LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Syria: Regions
built 636 days ago
In Syria itself ... the independence of their culture was under constant train. The Assyrian Nebuchadnezzar overran Syria in the 8th century BC and was soon followed by the Babylonians a century later. The Persians intervened in the 6th century and would dominate the area for 3 centuries, until the coming of Alexander the Great. Under the Persians, like most of their conquests, the natives were allowed considerable autonomous rule, and the region prospered. This brief respite from foreign conquest was short-lived however, as Alexander invaded and conquered in 333 BC. With him came an immense cultural change, where Western Hellenistic ideas and institutions came to dominate.
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US officials said Mr Bolton had planned to tell a House of Representatives international relations subcommittee that Syria's development of biological, chemical and nuclear weapons had progressed to a point where they posed a threat to stability in the region. The CIA and other intelligence agencies said the assessment was exaggerated.
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Despite the mitigation of the severe drought that plagued the region in the late 1990s and the recovery of energy export revenues, Syria's economy faces serious challenges. With almost 60% of its population under the age of 20, unemployment higher than the current estimated range of 20%-25% is a real possibility unless sustained and strong economic growth takes off. Oil production has leveled off, but recent agreements allowing increased foreign investment in the petroleum sector may boost production in two to three years.
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Arabic is the official language of Syria and the mother tongue of approximately 90 percent of the population. Other languages such as Kurdish, Armenian, Aramaic, Circassian, French, and English are ... spoken in various regions of the country. Almost three-fourths of Syrians are Sunni Muslims, while minority Shi'ite, Druze and Alawites account for 15 percent of the population. Various Christian sects represent the remaining 10 percent.
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