33.5131° N, 36.2920° E

DAMASCUS

Most Famous People Born in Damascus, Syria

Notable people
464
Peak decade
1970s
Median birth year
1943
Most distinctive
Archbishop 31.4×
Through the Decades

One face per decade — the most globally famous figure born in Damascus during each.

Notable Births by Decade

Click a decade to filter the list below. Peak: 1970s with 48 notable births.

What Damascus Is Known For

Click any row to filter the list of people below.

Politician is Damascus's biggest profession — 15% of all notables (68).

Damascus over-indexes on archbishop31.4× the global rate.

  1. Politician68
  2. Football43
  3. Writer25
  4. Actor24
  5. Priest22
  6. Diplomat15
  7. Journalist13
  8. Film11
  1. Archbishop731.4×
  2. Minister59.1×
  3. Activist77.0×
  4. Diplomat155.5×
  5. Philosopher63.6×
  6. Priest223.2×
  7. Novelist52.7×
  8. Historian102.0×

Profession Mix Over Time

Each band shows a profession family's share of Damascus's notable births by decade. Hover the chart for the breakdown at any decade.

155016001650170017501800185019001950
  • Politics & Law
  • Writing
  • Sports
  • Film & TV
  • Religion
  • Science
  • Other
All464
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Showing 40 of 464 notable people

0008 WRITER

Rafik Schami

Born 1946

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0022 ACADEMIC

Bassam Tibi

Born 1944

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0027 WRITER

Ghada al-Samman

Born 1942

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0030 PHILOSOPHER

Sari Nusseibeh

Born 1949

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0041 ACTOR

Muna Wassef

Born 1942

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0049 FILM

Omar Amiralay

1944 - 2011

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0060 WRITER

Ikram Antaki

1948 - 2000

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0079 MUSIC

Ian Copeland

1949 - 2006

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0082 POLITICIAN

Walid Muallem

1941 - 2020

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0101 POLITICAL

Riad Seif

Born 1946

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0108 WRITER

Riad Ismat

1947 - 2020

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0112 CRITIC

Peter Fuller

1947 - 1990

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0130 PROFESSOR

Fawwaz T. Ulaby

Born 1943

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0133 POLITICIAN

Ali Mamlouk

Born 1946

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0137 WRITER

Fawwaz Haddad

Born 1947

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0144 POLITICIAN

Dawoud Rajiha

1947 - 2012

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0148 ACADEMIC

Aziz al-Azmeh

Born 1947

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0156 ARCHBISHOP

Youssef Absi

Born 1946

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0178 POLITICIAN

Hisham Ikhtiyar

1941 - 2012

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0184 PUBLISHER

Farouk Mardam-Bey

Born 1944

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0214 SCREENWRITER

Yasser al-Azma

Born 1942

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0222 SCHOLAR

Marie-Thérèse Urvoy

Born 1949

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0225 NEUROSCIENTIST

Huda Akil

Born 1945

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0232 PAINTER

Riad Beyrouti

1944 - 2019

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0242 PRIEST

Issam John Darwich

Born 1945

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0263 DANCER

Ighraa

Born 1945

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0292 POLITICIAN

Safwan al-Qudsi

Born 1940

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0303 JOURNALIST

Fawzi Mellah

Born 1946

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0314 PHYSIOLOGIST

Sean Senechal

Born 1949

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0324 WRITER

Anan Ameri

Born 1944

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0329 FOOTBALL

Marwan Arafat

1945 - 2012

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0351 IMAM

Riay Tatary

1948 - 2020

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0385 PAINTER

Tarek Marestani

Born 1940

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0386 POLITICIAN

Mohammad al Jililati

Born 1945

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0400 ENGINEER

Sufian Allaw

Born 1944

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0404 ACTOR

Ivonne Attas

Born 1943

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0416 MINISTER

Tayseer Qala Awwad

Born 1943

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0423 PATRIARCA

Damaskinos Mansour

Born 1949

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0429 SCULPTOR

Ib Benoh

Born 1947

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0441 DIPLOMAT

Mikhail Wehbe

Born 1942

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