The
Syrian Desert (), also known as the Syro-Arabian desert is a combination of
steppe and true
desert that is located in the northern Arabian Peninsula. It is part of the Al-Hamad, which covers portions of
Syria,
Iraq,
Jordan and
Saudi Arabia. Its border on the west is the
Orontes Valley, and its border on the east is the
Euphrates. In the north, the desert gives way to the more fertile areas of north-central Syria. In the south, it runs into the deserts of the southern
Arabian Peninsula. Many oases exist in the Syrian Desert such as
Palmyra.
Damascus is also located on an
oasis. The desert's remarkable landscape was formed by lava flows from the volcanic region of the
Jebel Druze in southern Syria. The desert was historically inhabited by
bedouin tribes, and many tribes still remain in the region, their members living mainly in towns and settlements built near oases. Some bedouin still maintain their traditional way of life in the desert.
The Syrian Desert is the origin of the
Syrian hamster.
Safaitic inscriptions, proto-Arabic texts written by literate bedouin, are found throughout the Syrian Desert. These date approximately from the 1st century B.C. to the 4th century A.D.
Iraq War
During the 2003
Iraq War the desert served as a major supply line for the
Iraqi insurgents, with the Iraq portion of the desert becoming a primary stronghold of the Sunni insurgents operating in the
Al Anbar Governorate. Particularly after the Coalition capture of
Fallujah during
Operation Phantom Fury. A series of Coalition military operations were relatively ineffective at removing the insurgent presence in the Desert. However as the insurgents began to gain control of the surrounding areas the importance of the Syrian desert as a center of operations was believed to have lessened. By September 2006 insurgents had gained control of virtually all of the Anbar Governorate and had moved most of their forces equipment and leaders further east to insurgent controlled cities near the Euphrates river, nevertheless the Syrian Desert remains one of the primary routes for smuggling equipment due to its location near the Syrian border.
See also
