Syria

This article is about the current government of Syria. For the previous government, see Syrian Arab Republic (1963–2024).

Syria سُورِيَا
Flag (de facto) Coat of arms
Capital and largest city	Damascus
Demonym(s)	Syrian
Dominant mode of production	Capitalism
Government	Transitional government
• Leader (de facto)	Abu Muhammad al-Jawlani
• Prime Minister	Mohammed al-Bashir
Area
• Total	185,180 km²
Population
• 2024 estimate	25,000,753
Currency	Syrian pound (SYP)
Driving side	right
Calling code	+963
ISO 3166 code	SY
Internet TLD	.sy سوريا.

Syria is a country in western Asia located in the Levant with a western coast on the Mediterranean Sea. It is bordered to the north by Turkey, to the east by Iraq, to the south by Jordan and to the southwest by Lebanon and "Israel". In December 2024, Western-backed terrorists overthrew its previous democratically elected government led by Bashar al-Assad in a civil war that began in 2011.^{[better source needed]}

History

Ottoman rule (1516–1918)

In 1516 the Ottomans under Sultan Selim I invaded the Mamluk Sultanate and annexed Syria. The Ottomans ruled Syria until the First World War, with a brief interruption from 1832 to 1840 when Syria was under Egyptian occupation. In 1918 Syria came under Entente occupation with France being given Syria as part of its colonial holdings.

French colonial rule (1919–43)

See main article: Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon (1920–1946)

Following the war, western Asia was divided up between imperialist powers in accordance with the Sykes–Picot treaty, with France being given a Mandate for Syria in 1920, which was confirmed by the League of Nations in 1923. National liberation struggles broke out across Syria throughout French rule but were always brutally supressed, however, over time weakened French authorities were forced to give up increasing amounts of autonomy to Syria.

French colonial rule continued until the Second World War in which the Syrian people took advantage of a weakened France to hold elections in 1943. July elections brought the National Bloc to power with leader Shukri al-Quwatli being sworn in as President on August 17, and in December 1943 the Syrian government abolished the French mandate.

However, France refused to give up its mandate and in May 1945 began brutally suppressing the Syrian people in an attempt to reimpose its rule. France committed countless war crimes against the Syrian people, massacring civilians and burying victims in mass graves, with the death toll in Damascus alone being over 800 people in a three day period. Eventually, international pressure and long-term imperial ambitions forced France to cede its control and on 17 April 1946 the last French troops left Syria, a day which is now celebrated as the beginning of Syria's true independence.

Early Republics (1943—1963)

The imperialist powers continued to take an interest in the Levant and in 1948 Syria was forced, alongside other Arab states, to fight unsuccessfully against the formation of the Zionist settler colonial state known as Israel. In March 1949 the CIA backed the first of many coups in Syria following Quwatli's governments refusal to back the United States' proposed Trans-Arabian pipeline to transport oil from Saudi Arabia to Europe. Quwatli was replaced by pro-French general Husni Al Zaim who approved the pipeline in their first week of power but his administration only lasted until August when he was couped by colonel Sami Al Hinnawi who was in turn couped in December by pro-Western colonel Adib Shishakli.

Shishakli's administration lasted four years before being deposed by another coup and elections restored with Quwatli being re-elected in 1955 to lead a officially neutral but Western sceptical administration. Syria's refusal to become a Western client state and willingness to allow leftist activity caused the West to propagandize that Syria was under communist influence and made plans to launch yet another coup. The coup was repeatedly postponed then called off indefinitely by the Syrian opposition after the eruption of the 1956 Suez Crisis, in said crisis Syria strongly supported Egypt and destroyed domestic oil pipelines causing oil shortages in Europe complimenting the effects of the canal's closure.

Western aggression caused Syria to establish relations with the Soviet Union who was happy to provide Syria with both military and technological aid. The West in response begins preparing once again to overthrow the Syrian government and began making contacts with Syrian opposition groups, most notably the Syrian Muslim Brotherhood. However, the attempted 1957 coup was once again foiled when Syrian army officers chose to inform the Syrian chief of intelligence, Abdel Hamid Sarraj, about the plot rather than betray their country. The CIA officers who bribed them, Robert Molloy, Francis Jeton and Howard Stone, were all subsequently expelled from Syria ending the latest coup attempt by the West, who in response once again painted Syria as being under communist influence. A quick coup having failed, Turkey then moved its troops to intervene in Syria with U.S. support only to be forced to abandon the attempt after the Soviet Union moved its own troops towards Turkey, declaring its intention to defend Syria.

Pan-Arabist sentiments and the constant threat of NATO intervention led Syria to unify with Egypt to form the United Arab Republic in 1958. Although initially in favour of the union, over time the Syrian elites began to dislike the practical consequences of being subordinate to Egypt in the union. Under Nasser, the influence of the bourgeoisie weakened with the nationalization of industry and the redistribution of land to the poor which eventually resulted in the secession of Syria from the union on September 28, 1961. Following the breakdown of the union a series of coups and countercoups occurred with the ruling classes fighting for control until on March 8, 1963, a military coup brought the Ba'ath Party to power in Syria.

Syrian Arab Republic (1963–2024)

See main article: Syrian Arab Republic (1963–2024)

Syrian Civil War

See main article: Syrian Civil War