Syrian Arab Republic

Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic (الجمهورية العربية السورية ), is a country in Southwest Asia, bordering Lebanon to the west, Palestine and Israel to the southwest, Jordan to the south, Iraq to the east, and Turkey to the north. The modern state of Syria was formerly a French mandate and attained independence in 1946, but can trace its roots to the fourth millennium BC; its capital city, Damascus, was the seat of the Umayyad Empire and a provincial capital of the Mamluk Empire.
Syria has a population of 19 million. The majority are Arabic-speaking Sunni Muslims, with other Muslims groups, including the Alawi and Shi'a, constituting around 16% of the population. There is also a 10% Christian minority and a significant Druze community. Since 1963 the country has been governed by the Baath Party; the head of state since 1970 has been a member of the Assad family. Syria's current President is Bashar al-Assad, son of Hafez al-Assad, who held office from 1970 until his death in 2000.
Historically, Syria has often included the territories of Lebanon, Historical Palestine, and parts of Jordan, but excluded the Jazira region in the north-east of the modern Syrian state. In this historic sense, the region is also known as Greater Syria or by the Arabic name Bilad al-Sham (بلاد الشام). The Syrian Government officially claims sovereignty over the region of Iskanderun, now part of the Turkish province of Hatay, though this dispute between the two states has subsided is recent years. In the Six-Day War of 1967, Israel captured the Golan Heights in southwest Syria, which it has occupied ever since.
The name Syria comes from the ancient Greek name for the Syrians, Syrioi (in Herodotus 7.63), a shortened form of Assyria, ultimately from Akkadian Aššur.