Western Asia · SYR

Syria

The story · 11 chapters

How it was drawn

A land of ancient cities at the crossroads of empires, and capital of the Umayyads. Its borders were drawn by France and Britain after 1918.

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Through the ages

Rivals in history

The kingdoms, empires and states Syria fought or stood against, from the first to today.

Akkadian Empire2300 BC to 2250 BC
Sargon of Akkad and his grandson Naram-Sin campaign up the Euphrates and boast of conquering Ebla and Mari. Ebla's great palace burns in this period, though historians still debate who destroyed it.
Egypt1479 BC to 1259 BC
New Kingdom pharaohs campaign in Syria for two centuries. Thutmose III crosses the Euphrates, and Ramesses II fights the Hittites at Kadesh in 1274 BC. A treaty around 1259 BC leaves the north to the Hittites and the south to Egypt.
Hittite Empire1350 BC to 1180 BC
Suppiluliuma I breaks the power of the Mitanni around 1350 BC and makes northern Syria a Hittite domain, ruled through viceroys at Carchemish and Aleppo, until the empire collapses around 1180 BC.
Neo-Assyrian Empire853 BC to 732 BC
Assyria pushes west into Syria. At Qarqar in 853 BC Shalmaneser III faces a coalition led by Hadadezer of Damascus. A century later Tiglath-pileser III takes Damascus, in 732 BC, and turns Syria into Assyrian provinces.
Ptolemaic Kingdom274 BC to 200 BC
The Seleucids of Syria and the Ptolemies of Egypt fight a series of wars over the southern Levant. Ptolemy IV wins at Raphia in 217 BC, but Antiochus III triumphs at Panium in 200 BC and takes the whole region.
Sasanian Empire253 to 628
Persian kings repeatedly invade Roman Syria. Shapur I sacks Antioch in the 250s, Khosrow I sacks it again in 540, and Khosrow II occupies all of Syria from 613 until Heraclius forces Persia to make peace in 628.
Byzantine Empire634 to 1084
Arab armies take Damascus in 634 to 635 and crush the Byzantines at the Yarmuk in 636. Byzantium strikes back in the tenth century, sacking Aleppo in 962 and retaking Antioch in 969, which it holds until the Seljuks take it in 1084.
Crusader states1098 to 1302
The First Crusade takes Antioch in 1098 and founds crusader states along the coast. Nur al-Din and Saladin push them back, and the Mamluks take their last strongholds, from Krak des Chevaliers in 1271 to Tartus in 1291 and the island of Arwad in 1302.
Mongols1260 to 1303
Hulagu's Mongols take Aleppo and Damascus in 1260 but are beaten by the Mamluks at Ain Jalut that year. The Ilkhans invade again several times, briefly holding Damascus in 1300, until their defeat at Marj al-Saffar in 1303.
Timurid Empire1400 to 1401
Timur invades Mamluk Syria, sacks Aleppo in 1400 and takes Damascus in 1401, burning much of the city and carrying off its craftsmen to Samarkand.
Ottoman Empire1516 to 1918
Selim I defeats the Mamluks at Marj Dabiq near Aleppo in 1516, opening four centuries of Ottoman rule. It ends when Arab and British forces enter Damascus in October 1918, during the Arab Revolt.
France1920 to 1946
French troops defeat the Syrian army at Maysalun in July 1920 and end Faisal's kingdom. France crushes the Great Syrian Revolt of 1925 to 1927, bombarding Damascus, and shells the city again in May 1945 before leaving in 1946.
TürkiyeSince 1939Still open
Turkey annexes the Sanjak of Alexandretta, now Hatay, in 1939. In the civil war it backs rebel groups and from 2016 sends troops into northern Syria against the Islamic State group and Kurdish forces, keeping a zone there.
IsraelSince 1948Still open
Syria fights Israel in 1948, 1967 and 1973 and loses the Golan Heights in 1967. Israel applies its law there in 1981. The two states have never signed peace, and after Assad falls in December 2024 Israeli troops move into the UN buffer zone.

Today

Syria now

After World War I, France acquired a mandate over the northern portion of the former Ottoman Empire province of Syria. The French administered the area until granting it independence in 1946. The new country lacked political stability and experienced a series of military coups. Syria united with Egypt in 1958 to form the United Arab Republic. In 1961, the two entities separated, and the Syrian Arab Republic was reestablished. In the 1967 Arab-Israeli War, Syria lost control of the Golan Heights region to Israel.

Capital: Damascus
Government: transitional presidential republic
Head of state: Ahmed al-Sharaa
Languages: Arabic
Area: 185,180 km²

Through time

Then and now

Population23.6 million2023 · 3.6 million in 1950
Life expectancy72.1 years2023 · 42.5 years in 1950
GDP per person$2,4942022 · $3,838 in 1950
Living in cities72%2025 · 35% in 1950
Literacy94%2021 · 28% in 1950
Political regimeClosed autocracy2025 · Electoral autocracy in 1950
Military alliancesNone of these2024 · None of these in 1950
Military spending4.1% of GDP2010
War deaths13 per 100,0002025

Population: HYDE 3.3, Gapminder and UN WPP. GDP per capita: Maddison Project Database 2023. Urban share: UN WPP. Life expectancy: Riley, HMD, UN WPP. Literacy: OWID historical estimates, World Bank, UNESCO. Military spending: SIPRI. War deaths: UCDP. Political regime: V-Dem, Regimes of the World. All via Our World in Data (CC BY 4.0). Alliances and organization memberships: compiled by Atlas. Satellites in orbit: CelesTrak SATCAT. Modern borders, backcast.

Relations

Close partners and tensions

Close partners

Russian Federation
Iran, Islamic Rep.
Lebanon

Tensions

United States
Israel

Summarised from World Bank and Wikipedia data, updated 24 October 2026.

Rivals in history

The kingdoms, empires and states Syria fought or stood against, from the first to today.

Akkadian Empire2300 BC to 2250 BC

Sargon of Akkad and his grandson Naram-Sin campaign up the Euphrates and boast of conquering Ebla and Mari. Ebla's great palace burns in this period, though historians still debate who destroyed it.

Egypt1479 BC to 1259 BC

New Kingdom pharaohs campaign in Syria for two centuries. Thutmose III crosses the Euphrates, and Ramesses II fights the Hittites at Kadesh in 1274 BC. A treaty around 1259 BC leaves the north to the Hittites and the south to Egypt.

Hittite Empire1350 BC to 1180 BC

Suppiluliuma I breaks the power of the Mitanni around 1350 BC and makes northern Syria a Hittite domain, ruled through viceroys at Carchemish and Aleppo, until the empire collapses around 1180 BC.

Neo-Assyrian Empire853 BC to 732 BC

Assyria pushes west into Syria. At Qarqar in 853 BC Shalmaneser III faces a coalition led by Hadadezer of Damascus. A century later Tiglath-pileser III takes Damascus, in 732 BC, and turns Syria into Assyrian provinces.

Ptolemaic Kingdom274 BC to 200 BC

The Seleucids of Syria and the Ptolemies of Egypt fight a series of wars over the southern Levant. Ptolemy IV wins at Raphia in 217 BC, but Antiochus III triumphs at Panium in 200 BC and takes the whole region.

Sasanian Empire253 to 628

Persian kings repeatedly invade Roman Syria. Shapur I sacks Antioch in the 250s, Khosrow I sacks it again in 540, and Khosrow II occupies all of Syria from 613 until Heraclius forces Persia to make peace in 628.

Byzantine Empire634 to 1084

Arab armies take Damascus in 634 to 635 and crush the Byzantines at the Yarmuk in 636. Byzantium strikes back in the tenth century, sacking Aleppo in 962 and retaking Antioch in 969, which it holds until the Seljuks take it in 1084.

Crusader states1098 to 1302

The First Crusade takes Antioch in 1098 and founds crusader states along the coast. Nur al-Din and Saladin push them back, and the Mamluks take their last strongholds, from Krak des Chevaliers in 1271 to Tartus in 1291 and the island of Arwad in 1302.

Mongols1260 to 1303

Hulagu's Mongols take Aleppo and Damascus in 1260 but are beaten by the Mamluks at Ain Jalut that year. The Ilkhans invade again several times, briefly holding Damascus in 1300, until their defeat at Marj al-Saffar in 1303.

Timurid Empire1400 to 1401

Timur invades Mamluk Syria, sacks Aleppo in 1400 and takes Damascus in 1401, burning much of the city and carrying off its craftsmen to Samarkand.

Ottoman Empire1516 to 1918

Selim I defeats the Mamluks at Marj Dabiq near Aleppo in 1516, opening four centuries of Ottoman rule. It ends when Arab and British forces enter Damascus in October 1918, during the Arab Revolt.

France1920 to 1946

French troops defeat the Syrian army at Maysalun in July 1920 and end Faisal's kingdom. France crushes the Great Syrian Revolt of 1925 to 1927, bombarding Damascus, and shells the city again in May 1945 before leaving in 1946.

TürkiyeSince 1939Still open

Turkey annexes the Sanjak of Alexandretta, now Hatay, in 1939. In the civil war it backs rebel groups and from 2016 sends troops into northern Syria against the Islamic State group and Kurdish forces, keeping a zone there.

IsraelSince 1948Still open

Syria fights Israel in 1948, 1967 and 1973 and loses the Golan Heights in 1967. Israel applies its law there in 1981. The two states have never signed peace, and after Assad falls in December 2024 Israeli troops move into the UN buffer zone.

Syria now

Capital

Damascus

Government

transitional presidential republic

Head of state

Ahmed al-Sharaa

Languages

Arabic

Area

185,180 km²

Then and now

Population23.6 million2023 · 3.6 million in 1950

Life expectancy72.1 years2023 · 42.5 years in 1950

GDP per person$2,4942022 · $3,838 in 1950

Living in cities72%2025 · 35% in 1950

Literacy94%2021 · 28% in 1950

Political regimeClosed autocracy2025 · Electoral autocracy in 1950

Military alliancesNone of these2024 · None of these in 1950

Military spending4.1% of GDP2010

War deaths13 per 100,0002025