SYRIA – ANCIENT GLORIES, MODERN CONFLICTS

Middle East Times, Egypt
April 20 2007

DAMASCUS — Syria, where parliamentary elections take place Sunday,
is a country steeped in human history that today remains embroiled
in some of the world’s most intractable dramas.

In addition to the decades-long conflict with Israel to the south and
continuing controversy over its role in Lebanon to the west, Syria
has since 2003 found itself on the frontlines of the US-initiated
war in Iraq, to its east.

A brief factfile:

HISTORY: Since ancient times what is today Syria has been ruled,
among others, by the Persians, the Greeks, the Romans, the Byzantines,
and a series of Islamic empires concluding with the Ottoman, which
collapsed in the early 20th century.

The country is home to many historic sites, and it was on the road to
its capital Damascus – one of the oldest cities in the world – that
the Christian apostle Saint Paul "saw the light" and became converted.

Syria’s modern borders were defined after World War I, when it came
under French administration and was shorn of several territories
including what is today Lebanon.

Independence after World War II brought a series of coups, culminating
with a military regime under Hafez Al Assad, whose son Bashar Al
Assad succeeded him on his death in 2000 and is still in power today.

Under the elder Assad, Syria was for many years close to the Soviet
Union and professed strong Arab nationalism, although a split with the
dominant party in neighboring in Iraq led it to form a long-lasting
alliance with Iran.

In the 1967 Arab-Israeli war Syria lost the strategic Golan Heights to
Israel. A decade later Assad’s military intervention in Lebanon was at
first welcomed by the West but later turned sour, ending only in 2005.

Since 2004 the United States has imposed economic sanctions on Syria,
accusing it of supporting terrorism.

In recent years Syria has taken in some 1 million Iraqi refugees,
fleeing the effects of the US-led invasion of 2003.

GEOGRAPHY AND POPULATION: At 185,000 square kilometers (71,000 square
miles), Syria is slightly smaller than Britain. It has a population
of 19 million, almost all Arabs, with small Armenian and Kurdish
minorities.

ECONOMY: Syria has modest amounts of oil, and farming accounts for
around one-third of its gross domestic product (GDP). The World Bank
classifies Syria as a middle income country, with a per capita GDP
of $1,200 in 2006.