TIMELINE | | SYRIA
 
Date Country | Description
 502 A.D. Syria  
  A treaty is made between the Roman Empire and the Ghassanids, a Christian Arab tribe settled in southern Syria and Damascus, in order to defend the eastern frontiers against the Persians.
 565 A.D. Syria  
  Death of Emperor Justinian I soon after his construction of the Ibn Wardan fortress in the Syrian desert. The long and intermittent Byzantine–Persian war is refuelled.
 573 A.D. Syria  
  The Sassanian Persian ruler Chosroe I raids Syria as far as Apamea and Antioch.
 590 A.D. Syria  
  Economic and religious interaction between Arabia and the Fertile Crescent as Muhammad joins his uncle on mercantile travel to Syria, where he meets the monk Bahira in Bosra.
 602 A.D. Syria  
  Byzantine Emperor Maurice breaks the peace treaty with the Persians and invades Syria. War continues with both sides growing weak and weary, inadvertently easing the path for the upcoming Muslim conquerers.
 636 A.D. Syria  
  At the Battle of Yarmuk on 15 August the Muslim army defeats the Byzantine forces. Damascus is definitively occupied and the Islamic conquest of Syria begins.
 649 A.D. Syria  
  First maritime conquests of the Muslims, occupying Cyprus.
 657 A.D. Syria  
  Battle of Siffin between Mu’awiya, governor of Damascus, and ‘Ali, the fourth caliph and cousin and son-in-law of the Prophet, resulting in a schism in the Muslim community with Kharijites (secessionists) accepting neither.
 661 A.D. Syria  
  Damascus becomes capital of the Umayyad Empire under Mu‘awiya (Caliph 661–81). Assassination of ‘Ali, nephew of the Prophet, by a Kharijite (secessionist).
 679 A.D. Syria  
  After several attempts to conquer Constantinople, the Umayyads and Byzantines agree to a truce. Frontier warfare continues under the Abbasids but Constaninople is left unconquered until the Ottomans.
 697 A.D. Syria  
  The first Islamic gold coin devoid of iconographic representation is struck in Damascus by Umayyad Caliph ‘Abd al-Malik, with Arabic declaration of faith. Arabisation of the administration.
 705 - 715 A.D. Syria  
  Building of the Great Umayyad Mosque in Damascus proclaims the imperial status of the new religion and places Islam on an equal footing with the strong Christian heritage of the region.
 750 A.D. Syria  
  The entire Umayyad court is massacred by the ‘Abbasids, except for ‘Abd al-Rahman bin Mu‘awiya who escapes from Syria to al-Andalus (Spain) and founds there a line continuing the Umayyad dynasty.
 762 A.D. Syria  
  The caliphal court moves away from Syria and Baghdad, ‘City of Peace', is founded by the Abbasid Caliph al-Mansur, designed as a perfect circle.
 772 A.D. Syria  
  Caliph al-Mansur builds a garrison city on the Euphrates next to al-Raqqa, called al-Rafiqa, comissioning his son, al-Mahdi, with its construction. The shape of the city is inspired by the circular plan of Baghdad.
 796 - 808 A.D. Syria  
  Al-Mahdi's son, Abbasid Caliph Harun al-Rashid, the protagonist of many tales in the ‘1001 nights’, moves his court to al-Raqqa, which becomes the ‘Abbasid capital for the next 12 years.
 836 A.D. Syria  
  The architectural features of a new capital founded in Samarra have a strong impact on the decorative repertoire all across the Islamic empire and particularly in Egypt and Syria, as seen in Kharab al-Sayyar and al-Raqqa.
 878 A.D. Syria  
  Ahmad Ibn Tulun, the Abbasid-appointed governor of Egypt, grows more independent and takes over Syria.
 935 - 969 A.D. Syria  
  The Ikhshidid dynasty, based in Egypt, extends its rule to Damascus. The Abbasid empire begins to fragment.
 947 - 967 A.D. Syria  
  Sayf al-Dawla al-Hamdani rules Aleppo as an independent Hamdanid emirate. His court poets, Abu Firas and al-Mutannabi, glorify his many raids on the Byzantine frontier.
 969 - 1076 A.D. Syria  
  The Fatimids of Cairo take control of Damascus, causing great turbulence. The Byzantines control northwestern Syria (999–1001). Thus Syria is pressured by expansionists on both sides.
 1023 - 1079 A.D. Syria  
  The Mirdasid dynasty takes control of Aleppo amidst numerous rivalling emirates, thanks to its skilful diplomacy, particularly with the court of Badr al-Din Lu’lu’ in Mosul.
 1055 A.D. Syria  
  The Seljuqs take Baghdad and northern Syria. The beginning of the Seljuq sultanate and the revival of Islamic military and urban development along Sunni doctrines.
 1058 A.D. Syria  
  Abu al-Alaa al-Ma'arri, blind Syrian poet, dies. His most famous literary work, Risalat al-Ghufran (Letter of Forgiveness), inspires Dante Alighieri’s Divine Comedy three centuries later.
 1095 A.D. Syria  
  Al-Ghazali, la principal figura religiosa del siglo XI, reside en Damasco. Sus obras representan un renacimiento de las ciencias religiosas.
 1098 A.D. Syria  
  The Crusaders take Antioch in June after a nine-month siege, founding the first Crusader state in the Levant.
 1119 A.D. Syria  
  Battle of Sarmada, between the Crusader Principality of Antioch and the Artuqid Atabeg ruler of Aleppo, witnessing the success of the local Muslim forces even without assistance from the Seljuq sultanate.
 1128 - 1146 A.D. Syria  
  Atabeg ‘Imad Zangi rules Aleppo, uniting it with Mosul and strengthening the northern frontier against the Crusaders.
 1148 A.D. Syria  
  The second Crusade arrives in Syria, led by Louis VII of France and Conrad III of Germany, besieging Damascus for four days, but failing to conquer it.
 1154 A.D. Syria  
  Nur al-Din, son of Zangi, takes control of Damascus and establishes it as a capital city. It becomes the new cultural, economic, religious, political and educational hub of the Islamic world at large, attracting many scholars.
 1174 A.D. Syria  
  At Nur al-Din's death, his powerful lieutenant Salah al-Din (Saladin) defeats other claimants to the throne, marries Nur al-Din’s wife and is recognised as sultan, becoming founder of the Ayyubid Dynasty.
 1187 A.D. Syria  
  Battle of Hattin in which Salah al-Din defeats the Crusader army and liberates Jerusalem.
 1206 A.D. Syria  
  Badi' al-Zaman al-Jazari (from al-Jazira) is commissioned by the Atabeg Artuqid court to write his brilliant illustrated manuscript on mechanical engineering, a milestone in technology history.
 1230 - 1240 A.D. Syria  
  One of the greatest Sufis of Islam, Ibn al-Arabi (b. 1156), travels all around the Muslim lands and finally settles in Damascus where, under Ayyubid patronage, he composes many works.
 1259 - 1260 A.D. Syria  
  After devastating Baghdad, the Mongols, led by Hulegu, invade Syria and put an end to the Ayyubid dynasty. The Mongols lose Syria when they are defeated by the Mamluks in Ain Jalut.
 1271 A.D. Syria  
  Crac des Chevaliers, a critical Crusader stronghold in the Syrian coastal mountains, falls to the Mamluk Sultan al-Zahir Baybars (r. 1260–77).
 1302 A.D. Syria  
  Arwad Island is the last Crusader position in Syria to be repossessed by the Muslims.
 1305 - 1375 A.D. Syria  
  Damascene Ibn al-Shatir, a great Muslim astronomer, craftsman and instrument designer, composes important new planetary theories that predate Copernicus by two centuries.
 1348 A.D. Syria  
  The most devastating plague hits Damascus, handicapping the city and killing 2,000 people a day, as recorded in the chronicles of the Moroccan voyager Ibn Battuta.
 1400 - 1401 A.D. Syria  
  Last Mongol invasion of Damascus, by Timur i-Lang (Tamerlane).
Ibn Khaldun, Tunisian historian in Damascus at the time, pleads with Tamerlane on behalf of the city, but the Citadel is breached and the city sacked.
 1404 A.D. Syria  
  Mongol troops return to Central Asia after sending the scholars and artisans of Damascus to Samarqand and massacring the rest of the population. Mamluk leadership is weakly restored. Internal dissent and militias are rife.
 1477 A.D. Syria  
  The Mamluk Sultan Qaytbay goes on an inspection tour of the Syrian provinces and strengthens urban development as Syria is contested by the rising power of the Ottomans in Turkey.
 1482 - 1546 A.D. Syria  
  Prolific historiographical and encyclopaedic writing in the Mamluk period. Three authors focused on urban topography of Damascus are Ibn ‘Abd al-Hadi (d. 1503), al-Nu’aymi (d.1520) and Ibn Tulun (d.1546).
 1491 - 1520 A.D. Syria  
  Cultural and economic exchange between the Italian states and Mamluk Syria, exemplified by Andreas Alpagos, physician of the Venetian consulate in Damascus, who translates many Arabic manuscripts.
 1516 A.D. Syria  
  At the Battle of Marj Dabiq, north of Aleppo, the Ottoman Empire defeats the Mamluks and takes over Syria.
 1518 A.D. Syria  
  Sultan Selim I enters Damascus and builds a shrine over the tomb of Sufi Sheikh Ibn al-Arabi, with a mosque and a takiyya nearby, as the first Ottoman imperial buildings in Damascus.
 1554 - 1566 A.D. Syria  
  Sultan Sulayman the Magnificent commissions the huge takiyya in Damascus, a pious and imperial act meant to accommodate and impress pilgrims, under the supervision of famous court architect Sinan.
 1570 - 1590 A.D. Syria  
  The Ottoman Empire's military strength and imperial patronage of religious and commercial buildings, especially in Damascus, by Lala Mustafa Pasha (1570), Darwish Pasha (1574) and Sinan Pasha (1589).
 1603 - 1610 A.D. Syria  
  Fakhr al-Din al-Ma’ni II, a tribal ruler of Mount Lebanon and Western Syria, gains autonomy and attempts to by-pass Ottoman authority by signing a treaty with the Italian Tuscans.
 1670 A.D. Syria  
  The Damascene theologian ‘Abd al-Ghani al-Nabulsi, from Sufi order called al-Naqshabandiyya, influenced by Ibn al-Arabi, writes many works on religion and mystical philosophy.
 1725 - 1820 A.D. Syria  
  The rule of the Azem family, lasting nearly a century, indicates the rise of local urban notables into the leadership of Syria as Ottoman strength in the Arab provinces begins to weaken.
 1742 - 1757 A.D. Syria  
  The powerful As‘ad Pasha al-‘Azm governs Damascus and comes down heavily on the local janissaries who were rising in power. He builds the ‘Azm palaces in Hama and in Damascus, as well as his famous caravanserai.
 1801 A.D. Syria  
  Napoleon Bonaparte’s forces enter Syria. Era of Westernisation begins, which later leads to the collapse of local craftsmanship and local economics in the face of Western industrialism.
 1832 - 1840 A.D. Syria  
  Ibrahim Pasha administers Syria on behalf of his father Muhammad Ali Pasha (in Cairo) following the process of Westernisation.
 1839 - 1908 A.D. Syria  
  Tanzimat (reformation) period: local Syrian governors are removed from their positions as the Ottoman Empire enforces tighter administration in its efforts towards Westernization.
 1893 A.D. Syria  
  Major fire in Umayyad Mosque of Damascus, addressed by a major renovation endeavour by the Ottoman Empire. Thus the current hall is a late-Ottoman renovation with strong Western stylistic influences.
 1895 A.D. Syria  
  Damascus–Beirut railway (and Damascus–Hijaz railway in 1908) built by German workers reflecting economic and industrial ties between the Ottoman Empire and Germany. The German Emperor William II visits Damascus on November 1898.
 1916 A.D. Syria  
  Arab nationalists are executed in May by Ottoman governor Jamal Pasha in Marjeh Square, Damascus.
Sykes-Picot Treaty signed by the French and British imperial forces, dividing the Arab lands.
 1918 - 1920 A.D. Syria  
  King Faisal enters Damascus, celebrating the first Arab government.
The French army occupies the Syrian coast (1919).
King Faisal is expelled by the French, after which he becomes king of Iraq.
 1920 A.D. Syria  
  Battle of Maysalun, on the outskirts of Damascus, between the Syrians and the French. Yusuf Al-Azmeh, leader of the Syrian army, is killed in battle and considered a nationalist hero. Beginning of the French Mandate.