Misplaced Pages

Ḥumāt ad-Diyār

English: Guardians of the Homeland
حُمَاةَ الدِّيَارِ
National anthem of Syria
Lyrics	Khalil Mardam Bey, 1936
Music	Mohammed Flayfel, 1936
Adopted	1938
Readopted	1961
Relinquished	1958
Preceded by	Walla Zaman Ya Selahy and Suriyah Ya, Dat al-Majdi
Audio sample
U.S. Navy Band instrumental version (one verse) file help

Part of a series on the
Culture of Syria
History
People
Languages
Cuisine
Religion
Art
Literature
Music
Media Radio Television Cinema
Sport
Monuments World Heritage Sites
Symbols Flag Coat of arms National anthem
v t e

"Ḥumāt ad-Diyār" (Arabic: حُمَاةَ الدِّيَارِ, lit. 'Guardians of the Homeland') was written as the national anthem of Syria, with lyrics written by Khalil Mardam Bey and the music by Mohammed Flayfel, who also composed the national anthem of Iraq as well as many other Arab folk songs.

History

It was adopted in 1938 after a national competition was held by Hashim al-Atassi's nationalist Syrian government to choose a state anthem for the new republic two years after the Franco-Syrian Treaty of Independence was signed which gave Syria limited autonomy and future independence. The anthem was initially set to lose the competition, but it later won the competition after it gained rapid popularity amongst the Syrian population which put pressure on the competition's committee to reconsider its decisions, and eventually the anthem won and was adopted by the government as Syria's national anthem.

It temporarily fell from use when Syria joined the United Arab Republic (UAR) with Egypt. In 1958, it was decided that the national anthem of the UAR would be a combination of the then-Egyptian national anthem "Salam Affandina" and "Ḥumāt ad-Diyār". In 1960, it was replaced by the national anthem of UAR Walla Zaman Ya Selahy.

When Syria seceded from the union in 1961, "Ḥumat ad-Diyār" was completely restored and has been used ever since as the national anthem of Syria.

Structure

The Syrian national anthem is divided into four quatrain stanzas, each containing four lines. The rhyme scheme used is an Arabic form called "Ruba'i", where each stanza has the same final rhyme in its component lines, giving the following rhyme scheme in the anthem: AAAA, BBBB, CCCC, DDDD. All of the lines in the state anthem consist each of 11 syllables, all of which have the same system of scansion, which is as follows: \ / ˘ \ / ˘ \ / ˘ \ / where \ is an intermediate stress, / is a strong stress, and ˘ is unstressed. Although, for simplicity, an alternative stress scheme is offered that does not recognize intermediate stresses, and that scheme is: / / ˘ / / ˘ / / ˘ / /. In either case, there are 11 syllables per line, and the ruba'i rhyme scheme.

Lyrics

The Syrian national anthem is divided into four stanzas, each pertaining to a different and unique aspect of Syria from the remaining stanzas. Although the name of the anthem is "Guardians of the Homeland", which is a metaphor for the Syrian military, only the first stanza in fact talks about said army. The stanza breakdown is as follows: The first stanza is about Syria's army, and its role in defending the nation and in defending the citizens' integrity and Arabness. The second stanza is about Syria's scenery and terrain, where it talks about Syria's plains, mountains, and sunlit skies. The third stanza is about Syria's people, their hopes, martyrs, and flag. The fourth stanza talks about Syria's history, from its past and present to its future.

Arabic original

English translations

See also

• "Mawtini", the national anthem of Iraq, also composed by Mohammed Flayfel
• National symbols of Syria

Notes

1. Syria has been governed by a transitional government since the fall of the Assad regime on 8 December 2024, with no announcement thus far if this song will continue to be used as the national anthem. The Syrian opposition previously used a version with additional lyrics, calling for the overthrow of Assad.
2. See Help:IPA/Arabic and North Levantine Arabic.

References

1. قائمة برامج التلفزيون العربي السوري Archived 2016-03-11 at the Wayback Machine
2. "أناشيد وطنية عربية تعددت جنسيات صناعها". BBC News عربي (in Arabic). 2018-02-14. Retrieved 2022-03-19.
3. "النشيد الوطني". Damascus Online. 2010-12-27. Archived from the original on 2010-12-27. Retrieved 2022-03-19.
4. Al Azmenah. "خليل مردم بك". Retrieved 3 January 2007. ولد خليل بن أحمد مختار مردم بك في دمشق عام 1895، من أصل تركي.
5. "موقع وزارة الخارجية والمغتربين- الجمهورية العربية السورية". Syrian Arab Republic - Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates. Retrieved 2022-03-19.

External links

• Lyrics, sheet music, and Audio

• Asian anthems
• Music of Syria
• National symbols of Syria
• 1936 songs
• Compositions in A-flat major