The Syrian Arab Republic (Al-Jumhūriyyah Al-‘Arabīyah As-Sūriyyah
in Arabic) is the official name of modern day Syria, the land which
could be as old as history itself. Its capital Damascus is arguably the
oldest continuously inhabited in the world. Syria or Sham in Arabic is the seat of the Eblan civilisation of the third millennium B.C.
Syria came into being after the World War I as a French mandate. The new
landmass was the largest Arab state to emerge from the formerly
Ottoman-ruled areas.
1920
Kingdom of Syria established by the Hashemite family’s Faisal I, who later became King of Iraq.
Faisal I’s rule ends in few months as French troops defeat his forces at the Battle of Maysalun.
Syria Put under a French mandate by the League of Nations
1925
Revolt against French rule led by Sultan al-Atrash breaks out in the
Druze Mountain, spreads to whole of Syria and even parts of Lebanon.
In August 23, al-Atrash declares revolution against France and rebels win several battles against the mandate
France mobilises its troops from Morocco and Senegal, regains many
cities held by the lightly armed rebels. But rebellion lasts until 1927.
The French sentence al-Atrash to death, but he escapes to Jordan.
1936
Syria and France sign treaty of independence in September. Hashim al-Atassi, Faisal I's Prime Minister, becomes President.
French Legislature refuses to ratify the treaty effectively nullifying it.
1940-44
France’s defeat in World War II, puts Syria under Vichy France, a rebel French regime
British and official French forces occupy the country in July 1941.
Syria proclaims independence again in 1941, but its was not unrecognised by the world community
On January 1, 1944 it was recognised as an independent republic
1946
Syrian nationalist groups and the British force French out of Syria
In April 1946, Syria gains independence as a Parliamentary Republic
Season of coups
1948-49
Syria takes part in the Arab-Israeli War
Israel inflicts crushing defeat on Arab states, but Syria manages to
keep Golan Heights and its old borders, dispute over which will haunt
Israel-Syria ties for long
Country witnesses three coups in 1949. In March, Col. Husni al-Za'im
leads arguably the first military overthrow of the Arab World since
World War II
In the same year, Col. Sami al-Hinnawi leads another coup, but he himself was quickly deposed by Col. Adib Shishakli
1954
Col. Shishakli’s rule that saw abolition of multiparty democracy ends with another coup
Parliamentary system gets restored, but military influence strips meaning civilian politics
Military and urban Sunni elite control power
1956
Martial law declared during the Suez Crisis as Israel, Britain and France invade Egypt.
In November, Syria signs pact with the Soviet Union, gets planes, tanks, and other military equipment
1958
On February 1, Syrian President Shukri al-Quwatli and Egyptian President
Gamal Abdal Nasser announced merger of the two states, creating the
United Arab Republic
1961-63
Following another military coup led by Abd al-Karim al-Nahlawi September
28, 1961 Syria secedes, re-establishing itself as the Syrian Arab
Republic
Several other overthrows and end in a coup on March 8, 1963 engineered
by the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party, just a month after the party’s Iraq
version took reins in Baghdad
Members of the Ba'ath Party, which has been active in Syria and other Arab countries since the late 1940s, dominate new Cabinet
1966
A group of army officers on February 23 carry out a successful
intra-Ba’ath overthrow, jails President Amin Hafiz and abrogate a
provisional constitution
Coup creates a rift between a pan-Arab Ba’ath and a regionalist one; group installs a civilian Ba'ath government on March 1
Conflict over the cultivation of disputed lands sparks into aerial clashes between Israel and Syria in April
1967
Syria joins war as Israel launches strikes on Egypt
Syria loses control of the entire Golan Heights at the end of the six-day war
1970
On November 13, Minister of Defence Hafez al-Assad effects a bloodless
coup following a rift in Ba’ath leadership and thus begins the
near-complete Ba'ath domination of the country’s affairs till date
1971-73
Hafez al-Assad consolidates power through Ba'ath-nominated legislature
“National referendum” in March 1972 confirms him as President for a seven-year term
In March 1973, a new Syrian constitution goes into effect, defining
Syria as a secular socialist state with Islam as the majority religion
On October 6, 1973, Syria and Egypt begin the Yom Kippur War, only to
taste defeat once again and allowing Israel into Syrian territory beyond
the 1967 boundary
Golan Heights is still under Israeli occupation
Invasion of Lebanon
1976
Syria invades Lebanon amidst and gets involved in the bloody civil war and begins the thirty-year military occupation.
1982
Hafez al-Assad government crushes uprising led by Muslim
Brotherhood-inspired Sunnis in Hama, leaving between 10,000 and 25,000
people either dead or wounded. Sunnis object to rule by the “heretical”
Alawite sect, to which the al-Assad family belongs
1990
Lebanese civil war ends in 1990, after the Syrian-sponsored Taif Agreement
Syrias backing of the U.S. coalition in Gulf War I marks a watershed in its ties with the West
Hafez al-Assad dies
2000
Hafez al-Assad dies on June 10, after 30 years in power
Parliament amends Constitution, reducing the minimum age of the
President from 40 to 34, allowing Hafez al-Assad’s son Bashar to take
over
Bashar al-Assad becomes President after a referendum in which he ran unopposed, garnering 97.29% of the vote
Damascus Spring
2001
Bashar al-Assad’s takeover inspires hopes for reform; an intense
political and social debate dubbed “Damascus Spring” took place from
July 2000 to August 2001
“Damascus Spring” ends in August 2001 with the arrest and imprisonment
of leading activists who had called for democratic elections
2005
Syria withdraws forces in April as the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri was blamed on Damascus
Syrian uprising
2011
Hasan Ali Akleh, inspired Tunisian Mohamed Bouazizi’s suicide protest,
set himself on fire January 26, effectively triggering the events now
collectively called as Syrian uprising. in the same way had in Tunis on
17 December 2010.
On February 3, activists, through Facebook and Twitter, call for a “Day
of Rage” from February 4-5; Hundreds march in Hasan Ali Akleh’s hometown
Al-Hasakah, but Syrian security forces disperse the protest and arrest
dozens
On March 15, simultaneous demonstrations take place in major cities; Daraa becomes focal point of the uprising
On March 25, at least 20 protesters were reported killed in Daraa as over 100,000 take part in a protest
Protests spread to other cities, including Homs, Hama, Baniyas, Jassem, Aleppo, Damascus and Latakia; toll crosses 70
On March 27, government announces release of 200 political prisoners
Uprising intensifies in April; scores of protesters get killed at the
hands of security forces; rift in the ranks of security forces surface;
U.S. imposes sanctions against Syria
On April 22, sharpshooters kill 112 demonstrators during anti-government
protests across the country, activists say, calling it the Good Friday
Massacre. The day is the bloodiest since the protests began.
In May, Syrian army enters Baniyas, Hama, Homs, Talkalakh, Latakia, the
Al-Midan and Douma districts of Damascus, and several other towns
Forces continue the siege of Daraa throughout June
On June 6, 120 security force members are killed in the northern town of
Jisr al-Shughour, according to government, which attributes the deaths
to extremists. Opposition activists in exile claim the soldiers were
shot by government loyalist troops for refusing to open fire on
civilians.
On June 20, Bashar al-Assad promises reforms, new parliamentary elections greater freedoms
On June 30, large protests erupt in Syria's second largest city Aleppo
In mid-July, pro-government protesters attack U.S. and French embassies in Damascus
On July 31, security forces kill at least 136 in Hama
Arab League and several Gulf Cooperation Council member states led by
Saudi Arabia condemn the Syrian government in August; Syrian Navy joins
offensive and killings continue; on August 30, thousands demonstrate in
Homs, Daraa and Damascus, security forces kill nine people marring the ,
Eid ul-Fitr celebrations
Gunmen assassinate Kurdish rights activist Mishaal al-Tammo in October; activists blame Syrian government
On November 3, government accepts an Arab League peace plan, but continues crackdown
On December 19, security forces kill up to 70 army defectors as they were deserting military posts near the Turkish border
On December 23, suicide bombs hit security facilities in Damascus, killing at least 40; regime blames it on al-Qaeda
2012
On January 11, a mortar attack on a pro-regime rally in Homs kills a French journalist and seven others
On February 1, Free Syrian army claims “50 per cent of Syrian territory is no longer under the control of the regime”
On February 4, Syrian forces unleash a barrage of mortars and artillery in Homs killing more than 200 people
On February 10, powerful bombings in Syria's most populous city Aleppo expand conflict
On February 22, at least 57 die across the country, most of them in Homs; Two western journalists are killed in a shelling attack | Veteran reporter Marie Colvin killed
On March 17, three bomb attacks on government buildings in Damascus claim more than 30 lives; Assad regime blames “terrorists.”
On April 12, the Syrian government and the Free Syrian Army enter a
U.N.-mediated ceasefire period; By April 15, reports of ceasefire
violations emerge
On April 21, U.N. Security Council adopts resolution 2043 as basis for
the United Nations Supervision Mission in Syria (UNSMIS) for an initial
90-day period
On April 23, at least 60 killed in a single day as violence continues unabated
On April 25, more than 100 people are reported by opposition activists
to have been killed across the country; in Hama city alone, 71 deaths
are counted after a rocket strikes after dark
On May 1, U.N. blames both sides for ceasefire violation
On May 10, between 55 and 70 die in a bomb attack in front of a military intelligence building in Damascus; government says the blast is the work of two suicide bombers
On May 25, more than 100 die as two opposition-controlled villages in
the Houla region of Syria come under attack; regime denies role in Houla massacre
On May 30, Free Syrian Army sets a 48-hour deadline for Bashar al-Assad
to abide by an international peace plan to end violence, marking the end
of the ceasefire; 57 soldiers die in Syria, the largest number of
casualties the military has suffered in a single day since the start of
the uprising
On June 6, 78 civilians die in al-Qubair after government shelling; U.N. observers rush to probe the al-Qubair massacre, but retreat as they face roadblock and small arms fire
On June 22, Syria shoots down a Turkish fighter jet was shot down by
Syrian government forces; Turkey vows retaliation and NATO condemns act
On June 27, Syrian opposition fighters attack a high-profile military
facility and a pro-regime TV station near Damascus; Bashar al-Assad
announces that his country is at war
On June 30, accepts international envoy Kofi Annan’s plan that calls for
the creation of a transitional government; both the regime and the
opposition reject the plan
On July 3, Human Rights Watch in a report says Syria has made torture a state policy against civilians
On July 6, Brig. Gen. Manaf Tlass, a member of the elite Republican Guards and a son of a former defence minister, abandons Bashar al-Assad’s regime; Friends of Syria conference in Paris
On July 12, Syria fires defected Ambassador to Iraq
On July 13, 200 massacred in Hama, claim Syrian activists
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