Damascus

An important military outpost in Roman times, the city of Damascus was fortified then with a rectangular-shaped wall, parts of which still survive. In the early seventh century, the city was conquered by the Arabs and embraced Islam.

The city has always been an important trading post, particularly in the Middle Ages when merchants from Genoa and Venice bought its famous silks, leather, and gold and silver filigree work.

The capital of Syria, Damascus, stands in the oasis of Ghouta, on the fringe of the Syrian Desert, and is divided by the Barada River. The ancient city and bazaar lie on the south bank, and the modern suburbs extend along the opposite bank.

Damascus is the largest city in Syria (population 1,711,000) and the chief administrative, financial and communications centre. It is served by a railway, highways and an international airport. Its position, commanding the Barada River and the desert trade routes, has long made it an important commercial centre. In former times, it was renowned for its textiles, particularly silk (damask), and the manufacture of damascened swords (inlaid with precious metals). Nowadays, there is little industry, and the city is chiefly known for the figs, almonds and fruit which are produced in the surrounding fertile plain.

The rectangular ancient city on the south bank of the river consists of a maze of narrow, crooked streets. The exception is the 'street which is called Straight', where St Paul lived (Acts 9:11); it was on the road to Damascus that the apostle experienced his conversion to Christianity. In general, the houses present blank faces to the world, preserving their often splendid interiors for their occupants. Of more than 200 mosques, the most famous is the Umayyid Mosque (Great Mosque), which was built in the eighth century on the foundations of the church of St John, revered as the shrine of the head of John the Baptist. Only about 70 of the mosques are still in use, but they include the Sinaniyeh and the Tekkiyeh, founded in 1516 as a refuge for pilgrims.

Damascus is one of the great gathering places on the Hajj route, the annual Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca.

Damascus is reputedly the world's oldest inhabited city. In the fifteenth century BC, according to Egyptian inscriptions, it was a city state. It was conquered by the Assyrians in about 723 BC, by the Persians under Cyrus the Great and, in 332, by Alexander the Great. After the death of Alexander, Damascus became part of the Seleucid kingdom. The city fell to Pompey in 64 BC and was incorporated into the Roman Empire.

Early converted to Christianity (first century AD), Damascus was the seat of a bishopric under the Romans and the Byzantines. It fell to the Arabs in 635, embraced Islam and was, before the founding of Baghdad, the seat of the Umayyid caliphate. After passing through the hands of the Seljuk Turks (1076) and the Egyptians (1154), it became the headquarters of Saladin, the Saracen sultan of Egypt and Syria in the time of the Third Crusade (1189-92). In 1401, the city was sacked and burned by the Mongols under Tamerlane.

Damascus was rebuilt and, in 1516, was taken from Egypt by the Ottoman Turks, remaining a part of the Ottoman Empire until it fell to the khedive ofEgypt, Ibrahim Pasha, in 1832. In 1841, along with Syria, it was returned to the Ottoman Empire. During World War I, Damascus was taken by the combined forces of Field-Marshal Lord Allenby and Faisal (later Faisal I of Iraq), the Arab leader befriended by Lawrence of Arabia. It was occupied by the French in 1920 under a League of Nations mandate.

The French were driven out twice during the Druze Revolt of 1925-27, but, on both occasions, they reconquered the city after heavy bombardment, causing much damage and loss of life.

The centre of a pro-German Vichy French government in World War II, Damascus was captured by the Allies in 1941 and became the capital of independent Syria.