The State of Damascus (1920–1924; French: État de Damas; Arabic: دولة دمشق Dawlat Dimashq ) was one of the six states established by the French General Henri Gouraud in the French Mandate of Syria which followed the San Remo conference and the defeat of King Faisal's short-lived monarchy in Syria.
| State of Damascus دولة دمشق État de Damas |
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| Mandate of France | |||||
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Flag |
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 Location of the State of Damascus (dark pink)
within the Mandate for Syria. |
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| Capital | Damascus | ||||
| Languages | Arabic French |
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| Political structure | League of Nations Mandate | ||||
| Historical era | Interwar period | ||||
| - | Mandate granted | 3 September 1920 | |||
| - | Federation established | 22 June 1922 | |||
| - | Unification of Aleppo and Damascus | 1 December 1924 | |||
The State of Damascus (1920–1924; French: État de Damas; Arabic: دولة دمشق Dawlat Dimashq ) was one of the six states established by the French General Henri Gouraud in the French Mandate of Syria which followed the San Remo conference and the defeat of King Faisal's short-lived monarchy in Syria.
The other states were the State of Aleppo (1920), the State of Alawites (1920), the State of Jabal Druze (1921), and The Sanjak of Alexandretta (1921). The State of Greater Lebanon (1920) became later the modern country of Lebanon.
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Establishment[edit]
The State of Damascus was declared by the French General Henri Gouraud on 3 September 1920,[1] with Damascus as its capital. The first president of the new state was Haqqi Al-Azm. The state of Damascus included Damascus and its surrounding region, in addition to the cities of Homs, Hama and the Orontes river valley.
The new Damascus state lost four Qada's (sub-districts) that had been part of the Vilayet (district) of Damascus during Ottoman times to the mainly Christian Mount Lebanon to create the new State of Greater Lebanon. The territory separated from Damascus corresponds today to the Biqa' valley plus south Lebanon. Damascus, and later Syria, continuously protested the separation of these lands and kept demanding them back throughout the mandate period. The population of these regions, which was mainly Muslim, also protested the separation from Damascus.
Syrian Federation and the State of Syria[edit]
In 22 June 1922, general Gouraud announced the Syrian Federation (la Fédération Syrienne) which included the states of Damascus, Aleppo, and the Alawite state. In 1924, the Alawite State was separated again. The Syrian Federation became the State of Syria in 1 December 1924.
Population[edit]
| General Distribution of Population in the State of Damascus according to the French census in 1921-22[2] | |||||||
| Religion | Inhabitants | Percentage | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sunni | 447,000 | 75.1% | |||||
| Ismailis | 8,000 | 1.3% | |||||
| Alawis | 5,000 | 0.8% | |||||
| Druzes | 4,000 | 0.7% | |||||
| Mutawali | 9,000 | 1.5% | |||||
| Christians | 67,000 | 11.3% | |||||
| Jews | 6,000 | 1.1% | |||||
| Foreigners | 49,000 | 8.2% | |||||
| Total | 595,000 | 100% | |||||
See also[edit]
- French Mandate of Syria
- State of Alawites
- Jabal el Druze (state)
- Alexandretta / Hatay
- State of Aleppo
- List of French possessions and colonies
- French colonial empire
- French colonial flags
References[edit]
- ^ Syrian History: Timeline
- ^ E.J. Brill's first encyclopaedia of Islam, 1913-1936, Volume 2, page 301
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- Former polities of the Interwar period
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- States and territories disestablished in 1925
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