| YEAR |
EVENTS |
| ca.
2,000 B.C. |
First
indications of Amorite settlement on the site of present-day
Damascus. [n.b. More recent discoveries suggest that Damascus was
first settled ca. 6,000 B.C.] |
| ca.
1,000 B.C. |
City
conquered by Tuthmos III of Egypt. |
| 732
B.C. |
City
taken by the Assyrian king, Tiglath Pileser III. |
| 572
B.C. |
The
Chaldean armies, under Nebuchadnezzar, conquer Syria and occupy
Damascus. |
| 539
B.C. |
The
Persian leader, Cyrus, takes Damascus and declares it the capital of
the Fifth Satrapy (administrative district) of the Persian Empire,
which incorporated Syria, Phoenicia, and Palestine. |
| 334
B.C. |
Alexander
the Great takes Syria. Beginning of Greek settlement in Damascus. |
| 312
B.C. |
Seleucus
Nicator, the successor of Alexander, takes power. |
| 64
B.C. |
The
Roman general, Pompeii, incorporates Syria and Damascus into the
Roman Empire. |
| 20-30
A.D. |
Christianity
comes to Damascus. |
| 31
A.D. |
Arrival
of Saul [of Tarsus] and his assumption of his new name, Paul, upon
conversion to Christianity. |
| 395
A.D. |
Division
of the Roman Empire into Western and Easter (Byzantine) Empires.
Damascus under Byzantine control. |
| 635
A.D. |
Damascus
taken by Khalid ibn al-Walid. Arab Muslim conquest of Syria. |
| 661
A.D. |
The
Caliph Mauwiya makes Damascus the capital of the Omayad Empire. |
| 750
A.D. |
Fall
of the Omayad Dynasty. Damascus falls to the ‘Abbasids and the
capital of the Muslim empire is transferred to Baghdad. |
| 969-1076
A.D. |
Rule
of the Fatamids, based in Cairo. |
| 1076-1174
A.D. |
Rule
in Damascus of the Princes of Turkish origin, the Seljuks and
Atabegs, including the rule of Nur al-Din (Atabeg) (1146-1176) and
the beginning of the Crusader campaigns (1096). |
| 1174-1260
A.D. |
The
Ayyubid Dynasty, founded by Salah al-Din (Saladin), rules Damascus. |
| 1260
A.D. |
Tartar
invasion, led by Houlagou (son of Ghengis Khan), repulsed by Sultan
Baybars. |
| 1260-1516
A.D. |
The
Mamlukes, an Egypt-based dynasty, rule Damascus. |
| 1400
A.D. |
Devastation
of Damascus by the Mongols, led by Tamurlane. |
| 1516
A.D. |
The
Ottoman Turks take power. |
| 1918
A.D. |
The
Ottomans are driven out of Syria at the end of the First World War
by the combined forces of the Western Allies and Arab forces [led by
T.E. Lawrence (“of Arabia”) and General Allenby, and Faisal ibn
Hussein, respectively]. |
| 1918-1920 |
The
Kingdom of Syria lasts for twenty months. |
| 1920-1946 |
French Mandate. |
|
1946 |
Syrian
independence. |