Postage stamps and postal history of Syria
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This is a survey of the
postage stamps A postage stamp is a small piece of paper issued by a post office, postal administration, or other authorized vendors to customers who pay postage (the cost involved in moving, insuring, or registering mail), who then affix the stamp to the fa ...
and
postal history Postal history is the study of postal systems and how they operate and, or, the study of the use of postage stamps and covers and associated postal artifacts illustrating historical episodes in the development of postal systems. The term is att ...
of
Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
. Syria, is a country in
Western Asia Western Asia, West Asia, or Southwest Asia, is the westernmost subregion of the larger geographical region of Asia, as defined by some academics, UN bodies and other institutions. It is almost entirely a part of the Middle East, and includes Ana ...
, bordering
Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...
and the
Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ea ...
to the west,
Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
to the north,
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 ...
to the east,
Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...
to the south, and
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 ...
to the southwest. The French were awarded a mandate to govern Syria at the Paris Peace conference of 1918 and Syria attained independence in April 1946, as a
parliamentary republic A parliamentary republic is a republic that operates under a parliamentary system of government where the executive branch (the government) derives its legitimacy from and is accountable to the legislature (the parliament). There are a number ...
.


Early postal arrangements

Syria was part of 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) ...
until the defeat of the Ottomans in the First World War and an extensive network of Imperial Ottoman post offices operated in the region. A French post office operated between 1852 and 1914, and an Egyptian office at
Latakia , coordinates = , elevation_footnotes = , elevation_m = 11 , elevation_ft = , postal_code_type = , postal_code = , area_code = Country code: 963 City code: 41 , geocode ...
from 1870 to 1872. Syria used the stamps of the Ottoman Empire from 1883 until 1919. Rossiter, Stuart & John Flower. ''The Stamp Atlas''. London: Macdonald, 1986, pp.218-219.


Egyptian Expeditionary Force

Stamps of the British
Egyptian Expeditionary Force The Egyptian Expeditionary Force (EEF) was a British Empire military formation, formed on 10 March 1916 under the command of General Archibald Murray from the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force and the Force in Egypt (1914–15), at the beginning of ...
were available in Syria between 23 September 1918 and 23 February 1922.


Syrian Arab Kingdom

In 1920 Emir Faisal of the
Hejaz The Hejaz (, also ; ar, ٱلْحِجَاز, al-Ḥijāz, lit=the Barrier, ) is a region in the west of Saudi Arabia. It includes the cities of Mecca, Medina, Jeddah, Tabuk, Yanbu, Taif, and Baljurashi. It is also known as the "Western Provin ...
organised an Arab Kingdom in central Syria in rebellion against French control. On 8 March 1920 Faisal was proclaimed King of Syria. During this period stamps of Turkey from 1913 to 1919 were overprinted in Damascus with the Arabic seal ''Al Hukuma Al Arabia'' 'Arab Government' and some of the stamps surcharged in Egyptian currency. After Faisal was proclaimed King, a set of stamps was issued by the Arabian Government of Syria, and one of the set, the 5 milliemes, pink, overprinted in Arabic with green ink, "In commemoration of the independence of Syria. Adar (March) 8th 1920." The overprinted Turkish provisionals continued in use for about two months and were used conjunctively with stamps of the E.E.F. and regular Syrian issues."The Stamps of Syria" in ''Stanley Gibbons Monthly Journal'', September 1927. Retrieved 10 April 2010.
/ref>


French military occupation

In July 1920 King Faisal was dethroned by the French and a mandate was granted to France by the
League of Nations The League of Nations (french: link=no, Société des Nations ) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference that ...
over the whole of Syria from 1923. Following the awarding of the mandate and the defeat of Syrian forces in May 1920, Syria came under French military occupation. Syria got divided between a coastal area with a capital at
Beirut Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...
, which subsequently became Lebanon, and the interior under the control of the Arabs with a capital at
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 = , ...
. Stamps of France were used between 1920 and 1922 overprinted ''T.E.O.'' (Territoires Ennemis Occupés) or ''O.M.F.'' (Occupation Militaire Francaise).''Stanley Gibbons Stamp Catalogue: Part 19 Middle East''. 6th edition. London:
Stanley Gibbons The Stanley Gibbons Group plc is a company quoted on the London Stock Exchange specialising in the retailing of collectable postage stamps and similar products. The group is incorporated in London. The company is a major stamp dealer and philat ...
, 2005, pp.299-341.


French Mandate

As a
League of Nations mandate A League of Nations mandate was a legal status for certain territories transferred from the control of one country to another following World War I, or the legal instruments that contained the internationally agreed-upon terms for administ ...
, Syria used the stamps of France, overprinted ''Syrie Grand Liban'' in 1923. The postal administrations for Syria and Lebanon were separated in 1924, and the stamps of France overprinted ''Syrie'' were issued for Lebanon. From 1925 Syria had its own stamps marked ''Syrie''.


Syrian Republic

The Syrian Republic was formed in 1930 as a component of the
Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon The Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon (french: Mandat pour la Syrie et le Liban; ar, الانتداب الفرنسي على سوريا ولبنان, al-intidāb al-fransi 'ala suriya wa-lubnān) (1923−1946) was a League of Nations mandate foun ...
. From 1934 stamps marked ''Republique Syrienne'' were in use, changing later to just ''Syrie''.


Independence

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
became ''de facto'' independent in April 1946.


United Arab Republic

On 1 February 1958 Syria and Egypt united to form 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 ...
and stamps marked ''UAR'' were used.


Syrian Arab Republic

On 28 September 1961 Syria left the UAR and became the
Syrian Arab Republic Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
and stamps have been marked first under that name, then ''Syrian A.R.'' or just ''Syria'' since then.


See also

*
Postage stamps and postal history of Lebanon This is a survey of the postage stamps and postal history of Lebanon, formerly known as Liban. Lebanon is a country in Western Asia on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. Syria borders it to the north and east, and occupied Palestine to ...
*
Postage stamps and postal history of Alawite State The Alawite State or the Alaouites (Fr.) was located between the Turkish province of Hatay Province, Hatay (formerly the Syrian province of Alexandretta) and Lebanon. Geographically within Syria, the Alawite state was administered under a French ...
*
Postage stamps and postal history of Hatay This is a survey of the postage stamps and postal history of Hatay State, formerly the Sanjak of Alexandretta of the French Mandate of Syria. Background After the First World War the Sanjak of Alexandretta became part of the French Manda ...


Further reading

* ''Philatelic History of the Arab Kingdom of Syria'' by Alexander Kaczmarczyk and Rodney Unwin Edited by Abed H Najjar, published by London Stamp Exchange. 2014


References


External links

{{PostalhistoryAsia Philately of Syria