Assyrians in Syria

Assyrians in Syria (Syriac: ܣܘܪ̈ܝܝܐ ܕܣܘܪܝܐ, Arabic: الآشوريون في سوريا), also known as Syriacs/Arameans, are an ethnic and linguistic minority indigenous to Upper Mesopotamia, the north-eastern half of Syria. Syrian-Assyrians are people of Assyrian descent living in Syria, and those in the Assyrian diaspora who are of Syrian-Assyrian heritage.

They live primarily in Al-Hasakah Governorate, with a significant presence in Hasakah city and the cities of Qamishli, Malikiyah, Ras al-Ayn, and Qahtaniyah, as well as in Tell Tamer and nearby villages. Some have migrated to Damascus and other western cities beyond the border of their indigenous Mesopotamia at the Euphrates River. They share a common history and ethnic identity, rooted in shared linguistic, cultural and religious traditions, with Assyrians in Turkey, Assyrians in Iraq and Assyrians in Iran, as well as with the Assyrian diaspora.

Historically, the related Arameans of Maaloula and Jubb'adin in Southwestern Syria were sometimes included under the term 'Assyrians', although those two particular Aramean communities in Syria speak Western Neo-Aramaic, in contrast to the Northeastern Neo-Aramaic spoken by Assyrians proper.

In addition, the Assyrian identity in Syria (as in Iraq) is usually seen as inseparable from being Christian and even adhering to specific churches. In contrast, the Aramean identity can also encompass Muslim Arameans, as in the case of the Arameans of Jubb'adin and the pre-Syrian civil war village (now destroyed) of Bakh'a. The inhabitants of both of these villages are overwhelmingly Muslim, although the historical evidence suggests that conversion to Islam happened more recently around the 1700s.