The Origin Of Syrian Heritage

Throughout history the Middle East has been home to some of the most powerful and influential empires in the world. As with all great empires they did not arise without difficulty. Though the Middle East has had periods of great prosperity, it has also had periods of poverty and stagnation. Within the last one hundred years the Middle East has seen many changes relating to borders, religions, and international politics. Much of the changes that have happened originated from diverse ways of thinking especially when it comes to religion and culture. Conflicts that occur in the Middle East such as Israel, Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and Afghanistan have monumental effects on the global economy predominately due to the massive oil industry in the region and competition between outside nations trying to expand influence.

The author achieves his goal but also fails in certain aspects. Sahner prefaces the book with the statement that he will provide an understanding to the rich history of Syria and the multiple sects that proliferate its landscape. What he fails to do is provide an encompassing view to this landscape but instead undertakes the executive decision to focus on specific snapshots of Syria’s history. Consequently, he skips almost entirely the later parts of the Islamic Caliphate and subsequent Ottoman rule that dominated a large part of Syria’s history in the second millennium A.D. Overall, the author weaves a tale that is well written but could have expounded more upon the certain epochs in Syria’s history. Nonetheless, it overwhelmingly succeeds in personifying a culture and country often dismissed and simplified as “just another tragic, religious conflict”.

In the Syrian culture/lifestyle there are many similarities to America. Now, every country also has their own way of doing things, their own lifestyle, etc. The difference is because of their culture. The Syrian culture has a lot of unique and interesting ways of doing stuff, like how they spend their time,what their favorite sport is, and many more things. And that’s what makes each country different.

As far as the Syrian government goes, here is an overview of what their actions have caused.

Syria is located in the Middle East and the capital of Syria is Damascus. Although this can be a diverse region, the official language of Syria is Arabic. Even though the official language is Arabic, there are many more languages spoke there such as, Kurdish, Armenian, Aramaic, and Circassian. The region’s population is about 22.5 million people. Syria’s largest mountain is Mount Hermon and the longest river is Euphrates. Syria is also home to Lake Assad, which is the largest lake in Syria (Operation World). Syria’s economy is based on its exports. Syria is known for their oil, petroleum, and cotton fiber (Operation World). The United States has tried to get ahold of the oil in the Middle East. During the Gulf War in the Middle East, between 1967 and 1973, the United States sided with Israel. This led to the oil embargo, where the Arabs refused to sell oil to the United States for a short time. This led to an energy crisis in the United States (Hobbs, 178). In Syria and much of the Middle East they also grow a lot of food. Some of their main agriculture is wheat, barley, and cotton (Syria Facts). Syria has a very fertile plain because it is along the Mediterranean coast which provides good soil for growing crops. However, over half of Syria

Islamic Law governs all forms of Legislation in Syria. The country’s religious demographic is also heavily comprised of followers of the religion of Islam. These religious followers divided into different sects with 74% Sunni. Ismailis, Alawis, and Shi’a make up 13% of the population. The Druze account for 3%, and there is a small population of Christians at 10% (Unknown, “2010 Report on International Religious Freedom—Syria”, 2010). The country has attempted to make a large push for religious freedom. Religion and state have “officially” always been separate, although Muslim code is the basis for several laws and decrees. The constitution allows religious freedom but restricts some religious matters. Some religious groups are even outlawed, Jehovah’s Witness (Unknown, “International Religious Freedom Report 2010”,

Many other problems surrounded the occurrence of the central problem as Syria has been in the middle of and part of several Middle Eastern conflicts including the Iran-Iraq war, the Afghan War, the Iraq-US Ware, and the 6-day war. Furthermore, the West, specifically Israel and the United States have been known to support anti Syrian groups attempting to overthrow the political regime in place. In the early stages of the ware, many causal factors occurred, including continuing civilian protests that were met with more violence, Unites States imposed sanctions against President al-Assad and several other officials, United States and European imposed economic sanctions, and Russian and Chinese support of President al-Assad. The adversarial nature and military backing of Syria by different world powers essentially transformed the country into a giant chess board in which developed countries picked different sides some siding with the state and others with the rebel groups. Lastly, in a time in which several other countries where overthrowing totalitarian governments in the Middle East including Egypt, social media was spreading the idea that people could in fact make a difference in choosing how they would be governed and that they could demand

As the humanitarian agencies focus on providing for these basic needs, Syria’s development situation has regressed almost by four decades in four years. Since the onset of the crisis in 2011, life expectancy is estimated to have shortened by almost 13 years (Q4, 2013) and school attendance dropped more than 50%. Syria has also seen reversals in all 12 recorded Millennium Development Goal (MDG) indicators. The Syrian economy has contracted by an estimated 40% since 2011, leading to the majority of Syrians losing their livelihoods. By the end of 2013, an estimated three in four Syrians were living in poverty, and 54% were living in extreme

Assad’s regime has been in power for many decades and is known to be an authoritarian regime. A prime example would be having elections but not allowing any candidates to run against Assad. The regime is also believed to do this to stay in power and exploit the ethnic and sectarian tensions already in the country. Syria’s military is also well-capable, well-equipped, and well-trained for a Middle Eastern nation. Because of this, Syria serves as the new major military power in the Fertile Crescent region, in place of Iraq after Hussein’s regime fell.

Syria is a very diverse country in many ways. Population, health, migration, culture, language, and religion all make Syria unique. Every country, including Syria, has different things that shape who the native people become over time. Each different thing can either benefit the country or impact it negatively. Syria has a variety of things that makes the country diverse, but also has many drawbacks.

Islam plays a very important role to the Syrian history, the people are very proud of their ancient history. In the current Syria 90% of the population is Muslim and a 10% is Christian, among the Muslims 74% sects divide are Sunni and the rest. Thru the years conflict has grown between these various Muslim groups and sects, their fighting is mostly about how to rule the country and who has the upper hand as it is seen in the recent “civil war” as we call it, many groups have turn their sect into extremist cells with the excuse to form a new way of ruling, causing havoc and ruining the live of innocent people

Within the ever-changing landscape of the Middle Eastern Region, Syria is consistently in the news due to its strategic location and the present set of local and global problems. Located in the northwest portion of the Middle East, Syria is bordered by Turkey to the north, the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest. Mostly composed of Sunni Arabs, Syria is also the home to a diverse ethnic group that includes Armenians, Assyrians, Kurds, and Turks. The capital of Syria is Damascus and is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world (CIA Fact Book). Once a part of the Ottoman Empire, Syria was controlled by France following World War I until it gained its independence in 1946.

First, some background information and facts on the Syrian war should be an excellent start. The Syrian

As early as 1516, Syria has been known to be ruled under Ottoman Turks Empire for well over several centuries. In 1916 Arabs and British military collaborated together and rebelled against Turkish rules. This allowed independence over the Turks for Arab countries and ending 400 years of supreme political power of the Ottoman Empire. After many years of restructuring Syria economics, social, and political fields, they combined the Ottoman, French, and Islamic laws up until the 1980’s. The criminal, civil, and commercial codes were mostly based on the French way of practicing laws. In 1949, they had certain provisions that they had to follow due to religious minorities. Now the Islamic still had power in some parts of Syria

In order to begin understanding Syria is important to take time to know the early history. For the Syrians history represents the events that leaded to their identity, as they know it and the rest of the world see it. Those past events shaped the interaction with its border neighbors and the rest of the world today. Their patterns of life, how they educate citizens and practice of the religion that has been pass generation to generation, has been portrayed on Syria’s history.