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89-956: It has been merged into and then separated from both the Syrian Arab Army and the Syrian Arab Air Force . The Syrian Air Defence Force controls four Air Defence corps, eleven Air Defence divisions and thirty-six Air Defence brigades, each with six surface-to-air missile battalions. Since 2017, it has been linked to a joint Russian-Syrian command. It is equipped with 650 static S-75 Dvina , S-125 Neva/Pechora and S-200 launchers, 300 mobile 2K12 Kub , Pantsir S-1 and Buk launchers and over 4,000 anti-aircraft guns ranging from 23mm to 100mm in calibre (e.g. ZSU-23-4 Shilka ). There are also two independent 9K33 Osa SAM regiments, each with four batteries of 48 mobile SAMs. An unknown number of S-300 system were delivered to Syria in 2018. A large number of Iranian Air Defence systems were delivered to

178-695: A fall in the number of armored divisions reported from the 2010 edition from eight to seven. The independent armored brigade had been replaced by an independent tank regiment. In 2009 and 2010, according to the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London, the Syrian army comprised 220,000 regular personnel, and the entire armed forces (including the navy, air force and air defenses) had 325,000 regular troops. Additionally, it had about 290,000 reservists. The vast majority of Syrian military equipment

267-632: A growth of population in pre-existing villages. However, most of these settlements were established on the outskirts of the valley rather than within it. Between 1912 and 1925 the Sursock family (then under the French Mandate of Syria ) sold their 80,000 acres (320 km²) of land in the Vale of Jezreel to the American Zion Commonwealth for about nearly three-quarters of a million pounds. The land

356-690: A reflection of the Valley's decline during the late Mamluk period. The Turabays were entrusted with securing the region and restoring its prosperity. After the fall of the Turabay Emirate, the Valley became contested space between the rulers of Acre and Nablus until taken over by Zahir al-Umar during the 1760s. In the late Ottoman era, the outskirts of the Jezreel Valley, within both the Nazareth and Shefa-'Amr nahiyas , had sparse populations. Malaria

445-747: Is a large fertile plain and inland valley in the Northern District of Israel . It is bordered to the north by the highlands of the Lower Galilee region, to the south by the Samarian highlands, to the west and northwest by the Mount Carmel range, and to the east by the Jordan Valley , with Mount Gilboa marking its southern extent. The largest settlement in the valley is the city of Afula , which lies near its center. The Jezreel Valley takes its name from

534-677: Is a surviving detailed account of the earliest battle for the Jezreel Valley, the 15th-century BC Battle of Megiddo , to prove that it was fought in the valley. Due to the surrounding terrain, Egyptian chariots were only able to travel from Egypt as far as the Jezreel Valley and the valley north of Lake Huleh . In the western part of the Jezreel Valley, 23 of the 26 Iron Age I sites (12th to 10th centuries BCE) yielded typical Philistine pottery. These sites include Tel Megiddo , Tel Yokneam , Tel Qiri , Afula , Tel Qashish , Be'er Tiveon, Hurvat Hazin, Tel Risim, Tel Re'ala, Hurvat Tzror, Tel Sham , Midrakh Oz and Tel Zariq. Scholars have attributed

623-821: Is governed by the Jezreel Valley Regional Council . The Max Stern College of Emek Yizreel and the Emek Medical Center are located in the valley. According to the Hebrew Bible , the valley was the scene of several battles with the Israelites . A victory was led by Deborah and Barak against the Canaanites ( Judges 4 ). Another was led by Gideon against the Midianites , the Amalekites , and "the children of

712-631: Is possible to conceive." In the early 1900, the Ottomans constructed the Jezreel Valley railway which ran along the entire length of the valley. In the 1870s, the Sursock family of Beirut (present-day Lebanon ) purchased the land from the Ottoman government for approximately £20,000. This purchase, along with others, dispossessed local Bedouins and resulted in the creation of new tenant communities, as well as

801-691: The 11th Armored Division has stayed close to its bases in Homs and Hama. The European Council named Major General Wajih Mahmud as commander of the 18th Armored Division in the Official Journal of the European Union on 15 November 2011, sanctioning him for violence committed in Homs . Henry Boyd of the IISS noted that "in Homs , the 18th Armored Division was reinforced by Special Forces units and ... by elements of

890-537: The 1954 Syrian coup d'etat . Further coups followed, each attended by a purge of the officer corps to remove supporters of the losers from the force. 'Discipline in the army broke down across the board as units and their commanders pledged their allegiance to different groups and parties. Indeed, by the late 1950s, the situation had become so bad that Syrian officers regularly disobeyed the orders of superiors who belonged to different ethnic or political groups. The 1963 Syrian coup d'état had as one of its key objectives

979-546: The 1982 Lebanon War . In 1984, Major General Ali Haidar 's Special Forces were instrumental in blocking an abortive attempt by Rifaat Assad and his Defense Companies to seize the capital. Fayadh's 3rd Armoured Division moved into the capital to join Haidar's forces in the confrontation with the Defense Companies. The 3rd Armoured Division, it seems, had historically been based at al-Qutayfah , near Damascus. Bennett dates

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1068-655: The Balyun Airstrike . Syrian Air Defence Forces stated they succeeded in shooting down 13 Turkish combat UAVs, including 7 Bayraktar TB2 and 6 TAI Anka. On July 19, 2021, four F-16 fighter jets of the Israeli Air Force entered Syria’s airspace via the US-controlled al-Tanf zone and fired eight guided missiles at an area southeast of Syria’s Aleppo. Vadim Kulit, deputy chief of the Russian Center for Reconciliation of

1157-599: The Incirlik and Merzifon airbases. The incident came after a Turkish F-16 shot down a Syrian Mi-17 helicopter on September 16 after Turkey claimed it crossed into Turkish airspace in the same area. On 17 March 2015, a US MQ-1 Predator drone was shot down by a Syrian S-125 missile. On 13 September 2016, the Syrian Army claimed to have downed an Israeli warplane and a drone after an attack on Quneitra province. The Israel defence Forces denied any such loss. On 17 March 2017,

1246-601: The Islamist uprising in Syria in 1979–1982. In March 1980 the 3rd Armored Division and detachments from the Defense Companies arrived in Aleppo. The division was under the command of General Shafiq Fayadh , Hafiz Assad 's first cousin. The troops sealed "off whole quarters and carr[ied] out house-to-house searches, often preceded by tank fire." Hundreds of suspects were rounded up. Only two conventional Army brigades deployed to Hama in 1982,

1335-723: The Republican Guard and the 4th Armored Division , which are commanded by Bashar al-Assad's brother Maher , are exclusively Alawite. Most of Syria's 300,000 conscripts in 2011 were Sunni. Since 2022, the Minister of Defense and also Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Army and the Armed Forces Lieutenant General Ali Mahmoud Abbas , and Major General Mufid Hassan, Deputy Chief of the General Staff, are some of

1424-640: The Russian MoD ). To repel the attack, the following complexes were used: S-125, S-200, Buk, Kub, Osa, Strela-10 and Pantsir S-1. On the night of May 10, 2018, Israel launched a large scale air attack on multiple, alleged Iranian targets in Syria. After being engaged by the SyADF, the Israeli aircraft attacked and destroyed a Pantsir-S1 launcher, as well as several other anti-aircraft systems (SA5, SA2, SA22, SA17) . On September 17, 2018, four Israeli F-16s engaged targets in

1513-567: The Syrian Armed Forces . It is the dominant military service of the four uniformed services, controlling the most senior posts in the armed forces, and has the greatest manpower, approximately 80 percent of the combined services. The Syrian Army originated in local military forces formed by the French after World War I, after France obtained a mandate over the region. It officially came into being in 1945, before Syria obtained full independence

1602-605: The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights estimated "tens of thousands" soldiers to have defected. By August 2012, 40 Brigadier generals from the Army had defected to the opposition army, out of a total of 1,200 generals. On June 14, 2013, 73 Syrian Army officers and their families, some 202 people in total, sought refuge in Turkey. Amongst their number were seven generals and 20 colonels. In 2013, Agence France Press wrote on 'Syria's diminished security forces.' Up until July 2012,

1691-429: The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights – are mainly Sunni without access to vital command and control, Nerguizian said, however the formed Syrian Minister of Defense General Dawoud Rajiha killed in the 18 July 2012 Damascus bombing was a Christian . The army in Syria is the power structure. The armed forces would fight to an end. It would be a bloodbath, literally, because the army would fight to protect not only

1780-551: The 'Meadow of the Banu Amir ', an Arab tribe, parts of which took up abode in the valley after the 7th-century Muslim conquest . The name was increasingly used in Arabic texts to refer to the region as an administrative unit during the late Mamluk period (1260–1517). In earlier Arabic texts, the region was called after one of its well known sites, the Ayn Jalut spring. Marj Bani Amir became

1869-628: The 12th in the north, holding the sector from the B'nat Ya'acov bridge to the slopes of Mount Hermon , the 35th in the south from the B'nat Ya'acov bridge to the Yarmuk River border with Jordan, and the 42nd in reserve, earmarked for a theater-level counterattack role. During the Six-Day War Israeli assault of the Golan heights, the Syrian army failed to counterattack the Israelis as the Israelis breached

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1958-617: The 1940s. In 1919, the French formed the Troupes spéciales du Levant as part of the Army of the Levant in the French Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon . The former with 8,000 men later grew into both the Syrian and Lebanese armies. This force was used primarily as auxiliaries in support of French troops, and senior officer posts were held by Frenchmen, although Syrians were allowed to hold commissions below

2047-412: The 1st Armored Division had historically been at al-Kiswah . On 29 September 2004, Jane's Defence Weekly reported that Syria had begun to redeploy elements of one or more Syrian Army special forces regiments based in the coastal hills a few kilometres south of Beirut in Lebanon. A senior Lebanese Army officer told JDW that the 3,000 troops involved would return to Syria. Cordesman wrote that in 2006

2136-476: The 3rd Armored Division's 47th Armored and 21st Mechanized Brigades. Three quarters of the officers and one third of the soldiers in the two brigades were Alawites. Most of the repression was carried out by the Defense Companies and the Special Forces. Meanwhile, the Special Forces were isolating and combing through Hama , killing and capturing suspected government opponents. Syrian forces fought Israel during

2225-713: The 3rd Corps and 17th and 18th Armoured Divisions were established in 1986. The 9th Armoured Division served in the 1991 Persian Gulf War as the Arab Joint Forces Command North reserve and saw little action. In 1994, Haidar expressed objections to the Syrian president's decision to bring Bashar home from his studies in Britain and groom him for the succession after the death of Basil, the eldest Assad son. Soon afterwards, on 3 September 1994, Jane's Defence Weekly reported that then-President Hafez Assad had dismissed at least 16 senior military commanders. Among them

2314-421: The 4th Division under Maher's de facto command." Information from Holliday 2013 suggests that the reserve armored division is the 17th (rather than any other designation), which was responsible for eastern Syria. The division's 93rd Brigade left Idlib to secure Raqqa Governorate in early 2012. Following the reported capture of Raqqa on 3–6 March 2013 , elements of the 17th Division remained under siege to

2403-582: The Arabs are not prejudiced by Jewish immigration. It is doubtful whether, in the matter of the Sursock lands, this Article of the Mandate received sufficient consideration." In 2006, the Israeli Transportation Ministry and Jezreel Valley Regional Council announced plans to build an international airport near Megiddo but the project was shelved due to environmental objections. Archaeological sites in

2492-537: The Army more flexibility and to improve combat efficiency by decentralizing the command structure, absorbing at least some of the lessons learned during the Israeli invasion of the Lebanon in 1982." The organization and military doctrine of the army followed the Soviet model. Richard Bennett's estimate of the 2001 order of battle was: Bennett said the 1st Corps also [had] four independent special forces regiments, including two trained for heliborne commando operations against

2581-553: The Dead Sea no longer having a connection to the ocean, and over time, due to greater evaporation than precipitation plus surface water inflow, it has become heavily saline . The Sea of Galilee, on the other hand, consists of fresh water . The Jezreel Valley is a green fertile plain covered with fields of wheat, watermelon, melon, oranges, white beans, cowpeas, chickpeas, green beans, cotton, sunflowers and corn , as well as grazing tracts for multitudes of sheep and cattle. The area

2670-468: The Druze population, who have clashed with regime security forces and broken Druze youths out of regime imprisonment to avoid them serving in the army. Increasingly, Assad's Alawite base of support refuse to send their sons to the military due to massive casualty rates among military age men in their community; according to pro oppositions sources a third of 250,000 Alawite men of fighting age have been killed in

2759-665: The East" ( Judges 6:3 ). It was later the location at which the Israelites, led by King Saul , were defeated by the Philistines ( 1 Samuel 29:1–29:6 ). According to textual scholars , the account of an ancient Philistine victory at Jezreel derives from the monarchial source , in contrast to the republican source , which places the Philistine victory against the Israelites at Mount Gilboa ( 1 Samuel 28:4 , 1 Samuel 31:1–31:6 ). Another defeat

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2848-571: The Israeli signals intelligence & observation posts on Mount Hermon and elsewhere in the Golan Heights. The IISS listed smaller formations in 2006 as: Jezreel Valley The Jezreel Valley (from the Hebrew : עמק יזרעאל , romanized :  ʿĒmeq Yīzrəʿēl ), or Marj Ibn Amir ( Arabic : مرج ابن عامر , romanized :  Marj Ibn ʿĀmir ), also known as the Valley of Megiddo ,

2937-471: The Israeli Air Force launched attacks on SAA positions on Masyaf killing 5 people including one civilian, the attack destroyed one Pantsir-S1 system. On 25 August and 17 September 2022, new attacks were reportedly partly repelled by Syrian Pantsir-S1, Buk-M2E and S-75 systems. On December 25, 2023, the Israeli Air Force carried out an airstrike in the Sayyida Zeinab area, southeast of Damascus, resulting in

3026-519: The Israeli jets, an F-16I Sufa , with an S-200 missile. The jet crashed in the Jezreel Valley , near Harduf . Both the pilot and the navigator managed to eject. On April 14, 2018, the Syrian Air Defences claimed to repel massive US, British and French missile strike on Syrian military facilities. Three civilians were injured, among civilians and military none. The SyADF used 112 anti-aircraft missiles, hitting 71 targets out of 103 (according to

3115-507: The Jezreel Valley are currently excavated and coordinated by the Jezreel Valley Regional Project. In 2021, archaeologist from Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) led by researchers Tzachi Lang and Kojan Haku found in the village of Et Taiyiba an engraved stone from the late 5th century from the frame of an entrance door of a church, with a Greek inscription. The inscription reads, " Christ born of Mary . This work of

3204-863: The Jordanian Army at al-Ramtha on 21 September, after fierce air attacks on 22 September, the Syrians stopped the attack and began to retreat.The retreat was caused by Jordan's appeal for international aid : "The report said that Hussein “not only appealed for the moral and diplomatic support of the United Kingdom and the United States, coupled with the threat of international action, but had also asked for an air strike by Israel against Syrian troops.” (New York Post) After 1970 further Syrian engagements included: The Syrian armed forces have also been involved in suppressing dissident movements within Syria, for example

3293-846: The Opposing Parties in Syria, claimed that seven missiles were downed by the Russian-made Pantsir-S and Buk-M2 systems of the Syrian Air Defence Forces. In the evening of 27 July 2021, a drone was launched by militants from the Kafer-Khattar community in the Idlib Province. The militant drone was downed over the Hama Province by the Syrian Air Defence who used a Russia-produced Pantsir-S missile system, Kulit claimed

3382-533: The SAA had incurred at least 35,601 fatalities, which when combined with a reasonable ratio of 3 wounded personnel for every soldier killed and approximately 50,000 defections, suggests the SAA presently commands roughly 125,000 personnel. This loss of manpower is exacerbated by Syria's longentrenched problem of having to selectively deploy forces based on their perceived trustworthiness." The International Institute for Strategic Studies in London calculated that by August 2013

3471-630: The Sharon region and the Valley, moving through the Manasseh Hills . Laurence Oliphant , who visited the Akko Sanjak valley area in 1887, then a subprovince of the Beirut vilayet , wrote that the Valley of Esdraelon (Jezreel) was "a huge green lake of waving wheat, with its village-crowned mounds rising from it like islands; and it presents one of the most striking pictures of luxuriant fertility which it

3560-466: The Sunni Muslims in the positions of power. Some volunteer brigades, such as Arab Nationalist Guard , are made up of Sunni Syrians and other Sunnis from the Middle Eastern region that adhere to pan-Arab ideals. Before 2011, it was difficult to access reliable information about the SAA because of the Damascus government's sensitivity to potential espionage, particularly by Israel. Richard Bennett wrote in 2001 that "..corps [were] formed in 1985 to give

3649-498: The Syrian Air Defence Force shot down a Turkish McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II reconnaissance jet. The jet's pilots were killed; both Turkish and Syrian forces searched for them before recovering their bodies in early July. The incident greatly escalated the tensions between Turkey and Syria. In mid-November 2013, Turkish sources claimed the SyADF targeted, for ten seconds, three Turkish F-16 fighters that were flying near Dörtyol , over southern Hatay province after deploying from

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3738-409: The Syrian Air Defence Force (SyADF) shot down numerous Israeli warplanes using mostly the 2K12 Kub (SA-6) SAMs. In 1982, Israel claimed that 19 of 20 batteries, consisting of five launchers per battery, each launcher carrying three SA-6 missiles, were wiped out in Operation Mole Cricket 19 , and the SyADF claimed to have shot down 43 Israeli warplanes over Lebanon in the same year. On 22 June 2012,

3827-437: The Syrian Armed Forces claimed to have downed an Israeli warplane after an attack on military site near Palmyra. The Israel defence Forces denied any such loss. On February 10, 2018, Israel launched air strikes against targets in Syria with eight fighter aircraft as retaliation for a UAV incursion into the airspace of the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights earlier in the day. Syrian Air Defences succeeded in shooting down one of

3916-458: The Syrian Army had "organized two corps that reported to the Land Forces General Staff and the Commander of the Land Force." As of 2010, the army's formations included three army corps (the 1st , 2nd, and 3rd), eight armored divisions (with one independent armored brigade), three mechanized divisions, one armored-special forces division and ten independent airborne-special forces brigades. The army had 11 divisional formations reported in 2011, with

4005-439: The Syrian Civil War, leading to major tensions between the sect and the Syrian government. As of mid-2018, then-Israeli Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman said that the Syrian Arab Army had regained its pre-2011 strength levels, recovering from manpower shortages earlier in the Syrian Civil War. The 3rd Armored Division has deployed elements of three brigades from its bases around Qutayfah to Deraa, Zabadani, and Hama, while

4094-493: The Syrian army. These troops were mostly grouped into three infantry brigades and an armored force of about battalion size," writes Pollack. Between 1949 and 1966, a series of military coups destroyed the stability of the government and any remaining professionalism within the army. In March 1949, the chief of staff, General Husni al-Za'im , installed himself as president. Two more military dictators followed by December 1949. General Adib Shishakli then held power until deposed in

4183-424: The Syrian government became involved in Black September in Jordan when it sent a reinforced armored brigade to aid the Palestine Liberation Organization . Syrian armored units crossed the border and overran Irbid with the help of local Palestinian forces. They encountered several Jordanian Army detachments, but rebuffed them without major difficulty. Two days later, the 5th Infantry Division, heavily reinforced,

4272-561: The Syrian port city of Latakia, to which Syrian Air Defences responded. During the Israeli attack, a Russian Il-20 aircraft was mistakenly destroyed by an S-200 missile launched by the SyADF. All fifteen crewmembers of the Il-20 died as a result. Russian military claimed, Israeli Air Force pilots took shelter behind the IL-20, this exposing the Russian aircraft to the Syrian missile attack. In February and March 2020, Turkey Air force F-16 fighters and combat UAVs launched airstrikes on Syrian Army positions in Greater Idlib region in retaliation for

4361-598: The Syrian positions. While Syrian units fought hard whenever the Israelis entered their fields of fire, no attempts appear to have been made to exploit Israeli disorientation and confusion during the initial assault. Judging from reports of 1967–1970, including the reporting of the 5th Infantry Division in 1970, the Army appears to have formed its first divisions during this period. The 1st and 3rd Armored Division , and 5th , 7th , and 9th Mechanized Infantry Divisions were all formed prior to 1973. Samuel M. Katz writes that after Hafez al-Assad gained power in November 1970,

4450-399: The Troupes du Levant, they were strengthened and became the main forces of the French apparatus. In 1927, the force was augmented by North African infantry ( tirailleurs ) and cavalry ( spahis ), French Foreign Legion , Troupes de marine infantry and artillery units (both French and Senegalese ). The whole force constituted the Army of the Levant . In August 1945, the Syrian Army

4539-403: The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights , however estimated that less than 1,000 soldiers had deserted the Syrian Army; at the same moment, an FSA battalion commander claimed that the FSA embraced 25,000 army deserters. Also in November 2011, the Free Syrian Army or the website of France 24 estimated the Syrian Army at 200,000 troops. According to General Mustafa al-Sheikh , one of

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4628-416: The ancient city of Jezreel (known in Hebrew as Yizre'el; יזרעאל ‎; known in Arabic as Zir'ēn , زرعين ) which was located on a low hill overlooking the southern edge of the valley. The word Jezreel comes from the Hebrew, and means "God sows" or " El sows". The Arabic name of the valley is Marj Bani Amir ( Arabic : مرج بني عامر , romanized :  Marj Banī ʿĀmir ), which translates as

4717-481: The army did appear to have some strength. It had around 70,000 personnel, roughly 550 tanks and assault guns, 500 APCs, and nearly 300 artillery pieces. The army had sixteen brigades: twelve infantry, two armored (probably including the 70th Armored), and two mechanized. The Syrian government deployed twelve of the sixteen brigades to the Golan , including both armored brigades and one mechanized brigade. Three 'brigade groups', each comprising four brigades, were deployed:

4806-455: The army expanded to the five divisions listed above, plus ten independent brigades, an artillery rocket brigade (the 69th), and "a reinforced brigade variously termed the 70th Armored Brigade or the Assad Republican Guard. It is today known as the Armored Defense Force; as Assad's praetorian guard it is stationed in and around Damascus and subordinate to the Defense Companies under the command of Assad's brother Rifa'at ." On 18 September 1970,

4895-439: The biblical 'Jezreel Valley'. The valley once acted as the channel by which the Mediterranean Sea , at the north-western end of the valley, connected to the Sea of Galilee , the Jordan Valley and ultimately to the Dead Sea . About two million years ago, as the land between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan Rift Valley rose, this connection was lost, and the periodic floods from the Mediterranean Sea ceased. This resulted in

4984-435: The challenge of relying on units to carry out orders to brutalize the opposition." This has resulted in Bashar's following his father's precedent by attaching regular army units to more reliable forces (Special Forces, Republican Guard, or 4th Armored Division). When Hafez al-Assad directed the suppression of revolts in Hama in 1982, this technique was also used. In 2014, analyst Charles Lister wrote that "As of April 1, 2014,

5073-399: The country in 2021: Mersad , Khordad-3 and Khordad-15 systems. The Syrian early warning system comprises Long Track; P-12 Spoon Rest ; P-14 Tall King ; H-15 Flat Face ; P-18 Spoon Rest ; P-19 ; P-30 Big Mesh ; P-35 Bar Lock ; P-80 Back Net ; YLC-6 Radar ; JY-27 ; JYL-1 ; PRV-13 ; PRV-16 Thin Skin ; Alborz mobile and static radar sites throughout Syria. In October 1973,

5162-422: The dispossessed made their way to the coast to search for new work with most ending up in shanty towns on the edges of Jaffa and Haifa . Following the purchase of the land, the Jewish farmers created the first modern-day settlements, founded the modern day city of Afula and drained the swamps to enable further land development of areas that had been uninhabitable for centuries. The first moshav , Nahalal ,

5251-440: The early Ottoman period , the Jezreel Valley was the core territory of the Turabay Emirate (1517–1683). The Valley's capital was initially at Lajjun , the center of an eponymous sanjak and one of Palestine 's provincial capitals during the 16th century. Around 1600, the seat of the Turabays moved to Jenin . In the early 16th-century Ottoman tax records, the Valley contained 38 villages, as well as 74 uninhabited mazra'a 's ,

5340-436: The establishment of corps in the Syrian Army to 1985. Writing forty years later, Tom Cooper says "..despite the establishment of.. corps.. most division commanders continued reporting directly to the President . Correspondingly, not only the Chief of Staff of the Syrian Armed Forces but also the Corps HQ exercised only a limited operational control over the Army's divisions." Declassified CIA documents from February 1987 say that

5429-442: The farmers refused to leave their land, as in Afula (El-Ful), however the new owners decided that it would be inappropriate for these farmers to remain as tenants on land intended for Jewish labor. This was a commonplace feeling among segments of the Jewish population, part of a socialist ideology of the Yishuv , which included their working the land rather than being absentee landowners. British police had to be used to expel some and

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5518-489: The following year. Since 1946, it has played a major role in Syria's governance, mounting six military coups: two in 1949, including the March 1949 Syrian coup d'état and the August 1949 coup by Colonel Sami al-Hinnawi , and one each in 1951, 1954 , 1963 , 1966 , and 1970 . It has fought four wars with Israel ( 1948 , the Six-Day War in 1967, the Yom Kippur War of 1973, and 1982 Lebanon War ) and one with Jordan ( Black September in Jordan , 1970). An armored division

5607-442: The formation of other elite units, many of which receive direct assistance from Russia. In 2011, the majority of the Syrian military were Sunni , but most of the military leadership were Alawites . Alawites made up 12% of the pre-war Syrian population, but 70% of the career soldiers in the Syrian Army. A similar imbalance is seen in the officer corps, where some 80% of the officers are Alawites. The military's most elite divisions,

5696-437: The institution of the army but the regime itself, because the army and the regime is one and the same. — Fawaz Gerges , Lebanese-American author Analyst Joseph Holliday wrote in 2013 that "the Assad government has from the beginning of the conflict been unable to mobilize all of its forces without risking largescale defections. The single greatest liability that the Assad regime has faced in employing its forces has been

5785-425: The judges. The quantity of Philistine pottery within these sites is still quite small, which means that even if the Philistines did settle the valley they were a minority that blended within the Canaanite population during the 12th century BC. The Philistines seem to have been present in the southern valley during the 11th century, which may relate to the biblical account of their victory at the Battle of Gilboa . In

5874-419: The killing of Sayyid Razi Mousavi , the Iranian commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in Syria. The Syrian Air Defence Force was unsuccessful in intercepting the missile. Syrian Army The Syrian Army ( SyA or SA ), officially the Syrian Arab Army ( SyAA or SAA ; Arabic : الجيش العربي السوري , romanized :  al-Jayš al-ʿArabī as-Sūrī ), is the land force branch of

5963-412: The late Second Temple period , Josephus refers to both the Jezreel Valley and the Beit Netofa Valley as the "Great Plain". During the Mamluk period , the Jezreel Valley formed the southern part of Mamlakat Safad (the province of Safed). In the 14th century, it was inhabited by the Bani Haritha tribe of Yaman (southern Arab)-affiliated Bedouins , the progenitors of the Turabay dynasty . During

6052-434: The most senior defectors, however, in January 2012 the Syrian forces were estimated at 280,000 including conscripts. By March 15, 2012, many more soldiers, unhappy with crackdowns on pro-democracy protesters, switched sides and a Turkish official said that 60,000 soldiers had deserted the Syrian army, including 20,000 since February 20. It was added that most of the deserters were junior officers and soldiers. By 5 July 2012,

6141-757: The next day. Syrian Air Defence forces shot down 22 missiles fired by Israel into Syria using Russian-made Buk-M2E and Pantsir-S systems, Rear Adm. Vadim Kulit said on 20 August 2021. Syrian Air Defence forces shot down twenty-one out of twenty-four missiles fired by Israel into Syria using Russian-made Buk-M2E and Pantsir-S systems, Rear Adm. Vadim Kulit said on September 3, 2021. Syrian Air Defence forces shot down 8 out of 12 missiles fired by Israel in Syria using Russian-made Pantsir-S systems, Rear Adm. Vadim Kulit said on 08.10.2021. Syrian Air Defence forces shot down ten out of twelve missiles fired by Israel into Syria using Russian-made Buk-M2E and Pantsir-S systems, Rear Adm. Vadim Kulit said on November 24, 2021. On 13 May 2022,

6230-424: The north of the city in October 2013. The National Defense Force is under the control and supervision of the Syrian Army and acts in an infantry role, directly fighting against rebels on the ground and running counter-insurgency operations in co-ordination with the army which provides them logistical and artillery support. Struggling with reliability issues and defections, officers of the SAA increasingly prefer

6319-417: The official administrative name of the district which encompassed the valley from early Ottoman rule (1517–1917). A common variant of this name is Marj Ibn ʿĀmir ( Arabic : مرج ابن عامر ), lit.   ' Meadows of the son of Amir ' . With the advent of British rule in 1917 and the gradual acquisition of the valley by Jewish land organizations, the Arabic name fell out of official use in favor of

6408-500: The part-time volunteers of the NDF, who they regard as more motivated and loyal, over regular army conscripts to conduct infantry operations and act as support for advancing tanks. An officer in Homs, who asked not to be identified, said the army was increasingly playing a logistical and directive role, while NDF fighters act as combatants on the ground. The NDF continues to play a significant role in military operations across Syria despite

6497-644: The place being known as Armageddon , a toponym derived from the Hebrew Har Megiddo , ' Mount Megiddo '. Archaeological excavations have indicated near continuous settlement from the Ghassulian culture of the Chalcolithic Age (c. 4500–3300 BCE) to the Ayyubid periods of the 11–13th centuries CE. Biblical cities in the Jezreel Valley include Jezreel, Megiddo , Beit She'an , Shimron and Afula . There

6586-509: The presence of Philistine pottery in northern Israel to their role as mercenaries for the Egyptians during their military administration of the land in the 12th century BCE. This presence may also indicate further expansion of the Philistines to the valley during the 11th century BCE, or their trade with the Israelites . There are biblical references to Philistines in the valley during the times of

6675-538: The purchase of the valley, noting the high prices paid and land occupants receiving compensation not legally bound. The responsibility of the Mandate Government for "soreness felt (among both effendi and fellahin ) owing to the sale of large areas by the absentee Sursock family" and the displacement of Arab tenants; noted that, "the duty of the Administration of Palestine to ensure that the rights and position of

6764-582: The rank of major. The Syrian officer corps of the Troupes spéciales du Levant mainly consisted former officers of the Ottoman Army and members of Syria's ethnic and religious minorities. By 1927, more than 35% of Syrian soldiers came from the auxiliary troops; they were traditionally Kurdish , Druze or Circassian. After the repression of the Great Syrian Revolt by General Maurice Gamelin , commander of

6853-473: The scale of defections from the Syrian Army, though hard to quantify, was too small to make an impact on the strength of that army, according to Aram Nerguizian from the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies . Strategically important units of the Syrian armed forces are always controlled by Alawite officers; defecting soldiers – by July 2012 "tens of thousands" according to

6942-662: The seizure of the Al-Kiswah military camp, home to the 70th Armored Brigade. In June 1963, Syria took part in the Iraqi military campaign against the Kurds by providing aircraft, armoured vehicles and a force of 6,000 soldiers. Syrian troops crossed the Iraqi border and moved into the Kurdish town of Zakho in pursuit of Barzani 's fighters . There was another 1966 Syrian coup d'etat . However, in 1967

7031-464: The strength of the Syrian army had, compared with 2010, roughly been cut in half, due to defections, desertions and casualties: it now counted 110,000 troops. The Syrian Arab Army suffers from serious recruitment issues as the Syrian Civil War drags on, with military age men across sectarian lines no longer willing to join or serve their conscription terms. These issues are especially notable among

7120-594: Was Haidar, then commander of the Special Forces, and General Shafiq Fayadh , a cousin of the President who had commanded the "crack" 3rd Armored Division for nearly two decades. The 3rd Armored Division was "deployed around Damascus." JDW commented that "the Special Forces and the 3rd Armored Division, along with the 1st Armored Division are key elements in the security structure that protects Assad's government. Any command changes involving those formations have considerable political significance." Post-uprising reporting indicated

7209-522: Was Soviet manufactured. At October 1, 2011, according to high-ranking defected Syrian Colonel Riad Assaad, 10,000 soldiers, including high-ranking officers, had deserted the Syrian Army. Some of these defectors had formed the Free Syrian Army , engaging in combat with security forces and soldiers in what would turn into the Syrian Civil War . At 16 November 2011, Rami Abdel Rahman, the head of

7298-539: Was also deployed to Saudi Arabia in 1990–91 during the Gulf War , but saw little action. From 1976 to 2005 it was the major pillar of the Syrian occupation of Lebanon . Internally, it played a major part in suppressing the 1979–82 Islamist uprising in Syria , and since early 2011 has been heavily engaged in fighting the Syrian Civil War , the most violent and prolonged war the Syrian Army has taken part in since its establishment in

7387-465: Was also sent into Jordan. Two armored brigades were attached to the division, bringing its tank strength up to over 300 T-55s and its manpower to over 16,000. The division entered Jordan at ar-Ramtha , destroyed a company of Jordanian Centurion tanks there, and continued directly towards Amman . Pollack says it is likely that they intended to overthrow the Jordanian monarchy itself. Despite defeating

7476-489: Was formed mainly from Army of the Levant . As Syria gained independence in 1946, its leaders envisioned a division -sized army. On June 19, 1947, the Syrian Army took the survivors of Pan Am Flight 121 to the Presbyterian mission hospital at Deir ez-Zor . The 1st Brigade was ready by the time of the Syrian war against Israel on May 15, 1948. It consisted of two infantry battalions and one armored battalion. The 2nd Brigade

7565-609: Was of King Josiah by the Egyptians ( 2 Kings 23:29 ). According to 2 Kings 9:1–9:10 , the Jezreel Valley was where Jehu massacred all members of the Omride family . In Christian eschatology , the part of the valley on which the Battle of Megiddo was fought is believed to be the destined site of the penultimate battle between good and evil (with a later, final battle taking place 1,000 years later around Jerusalem ( Revelation 20:7–20:10 )),

7654-461: Was organized during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War and also included two infantry battalions and one armored battalion. At the time of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War , the army was small, poorly armed, and poorly trained. "Paris had relied primarily on French regulars to keep the peace in Syria and had neglected indigenous forces. Consequently, training was lackadaisical, discipline lax, and staff work almost unheard of. ... there were about 12,000 men in

7743-578: Was purchased by the Jewish organization as part of an effort to resettle Jews who inhabited the land, as well as others who came from distant lands. After the land was sold to the American Zion Commonwealth, some of the Arab farmers who lived in nearby villages and had been working for the absentee landowners were given financial compensation or were provided with land elsewhere. Despite the sale, some of

7832-465: Was settled in this valley on 11 September 1921. After the widespread Arab riots of 1929 in the then British Mandate of Palestine , the Hope Simpson Enquiry was appointed to seek causes and remedies for the instability. The Commission's findings in regard to "Government responsibility towards Arab cultivators", was that the Jewish authorities "have nothing with which to reproach themselves" in

7921-508: Was widespread, particularly in the plains, notably in the vicinity of the Kishon River and its tributaries. This disease drove away many locals, allowing Bedouins to fill the void. In drought years, Bedouins from the ghor even encroached into lands cultivated by the fellahin , covering the area with their tents. The "permanent" nomads, Bedouins of Turkmen descent, resided in the Jezreel Valley during summer and autumn, then wintered between

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