Part ofa series on the |
|---|
| History ofSyria |
.jpg) |
Middle Ages |
Early modern
|
|
| Timeline |
 History portal |
Thehistory of Syria covers events which occurred on the territory of theSyrian Arab Republic and events which occurred in theregion of Syria. Throughout ancient times the territory of the Syrian Arab Republic was occupied and ruled by several empires, including theSumerians,Mitanni,Assyrians,Babylonians,Egyptians,Hittites,Canaanites,Phoenicians,Arameans,Amorites,Persians,Greeks andRomans.[1] Syria is considered to have emerged as an independent country for the first time on 24 October 1945, upon the signing of theUnited Nations Charter by the Syrian government, effectively endingFrance's mandate by theLeague of Nations to "render administrative advice and assistance to the population" of Syria, which came in effect in April 1946.
On 21 February 1958, however, Syria merged withEgypt to create theUnited Arab Republic after plebiscitary ratification of the merger by voters in both countries, but seceded from it in 1961, thereby recovering its full independence. From 1963 until 2024, theSyrian Arab Republic was ruled by theBa’ath Party, with theAssad family exclusively in power since 1971. Following the fall of the Assad regime, Syria entered a political transition undera second transitional government on 29 March 2025.
The oldest remains found in Syria date from thePalaeolithic era (c.800,000 BCE). On 23 August 1993, a joint Japan-Syria excavation team discovered fossilized Paleolithic human remains at the Dederiyeh Cave some 400 km north of Damascus. The bones found in this massive cave were those of aNeanderthal child, estimated to have been about two years old, who lived in the Middle Palaeolithic era (ca. 200,000 to 40,000 years ago). Although many Neanderthal bones had been discovered already, this was practically the first time that an almost complete child's skeleton had been found in its original burial state.[2]
Archaeologists have demonstrated that civilization in Syria was one of the most ancient on earth. Syria is part of theFertile Crescent, and since approximately 10,000 BCE it was one of the centers ofNeolithic culture (PPNA) where agriculture and cattle breeding appeared for the first time in the world. The Neolithic period (PPNB) is represented by rectangular houses of theMureybet culture. In the early Neolithic period, people used vessels made of stone, gyps and burnt lime. Finds ofobsidian tools fromAnatolia are evidence of early trade relations. The cities ofHamoukar andEmar flourished during the late Neolithic and Bronze Age.
The ruins ofEbla, nearIdlib in northern Syria, were discovered and excavated in 1975. Ebla appears to have been anEast Semitic speaking city-state founded around 3000 BCE. At its zenith, from about 2500 to 2400 BCE, it may have controlled an empire reaching north toAnatolia, east toMesopotamia and south toDamascus. Ebla traded with theMesopotamian states ofSumer,Akkad andAssyria, as well as with peoples to the northwest.[3] Gifts fromPharaohs, found during excavations, confirm Ebla's contact withEgypt. Scholars believe thelanguage of Ebla was closely related to the fellow East SemiticAkkadian language ofMesopotamia[4] and to be among the oldest known written languages.[3]
From the third millennium BCE, Syria was occupied and fought over successively bySumerians,Eblaites,Akkadians,Assyrians,Egyptians,Hittites,Hurrians,Mitanni,Amorites andBabylonians.[3]
Ebla was probably conquered into the MesopotamianAkkadian Empire (2335–2154 BCE) bySargon of Akkad around 2330 BCE. The city re-emerged, as the part of the nation of theNorthwest Semitic speakingAmorites, a few centuries later, and flourished through the early second millennium BCE until conquered by theIndo-EuropeanHittites.[5] The Sumerians, Akkadians and Assyrians of Mesopotamia referred to the region as Mar.Tu orThe land of the Amurru (Amorites) from as early as the 24th century BCE.
Parts of Syria were controlled by theNeo-Sumerian Empire,Old Assyrian Empire andBabylonian Empire between the 22nd and 18th centuries BCE.
The region was fought over by the rival empires of theHittites,Egyptians,Assyrians andMitanni between the 15th and 13th centuries BCE, with theMiddle Assyrian Empire (1365–1050 BCE) eventually left controlling Syria.
When the Middle Assyrian Empire began to deteriorate in the late 11th century BCE,Canaanites andPhoenicians came to the fore and occupied the coast, andArameans andSuteans supplanted theAmorites in the interior, as part of the general disruptions and exchanges associated with theBronze Age Collapse and theSea Peoples. During this period the bulk of Syria became known asEber Nari andAramea.
From the 10th century BCE theNeo-Assyrian Empire (935–605 BCE) arose, and Syria was ruled byAssyria for the next three centuries, until the late 7th century BCE, and was still known asEber-Nari and Aram throughout the period. It is from this period that the nameSyria first emerges, but not in relation tomodern Syria, but as an Indo-European corruption ofAssyria, which in fact encompassed the modern regions of northern Iraq, north east Syria, south east Turkey and the northwestern fringe of Iran. (seeEtymology of Syria)
After this empire finally collapsed, Mesopotamian dominance continued for a time with the short livedNeo-Babylonian Empire (612–539 BCE), which ruled the region for almost 75 years.
In 539 BCE,Cyrus the Great, King ofAchaemenid Persians, took Syria as part of his empire. Due to Syria's location on the Eastern Mediterranean coast, its navy fleet, and abundant forests, Persians showed great interest in easing control while governing the region. Thus, the indigenousPhoenicians paid an annual tribute of only 350talent compared to Egypt's tribute of 700 talents. Furthermore, Syrians were allowed to rule their own cities, in that they continued to practice their native religions, establish their own businesses, and build colonies all over the Mediterranean coast. Syria'ssatraps used to reside inDamascus,Sidon orTripoli.
In 525 BCE,Cambyses II managed to conquer Egypt after theBattle of Pelusium. Afterwards, he decided to launch an expedition towardsSiwa Oasis andCarthage, but his efforts were in vain as Phoenicians refused to operate against their kindred.
Later on, Phoenicians contributed dearly toXerxes I'sinvasion of Greece.Arwad aided the campaign with its fleet, while land troops helped in constructing a bridge for Xerxes's army to cross theBosphorus into mainland Greece.
DuringArtaxerxes III's reign (358-338 BCE),Sidon, Egyptians, and eleven other Phoenician cities started to revolt against the Persian rulers. The revolutions were heavily suppressed in that Sidon was burnt with its citizens.[6]
Persian dominion ended with the conquests of theMacedonianGreek king,Alexander the Great in 333–332 BCE after theBattle of Issus which took place south of the ancient townIssus, close to the present-day Turkish town ofIskenderun. Syria was then incorporated into theSeleucid Empire by generalSeleucus who started, with the Seleucid Kings after him, using the title ofKing of Syria. The capital of this Empire (founded in 312 BCE) was situated atAntioch, then a part of historical Syria, but just inside theTurkish border today as well.
A series of six wars,Syrian Wars, were fought between theSeleucid Empire and thePtolemaic Kingdom of Egypt, during the 3rd and 2nd centuries BCE over the region then calledCoele-Syria, one of the few avenues into Egypt. These conflicts drained the material and manpower of both parties and led to their eventual destruction and conquest byRome andParthia.Mithridates II, King ofParthian Empire, extended his control further west, occupyingDura-Europos in 113 BCE.[7]
By 100 BCE, the once formidable Seleucid Empire encompassed little more than Antioch and some Syrian cities. In 83 BCE, after a bloody strife for the throne ofSyria, governed by the Seleucids, the Syrians decided to chooseTigranes the Great, King ofArmenia, as the protector of their kingdom and offered him the crown ofSyria.[8]
.jpg)
The Roman generalPompey the Great captured Antioch in 64 BCE, turning Syria into aRoman province and ended Armenian rule,[3] establishing the city of Antioch as its capital.
Antioch was the third largest city in theRoman Empire, after Rome andAlexandria, with an estimated population of 500,000 at its zenith, and being a commercial and cultural hub at the region for many centuries later.The largelyAramaic-speaking population of Syria during the heyday of the empire was probably not exceeded again until the 19th century.[clarify] Syria's large and prosperous population made it one of the most important Roman provinces, particularly during the 2nd and 3rd centuries CE.[9] In the course of the second century AD, the cities ofPalmyra and neighboringEmesa (modern-day Homs) rose to wealth and prominence and both would be notably active in the third century, both in resisting theParthian Empire but also in raising upRoman usurpers.[10]
Under theSeveran dynasty, Syrian nobles administered Rome and even rose to imperial title, such as the matriarch of the family,Julia Domna, who descended from theEmesan dynasty of priest-kings ofElagabalus and who marriedSeptimius Severus in 187. After the ascension of Domna's two sons to the throne and their eventual death, the Severan dynasty was usurped byMacrinus, a prominent figure in Roman court and aPraetorian prefect. Domna's sisterJulia Maesa returned to Emesa, taking her enormous wealth, and her two daughters and grandsons with her.[11] Back in Emesa, her grandson,Elagabalus.[11] Soldiers fromLegio III Gallica who were stationed near Emesa would visit the city occasionally,[11] and were persuaded to swear fealty to Elagabalus by Maesa who used her enormous wealth[12] and claimed that he was Caracalla's bastard.[11] Elagabalus laterrode to battle against Marcinus, and entered the city of Antioch emerging as emperor, with Marcinus fleeing before being captured nearChalcedon and executed inCappadocia. Whatsoever, his reign lasted only a short 4 years, filled withsex scandals, eccentricity, decadence, and zealotry. Realizing that the popular support for the emperor was fading, Julia Maesa decided to replace him with her younger grandson, his cousinSeverus Alexander, and convinced Elagabalus to name him as his heir and give him the title ofCaesar, but after revoking his far more popular cousin of his titles and ranks, and reversing his consulships, thePraetorian guard cheered on Alexander, naming him emperor and slaying Elagabalus and his mother. Severus Alexander's rule was longer, and unlike Elagabalus' disastrous rule, was filled with domestic achievements and he earned the popularity and respect of his people, something Elagabalus never had. He ruled for 13 years, before eventually losing the popularity he once had and being slain by theLegio XXII Primigenia.
Another Emperor of Syrian origin wasPhilip the Arab, born in modern-dayShahba, he reigned from 244 to 249. His reign enjoyed relative stability, he maintained good relations with the senate, reaffirmed old Roman virtues and traditions, and started many building projects, most popularly in his hometown, renaming it Philippopolis, and raising it to civic status. Whatsoever, the creation of a new city, alongside the massive tribute to the Persians, he had to raise taxes to high levels and stop paying subsidies to the tribes north of theDanube, which were essential to keeping the peace with them. Nonetheless, his reign ended shortly afterDecius usurped the throne, killing Philip and emerging as the new emperor.
During theRoman–Sasanian war of the 3rd century, the Romans, struggling in the early stages of theCrisis of the Third Century depended onOdaenathus, the King of the Syrian city-state ofPalmyra to secure the Roman East from the Persian invaders and to regain lost Roman territories, so Odaenathus rode north leading thePalmyrene army, and regained Armenia, Northern Syria, parts of Asia Minor from the Persians, and even reached the Persian capital ofCtesiphon, thus weakening the Persians and securing the Roman East, before he was murdered by his own nephew,Maeonius.
Years later,Palmyra rose in rebellion against theRoman Empire under the leadership ofZenobia, Odaenathus' widow and Queen Mother of Palmyra, who led her armies to conquer Syria, Asia Minor, Arabia and Lower Egypt in a series of campaigns in which she annexed almost the entire Roman east, all while the Roman Empire was struggling during theCrisis of the Third Century, ruled by incompetent emperors and torn apart by civil war. Whatsoever, thePalmyrene Empire was short lived; once the Roman generalAurelian rose to power, he rode east, defeated Queen Zenobia in battle twice, and rode to Palmyra to reconquer it and subsequently sacked it around 273 CE, which effectively put an end to Palmyrene civilization.
With the decline of the empire in the west, Syria became part of the Eastern Roman, orByzantine, Empire in 395. The province was subsequently divided into three, smaller provinces. Syria Prima, with the capital remaining at Antioch, and Syria Secunda, with its capital moving toApamea on the Orontes, and the new province of Theodorias, withLaodicea as its capital.[13] By then the empire had converted to Christianity, in thehistory of which Syria had played a significant role;Paul the Apostle hadconverted on the Road to Damascus and emerged as a significant figure in theChurch of Antioch, from where he had set off on many of his missionary journeys. (Acts 9:1–43)
Syria remained one of the most important regions of theByzantine Empire, and was of strategic importance, beingoccupied by theSasanians between 609 and 628, then recovered by the emperorHeraclius. Byzantine rule in the region was lost to theMuslims after theBattle of Yarmouk and thefall of Antioch.[13]
In 634–640, Syria was conquered by theMuslimArabs in the form of theRashidun army led byKhalid ibn al-Walid, resulting in the region becoming part of theIslamic empire. In the mid-7th century, theUmayyad dynasty, then rulers of the empire, placed the capital of the empire in Damascus. Syria was divided into four districts: Damascus,Homs,Palestine andJordan. The Islamic empire expanded rapidly and at its height stretched from Spain to India and parts ofCentral Asia; thus Syria prospered economically, being the centre of the empire. Early Umayyad rulers such asAbd al-Malik andAl-Walid I constructed several splendid palaces and mosques throughout Syria, particularly in Damascus,Aleppo and Homs.
There wereChristians (mostly ethnicArameans and in the north east,Assyrians) in this era that held several governmental posts. In the mid-8th century, theCaliphate collapsed amid dynastic struggles, regional revolts and religious disputes. The Umayyad dynasty was overthrown by theAbbasid dynasty in 750, who moved the capital of empire toBaghdad.Arabic — made official under Umayyad rule – became the dominant language, replacingGreek andAramaic in the Abbasid era. For periods, Syria was ruled from Egypt, under theTulunids (887–905), and then, after a period of anarchy, theIkhshidids (941–969). Northern Syria came under theHamdanids of Aleppo.[14]
.jpg)
The court ofSaif al-Daula (944–967) was a center of culture, thanks to its nurturing of Arabic literature. He resisted Byzantine efforts to reconquer Syria by skillful defensive tactics and counter-raids into Anatolia. After his death, the Byzantines captured Antioch and Aleppo (969). Syria was then in turmoil as a battleground between the Hamdanids, Byzantines and Damascus-basedFatimids. The Byzantines had conquered all of Syria by 996, but the chaos continued for much of the 11th century as the Byzantines, Fatimids andBuyids of Baghdad engaged in a struggle for supremacy. Syria was then conquered by theSeljuk Turks (1084–1086), during the reign ofMalik-Shah I. Afterward,Nur ad-Din of theZengid dynasty controlled the region between Aleppo and Damascus in 1154, taken from theBurid dynasty. Later on, Syria was conquered (1175–1185) bySaladin, founder of theAyyubid dynasty of Egypt.
During the 12th–13th centuries, parts of Syria were held byCrusader states: theCounty of Edessa (1098–1149), thePrincipality of Antioch (1098–1268) andCounty of Tripoli (1109–1289). The area was also threatened byShi'a extremists known asAssassins (Hassassin) and in 1260 theMongols briefly swept through Syria. The withdrawal of the main Mongol army prompted theMamluks of Egypt to invade and conquer Syria. In addition to the sultanate's capital inCairo, the Mamluk leader,Baibars, made Damascus a provincial capital, with the cities linked by a mail service that traveled by both horses and carrier pigeons. The Mamluks eliminated the last of the Crusader footholds in Syria and repulsed several Mongol invasions.
In 1400,Timur Lenk, or Tamerlane, invaded Syria, defeated the Mamluk army at Aleppo and captured Damascus. Many of the city's inhabitants were massacred, except for the artisans, who were deported toSamarkand.[15][16] At this time the Christian population of Syria suffered persecution.
By the end of the 15th century, the discovery of a sea route from Europe to the Far East ended the need for anoverland trade route through Syria. In 1516, theOttoman Empire conquered Syria.
_Dervish%2c_Syrian_Peasant%2c_Young_Druse_Woman%2c_Karvass_(Police_Officer)_in_Damascus.jpg)
Ottoman SultanSelim I conquered most of Syria in 1516 after defeating the Mamlukes at theBattle of Marj Dabiq near Aleppo. Syria was part of the Ottoman Empire from 1516 to 1918, although with 2 brief captures by the Iranian Safavids, notably underShah Ismail I andShah Abbas. Ottoman rule was not burdensome to the Syrians because the Turks, as Muslims, respected Arabic as the language of theKoran, and accepted the mantle of defenders of the faith. Damascus became the major entrepot forMecca, and as such it acquired a holy character to Muslims, because of thebarakah (spiritual force or blessing) of the countless pilgrims who passed through on thehadj, the pilgrimage to Mecca.[17]
The Ottoman Turks reorganized Syria into one large province oreyalet. The eyalet was subdivided into several districts orsanjaks. In 1549, Syria was reorganized into two eyalets; the Eyalet of Damascus and the new Eyalet of Aleppo. In 1579, the Eyalet of Tripoli which included Latakia, Hama and Homs was established. In 1586, the Eyalet ofRaqqa was established in eastern Syria. Ottoman administration did not foster a peaceful co-existence amongst the different sections of Syrian society but Each religious minority – Shia Muslim, Greek Orthodox, Maronite, Armenian, and Jewish – constituted amillet. The religious heads of each community administered all personal status law and performed certain civil functions as well.[17]
As part of theTanzimat reforms, an Ottoman law passed in 1864 provided for a standard provincial administration throughout the empire with the Eyalets becoming smallerVilayets governed by aWali, or governor, still appointed by the Sultan but with new provincial assemblies participating in administration. The territory ofGreater Syria in the final period of Ottoman rule included modern Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Jordan,Palestine, and parts of Turkey and Iraq.
DuringWorld War I, French diplomatFrançois Georges-Picot and British diplomatMark Sykes secretly agreed on the post war division of the Ottoman Empire into respective zones of influence in theSykes-Picot Agreement of 1916. In October 1918, Arab and British troops advanced into Syria and captured Damascus and Aleppo. In line with the Sykes-Picot agreement, Syria became aLeague of Nations mandate under French control in 1920.[18]
The demographics of this area underwent a huge shift in the early part of the 20th century whenOttoman troops along with Kurdish detachments conducted ethnic cleansing of its Christian populations. Some Circassian, Kurdish and Chechens tribes cooperated with theOttoman authorities in the massacres ofArmenian andAssyrian Christians inUpper Mesopotamia, in southeasternTurkey, between 1914 and 1920, with further attacks on unarmed fleeing civilians conducted by local Arab militias.[19][20][21][22][23] Many Assyrians fled to northeastern Syria during theSimele massacre in the early 1930s inIraq and settled mainly in theAl-Hasakah Governorate governate in theJazira Region.[20][21][22][23] and burned the town.[24] The town was destroyed and the Christian population, about 300 families, fled to the towns ofQamishli andHasakah.[25] During the great war, Kurdish tribes attacked and sacked and villages in Albaq District immediately to the north ofHakkari mountains. According to lieutenant Ronald Sempill Stafford, a large numbers of Assyrians and Armenians were killed.[20]
In 1941, the Assyrian community ofal-Malikiyah was subjected to a vicious assault. Even though the assault failed, Assyrians were terrorized and left in large numbers, and the immigration of Kurds from Turkey to the area have resulted in a Kurdish majority in Amuda, al-Malikiyah, andal-Darbasiyah.[26][unreliable source?] The historically important Christian city ofNusaybin had a similar fate when its Christian population left after it was ceded to Turkey through theFranco-Turkish Agreement of Ankara in October 1921. The Christian population of the city crossed the border into Syria and settled inQamishli, which was separated by the railway (new border) from Nusaybin. Nusaybin became Kurdish and Qamishli became a Syriac Christian city. Things soon changed, however, with the immigration of Kurds beginning in 1926 following the failure of the rebellion ofSaeed Ali Naqshbandi against theTurkish authorities.[26] During the 1920s, waves of Kurds fled their homes in Turkey and settled in northeastern Syria where they were granted citizenship by theFrench mandate authorities.[27]
In 1919, a short-lived dependentKingdom of Syria was established under EmirFaisal I of the Hashemite dynasty, who later became the king of Iraq. In March 1920, the Syrian National Congress proclaimed Faisal as king of Syria "in its natural boundaries" from the Taurus mountains in Turkey to the Sinai desert in Egypt. However, his rule in Syria ended after only a few months following a clash between his Syrian Arab forces and French forces at theBattle of Maysalun. French troops took control of Syria and forced Faisal to flee. Later that year theSan Remo conference split up Faisal's kingdom by placing Syria-Lebanon under a French mandate, and Palestine under British control. Syria was divided into three autonomous regions by the French, with separate areas for the Alawis on the coast and the Druze in the south.[28]
Nationalist agitation against French rule led toSultan al-Atrash leading a revolt that broke out in theDruze Mountain in 1925 and spread across the whole of Syria and parts of Lebanon.The revolt saw fierce battles between rebel and French forces in Damascus, Homs and Hama before it was suppressed in 1927.
The French sentenced Sultan al-Atrash to death, but he had escaped with the rebels to Transjordan and was eventually pardoned. He returned to Syria in 1937 and was met with a huge public reception. Elections were held in 1928 for a constituent assembly, which drafted a constitution for Syria. However, the French High Commissioner rejected the proposals, sparking nationalist protests.
On 14 May 1930, the French high commissioner promulgated a constitution for the Syrian State. On 22 May 1930, theState of Syria was declared theRepublic of Syria and anew Syrian Constitution was promulgated by the French High Commissioner.[29]
Syria and France negotiated atreaty of independence in September 1936. France agreed to Syrian independence in principle although maintained French military and economic dominance.Hashim al-Atassi, who had been Prime Minister under King Faisal's brief reign, was the first president to be elected under a new constitution, effectively the first incarnation of the modern republic of Syria. However, the treaty never came into force because the French Legislature refused to ratify it. With the fall of France in 1940 duringWorld War II, Syria came under the control ofVichy France until the British and Free French occupied the country in theSyria-Lebanon campaign in July 1941. Syria proclaimed its independence again in 1941, but it was not until 1 January 1944 that it was recognised as an independent republic. There were protests in 1945 over the slow pace of French withdrawal. The French responded to these protests with artillery. In an effort to stop the movement toward independence, French troops occupied the Syrian parliament in May 1945 and cut off Damascus's electricity. Training their guns on Damascus's old city, the French killed 400 Syrians and destroyed hundreds of homes.[30] With casualties mountingWinston Churchill ordered British troops toinvade Syria where they escorted French troops to their barracks on 1 June. With continuing pressure from the British and Syrian nationalist groups the French were forced to evacuate the last of their troops in April 1946, leaving the country in the hands of a republican government that had been formed during the mandate.[31]
Syria became independent on 17 April 1946. Syrian politics from independence through the late 1960s were marked by upheaval. Between 1946 and 1956, Syria had 20 different cabinets and drafted four separate constitutions.
In 1948, Syria was involved in theArab–Israeli War, aligning with the other local Arab states who wanted to destroy the state ofIsrael.[32] The Syrian army entered northern Israel but, after bitter fighting, was gradually driven back to theGolan Heights by the Israelis. An armistice was agreed in July 1949. A demilitarized zone under UN supervision was established; the status of these territories proved a stumbling-block for all future Syrian-Israeli negotiations. It was during this period that many Syrian Jews, who faced growing persecution, fled Syria as part ofJewish exodus from Arab countries.
The outcome of the war was one of factors behind theMarch 1949 Syrian coup d'état by Col.Husni al-Za'im, in what has been described as the first military overthrow of theArab World[32] since the Second World War. The coup was caused due to the disgrace the army faced in the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, and thus, sought to relieve itself of that shame. This was soon followed by another coup by Col.Sami al-Hinnawi.[32] Army officer, which was caused by the alienation of Za'im's allies.Adib Shishakli seized power in the third military coup of 1949, in an attempt to prevent a union with Iraq. AJabal al-Druze uprising was suppressed after extensive fighting (1953–54). Growing discontent eventually led to another coup, in which Shishakli was overthrown in February 1954. The Arab SocialistBa'ath Party, founded in 1947, played a part in the overthrow of Shishakli. Veteran nationalistShukri al-Quwatli was president from 1955 until 1958, but by then his post was largely ceremonial.
Power was increasingly concentrated in the military and security establishment, which had proved itself to be the only force capable of seizing and, perhaps, keeping power.[32] Parliamentary institutions remained weak, dominated by competing parties representing the landowning elites and variousSunni urban notables, whilst the economy was mismanaged and little was done to better the role of Syria's peasant majority. In November 1956, as a direct result of theSuez Crisis,[33] Syria signed a pact with theSoviet Union, providing a foothold forCommunist influence within the government in exchange for planes, tanks, and other military equipment being sent to Syria.[32] This increase in Syrian military strength worriedTurkey, as it seemed feasible that Syria might attempt to retakeİskenderun, a matter of dispute between Syria and Turkey. On the other hand, Syria and the Soviet Union accused Turkey of massing its troops on the Syrian border. Only heated debates in the United Nations (of which Syria was an original member) lessened the threat of war.[34]
In this context, the influence ofNasserism,Pan-Arab and anti-imperial ideologies created fertile ground for the idea of closer ties with Egypt.[32][35] The appeal of Egyptian PresidentGamal Abdal Nasser's leadership in the wake of the Suez Crisis created support in Syria for union with Egypt.[32] On 1 February 1958, Syrian President al-Quwatli and Nasser announced the merging of the two states, creating theUnited Arab Republic.[31] The union was not a success, however.[32] Discontent with Egyptian dominance of the UAR, led elements opposed to the union underAbd al-Karim al-Nahlawi, to seize power on 28 September 1961. Two days later, Syria re-established itself as the Syrian Arab Republic. Frequent coups, military revolts, civil disorders and bloody riots characterized the 1960s.
.jpg)
The8 March 1963 coup, resulted in installation of the National Council of the Revolutionary Command (NCRC), a group of military and civilian officials who assumed control of all executive and legislative authority. The takeover was engineered by members of the Ba'ath Party led byMichel Aflaq andSalah al-Din al-Bitar. The new cabinet was dominated by Ba'ath members; and Salah al-Din al-Bitar became the Syrian premier.[31][32]
The 1963 Ba'athist coup marked a "radical break" inmodern Syrian history, after whichBa'ath party monopolised power to establish aone-party state and shaped a new socio-political order in Syria by enforcing itsstate ideology.[36] Since the establishment ofBa'athist state, Syria has been ruled as atotalitarian system marked by the pervasive grip of Ba'ath party over all aspects of daily life. Civil society, political activities, economy, religious life, culture, social activities, etc. have been monitored, controlled and repressed by the state through Ba'athist organizations and the dreadedsecret police.[37]
Ba'ath party's National Command was overthrown early in 1966 by ultra-leftist military dissidents of the party led by GeneralSalah Jadid. Under Jadid's rule, Syria aligned itself with theSoviet bloc and pursued hardline policies towards Israel[38] and "reactionary" Arab states especially Saudi Arabia, calling for the mobilization of a "people's war" against Zionism rather than inter-Arab military alliances. Domestically, Jadid attempted asocialist transformation of Syrian society at forced pace, creating unrest and economical difficulties. Opponents of the government were harshly suppressed, while the Ba'ath Party replaced parliament as law-making body and other parties were banned. Public support for his government, such as it was, declined sharply following Syria's defeat in the 1967Six-Day War,[39] when Israel destroyed much of Syria's air force and captured the Golan Heights.[40][41]
Conflicts also arose over different interpretations of the legal status of theDemilitarized Zone. Israel maintained that it had sovereign rights over the zone, allowing the civilian use of farmland. Syria and the UN maintained that no party had sovereign rights over the zone.[42] Israel was accused by Syria of cultivating lands in the Demilitarized Zone, using armored tractors backed by Israel forces. Syria claimed that the situation was the result of an Israeli aim to increase tension so as to justify large-scale aggression, and to expand its occupation of the Demilitarized Zone by liquidating the rights of Arab cultivators.[43] The Israeli defense minister Moshe Dayan said in a 1976 interview that Israel provoked more than 80% of the clashes with Syria.[44][45]
Conflict developed between right-wing army officers and the more moderate civilian wing of the Ba'ath Party. The 1970 retreat of Syrian forces sent to aid thePLO during the "Black September" hostilities withJordan reflected this political disagreement within the ruling Ba'ath leadership.[46] On 13 November 1970, Minister of DefenseHafez al-Assad seized power in a bloodless military overthrow ("The Corrective Movement").[47]
Upon assuming power, Hafez al-Assad moved quickly to create an organizational infrastructure for his government and to consolidate control. The Provisional Regional Command of Assad's Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party nominated a 173-member legislature, the People's Council, in which the Ba'ath Party took 87 seats. The remaining seats were divided among "popular organizations" and other minor parties. In March 1971, the party held its regional congress and elected a new 21-member Regional Command headed by Assad.
In the same month, a national referendum was held to confirm Assad as president for a 7-year term. In March 1972, to broaden the base of his government, Assad formed the National Progressive Front, a coalition of parties led by the Ba'ath Party, and elections were held to establish local councils in each of Syria's 14 governorates. In March 1973, a new Syrian constitution went into effect followed shortly thereafter by parliamentary elections for the People's Council, the first such elections since 1962.[31] The 1973 Constitution defined Syria as a secularsocialist state with Islam recognised as the majority religion.
On 6 October 1973, Syria and Egypt initiated theYom Kippur War by launching a surprise attack on Israel. After intense fighting, the Syrians were repulsed in theGolan Heights. The Israelis pushed deeper into Syrian territory, beyond the 1967 boundary. As a result, Israel continues to occupy the Golan Heights as part of theIsraeli-occupied territories.[48] In 1975, Assad said he would be prepared to make peace with Israel in return for an Israeli withdrawal from "all occupied Arab land".
In 1976, the Syrian army intervened in theLebanese civil war to ensure that the status quo was maintained, and theMaronite ChristianLebanese Front remained in power. This was the beginning of what turned out to be a thirty-yearSyrian military occupation. Many crimes in Lebanon, including the accused assassinations ofRafik Hariri,Kamal Jumblat andBachir Gemayel were attributed to the Syrian forces and intelligence services although were not proven to this day.[citation needed] In 1981, Israel declared its annexation of the Golan Heights. The following year, Israelinvaded Lebanon and attacked the Syrian army, forcing it to withdraw from several areas. When Lebanon and Israel announced the end of hostilities in 1983, Syrian forces remained in Lebanon. Syria also switched side and began to oppose the Lebanese Front. Through extensive use of proxy militias, Syria attempted to stop Israel from taking over southern Lebanon. Assad sent troops into Lebanon for a second time in 1987 to enforce a ceasefire inBeirut.
The Syrian-sponsoredTaif Agreement finally brought the Lebanese civil war to an end in 1990. However, theSyrian Army's presence in Lebanon continued until 2005, exerting a strong influence over Lebanese politics. The assassination of the popular former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, was blamed on Syria, and pressure was put on Syria to withdraw their forces from Lebanon. On 26 April 2005 the bulk of the Syrian forces withdrew from Lebanon[49] although some of its intelligence operatives remained, drawing further international rebuke.[50]
About one million Syrian workers went to Lebanon after the war to find jobs in the reconstruction of the country.[51] In 1994 the Lebanese government controversially granted citizenship to over 200,000 Syrian residents in the country.[52] (For more on these issues, seeDemographics of Lebanon)
The government was not without its critics, though open dissent was repressed. A serious challenge arose in the late 1970s, however, from traditionalSunni Muslims, who rejected the Ba'athist program. Repulsed by the sectarian minority rule by the Alawites, Muslim groups launched popular uprisings across Syria, seeking the overthrow ofHafez al-Assad and establishment of anIslamic government. In response, Assad began to stress Syria's adherence to Islam. At the start ofIran–Iraq War, in September 1980, Syria supported Iran, in keeping with the traditional rivalry between Ba'athist leaderships in Iraq and Syria. The arch-conservativeMuslim Brotherhood, centered in the city of Hama, was finally crushed in February 1982 when parts of the city were hit by artillery fire and leaving between 10,000 and 25,000 people, mostly civilians, dead or wounded (seeHama massacre).[53] The government's actions at Hama have been described as possibly being "the single deadliest act by any Arab government against its own people in the modern Middle East".[54] Since then, public manifestations of anti-government activity have been limited.[31] Amidst the pressure of the time, Hafez al-Assad also cracked down on secular and liberal dissent, jailing and torturing prominent Syrian figures like lawyer and former judgeHaitham al-Maleh, political leaderRiad al-Turk, writer Akram al-Bunni, and poetMohammed al-Maghout.[55]
When Iraqinvaded Kuwait in 1990, Syria joined the US-led coalition against Iraq in theGulf War. This led to improved relations with the US and otherArab states. Syria participated in the multilateralSouthwest Asia Peace Conference inMadrid in October 1991, and during the 1990s engaged in direct negotiations with Israel. These negotiations failed over the Golan Heights issue and there have been no further direct Syrian–Israeli talks since PresidentHafez al-Assad's meeting with then PresidentBill Clinton inGeneva in March 2000.[56]
After securing his control over the Syrian government, Assad initially chose his brother,Rifaat al-Assad, as his successor, but Rifaat's attempted power grab while Hafez was in a coma in 1984 led to his exile in Europe.[57] Following the incident,Bassel al-Assad was groomed to succeed his father.[58] Hafez's efforts to make Bassel the next president of Syria intensified in the early 1990s;[59] after Hafez'selection victory in 1991 in an election where Hafez was the only candidate, the president was publicly referred to as "Abu Basil" (Father of Bassel).[60] Shortly after Bassel died in a car accident in 1994,Bashar al-Assad was recalled to the Syrian Army. State propaganda soon began elevating Bashar's public image as "the hope of the masses" to prepare the public for a continuation of the rule of theAssad family.[61][62] Soon after the death of Bassel, Hafez al-Assad decided to make Bashar the newheir apparent.[63]
Hafez al-Assad died on 10 June 2000, after 30 years in power. Immediately following al-Assad's death, the Syrian Parliament amended the constitution, reducing the mandatory minimum age of the President from 40 to 34. This allowed Bashar Assad to become eligible for nomination by the ruling Ba'ath party. On 10 July 2000, Bashar al-Assad was elected president by referendum in which he ran unopposed, garnering 97.29% of the vote, according to Syrian Government statistics.[31] Bashar al-Assad's reign continued the totalitarian practices of his father, through brutal repression of political dissidents and clampdown on civil society movements. All political opposition is banned. Patronage networks of a few parties in theBa'ath party-ledNational Progressive Front loyal toAssad regime are allowed to operate under the strict management ofBa'athist Political Security Directorate.[37]
The period after Bashar al-Assad's election in the summer of 2000 saw new hopes of reform and was dubbed theDamascus Spring. The period was characterized by the emergence of numerous political forums orsalons where groups of like-minded people met in private houses to debate political and social issues. The phenomenon of salons spread rapidly inDamascus and to a lesser extent in other cities. Political activists, such asRiad Seif,Haitham al-Maleh,Kamal al-Labwani,Riyad al-Turk, andAref Dalila were important in mobilizing the movement.[64] The most famous of the forums were theRiad Seif Forum and theJamal al-Atassi Forum. Pro-democracy activists mobilized around a number of political demands, expressed in the "Manifesto of the 99". Assad ordered the release of some 600 political prisoners in November 2000. The outlawed Muslim Brotherhood resumed its political activity. In May 2001 Pope John Paul II paid a historic visit to Syria.
However, by the autumn of 2001, the authorities had suppressed the pro-reform movement, crushing hopes of a break with the authoritarian past of Hafez al-Assad. Arrests of leading intellectuals continued, punctuated by occasional amnesties, over the following decade. Although the Damascus Spring had lasted for a short period, its effects still echo during the political, cultural and intellectual debates in Syria today.[65] While Bashar had pledged to undertakeeconomic liberalization, in practice, the new policies exacerbated corruption and cronyism ofBa'ath party oligarchs loyal to theAssad family.[37]
Tensions with the USA grew worse after 2002, when the US claimed Damascus was acquiring weapons of mass destruction and included Syria in a list of states that they said made-up an "axis of evil". The USA was critical of Syria because of its strong relationships withHamas, theIslamic Jihad Movement in Palestine andHezbollah, which the US, Israel and EU regard as terrorist groups. In 2003 the US threatened sanctions if Damascus failed to make what Washington called the "right decisions". Syria denied US allegations that it was developing chemical weapons and helping fugitive Iraqis. An Israeli air strike against a Palestinian militant camp near Damascus in October 2003 was described by Syria as "military aggression".[66] President Assad visited Turkey in January 2004, the first Syrian leader to do so. The trip marked the end of decades of frosty relations, although ties were to sour again after 2011. In May 2004, the USA imposed economic sanctions on Syria over what it called its support for terrorism and failure to stop militants entering Iraq.[67] Tensions with the US escalated in early 2005 after the killing of the former Lebanese PM Hariri in Beirut. Washington cited Syrian influence in Lebanon behind the assassination. Damascus was urged to withdraw its forces from Lebanon, which it did by April.[68]
Following theQamishli massacre in 2004, theSyrian Kurds protested inBrussels, inGeneva, in Germany, at the US and UK embassies, and in Turkey. The protesters pledged against violence in north-east Syria starting Friday, 12 March 2004, and reportedly extending over the weekend resulting in several deaths, according to reports. The Kurds allege the Syrian government encouraged and armed the attackers. Signs of rioting were seen in the towns of Qameshli and Hassakeh.[69]
Renewed opposition activity occurred in October 2005 when activistMichel Kilo and other opposition figures launched theDamascus Declaration, which criticized the Syrian government as "authoritarian, totalitarian and cliquish" and called for democratic reform.[70] Leading dissidents Kamal al-Labwani and Michel Kilo were sentenced to long jail terms in 2007, only weeks after human rights lawyerAnwar al-Bunni was jailed.Although Bashar al-Assad said he would reform, the reforms have been limited to some market reforms.[53][71][72]
Over the years the authorities have tightenedInternet censorship with laws such as forcing Internet cafes to record all the comments users post on chat forums.[73] While the authorities have relaxed rules so that radio channels can now play Western pop music, websites such asWikipedia,YouTube,Facebook andAmazon have been blocked,[74] but were recently unblocked throughout the nation.[75][76]
Syria's international relations improved for a period. Diplomatic relations with Iraq were restored in 2006, after nearly a quarter century. In March 2007, dialogue between Syria and the European Union was relaunched. The following month saw US House of Representatives SpeakerNancy Pelosi meet President Assad in Damascus, although PresidentBush objected.[77][78][79][80] Secretary of StateCondoleezza Rice then met with Syrian Foreign MinisterWalid Muallem in Egypt, in the first contact at this level for two years.[81][82][83]
An Israeli air strike against a site in northern Syria in September 2007 was a setback to improving relations. The Israelis claimed the site was a nuclear facility under construction with North Korean help.[84] 2008 March – When Syria hosted an Arab League summit in 2008, many Western states sent low-level delegations in protest at Syria's stance on Lebanon. However, the diplomatic thaw was resumed when President Assad met the then French PresidentNicolas Sarkozy in Paris in July 2008. The visit signaled the end of Syria's diplomatic isolation by the West that followed the assassination of Hariri in 2005. While in Paris, President Assad also met the recently elected Lebanese president,Michel Suleiman. The two men laid the foundations for establishing full diplomatic relations between their countries. Later in the year, Damascus hosted a four-way summit between Syria, France, Turkey and Qatar, in a bid to boost efforts towards Middle East peace.
In April 2008,President Assad told aQatari newspaper that Syria and Israel had been discussing a peace treaty for a year, withTurkey acting as a mediator. This was confirmed in May 2008 by a spokesman for Israeli Prime MinisterEhud Olmert. The status of theGolan Heights, a major obstacle to a peace treaty, was being discussed.[85]
In 2008,an explosion killed 17 on the outskirts of Damascus, the most deadly attack in Syria in several years. The government blamed Islamist militants.[86][87][88]
2009 saw a number of high level meetings between Syrian and US government diplomats and officials. US special envoyGeorge J. Mitchell visited for talks with President Assad on Middle East peace.[89][90][91][92] Trading launched on Syria's stock exchange in a gesture towards liberalising the state-controlled economy.[93][94][95] The Syrian writer and pro-democracy campaigner Michel Kilo was released from prison after serving a three-year sentence.[96][97] In 2010, the USA posted its first ambassador to Syria after a five-year break.[98][99][100]
The thaw in diplomatic relations came to an abrupt end. In May 2010, the USA renewed sanctions against Syria, saying that it supported terrorist groups, seeks weapons of mass destruction and has provided Lebanon's Hezbollah withScud missiles in violation of UN resolutions.[101][102][103] In 2011 the UN'sIAEA nuclear watchdog reported Syria to the UN Security Council over its alleged covert nuclear programme.[104][105]
.svg)
_%25D9%2585%25D8%25B8%25D8%25A7%25D9%2587%25D8%25B1%25D8%25A7%25D8%25AA_%25D8%25A8%25D8%25A7%25D9%2586%25D9%258A%25D8%25A7%25D8%25B3_%25D8%25AC%25D9%2585%25D8%25B9%25D8%25A9_%25D8%25A7%25D9%2584%25D8%25BA%25D8%25B6%25D8%25A8_-_29_%25D9%2586%25D9%258A%25D8%25B3%25D8%25A7%25D9%2586_2011.jpg)
Syrian Civil War is an ongoing internal conflict between theSyrian army and theSyrian opposition groups composed of different factions. Encouraged by the events ofArab Spring, there were massive anti-government protests inDamascus and the southern city ofDeraa in March 2011. Protestors demanded political freedom and the release of political prisoners. This was immediately followed by a government crackdown whereby the Syrian Army was deployed to quell unrest and killed hundreds of civilians. This led to widespread outcry, fuelling further protests across all provinces in the country.[109][110]
Security forces shot and killed a number of people inDeraa, triggering days of violent unrest that steadily spread nationwide over the following months. There were unconfirmed reports that soldiers who refused to open fire on civilians were summarily executed.[111] The Syrian government denied reports of executions and defections, and blamed armed militias for causing trouble.[112] What started as peaceful protests would eventually evolve into armed resistance following months of deadly crackdown launched across Syria byBashar al-Assad's security apparatus. Tens of thousands of civilians got killed and displaced and by 2012, the situation had become a full-blowncivil war.[113]
In July 2011, some of the anti-Assad groups met in Istanbul with a view to bringing the various internal and external opposition groups together. They agreed to form theSyrian National Council. Rebel fighters were joined by army defectors on the Turkish–Syrian border and declared the formation of theFree Syrian Army (FSA). They began forming fighting units to escalate the insurgency from September 2011. From the outset, the FSA was a big-tent coalition of organized and largely independentresistance militias. All Free Syrian militias got unified under theSupreme Military Council in December 2012.
As the Syrian army recaptured the Homs district ofBaba Amr in March 2012, theUN Security Council endorsed a non-binding peace plan drafted by UN envoyKofi Annan. However, the violence continued unabated. A number of Western nations expelled senior Syrian diplomats in protest. In May,Assad regime's use of heavy weaponry and themassacre of over a hundred civilians inHoula, near Homs, led to widespread outcry and international condemnation.The fifteen nations of theU.N. Security Council unanimously denounced the Assad government for massacring civilians by firing heavy weapons.[114] The U.S., U.K., and eleven other nations jointly expelled Syrian ambassadors and diplomats from their territories.[115][116]
The UN reported that, in the first six months alone, 9,100–11,000 people had been killed during the insurgency, of which 2,470–3,500 were actual combatants and rest were civilians.[117][118][119] The Syrian government estimated that more than 3,000 civilians, 2,000–2,500 members of the security forces and over 800 rebels had been killed.[120] UN observers estimated that the death toll in the first six months included over 400 children.[121][122][123][124] Additionally, some media reported that over 600 political prisoners and detainees, some of them children, have died in custody.[125] A prominent case was that ofHamza Al-Khateeb. Syria's government has disputed Western and UN casualty estimates, accusing their claims as being based on false reports originating from opposition groups.[126]
According to the UN, about 1.2 million Syrians had been internally displaced within the country[127] and over 355,000Syrian refugees had fled to the neighboring countries of Jordan,[128] Iraq,[129] Lebanon and Turkey during the first year of fighting.[127][130]
.svg)
Investigations byUnited Nations Human Rights Council and human rights organizations like theAmnesty International have found that vast majority incidents of mass-killings, torture,summary executions, war crimes, chemical attacks, attacks on cultural properties have been perpetrated bySyrian Arab Armed Forces and Ba'athist security apparatus.[131] The conflict has the hallmarks of asectarian civil war; the leading government figures are ShiaAlawites, whilst the rebels are mainlySunni Muslims, who form the majority of Syrian population. Although neither side in the conflict has described sectarianism as playing a major role,[132] the UN Human Rights Council has warned that "entire communities are at risk of being forced out of the country or of being killed."[133]
The Arab League, theOrganisation of Islamic Cooperation,GCC states, the US and the European Union have condemned the use of violence by the Syrian government and applied sanctions against Syria. China and Russia have sought to avoid foreign intervention and called for a negotiated settlement. They have avoided condemning the Syrian government and disagree with sanctions. China has sought to engage with theSyrian opposition.[134] The Arab League and Organisation of Islamic Cooperation have both suspended Syria's membership.[135][136]
In June 2012 a number of high-ranking military and political personnel, such asManaf Tlas[137] andNawaf al-Fares, fled the country. Nawaf al-Fares stated in a video that this was in response to crimes against humanity by the Assad government.[138] In August 2012, the country's Deputy Prime MinisterQadri Jamil said President Assad's resignation could not be a condition for starting peace negotiations.[139]
.JPG)
After heavy fighting, a fire destroyed much of the historic market of Aleppo in October. A UN-brokered ceasefire during the Islamic holiday ofEid al-Adha soon broke down as fighting and bomb attacks continued in several cities. By this time, theSyrian Arab Red Crescent estimated that 2.5 million people had been displaced within Syria, double the previous estimate. According to the anti-AssadSyrian Observatory for Human Rights, almost 44,000 people have died since the insurgency against began. According to a UN report, the humanitarian situation has been "aggravated by widespread destruction and razing of residential areas. ... Towns and villages across Latakia, Idlib, Hama and Dara'a governorates have been effectively emptied of their populations," the report said. "Entire neighborhoods in southern and eastern Damascus, Deir al-Zour and Aleppo have been razed. The downtown of Homs city has been devastated."[133]
In November 2012, theNational Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces, commonly named the 'Syrian National Revolutionary Coalition' was formed at a meeting hosted by Qatar. In December 2012, theUS, EU members,Gulf Cooperation Council,Turkey andArab League members moved quickly to recognise the coalition as the "sole legitimate representative of the Syrian people" rather than the former main rebel group, the Syrian National Council. The USA andPersian Gulf states wanted a reshaped opposition coalition to include more Syrians who were fighting on the ground—as opposed to those who had been in exile for decades—and one that was more broadly representative of all Syria's regions. At the same time, the U.S. addedal-Nusra Front (now defunct)—one of the most successful rebel military groups—to its terrorist list, citing ties to al-Qaeda. On 20 December 2012, a UN Independent Commission of Inquiry stated that Islamist militias in Syria operate independently of the secular opposition'sSupreme Military Command and that some are affiliated with al-Nusra. Many of the insurgents are foreign fighters; "Sunnis hailing from countries in the Middle East and North Africa," and participate in the revolution by fighting under the banners of Islamist militias. The inquiry also reported that Ba'athist regime and state-sponsoreddeathsquads like theShabiha have been involved in the extensive mass-killings and sectarian attacks againstSunni families.[133]
Asarin gas attack occurred in Syria, nearDamascus, on 21 August 2013. The attack is alleged to have been carried out by the Syrian government ofBashar al-Assad according to French and United States' government's intelligence.[140][141][142] The attack led to increased international pressure on the Assad government and demands by pro-democracyopposition activists andliberal internationalists for internationalmilitary intervention inSyria led byUnited States and allies.
Russian involvement in the Syrian civil war began in late 2015, turning the tide of the conflict in the government's favour. On 22 December 2016, the city of Aleppowas fully captured by the pro-government forces.[143] As of 2022, more than half a million people have been killed in the civil war, with pro-Assad forces responsible for more than 90% of the civilian deaths. Around 14 million people have been forcibly displaced, of which around 6.8 million are externally displaced outside the country, resulting in thelargest refugee crisis in the world.[113]
.svg)
Therebel offensive, which had begun on 27 November, continued itsadvance into Hama province following their capture of Aleppo.[144][145][146] On 4 December, fierce clashes erupted in Hama province as the Syrian army engaged rebel forces in a bid to halt their advance on the key city ofHama. Government forces claimed to have launched a counteroffensive with air support, pushing back rebel factions, including HTS, around six miles from the city. However, despite reinforcements, the rebels captured the city on 5 December.[147] The fighting led to widespread displacement, with nearly 50,000 people fleeing the area and over 600 casualties reported, including 104 civilians.[148]
Rebel forces reached the outskirts ofHoms on 5 December, beginning athree-day battle for the city. Simultaneously, an HTS-coordinated[149][150]mass uprising led by acoalition of Druze tribes and opposition forces captured the southern cities ofSuwayda andDaraa by 6 December,[151] and rapidly advanced northwards to encircle Damascus over the following day.[152] Homs was captured by rebel forces by the early morning of 8 December, leaving no major regime strongholds between the rebel advance and Damascus itself.[153]
Cut off from theAlawite heartland ofTartus andLatakia governorates, faced with a rebel pincer from both north and south bearing down on Damascus, and with no hope of foreign intervention from the regime's Russian and Iranian benefactors, Assadist authority over remaining regime-held territories rapidly disintegrated.[154][155] TheSyrian Arab Armed Forces melted away as its soldiers abandoned their weapons and uniforms,[156] manydeserting across the border toIraq andLebanon. Opposition forcescaptured the capital Damascus on 8 December, toppling Bashar al-Assad's government and ending the Assad family's 53-year-long rule over the country.[157] Assad fled toMoscow with his family, where he was granted asylum.[158][159]
On 8 December 2024, Syrian Prime MinisterMohammad Ghazi al-Jalali announced that the Syrian government would hand over power to a new elected government following thedeparture of Assad from Damascus, andAhmed al-Sharaa announced further that al-Jalali will "supervise state institutions until they are handed over". Al-Jalali later noted toAl Arabiya that he andAhmed al-Sharaa had been in contact prior to the announcement to discuss the handover.[160]
Al-Sharaa subsequently became the country'sde facto leader as head of the HTS.[161] On 9 December, HTS released a video of al-Sharaa, al-Jalali andMohammed al-Bashir, the head of thede facto government in Idlib.[162] On the same day, following thefall of the Assad regime, the Prime Minister of the Syrian Salvation Government, al-Bashir,[163] was tasked with forming a transitional government after meeting with al-Sharaa and outgoing Syrian Prime Minister al-Jalali to coordinate the transfer of power.[164] The next day, he was officially appointed by the Syrian General Command as the prime minister of the transitional government.[165][166]
Shortly after the fall of the Assad regime,Israel commenced a ground invasion of thePurple Line buffer zone near the Golan Heights, as well as commencing a series of airstrikes against Syrian military depots and naval bases.[167][168] TheIsraeli Defense Forces claims that it is destroying Ba'athist military infrastructure, including chemical weapons plants, so that the rebels cannot use them.[167] Despite the collapse of the Assad regime, Turkish-backedSyrian National Army fighters in northern Syria continued theiroffensive against U.S.-backedSyrian Democratic Forces (SDF) forces until a ceasefire was reached on 11 December.[169][170]
After theregime change, al-Sharaa was formally appointed as thePresident of Syria by the Syrian General Command for the transitional period during theSyrian Revolution Victory Conference in Damascus on 29 January 2025.[171] On 8 March 2025, the UK-basedSOHR reported that Syrian security forces and pro-government fighters had committed amassacre of more than 700 Alawite civilians duringclashes in western Syria.[172] On 10 March 2025, the SDF agreed to merge with the Syrian Armed Forces after SDF leaderMazloum Abdi met with al-Sharaa.[173] Three days later al-Sharaa signed aninterim constitution covering a five-year transitional period.[174]
On 29 March 2025, thesecond Syrian transitional government was announced by al-Sharaa at a ceremony at thePresidential Palace inDamascus,[175] in which the new ministers were sworn in and delivered speeches outlining their agendas.[176] The government replaced thefirst Syrian transitional government, which was formed following the fall of the Assad regime.[177]
.svg)
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link){{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)Israel and Syria are holding indirect peace talks, with Turkey acting as a mediator....
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)Ahmed al-Sharaa has been Syria's de facto leader since leading the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Syria".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 26 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 305–309. (See pp. 308–309.)
