List of cities in Syria in the context of Districts of Syria

Deir ez-Zor (Arabic: دَيْرُ ٱلزَّوْرِ / دَيْرُ ٱلزُّور, romanized: Dayru z-Zawr / Dayru z-Zūr) is the largest city in eastern Syria and the seventh largest in the country. Located on the banks of the Euphrates 450 km (280 mi) to the northeast of the capital Damascus, Deir ez-Zor is the capital of the Deir ez-Zor Governorate. In the 2018 census, it had a population of 271,800.

Latakia (/lætəˈkiːə/; Arabic: اللَّاذِقِيَّة, romanized: al-Lādhiqiyya; Syrian pronunciation: [el.laːdˈʔɪjje]), officially Lattakia, is the principal port city of Syria and capital city of the Latakia Governorate located on the Mediterranean coast. Historically, it has also been known as Laodicea in Syria or Laodicea ad Mare. In addition to serving as a port, the city is a significant manufacturing center for surrounding agricultural towns and villages. According to a 2023 estimate, the population of the city is 709,000, its population greatly increased as a result of the Syrian Revolution, which led to an influx of internally displaced persons from rebel held areas. It is the 5th-largest city in Syria after Aleppo, Damascus, Homs and Hama. Cape Apostolos Andreas, the north-eastern tip of Cyprus, is about 109 kilometres (68 mi) away.

Although the site of the city has been inhabited since the 2nd millennium BC, the city was founded as a Greek city in the 4th century BC under the rule of the Greek Seleucid Empire. Latakia was subsequently ruled by the Romans and Byzantines, followed by the Rashiduns, Umayyads and Abbasids during the 7th–10th centuries AD. Byzantine ruling groups frequently attacked the city, periodically recapturing it before losing it again to Arab powers, particularly the Fatimids. Afterward, Latakia was ruled successively by the Seljuk Turks, Crusaders, Ayyubids, Mamluks, and the Ottomans. Following World War I, Latakia was assigned to the French mandate of Syria, in which it served as the capital of the autonomous territory of the Alawites. This autonomous territory became the Alawite State in 1922, proclaiming its independence a number of times until reintegrating into Syria in 1944.

Hama (Arabic: حَمَاة Ḥamāh, [ħaˈmaː]) is a city on the banks of the Orontes River in west-central Syria. It is located 213 kilometres (132 mi) north of Damascus and 46 km (29 mi) north of Homs. It is the provincial capital of the Hama Governorate. With a population of 996,000 (2023 census), Hama is one of the four largest cities in Syria, with Damascus, Aleppo and Homs, Also notably being the only Governorate with no land borders with any foreign countries, Hama is also known for its Cheese-making tradition, notably reflected in a signature local dessert Halawet el Jibn.

The city is renowned for its seventeen norias used for watering the gardens, Which are claimed to date back to 1100 BC. Though historically used for irrigation, the norias are used purely for show today and currently serve no direct purpose, being used as a tourist attraction and a symbol of the city.

Qamishli (Kurdish: Qamişlo, Arabic: القامشلي, Syriac: ܩܡܫܠܝ) is a city in northeastern Syria on the Syria–Turkey border, adjoining the city of Nusaybin in Turkey. The Jaghjagh River flows through the city. With a 2004 census population of 184,231, it is the ninth most-populous city in Syria and the second-largest in Al-Hasakah Governorate after Al-Hasakah. Qamishli has traditionally been a Christian Assyrian majority city, but is now predominantly populated by Kurds with large numbers of Arabs and Assyrians and a smaller number of Armenians. It is 680 kilometres (420 mi) northeast of Damascus.

The city is the administrative capital of the Qamishli District in Al-Hasakah Governorate, and the administrative center of Qamishli Subdistrict, consisting of 92 localities with a combined population of 232,095 in 2004. Qamishli was the de facto capital of the DAANES, until it was moved to Ayn Issa.