"" ( ar, حُمَاةَ الدِّيَارِ, lit=Guardians of the Homeland, syc, ܢܛܘܪ̈ܝ ܐܬ݂ܪܘ̈ܬ݂ܐ, label=

Syriac Syriac may refer to: *Syriac language, an ancient dialect of Middle Aramaic *Sureth, one of the modern dialects of Syriac spoken in the Nineveh Plains region * Syriac alphabet ** Syriac (Unicode block) ** Syriac Supplement * Neo-Aramaic languages a ...

) is the

national anthem A national anthem is a patriotic musical composition symbolizing and evoking eulogies of the history and traditions of a country or nation. The majority of national anthems are marches or hymns in style. American, Central Asian, and Europea ...

of the Syrian Arab Republic, with lyrics written by

Khalil Mardam Bey Khalil Mardam Bey (1895–1959) ( ar, خليل مردم بك tr, Halil Mardam Bey) was a Syrian poet and critique who is most notable for composing the lyrics of the Syrian National Anthem. Early life and career Mardam Bey was born in ...

and the music by Mohammed Flayfel, who also composed the

of the

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 the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...

as well as many other Arab folk songs.

History

It was adopted in 1938 after a national competition was held by Hashim al-Atassi's nationalist government to choose a state anthem for the new republic two years after the Franco–Syrian Treaty of Independence was signed which gave Syria limited autonomy and future independence. The anthem was initially set to lose the competition, but it later won the competition after it gained rapid popularity amongst the Syrian populace which put pressure on the competition's committee to reconsider its decisions, and eventually the anthem won and was adopted by the government as Syria's national anthem. It temporarily fell from use when Syria joined the

United Arab Republic The United Arab Republic (UAR; ar, الجمهورية العربية المتحدة, al-Jumhūrīyah al-'Arabīyah al-Muttaḥidah) was a sovereign state in the Middle East from 1958 until 1971. It was initially a political union between Eg ...

(UAR) with

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...

in 1958. It was decided that the national anthem of the UAR would be a combination of the then-Egyptian national anthem and "". When Syria seceded from the union in 1961, "Humat ad-Diyar" was completely restored and has been used ever since despite the anthem's usage being disputed between the ruling Ba'ath government and the

opposition Opposition may refer to: Arts and media * ''Opposition'' (Altars EP), 2011 EP by Christian metalcore band Altars * The Opposition (band), a London post-punk band * '' The Opposition with Jordan Klepper'', a late-night television series on Com ...

prior to the start of the

civil war A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

in 2011.

Structure

The Syrian national anthem is divided into four quatrain stanzas, each containing four

lines Line most often refers to: * Line (geometry), object with zero thickness and curvature that stretches to infinity * Telephone line, a single-user circuit on a telephone communication system Line, lines, The Line, or LINE may also refer to: Arts ...

. The

rhyme scheme A rhyme scheme is the pattern of rhymes at the end of each line of a poem or song. It is usually referred to by using letters to indicate which lines rhyme; lines designated with the same letter all rhyme with each other. An example of the ABAB r ...

used is an Arabic form called " Ruba'i", where each stanza has the same final rhyme in its component lines, giving the following rhyme scheme in the anthem: AAAA, BBBB, CCCC, DDDD. All of the lines in the state anthem consist each of 11 syllables, all of which have the same system of scansion, which is as follows: \ / ˘ \ / ˘ \ / ˘ \ / where \ is an intermediate stress, / is a strong stress, and ˘ is unstressed. Although, for simplicity, an alternative stress scheme is offered that does not recognize intermediate stresses, and that scheme is: / / ˘ / / ˘ / / ˘ / /. In either case, there are 11 syllables per line, and the ruba'i rhyme scheme.

Lyrics

The Syrian national anthem is divided into four stanzas, each pertaining to a different and unique aspect of Syria from the remaining stanzas. Although the name of the anthem is "Guardians of the Homeland", which is a metaphor for the Syrian military, only the first stanza in fact talks about said army. The stanza breakdown is as follows: The first stanza is about Syria's army, and its role in defending the nation and in defending the citizens' integrity and Arabness. The second stanza is about Syria's scenery and terrain, where it talks about Syria's plains, mountains, and sunlit skies. The third stanza is about Syria's people, their hopes, martyrs, and flag. The fourth stanza talks about Syria's history, from its past and present to its future.

Arabic original

Syriac Syriac may refer to: Syriac language, an ancient dialect of Middle Aramaic Sureth, one of the modern dialects of Syriac spoken in the Nineveh Plains region * Syriac alphabet Syriac (Unicode block) Syriac Supplement * Neo-Aramaic languages a ...
lyrics

English translations

Notes

References

External links

Lyrics, sheet music, and Audio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Humat ad-Diyar Asian anthems Syrian music National symbols of Syria 1936 songs National anthem compositions in A-flat major