Ar Raqqah

The area of Raqqa has been inhabited since remote antiquity, as attested by the mounds (tells) of Tall Zaydan and Tall al-Bi'a, the latter being identified with the Babylonian city Tuttul. The modern city traces its history to the Hellenistic period, with the foundation of the city of Nikephorion (Ancient Greek: Νικηφόριον, Latinized as Nicephorium). There are two versions regarding the establishment of the city. Pliny, in his Natural History, attributes its founding to Alexander the Great, citing the advantageous location as the rationale behind its establishment. Similarly, Isidore of Charax, in the Parthian Stations, also credits its foundation to Alexander. Conversely, Appian includes Nikephorion in a list of settlements he attributes to Seleucid King Seleucus I Nicator (reigned 301–281 BC). …

Raqqa is featuring an arid, hot desert climate.

Raqqa has never been home to a sizeable Shi'i community. However, since the Iran–Iraq War made the important Shi'i holy cities of Najaf and Karbala inaccessible to Iranian visitors, Raqqa has gained importance as a Shi'i pilgrimage destination (accessible via Turkey). The main attractions are the tombs of Ammar ibn Yasir and Uways al-Qarani, two companions of Muhammad who died during the Battle of Siffin. Beginning in 1988 and completed in 2005, an Iranian project oversaw the construction of two new mosques to replace the tombs, making them the largest Shi'i mausoleums in Syria. The Uways mosque was blown up by the Islamic State in May 2014 for being a "pagan Iranian shrine". Uways al-Qarani is an important religious figure in Raqqa, and could be called the city's "patron saint". …

Before the civil war, the city and the countryside around it had been one of the country’s main breadbaskets, producing large amounts and varieties of crops. After the liberation of the city, widespread infrastructural damage and a complex security environment in the city has stunted the overall economic growth. Reconstruction and development under the DAANES In 2022, Saddam al-Ali, co-chair of the Raqqa Civil Council's Committee on Local Government and Communities, announced that 50 percent of services such as reconstruction, electricity and water supply have already been completed. The European Union's Agency for Asylum described the economic developments in early 2024 as ‘still slowly recovering from the devastation’. …

Prior to the Syrian civil war the city was served by Syrian Railways.