The Jordan–Syria border is 362 km (225 m) in length and runs from the

tripoint A tripoint, trijunction, triple point, or tri-border area is a geographical point at which the boundaries of three countries or subnational entities meet. There are 175 international tripoints as of 2020. Nearly half are situated in rivers, l ...

with

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

in the west to the tripoint with

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

in the east.

Description

The border starts in the west at the tripoint with Israel, though the precise location of the tripoint is it at present unclear owing to the Israeli occupation of the

Golan Heights The Golan Heights ( ar, هَضْبَةُ الْجَوْلَانِ, Haḍbatu l-Jawlān or ; he, רמת הגולן, ), or simply the Golan, is a region in the Levant spanning about . The region defined as the Golan Heights differs between di ...

, which are claimed by Syria. The ''de jure'' tripoint lies immediately east of the Israeli town of Sha'ar HaGolan, whereas the ''de facto'' tripoint lies at the border's junction with the United Nations

UNDOF Zone The United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) is a United Nations peacekeeping mission tasked with maintaining the ceasefire between Israel and Syria in the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War. The mission was established by Unit ...

south-east of

Metzar Metzar ( he, מֵיצָר) is an Israeli settlement organized as a kibbutz in the southern Golan Heights. The settlement was established as a kibbutz after Israel occupied the area in the Six Day War in 1967. The 29th settlement on the Golan Heig ...

. The Jordan-Golan Heights border runs along the

Yarmouk River The Yarmuk River ( ar, نهر اليرموك, translit=Nahr al-Yarmūk, ; Greek: Ἱερομύκης, ; la, Hieromyces or ''Heromicas''; sometimes spelled Yarmouk), is the largest tributary of the Jordan River. It runs in Jordan, Syria and Israel ...

, and this river then continues as the westernmost section of the Jordan–Syria border proper. The border leaves the river just east of Et Turra, and a series of irregular and short straight lines then proceeds to the south-east, passing between Ar Ramtha and

Daraa Daraa ( ar, دَرْعَا, Darʿā, Levantine Arabic: , also Darʿā, Dara’a, Deraa, Dera'a, Dera, Derʿā and Edrei; means "''fortress''", compare Dura-Europos) is a city in southwestern Syria, located about north of the border with Jordan ...

across the Daraa Border Crossing and on to the

Nasib Border Crossing The Nasib Border Crossing ( ar, مركز نصيب الحدودي) is an international border crossing between Syria and Jordan. It is one of the busiest border crossings in Syria and is situated on the Damascus-Amman international highway near Na ...

on the

Amman Amman (; ar, عَمَّان, ' ; Ammonite language, Ammonite: 𐤓𐤁𐤕 𐤏𐤌𐤍 ''Rabat ʻAmān'') is the capital and largest city of Jordan, and the country's economic, political, and cultural center. With a population of 4,061,150 a ...

–

Damascus )), is an adjective which means "spacious". , motto = , image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg , image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg , seal_type = Seal , map_caption = , ...

road. At it turns north-east, running in a straight line across the Syrian Desert, terminating at the Iraqi tripoint at .

History

At the start of the 20th century the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

controlled what is now Jordan and Syria. During the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

Arab Revolt The Arab Revolt ( ar, الثورة العربية, ) or the Great Arab Revolt ( ar, الثورة العربية الكبرى, ) was a military uprising of Arab forces against the Ottoman Empire in the Middle Eastern theatre of World War I. On ...

, supported by Britain, succeeded in removing the Ottomans from most of the Middle East. As a result of the secret 1916 Anglo-French Sykes–Picot Agreement the Ottoman Vilayet of Syria was split in two, with France gaining the north and Britain the south. France's section was then organised into the Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon. Britain's section (roughly, modern western Jordan) was contested between Britain, the newly formed

Arab Kingdom of Syria The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, No ...

, Zionists in the new

Mandate for Palestine The Mandate for Palestine was a League of Nations mandate for British administration of the territories of Palestine and Transjordan, both of which had been conceded by the Ottoman Empire following the end of World War I in 1918. The manda ...

, and further south Ibn Saud of the new kingdom of

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...

, resulting in a confused period in which the region was essentially an ungoverned space. Eventually in 1921 Britain declared a formal mandate over the region, creating the

Emirate of Transjordan The Emirate of Transjordan ( ar, إمارة شرق الأردن, Imārat Sharq al-Urdun, Emirate of East Jordan), officially known as the Amirate of Trans-Jordan, was a British protectorate established on 11 April 1921,

under the semi-autonomous rule of

King Abdullah I AbdullahI bin Al-Hussein ( ar, عبد الله الأول بن الحسين, translit=Abd Allāh al-Awwal bin al-Husayn, 2 February 1882 – 20 July 1951) was the ruler of Jordan from 11 April 1921 until his assassination in 1951. He was the Emir ...

. In the period of 1920–1923, France and Britain signed a series of agreements, collectively known as the

Paulet–Newcombe Agreement The Paulet–Newcombe Agreement or Paulet-Newcombe Line, was a 1923 agreement between the British and French governments regarding the position and nature of the boundary between the Mandates of Palestine and Iraq, attributed to Great Britain, ...

, which created the modern Jordan-Syria and

Iraq–Syria border The Iraqi–Syrian border is the border between Syria and Iraq and runs for a total length of across Upper Mesopotamia and the Syrian desert, from the tripoint with Jordan in the south-west to the tripoint with Turkey in the north-east. Des ...

s, as an amendment to what had been designated the ''A zone'' in the Sykes–Picot Agreement. A more detailed description of the Jordan–Syria border was agreed upon on 31 October 1931. In 1967 Israel occupied the Golan Heights following the

Six-Day War The Six-Day War (, ; ar, النكسة, , or ) or June War, also known as the 1967 Arab–Israeli War or Third Arab–Israeli War, was fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab world, Arab states (primarily United Arab Republic, Egypt, S ...

, thereby bringing the westernmost section of the border under their control. There have been a number of incidents along the frontier since the start of the Syrian Civil War in 2011.

Settlements near the border

Jordan

* Et Tura *

Ar-Ramtha Ar-Ramtha ( ar, الرَّمثا, ar-Ramṯā), colloquially transliterated as Ar-Romtha ( ar, الرُّمثا, ar-Rumṯā), is a city situated in the far northwest of Jordan near the Jordan–Syria border, border with Syria. It covers 40 k ...

* Sama * Ed Dafyana

Syria

* Al-Shajara * Sahm al Julan *

Muzayrib Muzayrib ( ar, مُزَيْرِيب, also spelled Mzerib, Mzeireb, Mzereeb, Mezereeb or al-Mezereeb) is a town in southern Syria, administratively part of the Daraa Governorate, located northwest of Daraa on the Jordan–Syria border. Nearby local ...

* At Tayyibah * Dhibin * Umm ar Rumman * Al-Ghariyah al-Gharbiyah *

Rukban Rukban, sometimes transliterated Rakban, Arabic (الرُّكبان) or ( الرُّقبان) is an arid remote area on the Syrian border near the extreme northeast of Jordan, close to the joint borders with Syria and Iraq. The area became a ref ...

Border crossings

* Daraa Border Crossing

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jordan-Syria border Borders of Jordan Borders of Syria International borders