SYRIA

officially Syrian Arab Republic, Arabic Suriyah, or Al-Jumhuriyah al-'Arabiyah as-Suriyah country located on the east coast of the Mediterranean Sea on the southwestern fringe of the Asian continent. Its area of 71,498 square miles (185,180 square km) includes territory in the Golan Heights that is recognized internationally as part of Syria but which has been occupied by Israel since 1967. The nation's capital is Damascus. Syria extends about 310 miles (500 km) from south to north and about 290 miles (470 km) from west to east. It is bordered by Turkey (north), Iraq (east and southeast), Jordan (south), Israel and Lebanon (southwest), and the Mediterranean Sea (west). The population in 1991 was estimated to be 12,524,000. officially Syrian Arab Republic, Arabic Suriyah, or al-Jumhuriyah al-'Arabiyah as-Suriyah country located on the east coast of the Mediterranean Sea on the southwestern fringe of the Asian continent. It has an area of approximately 71,500 square miles (185,180 square kilometres), including territory in the Golan Heights that has been occupied by Israel since 1967. It is bounded by Turkey to the north, by Iraq to the east and southeast, by Jordan to the south, and by Lebanon and Israel to the southwest. The capital is Damascus (Dimashq), on the Barada River, situated in an oasis at the foot of Jabal (Mount) Qasiyun. The present territory does not coincide with ancient Syria, which was the strip of fertile land lying between the eastern Mediterranean coast and the desert of northern Arabia. After Syria gained its independence in 1946, political life in the country was highly unstable, owing in large measure to intense friction between the country's social, religious, and political groups. Since 1970 Syria has been under the authoritarian rule of Gen. Hafiz (Hafez) al-Assad, whose foremost goals included achieving dominance in the eastern Arab world and recovering the Syrian territory lost to Israel in 1967. Assad committed his country to an enormous arms buildup, which put severe strains on the national budget, leaving little for development. Additional reading Geography Syria is discussed in its geographic context in Pierre Birot and Jean Dresch, La Mditerrane et la Moyen-Orient, vol. 2, La Mditerrane orientale et le Moyen-Orient (1956); W.B. Fisher, The Middle East: A Physical, Social, and Regional Geography, 7th ed. rev. (1978); and Peter Mansfield, The Middle East: A Political and Economic Survey, 5th ed. (1980). More specific studies of the country itself are Thomas Collelo (ed.), Syria, a Country Study, 3rd ed. (1988); Andr Raymond (ed.), La Syrie d'aujourd'hui (1980); Volker Perthes, The Syrian Economy in the 1980s, The Middle East Journal, 46(1):3758 (Winter 1992); Jacques Weulersse, Paysans de Syrie et du Proche-Orient (1946); and Eugen Wirth, Syrien (1971). History Thomas Collelo (ed.), Syria, a Country Study, 3rd ed. (1988), includes a historical overview. Studies of Syria's ancient history are found in The Cambridge Ancient History (1923 ), especially vol. 14 and 67, some in later 2nd and 3rd editions; Jacques Cauvin, Les Premiers villages de Syrie-Palestine du IXme au VIIme millnaire avant J. C. (1978); Paolo Matthiae, Ebla: An Empire Rediscovered (1980; originally published in Italian, 1977); J. Perrot, A. Kempinski, and M. Avi-Yonah, Syria-Palestine, 2 vol. (1979; originally published in French, 197880); Glanville Downey, A History of Antioch in Syria: From Seleucus to the Arab Conquest (1961); Jean-Paul Rey-Coquais, Syrie romaine de Pompe Diocltien, Journal of Roman Studies, 68:4473 (1978); Hildegard Temporini (ed.), Aufstieg und Niedergang der romischen Welt, part 2, vol. 8, pp. 3294 (1977); A.H.M. Jones, The Cities of the Eastern Roman Provinces, 2nd ed., rev. by M. Avi-Yonah (1971, reissued 1983), ch. 10; and F.M. Heichelheim, Roman Syria, in Tenney Frank (ed.), An Economic Survey of Ancient Rome, vol. 4, pp. 121257 (1938, reprinted 1975).The medieval period is covered in such general histories as Philip K. Hitti, History of Syria, 2nd ed. (1957); and in the more specialized work by R. Stephen Humphreys, From Saladin to the Mongols: The Ayyubids of Damascus, 11931260 (1977). Ottoman Syria's early political history is outlined in detail in Abdul-Rahim Abu-Husayn, Provincial Leaderships in Syria, 15751650 (1985). Later periods are dealt with in Karl K. Barbir, Ottoman Rule in Damascus, 17081758 (1980); and Abraham Marcus, The Middle East on the Eve of Modernity: Aleppo in the Eighteenth Century (1989).General studies concentrating on recent history include Robin Fedden, Syria and Lebanon, 3rd ed. (1965); A.L. Tibawi, A Modern History of Syria, Including Lebanon and Palestine (1969); John F. Devlin, Syria: Modern State in an Ancient Land (1983); A.H. Hourani, Syria and Lebanon (1946, reprinted 1968); Derek Hopwood, Syria 19451986: Politics and Society (1988); and Richard T. Antoun and Donald Quataert (eds.), Syria: Society, Culture, and Polity (1991). Particular aspects of modern history are covered by Philip S. Khoury, Syria and the French Mandate: The Politics of Arab Nationalism, 19201945 (1987); David Roberts, The Ba'th and the Creation of Modern Syria (1987); Patrick Seale, Asad of Syria: The Struggle for the Middle East (1989); and Raymond A. Hinnebusch, Authoritarian Power and State Formation in Ba'thist Syria: Army, Party, and Peasant (1990). William L. Ochsenwald Cultural life The cultural milieu Long periods of foreign rule contributed little to the development of a national culture. Education was confined to a few, who maintained the country's ancient libraries and manuscripts. After independence in 1946, a new cultural life began to stir, mostly through the medium of a small number of clubs that received some financial assistance from the state. The Ministry of Culture and National Guidance has been active in directing and promoting the nation's cultural life. An important objective has been the affirmation of the Arab national character in the face of foreign cultural influences. The state of the arts The artistic representation of animal or human life is proscribed by Islam. Until World War I, figurative art was restricted to geometric designs as manifest in the arts of arabesque and calligraphy, which decorate most palaces and mosques. Following World War I, drawing was taught in the schools, and talented artists began to emerge. There is a faculty of fine arts at the University of Damascus. Syrian artists are concerned more with content than with form or style. Sculpture is mainly confined to decorations hewn in white marble. Damascus is particularly famous for this type of sculpture, and beautiful examples of it can be seen in its palaces and public buildings. National folk traditions have been emphasized by the state, which has established a museum for national folk traditions in Damascus. The capital also contains the renovated National Museum and separate museums for agriculture and military history. Archaeological museums are located in Aleppo and at major sites. Short-story writing and poetry have flourished, as in the widely read works of Nizar Qabbani and 'Ali Ahmad Sa'id (Adonis). The National Theatre and other theatrical and folk-dance companies give regular performances.