Syria: Map & History

History

The Natufian culture was the first to become sedentary around the 11th millennium BC and became one of the centers of Neolithic culture (known as Pre-Pottery Neolithic A), where agriculture and cattle breeding first began to appear. The site of Tell Qaramel has several round stone towers dated to 10650 BC, making them the oldest structures of this kind in the world. The Neolithic period (Pre-Pottery Neolithic B) is represented by rectangular houses of Mureybet culture. At the time, people used containers made of stone, gyps, and burnt lime (Vaisselle blanche). The discovery of obsidian tools from Anatolia are evidence of early trade. The ancient cities of Hamoukar and Emar played an important role during the late Neolithic and Bronze Age.

Politics and government

Syria is currently undergoing a political transition following the fall of the Assad regime on 8 December 2024. It operates under a unitary presidential system and, as of 2026, is governed by a transitional government during a provisional period. Currently, Syria operates as a unitary state, with the president serving as both head of state and head of government, although there are proposals to implement decentralisation. Since the Syrian Revolution Victory Conference banned the Ba'athist-era National Progressive Front, no new legislation regulating political parties has been enacted, and major political parties have yet to emerge in Syria.

Economy

After the fall of the Assad regime, the subsequent formation of the Syrian transitional government and the lifting of sanctions placed onto the Ba'athist-led government, Syria's economy has begun to see significant growth, with Syrian news agency Levant24 claiming that the country's GDP had risen to $32 billion, experiencing a 30% to 35% growth in the GDP, alongside recording a budget surplus for the first time since the end of the Syrian civil war and expecting GDP to rise to $60 or $65 billion, around the same amount prior to the beginning of the civil war.

Culture

Syria is a traditional society with a long cultural history. Importance is placed on family, religion, education, self-discipline and respect. Syrians' taste for the traditional arts is expressed in dances such as the al-Samah, the Dabkeh in all their variations, and the sword dance. Marriage ceremonies and the births of children are occasions for the lively demonstration of folk customs.

Syrian cuisine is rich and varied in its ingredients, linked to the regions where a specific dish has originated. Syrian food mostly consists of southern Mediterranean, Greek, and Southwest Asian dishes.