ABSTRACT
All political cultures nevertheless display certain stabilities. The Arab Republic of Syria, as it exists today in about 73,000 square miles, is geographically diverse. The more sparsely populated areas of the country are less germane to the development of Syria’s political life, but they are not irrelevant. Syria’s more densely populated western sector has been blessed with both rivers and usually ample, though erratic, seasonal rainfall. Syria’s relative political weakness may also be due in part to the regional cleavages that have afflicted Syrian society throughout its history. It is difficult to overstate the severity and debilitating political effects of Syria’s regional cleavages. In ancient times, geographic Syria was the site of successive waves of migration from Asia Minor, from both the Syrian and north Arabian deserts, and from Egypt and the Red Sea coast. Political division and military weakness proved favorable for the success of the first crusade at the end of the 11th century.
