Editing Damascus (section)

==History==
{{For timeline}}

===Early settlement===
[[Carbon-14]] dating at [[Tell Ramad]], on the outskirts of Damascus, suggests that the site may have been occupied since the second half of the seventh millennium BC, possibly around 6300 BC.<ref>Moore, A.M.T. ''The Neolithic of the Levant''. Oxford, UK: Oxford University, 1978. 192–198. Print.</ref> However, evidence of settlement in the wider Barada basin dating back to 9000 BC exists, although no large-scale settlement was present within Damascus' walls until the second millennium BC.<ref name="Burns2">{{Harvnb|Burns|2005|p=2}}</ref>

===Late Bronze===
Some of the earliest [[Ancient Egypt|Egyptian]] records are from 1350 BC [[Amarna letters]] when Damascus (called ''Dimasqu'') was ruled by king [[Biryawaza]]. The Damascus region, as well as the rest of Syria, became a battleground circa 1260 BC, between the [[Hittites]] from the north and the [[Ancient Egyptians|Egyptians]] from the south,<ref name="Burns5">{{Harvnb|Burns|2005|pp=5–6}}</ref> ending with a signed treaty between [[Hattusili III]] and [[Ramesses II]] where the former handed over control of the Damascus area to Ramesses II in 1259 BC.<ref name="Burns5" /> The arrival of the [[Sea Peoples]], around 1200 BC, marked the end of the [[Bronze Age]] in the region and brought about new development of warfare.<ref name="Burns7">{{Harvnb|Burns|2005|p=7}}</ref> Damascus was only a peripheral part of this picture, which mostly affected the larger population centers of ancient Syria. However, these events contributed to the development of Damascus as a new influential center that emerged with the transition from the Bronze Age to the [[Iron Age]].<ref name="Burns7" />

Damascus is mentioned in [[Book of Genesis|Genesis]] 14:15 as existing at the time of the [[Chedorlaomer|War of the Kings]].<ref>{{Cite book|url=http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis%2014:15&version=NIV|title=Genesis 14:15 (New International Version)|publisher=Bible Gateway|access-date=25 November 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100807050209/http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis%2014:15&version=NIV|archive-date=7 August 2010|url-status=live}}</ref> According to the 1st-century Jewish historian [[Flavius Josephus]] in his twenty-one volume ''[[Antiquities of the Jews]]'', Damascus (along with [[Trachonitis]]), was founded by [[Uz (son of Aram)|Uz]], the son of [[Aram, son of Shem|Aram]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.gutenberg.org/files/2848/2848-h/2848-h.htm#link2HCH0006 |title=The Antiquities of the Jews, by Flavius Josephus, Book 1, Ch. 6, Sect. 4 |publisher=Project Gutenberg |access-date=19 September 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150613020910/http://www.gutenberg.org/files/2848/2848-h/2848-h.htm#link2HCH0006 |archive-date=13 June 2015 |url-status=live }}</ref> In Antiquities i. 7,<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.gutenberg.org/files/2848/2848-h/2848-h.htm#link2HCH0007 |title=The Antiquities of the Jews, by Flavius Josephus, Book 1, Ch. 7, Sect. 2 |publisher=Project Gutenberg |access-date=19 September 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150613020910/http://www.gutenberg.org/files/2848/2848-h/2848-h.htm#link2HCH0007 |archive-date=13 June 2015 |url-status=live }}</ref> Josephus reports:

{{blockquote|[[Nicolaus of Damascus]], in the fourth book of his History, says thus: "[[Abraham]] reigned at Damascus, being a foreigner, who came with an army out of the land above [[Babylon]], called the land of the Chaldeans: but, after a long time, he got him up, and removed from that country also, with his people, and went into the land then called the land of [[Canaan]], but now the land of Judea, and this when his posterity became a multitude; as to which posterity of his, we relate their history in another work. Now the name of Abraham is even still famous in the country of Damascus; and there is a village named after him, The Habitation of Abraham.}}

===Aram-Damascus===
{{Main|Aram-Damascus}}
[[File:ISS036-E-012047.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|Annotated view of Damascus and surroundings from space.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=81629|title=Damascus, Syria : Image of the Day|website=nasa.gov|access-date=5 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150511121729/http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=81629|archive-date=11 May 2015|url-status=live|date=15 July 2013}}</ref>]]
Damascus is first documented as an important city during the arrival of the [[Aramaeans]], a [[Semitic people]], in the 11th century BC. By the start of the first millennium BC, several Aramaic kingdoms were formed, as Aramaeans abandoned their nomadic lifestyle and formed federated tribal states. One of these kingdoms was [[Aram-Damascus]], centered on its capital Damascus.<ref name="Burns9">{{Harvnb|Burns|2005|p=9}}</ref> The Aramaeans who entered the city without battle, adopted the name "Dimashqu" for their new home. Noticing the agricultural potential of the still-undeveloped and sparsely populated area,<ref name="Burns10">{{Harvnb|Burns|2005|p=10}}</ref> they established the water distribution system of Damascus by constructing canals and tunnels which maximized the efficiency of the river Barada. The Romans and the Umayyads later improved the same network, and still forms the basis of the water system of the old part of the city today.<ref name="Burns13">{{Harvnb|Burns|2005|pp=13–14}}</ref> The Aramaeans initially turned Damascus into an outpost of a loose federation of Aramaean tribes, known as [[Zobah|Aram-Zobah]], based in the [[Beqaa Valley]].<ref name="Burns10" />

The city would gain pre-eminence in southern Syria when [[Rezon the Syrian|Ezron]], the claimant to Aram-Zobah's throne who was denied kingship of the federation, fled Beqaa and captured Damascus by force in 965 BC. Ezron overthrew the city's tribal governor and founded the independent entity of Aram-Damascus. As this new state expanded south, it prevented the [[Kingdom of Israel (united monarchy)|Kingdom of Israel]] from spreading north and the two kingdoms soon clashed as they both sought to dominate trading hegemony in the east.<ref name="Burns10" /> Under Ezron's grandson, [[Ben-Hadad I]] (880–841 BC), and his successor [[Hazael]], Damascus annexed [[Bashan]] (modern-day [[Hauran]] region), and went on the offensive with Israel. This conflict continued until the early 8th century BC when [[Ben-Hadad II]] was captured by Israel after unsuccessfully besieging [[Sebastia, Nablus|Samaria]]. As a result, he granted Israel trading rights in Damascus.<ref name="Burns11">{{Harvnb|Burns|2005|p=11}}</ref>

Another possible reason for the treaty between Aram-Damascus and Israel was the common threat of the [[Neo-Assyrian Empire]] which was attempting to expand into the Mediterranean coast. In 853 BC, King [[Hadadezer]] of Damascus led a [[Levant]]ine coalition, that included forces from the northern Aram-Hamath kingdom and troops supplied by [[King Ahab]] of Israel, in the [[Battle of Qarqar]] against the Neo-Assyrian army. Aram-Damascus came out victorious, temporarily preventing the Assyrians from encroaching into Syria. However, after Hadadzezer was killed by his successor, Hazael, the Levantine alliance collapsed. Aram-Damascus attempted to invade Israel but was interrupted by the renewed Assyrian invasion. Hazael ordered a retreat to the walled part of Damascus while the Assyrians plundered the remainder of the kingdom. Unable to enter the city, they declared their supremacy in the Hauran and Beqa'a valleys.<ref name="Burns11" />

By the 8th century BC, Damascus was practically engulfed by the Assyrians and entered a Dark Age. Nonetheless, it remained the economic and cultural center of the Near East as well as the Arameaen resistance. In 727, a revolt took place in the city but was put down by Assyrian forces. After Assyria led by [[Tiglath-Pileser III]] went on a wide-scale campaign of quelling revolts throughout Syria, Damascus became subjugated by their rule. A positive effect of this was stability for the city and benefits from the spice and incense trade with [[Arabia]]. In 694 BC, the town was called ''Šaʾimerišu'' (Akkadian: 𒐼𒄿𒈨𒊑𒋙𒌋) and its governor was named ''Ilu-issīya''.<ref>{{cite web| url = https://ccp.yale.edu/P237772?line=P237772.58&frag=P237772.54#P237772.54| title = Yale ORACC| access-date = 26 August 2020| archive-date = 2 December 2020| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20201202124225/https://ccp.yale.edu/P237772?line=P237772.58&frag=P237772.54#P237772.54| url-status = live}}</ref> However, Assyrian authority was dwindling by 609–605 BC, and Syria-Palestine was falling into the orbit of Pharaoh [[Necho II]]'s Egypt. In 572 BC, all of Syria had been conquered by [[Nebuchadnezzar II]] of the [[Neo-Babylonian]]s, but the status of Damascus under [[Babylon]] is relatively unknown.<ref name="Burns2123">{{Harvnb|Burns|2005|pp=21–23}}</ref>

===Hellenistic period===
Damascus was conquered by [[Alexander the Great]]. After the death of Alexander in 323 BC, Damascus became the site of a struggle between the [[Seleucid Empire|Seleucid]] and [[Ptolemaic dynasty|Ptolemaic]] empires. The control of the city passed frequently from one empire to the other. [[Seleucus I Nicator]], one of Alexander's generals, made [[Antioch]] the capital of his vast empire, which led to the decline of Damascus' importance compared with new Seleucid cities such as [[Latakia|Syrian Laodicea]] in the north. Later, [[Demetrius III Eucaerus|Demetrius III]] Philopator rebuilt the city according to the Greek [[hippodamian]] system and renamed it "Demetrias".<ref>Cohen raises doubts about this claim in {{Citation | author1=Cohen, Getzel M | author2=EBSCOhost | title=The Hellenistic settlements in Syria, the Red Sea Basin, and North Africa | date=2006 | publisher=University of California Press | url=http://trove.nla.gov.au/work/32915052 | access-date=26 May 2014 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140527214426/http://trove.nla.gov.au/work/32915052 | archive-date=27 May 2014 | url-status=live }} page 137 note 4 – suggesting the ''received tradition'' of the renaming rests on a few writers following Mionnets writings in 1811</ref>

=== Roman period ===
[[File:The Jupiter temple in Damascus.jpg|thumb|Ruins of the [[Temple of Jupiter, Damascus|Jupiter Temple]] at the entrance of [[Al-Hamidiyah Souq]]]]In 64 BC, the [[Ancient Rome|Roman]] general [[Pompey]] annexed the western part of Syria. The Romans occupied Damascus and subsequently incorporated it into the league of ten cities known as the [[Decapolis]]<ref>{{cite book|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=qQKIAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA181|title= Rome in the East: The Transformation of an Empire|author= Warwick Ball|page= 181|year= 2002|publisher= Routledge|isbn= 9781134823871|access-date= 15 August 2016|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20161124091527/https://books.google.com/books?id=qQKIAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA181|archive-date= 24 November 2016|url-status= live}}</ref> which themselves were incorporated into the province of Syria and granted autonomy.<ref>Skolnik, Fred; Michael Berenbaum ( 2007) ''Encyclopaedia Judaica'' Volume 5 Granite Hill Publishers pg 527</ref>

The city of Damascus was entirely redesigned by the Romans after [[Pompey]] conquered the region. Still today the Old Town of Damascus retains the rectangular shape of the Roman city, with its two main axes: the Decumanus Maximus (east-west; known today as the ''Via Recta'') and the Cardo (north-south), the Decumanus being about twice as long. The Romans built a monumental gate which still survives at the eastern end of Decumanus Maximus. The gate originally had three arches: the central arch was for chariots while the side arches were for pedestrians.<ref name="romeartlover">romeartlover, [http://romeartlover.tripod.com/Damasco1.html "Damascus: the ancient town"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151008020818/http://romeartlover.tripod.com/Damasco1.html |date=8 October 2015 }}</ref>

[[File:Ancient City of Damascus-107623.jpg|thumb|upright=.8|Remnants of ancient Damascus]]
In 23 BC, [[Herod the Great]] was given lands controlled by [[Zenodorus son of Lysanias|Zenodorus]] by [[Augustus|Caesar Augustus]]<ref>Knoblet, Jerry (2005) ''Herod the Great'' University Press of America.</ref> and some scholars believe that Herod was also granted control of Damascus as well.<ref>Burns, Ross (2007) ''Damascus: A History'' Routledge pg 52</ref> The control of Damascus reverted to Syria either upon the death of Herod the Great or was part of the lands given to Herod Philip which were given to Syria with his death in 33/34 AD.

It is speculated that control of Damascus was gained by [[Aretas IV Philopatris]] of [[Nabataean kingdom|Nabatea]] between the death of [[Herod Philip II.|Herod Philip]] in 33/34 AD and the death of Aretas in 40 AD but there is substantial evidence against Aretas controlling the city before 37 AD and many reasons why it could not have been a gift from [[Caligula]] between 37 and 40 AD.<ref>Riesner, Rainer (1998) ''Paul's Early Period: Chronology, Mission Strategy, Theology'' Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing pg 73–89</ref><ref>Hengel, Martin (1997) ''Paul Between Damascus and Antioch: The Unknown Years'' Westminster John Knox Press pg 130</ref> In fact, all these theories stem not from any actual evidence outside the New Testament but rather "a certain understanding of 2 Corinthians 11:32" and in reality "neither from archaeological evidence, secular-historical sources, nor New Testament texts can Nabatean sovereignty over Damascus in the first century AD be proven."<ref>Riesner, Rainer (1998) ''Paul's Early Period: Chronology, Mission Strategy, Theology'' Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing pg 83–84, 89</ref> Roman emperor [[Trajan]] who annexed the Nabataean Kingdom, creating the province of [[Arabia Petraea]], had previously been in Damascus, as his father [[Marcus Ulpius Traianus (father of Trajan)|Marcus Ulpius Traianus]] served as governor of Syria from 73 to 74 AD, where he met the Nabatean architect and engineer, [[Apollodorus of Damascus]], who joined him in [[Rome]] when he was a [[consul]] in 91 AD, and later built several monuments during the 2nd century AD.{{sfn|Abdulkarim|2003|pp=35–37}}

Damascus became a metropolis by the beginning of the 2nd century and in 222 it was upgraded to a ''colonia'' by the Emperor [[Septimius Severus]]. During the ''[[Pax Romana]]'', Damascus and the Roman province of Syria in general began to prosper. Damascus's importance as a [[caravan city]] was evident with the trade routes from southern [[Arabian Peninsula|Arabia]], [[Palmyra]], [[Petra]], and [[the Silk Road]] all converging on it. The city satisfied the Roman demands for eastern luxuries. Circa 125 AD the Roman emperor [[Hadrian]] promoted the city of Damascus to "Metropolis of [[Coele-Syria]]".<ref>{{cite book|last=Butcher|first=Kevin|title=Coinage in Roman Syria: Northern Syria, 64 BC-AD 253|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9FlmAAAAMAAJ|year=2004|publisher=Royal Numismatic Society|isbn=978-0-901405-58-6|page=220|access-date=10 July 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161124092353/https://books.google.com/books?id=9FlmAAAAMAAJ|archive-date=24 November 2016|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Barclay Vincent Head|title=Historia Numorum: A Manual of Greek Numismatics|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_oFBAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA662|year=1887|page=662|chapter=VII. Coele-Syria|access-date=10 July 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161124151745/https://books.google.com/books?id=_oFBAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA662|archive-date=24 November 2016|url-status=live}}</ref>

Little remains of the architecture of the Romans, but the town planning of the old city did have a lasting effect. The Roman architects brought together the Greek and Aramaean foundations of the city and fused them into a new layout measuring approximately {{convert|1500|by|750|m|ft|sp=us|abbr=on}}, surrounded by a city wall. The city wall contained seven gates, but only the eastern gate, [[Bab Sharqi]], remains from the Roman period. Roman Damascus lies mostly at depths of up to {{convert|5|m|ft|abbr=off|sp=us|spell=in}} below the modern city.

[[File:Bab Sharqi Street, Damascus.jpg|left|thumb|The Biblical [[Street called Straight]] of Damascus]]The old borough of [[Bab Tuma]] was developed at the end of the Roman/Byzantine era by the local [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Eastern Orthodox]] community. According to the [[Acts of the Apostles]], Saint Paul and [[Thomas the Apostle|Saint Thomas]] both lived in that neighborhood. Roman Catholic historians also consider Bab Tuma to be the birthplace of several [[Popes]] such as [[Pope John V|John V]] and [[Pope Gregory III|Gregory III]]. Accordingly, there was a community of [[Jewish Christians]] who converted to Christianity with the advent of Saint Paul's proselytization.

During the [[Byzantine–Sasanian War of 602–628]], the city was besieged and captured by [[Shahrbaraz]] in 613, along with a large number of Byzantine troops as prisoners,{{sfn|Kaegi|2003|pp=75–77}} and was in Sasanian hands until near the end of the war.{{sfn|Crawford|2013|pp=42–43}}

===Rashidun period===
The [[Muhammad|Prophet Muhammad]]'s first indirect interaction with the people of Damascus was when he sent a letter, through his companion Shiya ibn Wahab, to [[Harith ibn Abi Shamir]], the king of Damascus. The letter stated: "Peace be upon him who follows true guidance. Be informed that my religion shall prevail everywhere. You should accept Islam, and whatever under your command shall remain yours."<ref>Safiur-Rahman Mubarakpuri, [https://books.google.com/books?id=-ppPqzawIrIC&pg=PA227 The Sealed Nectar] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160512192332/https://books.google.com/books?id=-ppPqzawIrIC&pg=PA227 |date=12 May 2016 }}, p. 227</ref><ref name="history">Akbar Shāh Ḵẖān Najībābādī, [https://books.google.com/books?id=Pi5tAAAAMAAJ History of Islam, Volume 1] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150905215842/https://books.google.com/books?ei=L8VHVM-lPNT77Aaiw4CICw&id=Pi5tAAAAMAAJ&dq=kalbi |date=5 September 2015 }}, p. 194. Quote: "Again, the Holy Prophet "P sent Dihyah bin Khalifa Kalbi to the Byzantine king Heraclius, Hatib bin Abi Baltaeh to the king of Egypt and Alexandria; Allabn Al-Hazermi to Munzer bin Sawa the king of Bahrain; Amer bin Aas to the king of Oman. Salit bin Amri to Hozah bin Ali— the king of Yamama; Shiya bin Wahab to Haris bin Ghasanni to the king of Damascus"</ref>

[[File:Umayyad Mosque night.jpg|thumb|right|Courtyard of the [[Umayyad Mosque]]]]
After most of the Syrian countryside was conquered by the [[Rashidun Caliphate]] during the reign of Caliph [[Umar]] ({{Reign|634|644}}), Damascus itself was [[Siege of Damascus (634)|conquered]] by the [[Arab Muslims|Arab Muslim]] general [[Khalid ibn al-Walid]] in August–September 634 CE. His [[Rashidun army|army]] had previously attempted to capture the city in April 634 but without success.<ref name="Burns99">{{Harvnb|Burns|2005|pp=98–99}}</ref> With Damascus now in Muslim-Arab hands, the Byzantines, alarmed at the loss of their most prestigious city in the Near East, had decided to wrest back control of it. Under Emperor [[Heraclius]], the Byzantines fielded an army superior to that of the Rashidun in manpower. They advanced into southern Syria during the spring of 636 and consequently Khalid ibn al-Walid's forces withdrew from Damascus to prepare for renewed confrontation.<ref name="Burns100">{{Harvnb|Burns|2005|p=100}}</ref> In August, the two sides met along the [[Yarmouk River]] where they fought a [[Battle of Yarmouk|major battle]] which ended in a decisive Muslim victory, solidifying Muslim rule in Syria and Palestine.<ref name="Burns104">{{Harvnb|Burns|2005|pp=103–104}}</ref> While the Muslims administered the city, the population of Damascus remained mostly Christian—[[Eastern Orthodox]] and [[Monophysite]]—with a growing community of [[Muslims]] from [[Mecca]], [[Medina]], and the [[Syrian Desert]].<ref name="Burns105">{{Harvnb|Burns|2005|p=105}}</ref> The governor assigned to the city which had been chosen as the capital of [[Bilad al-Sham|Islamic Syria]] was [[Mu'awiya I]].

=== Umayyad and Abbasid periods ===
[[File:Umayyad Mosque, Damascus.jpg|thumb|left|View of Damascus with the Umayyad Mosque in center]]

Following the fourth Rashidun caliph [[Ali]]'s death in 661, Mu'awiya was chosen as the caliph of the expanding Islamic empire. Because of the vast amounts of assets his clan, the [[Umayyad]]s, owned in the city and because of its traditional economic and social links with the [[Hijaz]] as well as the [[Christian Arab]] tribes of the region, Mu'awiya established Damascus as the capital of the entire [[Caliphate]].<ref name="Burns107">{{Harvnb|Burns|2005|pp=106–107}}</ref> With the ascension of Caliph [[Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan|Abd al-Malik]] in 685, an Islamic coinage system was introduced and all of the surplus revenue of the Caliphate's provinces were forwarded to the treasury of Damascus. [[Arabic language|Arabic]] was also established as the official language, giving the Muslim minority of the city an advantage over the Aramaic-speaking Christians in administrative affairs.<ref name="Burns110">{{Harvnb|Burns|2005|p=110}}</ref>

[[Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan|Abd al-Malik]]'s successor, al-Walid initiated the construction of the [[Grand Mosque of Damascus]] (known as the Umayyad Mosque) in 706. The site originally had been the Christian Cathedral of St. John and the Muslims maintained the building's dedication to [[John the Baptist]].<ref name="Burns113">{{Harvnb|Burns|2005|p=113}}</ref> By 715, the mosque was complete. Al-Walid died that same year and he was succeeded at first by [[Suleiman ibn Abd al-Malik]] and then by [[Umar II]], who each ruled for brief periods before the reign of [[Hisham]] in 724. With these successions, the status of Damascus was gradually weakening as Suleiman had chosen [[Ramla]] as his residence and later Hisham chose [[Resafa]]. Following the murder of the latter in 743, the Caliphate of the Umayyads—which by then stretched from Spain to India— was crumbling as a result of widespread revolts. During the reign of [[Marwan II]] in 744, the capital of the empire was relocated to [[Harran]] in the northern [[Al Jazira, Mesopotamia|Jazira]] region.<ref name="Burns122">{{Harvnb|Burns|2005|pp=121–122}}</ref>

[[File:Umayyad Mosque-Dome of the Treasury211099.jpg|thumb|left|The [[Qubbat al-Khazna|dome of Damascus' treasury]] in the Umayyad Mosque]]

On 25 August 750, the [[Abbasid]]s, having already beaten the Umayyads in the [[Battle of the Zab]] in Iraq, conquered Damascus after facing little resistance. With the heralding of the Abbasid Caliphate, Damascus became eclipsed and subordinated by [[Baghdad]], the new Islamic capital. Within the first six months of Abbasid rule, revolts began erupting in the city, albeit too isolated and unfocused to present a viable threat. Nonetheless, the last of the prominent Umayyads were executed, the traditional officials of Damascus were ostracised, and army generals from the city were dismissed. Afterwards, the Umayyad family cemetery was desecrated and the city walls were torn down, reducing Damascus into a provincial town of little importance. It roughly disappeared from written records for the next century and the only significant improvement of the city was the Abbasid-built treasury dome in the Umayyad Mosque in 789. In 811, distant remnants of the Umayyad dynasty staged a strong uprising in Damascus that was eventually put down.<ref name="Burns132">{{Harvnb|Burns|2005|pp=130–132}}</ref>

On 24 November 847, a [[847 Damascus earthquake|multiple earthquake struck and destroyed Damascus]], causing the lives of 70,000 people in estimated deaths.

[[Ahmad ibn Tulun]], a dissenting Turkish wali appointed by the Abbasids, conquered Syria, including Damascus, from his overlords in 878–79. In an act of respect for the previous Umayyad rulers, he erected a shrine on the site of Mu'awiya's grave in the city. [[Tulunid]] rule of Damascus was brief, lasting only until 906 before being replaced by the [[Qarmatians]] who were adherents of [[Shia Islam]]. Due to their inability to control the vast amount of land they occupied, the Qarmatians withdrew from Damascus and a new dynasty, the [[Ikhshidid]]s, took control of the city. They maintained the independence of Damascus from the Arab [[Hamdanid]] dynasty of [[Aleppo]] 967. A period of instability in the city followed, with a Qarmatian raid in 968, a Byzantine raid in 970, and increasing pressures from the [[Fatimid]]s in the south and the Hamdanids in the north.<ref name="Burns135">{{Harvnb|Burns|2005|pp=135–136}}</ref>

[[File:Califate 750.jpg|thumb|Damascus was the capital of the Umayyad Caliphate, which extended from Western Europe to Southern Asia]]

The Shia Fatimids gained control in 970, inflaming hostilities between them and the Sunni Arabs of the city who frequently revolted. A Turk, [[Alptakin]] drove out the Fatimids five years later, and through diplomacy, prevented the Byzantines during the [[Syrian campaigns of John Tzimiskes]] from attempting to annex the city. However, by 977, the Fatimids under Caliph [[al-Aziz]], wrested back control of the city and tamed Sunni dissidents. The Arab geographer, [[al-Muqaddasi]], visited Damascus in 985, remarking that the architecture and infrastructure of the city were "magnificent", but living conditions were awful. Under al-Aziz, the city saw a brief period of stability that ended with the reign of [[Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah|al-Hakim]] (996–1021). In 998, hundreds of Damascus citizens were rounded up and executed by him for incitement. Three years after al-Hakim's mysterious disappearance, a rebellion was initiated in southern Syria against the Fatimids, but was stifled by the Fatimid Turkish governor of Syria and Palestine, [[Anushtakin al-Dizbari|Anushtakin al-Duzbari]], in 1029. This victory gave the latter mastery over Syria, displeasing his Fatimid overlords, but gaining the admiration of Damascus' citizens. He was exiled by Fatimid authorities to [[Aleppo]] where he died in 1041.<ref name="Burns138">{{Harvnb|Burns|2005|pp=137–138}}</ref> From that date to 1063, there are no known records of the city's history. By then, Damascus lacked a city administration, had an enfeebled economy, and a greatly reduced population.<ref name="Burns139">{{Harvnb|Burns|2005|p=139}}</ref>

===Seljuq and Ayyubid periods===

With the arrival of the [[Seljuq Turks]] in the late 11th century, Damascus again became the capital of independent states. It was ruled by [[Tutush I|Abu Sa'id Taj ad-Dawla Tutush I]] starting in 1079 and he was succeeded by his son [[Duqaq (Seljuk ruler of Damascus)|Abu Nasr Duqaq]] in 1095. The Seljuqs established a court in Damascus and a systematic reversal of Shia inroads in the city. The city also saw an expansion of religious life through private endowments financing religious institutions (''[[madrasa]]s'') and hospitals (''maristans''). Damascus soon became one of the most important centers of propagating Islamic thought in the Muslim world. After Duqaq died in 1104, his mentor (''[[atabeg]]''), [[Toghtekin]], took control of Damascus and the [[Burid Dynasty|Burid line]] of the Seljuq dynasty. Under Duqaq and Toghtekin, Damascus experienced stability, elevated status, and a revived role in commerce. In addition, the city's Sunni majority enjoyed being a part of the larger Sunni framework effectively governed by various Turkic dynasties who in turn were under the [[moral authority]] of the Baghdad-based Abbasids.<ref name="Burns142">{{Harvnb|Burns|2005|p=142}}</ref>

While the rulers of Damascus were preoccupied in conflict with their fellow Seljuqs in Aleppo and [[Diyarbakir]], the Crusaders, who arrived in the [[Levant]] in 1097, conquered [[Jerusalem]], [[Mount Lebanon]] and Palestine. Duqaq seemed to have been content with Crusader's rule as a buffer between his dominion and the Fatimid Caliphate of Egypt. Toghtekin, however, saw the Western invaders as a viable threat to Damascus which, at the time, nominally included [[Homs]], the Beqaa Valley, Hauran, and the Golan Heights as part of its territories. With military support from Sharaf al-Din [[Mawdud]] of [[Mosul]], Toghtekin managed to halt Crusader raids in the Golan and Hauran. Mawdud was assassinated in the Umayyad Mosque in 1109, depriving Damascus of northern Muslim backing and forcing Toghtekin to agree to a truce with the Crusaders in 1110.<ref name="Burns147">{{Harvnb|Burns|2005|p=147}}</ref> In 1126, the Crusader army led by [[Baldwin II of Jerusalem|Baldwin II]] fought Burid forces led by Toghtekin at [[Battle of Marj al-Saffar (1126)|Marj al-Saffar]] near Damascus; however, despite their tactical victory, the Crusaders failed in their objective to capture Damascus.

[[File:Kuppel Nur ad-Din Madrasa.JPG|thumb|The twin domes of the funerary-Medresa of [[Nur ad-Din (died 1174)|Nur ad-Din]] also Known as the Madrasah Nuriyya al-Kubra<ref name="madainkubra">{{cite web |title=Madrasa Nuriya al-Kubra |url=https://madainproject.com/madrasa_nuriyya_kubra |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200507215612/https://madainproject.com/madrasa_nuriyya_kubra |archive-date=7 May 2020 |website=Madain Project |access-date=7 May 2020}}</ref><ref name="archnet-nuriya">{{cite web |title=Madrasa al-Nuriyya al-Kubra (Damascus) |url=https://archnet.org/sites/1840 |website=Archnet |access-date=7 May 2020 |archive-date=29 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200729011551/https://archnet.org/sites/1840 |url-status=live }}</ref>]]
Following Toghtekin's death in 1128, his son, [[Taj al-Muluk Buri]], became the nominal ruler of Damascus. Coincidentally, the Seljuq prince of [[Mosul]], [[Imad ad-Din Zengi|Imad al-Din Zengi]], took power in Aleppo and gained a mandate from the Abbasids to extend his authority to Damascus. In 1129, around 6,000 [[Isma'ili|Isma'ili Muslims]] were killed in the city along with their leaders. The Sunnis were provoked by rumors alleging there was a plot by the Isma'ilis, who controlled the strategic fort at [[Banias]], to aid the Crusaders in capturing Damascus in return for control of [[Tyre, Lebanon|Tyre]]. Soon after the massacre, the Crusaders aimed to take advantage of the unstable situation and launch an [[Crusade of 1129|assault]] against Damascus with nearly 2,000 knights and 10,000 infantry. However, Buri allied with Zengi and managed to prevent their army from reaching the city.<ref name="Burns148-9">{{Harvnb|Burns|2005|pp=148–149}}</ref> Buri was assassinated by Isma'ili agents in 1132; he was succeeded by his son, [[Shams al-Mulk Isma'il]] who ruled tyrannically until he was murdered in 1135 on secret orders from his mother, [[Zumurrud Khatun|Safwat al-Mulk Zumurrud]]; Isma'il's brother, Shihab al-Din Mahmud, replaced him. Meanwhile, Zengi, intent on putting Damascus under his control, married Safwat al-Mulk in 1138. Mahmud's reign then ended in 1139 after he was killed for relatively unknown reasons by members of his family. [[Mu'in al-Din Unur]], his ''[[mamluk]]'' ("slave soldier") took effective power of the city, prompting Zengi—with Safwat al-Mulk's backing—to lay siege against Damascus the same year. In response, Damascus allied with the Crusader [[Kingdom of Jerusalem]] to resist Zengi's forces. Consequently, Zengi withdrew his army and focused on campaigns against northern Syria.<ref name="Burns151">{{Harvnb|Burns|2005|p=151}}</ref>

In 1144, Zengi [[Siege of Edessa (1144)|conquered Edessa]], a crusader stronghold, which led to [[Second Crusade|a new crusade]] from Europe in 1148. In the meantime, Zengi was assassinated and his territory was divided among his sons, one of whom, [[Nur ad-Din Zangi|Nur ad-Din]], emir of Aleppo, made an alliance with Damascus. When the European crusaders arrived, they and the nobles of Jerusalem agreed to attack Damascus. [[Siege of Damascus (1148)|Their siege]], however, was a complete failure. When the city seemed to be on the verge of collapse, the crusader army suddenly moved against another section of the walls and was driven back. By 1154, Damascus was firmly under Nur ad-Din's control.<ref>{{cite book|first=Jonathan|last= Phillips|title=The Second Crusade: Extending the Frontiers of Christendom |publisher=[[Yale University Press]]|year= 2007|pages= 216–227}}</ref>

In 1164, King [[Amalric of Jerusalem]] [[Crusader invasions of Egypt|invaded Fatimid Egypt]], requested help from Nur ad-Din. The Nur ad-Din sent his general [[Shirkuh]], and in 1166 Amalric was defeated at the [[Battle of al-Babein]]. When Shirkuh died in 1169, he was succeeded by his nephew Yusuf, better known as [[Saladin]], who defeated a joint crusader-Byzantine siege of [[Damietta]].<ref>Hans E. Mayer, ''The Crusades'' (Oxford University Press, 1965, trans. John Gillingham, 1972), pp. 118–120.</ref> Saladin eventually overthrew the Fatimid caliphs and established himself as Sultan of Egypt. He also began to assert his independence from Nur ad-Din, and with the death of both Amalric and Nur ad-Din in 1174, he was well-placed to begin exerting control over Damascus and Nur ad-Din's other Syrian possessions.<ref>{{cite book|first=Christopher |last=Tyerman|author-link = Christopher Tyerman|title=God's War: A New History of the Crusades|publisher=Penguin|year=2006|page=350}}</ref> In 1177 Saladin was defeated by the crusaders at the [[Battle of Montgisard]], despite his numerical superiority.<ref>{{cite book|first=Bernard|last= Hamilton|title=The Leper King and his Heirs: Baldwin IV and the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year= 2000|pages=132–136}}</ref> Saladin also [[siege of Kerak|besieged Kerak]] in 1183, but was forced to withdraw. He finally launched a full invasion of Jerusalem in 1187 and annihilated the crusader army at the [[Battle of Hattin]] in July. [[Acre, Israel|Acre]] fell to Saladin soon after, and Jerusalem itself [[siege of Jerusalem (1187)|was captured]] in October. These events shocked Europe, resulting in the [[Third Crusade]] in 1189, led by [[Richard I of England]], [[Philip II of France]] and [[Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor]], though the last drowned en route.<ref>"The Third Crusade: Richard the Lionhearted and Philip Augustus", in ''A History of the Crusades'', vol. II: The Later Crusades, 1189–1311, ed. R. L. Wolff and H. W. Hazard (Madison, Wisconsin: University of Wisconsin Press, 1969), pp. 45–49.</ref>

The surviving crusaders, joined by new arrivals from Europe, put Acre to a [[Siege of Acre (1189–1191)|lengthy siege]] which lasted until 1191. After re-capturing Acre, Richard defeated Saladin at the [[Battle of Arsuf]] in 1191 and the [[Battle of Jaffa (1192)|Battle of Jaffa]] in 1192, recovering most of the coast for the Christians, but could not recover Jerusalem or any of the inland territory of the kingdom. The crusade came to an end peacefully, with the [[Treaty of Jaffa (1192)|Treaty of Jaffa]] in 1192. Saladin allowed pilgrimages to be made to Jerusalem, allowing the Crusaders to fulfill their vows, after which they all returned home. Local crusader barons set about rebuilding their kingdom from Acre and the other coastal cities.<ref>Wolff and Hazard, pp. 67–85.</ref>

Saladin died in 1193, and there were frequent conflicts between different [[Ayyubid dynasty|Ayyubid sultans]] ruling in Damascus and Cairo. Damascus was the capital of independent Ayyubid rulers between 1193 and 1201, from 1218 to 1238, from 1239 to 1245, and from 1250 to 1260. At other times it was ruled by the Ayyubid rulers of Egypt.<ref>R. Stephen Humphreys, ''From Saladin to the Mongols: The Ayyubids of Damascus, 1193–1260'' (State University of New York Press, 1977), ''passim''.</ref> During the internecine wars fought by the Ayyubid rulers, Damascus was besieged repeatedly, as, e.g., [[Siege of Damascus (1229)|in 1229]].<ref>Kenneth M. Setton, Robert Lee Wolff, Harry W. Hazard (editors), ''A History of the Crusades, Volume II: The Later Crusades, 1189–1311'', p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=2dsycrclykIC&pg=PA695 695] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230102170609/https://books.google.com/books?id=2dsycrclykIC&pg=PA695 |date=2 January 2023 }}, University of Wisconsin Press, series "History of the Crusades", 2006</ref>

The patterned Byzantine and Chinese silks available through Damascus, one of the Western termini of the [[Silk Road]], gave the English language "damask".<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=h1s8K0_hCfoC&q=Damascus%2C++damask+silk+road&pg=PA149|title=All Things Medieval: An Encyclopedia of the Medieval World|last=Johnston|first=Ruth A.|date=2011-08-31|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=9780313364624|language=en|access-date=7 October 2020|archive-date=2 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230402185750/https://books.google.com/books?id=h1s8K0_hCfoC&q=Damascus%2C++damask+silk+road&pg=PA149|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Mamluk period===
[[File:Schedel Damaskus 1497.jpg|thumb|Woodcut of 1497]]
[[File:Délégation vénitienne à Damas.jpg|thumb|Venetian delegation in Damascus, painting of 1511. [[Louvre-Lens]].]]

Ayyubid rule (and independence) came to an end with the Mongol invasion of Syria in 1260, in which the Mongols led by [[Kitbuqa]] entered the city on 1 March 1260, along with the King of Armenia, [[Hethum I, King of Armenia|Hethum I]], and the Prince of Antioch, [[Bohemond VI of Antioch|Bohemond VI]]; hence, the citizens of Damascus saw for the first time for six centuries three Christian potentates ride in triumph through their streets.{{sfn|Runciman|1987|p=307}} However, following the Mongol defeat at [[Battle of Ain Jalut|Ain Jalut]] on 3 September 1260, Damascus was captured five days later and became the provincial capital of the [[Mamluk Sultanate (Cairo)|Mamluk Sultanate]], ruled from Egypt, following the Mongol withdrawal. Following their victory at the [[Battle of Wadi al-Khaznadar]], the Mongols led by [[Ghazan]] besieged the city for ten days, which surrendered between December 30, 1299, and January 6, 1300, though its Citadel resisted.{{sfn|Runciman|1987|p=439}} Ghazan then retreated with most of his forces in February, probably because the Mongol horses needed fodder, and left behind about 10,000 horsemen under the Mongol general [[Mulay]].{{sfn|Demurger|2007|p=146}} Around March 1300, Mulay returned with his horsemen to Damascus,{{sfn|Amitai|1987|p=247}} then followed Ghazan back across the [[Euphrates]]. In May 1300, the Egyptian Mamluks returned from Egypt and reclaimed the entire area{{sfn|Schein|1979|p=810}} without a battle.{{sfn|Amitai|1987|p=248}} In April 1303, the Mamluks managed to defeat the Mongol army led by [[Kutlushah]] and Mulay along with their Armenian allies at the [[Battle of Marj al-Saffar (1303)|Battle of Marj al-Saffar]], to put an end to [[Mongol invasions of the Levant]].{{sfn|Nicolle|2001|p=80}} Later on, the [[Black Death]] of 1348–1349 killed as much as half of the city's population.<ref>"[https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/150420/Damascus/25659/Islamic-city Islamic city] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081026021251/https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/150420/Damascus/25659/Islamic-city |date=26 October 2008 }}". ''Encyclopædia Britannica''.</ref>

In 1400, [[Timur]], the [[Turco-Mongol]] conqueror, [[Siege of Damascus (1400)|besieged Damascus]]. The Mamluk sultan dispatched a deputation from Cairo, including [[Ibn Khaldun]], who negotiated with him, but after their withdrawal, Timur sacked the city on 17 March 1401.{{sfn|Ibn Khaldun|1952|p=97}} The [[Umayyad Mosque]] was burnt and men and women were taken into slavery. A huge number of the city's artisans were taken to Timur's capital at [[Samarkand]]. These were the luckier citizens: many were slaughtered and their heads piled up in a field outside the north-east corner of the walls, where a city square still bears the name ''Burj al-Ru'us'' (between modern-day [[Al-Qassaa]] and [[Bab Tuma]]), originally "the tower of heads".

Rebuilt, Damascus continued to serve as a Mamluk provincial capital until 1516.

===Ottoman period===
{{see also|Damascus Eyalet|Syria Vilayet}}
[[File:Damaskus in Syrien - Peeters Jacob - 1690.jpg|thumb|Damascus in 1690 by [[Jacob Balthasar Peeters]]|left]]
[[File:A Turkish Divan-Damascus - Carne John - 1836.jpg|thumb|A Turkish Divan in Damascus, in 1836, by [[John Carne]]|left]]

In early 1516, the [[Ottoman Empire]], wary of the danger of an alliance between the Mamluks and the Persian [[Safavids]], started a campaign of conquest against the Mamluk sultanate. On 21 September, the Mamluk governor of Damascus fled the city, and on 2 October the [[khutba]] in the Umayyad mosque was pronounced in the name of [[Selim I]]. The day after, the victorious sultan entered the city, staying for three months. On 15 December, he left Damascus by Bab al-Jabiya, intent on the conquest of Egypt. Little appeared to have changed in the city: one army had simply replaced another. However, on his return in October 1517, the sultan ordered the construction of a mosque, [[Khanqah|tekkiye]] and mausoleum at the shrine of Shaikh [[Ibn Arabi|Muhi al-Din ibn Arabi]] in [[Al-Salihiyah, Damascus|al-Salihiyah]]. This was to be the first of Damascus' great Ottoman monuments.
During this time, according to an Ottoman census, Damascus had 10,423 households.<ref>"Population and Revenue in the Towns of Palestine in the Sixteenth Century"</ref>
[[File:Eduard Hildebrandt - Ansicht von Damaskus (1852).jpg|thumb|View of Damascus, by [[Eduard Hildebrandt]], 1852]]
[[File:The universal geography - the earth and its inhabitants (1876) (14578799080).jpg|thumb|Damascus, view taken from the Christian quarter, in 1876.<ref>{{cite book |url= https://archive.org/details/cu31924095158964/page/401/mode/1up?view=theate |author=[[Élisée Reclus]], [[Ernst Georg Ravenstein]], [[Augustus Henry Keane]]|title=The universal geography: the earth and its inhabitants |date=1876 |publisher=[[James Sprent Virtue|J.S. Virtue & Co Ltd]] |page=401 }}</ref>]]
The Ottomans remained for the next 400 years, except for a brief occupation by [[Ibrahim Pasha of Egypt]] from 1832 to 1840. Because of its importance as the point of departure for one of the two great [[Hajj]] caravans to [[Mecca]], Damascus was treated with more attention by the [[Ottoman Porte|Porte]] than its size might have warranted—for most of this period, [[Aleppo]] was more populous and commercially more important. In 1559 the western building of [[Sulaymaniyya Takiyya]], comprising a mosque and [[caravanserai|khan]] for pilgrims on the road to Mecca, was completed to a design by the famous Ottoman architect [[Mimar Sinan]], and soon afterward the [[Salimiyya Madrasa]] was built adjoining it.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Abd al-Qadir al-Rihawi |author2=Émilie E. Ouéchek |year=1975|chapter=Les deux ''takiyya'' de Damas|title=Bulletin d'études orientales|volume=28|pages=217–225|publisher=Institut Francais du Proche-Orient|jstor=41604595|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/41604595|access-date=24 June 2022|archive-date=17 June 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220617171138/https://www.jstor.org/stable/41604595|url-status=live}}</ref>
[[File:Gustav Bauernfeind - A Street Scene, Damascus (Sotheby's, ShafikGabrCollection) 001l2010.jpg|thumb|A painting by [[Gustav Bauernfeind]] of a crowd in Damascus street, circa 1890]]
Early in the nineteenth century, Damascus was noted for its shady cafes along the banks of the Barada. A depiction of these by [[William Henry Bartlett]] was published in 1836, along with a poetical illustration by [[Letitia Elizabeth Landon]], see {{ws|[[s:Letitia Elizabeth Landon (L. E. L.) in Fisher's Drawing Room Scrap Book, 1837/Cafes in Damascus|Cafes in Damascus]]}} Under [[Ottoman rule]], Christians and [[Jews]] were considered [[dhimmi]]s and were allowed to practice their religious precepts. During the [[Damascus affair]] of 1840 the false accusation of [[ritual murder]] was brought against members of the Jewish community of Damascus. The [[1860 Druze-Christian conflict in Lebanon|massacre of Christians in 1860]] was also one of the most notorious incidents of these centuries when fighting between [[Druze]] and [[Maronites]] in [[Mount Lebanon]] spilled over into the city. Several thousand Christians were killed in June 1860, with many more being saved through the intervention of the Algerian exile [[Abd al-Qadir al-Jaza'iri|Abd al-Qadir]] and his soldiers (three days after the massacre started), who brought them to safety in Abd al-Qadir's residence and the [[Citadel of Damascus]]. The Christian quarter of the old city (mostly inhabited by Catholics), including several churches, was burnt down. The Christian inhabitants of the notoriously poor and refractory [[Midan]] district outside the walls (mostly Orthodox) were, however, protected by their Muslim neighbors.

American Missionary E.C. Miller records that in 1867 the population of the city was 'about' 140,000, of whom 30,000 were Christians, 10,000 Jews, and 100,000 'Mohammedans' with fewer than 100 Protestant Christians.<ref>Ellen Clare Miller, 'Eastern Sketches – notes of scenery, schools and tent life in Syria and Palestine'. Edinburgh: William Oliphant and Company. 1871. page 90. quoting Eli Jones, a [[Quaker]] from [[New England]].</ref> In the meantime, American writer [[Mark Twain]] visited Damascus, then wrote about his travel in ''[[The Innocents Abroad]]'', in which he mentioned: "Though old as history itself, thou art fresh as the breath of spring, blooming as thine own rose-bud, and fragrant as thine own orange flower, O Damascus, pearl of the East!".<ref>{{Harvnb|Twain|1869|p=283}}</ref> In November 1898, German emperor [[Wilhelm II, German Emperor|Wilhelm II]] toured Damascus, during his trip to the Ottoman Empire.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.abdelraoufsinno.com/periodicals/docum_41.pdf|title=The Emperor's visit to the East: As reflected in contemporary Arabic journalism|author=Abdel-Raouf Sinno|pages=14–15|date=1998|access-date=10 June 2021|archive-date=23 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201123135139/http://www.abdelraoufsinno.com/periodicals/docum_41.pdf|url-status=usurped}}</ref>

===Modern period===
====20th century====
{{see also|Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon}}
[[File:4ALHinDamascus.jpg|thumb|The Turkish Hospital in Damascus on 1 October 1918, shortly after the entry of the Australian [[4th Light Horse Regiment (Australia)|4th Light Horse Regiment]]]]
In the early years of the 20th century, nationalist sentiment in Damascus, initially cultural in its interest, began to take a political coloring, largely in reaction to the [[turkicisation]] program of the [[Committee of Union and Progress]] government established in Istanbul in 1908. The hanging of a number of patriotic intellectuals by [[Jamal Pasha]], governor of Damascus, in Beirut and Damascus in 1915 and 1916 further stoked nationalist feeling, and in 1918, as the forces of the [[Arab Revolt]] and the British Imperial forces approached, residents fired on the retreating Turkish troops.
[[File:Emir Faisal; Lt. Colonel T.E. Lawrence - early 1918.jpg|thumb|[[Faisal I of Iraq|King Faisal of Syria]] and [[T. E. Lawrence]] on [[HMS Orion]] during [[World War I]], 1918.|left]]

On 1 October 1918, [[T. E. Lawrence]] [[Capture of Damascus (1918)|entered Damascus]], the third arrival of the day, the first being the Australian [[3rd Light Horse Brigade]], led by Major [[Arthur Charles Olden|A.C.N. 'Harry' Olden]].<ref>Barker, A. (1998) "The Allies Enter Damascus", ''History Today'', Volume 48</ref> Two days later, 3 October 1918, [[Sharifian Army|the forces of the Arab revolt led by]] [[Faisal I of Iraq|Prince Faisal]] also entered Damascus.<ref>Roberts, P.M., ''World War I, a Student Encyclopedia'', 2006, ABC-CLIO, p. 657</ref> A military government under [[Shukri Pasha Al-Ayyubi|Shukri Pasha]] was named and Faisal ibn Hussein was proclaimed [[Arab Kingdom of Syria|king of Syria]]. Political tension arose in November 1917, when the new [[Bolshevik]] government in Russia revealed the [[Sykes-Picot Agreement]] whereby Britain and France had arranged to partition the Arab East between them. A new Franco-British proclamation on 17 November promised the "complete and definitive freeing of the peoples so long oppressed by the Turks." The [[Syrian National Congress]] in March adopted a democratic constitution. However, the [[Versailles Conference]] had granted France a [[League of Nations mandate|mandate]] over Syria, and in 1920 a French army commanded by the General [[Mariano Goybet]] crossed the Anti-Lebanon Mountains, defeated a small Syrian defensive expedition at the [[Battle of Maysalun]] and [[Capture of Damascus (1920)|entered Damascus]]. The French made Damascus the capital of their [[League of Nations]] [[French Mandate of Syria and the Lebanon|Mandate for Syria]].

When in 1925 the [[Great Syrian Revolt]] in the [[Hauran]] spread to Damascus, the French suppressed it with heavy weaponry, bombing and shelling the city on 9 May 1926. As a result, the area of the old city between [[Al-Hamidiyah Souq]] and [[Medhat Pasha Souq]] was burned to the ground, with many deaths, and has since then been known as ''[[al-Hariqa]]'' ("the fire"). The old city was surrounded with barbed wire to prevent rebels from infiltrating the [[Ghouta]], and a new road was built outside the northern ramparts to facilitate the movement of armored cars. Reporter [[George Seldes]] viewed 308 bodies, and suggested there might be more dead under the rubble—and that a maximum might be one thousand.  "When the Muslims, who had rebelled, threatened to kill all Christians, General Maurice Sarrail gave the civilian population time to evacuate, then ordered Fort Gouraud to fire some warning shots, then shell the rebel sector."  <ref>Seldes, George, ''Witness to a Century'', 1987, Ballantine Books, p. 232</ref>

On 21 June 1941, 3 weeks into the Allied [[Syria-Lebanon campaign]], [[Battle of Damascus (1941)|Damascus was captured]] from the [[Vichy French]] forces by a mixed British Indian and Free French force. The French agreed to withdraw in 1946, following the British intervention during the [[Levant Crisis]], thus leading to the full independence of Syria. Damascus remained the capital and has been unchanged even following the start of [[Ba'athist Syria|Ba'athist rule]] in 1963.

In 1979, the [[Old City of Damascus]], with its collection of archaeological and historical religious sites, was listed as a [[World Heritage Site]] by [[UNESCO]].

==== Civil war ====
{{main|Syrian civil war}}
[[File:Damascus Opera House.jpg|thumb|The [[Damascus Opera House]], opened in 2004]]
[[File:ISS013-E-82035.jpg|thumb|Damascus in 2006, taken from the International Space Station]]

By January 2012, [[Rif Dimashq Governorate campaign|clashes]] between the regular army and rebels reached the outskirts of Damascus, reportedly preventing people from leaving or reaching their houses, especially when security operations there intensified from the end of January into February.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://syria-today.com/index.php/life/18976-dead-ends |title=Public transportation in Damascus is having an uphill go of it |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120321225005/http://syria-today.com/index.php/life/18976-dead-ends |archive-date=2012-03-21}}</ref>

By June 2012, bullets and shrapnel shells smashed into homes in Damascus overnight as troops battled the Free Syrian Army in the streets. At least three tank shells slammed into residential areas in the central Damascus neighborhood of Qaboun, according to activists. Intense exchanges of assault rifle fire marked the clash, according to residents and amateur video posted online.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.haaretz.com/news/middle-east/heavy-gunfire-in-syria-s-capital-during-the-weekend-1.435372|title=Heavy gunfire in Syria's capital during the weekend|newspaper=[[Haaretz]]|date=10 June 2012|access-date=10 June 2012|archive-date=2 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230402185806/https://www.haaretz.com/2012-06-10/ty-article/heavy-gunfire-in-syrias-capital-during-weekend/0000017f-f683-d887-a7ff-fee727e70000|url-status=live}}</ref>

The Damascus suburb of [[Ghouta]] suffered heavy bombing in December 2017 and a further wave of bombing started in February 2018, also known as [[Rif Dimashq offensive (February–April 2018)|Rif Dimashq Offensive]].

On 20 May 2018, Damascus and the entire Rif Dimashq Governorate came fully under government control for the first time in 7 years after the evacuation of [[Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant|IS]] from [[Yarmouk Camp]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/syrian-military-in-full-control-of-damascus-for-first-time-in-years/ |title=Syrian military in full control of Damascus for first time in years |first=Leith |last=Aboufadel |date=20 May 2018 |access-date=20 May 2018 |newspaper=[[Al-Masdar News]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180520192808/https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/syrian-military-in-full-control-of-damascus-for-first-time-in-years/ |archive-date=20 May 2018 |url-status=dead }}</ref> In September 2019, Damascus entered the ''[[Guinness World Records]]'' as the least liveable city, scoring 30.7 points on the [[Economist Intelligence Unit|Economist]]'s [[Global Liveability Ranking|Global Liveability Index]] in 2019, based on factors such as: stability, healthcare, culture and environment, education, and infrastructure.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/100393-least-habitable-city |title=Least habitable city |website=Guinness World Records |date=September 2019 |access-date=9 October 2020 |archive-date=25 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201125230533/https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/100393-least-habitable-city |url-status=live }}</ref> However, the trend of being the least liveable city on Earth started in 2017,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/news/liveable-cities-2017-economist-intelligence/ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/news/liveable-cities-2017-economist-intelligence/ |archive-date=11 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title= Revealed: The world's best (and worst) cities to live in |website=The Telegraph |date=16 August 2017 }}{{cbignore}}</ref> and continued as of 2024.<ref>{{cite web |date=27 June 2024 |title=Vienna secures its position as the world's most liveable city for third consecutive year |url=https://www.eiu.com/n/vienna-secures-its-position-as-the-worlds-most-liveable-city-for-third-consecutive-year/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240702050716/https://www.eiu.com/n/vienna-secures-its-position-as-the-worlds-most-liveable-city-for-third-consecutive-year/ |archive-date=2 July 2024 |publisher=The Economist}}</ref>
[[File:2024 Israeli invasion of Syria.png|thumb|190px|Israeli-occupied [[Golan Heights]] and [[2024 Israeli invasion of Syria|Israeli invasion of Syria]] in December 2024]]
Syrian rebels, led by the [[Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham|HTS]] rebel group [[Fall of Damascus (2024)|entered Damascus]] on 8 December 2024 after a [[2024 Syrian opposition offensives|series of offensives]], capturing [[Sednaya Prison]] and later resulting in [[Fall of the Assad regime|the collapse]] of [[Ba'athist Syria]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/live/2024/12/07/world/syria-war-damascus/7a2f4dc8-f7b8-5cbc-8563-574654b05876 |title=Syrian rebels said their forces had entered Damascus and taken the Sednaya prison complex north of the city. |date=7 December 2024 |last=Abdulrahim |first=Raja |work=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=7 December 2024}}</ref>

On 23 February 2025, Israeli Prime Minister [[Benjamin Netanyahu]] demanded the complete demilitarization of southern Syria in the provinces of [[Quneitra Governorate|Quneitra]], [[Daraa Governorate|Daraa]] and [[Suwayda Governorate|Suweyda]],<ref>{{cite news |title=Israel demands complete demilitarisation of southern Syria |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvgenz02lp8o |work=BBC |date=24 February 2025}}</ref> and the withdrawal of Syrian forces from Syrian territory south of Damascus.<ref>{{cite news |title=Netanyahu says Israel won't allow Syrian forces 'south of Damascus' |url=https://www.voanews.com/a/netanyahu-says-israel-won-t-allow-syrian-forces-south-of-damascus-/7985248.html |work=VOA News |date=February 23, 2025}}</ref> Syria's new regime under President [[Ahmed al-Sharaa]] rejected Netanyahu's demands.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Kliment |first1=Alex |title=Israel turns the screws on Syria's new leader |url=https://www.gzeromedia.com/middle-east/israel-turns-screws-on-syria |work=GZERO Media |date=26 February 2025}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=25 February 2025 |title=Syria calls for Israel's withdrawal from its lands, national dialogue closing statement says |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/syria-calls-israels-withdrawal-its-lands-national-dialogue-closing-statement-2025-02-25/ |website=Reuters}}</ref> Hours later, Israel conducted a wave of airstrikes in Damascus and southern Syria.<ref>{{cite news |title=Israel bombs ‘military targets’ in southern Syria, outside Damascus |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/2/26/israel-bombs-military-targets-in-southern-syria-outside-damascus |work=Al Jazeera |date=26 February 2025}}</ref>