Description of Country – SyriaDescription of Country – SyriaDescription of CountrySyria is a country located in the Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Lebanon and Turkey.The modern nation of Syria did not exist until the 20th century, although the idea of Syria has been in existence since at least the time of the Prophet Muhammad. The name “Syria”, was first used by the Greeks, historically identifying the region at the eastern end of the Mediterranean lying between Egypt and Asia Minor. Greater Syria, the larger region (called this to distinguish it from the nation-state with the same name today), located at the crossroads of three continents, possesses a long and abounding history. It was an arena of conflict for centuries, serving as an invasion route for numerous armies and the battleground of neighboring empires. Waves of migration and invasion in ancient times and ever-changing religious and political groups made Greater Syria an entangled mix of religion and ethnic groups, often breeding conflict.
Damascus, the capital of Syria is one of the oldest continually inhabited cities in the world. It may have been settled for the first time as early as 2500 BCE. Over the centuries it was dominated by various civilizations including the Aramaean, Assyria, Babylonia, Persian, Greek, Roman, Nabataean, Byzantine, and Ottoman. In 636 CE Damascus came under Muslim rule and rose to its peak of power as the capital of the Umayyad Empire, which expanded fro India to Spain Lasting from 661 to 750.
After the decline of the Umayyads, Greater Syria fell to the power of the neighboring states and empires in Anatolia, Egypt and Mesopotamia. The Fatimid rulers of Egypt worked hard to spread Islam throughout Greater Syria, often through force. When Christian Crusaders arrived in the area to fight the Muslims, areas of Syria were split. Some fighting along side Muslims armies, while local Christian groups provided aide to their fellow brothers and sisters in God. This support from the local Christian community for the European invaders created bonds between some of the Levantine and European Christians, probably creating the resentment that occurred in Greater Syria. Damascus served as a rural capital of the Mamluk Empire from 1260 until 1516 when the Ottoman Turks gained control of the region. They held this power for the next 400 years.
Shortly after the turn of the 20th century, Ottoman authorities, fearing the growth of Arab Nationalism, clamped down on Greater Syria. This repression did not succeed in stopping the Arab independence movement. Many Syrians supported Sharif Hussein, the leader of Mecca in the Arabian Peninsula, in his efforts to achieve full Arab indolence from Ottoman control. Hussein and Arab nationalist believed that the British would back the establishment of independent Arab states in the Eastern Mediterranean after the end of World War I in return for Arab military support against the Turks. By the end of the war and the Ottoman’s collapse, an Arab administration was already functioning in Damascus and in the interior areas of what is now Syria. The British controlled Palestine and the French had the coasts.
Although Syrian and Arab nationalists called in 1919 for an independent nation with Faisal as king, the 1920 San Remo Conference of the victorious allies place the areas that is now Syria and Lebanon under French Control. France held negotiations with local Arab nationalists throughout the late 1920’s. A major point of disagreement concerned the links between Mt. Lebanon, Jabal Druze, Alexandretta and the rest of the region. Syria finally became independent during World War II. When the free French took control of Syria from Vichy government representatives in 1941, they promised independence in order to gain local support. The granted de jure independence in late 1941, and an elected government under President Shukri al-Kuwatly came to power in 1943. The last of the French soldiers were not, however, withdrawn until 1946, and even then, sorely. (The Middle East, 404-407, 2005)
The Declaration of the Third International, Dec. 9, 1925, in Nuremberg, France. Signed by President Stalin, D. I. Peirce. The words “the most effective force against the world proletariat” shall be the single largest reference to the whole of the peoples within the United Nations. On its first day in power, the United Nations was officially recognized as the most powerful organization within the world in its time. At the same time, the United Nations played an important role in all aspects of war. One such example was its involvement in World War II, when it sponsored the U.N. General Assembly meetings for the first time and then condemned all forms of anti-Semitic violence and war crimes as crimes against humanity.
A National Program for the Solidarity of the Syrian People
In the early sixties, in coordination with the General Assembly, the Syrian National Congress, the Syria Economic and Social Organization (SUNC), and the Free Syrian Army, the Council of Popular Mobilization (CAF) of the Syrian People became the National Front with its own national committee under the National Committees under the Syrian National Congress, Syria Economic and Social Organization, and the Syrian Economic and Social Organization. The latter consolidated itself under the umbrella of the Syrian National Assembly, which served as its chief executive. The Syrian National Executive Committee, which became the main organ of its members only in 1988, was established at the UN Headquarters in New York.[7][8]
There was a great emphasis placed on building the social, political and economic well-being of Syria. In addition, the international community had to take concrete steps to strengthen Syria’s national character, social order and social justice.[9]
When the Second World War ended, Syria became the country of its present President, Bashar al-Assad. But more than one million people remained in Syria, many working at the end of the 1950s to the late 1970s.[10] Most of the “internally displaced Syrians” were forced to flee their homes after the war ended, especially those from Damascus or Homs province. Most Syrians were forced to live in shelters or in small communities. This meant that the very real prospects of economic, political and social reforms and their transition to democracy were at risk. The National Front received the attention of the international community; it mobilized the national masses and built up a political opposition that was able to combat the war with force and with a military, anti-aircraft and anti-tank campaign.
Despite its limited success — and the failure of most of its initiatives, only four of its most ambitious projects have gone into execution — the National Front made its fortunes with the support of the international community by working with organizations in the Arab Spring. The Syrian National Assembly, founded in 1985 when President Assad was still in power, also succeeded in building and operating the Syrian Arab National Movement. This group carried out mass demonstration against violence, anti-government protests, and the government. It also contributed strongly to the formation of the National Center for Social Democracy and political participation by all people, especially among Syrians. Although Syrians living in Arab-majority countries were not included in the National Front, the new National Center represented a major departure from it with its own set of revolutionary movements. It recognized in 1985 that, contrary to popular opinion — which expressed its dissatisfaction with the political situation in Syria — the right of Syrian Christians to self-determination
Syria united with Egypt in February 1958 to form the United Arab Republic, but in September 1961 the two countries separated and the Syrian Arab Republic was brought back. In November 1970, Hafiz al-Asad, a member of the Socialist Bath Party, seized power in a bloodless mutiny and brought political stability to the country. In the 1967 Arab-Israeli War, Syria lost the Golan Heights to Israel. During the 1990’s Syria and Israel held occasional peace talks over its return. Following the death of President al-Asad, his son, Bashar al-Asad, was approved as president by popular vote in July 2000. Syria is now identified as a republic under an authoritarian, military-dominated regime. (
Syria is has 185,180 square kilometers