[38] Many more have been injured, and tens of thousands of protesters have been imprisoned. During World War I, French diplomat François Georges-Picot and British diplomat 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.

In November 1956 Syria signed a pact with the Soviet Union, providing a foothold for communist influence within the government in exchange for planes, tanks, and other military equipment being sent to Syria.

As part of the Tanzimat reforms, an Ottoman law passed in 1864 provided for a standard provincial administration throughout the empire with the Eyalets becoming smaller Vilayets governed by a Wali, or governor, still appointed by the Sultan but with new provincial assemblies participating in administration. © 2020 A&E Television Networks, LLC. [74][75][76][77] Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice then met with Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem in Egypt, in the first contact at this level for two years.[78][79][80]. The downtown of Homs city has been devastated."[127]. Nawaf al-Fares stated in a video that this was in response to crimes against humanity by the Assad government. On 6 October 1973, Syria and Egypt initiated the Yom Kippur War by launching a surprise attack on Israel. "use strict";(function(){var insertion=document.getElementById("citation-access-date");var date=new Date().toLocaleDateString(undefined,{month:"long",day:"numeric",year:"numeric"});insertion.parentElement.replaceChild(document.createTextNode(date),insertion)})(); FACT CHECK: We strive for accuracy and fairness. [119] A prominent case was that of Hamza Al-Khateeb. 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. Political activists, such as Riad Seif, Haitham al-Maleh, Kamal al-Labwani, Riyad al-Turk, and Aref Dalila were important in mobilizing the movement. In June, the government claimed that in 120 members of the security forces had been killed by "armed gangs" in the northwestern town of Jisr al-Shughour. The phenomenon of salons spread rapidly in Damascus and to a lesser extent in other cities. Syria then remained in Lebanon until 2005, exerting a heavy-handed influence over Lebanese politics, that was deeply resented by many. During Artaxerxes III’s reign, Sidon, Egyptians, and eleven other Phoenician cities started to revolt against the Persian rulers. Despite the element of surprise, Egypt and Syria lost their initial gains in a three-week-long warfare,[citation needed] and Israel continued to occupy the Golan Heights and the Sinai peninsula. Signs of rioting were seen in the towns of Qameshli and Hassakeh.

From the outset, the FSA was a disparate collection of loosely organized and largely independent units. [93][94] In 2010, the USA posted its first ambassador to Syria after a five-year break. Syria and France negotiated a treaty of independence in September 1936.

Syria's satraps used to reside in Damascus, Sidon or Tripoli. [37][40] The appeal of Egyptian President Gamal Abdal Nasser's leadership in the wake of the Suez Crisis created support in Syria for union with Egypt. Indeed, this situation could be changed only with the agreement of the Council of the League of Nations, with the consent of the Government of the United States, a signatory of the Franco-American Convention of 4 April 1924, and only after the conclusion between the French Government and the Syrian and Lebanese Governments of treaties duly ratified in accordance with the laws of the French Republic. In 1579, the Eyalet of Tripoli which included Latakia, Hama and Homs was established. The two men laid the foundations for establishing full diplomatic relations between their countries. At the same time, President Assad pledged to start a "national dialogue" on reform. The phenomenon of salons spread rapidly in Damascus and to a lesser extent in other cities. Syria’s government forces took control of Aleppo in late 2016, ending more than four years of rebel rule in the city.

The French responded to these protests with artillery. The Syrian-sponsored Taif Agreement finally brought the Lebanese civil war to an end in 1990. Syria proclaimed its independence again in 1941 but it was not until 1 January 1944 that it was recognized as an independent republic. The Neolithic period (PPNB) is represented by rectangular houses of the Mureybet culture. On 6 September 2007 a Syrian facility was bombed in the Deir ez-Zor region. In 1936, the Franco-Syrian Treaty of Independence was signed, a treaty that would not be ratified by the French legislature. [41] The total official UN numbers of Syrian refugees reached 42,000 at the time,[42] while unofficial number stood at as many as 130,000. These events combined with other circumstances, including a lagging economy, a severe drought, a lack of general freedoms and a tense religious atmosphere, led to civilian resistance and, ultimately, an uprising.

Important advances in agriculture, such as the development of domestic grain varieties and the taming of livestock, likely took place in the Levant, which includes Syria. From 1925 to 1927, Syrians united against the French occupation in what’s now known as the Great Syrian Revolt. [125] The conflict has the hallmarks of a sectarian civil war; the leading government figures are Shia Alawites, whilst the rebels are mainly Sunni Muslims. [70] While the authorities have relaxed rules so that radio channels can now play Western pop music, websites such as Wikipedia, YouTube, Facebook and Amazon have been blocked,[71] but were recently unblocked throughout the nation. The opposition is dominated by Sunni Muslims, whereas the leading government figures are Alawites,[33] affiliated with the Shia Islam. Europe has also been an important asylum for refugees, with Germany taking in the most. [21], In June 2005, thousands of Kurds demonstrated in Qamishli to protest the assassination of Sheikh Khaznawi, a Kurdish cleric in Syria, resulting in the death of one policeman and injury to four Kurds. The Syrian civil war is an ongoing internal violent conflict in Syria. Syria is part of the Fertile Crescent, and since approximately 10,000 BCE it was one of the centers of Neolithic culture (PPNA) where agriculture and cattle breeding appeared for the first time in the world. At the same times, the U.S. has added al-Nusra—one of the most successful rebel military groups—to its terrorist list, citing ties to al-Qaeda. He returned to Syria in 1937 and was met with a huge public reception. Syria was then conquered by the Seljuk Turks (1084–1086), during the reign of Malik-Shah I. Syria denied the claim. [2] Gifts from Pharaohs, found during excavations, confirm Ebla's contact with Egypt. [57][68][69], Over the years the authorities have tightened Internet censorship with laws such as forcing Internet cafes to record all the comments users post on chat forums. Severus Alexander's rule was longer, and unlike Elagabalus's disastrous rule, was filled with domestic achievements and he earned the popularity and respect of his people, something Elagabalus never had. The French sentenced Sultan al-Atrash to death, but he had escaped with the rebels to Transjordan and was eventually pardoned. The Roman general Pompey the Great captured Antioch in 64 BCE, turning Syria into a Roman province and ended Armenian rule,[2] establishing the city of Antioch as its capital. Since spring 2011, the Syrian government deployed the Syrian Army to quell the uprising, and several cities were besieged,[29][30] though the unrest continued.