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

tripoint A triple border, tripoint, trijunction, triple point, or tri-border area is a geography, geographical point at which the boundaries of three countries or Administrative division, subnational entities meet. There are 175 international tripoints ...

with

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

in the west to the tripoint with

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

in the east.

Description

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

Golan Heights The Golan Heights, or simply the Golan, is a basaltic plateau at the southwest corner of Syria. It is bordered by the Yarmouk River in the south, the Sea of Galilee and Hula Valley in the west, the Anti-Lebanon mountains with Mount Hermon in t ...

, 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 south-east of Metzar. The Jordan-Golan Heights border runs along the Yarmouk River, and this river then continues as the westernmost section of the Jordan–Syria border proper. The border leaves the river just east of Al-Turrah, and a series of irregular and short straight lines then proceeds to the south-east, passing between Ar Ramtha and Daraa across the Daraa Border Crossing and on to the Nasib Border Crossing on the

Amman Amman ( , ; , ) is the capital and the largest city of Jordan, and the country's economic, political, and cultural center. With a population of four million as of 2021, Amman is Jordan's primate city and is the largest city in the Levant ...

–

Damascus Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Kno ...

road. At it turns north-east, running in a straight line across the

Syrian Desert The Syrian Desert ( ''Bādiyat Ash-Shām''), also known as the North Arabian Desert, the Jordanian steppe, or the Badiya, is a region of desert, semi-desert, and steppe, covering about of West Asia, including parts of northern Saudi Arabia, ea ...

, terminating at the Iraqi tripoint at .

History

At the start of the 20th century the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

controlled what is now Jordan and Syria. During the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

Arab Revolt The Arab Revolt ( ), also known as the Great Arab Revolt ( ), was an armed uprising by the Hashemite-led Arabs of the Hejaz against the Ottoman Empire amidst the Middle Eastern theatre of World War I. On the basis of the McMahon–Hussein Co ...

, 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 Sykes–Picot Agreement () was a 1916 secret treaty between the United Kingdom and France, with assent from Russia and Italy, to define their mutually agreed spheres of influence and control in an eventual partition of the Ottoman Empire. T ...

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 The Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon (; , also referred to as the Levant States; 1923−1946) was a League of Nations mandate founded in the aftermath of the First World War and the partitioning of the Ottoman Empire, concerning the territories ...

. Britain's section (roughly, modern western Jordan) was contested between Britain, the newly formed

Arab Kingdom of Syria The Syrian Arab Kingdom (, ') was a self-proclaimed, unrecognized monarchy existing briefly in the territory of Bilad al-Sham, historical Syria. It was announced on 5 October 1918 as a fully independent Arab constitutional government with the perm ...

, Zionists in the new

Mandate for Palestine The Mandate for Palestine was a League of Nations mandate for British Empire, British administration of the territories of Mandatory Palestine, Palestine and Emirate of Transjordan, Transjordanwhich had been Ottoman Syria, part of the Ottoman ...

, 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 West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

, 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 (), officially the Amirate of Trans-Jordan, was a British protectorate established on 11 April 1921,King Abdullah I. In the period of 1920–1923, France and Britain signed a series of agreements, collectively known as the Paulet–Newcombe Agreement, which created the modern Jordan-Syria and Iraq–Syria borders, 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, also known as the June War, 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, Syria, and Jordan from 5 to 10June ...

, 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. Jordan’s last remaining territorial dispute was resolved in February 2005, when the interior ministers of Jordan and Syria signed an agreement ending more than 30 years of controversy over the exact demarcation of their mutual border through a land-swap arrangement in their border region.

Settlements near the border

Jordan

* Al-Turrah * Ar-Ramtha * Sama * Ed Dafyana

Syria

* Al-Shajara * Sahm al Julan * Muzayrib * Daraa * At Tayyibah * Dhibin * Umm ar Rumman * Al-Ghariyah al-Gharbiyah * Rukban refugee camp

Border crossings

* Nasib Border Crossing * Daraa Border Crossing

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jordan-Syria border International borders