history of Syria

The earliest prehistoric remains of human habitation found in Syria and Palestine (stone implements, with bones of elephants and horses) are of the Middle Paleolithic Period. In the next stage are remains of rhinoceroses and of men who are classified as intermediate between

…until after 1955 did the Syrian political scene provide opportunity for the realization of ʿAflaq’s dreams. With the conservative political parties fighting among themselves, ʿAflaq made a tactical alliance with the Communist Party and thus markedly increased the Baʿth’s political influence. But he could not secure political dominance in the…

>Syria and now a major town of south-central Turkey. It lies near the mouth of the Orontes River, about 12 miles (19 km) northwest of the Syrian border.

…formation, the Assad regime in Syria, headed by Pres. Hafez al-Assad from 1971 to 2000, was also becoming a close ally of Iran. The two countries were brought together not only through a common interest in the Lebanese Civil War but also through a mutual hostility toward the regime of…

…the jund (Muslim province) of Damascus. Until the 9th or 10th century, it remained commercially insignificant and was notable mainly for the careers of two local jurists, al-Awzāʿī (d. 774) and al-Makḥūl (d. 933). A return of maritime commerce to the Mediterranean in the 10th century revived the importance of…

…the capture of Antioch in Syria, one of the patriarchal sees of Christianity, was another blow to Byzantine prestige. Thus, although the Seljuq empire never successfully held together as a unit, it appropriated most of Asia Minor, including Nicaea, from the Byzantine Empire and brought a resurgent Islam perilously close…

The direct impact of the Crusades on Islamdom was limited largely to Syria. For the century during which western European Christians were a serious presence there, they were confined to their massive coastal fortifications. The Crusaders had arrived in Syria at one of its…

…the union of Egypt and Syria. It was anticipated that the number of stars would increase as other Arab states joined the union. In fact, Syria seceded from the union, although Egypt did not alter the flag to reflect this. On January 1, 1972, the Confederation of Arab Republics was…

…the Euphrates River in north-central Syria. The dam, which is located 30 miles (50 km) upriver from the town of Ar-Raqqah, was begun in 1968. Its construction prompted an intense archaeological excavation of the area around the town of Ṭabaqah. The dam is of earth-fill construction, some 197 feet (60…

…relations with the governments of Syria and Iran, two of its primary sources of support, were strained in 2011 when Meshaal and other Hamas figures in Damascus conspicuously avoided expressing support for a crackdown by Syrian armed forces against anti-government protesters inside the country. In early 2012 Hamas leaders left…

He conquered Syria and then turned his attention to campaigns far to the east of his tumultuously acquired and ill-cemented empire; he died in 1405 on an expedition to China. Timur left an awesome name and an ambiguous record of flights of curiosity into the realms of…

Relations with Baʿathist Syria also became tense. The oil monarchies of the Persian Gulf were wary of Baʿath social, national, and anti-Western radicalism, fearing Iraq might inspire revolutionary activities in their countries, and, indeed, the Baʿath regime called for Baʿath-style revolutions throughout the Arab world.

…one over the boundary with Syria, which was concluded in Iraq’s favour; Iraq thereafter possessed the Sinjār Mountains. A nonaggression pact, called the Saʿdābād Pact, between Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan, and Iraq was signed in 1937. In 1939, shortly before the outbreak of World War II, King Ghāzī was killed in…

…Britain, and the other, over Syria, went to France. This act effectively separated the area now occupied by Israel and Jordan from that of Syria. In November 1920 Abdullah, Faisal’s brother, arrived in Maʿān (then part of the Hejaz) with 2,000 armed supporters intent on gathering together tribes to attack…

…Egyptian-Israeli Sinai accord, Jordan with Syria agreed in August 1975 to form a joint “supreme command” to coordinate their foreign and military policies in an effort to control PLO activities. In March 1977 Hussein met with Arafat in Cairo, their first meeting since Black September in 1970. In July 1977…

…and 625 ranged across northern Syria and Mesopotamia and culminated in a reversal for Shahrbarāz’ forces on the river Saras.

…regime of Shukri al-Kuwatli in Syria in March 1949 encouraged the opponents of Khuri in Lebanon. In July 1949 the Syrian Social Nationalist Party (or the Parti Populair Syrien; PPS) tried to overthrow the regime by force. The coup failed, and its leaders were seized and shot. The PPS took…

In 743 he went to Syria, defeating there an army of Urartu. The Syrian city of Arpad, which had formed an alliance with Urartu, did not surrender so easily. It took Tiglath-pileser three years of siege to conquer Arpad, whereupon he massacred the inhabitants and destroyed the city. In 738…

>Syrian nationalist parties that opposed the French mandate and demanded independence, dominating Syrian politics throughout the years of its existence, 1925–49.

…who reorganized the armies of Syria and laid the foundations for the success of Saladin.

…with the Mamluk empire of Syria and Egypt, which sought to expand into southeastern Anatolia. Mehmed neutralized Mamluk forces, though he could not defeat them. He then turned to Venice, initiating several naval raids along the Adriatic coast that finally led to a peace in 1479, whereby Venice surrendered its…

…a sphere of influence in Syria and Cilicia. Britain had already annexed Cyprus and declared a protectorate over Egypt. By the Anglo-French Sykes-Picot Agreement (January 3, 1916), the French sphere was confirmed and extended eastward to Mosul in Iraq. A

… (modern Tall Mardīkh) in neighboring Syria, nor is the extent of Eblaite and Akkadian hegemony over Palestine in this period known. It does seem reasonable, however, to associate the incursion of nomads from the east with the invasions of Egypt by people from Asia that brought the Old Kingdom to…

…Egyptian and Jordanian support against Syria. He also looked to King Hussein as an intermediary for negotiations with the United States and Israel that might lead to a Palestinian ministate on the West Bank within a Jordan-Palestine confederation—an idea that had been favored by the dominant factions in the PLO…

The large-scale intervention of the Syrian army in Lebanon in mid-1976 in support of the Christian right against the PLO-Muslim-left alliance strained relations between Arafat and Syrian Pres. Ḥafiz al-Assad. As a result, Syria alternated between undermining or confronting the PLO (by attacking it directly or indirectly through Palestinian factions)…

…Tunis, Tunisia, and in 1983 Syrian-backed PLO rebels supported by Syrian troops forced Arafat’s remaining troops out of Lebanon. Arafat retained the support of some Arab leaders and eventually was able to reassert his leadership of the PLO.

…to the division of Turkish-held Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, and Palestine into various French- and British-administered areas. Negotiations were begun in November 1915, and the final agreement took its name from the chief negotiators from Britain and France, Sir Mark Sykes

In Syria protests calling for the resignation of Pres. Bashar al-Assad broke out in southern Syria in mid-March 2011 and spread through the country. The Assad regime responded with a brutal crackdown against protesters, drawing condemnation from international leaders and human rights groups. A leadership council…

Turkey’s relations with Syria were adversely affected by Syria’s support for Kurdish rebels and by Syrian concern over the construction of the Atatürk Dam in southeastern Turkey, which threatened to divert the Euphrates River, whose flow is shared by Turkey, Syria, and Iraq.

political union of Egypt and Syria proclaimed on February 1, 1958, and ratified in nationwide plebiscites later that month. It ended on September 28, 1961, when Syria, following a military coup, declared itself independent of Egypt.

…in 1958 Egypt combined with Syria to form the United Arab Republic (U.A.R.), but Egyptian dominance antagonized many Syrians, and the union was dissolved in bitterness in September 1961 (Egypt retained the name United Arab Republic until 1971). Nasser blamed the secession on Syrian reactionaries, and in direct response he…

Developments in Egypt and Syria in 2013 continued to provide major challenges for U.S. foreign policy. When protests against the Egyptian military’s removal of Mohammed Morsi from the presidency in July led to the killing of hundreds of his supporters in July and August, some American politicians called for…

…continued support of its ally Syria (as well as that of China) prevented the UN Security Council from responding forcefully to the war. Obama, seemingly seeking to avoid open-ended involvement in another Middle Eastern conflict, had been cautious in his response to the situation in Syria, prompting some critics to…

In 1940 Prince ʿAbd al-Ilāh, regent of Iraq for King Fayṣal, had a government divided within itself about the war; he himself and his foreign minister, Nuri as-Said, were pro-British, but his prime minister, Rashid Ali al-Gailani,