Jebel Bishri or Mount Bishri ( ar, جبل البِشْرِي ''Jabal al-Bishrī'') is a highland region in northeastern Syria. It is located on the border between Deir ez-Zor Governorate,

Raqqa Governorate Raqqa Governorate ( ar, مُحافظة الرقة, Muḥāfaẓat ar-Raqqah) is one of the fourteen governorates of Syria. It is situated in the north of the country and covers an area of 19,618 km2. The capital is Raqqa. The Islamic State ...

and

Homs Governorate Homs Governorate ( ar, مُحافظة حمص / ALA-LC: ''Muḥāfaẓat Ḥimṣ'') is one of the fourteen governorates (provinces) of Syria. It is situated in central Syria. Its area differs in various sources, from to . It is thus geographic ...

Geography

Jebel Bishri is a broad ridge of mountains extending immediately west of the

Euphrates The Euphrates () is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of Western Asia. Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia ( ''the land between the rivers''). Originating in Turkey, the Eup ...

river, northwest of the city of

Deir ez-Zor , population_urban = , population_density_urban_km2 = , population_density_urban_sq_mi = , population_blank1_title = Ethnicities , population_blank1 = , population_blank2_title = Religions , population_blank2 = ...

, southwestwards toward

Palmyra Palmyra (; Palmyrene: () ''Tadmor''; ar, تَدْمُر ''Tadmur'') is an ancient city in present-day Homs Governorate, Syria. Archaeological finds date back to the Neolithic period, and documents first mention the city in the early secon ...

. It forms part of the Palmyrene mountain belt in central Syria. Its eastern piedmont reaches Deir ez-Zor.

History

Jebel Bishri is associated with the

Amorites The Amorites (; sux, 𒈥𒌅, MAR.TU; Akkadian: 𒀀𒈬𒊒𒌝 or 𒋾𒀉𒉡𒌝/𒊎 ; he, אֱמוֹרִי, 'Ĕmōrī; grc, Ἀμορραῖοι) were an ancient Northwest Semitic-speaking people from the Levant who also occupied lar ...

and was known as the "mountain of the Amurrum" in Akkadian sources.

Land reformation

The Arab Center for the Studies of Arid Zones and Dry Lands, Syria (ACSAD)
headquartered in Damascus, developed a plan to be implemented from 1994 to 2006 to stop desertification in the region of Jebel Bishri. The scheme included planting certain kinds of trees such as

Pistacia atlantica ''Pistacia atlantica'' is a species of pistachio tree known by the English common name Mt. Atlas mastic tree, Atlas pistachio, Atlantic pistacio, Atlantic terebinth, Cyprus turpentine tree, and Persian turpentine tree. ''P. atlantica'' has thr ...

and

Prunus ''Prunus'' is a genus of trees and shrubs, which includes (among many others) the fruits plums, Cherry, cherries, peaches, Peach#Nectarine, nectarines, apricots, and almonds. Native to the North American temperate regions, the neotropics of Sou ...

Natural resources

The region is abundant with natural

Asphalt Asphalt, also known as bitumen (, ), is a sticky, black, highly viscous liquid or semi-solid form of petroleum. It may be found in natural deposits or may be a refined product, and is classed as a pitch. Before the 20th century, the term ...

which was discovered in 2007.اكتشاف الإسفلت في جبل البشري سيجعلنا دولة مصدرة ل50 سنة قادمة
/ref> Gas and oil facilities are around the Bishri mountains.

Syrian Civil War

On 25 April 2022, as part of

Islamic State An Islamic state is a state that has a form of government based on Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a translation of the Arabic term ...

's 'Vengeance for two Sheikhs' campaign, three Pro-Assad soldiers were killed in clashes with Islamic State fighters in the area. Following the clashes,

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

warplanes A military aircraft is any fixed-wing or rotary-wing aircraft that is operated by a legal or insurrectionary armed service of any type. Military aircraft can be either combat or non-combat: * Combat aircraft are designed to destroy enemy equipm ...

reportedly carried out at least 20 airstrikes against Islamic State targets in the nearby deserts, causing an unknown number of casualties. On 20 June 2022, clashes erupted in the area between Islamic State militants and forces of the Syrian military. Over the course of three days, at least 26 Syrian soldiers and 7 IS fighters were killed.

References

Bibliography

* * Mountain ranges of Syria Deir ez-Zor Governorate {{DeirZorSY-geo-stub