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Tartus Governorate

Field	Value
name	Tartus Governorate
official_name	Tartous Governorate
native_name	مُحافظة طرطوس
settlement_type	Governorate
image_map	Tartus in Syria 2016.svg
map_caption	Map of Syria with Tartus highlighted
mapframe	yes
mapframe-zoom	7
mapframe-wikidata	yes
coordinates
coor_pinpoint	Tartus
subdivision_type	Country
subdivision_name	Syria
parts_type	Manatiq (Districts)
parts_style	para
p1	5
established_title	Part of Alawite State
established_date	1920–1936
established_title1	Separated from Latakia Governorate
established_date1	1972
seat_type	Capital
seat	Tartus
leader_title	Governor
leader_name	Ahmad al-Shami
unit_pref	Metric
area_total_km2	1892
area_note	Estimates range between 1,890 km2 and 1,892 km2
population_total	797,000
population_as_of	2011
population_density_km2	auto
blank_name_sec1	Main language(s)
blank_info_sec1	Arabic
timezone	AST
utc_offset	+3
iso_code	SY-TA
website

| mapframe-zoom = 7 | mapframe-wikidata = yes

Tartus Governorate, officially Tartous Governorate ( ar), is one of the fourteen governorates of Syria. It is situated in western Syria, bordering Latakia Governorate to the north, Homs and Hama Governorates to the east, Lebanon to the south, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. It is one of the few governorates in Syria that has an Alawite majority. Sources list the area as 1,890 km2 or 1,892 km2, with its capital being Tartus.

History

The present day Tartus Governorate was part of the Alawite State, which existed from 1920 to 1936. In 1972, the Ba'athist administration had established Tartus Governorate, effectively detaching it from Latakia Governorate.

Archeological sites

Al-Kahf Castle – Isma'ili castle
Hosn Sulaiman
Aleika Castle – Isma'ili castle
Amrit – Phoenician city
Chastel Rouge (Qal’at Yahmur) – Crusader castle
Hosn Suleiman
Margat – Crusader castle
Citadel of Arwad
Tell Kazel – Bronze age site (possibly the ancient city of Sumur)
Carne – Phoenician city
Chastel Blanc
Citadel of Tartus

Geography

Tartus comprises roughly half of Syria's Mediterranean coastline; offshore lie five small islands, the largest of which is Arwad. Inland the terrain is mountainous, comprising a section of the Syrian Coastal Mountain Range (Nusayriyah Mountains). The Nahr al-Kabir river forms the border with Lebanon to the south.

Settlements

Tartus is the regional capital; other major settlements include Al-Hamidiyah, Al Qadmus, Al-Sawda, Ayn ash Shams, Baniyas, Qusaybah and Safita.

Districts

The governorate is divided into five districts (manatiq). The districts are further divided into 27 sub-districts (nawahi):

Tartus District (7 sub-districts)
- Tartus Subdistrict
- Arwad Subdistrict
- Al-Hamidiyah Subdistrict
- Khirbet al-Maazah Subdistrict
- Al-Sawda Subdistrict
- Al-Karimah Subdistrict
- Al-Safsafah Subdistrict
Baniyas District (7 sub-districts)
- Baniyas Subdistrict
- Al-Rawda Subdistrict
- Al-Annazah Subdistrict
- Al-Qadmus Subdistrict
- Hammam Wasel Subdistrict
- Al-Tawahin Subdistrict
- Talin Subdistrict
Duraykish District (4 sub-districts)
- Duraykish Subdistrict
- Junaynet Ruslan Subdistrict
- Hamin Subdistrict
- Dweir Ruslan Subdistrict
Safita District (6 sub-districts)
- Safita Subdistrict
- Mashta al-Helu Subdistrict
- Al-Bariqiyah Subdistrict
- Sebei Subdistrict
- Al-Sisiniyah Subdistrict
- Ras al-Khashufah Subdistrict
Al-Shaykh Badr District (3 sub-districts)
- Al-Shaykh Badr Subdistrict
- Brummanet al-Mashayekh Subdistrict
- Al-Qamsiyah Subdistrict

Demographics

As per the 2004 Syrian census the population was 701,400. A 2011 UNOCHA estimate put the population at 797,000, an estimate preceding the Syrian Civil War which caused a large population decline and socioeconomic devastation.

The estimated population of 797,000 represented roughly 4% of Syria's population at the time. The population was almost entirely ethnic Arabs; these were Alawites at 69%, 18% Sunni Muslims, 7% Ismaili Muslims, and 6% were Christians (mostly Greek Orthodox). There was a small Cretan Greek community concentrated in Al-Hamidiyah, the descendants of refugees who fled the Greco-Turkish War of 1897.

Gallery

References

(2025-11-06). "Tartous - Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA)".
"Syria Provinces".
"Syria: Governorates, Major Cities & Localities – Population Statistics, Maps, Charts, Weather and Web Information".
Longrigg, Stephen Hemsley. "Syria and Lebanon Under French Mandate." London: Oxford University Press, 1958.
"Arwad, Fortress at Sea". Aramco World.
Federal Research Division, Library of Congress (2005) [http://memory.loc.gov/frd/cs/profiles/Syria.pdf "Country Profile: Syria"] page 5
[[United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia]] ''et al.'', "Nahr el Kabir Basin", ''Inventory of Shared Water Resources in Western Asia'' '''8''' [https://waterinventory.org/sites/waterinventory.org/files/chapters/Chapter-08-Nahr-el-Kabir-Basin-web.pdf PDF]
(June 2014). "Syrian Arab Republic – Governorates profile". UNOCHA.
Hussain Ibrahim Qutrib. (2016). ""Useful Syria" and Demographic Changes in Syria". King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies.
[http://webs.uvigo.es/ssl/actas2002/05/08.%20Roula%20Tsokalidou.pdf Greek-Speaking Enclaves of Lebanon and Syria] by Roula Tsokalidou. Proceedings ''II Simposio Internacional Bilingüismo''. Retrieved 4 December 2006

Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

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