A LOOK AT THE PAST
The earliest inhabitants of the area known today as Syria were the Phoenicians and the Aramaeans. The area was successively controlled by the Assyrians, Babylonians, Hittites, Chaldeans and Persians. In 333 B.C., the land was conquered by the Greek warrior Alexander the Great. In 64 B.C., Syria became part of the Roman Empire. The Romans built cities, amphitheatres, temples and forts. When the Roman Empire split into East and West, Syria became part of the Eastern, or Byzantine, Empire. 

In 636 A.D., the Muslim Omayyads from Arabia conquered Damascus, and most of the population gradually converted to Islam. Arabic became the common language. During the 10th and 11th centuries, the time of the Crusades, Europeans occupied parts of Syria. In 1187, the Europeans were driven out by Arab armies, led by a Kurd known as Salah al-Din or Saladin. The dynasty he founded was defeated in turn by the Mongols in 1260. 

In 1516, the Turkish Ottomans conquered the area. The Ottomans ruled until the early 20th century and strongly influenced the development of modern Syria. When the Ottoman Empire was defeated in the First World War, France and England competed for control of the country. Despite attempts by Syrian nationalists to force the French out, the French remained in control of the country until the end of the Second World War. In 1946, the United Nations acknowledged Syria’s independence. French troops left Syria in 1946, on April 17, which is now celebrated throughout Syria as Evacuation Day. 
 
 
  Did you know?
In the 3rd century A.D., the powerful Queen Zenobia of Palmyra ruled Syria after the death of her husband the king. Her armies controlled all of Syria and some of the surrounding area. The Romans fought against her and eventually defeated her. She was taken to Rome where she ended her days..
The establishment of the state of Israel in 1948 led to conflict between Israel and the Arab nations, including Syria. In 1958, Syria and Egypt united to form a single nation, but when Egypt tried to control Syria, the Syrians resisted. The union ended in 1961. On March 8, 1963, the Ba’ath Arab Party came to power. The Six-Day War between Israel and Syria occurred in 1967. After the war, Syria lost the Golan Heights, an area southwest of Damascus, to Israel. This area is still a matter of dispute between the two countries.

In 1970, the Minister of Defence, Hafez Al Assad, took over the country in a bloodless coup. He remains in power, despite opposition from a group known as the Muslim Brotherhood. Syria’s constitution gives the president almost total control over the country. 

Syria sent troops into Lebanon in the mid-1970s to keep order during the country’s civil war. Syria and Lebanon signed a friendship agreement in 1991. Syria opposed Iraq during the Gulf War of 1991, which strengthened its relationship with the United States.