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.[2][3]
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 official national athem of Syria. The anthem's usage being disputed between the ruling Ba'ath government and the opposition[dubious – discuss] after the start of the civil war in 2011.
Damascus-born Khalil Mardam Bey was the writer of the Syrian national anthem's lyrics.[4]
The Syrian national anthem is divided into four quatrainstanzas, 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.
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.
I
Guardians of the homeland, upon you be peace,
[our] proud spirits refuse to be humiliated.
The den of Arabism is a sacred sanctuary,
and the throne of the suns is a preserve that will not be subjugated.
𝄆 The quarters of Levant are towers in height,
which are in dialogue with the zenith of the skies. 𝄇
A land resplendent with brilliant suns,
becoming another sky or almost a sky.
II
The flutter of hopes and the beat of the heart,
are on a flag that united the entire country.
Is there not blackness from every eye,
and ink from every martyr's blood?
𝄆 [Our] spirits are defiant and [our] history is glorious,
and our martyrs' souls are formidable guardians. 𝄇
From us is al-Walīd, and from us is al-Rashīd.
So why then shall we not lead, why then shall we not rise?
I
Guardians of homeland, upon you be peace,
our ever-proud souls refuse to be seized.
The den of Arabism is our sacred home,
and the throne of our suns will never go down.
𝄆 The mountains of Syria are towers in height,
which talk with the zenith of the highest skies. 𝄇
A land that is splendid with brilliant sun,
turning to a sky or almost a sky.
II
The flutter of our hopes and the beats of our hearts,
depicted on the flag that united our land.
Did we not derive the black from every man's eye,
and from ink of martyrs' blood wrote to the tall sky?
𝄆 Spirits defiant and past so glorious,
and the martyrs' souls are our guardians. 𝄇
From us, a nation of souls and bravery,
Thy glory comes from us, my homeland!
