MY POSTBOX: SYRIA

Sunday 14 June 2015

SYRIA

Syria (Arabic: سوريا‎, romanized: Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic (Arabic: الجمهورية العربية السورية‎, romanized: al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon to the southwest, the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest. A country of fertile plains, high mountains, and deserts, Syria is home to diverse ethnic and religious groups, including Syrian Arabs, Kurds, Turkemens, Assyrians, Armenians, Circassians, Mandeans and Greeks. Religious groups include Sunnis, Christians, Alawites, Druze, Isma'ilis, Mandeans, Shiites, Salafis, Yazidis, and Jews. Arabs are the largest ethnic group, and Sunnis the largest religious group.

The name "Syria" historically referred to a wider region, broadly synonymous with the Levant, and known in Arabic as al-Sham. The modern state encompasses the sites of several ancient kingdoms and empires, including the Eblan civilization of the 3rd millennium BC. Aleppo and the capital city Damascus are among the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. In the Islamic era, Damascus was the seat of the Umayyad Caliphate and a provincial capital of the Mamluk Sultanate in Egypt. The modern Syrian state was established in the mid-20th century after centuries of Ottoman and a brief period French mandate, and represented the largest Arab state to emerge from the formerly Ottoman-ruled Syrian provinces. It gained de jure independence as a parliamentary republic on 24 October 1945, when the Republic of Syria became a founding member of the United Nations, an act which legally ended the former French Mandate, although French troops did not leave the country until April 1946. The post-independence period was tumultuous, with many military coups and coup attempts shaking the country from 1949 to 1971. In 1958, Syria entered a brief union with Egypt called the United Arab Republic, which was terminated by the 1961 Syrian coup d'état. The republic was renamed as the Arab Republic of Syria in late 1961 after the December 1 constitutional referendum of that year, and was increasingly unstable until the 1963 Ba'athist coup d'état, since which the Ba'ath Party has maintained its power. Syria was under Emergency Law from 1963 to 2011, effectively suspending most constitutional protections for citizens.

Syria was part of the Ottoman Empire until the defeat of the Turks in the First World War and an extensive network of Turkish post offices operated in the region. A French post office operated between 1852 and 1914, and an Egyptian office at Latakia from 1870 to 1872.^[1] Syria used the stamps of Turkey from 1883 until 1919. Stamps of the British Egyptian Expeditionary Force were available in Syria between 23 September 1918 and 23 February 1922. In 1920 Emir Faisal of the Hejaz organised an Arab Kingdom in central Syria in rebellion against French control. On 8 March 1920 Faisal was proclaimed King of Syria.^[1] During this period stamps of Turkey from 1913-1919 were overprinted in Damascus with the Arabic seal Al Hukuma Al Arabia 'Arab Government' and some of the stamps surcharged in Egyptian currency. After Faisal was proclaimed King, a set of stamps was issued by the Arabian Government of Syria, and one of the set, the 5 milliemes, pink, overprinted in Arabic with green ink, "In commemoration of the independence of Syria. Adar (March) 8th 1920." The overprinted Turkish provisionals continued in use for about two months and were used conjunctively with stamps of the E.E.F. and regular Syrian issues.

In July 1920 King Faisal was dethroned by the French and a mandate was granted to France by the League of Nations over the whole of Syria from 1923. Following the awarding of the mandate and the defeat of Syrian forces in May 1920, Syria came under French military occupation. Syria got divided between a coastal area with a capital at Beirut, which subsequently became Lebanon, and the interior under the control of the Arabs with a capital at Damascus. Stamps of France were used between 1920 and 1922 overprinted T.E.O. (Territoires Ennemis Occupés) or O.M.F. (Occupation Militaire Francaise). As a League of Nations mandate, Syria used the stamps of France, overprinted Syrie Grand Liban in 1923. The postal administrations for Syria and Lebanon were separated in 1924, and the stamps of France overprinted Syrie were issued for Lebanon. From 1925 Syria had its own stamps marked Syrie.

The Syrian Republic was formed in 1930 as a component of the French Mandate of Syria and Lebanon. From 1934 stamps marked Republique Syrienne were in use, changing later to just Syrie. Syria became de facto independent in April 1946. On 1 February 1958 Syria and Egypt united to form the United Arab Republic and stamps marked UAR were used. On 28 September 1961 Syria left the UAR and became the Syrian Arab Republic and stamps have been marked first under that name, then Syrian A.R. or just Syria since then.