Deir ez-Zor

Ed-Deir is a common shorthand for Deir ez-Zor. In the Syriac language of the Assyrian Christian population, Zeʿūrta (ܙܥܘܪܬܐ) means "little"; hence, Dīrā Zeʿūrta means "small habitation". The current name, which has been extended to the surrounding region, indicates an ancient site for one of the Early Christian secluded Syriac monasteries established during the persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire and Apostolic Age throughout Mesopotamia. Although Deir (ܕܝܪܐ), which is Arabic (borrowed from Syriac) for "monastery", is believed to have been kept throughout the various Medieval and modern age renamings, Zor, which indicates the riverbank bush, appeared only in some late Ottoman records of the Deir ez-Zor Vilayet. Many different romanizations are used, including Deir Ezzor, Deir Al-Zor, Deir-al-Zour, Dayr Al-Zawr, Der Ezzor, Deir Azzor, Der Zor, and Deirazzor.

Archaeological findings in Deir ez-Zor indicate that the area has been inhabited since the ninth millennium BC. While the region was not densely populated, it was an urban area subordinate kingdoms like the Kingdom of Mari, which rose in the third millennium BC. During the third millennium BC, the Amorites settled the area and established the kingdom of Yamhad, one of whose urban centers was the city of Deir Ez-Zor (alongside Mayadeen, Qars, and Tarka and its capital of Aleppo). The city was not adversely affected during the succession of major empires (such as the Akkadian Empire, Old Assyrian Empire, Babylonian Empire, Hittite Empire, Middle Assyrian Empire and Neo-Assyrian Empire), as Deir al-Zour was too small to be considered a threat and the region was incorporated into Assyria during the Iron Age. …

Köppen-Geiger climate classification system classifies it as hot desert (BWh).

The majority of Deiries (from Deir ez-Zor) are Arab Muslims, with a few Armenian and Assyrian/Syriac families. Deir ez-Zor was the final concentration place for Deir ez-Zor Camps for annihilating the Armenian deportation caravans. Tens of thousands of surviving men, women and children were systematically killed on the banks of the Euphrates River. The Armenian genocide Memorial Church commemorated the memory of Genocide victims who lost their lives, but it was destroyed on 21 September 2014 by ISIS. Successive waves of new settlers from surrounding countrysides and provinces were heavily related to severe drought in late 1950s and 1990s most of them looking for standard jobs and giving up their farming and herding lifestyle. The Mesopotamian variety of Arabic is used in the city; a slight influence of the Aleppo dialect can be noticed as well. …

The city and its rural surrounding is a fertile and prosperous farming area, with livestock-breeding (for awassi sheep), cereals and cotton crops. Many agribusiness institutions work there as well. Since the discovery of light crude petroleum in the Syrian desert it has become a centre for the country's petroleum extraction industry. It is also a minor centre for tourism with many tourist facilities such as traditional French-style riverbank restaurants, up to 5-star hotels, a hub for trans-desert travel and an airport (IATA code: DEZ) in Al-Jafra suburb. There are salt mines nearby.

Riad Darar, human rights activist Mazen al-Hamada, Syrian activist