The History Of Syria Timeline
The history of Syrians: Founded in 1946, today’s Arab Republic of Syria – bordering Jordan and Israel to the south, Iraq to the east, Turkey to the north and Lebanon and the Mediterranean to the west – corresponds only partially to “historical Syria”, which in ancient times encompassed the entire western region of the “Fertile Crescent” and went from the middle part of the Euphrates basin, from Karkemish to Mari, up to the Mediterranean, thus encompassing the entire coastal strip from Antioch to Beirut to Jerusalem.
The foundation of the current division dates back, in addition to the millennial ethnic-cultural and religious differentiations, above all to the political-territorial upheavals caused in the Middle East by the fall of the Ottoman Empire and the affirmation of European imperialism.
Today Syria is only a small part of the ancient Syrian area, a region located at the eastern end of the Mediterranean Sea from which the Western powers created the states of Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and Israel. Historians refer to “Greater Syria”, a region that connects three continents, simultaneously blessed and cursed, as a crossroads for trade and as a battlefield for the political destinies of dynasties and empires. History of Syria and Lebanon.
In the years around 2000 BC, the struggle between the various indigenous and foreign invading groups led to cultural enrichment and made a significant contribution to the civilization of this country, despite political upheavals and turmoil.
The Amorites ruled the region until 1600 BC. The following centuries saw the area ruled by a succession of Canaanites, Phoenicians, Jews, Arameans, Assyrians, Babylonians, Persians, Greeks, Seleucids, Romans, Nabataeans, Byzantines, Muslim Arabs, Ottoman Turks, as well as Allied Western forces.
Syria remained at the center of the Christian religion until the seventh century, when the area succumbed to Arab Muslim domination. The Muslim Arab conquest in 635 AD was perceived as a liberating force from the persecution of Byzantine rule. Muslim control of Christian holy sites provoked the response of European crusaders.
History on Syria
- Total Area of Syria 185,180 km² land: 183,630 km² water: 1,550 km²
- Language of Syria Arabic
- Capital of Syria Damascus is the capital of Syria
Religious Beliefs In Syria
Religion of Syria in percentage .
|Rank||Belief System||Share of Syrian Population|
|2||Alawi Shia Islam||11.5%|
|5||Ismaili Shia Islam||1.0%|
|6||Twelver Shia Islam||0.5%|
|Yazidis, Jews, Hindus, Folk Believers, and Others||1.1%|
Prehistory of Syria: Ancient history of Syria, The Neolithic revolution (10,000 B.C.) encompassed the entire region stretching from the Nile Valley and the Eastern Mediterranean, including Syria and Iraq, to the Iranian Plateau and the Indus Valley. It also included chains of flourishing peasant populations in the forested plains of northern Europe. In this extensive region there was a great variety of cultures integrated into the “Fertile Crescent”, a historical region that corresponded to part of the territories of the Mediterranean Levant, Mesopotamia and Persia. This is History of ancient Syria.
A History of Syria: By 2000 BC.C., Syria was part of the Aram. It was subject to Egypt from almost 1530 BC.C. to 1250 BC.C. The Aram-Damascus was an Aramaic state established around its capital, Damascus, in Syria, from the late twelfth century BC. C. to 732 a.C.. In southwest Asia in ancient Mesopotamia, in the valley of the Tigris River, the Assyrian civilization was located, around 1350 BC. C.; in the eighth century BC.C., Assyria subdued the whole country, which passed to Babylon in the seventh century BC.C. Persia annexed it in 538 BC.C., retaining it until it was seized by Alexander the Great, 200 years later.
In 64 BC.C. it became a Roman province, and then under the Byzantine Empire until 634 AD.C.
In the second half of the eleventh century, after being taken by the Saracens, it was occupied by the Seljuks, and in 1516 by the Ottoman Turks, who retained it until 1833, when it was conquered by Mehmet Ali, who returned it to the Turks in 1840.
Despite all the problems, Syria continued to attract European traders.
In the period from the beginning of World War I and the granting of the mandate French on Syria by the League of Nations in 1922, Syria achieved a short period of independence. The brief experience of independence left a bitter taste in the mouth against the West and a deep determination to bring all Arabs together in one state. This will was the primary basis for modern Arab nationalism.
From February 1958 to September 1961, Syria was part of the United Arab Republic (UAR) and was under the rule of Egypt. The dissatisfaction linked to it led to a military coup in Damascus, which pushed Syria out of the UAR.
From 1971 Assad was appointed president of Syria, who moved quickly to establish an authoritarian regime, characterized by the cult of personality. Hafez al Assad died in 2000 and was succeeded by his son, Bashar al Assad.
Since 2011, a popular uprising has arisen in various cities in Syria, with protests taking on different forms, from marches and hunger strikes to the war that, even today, is characterizing this part of the world.
A CULTURAL CROSSROADS
History of Syria: This set is, nowadays, shared between Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and Israel; it constitutes, over 700 km from north to south, an inhabited strip of 80 to 200 km wide between the sea and the desert steppe. A transit area between Egypt, Mesopotamia and Anatolia, with a coast rich in stopovers, once covered with thick forests over Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon, Syria has always been a meeting place for cultures.
FROM ORIGINS TO VIIe CENTURY
THE FIRST EMPIRE: EBLA
The kings of this great city constitute an empire (c. 2350-2200 BC), the oldest in Asia, which includes the Syrian corridor and a number of cities in Anatolia and Mesopotamia. Ebla’s culture is a brilliant adaptation of Sumer’s in a very different environment. Its scribes use cuneiforms and, alongside Sumerian, Eblabaite, a Semitic language that is not the ancestor of the Canaanite.
Greek and then Roman domination
This particularly strategic area is at the heart of the ambitions of the Greek Empire. On the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC.C., his lieutenant Seleucus undertook to carve out around 312 a kingdom between the Persian Gulf, the Mediterranean and the Black Sea, and on the valley of the Orontes: the Seleucid kingdom, whose capital was Antioch. It became the kingdom of Syria, extending from the Aegean Sea to India and suffering infiltrations of Arab populations from the South and especially from the Arabian Peninsula. This kingdom lasted until 64 BC.
In the sixth century, Syria was invaded by the Persians. However, Heraclius managed to drive them out, but exhausted, gave way to the Arabs who crushed his armies between 636 and 640. This is the beginning of the Arab Empire. History of Syria.
The twentieth century in the Middle East has been extraordinarily turbulent, and the situation it is experiencing today is the legacy of those years. At the beginning of the century a pan-Arabist and anti-Ottoman movement emerged that aspired to build Greater Syria, encompassing all Arab countries and bringing them together under one banner. History of Syria.
But the first half of the twentieth century still belongs to colonialism, and the Middle East is a chessboard for Western powers. Britain needed to weaken the Ottoman Empire, so it supported this new nationalism. To this end, in 1915 he asked the sheriff Husayn of Saudi Arabia (who then had very good relations with Great Britain) to create that long-awaited pan-Arab country. History of Syria.
LAWRENCE OF ARABIA CONQUERS DAMASCUS
To achieve this, Faysal I of Iraq took up arms in what is known as the Arab Revolution, aided by a more than well-known British liaison agent: Lawrence of Arabia (yes, the one in the film). Faysal’s troops took Damascus in 1918. Thus, Damascus was disassociated from the Ottoman Empire. History of Syria.
FRENCH MANDATE AND ALAWITE ARMY
When did Syria became a country? However, the pan-Arab dream did not last long. In 1920, France overthrew the Faysal regime, establishing a French mandate in Syria. One of the actions that will most influence the future of the country was the fact that France put the Military Academy in Aleppo. Aleppo was then an Alawite majority city. However, the Alawites were in the whole of Syria a very minority Shia sect. 60% of the population was Sunni, and the other 40% was distributed by Shiites, Shia-Alawites, Christians and other minorities. History of Syria.
As Aleppo was an Alawite city, the Syrian army being formed by the French was mainly made up of Alawites of rural origin.
INDEPENDENCE OF SYRIA
Syria remained under French rule until 1941. During World War II and under the rule of Petain’s France, Syria became de facto independent in 1941, although it was not legally recognized until 1946. History of Syria.
History of Syrians
Over the next few years, Syria tries to establish itself as a power in the Middle East by arms and international agreements. In 1948 it was already part of the 1st Arab-Israeli War and in 1954 there was the first military coup in Syria. Military coups have followed each other steadily ever since. As you may recall, the army is mainly Alawite, and that is why military coups are also Alawite governments, like that of Bashar al-Assad and that of his father Hafiz al-Assad.
UNITED ARAB REPUBLIC: THE RECOVERY OF THE PAN-ARABIST DREAM
In 1958 the United Arab Republic was created on a Syrian initiative, a country with pan-Arabist pretensions that resulted from the union of Egypt and Syria. The RAU participated in the Six-Day War against Israel. History of Syria.
Syria and Egypt separated again in 1961. In 1970 Jordan confronted the countries that make up the Palestine Liberation Organization, including Syria, in what was later called Black September. History of Syria.
AL-ASSAD SR. SYRIA
1970 was also the year in which Hafiz al-Assad staged a coup d’état. Al-Assad Sr. was an Alawite and soldier, a Baath socialist and a friend of the USSR. His policies were always in that direction. In 1973 he allied with Egypt and provoked the Yom Kippur War. In 1982 he starred in an episode that has not yet been forgotten in Syria, the Hama massacre. From Je Suis Réfugié we already told you how people lived in Assad’s Syria. You can see here what Ayman told us.
Hafiz al-Assad was a pro-Russian Alawite dictator, very authoritarian. When he died in 2000 and was replaced by his son, Bashar al-Assad, there was a general sense of regeneration in Syria, which was soon thwarted. History of Syria.
AL-ASSAD JR. SYRIA
Assad Jr. has not made Syria a more democratic country, but has harshly repressed any attempt to oppose the regime. This is what happened in 2011. After the government crackdown on the Arab Spring, a group of military rebels took up arms against Assad, forming the Free Syrian Army (FSA). History of Syria.
THE SYRIAN CIVIL WAR AND REFUGEES
History of Syrian refugee crisis: The Syrian civil war is the main cause of people fleeing to Europe as refugees today. However, the war has been getting more complicated over the past few years. New factions have appeared in combat. The most notorious are those of a jihadist nature, especially the Islamic State, which was a split from Al-Qaeda after the death of bin Laden. History of Syria.
Since 2012, for example, the city of Aleppo has been a constant four-way battle: the soldiers of the Assad regime, the troops of the Free Syrian Army, the terrorists of DAESH and those of Jabhat al-Nusra (Syrian side of Al-Qaeda) are fighting at the same time. History of Syria.
In addition, the war is extendable to Iraq because the Syrian-Iraqi border is so porous that there is a steady flow of men and weapons through it, especially terrorists. History of Syria.
Another force to be reckoned with in this war is the peshmerga, the Kurdish soldiers, who although not as relevant in Syria, have de facto control in Iraqi Kurdistan, and are the main opposition to ISIS in Iraq. History of Syria.
In short, we can say that this war is not the result of two days: there are more than a century of accumulated tensions, relations, factions, interest groups and foreign powers. It is easier to understand the situation if taken with perspective. History of Syria. when will Syrian civil war end?
Conflict in Syria
How did Syrian war started? Syria’s conflict has brought hundreds of dead, millions injured and exiled. By 2015, around 465,000 Syrians have died, over one million are the wounded and 12 million have been exiled from their homes. History of Syria.
As a result of the fighting and attacks, Syria is in decline. It suffers from the bloodiest struggle of those that exploded with the protests and rebellions attached to the notion of “Arab Springs”. History of Syria.
In March 2011 the conflict in Syria detonated, there was the rebellion against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, leader of the political system of the Baath party. They began after the arrest and torture of some young people who drew on the wall of their educational institution: “It’s your turn, Doctor”, in allusion to Assad, who is an ophthalmologist. Syrian law enforcement groups killed protesters in the first demonstrations and they spread throughout the country. In mid-2011, hundreds of thousands of citizens were clamoring for Assad’s resignation, for political movements and for the abolition of police cruelty. History of Syria.
Keys to Understanding the Syrian Conflict
Syrian Civil war
History of Syria civil war: Armed dissident sectors were created and the abandonment of Syrian soldiers who joined the opponents, adhered to the Free Syrian Army (FSA), began. history of Syrian civil war.
The nation was immersed in the war, attacks by Syrian groups doubled and in 2012, clashes reached Damascus, the capital, and reached Aleppo, the second most important city in the country. History of Syria.
Until 2012, many believed that the conclusion of Assad’s power was near, but then the leader received help from his associates. First, Iran and the Lebanese Shiite group Hezbollah, which sent its forces to fight alongside Assad. History of Syria.
The jihadists grew and the SLA civilian groups lost strength. Clans such as al Qaeda’s affiliate in Syria, jihadist al-Nusra Front and the Islamic State (IS) originated; which prompted an attack in Iraq in mid-2014 and later on the territory of Syria near the Iraqi border. The Islamic State announced a caliphate in the area it runs in Iraq and Syria, taking the city of Raqqa as its capital. History of Syria.
Made up of foreigners, the Islamic State fights all fronts: government forces, opponents, the al-Nusra clan; with whom he has created alliances at some point and the Kurdish houses, also revealed to Assad and against which Turkey fights. History of Syria.
In September 2014, a U.S.-led international alliance with Qatar, Bahrain, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates began harassing the Islamic State. The Gauls began their attacks in September 2015 and the British at the end of the same year. History of Syria.
Russia attacked Islamic State terrorists in September. In addition, it has attacked rebel forces and managed to get the Assad administration to reconquer land in vital areas such as Aleppo. History of Syria.
News of the Conflict in Syria
Russia has managed to keep Assad in power, and its interference, like that of Iran, the Hezbollah group and other Shiite forces, has been vital in tilting the turn of the contest. In September 2018, Damascus’ mandate was seized by about 60% of Syria and US-backed Kurdish forces run 25% of the nation’s territory.
Groups loyal to Assad rule the towns of Damascus, Hama, Aleppo, Homs, Tartus, Latakia, Albu Kamal and Palmyra. The rebel-held territory of Ghouta, east of Damascus, was the focus of a heavy government coup in April 2018. History of Syria.
About a thousand civilians were killed, including 145 women and 215 children. On the 12th of the same month, Syrian militia and Russian groups stormed eastern Ghouta after all opposition forces agreed to leave the territory. History of Syria.