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The State of Damascus (1920-1925) (French: État de Damas) (Arabic: دولة دمشق) 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.
[edit] Establishment
The State of Damascus was declared by the French General Henri Gouraud in September 1920, 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 Dmascus 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 of Lebanon plus the entire south Lebanon. Damascus, and later Syria, continuously protested the separation of these lands and kept demanding them back throughout the mandate period. The popultaion of these regions, which was mainly Muslim, also protested the separation from Damascus.
[edit] The Syrian Federation and the State of Syria
In 1923, 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 Decimber 1, 1924.
[edit] See also
