Tartus (Arabic: طَرْطُوس / ALA-LC: Ṭarṭūs; officially known as Tartous and also historically known in the County of Tripoli as Tortosa) is a major port city on the Mediterranean coast of Syria. It is the second largest port city in Syria (after Latakia), and the largest city in Tartus Governorate. Tartus was under the governance of Latakia Governorate until the 1970s, when it became a separate governorate. The population is 458,327 (2023 estimate). In the summer it is a vacation spot for many Syrians.
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👉 Tartus in the context of Geography of Syria
Syria is located in West Asia, north of the Arabian Peninsula, at the eastern end of the Mediterranean Sea. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Lebanon and Israel to the west and southwest, Iraq to the east, and Jordan to the south. It consists of mountain ranges in the west and a steep area inland. In the east is the Syrian Desert and in the south is the Jabal al-Druze Range. The former is bisected by the Euphrates valley. A dam built in 1973 on the Euphrates created a reservoir named Lake Assad, the largest lake in Syria. The highest point in Syria is Mount Hermon (occupied by Israel) on the Lebanese border at 2,814 metres or 9,232 feet. Between the humid Mediterranean coast and the arid desert regions lies a semiarid steppe zone extending across three-quarters of the country, which receives hot, dry winds blowing across the desert. Syria is extensively depleted, with 28 percent of the land arable, 4 percent dedicated to permanent crops, 46 percent utilized as meadows and pastures, and only 3 percent forest and woodland.
Syria is divided into fourteen governorates, or muhafazat (singular: muhafazah). The governorates are divided into a total of sixty districts, or manatiq (sing. mintaqah), which are further divided into sub-districts, or nawahi (sing. nahiya). The capital Damascus is the second largest city in Syria, and the metropolitan area is a governorate on its own. Aleppo (population 2,301,570) in northern Syria is the largest city. Latakia along with Tartus are Syria's main ports on the Mediterranean Sea.
In this Dossier
Tartus in the context of Arwad
Arwad (Phoenician: 𐤀𐤓𐤅𐤃, romanized: ʾRWD; Arabic: أرواد, romanized: ʾArwād), the classical Aradus, is a town in Syria on an eponymous island in the Mediterranean Sea. It is the administrative center of the Arwad Subdistrict (nahiyah), of which it is the only locality. It is the only inhabited island in Syria. It is located 3 km (1.9 mi) from Tartus (the ancient Tortosa), Syria's second-largest port.
Today, Arwad is mainly a fishing town. According to the Syria Central Bureau of Statistics, during the 2004 census, it had a population of 4,403, predominantly Arab Sunni Muslims. Plans were unveiled in May 2016 to renovate the island to become a tourist attraction. The island is currently surrounded by ancient Phoenician era walls.
Tartus in the context of Tartus Governorate
Tartus Governorate, officially Tartous Governorate (Arabic: مُحافظة طرطوس Muḥāfaẓat Ṭarṭūs), is one of the fourteen governorates of Syria. It is situated in western Syria, bordering Latakia Governorate to the north, Homs and Hama Governorates to the east, Lebanon to the south, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. It is one of the few governorates in Syria that has an Alawite majority. Sources list the area as 1,890 km or 1,892 km, with its capital being Tartus.
Tartus in the context of Amurru kingdom
Amurru (Sumerian: 𒈥𒌅𒆠 MAR.TU; Akkadian: 𒀀𒈬𒌨𒊏 Amûrra, 𒀀𒈬𒊑 Amuri, 𒀀𒄯𒊑 Amurri) was an ancient Bronze Age kingdom in the Levant, known for its role in early Bronze Age trade and cultural development. The geographical area of Amurru extended across the Akkar plains and beyond, encompassing areas between Tartus in the north to Byblos further south, and the Homs Gap eastward, but not much beyond.
Tartus in the context of Syrian Arab Navy
The Syrian Arab Navy (SyAN or SAN; Arabic: الْبَحْرِيَّةُ الْعَرَبِيَّةُ السُّورِيَّةُ, romanized: al-Baḥrīyah al-ʿArabīyah as-Sūrīyah) was the naval branch of the Syrian Arab Armed Forces during the rule of the Ba'ath Party in Syria. The main role of the Syrian Navy was to defend the country's coasts and ensure the security of the territorial waters of Syria. The Coastal Defense Forces and the Syrian Marines were attached to the Navy since the late 20th century. The Syrian Navy was relatively small, with only 4,000 sailors, in addition to 2,500 reservists and 1,500 marines, prior to the collapse of Ba'athist Syria in 2024. It was under the Syrian Army's Latakia regional command with its fleet based in the ports of Baniyas, Latakia, Minet el-Beida, and Tartus. It was the smallest part of the Syrian Arab Republic Armed Forces.