People tend to confuse the two names “Syria” and “Assyria” because of the ancient Assyrian civilization that most people are less aware of. They confuse it with the Syria that exists in Middle East now. Although Syrians are said to be the descendants of Assyrian people, differences between Assyria and Syria exist which should be cleared out.

 

Syria

Syria, or the Syrian Arab Republic, lies in the west of Asia, and borders Israel, Jordan, Iraq, and Turkey. Syrian came into independence in 1946, when it was previously colonized by France. The capital of Syria is Damascus, which is said to the oldest city inhabited by people in the entire world. Syrians are mostly Arabic. The name Syria was derived by the Greeks, who referred to the Assyrian people as Syrians. Syria has a coastline around the Mediterranean Sea, and also has a large desert, the Syrian Desert. The country is largely and mainly populated with Muslims, with on 10% Christians. Three fourth of the Muslims are of the Sunni sect of Islam, while the remaining are Shia Muslims. the Christian population in Syria contains the main ancient Assyrian population.

 

 

Assyria

Assyria is an ancient civilization that flourished in 3500 BC in Mesopotamia. The people from this civilization, Assyrians, were Semitic. Assyria came after the Akkadian kingdom fell, that lied between the Dajla and Furat. The Assyrian language was Aramaic, which can still be spoken by a few Syrians. The people from this civilization spread into Iraq, Syria, Iran, and the adjacent countries over the years. The Assyrian nation was a very powerful nation in history and controlled the large areas of Asia till the 7th century BC. The accurate dates of existence of Assyria is said to be from the 23rd century BC till the 608 BC. Assyrians are believed to be the direct descendants of Syrians and Iraqis, while some exist in Iran and Turkey.

 

Thus, Syria is a modern nation in Asia, while Assyria was an ancient civilization that came into existence in 3500 BC.