State of Damascus

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State of Damascus
دولة دمشق
État de Damas
Mandate of France
1920–1924
Flag
Flag
Location of the State of Damascus (yellow)
within the Mandate for Syria.
Capital Damascus
Languages Arabic
French
Political structure League of Nations Mandate
Historical era Interwar period
 •  Mandate granted 3 September 1920
 •  Federation established 22 June 1922
 •  Unification of Aleppo and Damascus 1 December 1924
Preceded by
Succeeded by
Kingdom of Syria
State of Syria (1924–1930)

The State of Damascus (1920–1924; French: État de Damas; Arabic: دولة دمشق‎‎ Dawlat Dimashq ) was one of the six states established by the French General Henri Gouraud in the French Mandate of Syria which followed the San Remo conference and the defeat of King Faisal's short-lived monarchy in Syria.

The other states were the State of Aleppo (1920), the State of Alawites (1920), the State of Jabal Druze (1921), and The Sanjak of Alexandretta (1921). The State of Greater Lebanon (1920) became later the modern country of Lebanon.

Establishment

The State of Damascus was declared by the French General Henri Gouraud on 3 September 1920,[1] with Damascus as its capital. The first president of the new state was Haqqi Al-Azm. The state of Damascus included Damascus and its surrounding region, in addition to the cities of Homs, Hama and the Orontes river valley.

The new Damascus state lost four Qada's (sub-districts) that had been part of the Vilayet (district) of Damascus during Ottoman times to the mainly Christian Mount Lebanon to create the new State of Greater Lebanon. The territory separated from Damascus corresponds today to the Biqa' valley plus south Lebanon. Damascus, and later Syria, continuously protested the separation of these lands and kept demanding them back throughout the mandate period. The population of these regions, which was mainly Muslim, also protested the separation from Damascus.

Syrian Federation and the State of Syria

In 22 June 1922, general Gouraud announced the Syrian Federation (la Fédération Syrienne) which included the states of Damascus, Aleppo, and the Alawite state. In 1925, the Alawite State was separated again. The Syrian Federation became the State of Syria in 1 January 1925.

Population

General Distribution of Population in the State of Damascus according to the French census in 1921-22[2]
Religion Inhabitants Percentage
Sunni 447,000 75.1%
Ismailis 8,000 1.3%
Alawis 5,000 0.8%
Druzes 4,000 0.7%
Mutawali 9,000 1.5%
Christians 67,000 11.3%
Jews 6,000 1.1%
Foreigners 49,000 8.2%
Total 595,000 100%

See also

References

  1. Syrian History: Timeline
  2. E.J. Brill's first encyclopaedia of Islam, 1913-1936, Volume 2, page 301

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