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Extensible Markup Language | 1995-06-13 | 5KB | 19 lines

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" ?> <!DOCTYPE card PUBLIC "-//Apple, Inc.//DTD card V 2.0//EN" "" > <card> <id>46196</id> <filler1>0</filler1> <cantDelete> <false /> </cantDelete> <showPict> <true /> </showPict> <dontSearch> <false /> </dontSearch> <owner>5472</owner> <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="stylesheet_3106.css" /> <content> <layer>background</layer> <id>31</id> <text>SYRIAOfficial name: Al-Jumhuriya al-ΓÇÿArabiya as-Suriya (The Syrian Arab Republic)Member of: UN, Arab LeagueArea: 185180 km2 (71498 sq mi) ΓÇô including the Israeli-occupied Golan HeightsPopulation: 13400000 (1993 est)Capital: Damascus (Dimashq) 1451000 (1992 est)Other major cities: Halab (formerly Aleppo) 1445000, Homs 518000 (1992 est)Languages: Arabic (89%; official); Kurdish (6%)Religions: Islam (official; Sunni 90%, Shia and Druze minorities), with various Orthodox and Roman Catholic minorities (9%)GOVERNMENTThe 250-member National PeopleΓÇÖs Assembly is elected by universal adult suffrage for four years. The President ΓÇô who is directly elected for seven years ΓÇô appoints a Prime Minister (to assist him in government) and a Council of Ministers. The National Progressive Front ΓÇô including the ruling BaΓÇÖath Party ΓÇô has a leading role.GEOGRAPHYBehind a well-watered coastal plain, mountains run from north to south, rising to Jabal ash Shaik (Mount Hermon) at 2814 m (9232 ft). Inland, much of the country is occupied by the Syrian Desert. Principal river: Euphrates (Al Furat) 2800 km (1740 mi). Climate: The coast has a Mediterranean climate. The arid interior has hot summers and cool winters.ECONOMYPetroleum is the main export, although SyriaΓÇÖs petroleum reserves are small by Middle East standards. Agriculture involves 25% of the labor force, with farming concentrated in the coastal plain and irrigated land in the Euphrates Valley. Major crops include cotton, wheat and barley. Currency: Syrian pound.HISTORYSyria was an important part of the Hittite, Assyrian and Persian empire, before being conquered by Alexander the Great (332 BC). From 305 BC Syria was the center of the Seleucid Empire, and in 64 BC the area became a Roman province based on Antioch. The Byzantine Empire ruled the area (300ΓÇô634) until the Muslim armies of Khaled ibn al-Walid invaded the country. Most Syrians accepted Islam rapidly. In 661 MuΓÇÖawiyya, the founder of the Umayyad dynasty, established his capital in Damascus, and the city reached the zenith of its power. When the Umayyads were overthrown by the Abbasid dynasty from Baghdad (750) DamascusΓÇÖ pre-eminence ended.From the 12th to the 14th century parts of coastal Syria were ruled by Crusader principalities. The Mamluks ΓÇô originally Turkish slaves ΓÇô ruled Syria from the 13th century until 1516, when the area was annexed by the (Turkish) Ottoman Empire. Ottoman rule was not ended until 1917, when a combined British-Arab army was led into Damascus. In 1920 independence was declared, but the victors of World War I handed Syria to France (1920) as a trust territory. From independence in 1946 until 1970 Syria suffered political instability. The pan-Arab, secular, socialist BaΓÇÖath Party engineered SyriaΓÇÖs unsuccessful union with Egypt (1958ΓÇô61). Syria fought wars with Israel in 1948ΓÇô49, 1967 and 1973, and in the 1967 Arab-Israeli War Israel captured the strategic Golan Heights from Syria. A pragmatic BaΓÇÖathist leader Hafiz Assad came to power in 1970 and allied Syria to the USSR. AssadΓÇÖs popularity has been challenged by SyriaΓÇÖs increasing involvement in Lebanon since 1976 and by Shiite fundamentalism. After 1989ΓÇô90, economic pressures lessened SyriaΓÇÖs dependence upon the USSR and the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1990 brought a more pragmatic phase to SyriaΓÇÖs foreign relations. SyriaΓÇÖs participation in the coalition against Iraq (1990ΓÇô91) gained greater international acceptance for Syria, which had attracted criticism for sympathizing with terrorist groups.</text> </content> <name>Syria</name> <script></script> </card>