Syria: History

Pre-20th-Century History

Historically, Syria included Jordan, Israel and Lebanon, as well as the area now known as Syria. Although the modern state of Syria is a 20th-century creation, the region can lay claim to having one of the oldest civilisations in the world. The Mesopotamian Akkadians were the first to covet the area, followed by the Egyptians; then the Hittites came to town. Evidence of the first alphabets have been found at the ancient site of Ugarit. The country was in a top strategic spot, and its coastal towns became important Phoenician trading posts - consequently, it became a prize for every neighbouring warmonger for over 400 years. Later, Syria was a pivotal part of the Persian, Greek, then Roman empires. After Byzantium went pear-shaped, the Islamic Umayyads (who for a time made Damascus the capital of the Muslim world) were followed in 750 by the Abbasids, who moved to Baghdad, starting a period of decline. The Crusaders arrived and spread their patented brand of mayhem until their defeat at the hands of Nureddin (Nur ad-Din), whose son, Saladin (Salah ad-Din), brought prosperity back to the region. They were followed by the Mamluks and Mongols until finally, in 1516, the Ottomans took over.

Syria prospered under Ottoman rule except for a brief period in the 19th century when the Egyptians fronted up. They were soon sent packing and the Ottoman Turks, along with Lebanon, dished it out to France when the Turkish Empire broke up after WWI.

Modern History

The Syrians weren't too pleased with this arrangement (having been an independent nation from 1918-20) and staged an insurrection in 1925-26 that resulted in the French bombing Damascus.

In 1932 Syria had its first parliamentary elections, and although the candidates had been picked by the French, they refused to accept France's proposed constitution for the country. In 1939 France granted Turkey the Syrian province of Alexandretta, further sharpening feeling against the imperial overlords. France promised independence in 1941 but didn't deliver until 1946.

Civilian rule didn't last long in Syria: in 1954, after several military coups, the Ba'athist section of the army took over. The Ba'ath Party was committed to a form of pan-Arabism under which Syria would forfeit its sovereignty, leading to the formation of a United Arab Republic with Egypt in 1958. After a series of military coups in response to this, the Ba'ath regained power in 1966, but their celebrations were curtailed by the 1967 Six Day War with Israel and the 1970 Black September hostilities with Jordan. Meanwhile, Defence Minister Hafez al-Assad seized power.

Assad used his position to manoeuvre Syria into a position of power in the Middle Eastern peace process. In 1999, he was elected to a fifth seven-year term with a predictable 99.9% of the vote. Against a background of falling oil prices, Assad's astute exploitation of the Gulf War in the early 1990s brought improvements to the Syrian economy.

In 1997, Syria was removed from the US list of drug-trafficking states, while Assad moved to strengthen ties with the fledgling EU, Turkey and the USA. Attempts to diversify the oil-reliant economy, primarily by investing in agricultural products, have had mixed success. In early 2000, US State Department officials discussed removing Syria from their terrorism list, admitting that the country hadn't sponsored any terrorist activity since 1986, however the chaotic withdrawal of Israeli troops from South Lebanon in May 2000, occurring under fire from the allegedly Syrian-sponsored Hezbollah, delayed further talks.

Recent History

President Assad died on 10 June 2000 and his son Bashar was sworn in for a seven-year term in July 2000. Bashar al-Assad has shown greater reformist and moderate tendencies than his father, including releasing dozens of political prisoners and a visit to Turkey to mend decades of poor relations. However, Syria's links to militant extremists and a legacy of corruption and government control mean that greater reform is still a way off.

Internationally, Syria's hardline stance vis-á-vis Israel over the return of the Golan Heights and alleged support for extremist groups such as Hezbollah continues to prevent improved relations with the West. Publicly branded a 'rogue state' by US president, George W Bush, Syria has been forced to withdraw its army and intelligence personnel from Lebanon and has been criticised by the US for allegedly turning a blind eye to the movements of Iraqi insurgents.

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