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157-421: The modern villages of Kom Gi'eif, el-Nibeira and el-Niqrash cover the archaeological site, which is of great importance. It is the source of numerous art objects in many of the world's museums, as well as pottery inscribed with some of the earliest known examples of Greek writing. The sister port of Naucratis was the harbour town of Heracleion , which was discovered in 2000. Archaeological evidence suggests that

314-418: A Ba'athist party state into a totalitarian dictatorship marked by his pervasive grip on the party, armed forces , secret police , media, education sector, religious and cultural spheres and all aspects of civil society. He assigned Alawite loyalists to key posts in the military forces , bureaucracy , intelligence and the ruling elite. A cult of personality revolving around Hafiz and his family became

471-402: A water dredge to further uncover the artifacts. The team consisted of archaeologists, as well as artists and photographers to document the finds. The team conducted dives at the site in a tightly coordinated schedule for about a month period in order to maximize their time there. They systematically uncovered various portions of the site during their allotted time frame. Goddio's team's policy

628-495: A "city" already there. This older city was probably a small settlement inhabited by a mix of native Egyptians, Greeks and possibly even Phoenicians . Thus it seems the city was "chartered" to the Greeks soon after 570 BC. The earlier date of c. 625 BC put forward by archaeologists may be the original establishment of a settlement at the site. Amasis indeed converted Naucratis into a major treaty-port and commercial link with

785-527: A Syrian nation that does not exist... by smoothing the rifts which still divide it" or "cultivate and maintain all the phenomena, which require our arbitration that these divisions give". De Caix added "I must say only the second option interests me". This is what Gouraud did. In 1925, Sultan al-Atrash led a revolt that broke out in the Druze Mountain and spread to engulf the whole of Syria and parts of Lebanon. Al-Atrash won several battles against

942-528: A core tenet of Ba'athist ideology , which espoused that Assad dynasty was destined to rule perennially. On 6 October 1973, Syria and Egypt initiated the Yom Kippur War against Israel. The Israel Defense Forces reversed the initial Syrian gains and pushed deeper into Syrian territory. The village of Quneitra was largely destroyed by the Israeli army. In the late 1970s, an Islamist uprising by

1099-537: A flat-bottomed construction favourable for navigating the Nile and the Nile delta . This ancient war ship in the sunken city was trapped under heavy materials, such as stone, that fell from the crumbling buildings during the catastrophes that caused Thonis-Heracleion's destruction. The ship was harbored near the Temple of Amun, and it was held in place on the ocean floor by the heavy building materials until its discovery. It

1256-470: A group of Syrian Ba'athist officers, alarmed by the party's poor position and the increasing fragility of the union, decided to form a secret Military Committee; its initial members were Lieutenant-Colonel Muhammad Umran , Major Salah Jadid and Captain Hafiz al-Assad. Syria seceded from the union with Egypt on 28 September 1961, after a coup and terminated the political union. The instability which followed

1413-465: A large Greek community began to develop. In 570 BC, the Pharaoh Apries (Wahibre, reigned 589–570 BC) led the descendants of his mercenary army made up of 30,000 Carians and Ionians against a former general turned rebel by the name of Amasis . Although fighting valiantly, the mercenaries suffered defeat and Amasis II became Pharaoh (reigning 570–526 BC). Amasis shut down

1570-646: A lesser degree Babylonia . The Egyptians initially occupied much of the south, while the Hittites, and the Mitanni, much of the north. However, Assyria eventually gained the upper hand, destroying the Mitanni Empire and annexing huge swathes of territory previously held by the Hittites and Babylon. Around the 14th century BC, various Semitic peoples appeared in the area, such as the semi-nomadic Suteans who came into an unsuccessful conflict with Babylonia to

1727-766: A major shift in relations with both other Arab states and the Western world, Syria participated in the United States-led Gulf War against Saddam Hussein . The country participated in the multilateral Madrid Conference of 1991 , and during the 1990s engaged in negotiations with Israel along with Palestine and Jordan . These negotiations failed, and there have been no further direct Syrian-Israeli talks since President Hafiz al-Assad's meeting with then President Bill Clinton in Geneva in 2000. Hafiz al-Assad died on 10 June 2000. His son, Bashar al-Assad ,

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1884-571: A number of harbors and anchorages. Its wharves, temples, and tower-houses were linked by ferries, bridges, and pontoons. The city was an emporion (trading port) and by the Late Period it was the country's main port for international trade and collection of taxes. It had a sister city, Naucratis , which was another trading port lying 72 km (45 mi) farther up the Nile. Goods were transferred inland via Naucratis, or they were transported via

2041-583: A number of provinces under the Roman Empire (but politically independent from each other): Judaea , later renamed Palaestina in AD 135 (the region corresponding to modern-day Israel , the Palestinian Territories, and Jordan) in the extreme southwest; Phoenice (established in AD 194) corresponding to modern Lebanon, Damascus and Homs regions; Coele-Syria (or "Hollow Syria") and south of

2198-560: A population of 25.0 million across an area of 185,180 square kilometres (71,500 sq mi), it is the 57th most populous and 87th largest country. The name "Syria" historically referred to a wider region , broadly synonymous with the Levant, and known in Arabic as al-Sham . The modern state encompasses the sites of several ancient kingdoms and empires, including the Eblan civilization of

2355-842: A rare long-term collaboration. Naucratis later became an important center of Greek culture under the Roman Empire, producing several celebrated orators of the Second Sophistic in the second and early third centuries AD. The third century writer Athenaeus came from Naucratis. In the Deipnosophistae , he writes that in Naucratis the people dine in the Prytaneion on the natal day of the Hestia Prytanitis ( Ancient Greek : Ἑστίας Πρυτανίτιδος ). The site

2512-557: A second stele of the Decree of Nectanebo I was found at the temple of Heracleion, with an order from Nectanebo I stating that it be placed in the city of Thonis, proving that Thonis and Heracleion were actually one and the same. The ruins submerged in the sea were located and are excavated by the French underwater archaeologist Franck Goddio and his team of the IEASM in collaboration with

2669-512: A semiarid steppe zone, to arid desert in the east. The country consists mostly of arid plateau, although the northwest part bordering the Mediterranean is fairly green. Al-Jazira in the northeast and Hawran in the south are important agricultural areas. The Euphrates , Syria's most important river, crosses the country in the east. Syria is one of the fifteen states that comprise the so-called " cradle of civilization ". Its land straddles

2826-645: A short-lived independent Kingdom of Syria was established under Faisal I of the Hashemite family. However, his rule over Syria ended after only a few months, following the Battle of Maysalun . French troops occupied Syria later that year after the San Remo conference proposed that the League of Nations put Syria under a French mandate. General Gouraud had according to his secretary de Caix two options: "Either build

2983-451: A story of Heracles, claiming that at one point the Nile river had become greatly inundated and flooded the area in which Prometheus was the governor. Due to the speed that its water flowed, the Nile at that time was called the Aëtus, or eagle, until Heracles stopped the flooding and corrected the river's course back to its original position. Diodorus claimed that the myth of Heracles slaying

3140-530: A suspected nuclear reactor under construction by North Korean technicians. The Syrian civil war is an ongoing internal violent conflict in Syria. It is a part of the wider Arab Spring , a wave of upheaval throughout the Arab World . Public demonstrations across Syria began on 26 January 2011 and developed into a nationwide uprising. Protesters demanded the resignation of President Bashar al-Assad ,

3297-452: A system that led to peaceful coexistence. Each ethno-religious minority— Arab Shia Muslim , Arab Sunni Muslim , Aramean - Syriac Orthodox , Greek Orthodox , Maronite Christians , Assyrian Christians , Armenians , Kurds and Jews —constituted a millet . The religious heads of each community administered all personal status laws and performed certain civil functions as well. In 1831, Ibrahim Pasha of Egypt renounced his loyalty to

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3454-502: A tholos, small Greek temple , ancient granite columns, treasure-carrying ships, and bronze coins from the reign of Ptolemy II , dating back to the third and fourth centuries BC, were found at Thonis-Heracleion by IEASM , a team of Egyptian and European archeologists led by Goddio. In August 2021, IEASM announced the excavation of a rare Ptolemaic galley . The 25-metre (82 ft) long galley featured classic mortise and tenon joints, alongside more Egyptian features, such as

3611-652: Is a presidential state that nominally permits the candidacy of individuals who do not form part of the Ba'ath -controlled National Progressive Front . Despite this, Syria remains a one-party state with an extensive secret police apparatus that curtails any independent political activity. The new constitution introduced single-handedly by the Assad regime , without participation of the Syrian opposition , has bolstered its authoritarian character by bestowing extraordinary powers on

3768-483: Is a Greek war ship with a sail and oars, and it was constructed using Egyptian elements, as well. It brings new knowledge to light about the combined shipbuilding efforts of the Egyptians and the Greeks living at Thonis-Heracleion, which had a high Greek population. Also, a tumulus was discovered, covered with numerous offerings including wicker baskets containing fruits of the doum palm tree and grape seeds dating to

3925-543: Is extremely limited, and the country is ranked 2nd worst in the 2024 World Press Freedom Index . Syria is the most corrupt country in the Middle East and was ranked the 2nd lowest globally on the 2023 Corruption Perceptions Index . The country has also become the epicentre of a state-sponsored multi-billion dollar illicit drug cartel , the largest in the world. The civil war has resulted in more than 600,000 deaths, with pro-Assad forces causing more than 90% of

4082-510: Is home to diverse ethnic and religious groups . Arabs are the largest ethnic group, and Sunni Muslims are the largest religious group. It is now the only country that is governed by Ba'athists , who advocate Arab socialism and nationalism . The country's current Ba'athist government is a totalitarian dictatorship with a comprehensive cult of personality around the Assad family , and has attracted widespread criticism for its severe domestic repression and war crimes . Being ranked 4th worst in

4239-437: Is represented by rectangular houses of Mureybet culture. At the time of the pre-pottery Neolithic, people used containers made of stone, gyps, and burnt lime ( Vaisselle blanche ). The discovery of obsidian tools from Anatolia are evidence of early trade. The ancient cities of Hamoukar and Emar played an important role during the late Neolithic and Bronze Age. Archaeologists have demonstrated that civilization in Syria

4396-406: Is to leave the artifacts in place, unless they get permission from the proper authorities that the artifacts may be raised for conservation efforts or to safeguard their preservation. When there was a cause to raise an artifact from the water, the team tagged it, and placed it within a plastic bag and then raised the artifact to the surface in a basket. However, if the artifact was too large, such as

4553-729: The 1961 coup culminated in the 8 March 1963 Ba'athist coup . The takeover was engineered by members of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party , led by Michel Aflaq and Salah al-Din al-Bitar . The new Syrian cabinet was dominated by Ba'ath members. Since the 1963 seizure of power by its Military Committee , the Ba'ath party has ruled Syria as a totalitarian state . Ba'athists took control over country's politics, education, culture, religion and surveilled all aspects of civil society through its powerful Mukhabarat (secret police). Syrian Arab Armed forces and secret police were integrated with

4710-741: The Austro-Hungarian Empire . It ultimately suffered defeat and loss of control of the entire Near East to the British Empire and French Empire . During the conflict, genocide against indigenous Christian peoples was carried out by the Ottomans and their allies in the form of the Armenian genocide and Assyrian genocide , of which Deir ez-Zor , in Ottoman Syria, was the final destination of these death marches. In

4867-591: The Bronze Age . Egyptian artifacts soon began their flow along the Greek trade routes finding their way into the homes and workshops of the Ionian Greek world and, via Aegina , the city-states of mainland Greece. Although Greek art and ideas in turn came back the other way their absorption into a largely xenophobic Egyptian culture was strictly minimal. Although Herodotus claimed that geometry ( γεωμετρία )

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5024-662: The Canopic Mouth of the Nile, about 32 km (20 mi) northeast of Alexandria on the Mediterranean Sea . It became inundated and its remains are located in Abu Qir Bay , currently 7 km (4.3 mi) off the coast, under ca. 19 ft (5.8 m) of water, and near Abukir . The sanctuary of Neith of Sais was located in Thonis. A stele found on the site indicates that late in its history

5181-784: The Crusades and were known collectively as the Crusader states among which the primary one in Syria was the Principality of Antioch . The coastal mountainous region was also occupied in part by the Nizari Ismailis , the so-called Assassins , who had intermittent confrontations and truces with the Crusader States. Later in history when "the Nizaris faced renewed Frankish hostilities, they received timely assistance from

5338-540: The Eleutheris river . Since approximately the 11th millennium BC, Syria was one of the centers of Neolithic culture (known as Pre-Pottery Neolithic A ), where agriculture and cattle breeding first began to appear. The site of Tell Qaramel in Aleppo Governorate has several round stone towers dated to 10650 BC, making them the oldest structures of this kind in the world. The Neolithic period ( PPNB )

5495-554: The European Union states , the Gulf Cooperation Council states , and other countries have condemned the use of violence against the protesters. China and Russia have avoided condemning the government or applying sanctions, saying that such methods could escalate into foreign intervention. However, military intervention has been ruled out by most countries. The Arab League suspended Syria's membership over

5652-639: The Greco-Roman world both the Arameans of Syria and the Assyrians of Mesopotamia (modern day Iraq ) to the east were referred to as "Syrians" or "Syriacs", despite these being distinct peoples in their own right, a confusion which would continue into the modern world. Eventually parts of southern Seleucid Syria were taken by the Jewish Hasmoneans dynasty upon the slow disintegration of

5809-711: The Hellenistic Empire. Syria briefly came under Armenian control from 83 BC, with the conquests of the Armenian king Tigranes the Great , who was welcomed as a savior from the Seleucids and Romans by the Syrian people. However, Pompey the Great , a general of the Roman Empire , rode to Syria and captured Antioch , its capital, and turned Syria into a Roman province in 64 BC, thus ending Armenian control over

5966-566: The Hurrian and Hattian peoples to the northwest, in Asia Minor . Gifts from Pharaohs , found during excavations, confirm Ebla's contact with Egypt . One of the earliest written texts from Syria is a trading agreement between Vizier Ibrium of Ebla and an ambiguous kingdom called Abarsal c. 2300 BC. Scholars believe the language of Ebla to be among the oldest known written Semitic languages after Akkadian . Recent classifications of

6123-695: The Hurrians states and the Euphrates Valley down to the borders with Babylon. The army of Yamhad campaigned as far away as Dēr on the border of Elam (modern Iran). Yamhad was conquered and destroyed, along with Ebla, by the Hittites from Asia Minor circa 1600 BC. From this time, Syria became a battle ground for various foreign empires, these being the Hittite Empire , Mitanni Empire, Egyptian Empire , Middle Assyrian Empire , and to

6280-521: The Lakhmids and Ghassanids dwelling in the deserts of southern Syria. Syriac Christianity had taken hold as the major religion, although others still followed Judaism , Mithraism , Manicheanism , Greco-Roman Religion , Canaanite Religion and Mesopotamian Religion . Syria's large and prosperous population made Syria one of the most important of the Roman and Byzantine provinces, particularly during

6437-568: The Levant , and from this point the Greeks applied the term without distinction between the Assyrians of Mesopotamia and Arameans of the Levant. Mainstream modern academic opinion strongly favors the argument that the Greek word is related to the cognate Ἀσσυρία , Assyria , ultimately derived from the Akkadian Aššur . The Greek name appears to correspond to Phoenician ʾšr "Assur", ʾšrym "Assyrians", recorded in

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6594-571: The Muslim Brotherhood was aimed against the government. Islamists attacked civilians and off-duty military personnel, leading security forces to also kill civilians in retaliatory strikes. The uprising had reached its climax in the 1982 Hama massacre , when more than 40,000 people were killed by Syrian military troops and Ba'athist paramilitaries. It has been described as the "single deadliest act" of violence perpetrated by any state upon its own population in modern Arab history In

6751-800: The Neo-Babylonian Empire and had been annexed by the Achaemenid Empire in 539 BC. Led by Cyrus the Great , the Achaemenid Persians retained Imperial Aramaic as one of the diplomatic languages of their empire (539 BC – 330 BC), as well as the Assyrian name for the new satrapy of Aram/Syria Eber-Nari . Syria was later conquered by the Macedonian Empire which was ruled by Alexander the Great c. 330 BC, and consequently became Coele-Syria province of

6908-622: The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) led by Yasser Arafat during the " Black September (also known as the Jordan Civil War of 1970)" hostilities with Jordan reflected this disagreement. The power struggle culminated in the November 1970 Syrian Corrective movement , a bloodless military coup that installed Hafiz al-Assad as the strongman of the government. General Hafiz al-Assad transformed

7065-520: The Presidency and a Ba'athist political committee continues to be responsible for authorization of political parties. The ruling Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party governs Syria as a totalitarian police state , through its control of the Syrian military and security apparatus. 50th edition of Freedom in the World , the annual report published by Freedom House in 2023, designates Syria as "Worst of

7222-637: The Schutzstaffel , to build up their armed forces and military intelligence capabilities. Defeat in this war was one of several trigger factors for the March 1949 Syrian coup d'état by Col. Husni al-Za'im , described as the first military overthrow of the Arab World since the start of the Second World War. This was soon followed by another overthrow, by Col. Sami al-Hinnawi , who was himself quickly deposed by Col. Adib Shishakli , all within

7379-470: The Scythians ravaged and plundered much of Syria. The last stand of the Assyrian army was at Carchemish in northern Syria in 605 BC. The Assyrian Empire was followed by the Neo-Babylonian Empire (605 BC – 539 BC). During this period, Syria became a battle ground between Babylonia and another former Assyrian colony, that of Egypt . The Babylonians, like their Assyrian relations, were victorious over Egypt. Lands that constitute modern day Syria were part of

7536-470: The Seleucid Empire (323 BC – 64 BC), with the Seleucid kings styling themselves 'King of Syria' and the city of Antioch being its capital starting from 240. Thus, it was the Greeks who introduced the name "Syria" to the region. Originally an Indo-European corruption of "Assyria" in northern Mesopotamia (Iraq), the Greeks used this term to describe not only Assyria itself but also the lands to the west which had for centuries been under Assyrian dominion. Thus in

7693-400: The Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant . It is bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east and southeast , Jordan to the south , and Israel and Lebanon to the southwest . It is a republic comprising 14 governorates . Damascus is Syria's capital and largest city. With

7850-443: The Twenty-sixth dynasty of Egypt overthrown and in desperation seeking the advice of the Oracle of Leto at Buto , who cryptically advises him to enlist the aid of the "bronze men" who would "come from the sea." Inspired upon seeing the bronze armor of the shipwrecked pirates, he offers them rewards in return for their aid in his campaign of return to power. Upon the success of this endeavor, he makes good on his word and bestows on

8007-412: The total civilian casualties . The war led to a massive refugee crisis , with an estimated 7.6 million internally displaced people (July 2015 UNHCR figure) and over 5 million refugees (July 2017 registered by UNHCR ). The war has also worsened economic conditions, with more than 90% of the population living in poverty and 80% facing food insecurity . The Arab League , the United States ,

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8164-447: The "camps" and moved the Greek soldiers to Memphis where they were employed "to guard him against the native Egyptians ." Herodotus stated that "Amasis was partial to the Greeks, and among other favors which he granted them, gave to such as liked to settle in Egypt the city of Naucratis for their residence." Notice that he says "gave the city ( πόλῐν )," which seems to indicate the existence (now borne out by archaeological evidence) of

8321-399: The "corn-for-coin" hypothesis. Heracleion Heracleion ( Ancient Greek : Ἡράκλειον Hērákleion ), also known as Thonis ( Ancient Greek : Θῶνις Thônis ; from the Ancient Egyptian : Tȝ-ḥn.t ; Coptic : Ⲧϩⲱⲛⲓ Thōni , Coptic pronunciation: [dəˈhoːni] ) and sometimes called Thonis-Heracleion , was an ancient Egyptian port city located near

8478-466: The "great temenos ") and just north of that a Greek mud-brick Temple of Aphrodite roughly 14 m × 8 m (curiously not mentioned in Herodotus' list.) Directly east of this temple was unearthed a small factory for faience scarab seals. In the northern section were found several temple ruins (E: Temple of Hera, F: Temple of Apollo & G: Temple of Dioscuri) including what may be Herodotus' Hellenion discovered by Hogarth in 1899 (directly east of F). "None of

8635-459: The "northwest of the Arabian plate ". Petroleum in commercial quantities was first discovered in the northeast in 1956. The most important oil fields are those of al-Suwaydiyah , Karatchok , Rmelan near al-Hasakah , as well as al-Omar and al-Taym fields near Dayr az–Zawr . The fields are a natural extension of the Iraqi fields of Mosul and Kirkuk . Petroleum became Syria's leading natural resource and chief export after 1974. Natural gas

8792-438: The 13th century BC, founding city states such as Amrit , Simyra , Arwad , Paltos , Ramitha , and Shuksi . From these coastal regions, they eventually spread their influence throughout the Mediterranean , including building colonies in Malta , Sicily, the Iberian peninsula (modern Spain and Portugal ), and the coasts of North Africa and most significantly, founding the major city-state of Carthage (in modern Tunisia ) in

8949-445: The 2024 Fragile States Index , Syria is one of the most dangerous places for journalists . Freedom of press is extremely limited, and the country is ranked 2nd worst in the 2024 World Press Freedom Index . It is the most corrupt country in the MENA region and was ranked the 2nd lowest globally on the 2023 Corruption Perceptions Index . Syria has also become the epicentre of a state-sponsored multi-billion dollar illicit drug cartel ,

9106-412: The 2nd and 3rd centuries (AD). Syrians held considerable power during the Severan dynasty . The matriarch of the family and Empress of Rome as wife of emperor Septimius Severus was Julia Domna , a Syrian from the city of Emesa (modern day Homs ), whose family held hereditary rights to the priesthood of the god El-Gabal . Her great nephews, also Arabs from Syria, would also become Roman Emperors,

9263-423: The 3rd millennium BC . Damascus and Aleppo are cities of great cultural significance. During the Islamic rule, Damascus was the seat of the Umayyad Caliphate and a provincial capital for the Mamluk Sultanate in Egypt . The modern Syrian state was established in the mid-20th century after centuries of Ottoman rule , as a French Mandate. The newly created state represented the largest Arab state to emerge from

9420-408: The 7th and 8th centuries AD, and was to be a vehicle for the spread of Christianity. The Assyrians named their colonies of Syria and Lebanon Eber-Nari . Assyrian domination ended after the Assyrians greatly weakened themselves in a series of brutal internal civil wars, followed by attacks from: the Medes , Babylonians , Chaldeans , Persians , Scythians and Cimmerians . During the fall of Assyria,

9577-402: The 7th century BC—with it came renewed contact with the East and its two great river civilizations of Mesopotamia and the Nile. The first report of Greeks in 7th century BC Egypt is a story in the Histories of Herodotus of Ionian and Carian pirates forced by storm to land on or near the Nile Delta . It relates the plight of the Saite Pharaoh Psammetichus I (Psamtik) (c. 664–610) of

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9734-492: The 8th century BC Çineköy inscription . The area designated by the word has changed over time. Classically, Syria lies at the eastern end of the Mediterranean, between Arabia to the south and Asia Minor to the north, stretching inland to include parts of Iraq, and having an uncertain border to the northeast that Pliny the Elder describes as including, from west to east, Commagene , Sophene , and Adiabene . By Pliny's time, however, this larger Syria had been divided into

9891-411: The 9th century BC, which was much later to become the center of a major empire, rivaling the Roman Republic . Syria and the Western half of Near East then fell to the vast Neo Assyrian Empire (911 BC – 605 BC). The Assyrians introduced Imperial Aramaic as the lingua franca of their empire. This language was to remain dominant in Syria and the entire Near East until after the Islamic conquest in

10048-440: The Ayyubids." After a century of Seljuk rule, Syria was largely conquered (1175–1185) by the Kurdish liberator Salah ad-Din , founder of the Ayyubid dynasty of Egypt. Aleppo fell to the Mongols of Hulegu in January 1260, and Damascus in March, but then Hulegu was forced to break off his attack to return to China to deal with a succession dispute. A few months later, the Mamluks arrived with an army from Egypt and defeated

10205-464: The Ba'ath party apparatus; after the purging of traditional civilian and military elites by the new regime. The 1963 Ba'athist coup marked a "radical break" in modern Syrian history , after which Ba'ath party monopolised power in the country to establish a one-party state and shaped a new socio-political order by enforcing its state ideology . On 23 February 1966, the neo-Ba'athist Military Committee carried out an intra-party rebellion against

10362-409: The Ba'athist Old Guard ( Aflaq and Bitar ), imprisoned President Amin al-Hafiz and designated a regionalist, civilian Ba'ath government on 1 March. Although Nureddin al-Atassi became the formal head of state, Salah Jadid was Syria's effective ruler from 1966 until November 1970, when he was deposed by Hafiz al-Assad , who at the time was Minister of Defense. The coup led to the schism within

10519-425: The Eblaite language have shown that it was an East Semitic language , closely related to the Akkadian language . Ebla was weakened by a long war with Mari , and the whole of Syria became part of the Mesopotamian Akkadian Empire after Sargon of Akkad and his grandson Naram-Sin 's conquests ended Eblan domination over Syria in the first half of the 23rd century BC. By the 21st century BC, Hurrians settled in

10676-419: The Egyptian γεωμετρία was older, the Greeks must have got it from there. In terms of our modern understanding of the Greeks, and in particular the early use of their nascent Greek alphabet , the finds of Naucratis have turned out to be foundational. "The inscriptions on the pottery have yielded what Mr. Ernest Gardner considers—apparently on firm grounds—to be the oldest Ionic inscriptions, as well as some in

10833-478: The Empire and overran Ottoman Syria , capturing Damascus. His short-term rule over the domain attempted to change the demographics and social structure of the region: he brought thousands of Egyptian villagers to populate the plains of Southern Syria , rebuilt Jaffa and settled it with veteran Egyptian soldiers aiming to turn it into a regional capital, and he crushed peasant and Druze rebellions and deported non-loyal tribesmen. By 1840, however, he had to surrender

10990-418: The French, notably the Battle of al-Kafr on 21 July 1925, the Battle of al-Mazraa on 2–3 August 1925, and the battles of Salkhad, al-Musayfirah and Suwayda. France sent thousands of troops from Morocco and Senegal, leading the French to regain many cities, although resistance lasted until the spring of 1927. The French sentenced Sultan al-Atrash to death, but he had escaped with the rebels to Transjordan and

11147-455: The Hellenistic and Roman periods, were almost totally neglected." Also discouraging to them was the destruction wrought by the local populace on the site. "Already in Petrie's day about a third of the half-mile by quarter-mile site of Naukratis had been dug away by the local farmers for use as high-phosphate fertilizer ( sebakh ) in their fields.... In the intervening 100 years or so, the sebakhin have totally destroyed this eastern portion of

11304-633: The Korinthian, Melian, and Lesbian alphabets." Of particular interest are the several examples of an evolutionary variation from the original Phoenician alphabetic script. Much has also been learned by comparing these alphabets with the forms they assumed a century later, forms that were destined to become universal across the Hellenic world. Naucratis was not only the first Greek settlement in Egypt but also Egypt's most important harbor in antiquity until

11461-579: The Middle Assyrian Empire, who also annexed much of the west during the reign of Tiglath-Pileser I 1114–1076 BC. With the destruction of the Hittites and the decline of Assyria in the late 11th century BC, the Aramean tribes gained control of much of the interior, founding states such as Bit Bahiani , Aram-Damascus , Hamath , Aram-Rehob , Aram-Naharaim , and Luhuti . From this point, the region became known as Aramea or Aram . There

11618-548: The Ministry for Antiquities of Egypt after a five-year search. Goddio and his team first researched the historical texts concerning the area and used that information to narrow down the possible location of the site. Then, the team used a combination of several pieces of technology, including non-intrusive cutting-edge technology, like a nuclear magnetic resonance magnetometer, multi-beam bathymetry, sidescan sonar, sub-bottom profiler and satellite positioning systems in order to map

11775-565: The Mongols in the Battle of Ain Jalut in Galilee . The Mamluk leader, Baibars , made Damascus a provincial capital. When he died, power was taken by Qalawun . In the meantime, an emir named Sunqur al-Ashqar had tried to declare himself ruler of Damascus, but he was defeated by Qalawun on 21 June 1280, and fled to northern Syria. Al-Ashqar, who had married a Mongol woman, appealed for help from

11932-800: The Mongols. The Mongols of the Ilkhanate took Aleppo in October 1280, but Qalawun persuaded Al-Ashqar to join him, and they fought against the Mongols on 29 October 1281, in the Second Battle of Homs , which was won by the Mamluks . In 1400, the Muslim Turco-Mongol conqueror Tamurlane invaded Syria, in which he sacked Aleppo , and captured Damascus after defeating the Mamluk army. The city's inhabitants were massacred, except for

12089-521: The Nile in the western Delta some 16 km from Sais. The Canopic tributary was one of the major waterways linking the Nile valley with the Mediterranean, and the most accessible of the Nile's tributaries during the Saite Period. The early settlement then developed into a busy trading port. They exchanged goods with the Greeks and with other Mediterranean states. Greeks traders settled in Naukratis and

12246-534: The Syrian Army. The insurgents unified under the banner of the Free Syrian Army and fought in an increasingly organized fashion; however, the civilian component of the armed opposition lacked an organized leadership. The uprising has sectarian undertones, though neither faction in the conflict has described sectarianism as playing a major role. The opposition is dominated by Sunni Muslims, whereas

12403-451: The Syrian government, 9,815–10,146 people, including 3,430 members of the security forces, 2,805–3,140 insurgents and up to 3,600 civilians, have been killed in fighting with what they characterize as "armed terrorist groups." To escape the violence, tens of thousands of Syrian refugees have fled the country to neighboring Jordan , Iraq and Lebanon , as well to Turkey . The total official UN numbers of Syrian refugees reached 42,000 at

12560-475: The Western Lake and through a water channel to the nearby town of Canopus for onward distribution. Thonis had a large temple of Khonsou , son of Amun , who was known to the Greeks as Herakles . Later, the worship of Amun became more prominent. During the time when the city especially flourished between the sixth and fourth centuries BC, a large temple of Amun-Gereb, the supreme god of the Egyptians at

12717-399: The archaeologists to scan the sites and create accurate, precise maps and images of the site. This is especially useful because the site is submerged underwater. From 2009 to 2011 a baris , a type of ancient Nile river boat, was excavated from the waters of Thonis-Heracleion. Its design was found to be consistent with a description written by Herodotus in 450 BC. The quick destruction of

12874-531: The area back to the Ottomans. From 1864, Tanzimat reforms were applied on Ottoman Syria, carving out the provinces (vilayets) of Aleppo , Zor , Beirut and Damascus Vilayet ; Mutasarrifate of Mount Lebanon was created, as well, and soon after the Mutasarrifate of Jerusalem was given a separate status. During World War I , the Ottoman Empire entered the conflict on the side of Germany and

13031-653: The artisans, who were deported to Samarkand . Tamurlane also conducted specific massacres of the Aramean and Assyrian Christian populations, greatly reducing their numbers. By the end of the 15th century, the discovery of a sea route from Europe to the Far East ended the need for an overland trade route through Syria. In 1516, the Ottoman Empire invaded the Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt , conquering Syria, and incorporating it into its empire. The Ottoman system

13188-475: The associated Greek "forts" in the general delta area, as demonstrated by accounts given above, became a ready source of mercenary fighting men for the Saite pharaohs, men with superior hoplite armor and tactics, also possessing invaluable naval expertise. Naucratis soon became a profound source of inspiration to the Greeks by re-exposing them to the wonders of Egyptian architecture and sculpture lost to them since

13345-404: The buildings and slow submersion of Thonis-Heracleion allows archaeologists to now study the underwater city with its surplus of archaeological evidence. One of the most important remains is the stele that was found near the temple of Amun-Gereb. Written on the black, granodiorite stele is a decree of King Nectanebo I, which raises subsidies for the temple. This stele also confirms the name of

13502-864: The capital of empire to Baghdad . Arabic – made official under Umayyad rule – became the dominant language, replacing Greek and Aramaic of the Byzantine era. In 887, the Egypt-based Tulunids annexed Syria from the Abbasids, and were later replaced by once the Egypt-based Ikhshidids and still later by the Hamdanids originating in Aleppo founded by Sayf al-Dawla . Sections of Syria were held by French, English, Italian and German overlords between 1098 and 1189 AD during

13659-401: The city as Thonis since the name of the city was written into the inscription. Until this point, archaeologists and historians had thought that Thonis and Heracleion were separate cities, but this discovery solidified that the two cities were actually the same city. Other important remains are the boats that were sunk around Thonis-Heracleion. There are around seventy ships near the city. This is

13816-801: The city one of the richest in the Roman empire. Eventually, in the late 3rd century AD, the Palmyrene king Odaenathus defeated the Persian emperor Shapur I and controlled the entirety of the Roman East while his successor and widow Zenobia established the Palmyrene Empire , which briefly conquered Egypt, Syria, Palestine, much of Asia Minor, Judah and Lebanon, before being finally brought under Roman control in 273 AD. The northern Mesopotamian Assyrian kingdom of Adiabene controlled areas of north east Syria between 10 AD and 117 AD, before it

13973-484: The city was known by both its Egyptian and Greek names. The legendary beginnings of Thonis go back to as early as the 12th century BC, and it is mentioned by ancient Greek historians. Its importance grew particularly during the waning days of the pharaohs . Thonis was originally built on some adjoining islands in the Nile Delta . The city was built around a central temple, and was intersected by canals with

14130-917: The city, most of which were halted after his death. Syria is significant in the history of Christianity ; Saulus of Tarsus, better known as the Apostle Paul , was converted on the Road to Damascus and emerged as a significant figure in the Christian Church at Antioch in ancient Syria. Muhammad 's first interaction with the people of Syria was during the Invasion of Dumatul Jandal in July 626 where he ordered his followers to invade Duma, because Muhammad received intelligence that some tribes there were involved in highway robbery and preparing to attack Medina itself. William Montgomery Watt claims that this

14287-415: The conflict appears to have settled into a frozen state. Although roughly 30% of the country is controlled by opposition forces, heavy fighting has largely ceased and there is a growing regional trend toward normalizing relations with the regime of Bashar al-Assad. Syria lies between latitudes 32° and 38° N , and longitudes 35° and 43° E . The climate varies from the humid Mediterranean coast, through

14444-488: The context of a story about legendary Greek figures, such as Heracles and Paris , and put the location of the city to be on the coast and adjacent to the Nile. Strabo wrote that in the distant past the city of Thonis, whose name derived from its king, had been located on a strip of land between the Mediterranean Sea and a canal leading towards the city of Schedia. Diodorus made mention of Thonis in relation to

14601-586: The control of Vichy France until the British and Free French occupied the country in the Syria-Lebanon campaign in July 1941. Continuing pressure from Syrian nationalists and the British forced the French to evacuate their troops in April 1946, leaving the country in the hands of a republican government that had been formed during the mandate. Upheaval dominated Syrian politics from independence through

14758-634: The country between 1949 and 1971. In 1958, Syria entered a brief union with Egypt , which was terminated in the 1961 coup d'état and was renamed as the Arab Republic of Syria in constitutional referendum . The 1963 coup d'état carried out by the military committee of the Ba'ath Party established a one-party state and ran Syria under emergency law from 1963 to 2011, effectively suspending constitutional protections for citizens. Internal power-struggles within Ba'athist factions caused further coups in 1966 and 1970 , which eventually resulted in

14915-461: The eagle which ate the liver of Prometheus had its origins in this event, and that the city of Thonis stood where the Nile now emptied into the Mediterranean. Herodotus said that Paris and Helen of Troy , fleeing from Menelaus , landed in a region of the Nile delta known as the Canopic mouth . Some of Paris' servants then fled to a nearby temple of Heracles that was built along the coast, and told

15072-413: The early 4th century BC, alongside a number of Greek ceramic some with black and red figures likely imported from Attica ; a wooden sofa used for banquets was also found, alongside a gold amulet of high quality. The artifacts were probably preserved within an underground room or buried soon after being offered, despite the city's having continued to exist well after the 4th century. This discovery documents

15229-533: The east, and the West Semitic speaking Arameans who subsumed the earlier Amorites. They too were subjugated by Assyria and the Hittites for centuries. The Egyptians fought the Hittites for control over western Syria; the fighting reached its zenith in 1274 BC with the Battle of Kadesh . The west remained part of the Hittite empire until its destruction c. 1200 BC, while eastern Syria largely became part of

15386-715: The first being Elagabalus and the second, his cousin Alexander Severus . Another Roman emperor who was a Syrian was Philip the Arab (Marcus Julius Philippus), who was born in Roman Arabia . He was emperor from 244 to 249, and ruled briefly during the Crisis of the Third Century . During his reign, he focused on his home town of Philippopolis (modern day Shahba ) and began many construction projects to improve

15543-647: The form of a hedgehog ) and stone statuettes and scarab seals. These are scattered to museums and collections around the world, the earlier material largely brought to Britain (mostly in the British Museum) and the latter to the Graeco-Roman Museum in Alexandria. The Egyptians supplied the Greeks with mostly grain but also linen and papyrus while the Greeks bartered mostly silver but also timber , olive oil and wine . Naukratis, and

15700-473: The formerly Ottoman -ruled Syrian provinces. It gained de jure independence as a parliamentary republic in 1945 when the new Republic became a founding member of the United Nations, an act which legally ended the former French mandate. French troops departed in April 1946, granting de facto independence. The post-independence period was tumultuous, with multiple military coup attempts shaking

15857-537: The fourth century BC, with finds of pottery and coins appearing to stop at the end of the second century BC. Goddio's finds have also included incomplete statues of the god Serapis and the queen Arsinoe II who became king. Maritime archaeologists have begun using 3D technologies more consistently due to the “improvement of a suite of sonar, laser, optical and other sensor-based technologies capable of capturing terrestrial, intertidal, seabed and sub-seabed sediments in 3D and in high resolution”. These technologies allow

16014-433: The god Hapy was found at the site. He is depicted holding a tray of four loaves of bread. Many gold coins, statues of deities, jewelry, ritual animal sarcophagi, and ceramic pieces were uncovered at the site; these artifacts give archaeologists a wide range of items to study. A portion of the ceramic pieces were Greek in origin; this adds to the evidence of a large Greek population living at Thonis-Heracleion. The research at

16171-619: The government's response to the crisis, but sent an observer mission in December 2011, as part of its proposal for peaceful resolution of the crisis. The latest attempts to resolve the crisis has been made through the appointment of Kofi Annan, as a special envoy to resolve the Syrian crisis in the Middle East. Some analysts however have posited the partitioning the region into a Sunnite east, Kurdish north and Shiite / Alawite west. Twelve years into Syria's devastating civil war,

16328-444: The history of the ancient Greeks in Egypt dates back at least to Mycenaean times (1600–1100 BC) and more likely even further back into the proto-Greek Minoan age. This history is strictly one of commerce as no permanent Greek settlements have been found of these cultures to date. After the collapse of Mycenaean Greek civilization and the ensuing Greek dark ages (c. 1100–750 BC), a "renaissance" of Greek culture flourished in

16485-441: The kidnapping of Iranian nationals. The UN Commission of Inquiry has also documented abuses of this nature in its February 2012 report, which also includes documentation that indicates rebel forces have been responsible for displacement of civilians. Being ranked 8th last on the 2024 Global Peace Index and 4th worst in the 2024 Fragile States Index , Syria is one of the most dangerous places for journalists . Freedom of press

16642-428: The largest deposit of ships ever discovered in the ancient world. The massive number of ships gives great resources to nautical archaeologists in terms of researching various aspects of the ships, such as the style in which they were built and the materials used in their construction. A statue of either Cleopatra II or Cleopatra III wearing the tunic of the goddess Isis was also discovered. A large, intact statue of

16799-475: The largest in the world. Several sources indicate that the name Syria is derived from the 8th century BC Luwian term "Sura/i", and the derivative ancient Greek name: Σύριοι , Sýrioi , or Σύροι , Sýroi , both of which originally derived from Aššūr ( Assyria ) in northern Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq). However, from the Seleucid Empire (323–150 BC), this term was also applied to

16956-568: The late 1960s. In May 1948, Syrian forces invaded Palestine , together with other Arab states, and immediately attacked Jewish settlements. Their president Shukri al-Quwwatli instructed his troops in the front, "to destroy the Zionists". The Invasion purpose was to prevent the establishment of the State of Israel . Toward this end, the Syrian government engaged in an active process of recruiting former Nazis , including several former members of

17113-851: The leading government figures are Alawites , affiliated with Shia Islam. As a result, the opposition is winning support from the Sunni Muslim states, whereas the government is publicly supported by the Shia dominated Iran and the Lebanese Hezbollah . According to various sources, including the United Nations , up to 13,470–19,220 people have been killed, of which about half were civilians, but also including 6,035–6,570 armed combatants from both sides and up to 1,400 opposition protesters. Many more have been injured, and tens of thousands of protesters have been imprisoned. According to

17270-517: The mercenaries two parcels of land (or "camps," στρατόπεδα ) on either side of the Pelusian branch of the Nile. At present these sites remain uncertain but this may be a reference to the city of Daphnae . Naukratis was the site of an Egyptian town before the Greeks arrived, later becoming established as a military settlement occupied by mercenaries. Naukratis was located on the Canopic branch of

17427-537: The midst of World War I , two Allied diplomats (Frenchman François Georges-Picot and Briton Mark Sykes ) secretly agreed on the post-war division of the Ottoman Empire into respective zones of influence in the Sykes-Picot Agreement of 1916. Initially, the two territories were separated by a border that ran in an almost straight line from Jordan to Iran . However, the discovery of oil in

17584-530: The month of Khoiak. The god in his ceremonial boat was brought in procession from the temple of Amun in that city to his shrine in Canopus . 2023 archaeological findings, suggested that Greeks, who were already allowed to trade in the city, "had started to take root" there as early as during the Twenty-sixth Dynasty of Egypt and that likely Greek mercenaries were employed to defend it. During

17741-708: The northeastern city of al-Qamishli . Signs of rioting were seen in the cities of Qamishli and Hasakeh . In 2005, Syria ended its military presence in Lebanon. Assassination of Rafic Hariri in 2005 led to international condemnation and triggered a popular Intifada in Lebanon , known as "the Cedar Revolution" which forced the Assad regime to end its 29-year old of military occupation in Lebanon . On 6 September 2007, foreign jet fighters, suspected as Israeli, reportedly carried out Operation Orchard against

17898-701: The northern east parts of Syria while the rest of the region was dominated by the Amorites . Syria was called the Land of the Amurru (Amorites) by their Assyro-Babylonian neighbors. The Northwest Semitic language of the Amorites is the earliest attested of the Canaanite languages . Mari reemerged during this period, and saw renewed prosperity until conquered by Hammurabi of Babylon. Ugarit also arose during this time, circa 1800 BC, close to modern Latakia . Ugaritic

18055-576: The original pan-Arab Ba'ath Party : one Iraqi-led ba'ath movement (ruled Iraq from 1968 to 2003) and one Syrian-led ba'ath movement was established. In the first half of 1967, a low-key state of war existed between Syria and Israel . Conflict over Israeli cultivation of land in the Demilitarized Zone led to 7 April pre-war aerial clashes between Israel and Syria. When the Six-Day War broke out between Egypt and Israel, Syria joined

18212-654: The overthrow of his government, and an end to nearly five decades of Ba’ath Party rule . Since spring 2011, the Syrian government deployed the Syrian Army to quell the uprising, and several cities were besieged, though the unrest continued. According to some witnesses, soldiers, who refused to open fire on civilians, were summarily executed by the Syrian Army. The Syrian government denied reports of defections, and blamed armed gangs for causing trouble. Since early autumn 2011, civilians and army defectors began forming fighting units, which began an insurgency campaign against

18369-463: The region of Mosul just before the end of the war led to yet another negotiation with France in 1918 to cede this region to the British zone of influence, which was to become Iraq. The fate of the intermediate province of Zor was left unclear; its occupation by Arab nationalists resulted in its attachment to Syria . This border was recognized internationally when Syria became a League of Nations mandate in 1920 and has not changed to date. In 1920,

18526-403: The region which had lasted two decades. Syria prospered under Roman rule, being strategically located on the silk road, which gave it massive wealth and importance, making it the battleground for the rivaling Romans and Persians. Palmyra , a rich and sometimes powerful native Aramaic -speaking kingdom arose in northern Syria in the 2nd century; the Palmyrene established a trade network that made

18683-405: The rise of Alexandria and the shifting of the Nile led to its decline. Nevertheless, the ancient city of Heracleion /Thonis also rivalled Naucratis as an important port city of Egypt, especially from the 6th to the 4th century BC. ^   i:  All location designations are according to latest finds, not Petrie's originals which were later revised. ^   ii:  This is known as

18840-420: The same year. Shishakli eventually abolished multipartyism altogether, but was himself overthrown in a 1954 coup and the parliamentary system was restored. However, by this time, power was increasingly concentrated in the military and security establishment. The weakness of Parliamentary institutions and the mismanagement of the economy led to unrest and the influence of Nasserism and other ideologies. There

18997-399: The sea by the eighth century AD. Over time, the city was weakened by a combination of earthquakes, tsunamis, and rising sea levels . Around 101 BC, probably after a severe flood, the ground on which the central island of Heracleion was built succumbed to soil liquefaction . Earthquakes can also cause liquifaction, and earth tremors and tidal waves were reported by ancient historians during

19154-449: The second century BC Alexandria superseded Thonis-Heracleion as Egypt's primary port. The importance of Thonis-Heracleion began diminishing with the rise of Alexandria, which was about fifteen miles southwest, in the 2nd century BC. Also in the 2nd century BC, a major weather event, either a tsunami, earthquake, or a combination, pushed the city towards destruction. However, the city was not entirely abandoned until its complete submersion into

19311-637: The seizure of power by Hafiz al-Assad . He effectively established an Alawi minority rule to consolidate power within his family. After Assad's death , his son Bashar al-Assad inherited the presidency in 2000. Since 2011, Syria has been embroiled in a multi-sided civil war , with involvement of different countries . Three political entities – the Syrian Interim Government , Syrian Salvation Government , and Rojava – have emerged in Syrian territory to challenge Assad's rule. A country of fertile plains, high mountains, and deserts, Syria

19468-512: The settlement of Greek merchants and mercenaries in the city of Thonis-Heracleion. On 19 September 2023, the Institut Européen d'Archéologie Sous-Marine announced the discovery of the site of a temple to god Amun and a Greek sanctuary devoted to Aphrodite in the ancient port city of Thonis-Heracleion, together with many ancient Egyptian and Greek artifacts, including ancient Greek weapons. Syria Syria , officially

19625-402: The site is still ongoing, and excavations are continuing every year. Goddio estimates that only 5% of the city has been excavated so far. The archaeologists are continuing to search for artifacts and remains of the city. Because there is so much left to excavate at Thonis-Heracleion, there is a lot of potential for new discoveries of important artifacts or more building remains. In July 2019,

19782-457: The site. These are relatively new technologies that were useful in the complex process of research and excavation. After the site was mapped, the team slowly began excavations. Several devices were used for the underwater excavations. The team used a grid reference system to document the exact positioning of the artifacts. They also created an excavation plan. The team labeled or tagged every artifact and documented its exact position. They used

19939-487: The site." The barrier of the high water table made it impossible for them to find anything older than the Ptolemaic era. They agreed with Hogarth that the "great temenos" of Petrie was actually an Egyptian building and that indeed the entire south section of the town appeared to be non-Greek. Overall most of the finds were vases (some whole, most fragmentary) used as votives in the temples, but also perfume flasks (several in

20096-558: The south of the site from 1980–1982 (under the auspices of the American Research Center in Egypt). Unfortunately they found the original northern sanctuary section submerged under a lake formed by the risen water table and roughly 15 m deep. This part of the site remains under water today, making further work there difficult if not impossible. Their assessment of the approach taken and methods used by their predecessors

20253-519: The strength of Syrian military technology, as it seemed feasible that Syria might attempt to retake İskenderun . Only heated debates in the United Nations lessened the threat of war. On 1 February 1958, Syrian President Shukri al-Quwatli and Egypt's Nasser announced the merging of Egypt and Syria, creating the United Arab Republic , and all Syrian political parties, as well as the communists therein, ceased overt activities. Meanwhile,

20410-458: The temple priests and Thonis, the watchman at the entrance to the Nile, of Paris' taking of Helen from Menelaus. Thonis then captured Paris and his ships, and brought Paris and Helen to Memphis to be judged by Proteus of Egypt . Alternatively it was believed that Menelaus and Helen had stayed there, accommodated by the noble Egyptian Thon and his wife Polydamna . The second century BC Greek poet Nicander wrote that Menelaus's helmsman, Canopus,

20567-408: The time of Thonis-Heracleion's submersion. The soil around the south-eastern basin of the Mediterranean is prone to liquifaction. The hard clay turned rapidly into a liquid and the buildings collapsed into the water. A few residents stayed on during the Roman era and the beginning of Arab rule, but by the end of the eighth century AD, what was left of Thonis had sunk beneath the sea. Thonis-Heracleion

20724-694: The time, while unofficial number stood at as many as 130,000. UNICEF reported that over 500 children have been killed, Another 400 children have been reportedly arrested and tortured in Syrian prisons. Both claims have been contested by the Syrian government. Additionally, over 600 detainees and political prisoners have died under torture. Human Rights Watch accused the government and Shabiha of using civilians as human shields when they advanced on opposition held-areas. Anti-government rebels have been accused of human rights abuses as well, including torture, kidnapping, unlawful detention and execution of civilians, Shabiha and soldiers. HRW also expressed concern at

20881-471: The time, was located in the middle of the city. King Nectanebo I made many additions to the temple in the fourth century B.C. Sanctuaries in Heracleion dedicated to Osiris and other deities were famous for miraculous healing and attracted pilgrims from a wide area. Archaeologists have found evidence of the celebration of the "Mysteries of Osiris " at Thonis-Heracleion, which occurred each year during

21038-527: The town of Thonis (Heracleion) were to be given to the ancient sanctuary of Neith of Sais . The city is also mentioned in the Decree of Canopus honoring Pharaoh Ptolemy III , which describes donations, sacrifices and a procession on water. Before its discovery in 2000, most historians believed that Thonis and Heracleion were two separate cities, both located on what is now the Egyptian mainland. However,

21195-464: The various statues, the team used a crane from on board their ship, the Princess Duda, to carefully raise the artifact. Once on the ship, the artifacts were cleaned and then went through a desalination process in order to protect them from the dry air after a long submersion underwater. Numerous finds from the site have indicated that the city's period of major activity ran from the sixth to

21352-508: The votive pottery found here need have arrived earlier than the reign of Amasis, so it may well be that the Hellenion was founded as the result of his reorganization of the status of Naucratis, while the independent sanctuaries ... are of the earlier years of the town." More recently American archaeologists W. Coulson and A. Leonard founded "The Naucratis Project" in 1977 carrying out surveys in 1977–1978 and further surveys and excavations to

21509-471: The war and attacked Israel as well. In the final days of the war, Israel turned its attention to Syria, capturing two-thirds of the Golan Heights in under 48 hours. The defeat caused a split between Jadid and Assad over what steps to take next. Disagreement developed between Jadid, who controlled the party apparatus, and Assad, who controlled the military. The 1970 retreat of Syrian forces sent to aid

21666-441: The west. This was done most likely as a means to contain Greeks activities in one place under his control. It became not the colony of any particular city-state but an open emporion (trading post) similar to Al Mina in north Syria . According to Herodotus the walled shrine known as the Hellenion was a co-operative enterprise financed by nine eastern Greek cities: Thus the natives of at least twelve Greek city-states worked in

21823-691: The world . Yamhad (modern Aleppo ) dominated northern Syria for two centuries, although Eastern Syria was occupied in the 19th and 18th centuries BC by the Old Assyrian Empire ruled by the Amorite Dynasty of Shamshi-Adad I , and by the Babylonian Empire which was founded by Amorites. Yamhad was described in the tablets of Mari as the mightiest state in the near east and as having more vassals than Hammurabi of Babylon. Yamhad imposed its authority over Alalakh , Qatna ,

21980-631: Was a Semitic language loosely related to the Canaanite languages, and developed the Ugaritic alphabet , considered to be the world's earliest known alphabet. The Ugaritic kingdom survived until its destruction at the hands of the marauding Indo-European Sea Peoples in the 12th century BC in what was known as the Late Bronze Age Collapse . Aleppo and the capital city Damascus are among the oldest continuously inhabited cities in

22137-420: Was already envisaging something of the expansion which took place after his death", and that the rapid march of his troops must have "impressed all those who heard of it". William Muir also believes that the expedition was important as Muhammad followed by 1000 men reached the confines of Syria, where distant tribes had now learnt his name, while the political horizon of Muhammad was extended. By AD 640, Syria

22294-424: Was also a synthesis between the Semitic Arameans and the remnants of the Indo-European Hittites , with the founding of a number of Syro-Hittite states centered in north central Aram (Syria) and south central Asia Minor (modern Turkey), including Palistin , Carchemish and Sam'al . A Canaanite group known as the Phoenicians came to dominate the coasts of Syria, (and also Lebanon and northern Palestine ) from

22451-435: Was bitten by a viper on the sands of Thonis. Until very recently the site had been known only from a few literary and epigraphic sources, one of which interestingly mentions the site as an emporion , just like Naukratis. Heracleion is also mentioned in the twin steles of the Decree of Nectanebo I (the first of which is known as the 'Stele of Naukratis'), which specify that one tenth of the taxes on imports passing through

22608-417: Was conquered by the Arab Rashidun army led by Khalid ibn al-Walid . In the mid-7th century, the Umayyad dynasty , then rulers of the empire, placed the capital of the empire in Damascus. The country's power declined during later Umayyad rule; this was mainly due to totalitarianism, corruption and the resulting revolutions. The Umayyad dynasty was then overthrown in 750 by the Abbasid dynasty , which moved

22765-399: Was conquered by Rome. The Aramaic language has been found as far afield as Hadrian's Wall in Ancient Britain, with an inscription written by a Palmyrene emigrant at the site of Fort Arbeia . Control of Syria eventually passed from the Romans to the Byzantines , with the split in the Roman Empire. The largely Aramaic -speaking population of Syria during the heyday of the Byzantine Empire

22922-433: Was discovered at the field of Jbessa in 1940. Syria contains four terrestrial ecoregions: Syrian xeric grasslands and shrublands , Eastern Mediterranean conifer-sclerophyllous-broadleaf forests , Southern Anatolian montane conifer and deciduous forests , and Mesopotamian shrub desert . The country had a 2019 Forest Landscape Integrity Index mean score of 3.64/10, ranking it 144th globally out of 172 countries. Syria

23079-428: Was discovered by Flinders Petrie who dug there in 1884–1885. He was followed by Ernest Arthur Gardner and finally David George Hogarth , in 1899 and 1903. Hogarth was assisted in the 1903 dig by Campbell Cowan Edgar . The archaeological focus fell into two areas of northern and southern quarters. Found farthest south was a large Egyptian storehouse or treasury (A on sketch at right—originally identified by Petrie as

23236-503: Was elected president in an election in which he ran unopposed. His election saw the birth of the Damascus Spring and hopes of reform, but by autumn 2001, the authorities had suppressed the movement, imprisoning some of its leading intellectuals. Instead, reforms have been limited to some market reforms. On 5 October 2003, Israel bombed a site near Damascus , claiming it was a terrorist training facility for members of Islamic Jihad . In March 2004, Syrian Kurds and Arabs clashed in

23393-465: Was eventually pardoned. He returned to Syria in 1937 after the signing of the Syrian-French Treaty. Syria and France negotiated a treaty of independence in September 1936, and Hashim al-Atassi was the first president to be elected under 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 during World War II , Syria came under

23550-485: Was fertile ground for various Arab nationalist , Syrian nationalist , and socialist movements, which represented disaffected elements of society. Notably included were religious minorities, who demanded radical reform. In November 1956, as a direct result of the Suez Crisis , Syria signed a pact with the Soviet Union . This gave a foothold for Communist influence within the government in exchange for military equipment. Turkey then became worried about this increase in

23707-413: Was first known in Egypt and then passed into Greece, it is now generally accepted by scholars that what the Greeks learned were more like "surveying techniques" and hardly deserve the designation "geometry" in the sense of a purely intellectual mathematical practice. Indeed, Greeks like Thales were already accomplished geometricians before their travel to Egypt and very likely Herodotus assumed that because

23864-483: Was left relatively undisturbed beneath the sea floor for 1200 years. The sand and other debris covered the remains of the city and made accidental discovery unlikely. This kept Thonis-Heracleion preserved. Looters and unsuspecting humans and animals did not have the chance to tarnish the city's remains. Thonis-Heracleion is mentioned by many Greek historians of antiquity, including Strabo , Diodorus , and Herodotus . These references to Thonis-Heracleion are often within

24021-401: Was less than complimentary. "Unfortunately, much of the emphasis of the early excavators was placed on these religious structures at the expense of the commercial and domestic quarters. Consequently our knowledge of the mercantile character of ancient Naukratis—the very facet of its early history that made it so exceptional—has suffered greatly. Furthermore, the later historical sequences, such as

24178-402: Was not burdensome to Syrians because the Turks respected Arabic as the language of the Quran , and accepted the mantle of defenders of the faith. Damascus was made the major entrepot for Mecca , and as such it acquired a holy character to Muslims, because of the beneficial results of the countless pilgrims who passed through on the hajj, the pilgrimage to Mecca. Ottoman administration followed

24335-400: Was one of the most ancient on earth, perhaps preceded by only that of Mesopotamia . The earliest recorded indigenous civilization in the region was the Kingdom of Ebla near present-day Idlib , northern Syria. Ebla appears to have been founded around 3500 BC, and gradually built its fortune through trade with the Mesopotamian states of Sumer , Assyria , and Akkad , as well as with

24492-422: Was probably not exceeded again until the 19th century. Prior to the Arab Islamic Conquest in the 7th century AD, the bulk of the population were Arameans , but Syria was also home to Greek and Roman ruling classes, Assyrians still dwelt in the north east, Phoenicians along the coasts, and Jewish and Armenian communities were also extant in major cities, with Nabateans and pre-Islamic Arabs such as

24649-409: Was the most significant expedition Muhammad ordered at the time, even though it received little notice in the primary sources. Dumat Al-Jandal was 800 kilometres (500 mi) from Medina, and Watt says that there was no immediate threat to Muhammad, other than the possibility that his communications to Syria and supplies to Medina would be interrupted. Watt says "It is tempting to suppose that Muhammad

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