History Of Syria

The history of Syria is marked by its exceptional location. It is a transition area at the crossroads of several worlds: the Mediterranean , the Mesopotamia , the Persian , the India , the Asia Minor , the land of Caucasus , and Egypt. Syria was crossed by major trade routes between Europe, China ( Silk Road ) and India.

The man in the Syrian land may have discovered for the first time in the history of humanity, Abu Huraira , the art of cultivating, combine the water and the grain of wheat to multiply ears. With this discovery the first man began to settle, out of the caves, to build houses, become aware of his being, to invoke the sky with the first mythological and religious incantations, to try drawing, sculpture and decoration.

Also in Syria, the man discovered how to use copper, how to shape it and make an alloy: bronze. From the ^third millennium BC. AD the Syrians were building palaces, created murals, and knew a remarkable cultural and commercial development. And in this country that was born as the alphabet (site of Ugarit , near Lattakia).

Syria has been an important part in the history of Christianity and its debates. Through its roads the pilgrims have gone to the great religious centers, the Crusaders and the caravans of silk and spices.

The residents of many small kingdoms that developed in Syria, descended from Arab tribes came from the first time, the southern Arabian Peninsula, and are known under the name of Amorites , the Canaanites , the Phoenicians (coastal zone ), from Aramaic (highlands) of Ghassanids and Nabataeans (south).

The rulers in Syria

Funerary stela of the Assyrian priest If `Gabbor, ^seventh century BC. AD

Syria antiquity extended over an area much larger than the current Syrian territory and was therefore a battleground between the neighboring nations. Syria undergoes several dominations:

• the Egyptians in the ^sixteenth century BC. AD ,
• the Hittites to the ^fourteenth century BC. AD ,
• the Hebrews the ^twelfth century BC. BC to ^tenth century BC. AD ,
• the Assyrians in the ^eighth century BC. BC to ^seventh century BC. AD ,
• the Persians from 539 BC. AD ,
• the Greeks after the conquest of Alexander the Great in 334 BC. AD ,
• the Romans after the conquest of Pompey in 64 BC. BC , which made it a province of their empire,
• the Byzantines ,
• the Arabs after 639 , who welcomed, made of Damascus the heart of the empire of the Umayyads ,
• the Abbasids from 750 , who missed Damascus to Baghdad , and Syria began a long decline,
• the Crusaders , from the ^eleventh century
• the Mongols who ruined the country,
• the Ottomans in the early ^sixteenth century , who annexed it to their empire,
• the French , who established a protectorate between 1920 and 1946 ,

Chronology of civilizations and political regimes

• Kebaran : -17,000 to -12,000 BC
• Natufian : -10000 to -8000 BC
• Preceramic Neolithic : -8000 to -7000 BC
• Neolithic ceramics : -7000 to -6000 BC
• Halaf culture : -6000 to -4500 BC
• Obeid culture : -4500 to -3500 BC
• Uruk Period : -3700 to -2900 BC
• Husband, Sumerian period : -2900 to -2600 BC
• Husband, local kings : -2600 to -2350 BC
• Eblates : -2400 to -1850 BC
• Akkadian : -2300 to -2050 BC
• Babylonians : -2000 to -539 BC
• Canaanites of the interior : -1900 to -538 BC
• Canaanite Sea : -1900 to -64 BC
• Assyrians : -1700 to -1276 BC
• Hittite : -1600 to -1190 BC
  • In 1287 BC. AD , Battle of Kadesh between the Hittites and the Egyptians for control of Syria.
• Sea Peoples : -1200 to -732 BC devastated the coastline.
• Aramaic : -1200 to -732 BC establishing small principalities in the valley of the Orontes to the Euphrates.
  • Around 1000 BC. BC, the kingdom of Damascus was founded and will long remain independent and have a great impact.
  • The armed Assyrian of Tiglath-Pileser III ( 744 - 727 BC. ), after taking Damascus in 732 BC. AD , occupying the entire region, lay hands on small principalities, and hunt the Syrians who settled on the throne of Babylon.
• Chaldeans : -612 to -561 BC
  • Nebuchadnezzar II ( 605 - 562 BC. ), ^the Tenth dynasty of Babylon established on the ruins of Assyrian power, and extends its power to Jerusalem. He makes his own language, Aramaic, the dialect of all peoples under its domination.
• Palmyrens : -600 BC to 272 AD
• Persian : -538 to -333 BC
  • In 539 BC. BC , Cyrus the Great was greeted as a liberator by the Syrian people under the yoke of Babylonian, it devastates the Chaldean empire, Syria and password administration satraps Great Kings for two centuries.
• Hellenistic Period : -333 to 64 BC
  • Alexander the Great annexed Syria to his empire ( 333 - 332 BC. ). After the death of the great conqueror, power devolves to Seleucus I Nicator , one of his generals, who founded the dynasty of the Seleucids and the Greek civilization will spread throughout the country. this king will create new cities such as Antioch , where he made his capital, Laodicea ( Latakia ) and Dura Europos.
  • Under Greek domination, Syria experienced a period of great economic and cultural prosperity.
  • In 312 BC , the territory was renamed the Kingdom of Syria.
• Nabataeans : -169 BC to 106 AD
• Roman period : -64 BC to 330 AD
  • Pompey came in the East defeat the Parthians made a conquest of Syria, who became a Roman province in 64 BC. AD
  • Under Roman rule, Syria continues to experience a period of great economic and cultural prosperity.
  • from 266 to 272 , Zenobia , queen of Palmyra, is trying to free his country from Roman rule, it succeeds, but is ultimately defeated by Aurelian in 272 , and taken to Rome to adorn the triumph of his conqueror.
• Ghassanids : 100 to 635
• Byzantine : 330 to 635
  • After the division of the Roman Empire, Syria is connected with the Byzantine Empire in 395. She continues to enjoy economic prosperity, but it is permeated by the theological debates that take place in the Church of Antioch, and became the breeding ground of heresy as the Nestorian and Monophysite.
• Sassanid : 540 to 635
• Umayyad : 661 to 750
• Abbasid : 750 to 1258
• Fatimids : 968 to 1075
• Byzantine : 964 to 1084 ; mainly in Antioch
• Seljuks : 1075 to 1174
• Crusaders : 1096 to 1187
• Ayyubid : 1174 to 1259
• Mamluks : 1255 to 1259
• Ottomans : 1516 to 1918
• Great Arab Revolution : 1918 to 1920
• French mandate in Syria : 1920 to 1943
• Syrian Arab Republic : from 17 April 1946.

Modern History of Syria

The Ottoman Syria

Ottoman since 1516 , the beginning of the rebirth of modern Syria can be dated to the years 1832 to 1840 , during which Muhammad Ali tried to shake off the yoke of the Ottoman Empire.

In 1840 , held the Damascus affair against the Jewish people following the disappearance of a Capuchin monk.

In 1860, the events of Mount Lebanon and Damascus involve sending an expeditionary force by the European powers. In 1861, the military intervention had resulted in the independence of Lebanon vis-a-vis Damascus.

From 1860 , the opening to the West led to a renewed cultural awareness and identity and the development of Arab nationalism.

Seeking support during the First World War , the British promised the country's independence in case of victory over the Ottoman Empire. However, 16 May 1916 , the United Kingdom and France concluded secret agreements, the Sykes-Picot, by which they divided the Arab lands under Ottoman rule. This agreement follows a lengthy exchange of letters between Paul Cambon , Ambassador of France to London , and Sir Edward Grey , Secretary of State at the Foreign Office. Subsequently, ultra-secret agreement was concluded at Downing Street between Sir Mark Sykes for the United Kingdom and Franois Georges-Picot for France on the sharing of space between the Black Sea, Mediterranean Sea Red, Indian Ocean and the Caspian Sea ( Sykes-Picot Agreement ).

British and Arabs took part in the capture of Damascus in 1918. The following year, British forces withdrew from the area, ceding control to his French troops. However, Syrian nationalists, organized since the late ^nineteenth century , hoped to create an independent Syria, including Palestine and Lebanon. On 7 March 1920 , the Syrian National Congress (elected in 1919 ) unilaterally proclaimed independence. It became a constitutional monarchy headed by Hussein's son, Prince Faisal.

In April 1920, however, the San Remo Conference confirmed the Sykes-Picot and the French control of Syria and Lebanon, and decided to turn to money later, which would rapidly lead, at least in theory, the independence of both territories.

Faisal decided to collaborate with the French, his minister of war Youssef al-Azmeh refuses the troops of General Gouraud arrive, defeat an army led by Yousef al-Azmeh in the battle of Maysaloun on July 23, and entered Damascus. Faisal found himself forced into exile, then found refuge in Iraq , where he will be crowned in 1921. Then it was the collapse of the "great Arab project" that would gather around Damascus Arab lands formerly placed under Ottoman control.

The French Mandate

While she had been hostile towards the Turks, the population quickly developed a Syrian anti-French sentiment.

The French mandate over Syria was organized into a " Greater Lebanon "made up of four provinces: sandjaks of Damascus and Aleppo , the state Alawi ( 1920 ), and the State of Jebel Druze ( 1921 ), which s' added in March 1923 , the Sanjak Alexandretta (north) detached from Aleppo and populated part of a Turkish minority. The same year, General Gouraud created the Syrian Federation, which included Damascus, Aleppo and the Alawite State, without the Jebel Druze, or Alexandretta. In 1924 , the State was also separated into Alawite. From 1925 to 1927 , the Jebel Druze entered a state of insurrection , led by Sultan Pasha el-Atrash. The general Sarrail it was responsible for restoring order.

Supported by France, the Maronites benefited in 1926 , creating the Republic of Lebanon instead of " Greater Lebanon ".

Knowing the end of the term near the Turkey indicated as 1936 it would not accept that the Turkish minority of Sandzak Alexandretta passes under Syrian authority. In order to save Turkey in case of war with Germany and protect its interests in the region, France ceded the Sandzak Alexandretta which became the province of Hatay.

Still part of France, Syria came under control of the Vichy government in July 1940. In 1941 the Free French forces and the British drove the General Dentz , High Commissioner of the Levant. The Catroux , on behalf of Free France , officially recognized the independence of Syria, but the French and British troops remained on Syrian soil. In May 1945, to suppress the movement indpendandiste, de Gaulle sent troops and gave orders to the French air force to bomb Damascus May 29 But the British oppose such operations. The French do withdrew completely from Lebanon and Syria in 1946. That same year, Syria became a UN member.

The independent Republic

At independence in 1943, Shukri al-Kuwatli is elected as first president of the republic. He gets the final withdrawal of French troops in April 1946. Under his direction the country takes part in the first war against the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948.

The defeat engenders political instability. Shukri al-Kuwatli was overthrown by a military coup of Husni al-Zaim in March 1949. The coup was followed by others, powered by the opposition between a pro-Iraqi faction of the army and another pro-Egyptian faction.

In 1955, after the return of democracy, Shukri al Quwwatli was again elected president, a position at the time largely ceremonial. Under the influence of pro-Egyptian, he signed in February 1958 union with Egypt's Nasser , which lasts from 1958 to 1961 (UAR: United Arab Republic).

This attempt fails community of Arab States, and the Conservatives returned to power until the coup of 1963 , from which the Baath Party Syrian Government has assured the country, adapting to political developments.

Thus a first "moderate" government was overthrown in 1966 by a faction of the Baath party pro- Soviet and extremist, who leads the country into a disastrous war against Israel in 1967 , the Six Day War. The defeat leaves the field open to General Hafez al-Assad, who seized power in November 1970 and hunting extremists. He became president of the Republic in March 1971.

The gradual liberalization of the economy is advanced, while the new regime, enshrined in the Constitution of 1973 , attempts to break the diplomatic isolation of the country. But in 1973 , a new war against Israel - the Yom Kippur War - and the conquest and control of massive Golan by Syria Israel plunges into new political and financial difficulties, exacerbated by the intervention in the Lebanese civil war from 1975.

In 1974 , tensions arise between Syria and Iraq , following the construction of the dam Tabqa on the Euphrates and to the criticism of Syria over its military strategy in the Yom Kippur War. Very soon, the conflict escalates, and troops are massed near the border. Mediation Soviet and Saudi prevents war in 1975. Relations between Syria and Iraq remain, however atrocious.

In the 1980s , the Syrian government signed a treaty of friendship with the USSR , supported the Iran in its conflict against Iraq , and undergoes a strong opposition from Muslim fundamentalist movements. Because of the positioning pro-Soviet President Hafez el-Assad and his health problems, the U.S. and France believe at that time, a possible alternative with the younger brother of Hafez, Rifaat el- Assad , himself a vice-president and head of the "Brigades of Defence, held a pro-Western. It has since fallen into disfavor and often lives in France.

In 1985 , Syria gets the Israeli withdrawal from most of Lebanon. In February 1987 , she sent 7,000 men as reinforcements into the Muslim sector of Beirut to restore order, and operates the reunification of the Lebanese capital. The Taif Accords in 1989 , spent the supervision exercised in fact by Syria in Lebanon. In May 1991 , the Syrian government and the Lebanese government signed a treaty of friendship and cooperation adding that both countries belong to a "nation". The Syrian military presence continues in Lebanon.

Internally, Syria is facing the consequences of its regional and international politics. In 1 980 - one thousand nine hundred eighty-two , the country is the place of many clashes between the Muslim Brotherhood who want to establish an Islamic political system and regime forces of Hafez el-Assad. In 1982 , he was able to crush the Muslim Brotherhood uprising in the city of Hama. We then laments thousands of victims, including civilians. Eventually the system becomes stable, but at the expense of economic and social development. Indeed, General Assad manages the country with his family members and relatives of the army and the Baath party , and corruption is rife.

The alliance declared the Syrian regime with the Western camp against Saddam Hussein earned him an exit "honorable" isolation on the international stage. Through this alliance, Hafez el-Assad can ensure grip on Lebanon (neutralization of the revolt of Michel Aoun in 1991 ), the consolidation of his regime, and even the assurance of its own succession by his eldest son Basil al- Assad. Ironically, it was killed in 1994 during a car accident on the airport road to Damascus. It is then necessary that the old General prepares his second son Bashar , an ophthalmologist by training, so to London , for the accession to power.

In July 2000 , after the death of his father, Bashar al-Assad became president as expected. Observers note that while political freedom wind begins to blow on the country. Vain hope. The old guard, represented mainly by the security apparatus of the clan Alawite (of obedience Shiite ) and some politicians, like Vice President Abdel Halim Khaddam and Foreign Minister Farouk al-Shr'e , exert considerable pressure on young president to stop this freedom. The Damascus Spring, they say, only lasted eight months. The peaceful critics are jailed. And hope the people back their freedom is destroyed.

After the attacks of September 11, 2001 , U.S. policy changed direction, beginning with the war against the Taliban regime in Afghanistan. But the U.S. occupation of Iraq is the greatest threat to Syria. This should face charges for U.S. assistance to Iraqi insurgents. But nothing changes the vision of the White House. Syria is now in the crosshairs of the United States. With the start of the war in Iraq, the country faces a wave of immigration from Iraq.

On 14 February 2005 , Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri was assassinated in an attack. Syria is named as the instigator of the assassination. Once more, the regime of Bashar el-Assad is facing international pressure: off relations with the United States , with significant cooling France , reports slowdown with Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries. Syrian forces must leave Lebanon a month after the attack. A commission of inquiry to the United Nations is formed under the chairmanship of the German judge Mehlis. The report of the latter can not, according to observers, present compelling evidence showing the involvement of Syria, two witnesses presented by the Lebanese judicial system proved unreliable. The year 2005 is the most difficult year for the Syrian regime must now realize that the international community of its Lebanon policy. Finally, in December 2005, the Syrian Vice President Abdel Halim Khaddam told the press his belief in the Damascus regime's involvement in the assassination of Rafik Hariri, a plan that Khaddam has been a mainstay for 40 years.

Khaddam's residence in Paris and its business alliance with the Muslim Brotherhood whose leader is exiled in London do not involve the annihilation of the Syrian regime. Indeed, the plan does not abandon the principle previously outlined by Hafez Assad that a mix of pragmatism and time can save a lot of things. Amen. Several factors are helping Syria to break its international isolation. First: the Israeli policy of Syria. Israel prefers ultimately a Baathist regime (secular) to another pro-Islamist who could cause him serious problems with its security. At least, Syria is still using indirect means to end to return the Golan Heights, occupied since 1967. This is better than a costly war for all. Second: Syria knows still maintain good relations with neighboring Turkey (despite tensions over Kurdish problem). The meeting between the Syrian desire desperately to find an ally and that of Turkey to regain its influence in Ottoman Syria provides a reliable basis for regional protection. Thirdly, the Americans have finally realized that no security can not exist in Iraq without the support of Syria and Iran. We must therefore negotiate with both countries to restore the situation in Iraq. Fourth: the myopia of Jacques Chirac has customized its problem with Syria - and following the assassination of Rafik Hariri - has caused a new direction of French policy toward that country. Hosting Bashar Assad in Paris July 14, 2008 and the visit of Nicolas Sarkozy in Damascus a few months after changing the situation. Thus, Syria has emerged once again, its international isolation, without actually changing its old policy, which is still effective.

Famous Syrians

• Apollodorus of Damascus ( 50 - 129 ), architect of the Emperor Trajan
• Elagabalus ( 218 - 222 ), Roman emperor
• Alexander Severus ( 222 - 235 ), Roman emperor
• Philip the Arab ( 244 - 249 ), Roman emperor
• Julia Domna , the second wife of the Roman emperor Septimius Severus
• Septimia Bathzabbai Zenobia , Queen of Palmyra from 267 to 272.
• Anicet , ^11thPope ( 155 ? - 166 ?)
• John V , 82 ^th Pope ( 685 - 686 )
• Serge ^{I. ,} 84th Pope ( 687 - 701 )
• Sisinnius ^, 87th Pope ( 708 )
• Constantine ^, 88th Pope ( 708 - 715 )
• Gregory III ^, 90th Pope ( 731 - 741 )
• Jean Mansur (St. John Damascene) , ( 654 - 750 )
• Qatana of Kaneda ( 1937 - in 1982 ), Heroes indpendandiste

Cities and former colonies

• Damascus
• Husband

See also

Bibliography

• (In) David Commins, Historical Dictionary of Syria, Scarecrow Press, Lanham Md, 2004 ^(2nd ed.), 376 p. ( ISBN 978-0-8108-4934-1 )

External link

• The forgotten villages of northern Syria by Georges Tate, Professor at the University of Versailles-Saint Quentin en Yvelines.

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