Syria

A country of southwest Asia on the eastern Mediterranean coast. Ancient Syria also included Lebanon, most of present-day Israel and Jordan, and part of Iraq and Saudi Arabia. Settled c. 2100 B.C. by Amorites, the region was later conquered by Hittites, Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians, Greeks, and Romans. Islam was introduced in the seventh century by Muslim Arab conquerers. Syria was a province of the Ottoman Empire from 1516 until 1918, and the part comprising present-day Syria and Lebanon became a French League of Nations mandate in 1920. Separated from Lebanon by the French, Syria achieved full independence in 1946. In 1958 it merged with Egypt to form the United Arab Republic, which disintegrated in 1961. Damascus is the capital and Aleppo the largest city. Population: 19,300,000.