The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Syria: Syria – country in Western Asia, that borders Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south and Israel to the southwest. Civilization in Syria was one of the most ancient on earth. Syria is part of the Fertile Crescent, and from approximately 10,000 BCE it was one of the centers of Neolithic culture where agriculture and cattle breeding appeared for the first time in the world. Over the millennia, Syria has been conquered and settled by many different peoples. A country of fertile plains, high mountains and deserts, it is home to diverse ethnic and religious groups, including Syriacs, Assyrians, Kurds, Circassians, Armenians, Druze, Alawite, Christians