

Since the 1930s realism began to assert itself, vividly represented by short stories by A. Khulki (collection "Spring and Autumn", 1931), M. al-Najar (collection "In the palaces of Damascus", 1937), F. ash-Shayib, V. Sakkakini, A. al-Salyama al-Ujayli (collection “The Sorceress's Daughter”, 1948) and others. The genre of social comedy (M. al-Sibai) took shape in dramaturgy; and legendary stories (A. Mardam-bek, A. Suleiman al-Ahmed, Z. Mirza, O. Abu Risha, etc.). Realism remained the leading trend in prose in the 1950s and 60s, addressing complex social problems: M. al-Qayali, H. al-Qayali, S. ash-Sharif, Sh. Baghdadi, S. Hauraniyya, F. as -Sibai, H. Mina, M. Safadi, H. al-Kayali (the novel "Love Letters", 1956), H. Barakat (the novel "Green Peaks", 1956), A. al-Ujayli (the novel "Basima in Tears", 1959) and others The "women's" prose, represented by the names of S. al-Khaffar al-Kuzbari (autobiographical novel "Hala's Diaries", 1950), K. al-Khuri (the novel "Days Spent with Him", 1959), received formalization. In the psychological Z. Tamer's prose, marked by stylistic. grace, the influence of Europe is palpable. modernist literature. Existential problems dominated in the short stories of the 1960s–1970s: collections of stories by J. Salem (“Poor People”, 1964), H. Haidar (“Wild Goats”, 1978), V. Ikhlasi and others.

In the 1960s development received a "new poetry", marked metric-rhythmic. experiments: N. Qabbani, A. an-Nasir, O. al-Muyassar, H. ad-Din al-Asadi; the work of Adonis gained wide fame. Romantization of the past, appeal to the mythological. material inherent rich philosophy. reflections of the dramaturgy of H. Hindawi, M. Haj Hussein S. al-Isa, A. Mardam-bek, O. al-Nas, M. al-Safadi; social themes distinguish the plays of M. al-Sibai, H. al-Kayali (“Knocking on the Door”, 1964; “The Carpenter's Daughter”, 1968). The creator of the "political theater" was S. Vannus, M. al-Hallaj (the play "Dervishes Seek Truth", 1970). Events Arab-Israeli wars found a vivid embodiment in the prose of the 1970s–90s, in particular in the works of A. Abu Shanab, A. Orsan (the story “The Golan Heights”, 1982), I. Luka, N. Said and others; in a modernist vein, they were presented by M. Yusuf (collection of stories “Late Night Faces”, 1974). The novel developed preim. in realism. spirit, gravitating towards the panoramic, epic. depiction of human destinies and events (H. Mina, F. Zarzur, I. Masalima, K. Kilani, A. Nakhvi, A. al-Salam al-Ujayli, S. Dihni, Y. Rifaiyya, H. al-Dhahabi, A Y. Daud and others). Prose con. 20 - early. 21st century dedicated to the socio-political and patriotic. topics; among its most prominent representatives are H. al-Dhahabi, M. al-Khani, Y. Rifaiya, G. al-Samman (the novels Masquerade of the Dead, 2003; N. Suleiman (the novel Souls Under Ban, 2012).

Architecture and fine arts

In the historical In the past, the territory of S. belonged to different cultural zones and was exposed to many influences. civilizations: Sumerian-Akkadian and Babylonian-Assyrian, Hittite and Hurrian, other Egyptian, Aegean and Greco-Roman; south S. was closely associated with the cultural complex of Arabia. In the 3rd century BC e. - 3 in. n. e. S. became an area of ​​contact between ancient and Parthian traditions; in the 4th–7th centuries. - Byzantium. and Iranian-Sasanian. This versatility of the ancient artist. The culture of S. determined its originality, the formation of original schools of architecture, depict. and arts and crafts.

Ancient architects. S.'s monuments date back to the 10th–7th millennium BC. e. (Mureibit II, III, ca. 9800–8600 BC; Tell Aswad, ca. 8700–7000 BC). Among the archaeological finds - "idols" made of limestone, stone and clay figurines of people and animals, clay vessels, baskets, beads made of shells, bones and pebbles. In the settlements of the East part of the territory of S. built on the sides of narrow and short streets, rectangular 3-4-room houses made of mud brick, with whitewashed walls, sometimes painted with red liquid clay (Bukras, c. 7400–6200 BC), also made of stone and terracotta figurines, alabaster and marble vessels (Tell Ramad, c. 8200–7800). In the settlements of the 6th millennium BC. e. polished earthenware is found, sometimes with incised or stamped ornaments, in the east. regions - ceramics of the culture of Samarra (Baguz, Middle Euphrates). In the north-east. S. in the complexes of the 5th millennium BC. e. terracotta female figurines were found, with a conical “hairstyle” and painted eyes (Tell-Khalaf); in the cave of Palanli (north. S.) - drawings of animals, close to the style of Khalaf ceramics. Eneolithic settlements of the north. and north-east. parts of the territory of S. had a double line of walls with towers and gates, paved streets, a network of water conduits, gardens, temples, adm. buildings, multi-room rectangular in terms of houses with a center. hall and interior court (Khabuba-Kabira, c. 3500–3300 BC). Hundreds of “big-eyed idols” (figures made of alabaster with double rings at the top) were inserted into the lime mortar of the adobe masonry walls of the “Temple of the Eye” (c. 3500–3300 BC) in Tell Brak, the facades were decorated with clay cones, copper plates and gold. From the 2nd floor. 4th millennium BC e. were created by artists. products made of copper, gold, silver, stone and ceramic. vessels, stone and bone amulets in the form of animals, figurines of people, cylindrical. prints with reliefs (Khabuba-Kabira, Jebel Aruda).

) S. Cities had massive walls (in the western regions of stone, in the eastern regions of brick), regularly paved streets, houses with courtyards, wells, baths, sewers and a family crypt-treasury. Fortified palaces included complexes of rectangular buildings decomp. appointments grouped around courtyards of different sizes; ch. the premises were distinguished by their size and richness of decoration (the palace of King Zimri-Lim in Mari, 18th century BC; the royal palace in Ugarit, c. 1400 BC). The walled temples included a courtyard with an altar, an entrance hall, and a cella with dedications. steles and statues of the gods. In the architecture of the S. in con. 2nd millennium BC e. the type of the Syro-Hittite temple and/or the bit-khilani palace (the palace-temple of Kapara in Tell-Khalaf) was formed.

Artworks of the Bronze Age demonstrate a variety of stylistic orientations. Finds in Mari (fragments of paintings, statues, reliefs, etc.) testify to the development of a local version of the Mesopotamian depiction. lawsuit departing from the Old Babylonian canon. Ebla's art works illustrate the process of adaptation and processing of eastern. and app. artistic traditions. Sculpture in style and iconography resembles Sumerian, but with more careful elaboration of details. The archaic roughness of enlarged forms of mythological images. creatures akin to the plasticity of the Hittites; fine jewelry, stylistic. the products of Ugarit, from which the most important things originate, are reminiscent of diversity. monuments of art-va S. ser. 2nd millennium BC e. Gold dishes and bowls with chased and engraved reliefs, ivory sculpture inlaid with silver, copper, emerald, glassware, weapons, painted ceramics, etc., partly imported or oriented to Mycenaean or Egypt. samples, mainly demonstrate the Ugarit style with organic a synthesis of Eastern Mediterranean, Aegean and Syro-Mesopotamian traditions.

The invasions of the peoples of the sea and the expansion of Assyria led to the destruction of many. cities and fundamental changes in art. traditions of S. In the 9th century. BC e. all in. S. there are Assyrian adm. and artist centers - for example, Til-Barsib (Aramaic Bit-Adini on the Euphrates, now Tell-Ahmar) with a palace decorated with monumental stone stelae with cult reliefs and wall paintings, anticipating the art style of Assyria during its heyday; Arslan-Tash - Aramaic and Assyrian. city ​​in the north S. border (statues, bas-reliefs depicting people and animals, ivory plates with carved Egyptian symbols, scenes and images of the Aegean-Mediterranean circle, 9-8 centuries BC). In the north and northeast of the country in the beginning. 1st millennium BC e. formed one of the variants of syncretic. Syro-Hittite art, distinguished by the fusion of Hurrian and Hittite features in the iconography and style of archaically rough images.

Damascus) cities received a regular street layout according to hippodamic system and fortified with powerful stone walls and a citadel. In the Hellenistic ensemble cities, along with the temples of the Greek. and local deities, an important place was occupied by theaters, stadiums, palestras, meeting houses, agora, etc. The design and image of buildings was determined by architectural order. From Rome. time, the majestic ruins of Apamea, Palmyra have been preserved (almost destroyed by the so-called Islamic state in 2015). Main highways (Roman cardo and decumanus), with tetrapylons (Laodikea) at crossroads, often lined with colonnades and porticos, connected Ch. mountains gate. In the design of colonnaded streets, societies. buildings, villas, triumphal arches and columns, an important role was assigned to statues, reliefs, paintings and floor mosaics. Each city had its own characteristics: Philippopolis (now Shahba) in the south. S. is planned according to the type of Rome. military camps; Palmyra had a 3-span monumental arch, masking the turn of the procession road to the sanctuary of Bel, etc. The original schools will be depicted. art of ancient S. developed in Philippopolis (floor mosaics), Palmyra (painting and plastic), in Dura-Europos (murals that combine the features of Parthian-Iranian, Syro-Mesopotamian and Hellenistic art; some frescoes of the synagogue anticipate the style early Byzantine painting).

All in. S., among the ruins of abandoned agricultural. centers 4 - 1st third of the 7th centuries. (“dead cities”), monuments of the late antique and early Byzantine culture of S. have been preserved: Serzhilla (4th–5th centuries; remains of city walls, a church, a complex of baths, a dairy, residential buildings, etc.), al-Bara (4th–6th centuries; churches, 2 pyramidal tombs with sarcophagi), etc. S. Byzantine architecture. time is distinguished by the severity of forms and restraint of decoration (monastery Qal'at-Sim'an, 5th century). Political and ideological differences prevented the formation of a unified regional architecture. temple type. On the whole, the religious architecture of Christian S. evolved from a simple hall church (Kirk-Bizet, 4th century) to large three-nave church basilicas with a gable roof on wood. rafters or stone arches (in Kalb-Luseh, 4-5 centuries; church in Brad, 395-402). In the 6th c. domed basilicas, prototypes of cross-domed churches (the church "outside the walls" in Rusafa, 569-582), baptistery, martyria, fortified monasteries with bastion towers (on the site of the early Islamic castle Qasr al-Khair East, 728-729) and castles (palaces) Qasr-ibn-Wardan, 2nd floor. 6 c.). To decorate the interiors of palaces and temples, marble facings, mosaic floors, narrative paintings, stucco molding, stone and wood were widely used. carving, gilding, woven draperies, bronze and silver utensils, furniture. The floor mosaics of Bosra (now Busra ash-Sham), Apamea, Hama, rare works of sculpture, the increasing role of ornament mark an appeal to a conventional pictorial and decorative form, the language of symbols characteristic of early Christian art, as well as Hellenized artist. schemes and motives. Works of applied art (silver and gold vessels with chasing and engraving, crosses, shaped lamps, patterned silk fabrics, etc.) are distinguished by a combination of early Byzantine and local traditions. After the Muslims During the conquest of S., the art of Christians existed in monasteries (frescoes of the monastery of Deir Mar Musa, 12th century).

Syro-Byzantine art. The school played an important role in the formation of early Islamic culture, especially in the Umayyad era, when the cities of S. on the whole retained a Roman-Byzantine appearance. During the reconstruction of old buildings, a center of Muslims was formed. cities with a cathedral mosque ( Umayyad mosque in Damascus) and the palace-adm. complex - dar al-imara (Damascus, Hama, Aleppo). In the 1st floor. 8th c. the construction of remote residences-estates - "castles of the desert" - began; at the heart of their planning is guessed the scheme of Rome. fort and Byzantium. fortified monastery. The formation of a new artist. concept - an abstract worldview, which later led to the predominant development of calligraphy and ornamentation - manifested itself in the design of religious and palace buildings (architectural landscapes of smalt mosaics of the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus, c. 715). The surviving examples of monumental painting, sculpture and ornamental decoration demonstrate a complex interweaving of ancient, early Byzantine, Syro-Mesopotamian and Iranian. Sassanid traditions (floor frescoes and stucco sculpture from the “castle of the desert” Qasr al-Khair Western, 727).

With the transfer of the center of the Caliphate by the Abbasids to Iraq, new cities began to be built in the Mesopotamian part of S. ( Rakka, founded in 772 on the model of Madinat as-Salam, see Baghdad). By the 12th–13th centuries the cities of S. acquired the middle-century. view. In Damascus and Aleppo a great construction was unfolded. Inside the walls with massive entrance gates and watchtowers, the cities were divided into religiously isolated ones. and craft-based residential quarters with religious buildings, a market, and societies. bath. The city center was grouped around or near the citadel. A feature of the architecture of S. became cult-charitable. complexes: rectangular in plan, 2-3-storey building with a center. courtyard with iwans on Ch. axes and a pool in the center, uniting a madrasah, maristan (hospital) or ribat or takiya (Sufi abode) with a prayer house and the tomb of the founder (mosque-madrasah-ribat al-Firdaus, 1235, Aleppo). A special place in the Middle Ages. architecture of the North-West. S. is occupied by the castles of the crusaders, combining the traditions of early Byzantine, late Romanesque and early Gothic architecture ( Krak des Chevaliers, Margat, both - 12-13 centuries, in place of the Arab. fortresses of the 11th century). During the Mamluk era, the commercial and craft centers of Northern Europe (Damascus, Aleppo) expanded greatly.

The flourishing will depict. claim-va middle-century. S. coincided with the era of the Ayyubids and Mamluks. Book miniature in manuscripts. fables “Kalila and Dimna” (1220, National Library, Paris; 1354, Bodley Library, Oxford), picaresque short stories “Maqama” by al-Hariri (1222, National Library, Paris), works by al- Mubashshira about the philosophers of antiquity (beginning of the 13th century, the library of the Topkapi Palace Museum, Istanbul) shows several directions: colorful, naively plausible, expressive and expressive scenes with humorous. intonations; more refined and complicated compositions; works reminiscent of the Middle Ages. mosaic or influenced by the Byzantines. writing manners. The miniature clearly influenced the development of plot and ornamental painting on glass (colored enamels) and glazed ceramics (the main centers are Er-Raqqa, Rusafa), the decoration of bronze items (trays, vessels, incense burners, lamps, etc.) chasing, engraving, carving, inlaid with silver (Damascus, Aleppo). Wed-century. S. masters became famous for the manufacture of weapons, jewelry, silk patterned fabrics, and wood. carving, painting, inlay. The ubiquitous ornament is geometric. compositions, arabesques (in the form of leafy shoots forming spirals, often with flowers, birds, or a patterned rhombic grid with growing, epigraphic and pictorial motifs) became more and more complex, multi-layered (“pattern in a pattern”) and abstract.

The architecture of S. as part of the Ottoman Empire (1516–1918) acquired the features of a tour. architecture. Mosques of this time usually have a small cube. volume from the center. hemispherical domes and slender needle-shaped minarets. The facades of the buildings are lined with contrasting rows of black and white (or yellowish) stone. The interiors of mosques, madrasahs, khans (caravanserais), palaces and rich residential buildings with marble-paved yards with fruit trees and bushes, aivans, arcaded porticos, flower beds, pools and fountains are becoming more ornate (Azem's palaces in Damascus and Ham, 18 c.), decorated with ceramic lining. panel with grows. patterns in vibrant colors. A network of covered markets-passages with mosques, baths, khans was formed. The street facades of 2-3-storey houses acquired windows with shutters and balconies covered with trees. carved mashrabiya lattices. Monumental and decorative art and art. crafts have also undergone means. changes (large ornament with floral motifs; calligraphic inscriptions). Carving and painting on marble and wood, inlay on wood (camel bone, colored wood, mother-of-pearl, silver) have achieved high skill.

In con. 19 - 1st floor. 20th century changes in art S.'s life led to the development of Europe. forms of architecture and depict. art-va (appearance of oil painting). In the 1920s the reconstruction of cities began (with the participation of French architects J. Sauvage, M. Ecoshar, R. Danger) with the preservation of architectural monuments and the emergence of European. quarters (Damascus, master plan 1929). Mn. S. artists and architects studied in Europe; architects X. Farra, S. Mudarris, B. al-Hakim and others were educated in Damascus University. Since the 1970s, along with the construction of the state. buildings (the municipality in Latakia, 1973, architects A. Dib, K. Seibert; the presidential palace in Damascus, 1990, architect Tange Kenzo, etc.), the construction of new residential areas, hospital complexes, parks, stadiums, university campuses, museum buildings, on the coast - resort facilities.

Display. claim S. 1st floor. 20th century developed in the process of development of Europe. artistic culture and search for nat. style (painter M. Kirsha, sculptors and painters M. Jalal, M. Fathi, M. Hammad). Sir was founded in 1952. arts association, in 1971 - Sir. branch of the Arab Union. artists. Among the masters of the 2nd floor. 20 - early. 21st century - landscape painters N. Shaura, N. Ismail, artist and art historian A. Bahnassi, representative of the Sir. avant-garde art F. al-Mudarris, portrait painter L. Kayali, graphic artists N. Nabaa and N. Ismail, painter-calligrapher M. Ganum. The arts and crafts of S. preserves the tradition. types: embroidery, carpet weaving, weaving, fabric manufacturing, chasing and engraving on metal, carving, painting and inlay on wood.

Music

Among the monuments of ancient muses. culture of S. - a large floor mosaic of Rome. Villa Maryamin (near Hama, 4th century), depicting wealthy Roman women playing music; it features music. instruments: oud, kemancha, kanun, goblet-shaped drum - darbuka, etc.). Samples of early music sir. no Christians survived; modern Sir. “hymns” were influenced by late Greek church music (multiple ratios of rhythmic durations, clock metrics and the presence of bourdon - “ison”) and, on the other hand, maqam (hemiolic, ornamental microchromatic). In worship, the west-sir. The Church (Antiochian rite) uses the everyday singing book (hymnary) Bet Gezo (Treasury Reservoir; ed. Nuri Iskander, 1992), containing approx. 700 notated chants (in modern transcription in 5-linear notation). Before the start of armament. conflict in Damascus, the Sir Orchestra functioned. radio (1950) and the Syrian Conservatory (1961); in 2004, an opera troupe was formed at the Higher Institute of Drama and Music "Dar al-Assad".

Theater

Until ser. 19th century development of prof. Theatrical art in S. was hampered by the negative attitude of Islam towards anthropomorphic images. At the same time, the desire for acting acquired its unique features here, finding ways to survive in an unfavorable environment. Being historically the heiress of three great cultures - Mesopotamian, Greco-Roman and Arab-Muslim, S., like other Arabs. countries, developed Nar. forms of performing arts in which almost all theatrical components are present. This is an ancient art of storytellers, a theater of shadows and puppets karagez, scenes of nar. comedy fasl mudhik. At the heart of all ideas is the trinity of verbal, musical and plastic. lawsuit. These become artists. folk tradition. spectacular forms are in the arsenal of the sire. theater and in the 21st century.

Along with Egypt, S. formerly other Arab. countries entered into trade and cultural contacts with the West. In the beginning. 18th century missionaries opened schools here, where mysteries and morality were staged. The playwright A. H. al-Kabbani adapted world dramaturgy to local conditions. Knowing folklore well, he created synthetic performances. genre, organically combining new forms of theatrical art with the tradition of Nar. spectacles, lit. text with music, singing and dancing. The social acuteness of the plays and their wide audience success caused the closure of his theater in 1884 by decree of the tour. Sultan. Al-Kabbani emigrated among others. Sir. cultural figures, whose mass departure to Egypt in the 1870–80s. associated with pressure. authorities, the strengthening of the influence of the local clergy and the penetration of large European. capital. The “Syrian Arab theater in Egypt” movement arose, the successful representatives of which were the playwrights S. al-Naqqash, A. Ishak, Yu. -Rashid" (1850), "The Creation of Good" (1878), "Tyrant" (1879), "Telemak" (1882) and others. Between the two world wars, nar. improvisational forms of performance with pantomime, comic. scenes and music. So. contribution to the formation of Sir. The theater was introduced by the actor and playwright N. al-Reihani, whose play "Kish-Kish Bey" combined elements of the French. vaudeville and national music comedy; ch. the hero of the play is considered a descendant of Nar. character Karagoz. At the heart of its popular in the 1920s. performances "The Barber of Baghdad" and "Jasmina" - fairy tales "A Thousand and One Nights". Circle of topics Sir. dramas of the 1930s included plots Arab. and Islamic history, Nar. epic and mountains. folklore. Appeal to the historian events and characters at this stage was associated with the desire to excite the public's admiration for the past greatness of the Arabs, awakening the nat. self-awareness. The gain of independence in 1945 gave a new impetus to the professionalization of theater and drama. In 1960, the Nat. dramatic theater where young directors A. Fedda, U. Ursan, D. Lahman worked. The stage was conquered by social drama; Among the authors are V. Midfai, M. al-Safadi, Y. Makdisi, M. Udwan, S. Haurania. The dramaturgy of S. Vannus, who studied the relationship between the totalitarian government and the silent people, was distinguished by the sharpest socially accusatory character. The beginning of criticism of the current regime from the theatrical stage was put by Vannus' play "June 5th Party" (1968). In search of rapprochement with the public, his play “The Head of the Mamluk Jaber” (1970) staged by Fedda (1973) became a milestone: using the technique of imaginary improvisation, the director introduced the image of a storyteller into the performance, who removed the barrier between the stage and the hall, following the tradition of the national. folklore.

At the turn of the 20th-21st centuries. one of the most urgent problems of the stage. claim-va S. - disputes about the place and role of bunks. theatrical tradition, especially folk. comedy, in modern the life of the country. Leading theatrical figures (including professor at Damascus University, author of many books and articles about the theater H. Kassab-Hasan) advocate the need to preserve the traditions of oral storytelling, develop the “storyteller without borders” movement both in the field of theater and and in educational programs for children, the creation of an annual festival of itinerant storytellers. Theaters also operate in the capital: the Union of Workers, al-Kabbani, al-Hamraa, and others. In 2004, after a 14-year break, the theater festival resumed in Damascus, founded back in 1969 by the Ministry of Culture of S., attracting the attention of young performers ( the theme of the round tables is “Theatre and Youth”). Despite the difficult political situation, S.'s theater continues to develop. In 2010 dir. U. Ghanem organized the Damascus "Theater Laboratory", where, relying on the artist. research on modern theater analyzes the issues of communication modern. Sir. dramaturgy and acting, theater and social reality. Seminars have been held since 2013 (“Work on a dramatic text from Muller to Sarah Kane”, “Chekhov and modern directing”, etc.).

Movie

From 1908 (when the first screenings took place in the country) to the middle. 1910s demonstrated in the chronicle and staged French. films, after the start of the 1st World War - German. In 1916, the Cinema Canakkale was opened in Damascus. In 1928 the first sir was released. game f. "Innocent defendant" A. Badri. Among the films of the 1930s-60s: "Under the sky of Damascus" by I. Anzur (1934), "Call of Duty" by Badri (1936), "Light and Darkness" by N. Shahbender (1949, the first national sound film), " Wayfarer" by Z. Shaua (1950), "Green Valley" by A. Arfan (1961). In 1963, under the Ministry of Culture, the General Organization of the Syr was formed. cinema (including cooperation with the USSR in the preparation of professional national personnel at VGIK; since the late 1990s, it has been financing the production of feature films). The film “Bus Driver” (1968, Yugoslav director B. Vucinich) told about the struggle of the Syrians for their rights, the fate of the Palestinian people - “Deceived” by T. Salih (1972), about the destruction of civilians in a Palestinian village in 1956 - “Kafr Kasem” by B. Alavia (1975, pr. Mkf in Moscow). The theme of the Middle East conflict was also raised in the films “Reverse Direction” by M. Haddad (1975), “Heroes Are Born Twice” by S. Dehni, and “Red, White, Black” by B. Safiya (both 1977). In the 1970s - early. 1980s dir. N. Malikh, who created films about the opposition of a simple person to power (“Leopard”, 1972; “Old Photos”, 1981) and ironically. key, denouncing the hypocrisy of an unprincipled careerist ("Mr. Progressive", 1975). The film "A case at half a meter" by S. Zikra (1981) criticized part of the nat. young people who have distanced themselves from confronting negative socio-political. phenomena. Autobiographical f. "Dreams of the City" by M. Malas (1983) reflected the events of 1953–58, which strengthened the principles of democracy. satirical the comedy "Boundaries" by D. Laham (1987) combined the techniques of Nar. fairy tales and sharp publicism in interpreting the problems of confrontation between Arab countries. peace. A picture of provincial life was presented by the tapes of A. L. Abdul Hamid - "Nights of the Jackal" (1989) and "Oral Messages" (1991). A notable event was the historical a painting about Kawakibi "Dust of foreigners" by Zikra (1998). A wide resonance was caused by the tape "Black Flour" by G. Schmait (2001) about the life of the nat. hinterland in the first years after independence. The independence of a student from Damascus is defended by dir. V. Rahib in f. "Dreams" (2003), which tells about the experiences of a young woman leaving her parental home. The moral problems of family and personal relationships between a man and a woman were analyzed by Abdul Hamid in the film Out of Access (2007). The film "Once More" by D. Said (2009) is a confession about the relationship between father and son against the backdrop of dramatic. events in the country. In 1979-2011, an international conference was held in Damascus. film festival.

Ancient Syria The history of Syrian civilization dates back at least to the fourth millennium BC. e. Archaeologists have proved that Syria was the cradle of most of the ancient civilizations of the world.

Ancient Syria Already in 2400-2500 BC. e. the huge Semitic empire with its center in Ebla stretched from the Red Sea to Transcaucasia. The language of Ebla is considered the oldest in the family of Semitic languages. In the Ebla Library, discovered in 1975, more than 17,000 clay tablets dedicated to crafts, agriculture and art were found. Among the leading crafts of Ebla are the processing of wood, ivory, pearls. In Syria, these industries are still flourishing. Other famous cities of the era include Mari, Ugarit and Dura-Europos.

Ancient Syria In the XXIII century BC. e. the empire was conquered by Akkad, and the capital was completely destroyed. Then, the Canaanite tribes invaded the territory of Syria, forming many small states. During the period between the invasion of the Canaanite tribes and the conquest of Syria in 64 BC. e. By the Roman Empire, its territory was successively ruled by the Babylonians, Hyksos, Hittites, Egyptians, Arameans, Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians, ancient Macedonians, the Elinistic power of the Seleucids, the Armenian Empire of Tigran II the Great.

Ancient Syria From the XVI century BC. e. in the south of Syria there is the city of Damascus, originally subordinate to the Egyptian pharaohs. Syria occupies an important place in the history of Christianity - according to the Bible, Paul adopted the Christian faith on the road to Damascus, and then lived in Antioch, where the disciples of Christ first began to be called Christians.

Syrian Arab Republic Area: 185.2 thousand km 2 (Golan heights with an area of ​​up to 1 thousand km 2 have been occupied by Israel since 1967). Population: over 16 million people (1997). State language: Arabic. Capital: Damascus (4 million inhabitants, 1997). Public holiday: Revolution Day (March 8, since 1963); Evacuation Day (April 17, since 1946). Monetary unit: Syrian pound. Member of the UN since 1946, Arab League, OIC.

Syrian Arab Republic Syria is one of the centers of Middle Eastern civilization that played a significant role in the emergence and development of Christianity.

Syrian Arab Republic Located in the Eastern Mediterranean (Levant). In the north it borders with Turkey, in the west - with Lebanon and Israel, in the east - with Iraq, in the south - with Jordan. In the northwest it is washed by the waters of the Mediterranean Sea.

Syrian Arab Republic The vast majority of the population (up to 90%) are Arabs. There are at least 700,000 Kurds in the mountainous regions. Armenians, Turkmens, Circassians, Chechens, Turks, Persians, Assyrians, Jews also live in the country.

The Syrian Arab Republic Although both in ancient times and in modern times, the territory of Syria has repeatedly become the scene of wars and there are many bloody events in its history, the Syrians are not warlike. They are characterized by friendliness, kindness, cordiality, the desire to live in peace among themselves and with their neighbors. They hold in high esteem natural intelligence, resourcefulness, practical mind, the ability to multiply their wealth, which is by no means easy, but requires subtle calculation and intellectual effort.

Syrian Arab Republic Religion does not have a strong position in Syria compared to other Muslim countries. The provisions of the Koran permeate many aspects of the life of the people, but they are treated as traditions and do not perceive their divine origin. Islam was not militant in Syria, because the vast majority of the population in the country is religiously homogeneous. From time immemorial, Syria has been open to non-Christians who did not feel like strangers here.

Syrian Arab Republic Having come to power in 1963, the Arab Socialist Renaissance Party (PASV) is building its organization as a secular one, relying on progressive social forces. At the forefront of the PASV is not Islam, but Arab nationalism in its secular refraction. The historical and geographical belonging of Syria to the Mediterranean community contributed to its rapprochement with the West, contact with Western European culture, especially French. The formation of a special, “Lebanese” mentality of Syria was influenced by Lebanon, with which it retains traditionally close ties and where the idea is very popular that the Lebanese are direct descendants of the Phoenicians and therefore gravitate more to the Western world than to the Arab.

Syrian Arab Republic The tourism industry in the SAR is developing quite successfully. Numerous monuments of world civilization in Syria attract the attention of tourists from all over the world. The state hopes to increase income from the flow of tourists from abroad in the near future to 1 billion dollars a year.

Syrian Arab Republic There are four main landscape zones on the territory of the country: the coastal plain, the mountains in the west, the interior plains and the Syrian desert. The climate ranges from Mediterranean, with heavy rainfall in winter and moderate temperatures with high humidity in summer (on the coast) to continental in the desert. The average temperature of the warmest month (July) is +24. . . + 26 ° С, the coldest (January) +12 ° С. In winter, in areas close to the Arabian and Syrian deserts, the temperature drops below 0 °, in summer the maximum temperature here is + 48 ° С.

Syrian Arab Republic The geographical position of the country made it the object of invasions by the Egyptian pharaohs, then the Hittites, Assyrians, Persians, Greeks, and Romans. In 636, Syria was conquered by the Arabs. In the XI - XII centuries. Most of the country was taken over by the crusaders. From 1516, Syria was part of the Ottoman Empire for 400 years. In April 1920, by mandate of the League of Nations, Syria came under the control of France. Formally, Syria was proclaimed an independent republic on September 29, 1941, but in fact it gained independence only after April 17, 1946, when the withdrawal of foreign troops from its territory was completed. This day has become a national holiday. In 1958, Syria and Egypt formed the United Arab Republic, which lasted until 1961. In 1963, the Arab Socialist Renaissance Party (PASV) came to power in Syria. This day - March 8, 1963 - is celebrated as the Holiday of the Revolution.

Syrian Arab Republic Muslims in Syria make up 85% of the population (of which 82% are Sunnis, 13% are Alawites - representatives of one of the Shiite sects, and the rest are Druze and Ismailis); Christians of various denominations - 15% of the country's population.

Capital of Syria Damascus ancient city peace. Already in the 1st century n. e. was one of the centers of Christianity. Now it is the most important political, economic and cultural center not only of the Syrian Arab Republic, but also of the Arab East as a whole.

The capital of Syria This is a busy crossroads of international air and land routes. Government buildings, foreign diplomatic and consular offices, many banks and insurance companies, representative offices of authoritative international regional media, travel companies, and fashionable hotels are concentrated in the Syrian capital. The largest factories and factories of various industries are located here, there is the most powerful construction base in Syria, which allows you to constantly expand industrial and civil construction not only in the capital, but also in satellite cities.

The capital of Syria, Damascus, has preserved the ancient buildings of the historical center. There are more than 200 mosques in the city. The most valuable monuments of art in Damascus are the colonnade of the sanctuary of Jupiter of Damascus (I century), the Great Umayyad Mosque (VIII century), rebuilt by Caliph Walid I from the Church of John the Baptist. Among the religious buildings of the city, madrasahs (schools) are especially noteworthy.

The capital of Syria In the era of the Crusades, seeking to develop Islam as opposed to Christianity, the Syrians opened many such schools. The madrasah was created as a school for the study and interpretation of the Koran. It served both as a library and also as a tomb for prominent religious figures or those who donated money for the construction and maintenance of the school. Remarkable examples of such monuments include the madrassah an-Nuriye (1168) and the madrassah Aziziye (1193), where there is a sarcophagus with the ashes of Sultan Salahaddin al-Ayyubi (Saladin), who led the Muslim struggle against the Crusaders in 1187-1192. The madrasah az-3 ahirie (1279) is associated with the name of the Mamluk sultan az-Zahir Baybars.

The capital of Syria There are many other historical and architectural monuments in Damascus: the Khan Asad Pasha caravanserai (1752), the famous Damascus baths - ham-mam an-Nuriye (XII century), hammam al-Sultan (XV century), hammam at - Tayruzi (XV century), an active aqueduct. The famous Sulaymaniyah (1552) now houses a military museum, which exhibits samples of ancient Arab weapons - blades, shields, helmets.

About the country The official name of Syria is the Syrian Arab Republic. Syrian territory: 185,000 sq. km. Syrian population: Approximately 17 million inhabitants Syrian capital: Damascus - 4.5 million inhabitants

About the country Form of government: Republic headed by a President elected by popular vote every 7 years, a Parliament elected by direct vote every 4 years and a cabinet headed by the Prime Minister President of Syria: Bashar al-Assad.

About the country Geography: Syria is located on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea. It borders Turkey in the north, Iraq in the east, Jordan and Palestine in the south. The western tip of the country borders on Lebanon and is washed by the Mediterranean Sea. The population of Syria: mostly Arabs, there are Armenians, Kurds, people from the Caucasus. Language: Arabic. Quite a lot of English-speaking citizens, many know Russian.

About the country Length of the coastline: 183 km. Longest river: Euphrates (680 Km.) The longest high mountain: Hermon (Arabic: Jebel al-Sheikh) 2814 m above sea level, located in the now Israeli-occupied territory of the Golan Heights. The largest lake: Lake Al-Assad (area 674 sq. Km.) The largest cities: Damascus, Aleppo, Homs, Hama, Idlib, Deir Ezzor, Latakia, Tartus, Deraa

About the country Religion: the majority of the population professes Islam, about 13% of the inhabitants are Christians Flag: The Syrian flag is divided into three wide horizontal stripes: red on top, white in the middle and black on the bottom. The white stripe is wider than the black and red. There are two green stars in the center of the white stripe.

About the Country Climate: Warm and dry weather prevails throughout the year in Syria. Rains occur from November to March, very rarely inclement weather lasts more than 2 days in a row. Summers are hot, but due to the rather dry climate "not deadly". In desert areas and on highlands, it is quite cool at night even in summer, and in winter the temperature in the night desert can even be negative.

About the Country Currency: Syrian Pound (SP), called "Lira" in Syria and other Arab countries. The Syrian lira (pound) is divided into 100 piastres. Paper notes come in denominations of 50, 100, 200, 500 and 1000 lire (pounds). Approximate rate: 1 USD = 47 SP Main industries: oil, cotton, citrus fruits, olive oil, olives and textiles, tourism Iraq and Jordan), or by sea through the ports of Latakia or Tartus

Details Category: Western Asian countries Posted on 21.11.2013 10:59 Views: 11327

Civilization originated here in the 4th century BC. BC. According to Karl Baedeker, the German founder of the publishing house of guides to various cities and countries, the capital of Syria, Damascus, is the oldest capital in the world that exists today.

modern state Syrian Arab Republic borders Lebanon, Israel, Jordan, Iraq and Turkey. It is washed in the west by the Mediterranean Sea.

State symbols

Flag- the modern flag of Syria was reintroduced in 1980. Previously, this flag was used by the United Arab Republic.
The colors of the flag are traditional for the flags of the Arab countries. The two stars represent Egypt and Syria, the two peoples that are part of the United Arab Republic. Green is the color of the Fatimids (the dynasty of Muslim caliphs from 969 to 1171), white is the color of the Umayyads (the dynasty of caliphs founded by Muawiyah in 661), black is the color of the Abbasids (the second (after the Umayyads) dynasty of Arab caliphs (750-1258) and red is the blood of the martyrs; also red is the color of the Hashemite dynasty and was added when Sharif Hussein joined the Arab Revolt in 1916.

Coat of arms- represents a golden “hawk of the Quraysh”, having a shield on its chest, twice dissected into scarlet, silver and black with two green five-pointed stars one above the other in the middle (the colors of the Syrian flag). In its paws, the hawk holds a green scroll on which the name of the state is written on Arabic: الجمهورية العربية السورية‎‎‎ (al-Jumhuriya al-Arabiya al-Suriyya). On the tail are two divergent green wheat ears.

State structure of modern Syria

Form of government- parliamentary republic.
head of state- the president. Elected for 7 years, the number of consecutive terms in office is not limited.
Head of the government- Prime Minister.
Official language- Arabic. The most widely spoken languages ​​also include Kurdish, Armenian, Adyghe (Circassian) and Turkmen. Among foreign languages the most popular Russian, French and English.
Capital- Damascus.
Largest cities Aleppo, Damascus, Homs.
Territory- 185 180 km².
Population– 22 457 336 people About 90% of the country's population are Syrian Arabs (including about 400,000 Palestinian refugees). The largest national minority is the Kurds (9% of the population of Syria). Third largest ethnic group countries are Syrian Turkmens, then Circassians; there is also a large Assyrian community in the country.
Currency- Syrian pound.
Economy- the most developed industries: oil, oil refining, electric power, gas production, phosphate mining, food, textile, chemical (production of fertilizers, plastics), electrical engineering.
Only a third of the territory of Syria is suitable for agriculture. Cotton, livestock products, vegetables and fruits are produced.
political instability, fighting and trade and economic sanctions imposed on Syria have led to the deterioration of the Syrian economy.
Export: oil, minerals, fruits and vegetables, textiles. Import: industrial products, food.

Damascus University

Education- in 1950, free and compulsory primary education was introduced. Currently, there are about 10,000 primary and more than 2,500 secondary schools in Syria; 267 vocational schools (including 107 women's), 4 universities.
Textbooks in secondary schools (under B. Assad's rule) are issued free of charge up to grade 9 inclusive.
Damascus University was founded in 1903. It is the leading institution of higher education in the country. The second most important is the university in Aleppo, founded in 1946 as an engineering faculty of Damascus University, but in 1960 it became an independent educational institution. In 1971, Tishrin University was established in Latakia. The youngest university founded in Homs is Al-Baath University. A large number of Syrians receive higher education abroad, mainly in Russia and France.

Syrian landscape

Climate- arid, subtropical Mediterranean, in the interior - continental.
Administrative division- Syria is divided into 14 governorates, the head of which is appointed by the Minister of the Interior after the approval of the Cabinet of Ministers. Each governorate elects a local parliament.
Golan Heights. The territory of the Golan Heights makes up the Syrian governorate of Al-Quneitra, with its center in the city of the same name. Israeli troops captured the Golan Heights in 1967, and until 1981 the region was under the control of the Israel Defense Forces. In 1974, the UN Emergency Forces were introduced here.
In 1981, the Israeli Knesset passed the "Golan Heights Law", which unilaterally declared Israeli sovereignty over the territory. The annexation was invalidated by the UN Security Council Resolution of 17 December 1981 and condemned by the UN General Assembly in 2008.

In 2005, the population of the Golan Heights was approximately 40,000 people, including 20,000 Druze (an Arabic-speaking ethno-confessional group in Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Israel), 19,000 Jews and about 2,000 Alawites (a number of Islamic religious denominations, offshoots or sects). largest locality in the area - the Druze village of Majdal-Shams (8800 people).
Syria and Israel are de jure in a state of war, since a peace treaty between these countries has not yet been signed.
Religion- Approximately 86% of the population of Syria are Muslims, 10% are Christians. Of the Muslims, 82% are Sunnis, the rest are Alawites and Ismailis, as well as Shiites, constantly increasing due to the flow of refugees from Iraq.
Among Christians, half are Syrian Orthodox, 18% are Catholics.

There are significant communities of the Armenian Apostolic and Russian Orthodox Churches.
At present, there are people in Syria, Iraq and other countries who want to create a split between Sunnis and Shiites.

Sunnis- the most numerous direction in Islam. Sunni theologians (ulema), unlike Shiite ones, do not enjoy the right to make their own decisions on the most important issues of religious and public life. The position of the theologian in Sunnism is reduced primarily to the interpretation of sacred texts. The Sunnis place special emphasis on following the Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad (his actions and sayings), on loyalty to tradition, and on the participation of the community in choosing its head, the caliph.
Shiites- the direction of Islam, uniting various communities that recognized Ali ibn Abu Talib and his descendants as the only legitimate heirs and spiritual successors of the Prophet Muhammad. A distinctive feature of the Shiites is the belief that the leadership of the Muslim community should belong to the imams - appointed by God, elected persons from among the descendants of the prophet, to whom they include Ali ibn Abu Talib and his descendants from the daughter of Muhammad Fatima, and not elected persons - caliphs.
Russia is concerned about attacks on Christian minorities in Syria.
Chapel of Saint Ananias in Damascus
Armed forces- includes the Ground Forces, the Air Force, the Navy and the Air Defense Forces. The president is the supreme commander of the armed forces.
Sport- The most popular are football, basketball, swimming and table tennis.

Culture of Syria

Syria, as the oldest state in the world, is the cradle of many civilizations and cultures. Here the Ugaritic cuneiform was born and one of the first forms of writing - Phoenician (XIV century BC). The contribution to the development of Hellenistic, Roman and Byzantine cultures was made by Syrian figures, the scientist Antiochus of Ascalon, the writer Lucian from Samosata, the historians Herodian, Ammianus Marcellinus, John Malala, John of Ephesus, Yeshu Stylite, Yahya of Antioch, Michael the Syrian.

Lucian of Samosata in his satirical writings, he ridicules social, religious and philosophical prejudices, as well as other vices of contemporary society. His essay " True story”, describing a trip to the Moon and Venus, had an impact on the formation of science fiction.

John Chrysostom. Byzantine mosaic

John Chrysostom(c. 347-407) - Archbishop of Constantinople, theologian, revered as one of the three Ecumenical saints and teachers, along with Saints Basil the Great and Gregory the Theologian.
St. John Chrysostom. Byzantine mosaic
Christian theologians Paul of Samosata, John Chrysostom, Ephraim the Syrian, John of Damascus are also known.
In the XII century. The famous warrior and writer Osama ibn Munkiz, the author of the autobiographical chronicle The Book of Edification, lived and worked in Syria, a valuable source on the history of the Crusades.

Old houses in Damascus

The city of Damascus was one of the world's centers for the production of bladed weapons, the famous "Damascus steel".
In modern Syrian society, special attention is paid to the institution of the family and religion and education.
The modern life of Syria is intertwined with ancient traditions. In the old quarters of Damascus, Aleppo and other Syrian cities, living quarters are preserved, located around one or more courtyards, usually with a fountain in the center, with citrus orchards, vines, and flowers.
The most famous Syrian writers of the 20th century: Adonis, Gada al-Samman, Nizar Qabbani, Hanna Mina and Zakaria Tamer.

Adonis (Ali Ahmad Saeed Asbar) (b. 1930)

Syrian poet and essayist. Lived mainly in Lebanon and France. Author of more than 20 books in his native Arabic, he is considered the most significant representative of the New Poetry movement.

Nizar Qabbani (1923-1998)

Syrian poet, publisher, diplomat. One of the most important Arabic poets of the 20th century. He is one of the founders of modern Arabic poetry. Qabbani's poems are mostly written plain language, often reflecting the realities of the Syrian spoken language, contemporary to the poet. Qabbani published 35 collections of poetry.
Cinema in Syria not very developed, it is completely in the hands of the state. On average, Syria releases 1-2 films a year. Films are often censored. Famous directors include Amirali Omar, Osama Mohammed and Abdel Hamid, Abdul Razzak Ghanem (Abu Ghanem) and others. Many Syrian filmmakers work abroad. But in the 1970s, Syrian-made TV shows were popular in the Arab world.
Together with the Syrian film studio "Ganem-Film" feature films were shot in the USSR and Russia: "The Last Night of Scheherazade" (1987), "Richard the Lionheart" (1992), "Destroy the Thirtieth!" (1992), "Angels of Death" (1993), dedicated to the 50th anniversary Battle of Stalingrad, "The Tragedy of the Century" (1993), "The Great Commander Georgy Zhukov" (1995), etc.

Nature

Five natural regions are distinguished on the territory of Syria: the Seaside Lowland, the Western Mountain Range, the Rift Zone, the Eastern Mountain Range, and the Eastern Syria Plateau. The country is crossed by two large rivers: El Asi (Orontes) and Euphrates. Cultivated lands are mainly in the western regions - the coastal lowland, the Ansaria mountains and the valleys of the El-Asi river, the Euphrates and its tributaries.

Euphrates river

The natural vegetation of Syria has changed significantly. In the distant past, the Ansaria range in the west and the mountains in the north of the country were covered with forests.
In Western Syria, the least disturbed habitats on the mountain slopes are dominated by evergreen oaks, laurel, myrtle, oleander, magnolia, and ficuses. There are groves of cypress, Aleppo pine, Lebanese cedar, and juniper.

magnolia flowers

Along the Mediterranean coast there are plantations of tobacco, cotton, sugar cane. Figs, mulberries, citrus fruits are grown in river valleys, and olives and grapes are grown on gentle slopes.

Olive Tree

The fields are sown with corn, barley, and wheat. They also grow potatoes and vegetables. In the north and partly on the eastern slopes of the Ansaria and other ridges and in the low mountains of the interior of the country, typical legume-cereal steppes are common, which serve as a fodder base for pasture cattle breeding (mainly sheep breeding). Wheat and barley, cotton are grown in the fields, and rice is grown under conditions of artificial irrigation.
In the deserts, the landscape revives only after rain, young shoots of grasses and undersized shrubs and bushes appear: saxaul, biyurgun, boyalych, wormwood. But even such a poor vegetation cover is enough to feed camels, which are bred by nomads.

Animal world Syria is not very diverse. Of the carnivores, there are sometimes a wild cat, lynx, jackal, fox, striped hyena, caracal, there are many polecats in the steppes and semi-deserts, antelope, gazelle, wild onager donkey from ungulates.

Wild donkey onager

Jerboa rodents are numerous. Sometimes there are porcupines, hedgehogs, squirrels, hares are found. From reptiles: snakes, lizards, chameleons. The bird fauna is diverse, especially in the Euphrates valley and near water bodies (flamingos, storks, gulls, herons, geese, pelicans).

In the country there are larks, grouse, bustards, in cities and villages - sparrows and pigeons, in groves - cuckoos. Birds of prey include eagles, falcons, hawks, and owls.

UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Syria

Old city in Damascus

Damascus has seven surviving city gates in the Old City wall, the oldest of which date from the Roman period:
Bab el-Saghir ("Small Gate") - behind the gate there are historical burial places, in particular, 2 wives of the Prophet Muhammad are buried here
Bab el Faradis ("Gate of Paradise")
Bab el Salam ("Gate of Peace")
Bab Tuma ("Gate of Thomas") - the name goes back to the name of the Apostle Thomas, leads to the Christian quarter of the Old City

"Gate of Thomas"

Bab Sharqi ("Eastern Gate")
Bab Kisan - built in the era of the Romans, were dedicated to the god Saturn. Through them, according to legend, the apostle Paul fled from Damascus
Bab el Jabiya

Old city in Bosra

Bosra- a historical city in southern Syria, an important archaeological site. For the first time the settlement is mentioned in documents from the times of Thutmose III and Amenhotep IV (XIV century BC). Bosra was the first Nabatean city in the second century BC. e. The Nabataean kingdom was conquered by Cornelius Palma, Trajan's general, in 106 AD. e.

Under the rule of the Roman Empire, Bosra was renamed New Traiana Bostrom and became the capital of the Roman province of Arabia Petra. Two early Christian churches were built in Bosra in 246 and 247.
Subsequently, after the division of the Roman Empire into western and eastern, the city came under the rule of the Byzantine Empire. The city was finally conquered by the army of the Arab Caliphate in 634.
Today, Bosra is an important archaeological site with ruins from Roman, Byzantine and Muslim times, as well as one of the best preserved Roman theaters in the world, which hosts a national music festival every year.

Archaeological sites of Palmyra

Palmyra(Greek "city of palm trees") - one of the richest cities of late antiquity, located in one of the oases of the Syrian desert, between Damascus and the Euphrates.
It was a staging post for caravans crossing the Syrian desert, which is why Palmyra was nicknamed "the bride of the desert".
At present, on the site of Palmyra, there is a Syrian village and the ruins of majestic buildings that are among the best examples of ancient Roman architecture.
Several cities in the United States are named after Palmyra. St. Petersburg was poetically called the northern Palmyra, and Odessa - the southern one.

Old city in Aleppo

Aleppo (Aleppo)- the largest city in Syria and the center of the most populated governorate of the same name in the country.
For many centuries, Aleppo was the largest city in Greater Syria and the third largest in the Ottoman Empire, after Constantinople and Cairo.
Aleppo is one of the most ancient continuously inhabited cities in the world; it was inhabited as early as the 6th century. BC e.

The castles of Krak des Chevaliers and Qal'at Salah ad Din

Krak des Chevaliers, or Krak de l'Hospital- the fortress of the Hospitallers (a Christian organization whose goal was to take care of the poor). One of the best preserved Hospitaller fortresses in the world.

Citadel of Salah ad-Din- a castle in Syria, located in a highland area, on a ridge between two deep ravines, and surrounded by forests. The fortification has existed here since the middle of the 10th century.
In 975 Byzantine emperor John I Tzimiskes captured the castle, it remained under Byzantine control until about 1108. At the beginning of the 12th century. the Franks took control of it, and the castle became part of the newly formed crusader state - the Principality of Antioch.
The castle is currently owned by the Syrian government.

Ancient villages of Northern Syria

Only the ruins of 40 settlements remained, which are grouped into 8 groups.

Other sights of Syria

Umayyad Mosque

Also known as the Great Mosque of Damascus. Located in the Old City of Damascus, it is one of the largest and oldest mosques in the world. It is considered by some Muslims to be the fourth sacred site in Islam.

Fortress of Nimrod

Medieval fortress located in the northern part of the Golan Heights, at an altitude of about 800 m above sea level.

Qasioun Mountains

Mountains overlooking the city of Damascus. The highest point is 1151 m. On the slopes of Qasiun there is a cave about which there are many legends. It is believed that the first man, Adam, who was expelled from paradise, settled here. In medieval Arabic history books it is written that in this place Cain killed Abel.

National Museum in Damascus

The museum was founded in 1919. It presents exhibits of the history of Syria from prehistoric times to the present. The museum contains modern works artists of Syria, the Arab world and other countries.

Chapel of Saint Paul (Damascus)

Built in honor of the Apostle Paul, who preached in Damascus.

Syrian mountain hills

The country has very beautiful landscapes: rocky mountains, green valleys, deserts and mountain peaks, forever covered with snow.

History of Syria

Ancient history

The history of Syrian civilization dates back to the 4th century BC. BC e.
Eblaite (an extinct Semitic language) is the oldest known Semitic language. More than 17 thousand clay tablets in this language, dedicated to crafts, agriculture and art, have been found. Among the leading crafts of Ebla are the processing of wood, ivory, and pearls.

Ebla clay tablet

During the period between the invasion of the Canaanite tribes and the conquest of Syria in 64 BC. e. The Roman Empire, its territory was under the rule of the Hyksos, Hittites, Egyptians, Arameans, Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians, ancient Macedonians, the Elinistic power of the Seleucids, the Armenian Empire of Tigran II the Great.
From the 16th century BC e. in the south of Syria there is the city of Damascus, originally subordinate to the Egyptian pharaohs.
According to the Bible, Paul accepted the Christian faith on the road to Damascus, and then lived in Antioch, where the disciples of Christ first began to be called Christians.

Islam in Syria

Islam gained a foothold in Syria in 661, when Damascus became the capital of the Arab Caliphate under the Umayyads. Damascus became the cultural and economic center of the entire Arab world, already in the VIII century. being one of the largest cities in the world. In 750, the Umayyads were overthrown by the Abbasid dynasty, after which the capital of the Caliphate moved to Baghdad.
Since 1517, Syria became part of the Ottoman Empire for 4 centuries.

Syrian Arab Kingdom

It was formed shortly after the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in the First World War, it collapsed. In 1920, the Syrian Arab Kingdom was founded with its center in Damascus. But the independence of Syria did not last long. A few months later, the French army occupied Syria, defeating the Syrian troops in the battle at the Maysalun Pass. In 1922, the League of Nations divided the former Syrian possessions of the Ottoman Empire between Britain and France. Great Britain received Jordan and Palestine, and France - the modern territory of Syria and Lebanon ("League of Nations mandate").

French Mandate

In 1940, France was occupied by German troops and Syria came under the control of the Vichy Regime (Governor General Dentz). Vichy mode- collaborationist regime in Southern France during the occupation of Northern France by Nazi Germany after the defeat at the beginning of World War II and the fall of Paris in 1940. Existed from July 10, 1940 to April 22, 1945. Officially adhered to a policy of neutrality. Nazi Germany, having provoked a rebellion by Prime Minister Geilani in British Iraq, sent units of its air force to Syria.

Charles de Gaulle - the eighteenth President of France

In 1941, with the support of British troops, Free French units led by Generals Charles de Gaulle and Catrou entered Syria during a bloody conflict with Dentz's troops. General de Gaulle in his memoirs pointed out that the events in Iraq, Syria and Lebanon were directly related to the German plans to invade Greece, Yugoslavia and the USSR, since they had the task of diverting the armed forces of the allies to secondary theaters of military operations.
On September 27, 1941, France granted independence to Syria, leaving its troops on its territory until the end of World War II. On January 26, 1945, Syria declared war on Germany and Japan. In April 1946 French troops were evacuated from Syria.

Independent Syria

Shukri al-Kuatli, who fought for the country's independence under the Ottoman Empire, became the president of independent Syria.

Shukri al-Quatli

In 1947, a parliament began to operate in Syria. After Syria gained independence, attacks on Syrian Jews intensified, and their businesses were boycotted. The new government banned emigration to Palestine, and the teaching of Hebrew in Jewish schools was limited. On November 27, 1947, the UN adopted a decision on the partition of Palestine, in connection with this, Jewish pogroms took place in Syria. The pogroms continued in 1948, and in subsequent years, as a result, Jews were forced to flee almost completely from Syria to Israel, the United States and the countries of South America; currently, less than 100 Syrian Jews live in Damascus and Lattakia.
In 1948, the Syrian army took a limited part in the Arab-Israeli war launched by the Arab League, after which a state of emergency was declared in the country. Colonel Husni al-Zaym came to power, repealing the 1930 constitution, banning political parties, and subsequently proclaiming himself president. He did not enjoy the support of the people and was removed after 4 months by his former comrades. Executed on August 14 near Damascus.
The civilian regime was restored by Colonel Sami Hinawi, but was soon removed by the military leader Adib al-Shishakli. On September 5, 1950, a new constitution was proclaimed, according to which Syria became a parliamentary republic, but already in November 1951, the constitution was suspended, and the country's parliament was dissolved. In 1953, Shishakli promulgated a new constitution and after a referendum became president.

President Adib al-Shishakli

In February 1954, a military-civilian coalition led by Hashim Bey Khalid Al-Atassi came to power in the country, returning the 1950 constitution. and agriculture. In the elections in 1955, Shukri al-Kuatli was elected president of the country with the support of Saudi Arabia.
On March 15, 1956, a collective security treaty was concluded between Syria, Egypt and Saudi Arabia against possible Israeli aggression.

United Arab Republic

February 22, 1958 Syria and Egypt united into one state - the United Arab Republic with the center in Cairo. Egyptian leader Gamal Abdel Nasser became president, but Syrians held many important positions until Nasser dissolved all Syrian political parties. On September 28, 1961, a coup d'etat took place in Damascus under the leadership of a group of officers, Syria again declared independence. Nasser did not resist. The UAR lasted only 3.5 years.

Confrontation between Syria and Israel

Between 1962 and 1966 in Syria, there were 5 coups, when the nationalization of the main sectors of the economy was carried out and canceled.
In 1967, the Six Day War took place. The Golan Heights were occupied by Israel. Israeli air strikes have caused enormous damage to the economy. The government was unable to ensure the restoration of industry, anti-government actions began. In November 1970 Saleh Jadid's group was removed from power. Syria became the main ally of the Soviet Union in the Middle East. The USSR provided Syria with assistance in modernizing the economy and the armed forces.
In 1973, Syria, along with other Arab states, launched the Yom Kippur War, military operations on the Syrian front were distinguished by fierceness, especially the battle for El Quneitra, called the “Syrian Stalingrad”. El Quneitra was held, but the Golan Heights remained with Israel. By decision of the UN Security Council, at the end of the war in 1973, a buffer zone was created separating Israel and Syria. At the moment, the Golan Heights are controlled by Israel, but Syria is demanding their return.
In 1976, at the request of the Lebanese government, Syrian troops entered the country to stop the civil war. The war ended in 1990 with the establishment of a government in Lebanon that maintains friendly relations with Syria. Syrian troops left Lebanon only in 2005. Syria supported Iran in the Iran-Iraq war of 1980-1988.
After the death on June 10, 2000 of Hafez al-Assad, who had led the country for almost 30 years, his son Bashar al-Assad was elected president.

Bashar al-Assad

Civil War

Riots and revolutions in the Middle East have spread to Syria. Speech began with demands to change the existing regime. The country's leadership made serious changes: it canceled the law on the state of emergency, the laws on the media and political parties, and embarked on democratic reforms.
In 2013, there were street battles with the use of heavy weapons in several large cities of the country, including the capital. More than 500,000 Syrians have fled their country as a result of the fighting. Refugees find shelter in Jordan, Lebanon and Iraq.
Currently, the civil war in Syria is being fueled by some Western countries.
Russia voted against the draft resolution "The situation of human rights in the Syrian Arab Republic". It was co-sponsored by a number of countries, including the UK, France, Saudi Arabia and Turkey. 123 countries voted for the adoption of the draft, 46 countries voted against.
“The proposed draft resolution goes against the logic of a political and diplomatic settlement, placing the main responsibility for what is happening in the country on the government, while not it, but the foreign opposition needs to be pushed to start negotiations with the authorities,” the representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry emphasized.