The infamous Sykes-Picot Agreement of 1916 is rightly referenced as bequeathing a legacy of inappropriate and unstable borders to the region, yet the maps that they produced preferred to imagine territory, not as a singular homogeneous entity, but rather split between areas of direct control and areas of influence.

Map of Syria

Syrian-Turkish Border (detail)

Syrian-Jordanian border (detail)

Sykes-Picot Agreement (areas of influence)

Syrian-Iraqi Border (detail)

Pre Division Area (Sykes-Picot Agreement)