Ar Raqqah

Raqqa, Syria

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Ar Raqqah, also known as Raqqa, is a historic city in northern Syria along the Euphrates River near its confluence with the Balikh, serving as the capital of Raqqa Governorate with a pre-war population around 220,000.

Founded as the Roman fortress Callinicon in the 3rd century and later a Byzantine stronghold, it fell to Muslim forces in 639 CE, becoming a key Abbasid capital under Harun al-Rashid in the late 8th century with its twin city al-Rafiqah, fostering trade and culture until the capital shifted back to Baghdad. 

During the Syrian Civil War, rebels captured it in 2013, but ISIS made it their de facto capital from 2014 to 2017, imposing brutal rule, destroying non-Sunni sites, and using it for propaganda until Syrian Democratic Forces liberated it amid heavy destruction from coalition airstrikes. 

Today, it remains under SDF control in a fragile postwar state, grappling with reconstruction, displacement, and economic hardship in a fertile yet conflict-scarred Euphrates valley hub.