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Adib Shishakli
Adib Bin Hassan Al-Shishakli was a Syrian military leader and President of Syria (1953–54).
Jamal al-Atassi
Jamal Al-Atassi (1922−2000) was a Syrian Arab nationalist, politician and author. He was one of the earliest ideologues of the nascent Syrian Ba'ath Party, which he joined soon after it was founded. He helped to lay out its constitution and was the man who came up with the party's motto, "One united Arab Nation with an eternal Message." He also served as chief editor of the party's daily newspaper, Al Baath.
1963 Syrian coup d'état
The 1963 Syrian coup d'état, referred to by the Syrian government as the 8 March Revolution, was the successful seizure of power in Syria by the military committee of the Syrian Regional Branch of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party. The planning and the unfolding conspiracy was inspired by the Iraqi Regional Branch's successful military coup.
Arab Cold War
The Arab Cold War was a series of conflicts in the Arab world that occurred as part of the broader Cold War between, roughly, the Egyptian Revolution of 1952 that brought President Gamal Abdel Nasser to power there, and the period after his death in 1970.
Afif al-Bizri
Afif al-Bizri was a Syrian career military officer who served as the chief of staff of the Syrian Army between 1957–1959. He was known for his communist sympathies, and for spearheading the union movement between Syria and Egypt in 1958.
Sectarianism and minorities in the Syrian Civil War
The Syrian Civil War is an intensely sectarian conflict. The focus of the conflict has been identified by some as a ruling minority Alawite government and allied Shi'a governments such as Iran, pitted against the country's Sunni Muslim majority who are aligned with the Syrian opposition and their Sunni Turkish and Persian Gulf state backers. However Sunni Muslims make up the majority of the Syrian Arab Army and many hold high governmental positions. Others identify it as the secular Syrian government, made up of all religious groups pitted against the Islamist opposition. The conflict had drawn in other ethno-religious minorities, including Armenians, Assyrians, Druze, Palestinians, Kurds, Yazidi, Mhallami, Arab Christians, Mandaeans, Turkmens and Greeks.
Iran–Syria relations
Syria and Iran are strategic allies. Syria is usually called Iran's "closest ally", with ideological conflict between the Arab nationalism ideology of Syria's secular ruling Ba'ath Party and the Islamic Republic of Iran's pan-Islamist policy notwithstanding. Iran and Syria have had a strategic alliance ever since the Iran–Iraq War, when Syria sided with non-Arab Iran against its fellow Baath-ruled neighbor but enemy Iraq was isolated by some Arab countries. The two countries shared a common animosity towards then Iraqi president Saddam Hussein and coordination against the United States and Israel. Syria cooperates with Iran in sending arms to Palestinian groups and Hezbollah in Lebanon, since Israel has attacked Syria. During the Syrian Civil War Iran conducted, alongside Russia, "an extensive, expensive, and integrated effort to keep Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in power." Iran, Syria, Iraq, and Russia also form an anti-terrorism alliance that has its headquarters in Baghdad. The United States and the United Kingdom have designated both nations of Iran and Syria as State Sponsors of Terrorism and listed under axis of evil, due to their alleged terrorist activities.
Syrian Social Nationalist Party in Lebanon
The Syrian Social Nationalist Party in Lebanon (SSNP), is a secular nationalist political party operating in Lebanon, a branch of pan-Syrian Social Nationalist Party. It advocates subsuming Lebanon into a Greater Syrian nation state spanning the Fertile Crescent.
Jassem Alwan
Jassem Alwan was a prominent colonel in the Syrian Army, particularly during the period of the United Arab Republic (UAR) (1958–1961) when he served as the Commander of the Qatana Base near Damascus. Alwan, a staunch supporter of UAR President Gamal Abdel Nasser, opposed Syria's secession from the union in 1961, leading two failed coup attempts to overthrow the secessionist government in 1962.
Arab nationalism
Arab nationalism is a nationalist ideology that asserts the Arabs are a nation and promotes the unity of Arab people, celebrating the glories of Arab civilization, the language and literature of the Arabs, calling for rejuvenation and political union in the Arab world. Its central premise is that the peoples of the Arab world, from the Atlantic Ocean to the Indian Ocean, constitute one nation bound together by common ethnicity, language, culture, history, identity, geography and politics. One of the primary goals of Arab nationalism is the end of Western influence in the Arab world, seen as a "nemesis" of Arab strength, and the removal of those Arab governments considered to be dependent upon Western power. It rose to prominence with the weakening and defeat of the Ottoman Empire in the early 20th century and declined after the defeat of the Arab armies in the Six-Day War.
Liwa Abu al-Fadhal al-Abbas
The Brigade of Abu al-Fadl al-Abbas, also known as the al-Abbas Brigade, is a pro-government Twelver Shia Muslim militant group operating throughout Syria. It is named after the nickname of Al-Abbas ibn Ali, son of Imam Ali.
Ba'ath Brigades
The Ba'ath Brigades, also known as the Ba'ath Battalions, are a volunteer militia made up of Syrian Ba'ath Party members, almost entirely of Sunni Muslims from Syria and many Arab countries, loyal to the Syrian Government of Bashar al-Assad. It was set up in Aleppo under the command of Hilal Hilal, the current Assistant Regional Secretary, after rebels took most of the eastern half of Aleppo in summer 2012. Initially, the Ba'ath Brigades were used to guard government buildings and other key installations in the city, but their role has expanded as their strength has grown from 5,000 members in November 2012 to 7,000 in December 2013. Units have since also formed in Latakia and Tartus. At the end of 2013, the Brigades began deploying in Damascus, tasked with manning checkpoints and conducting "light logistical operations". They spearheaded the assault on the Old City of Aleppo in early 2014.
Liwa Fatemiyoun
Liwa Fatemiyoun, literally "Fatimid Banner", also known as Fatemiyoun Division, Fatemiyoun Brigade, or Hezbollah Afghanistan, is an Afghan Shia militia formed in 2014 to fight in Syria on the side of the government. It is funded, trained, and equipped by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), and fights under the command of Iranian officers. However, the group has denied direct Iranian government involvement in its activities. By late 2017, the unit numbered between 10,000–20,000 fighters. According to Zohair Mojahed, a cultural official in the group, the group has suffered 2,000 killed and 8,000 wounded in combat in Syria since its establishment.
Liwa Assad Allah al-Ghalib fi al-Iraq wa al-Sham
The Conquering Lion of God Forces of Iraq and the Levant, more commonly known by its original name Liwa Assad Allah al-Ghalib fi al-Iraq wa al-Sham or simply LAAG, is a Shia Muslim militant group operating throughout Syria and Iraq. It is named after the nickname of Imam Ali.
Early insurgency phase of the Syrian Civil War
The early insurgency phase of the Syrian Civil War lasted from late July 2011 to April 2012, and was associated with the rise of armed oppositional militias across Syria and the beginning of armed rebellion against the authorities of the Syrian Arab Republic. Though armed insurrection incidents began as early as June 2011 when rebels killed 120–140 Syrian security personnel, the beginning of organized insurgency is typically marked by the formation of the Free Syrian Army (FSA) on 29 July 2011, when a group of defected officers declared the establishment of the first organized oppositional military force. Composed of defected Syrian Armed Forces personnel, the rebel army aimed to remove Bashar al-Assad and his government from power.
Baqir Brigade
The Baqir Brigade, named after Shia Imam Muhammad al-Baqir, is a Syrian loyalist militia originating in the Aleppo Governorate that fights in the Syrian Civil War. One of the most prominent and largest pro-government militias from the Aleppo area and part of the "Local Defence Forces" network, the Baqir Brigade mostly consists of tribesmen from the al-Baggara tribe that has traditionally supported the rule of the al-Assad family despite being mostly Sunni Muslim. Though the militia's fighters thus come from a largely Sunni background, many of them appear to have converted to or are at least strongly influenced by Shia Islam. Indeed, the Baqir Brigade has been noted for its strong connections to the Lebanese Hezbollah, Iran, and various Iraqi Shia militias, and is thus generally considered to be a Shia or "Shi'ified" fighting force.
Jaysh al-Mu'ammal
Jaysh al-Mu'ammal, also known as Liwa al-Mu'ammal or as the Popular Mobilization Forces' 99th Brigade, is a Shia Islamist Iraqi private militia that is led by Sa'ad Sawar and has fought in the Syrian Civil War and Iraqi Civil War. Founded as splinter faction of the Sadrist Movement, Jaysh al-Mu'ammal is supported by Iran and former Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.