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Syria....
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Until the 20th cent. the term Syria generally denoted those lands of
the Levant, or eastern littoral of the
Mediterranean, that correspond to modern Syria and
Lebanon, most of
Israel and Jordan, W Iraq, and N Saudi Arabia. Three geographical factors
have played major parts in determining the history of Syria—its location
on the trade and military routes, its varied topography, and the
encroaching desert. Syria has always been an object of conquest, and it
has been held by foreign powers during much of its history. One of the
earliest settlements was probably at Ugarit ; human habitation at Tell
Hamoukar in NE Syria dates to at least 4000 BC The Amorites , coming
c.2100 BC from the Arabian peninsula, were the first important
Semitic
people to settle in the region, and they established many small states.
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From the 15th to the 13th cent. BC the area probably was
part of the empire of the Hittites, although it came under
Egyptian rule
for long periods during that time. The first great indigenous culture was
that of Phoenicia (located mostly in present-day
Lebanon), which flourished
after 1250 BC in a group of trading cities along the coast. In the 10th
cent. BC two Hebrew kingdoms were organized in Palestine.
Syria suffered (11th-6th cent. BC) long invasions and intermittent control
by the empire of Assyria. Babylonian conquerors also found success in
Syria, and Egypt constantly sought to reestablish its position there. The
Syrians were subjected to massacres, plundering, and forced deportations. |
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During World War I the
British encouraged Syrian
nationalists to fight against the Ottoman Empire. The ambitions of the
nationalists were thwarted in the peace settlement, which gave (1920) France
a League of Nations mandate over the Levant States (roughly present-day
Syria and Lebanon). From
this time the term Syria referred approximately to its present territorial
extent. France divided Syria into three administrative districts on the
pretext that political decentralization would safeguard the rights of
minorities. |
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Al-Assad successfully ousted al-Attassi in Nov., 1970.
In early 1971, al-Assad was overwhelmingly elected to a seven-year term as
president; he was reelected three times. Later in 1971, Syria, Libya, and
Egypt agreed to unite loosely in the Federation of
Arab Republics. Syria continued to be on good terms with the USSR, which
equipped the Syrian army with modern weapons. |
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