1.
Laodicea in Syria
–
Laodicea was a colonia of the Roman empire in ancient Syria. It was also called Laodicea in Syria or Laodicea ad mare, Laodicea was the capital of the Eastern Roman province of Theodorias from 528 AD until 637 AD. The Phoenician city of Ramitha was located in the area where it is the modern port of Latakia. Laodicea got its name when was first founded in the fourth century BC under the rule of the Seleucid empire, it was named by Seleucus I Nicator in honor of his mother, the city was subsequently ruled by the Romans until the Arab conquest in 637 AD. The Roman Pompey the Great conquered the city in 64 AD, the emperor Septimius Severus named with the title Metropolis the city in 194 AD and allowed the Ius Italicum to Laodicea, that was called a Roman Colonia. Some Roman merchants moved to live in the city under Augustus, there are few remains of what was a rich and well-built town, colonnades, a monumental arch, sarcophagi, all within the modern town. The one to the N was centered on the entry to the citadel on the hill to the NE. The central one came from the E gate, where the Apamea road reached the city, the street today is occupied by the great souk, where there is still an alignment of 13 monolithic granite columns. A tetrapylon marked the crossing of this thoroughfare with the N-S avenue, the S street began at the port and ended to the E at the long steep hill to the SE, where a monumental four-way arch, erroneously called a tetrapylon, closed off the view. This arch consists of four arches, one on each side. Columns engaged in pilasters serve as buttresses at the corners of the four masonry moles, not far away, inside a mosque, is the corner of a Corinthian peristyle, with capitals and entablature. Virtually nothing remains of the theater, which was built against the SE hill, princeton, Laodicea ad mare The city enjoyed a huge economic prosperity thanks to the wine produced in the hills around the port and exported to all the empire. The city was famous because of the textile products and of the local tobacco. Laodicea minted coins from an early Roman date, but the most famous are from Severian times A sizable Jewish population lived in Laodicea during the first century. Christianity was the religion in the city after Constantine I and there were many bishops of Laodicea who participated in ecumenical councils. The heretic Apollinarius was bishop of Laodicea in the 4th century, an earthquake damaged the city in 494 AD and successively Justinianus I made Laodicea the capital of the Byzantine province of Theodorias in the early sixth century. Laodicea remained its capital for more than a century until the Arab conquest, the same Saint Paul visited Laodicea and made the first Christians in the city. Slowly the bishops of Laodicea grew in importance but were always under the Patriarch of Antioch, the most important bishops were, San Lucius † Telimidres † Eliodorus † Socrates † Eusebius † Anatolius † Stefanus † Teodotus † Giorgius † San Pelagius † Apollinarius
Laodicea in Syria
–
Laodicea's "Tetraporticus", built by
Septimius Severus in AD 183
Laodicea in Syria
–
Temple of
Bacchus in actual Latakia
Laodicea in Syria
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Map showing Laodicea during Roman times
Laodicea in Syria
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Classical Statue at the National Museum of Latakia
2.
Latakia Governorate
–
Latakia Governorate is one of the fourteen governorates of Syria. It is situated in western Syria, bordering Turkey and its reported area varies in different sources from 2,297 km² to 2,437 km². The governorate has a population of 991,000, members of the Alawite sect form a majority in the governorate, although Armenians, Turkmen, and Sunni Arabs form the majorities in the Kessab, Jabal Turkman, and Jabal al-Akrad regions respectively. The capital of Latakia had, by 2010 estimates,400,000 inhabitants, 50% of whom were Alawites, 30% were Sunni, the governorate was historically part of the Alawite State, which existed from 1920–1936. The city of Latakia was the capital of the state, the region has been relatively peaceful since the beginning of the Syrian civil war in 2011. However, the Syrian rebels have had a consistent presence in the northeastern mountains, the governorate is divided into four districts, Al-Haffah Jableh Latakia Qardaha These are further divided into 22 sub-districts. East of the plains, the governorate is covered by the An-Nusayriyah Mountains. Latakia is traversed by the line of equal latitude and longitude
Latakia Governorate
–
Map of Syria with Latakia highlighted
3.
Tishreen University
–
Tishreen University, is a public university located in Latakia, Syria. It is the third largest university in Syria and it was established on 20 May 1971. The university was founded under the name of the University of Latakia on 20 May 1971, the name was later changed in 1975 to honor the memory of the October War. The academic staff of the University consists of, Faculty Members,892, Members of the Technical Staff,133. Faculty of Arts and Humanities, Opened in 1971, Faculty of Agriculture, Opened in 1971. Faculty of Science, Opened in 1971, Faculty of Medicine, Opened in 1974. Faculty of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Opened in 1980, Faculty of Dentistry, Opened in 1983. Faculty of Economics, Opened in 1986, Faculty of Pharmacy, Opened in 1990. Faculty of Nursing, Opened in 1994, Faculty of Education, Opened in 1997. Faculty of Informatics, Opened in 2000, Faculty of Technical engineering in 2002. Faculty of Information and communication engineering, opened in 2008. Faculty of Law Intermediate Institute of Agriculture, Opened in 1974, Intermediate Institute of Engineering, Opened in 1979. Intermediate Institute of Medicine, Opened in 1979, Intermediate Institute of Commerce, Opened in 1980. Intermediate Institute of Administration Skills, Opened in 1995, Intermediate Institute of Computer Engineering, Opened in 1998
Tishreen University
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Seal of Tishreen University
Tishreen University
–
Tishreen University
4.
Latakia Sports City Stadium
–
Latakia Sports City Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Latakia, Syria. It is mostly used for football matches, with a capacity of 45,000 spectators, the stadium is the second largest sports venue in Syria. It was opened in 1987 as a part of the Latakia Sports City, list of football stadiums in Syria
Latakia Sports City Stadium
–
Latakia Sports City Stadium ملعب المدينة الرياضية باللاذقية
5.
Syria
–
Syrias capital and largest city is Damascus. Religious groups include Sunnis, Christians, Alawites, Druze, Mandeans, Shiites, Salafis, Sunni Arabs make up the largest religious group in Syria. Its capital Damascus and largest city Aleppo are among the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, in the Islamic era, Damascus was the seat of the Umayyad Caliphate and a provincial capital of the Mamluk Sultanate in Egypt. The post-independence period was tumultuous, and a number of military coups. In 1958, Syria entered a union with Egypt called the United Arab Republic. Syria was under Emergency Law from 1963 to 2011, effectively suspending most constitutional protections for citizens, Bashar al-Assad has been president since 2000 and was preceded by his father Hafez al-Assad, who was in office from 1970 to 2000. Mainstream modern academic opinion strongly favours the argument that the Greek word is related to the cognate Ἀσσυρία, Assyria, in the past, others believed that it was derived from Siryon, the name that the Sidonians gave to Mount Hermon. However, the discovery of the inscription in 2000 seems to support the theory that the term Syria derives from Assyria. The area designated by the word has changed over time, since approximately 10,000 BC, Syria was one of centers of Neolithic culture where agriculture and cattle breeding appeared for the first time in the world. The following Neolithic period is represented by houses of Mureybet culture. At the time of the pre-pottery Neolithic, people used vessels made of stone, gyps, finds of obsidian tools from Anatolia are evidences of early trade relations. Cities of Hamoukar and Emar played an important role during the late Neolithic, archaeologists have demonstrated that civilization in Syria was one of the most ancient on earth, perhaps preceded by only those of Mesopotamia. The earliest recorded indigenous civilisation in the region was the Kingdom of Ebla near present-day Idlib, gifts from Pharaohs, found during excavations, confirm Eblas contact with Egypt. One of the earliest written texts from Syria is an agreement between Vizier Ibrium of Ebla and an ambiguous kingdom called Abarsal c.2300 BC. The Northwest Semitic language of the Amorites is the earliest attested of the Canaanite languages, Mari reemerged during this period, and saw renewed prosperity until conquered by Hammurabi of Babylon. Ugarit also arose during this time, circa 1800 BC, close to modern Latakia, Ugaritic was a Semitic language loosely related to the Canaanite languages, and developed the Ugaritic alphabet. The Ugarites kingdom survived until its destruction at the hands of the marauding Indo-European Sea Peoples in the 12th century BC, Yamhad was described in the tablets of Mari as the mightiest state in the near east and as having more vassals than Hammurabi of Babylon. Yamhad imposed its authority over Alalakh, Qatna, the Hurrians states, the army of Yamhad campaigned as far away as Dēr on the border of Elam
Syria
–
Female figurine, 5000 BC.
Ancient Orient Museum.
Syria
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Flag
Syria
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God head, the kingdom of
Yamhad (c. 1600 BC)
Syria
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Ebla royal palace c. 2400 BC
6.
Governorates of Syria
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Syria Is a unitary state, but for administrative purposes, it is divided into fourteen governorates. The governorates are divided into sixty districts, which are divided into subdistricts. The nawahi contain villages, which are the smallest administrative units, each governorate is headed by a governor, appointed by the president, subject to cabinet approval. The minister of local administration works closely with each governor to coordinate, the governor is assisted by a provincial council, all of whose members are popularly elected for four-year terms. In addition, each council elects from among its member an executive bureau which administers the day to day issues between provincial council sessions, each executive officer is charged with specific functions. Districts and subdistricts are administered by officials appointed by the governor, capital Districts of Syria ISO 3166-2, SY List of cities in Syria List of towns and villages in Syria
Governorates of Syria
–
Damascus
7.
Districts of Syria
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The 14 governorates of Syria, or muhafazat, are divided into 65 districts, or manatiq, including the city of Damascus. The districts are divided into 281 subdistricts, or nawahi. Each district bears the name as its district capital. Districts and subdistricts are administered by officials appointed by the governor, the 65 districts are listed below by governorate. The city of Damascus functions as a governorate, a district, parts of Quneitra Governorate have been under Israeli occupation since 1967
Districts of Syria
–
Syria
8.
Latakia District
–
Latakia District is a district of the Latakia Governorate in northwestern Syria. Administrative centre is the city of Latakia, at the 2004 census, the district had a population of 526,888. Agriculture has remained the most important economic sector in the province, with fruits, apples. Tourism mostly from the Persian Gulf States is also a source of income for the inhabitants during the summer season. Al-Bahluliyah Nahiyah, population 17,532. Main localities, Al-Jandiriyah, ayn al-Baydah Nahiyah, population 30,959. Main localities, Burj Islam, al-Shabatliyah, Salib al-Turkman, al-Safsaf and Mashqita. Qastal Maaf Nahiyah, population 16,784. Main localities, Umm al-Tuyour, al-Badrusiyah, Balloran, hanadi Nahiyah, population 27,080. Main localities, Al-Bassah, al-Shir, al-Sanawbar and Fideo
Latakia District
–
Map of Latakia District within Latakia Governorate
9.
Governor
–
A governor is, in most cases, a public official with the power to govern the executive branch of a non-sovereign or sub-national level of government, ranking under the head of state. In federations, governor may be the title of a politician who governs a constituent state and these companies operate as a major state within a state with its own armed forces. For example, in the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth countries, there are governors, school governors. The adjective pertaining to a governor is gubernatorial, from the Latin root gubernyare, the historical female form is governess, though female officials are referred to by the gender-neutral form governor of the noun to avoid confusion with other meanings of the term. Indeed, many regions of the pre-Roman antiquity were ultimately replaced by Roman standardized provincial governments after their conquest by Rome, in Pharaonic times, the governors of each of the various provinces in the kingdoms of Upper and Lower Egypt are usually known by the Greek word. The core function of a Roman governor was as a magistrate or judge, and the management of taxation, under the Republic and the early Empire, however, a governor also commanded military forces in his province. Republican governors were all men who had served in senior magistracies in Rome in the previous year, a special case was Egypt, a rich private domain and vital granary, where the Emperor almost inherited the theocratic status of a Pharaoh. The Emperor was represented there by a sui generis styled praefectus augustalis. Otherwise, the governors of provinces had various titles, some known as consularis, apart from Egypt and the East, each diocese was directed by a governor known as a vicarius. The prefectures were directed by praefecti praetorio and this system survived with few significant changes until the collapse of the empire in the West, and in the East, the breakdown of order with the Persian and Arab invasions of the seventh century. At that stage, a new kind of governor emerged, the Strategos, today, crown colonies of the United Kingdom continue to be administered by a governor, who holds varying degrees of power. Because of the different constitutional histories of the colonies of the United Kingdom. Administrators, Commissioners and High Commissioners exercise similar powers to Governors, frequently the name Government House is given to Governors residences. The term can also be used in a generic sense, especially for compound titles which include it, Governor-general. In the United Kingdoms remaining overseas territories, the governor is normally a direct appointee of the British Government, the Governors chief responsibility is for the Defence and External Affairs of the colony. In some minor overseas territories, instead of a Governor, there is an Administrator or Commissioner, in Australia, each state has the governor as its formal representative of the Queen, as head of the state government. It is not an office but a ceremonial one. Each state governor is appointed by the Queen of Australia on the advice of the Premier, State Governors have emergency reserve powers but these are rarely used
Governor
–
Flag of the Governor of
Hong Kong, 1959–1997
10.
Metropolitan area
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As social, economic and political institutions have changed, metropolitan areas have become key economic and political regions. The Greater São Paulo is a term for one of the multiple definitions the large metropolitan area located in the São Paulo state in Brazil. A metropolitan area combines an urban agglomeration with zones not necessarily urban in character and these outlying zones are sometimes known as a commuter belt, and may extend well beyond the urban zone, to other political entities. For example, El Monte, California is considered part of the Los Angeles metro area in the United States, in practice, the parameters of metropolitan areas, in both official and unofficial usage, are not consistent. Population figures given for one area can vary by millions. A polycentric metropolitan area is one not connected by continuous development or conurbation, in defining a metropolitan area, it is sufficient that a city or cities form a nucleus that other areas have a high degree of integration with. The Australian Bureau of Statistics defines statistical divisions as areas under the influence of one or more major towns or a major city. However, this definition has become obsolete with the conurbation of several statistical divisions into a larger metropolitan areas. In Brazil, metropolitan areas are called metropolitan regions, each State defines its own legislation for the creation, definition and organization of a metropolitan region. The creation of a region is not intended for any statistical purpose, although the Brazilian Institute of Geography. Their main purpose is to allow for a management of public policies of common interest to all cities involved. They dont have political, electoral or jurisdictional power whatsoever, so living in a metropolitan region do not elect representatives for them. Statistics Canada defines a metropolitan area as an area consisting of one or more adjacent municipalities situated around a major urban core. To form a CMA, the area must have a population of at least 100,000. To be included in the CMA, adjacent municipalities must have a degree of integration with the core. As of the Canada 2011 Census, there were 33 CMAs in Canada, including six with a population over one million—Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Ottawa, Calgary and Edmonton. In Denmark the only area is Greater Copenhagen, consisting of the Capital Region of Denmark along with the neighboring regions Region Zealand. Greater Copenhagen has an population of 1.25 million people
Metropolitan area
–
Greater Buenos Aires,
Argentina
Metropolitan area
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Paris (
France), one of Europe's major centres
Metropolitan area
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Tel Aviv Metropolitan Area,
Israel
Metropolitan area
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Perth, Western Australia, an isolated metropolitan area
11.
Mediterranean climate
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A Mediterranean climate /ˌmɛdɪtəˈreɪniən/ or dry summer climate, is the climate typical of the lands in the Mediterranean Basin. The Mediterranean climate is characterised by dry summers and mild, moist winters, the Azores High is associated with the Mediterranean climate found in southern Europe and north Africa and the Sahara Desert with France and England both bordering this climate, France especially. The South Atlantic High is similarly associated with the Namib Desert, under the Köppen climate classification, hot dry-summer climates and cool dry-summer climates are often referred to as mediterranean. Under the Köppen climate system, the first letter indicates the climate group, temperate climates or C zones have an average temperature above 0 °C, but below 18 °C, in their coolest months. The second letter indicates the precipitation pattern, Köppen has defined a dry summer month as a month with less than 30 mm of precipitation and with less than one-third that of the wettest winter month. Some, however, use a 40 mm level, the third letter indicates the degree of summer heat, a represents an average temperature in the warmest month above 22 °C, while b indicates the average temperature in the warmest month below 22 °C. Under the Köppen classification, dry-summer climates usually occur on the sides of continents. Under Trewarthas system, at least eight months must have average temperatures of 10 °C or higher, during summer, regions of mediterranean climate are dominated by subtropical high pressure cells, with dry sinking air capping a surface marine layer of varying humidity and making rainfall unlikely. In many Mediterranean climates there is a strong character to daily temperatures in the warm months. The majority of the regions with mediterranean climates have relatively mild winters, however winter and summer temperatures can vary greatly between different regions with a mediterranean climate. Or to consider summer, Athens experiences rather high temperatures in that season, in contrast, San Francisco has cool summers with daily highs around. In North America, areas with Csc climate can be found in the Olympic, Cascade, Klamath and these locations are found at high altitude nearby lower altitude regions characterized by a warm-summer mediterranean climate or hot-summer mediterranean climate. A rare instance of this occurs in the tropics, on Haleakalā Summit in Hawaii. In South America, Csc regions can be found along the Andes in Chile, the town of Balmaceda is one of the few towns confirmed to have this climate. Small areas with a Csc climate can also be found at elevations in Corsica. Mediterranean climate Explanation of Mediterranean Climate
Mediterranean climate
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Mediterranean climate distribution in the Americas
Mediterranean climate
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Hot-summer Mediterranean climate (Csa)
12.
Arabic language
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Arabic is a Central Semitic language that was first spoken in Iron Age northwestern Arabia and is now the lingua franca of the Arab world. Arabic is also the language of 1.7 billion Muslims. It is one of six languages of the United Nations. The modern written language is derived from the language of the Quran and it is widely taught in schools and universities, and is used to varying degrees in workplaces, government, and the media. The two formal varieties are grouped together as Literary Arabic, which is the language of 26 states. Modern Standard Arabic largely follows the standards of Quranic Arabic. Much of the new vocabulary is used to denote concepts that have arisen in the post-Quranic era, Arabic has influenced many languages around the globe throughout its history. During the Middle Ages, Literary Arabic was a vehicle of culture in Europe, especially in science, mathematics. As a result, many European languages have borrowed many words from it. Many words of Arabic origin are found in ancient languages like Latin. Balkan languages, including Greek, have acquired a significant number of Arabic words through contact with Ottoman Turkish. Arabic has also borrowed words from languages including Greek and Persian in medieval times. Arabic is a Central Semitic language, closely related to the Northwest Semitic languages, the Ancient South Arabian languages, the Semitic languages changed a great deal between Proto-Semitic and the establishment of the Central Semitic languages, particularly in grammar. Innovations of the Central Semitic languages—all maintained in Arabic—include, The conversion of the suffix-conjugated stative formation into a past tense, the conversion of the prefix-conjugated preterite-tense formation into a present tense. The elimination of other prefix-conjugated mood/aspect forms in favor of new moods formed by endings attached to the prefix-conjugation forms, the development of an internal passive. These features are evidence of descent from a hypothetical ancestor. In the southwest, various Central Semitic languages both belonging to and outside of the Ancient South Arabian family were spoken and it is also believed that the ancestors of the Modern South Arabian languages were also spoken in southern Arabia at this time. To the north, in the oases of northern Hijaz, Dadanitic and Taymanitic held some prestige as inscriptional languages, in Najd and parts of western Arabia, a language known to scholars as Thamudic C is attested
Arabic language
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The Galland Manuscript of
One Thousand and One Nights, 14th century
Arabic language
–
al-ʿArabiyyah in written Arabic (
Naskh script)
Arabic language
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Bilingual traffic sign in
Qatar.
Arabic language
–
Examples of how the Arabic root and form system works.
13.
Syrian Arabic
–
Levantine Arabic is a broad dialect of Arabic spoken in the 100 to 200 km-wide Eastern Mediterranean coastal strip. It is considered one of the five varieties of Arabic. In the frame of the general status of the Arab world, Levantine Arabic is used for daily spoken use, while most of the written and official documents. Levantine Arabic is most closely related to North Mesopotamian Arabic, Anatolian Arabic and these four varieties are descended from a common variety of northern Old Arabic. Levantine Arabic is spoken in the strip on the eastern shores of the Mediterranean. To the East, in the desert, one finds North Arabian Bedouin varieties, the transition to Egyptian Arabic in the South via the Negev and Sinai desert where Bedouin varieties are spoken and then the Egyptian Sharqiyya dialect, was described by de Jong in 1999. In this direction, the Egyptian city of El Arish is the last one to display proper Levantine features, in a similar manner, the region of el-Karak announces Hijazi Arabic. Certain areal features of Central Semitic, like the definite article and their occurrence in Arabic suggests that the language in its earliest stages was geographically contiguous with the NWS languages in which these areal features also occur. Arabic would have entered the Arabian Peninsula afterwards in a series of pre-Islamic migrations. The identification of isoglosses that appear in the ancient evidence and the modern Levantine dialects suggests continuity in the Arabic of the Levant from ancient times to the present, nevertheless, contact between indigenous northern and later southern varieties of Arabic was integral to the development of modern Levantine Arabic. This allophonic a-raising is today restricted to a few varieties of Levantine Arabic. Instead, analogically leveled forms appeared to have moved from the east into cities and then radiated outwards, the urban and oasis dialects of the Levant and Mesopotamia have come under the most contact with forms of Arabic originating in the Najd and thus reflect centuries of leveling and development. The urban core of modern Levantine Arabic was borne out of this contact situation, lebanese Arabic Jordanian Arabic Palestinian Arabic Syrian Arabic North Syrian Arabic A. Barthelemy, Dictionnaire Arabe-Français
Syrian Arabic
–
Lebanon has been passing through trials of setting up the
Lebanese Language. LEBNAAN Newspaper in proposed
Said Akl alphabet (issue #686)
Syrian Arabic
–
Mainland Levantine Arabic [
citation needed]
Syrian Arabic
–
Lebanese nationalist poet
Said Akl 's book, Yara, and an excerpt from the book in his proposed Lebanese alphabet.
Fairouz and the Rahbani Brothers had chosen Akl's book for the title of their song of the same name.
14.
Aleppo
–
Aleppo is a city in Syria, serving as the capital of the Aleppo Governorate, the most populous Syrian governorate. With an official population of 2,132,100, Aleppo was the largest Syrian city before the Syrian Civil War, however, now Aleppo is likely the second-largest city in Syria after the capital Damascus. Aleppo is an ancient city, and one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, such a long history is attributed to its strategic location as a trading center midway between the Mediterranean Sea and Mesopotamia. For centuries, Aleppo was the largest city in the Syrian region, and it was also one of the largest cities in the Levant before the advent of the Syrian Civil War. The citys significance in history has been its location at one end of the Silk Road, when the Suez Canal was inaugurated in 1869, trade was diverted to sea and Aleppo began its slow decline. At the fall of the Ottoman Empire after World War I, Aleppo ceded its northern hinterland to modern Turkey, in the 1940s, it lost its main access to the sea, Antakya and İskenderun, also to Turkey. Finally, the isolation of Syria in the past few decades further exacerbated the situation and this decline may have helped to preserve the old city of Aleppo, its medieval architecture and traditional heritage. It won the title of the Islamic Capital of Culture 2006, during the Battle of Aleppo the city suffered massive destruction, and has been the worst-hit city in the Syrian Civil War. In December 2016, the Syrian government achieved full control of Aleppo following a successful offensive, modern-day English-speakers commonly refer to the city as Aleppo. It was known in antiquity as Khalpe, Khalibon, and to the Greeks, during the Crusades, and again during the French Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon of 1923–1946, the name Alep was used. Aleppo represents the Italianised version of this, the original ancient name, Halab, has survived as the current Arabic name of the city. Some have proposed that halab means iron or copper in Amorite languages, the modern-day Arabic nickname of the city, ash-Shahbaa, which means the white-colored, also allegedly derives from the famous white marble of Aleppo. From the 11th century it was common usage to apply the term Aram-Zobah to the area of Aleppo. Aleppo has scarcely been touched by archaeologists, since the city occupies its ancient site. The site has been occupied from around 5000 BC, as shown by excavations in Tallet Alsauda, Aleppo appears in historical records as an important city much earlier than Damascus. The first record of Aleppo comes from the third millennium BC, some historians, such as Wayne Horowitz, identify Aleppo with the capital of an independent kingdom closely related to Ebla, known as Armi, although this identification is contested. The main temple of the storm god Hadad was located on the hill in the center of the city. In the Old Babylonian and Old Assyrian Empire period, Aleppos name appears in its form as Ḥalab for the first time
Aleppo
–
Ancient City of Aleppo Aleppo Citadel • The entrance to
al-Madina Souq Great Mosque of Aleppo •
Baron Hotel Saint Elias Cathedral •
Queiq River Panorama of Aleppo at night
Aleppo
–
Queiq River
Aleppo
–
Ancient Aleppo
15.
Damascus
–
Damascus is the capital and likely the largest city of Syria, following the decline in population of Aleppo due to the ongoing battle for the city. It is commonly known in Syria as ash-Sham and nicknamed as the City of Jasmine, in addition to being one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, Damascus is a major cultural and religious centre of the Levant. The city has an population of 1,711,000 as of 2009. Located in south-western Syria, Damascus is the centre of a metropolitan area of 2.6 million people. The Barada River flows through Damascus, first settled in the second millennium BC, it was chosen as the capital of the Umayyad Caliphate from 661 to 750. After the victory of the Abbasid dynasty, the seat of Islamic power was moved to Baghdad, Damascus saw a political decline throughout the Abbasid era, only to regain significant importance in the Ayyubid and Mamluk periods. Today, it is the seat of the government and all of the government ministries. The name of Damascus first appeared in the geographical list of Thutmose III as T-m-ś-q in the 15th century BC, the etymology of the ancient name T-m-ś-q is uncertain, but it is suspected to be pre-Semitic. It is attested as Dimašqa in Akkadian, T-ms-ḳw in Egyptian, Dammaśq in Old Aramaic, the Akkadian spelling is found in the Amarna letters, from the 14th century BC. Later Aramaic spellings of the name include a intrusive resh, perhaps influenced by the root dr. Thus, the English and Latin name of the city is Damascus which was imported from originated from the Qumranic Darmeśeq, and Darmsûq in Syriac, meaning a well-watered land. In Arabic, the city is called Dimašqu š-Šāmi, although this is shortened to either Dimašq or aš-Šām by the citizens of Damascus, of Syria and other Arab neighbours. Aš-Šām is an Arabic term for Levant and for Syria, the latter, the Anti-Lebanon mountains mark the border between Syria and Lebanon. The range has peaks of over 10,000 ft. and blocks precipitation from the Mediterranean sea, however, in ancient times this was mitigated by the Barada River, which originates from mountain streams fed by melting snow. Damascus is surrounded by the Ghouta, irrigated farmland where many vegetables, cereals, maps of Roman Syria indicate that the Barada river emptied into a lake of some size east of Damascus. Today it is called Bahira Atayba, the hesitant lake, because in years of severe drought it does not even exist, the modern city has an area of 105 km2, out of which 77 km2 is urban, while Jabal Qasioun occupies the rest. The old city of Damascus, enclosed by the city walls, to the south-east, north and north-east it is surrounded by suburban areas whose history stretches back to the Middle Ages, Midan in the south-west, Sarouja and Imara in the north and north-west. These neighbourhoods originally arose on roads leading out of the city and these new neighbourhoods were initially settled by Kurdish soldiery and Muslim refugees from the European regions of the Ottoman Empire which had fallen under Christian rule
Damascus
–
View of Damascus from
Mount Qassioun
Damascus
–
Damascus in spring seen from
Spot satellite
Damascus
–
One of the rare periods the
Barada river is high, seen here next to the
Four Seasons hotel in downtown Damascus
Damascus
–
Umayyad Mosque façade
16.
Homs
–
Homs, previously known as Emesa, is a city in western Syria and the capital of the Homs Governorate. It is 501 metres above sea level and is located 162 kilometres north of Damascus, located on the Orontes River, Homs is also the central link between the interior cities and the Mediterranean coast. Its population reflects Syrias general religious diversity, composed of Sunni and Alawite, there are a number of historic mosques and churches in the city, and it is close to the Krak des Chevaliers castle, a world heritage site. Homs did not emerge into the record until the 1st century BCE at the time of the Seleucids. It later became the capital of a kingdom ruled by the Emesani dynasty who gave the city its name, originally a center of worship for the sun god El-Gabal, it later gained importance in Christianity under the Byzantines. Homs was conquered by the Muslims in the 7th century and made capital of a district that bore its current name, throughout the Islamic era, Muslim dynasties contending for control of Syria sought after Homs due to the citys strategic position in the area. Homs began to decline under the Ottomans and only in the 19th century did the city regain its importance when its cotton industry boomed. During French Mandate rule, the city became a center of insurrection and, after independence in 1946, in the ongoing Syrian civil war, Homs became an opposition stronghold and the Syrian government launched a military assault against the city in May 2011. The following Siege of Homs left much of the city completely destroyed, the war in the city ended in 2015 when rebels evacuated the city, resulting in a government victory. The origin of the modern name is that it is an Arabic form of the citys Latin name Emesus. The name Emesa seems to derive from the nomadic Arab tribe, called Emesenoi by the Greeks and the Romans, Emesa was shortened to Homs or Hims by its Arab inhabitants, many of whom settled there prior to the Muslim conquest of Syria. This name has been preserved throughout the period of Islamic rule continuing to the present day and it was known as la Chamelle by the Crusaders, although they never ruled the city. For approximately 2,000 years, Homs has served as a key market, production site. It has also provided security services to the hinterland of Syria, excavations at the Citadel of Homs indicate that the earliest settlement at the site dates back to around 2300 BCE. Biblical scholars have identified the city with Zobah mentioned in the Bible, in 1274 BCE, a battle took place between the forces of the Egyptian Empire under Ramesses II and the Hittite Empire under Muwatalli II at the city of Kadesh on the Orontes River near Homs. It was possibly the largest chariot battle ever fought, involving perhaps 5, at this time, Greek philosopher Strabo spoke of a tent-dwelling tribe called the Emesani living in the area around the Orontes and south of the Apamea region. They were an Arab tribe in the area and settled in Emesa—which derived its name from them. Their chief at the time, Sampsiceramus I, gained the status as King of Emesa, but their capital was at Arethusa, a city north of Emesa, also along the Orontes River
Homs
–
Homs city landmarks
City centre and the Old Clock Tower • New Clock Tower Square • Dablan Street •
Krak des Chevaliers •
Khalid ibn al-Walid Stadium •
Khalid ibn al-Walid Mosque • New Clock Tower • City landscape from Rooftops
Homs
–
The Emesa temple to the sun god El-Gabal, with the holy stone, on the reverse of this bronze coin by
Roman usurper Uranius Antoninus
Homs
–
The
Krak des Chevaliers, a famous world heritage site near Homs
Homs
–
Some frescoes inside the
Church of Saint Elian date back to the 6th-century
17.
Hama
–
Hama is a city on the banks of the Orontes River in west-central Syria. It is located 213 km north of Damascus and 46 kilometres north of Homs and it is the provincial capital of the Hama Governorate. With a population of 854,000, Hama is the fourth-largest city in Syria after Aleppo, Damascus, the city is renowned for its seventeen norias used for watering the gardens, which are locally claimed to date back to 1100 BC. Though historically used for purpose of irrigation, the norias exist today as an almost entirely aesthetic traditional show, in the last decades, the city of Hama has become known as a center of the anti-Baath opposition in Syria, most notably the Muslim Brotherhood. The city was again the site of conflict between the Syrian military and opposition forces as one of the main arenas of the Syrian civil war during the 2011 siege of Hama. The ancient settlement of Hamath was occupied from the early Neolithic to the Iron Age, remains from the Chalcolithic have been uncovered by Danish archaeologists on the mount on which the former citadel once stood. The excavation took place between 1931 and 1938 under the direction of Harald Ingholt, the stratigraphy is very generalized, which makes detailed comparison to other sites difficult. Level M contained both white ware and true pottery and it may be contemporary with Ras Shamra V. The overlying level L dates to the Chalcolithic Halaf culture, mitanni was subsequently overthrown by the Hittites, who controlled all of northern Syria following the famous Battle of Kadesh against Ancient Egypt under Ramesses II near Homs in 1285. In early 19th century, Johann Ludwig Burckhardt was the first to discover Hittite or Luwian hieroglyphic script at Hama, the site also shows Assyrian and Aramaean settlement. When the Assyrian king Shalmaneser III conquered the north of Aramea reached Hamath in 835 BC, irhuleni of Hamath and Hadadezer of Aram-Damascus led a coalition of Aramean cities against the encroaching Assyrian armies. According to Assyrian sources, they were confronted by 4000 chariots,2000 horsemen,62, the Assyrian victory seems to have been more of a draw, although Shalmaneser III continued on to the shore and even took a ship to open sea. In the following years, Shalmaneser III failed to conquer Hamath or Aram-Damascus, after the death of Shalmaneser III, the former allies Hamath and Aram-Damascus fell out, and Aram-Damascus seems to have taken over some of Hamaths territory. An Aramaic inscription of Zakkur, dual king of Hamath and Luhuti, tells of an attack by a coalition including Samal under Ben-Hadad III, son of Hazael, zakir was besieged in his fortress of Hazrak, but saved by intervention of the God Baalshamin. Later on, the state of Samal came to rule both Hamath and Aram, in 738 BC, Hamath is listed among the cities again conquered by Assyrian troops. Over 30,000 natives were deported to Ullaba and replaced with captives from the Zagros Mountains, after the fall of the northern kingdom of Israel, Hamaths king Ilu-Bidi led a failed revolt of the newly organized Assyrian provinces of Arpad, Simirra, Damascus, and Samara. Styling himself the Destroyer of Hamath, Sargon II razed the city ca 720 BCE, recolonized it with 6,300 Assyrians and he also carried off to Nimrud the ivory-adorned furnishings of its kings. The few Biblical reports state that Hamath was the capital of a Canaanite kingdom, whose king congratulated King David on his victory over Hadadezer, king of Zobah
Hama
–
Hama
Hama
–
An alley in Old Hama
Hama
–
Aqueduct in Epiphania (= Hama).
Hama
–
Nur al-Din Mosque
18.
Tartus
–
Tartus is a city on the Mediterranean coast of Syria. It is the second largest port city in Syria, and the largest city in Tartus Governorate, in the summer it is a vacation spot for many Syrians. Many vacation compounds and resorts are located in the region, the port holds a small Russian naval facility. The city lies on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea bordered by the Alawite Mountains to the east, Arwad, the only inhabited island on the Syrian coast, is located a few kilometers off the shore of Tartus. Tartus occupies most of the plain, surrounded to the east by mountains composed mainly of limestone and, in certain places around the town of Souda. Tartus has a Mediterranean climate with mild, wet winters, hot and dry summers, the hills to the east of the city create a cooler climate with even higher rainfall. Tartus is known for its mild weather and high precipitation compared to inland Syria. Humidity in the summer can reach 0%, the History of Tartus goes back to the 2nd millennium BC when it was founded as a Phoenician colony of Aradus. The colony was known as Antaradus, not much remains of the Phoenician Antaradus, the mainland settlement that was linked to the more important and larger settlements of Aradus, off the shore of Tartus, and the nearby site of Amrit. The city was called Antaradus in Latin, athanasius reports that, under Roman Emperor Constantine the Great, Cymatius, the Orthodox bishop of Antaradus and also of Aradus was driven out by the Arians. At the First Council of Constantinople in 381, Mocimus appears as bishop of Aradus, at the time of the Council of Ephesus, some sources speak of a Musaeus as bishop of Aradus and Antaradus, while others mention only Aradus or only Antaradus. The acts of the Second Council of Constantinople in 553 were signed by Asyncretius as bishop of Aradus, at the time of the Crusades, Antaradus, by then called Tartus or Tortosa, was a Latin Church diocese, whose bishop also held the titles of Aradus and Maraclea. It was united to the see of Famagosta in Cyprus in 1295, no longer a residential bishopric, Antaradus is today listed by the Catholic Church as a titular see. The city was favored by Constantine for its devotion to the cult of the Virgin Mary, the first chapel to be dedicated to the Virgin is said to have been built here in the 3rd century. Muslim armies conquered Tartus under the leadership of Ayyan bin al-Samet al-Ansary in 636, the Crusaders called the city Antartus, and also Tortosa. First captured by Raymond of Saint-Gilles, it was left in 1105 to his son Alfonso Jordan and was known as Tortosa, in 1123 the Crusaders built the semi-fortified Cathedral of Our Lady of Tortosa over a Byzantine church that was popular with pilgrims. The Cathedral itself was used as a mosque after the Muslim reconquest of the city and it was renovated under the French and is now the city museum, containing antiquities recovered from Amrit and many other sites in the region. Nur ad-Din Zangi retrieved Tartus from the Crusaders for a time before he lost it again
Tartus
–
Hamrat Street
Tartus
–
The Crusader-era
cathedral of Our Lady of Tortosa.
Tartus
–
Tartus port
Tartus
–
Boats in Tartus harbor
19.
Idlib
–
Idlib is a city in northwestern Syria, capital of the Idlib Governorate, and 59 kilometers south west of Aleppo. It has an elevation of nearly 500 meters above sea level, in the 2004 census by the Central Bureau of Statistics, Idlib had a population of 98,791 and in 2010 the population of Idlib was around 165,000. The inhabitants are overwhelmingly Sunni Muslims, although there is a significant Christian minority, Idlib is divided into six main districts, Ashrafiyeh, Hittin, Hejaz, Downtown, Hurriya, and al-Qusur. A major agricultural center of Syria, the Idlib area is historically significant, containing many dead cities. Idlib contains the ancient city of Ebla, once the capital of a powerful kingdom, the ancient kingdoms of Nuhašše and Luhuti flourished in the Governorate during the Bronze and Iron ages. Although the major markets for Idlibs soap were at Aleppo, Antioch, and Hama, Idlib was also a major producer of cotton fabrics. Western traveler Josias Leslie Porter noted that Idlib was encompassed in olive groves and he further remarked that its olives groves were larger than those of Damascus, Beirut, and Gaza. In the mid-19th-century, the town had an population of 8,000. In the late 19th century, Idlib was flourishing and contained a number of Christian families, during the civil uprising of 2011, Idlib was the focus of protests and fighting in the early phase of the Syrian war. As the uprising descended into armed conflict, Idlib became the focus of a campaign, which temporarily captured the city. After this, government forces retook the city and the province after a month of fighting. In April 2015, the seat of the Syrian oppositions Syrian Interim Government was proposed to be Idlib. Köppen-Geiger climate classification system classifies its climate as hot-summer Mediterranean, summers are hot and rainless, while winters are rainy and cool. The highest record temperatures was 44 °C on June 16,2012, according to arabiaweather. com the lowest temperature ever recorded in Idlib was −23 °C in January 1951 Idlib is a major production center for olives, cotton, wheat and fruits, particularly cherries. Other principal crops include almonds, sesame seeds, figs, grapes and tomatoes, in 1995 there were roughly 300 hectares planted with various citrus crop. Olive oil pressing and textiles are some of the local industries. The nearby city of Aleppo has an important economic presence in Idlib, the Idlib Regional Museum in the city contains over 17,000 of the Ebla tablets and serves as Idlibs main tourist attraction, excluding the nearby ancient site of Ebla itself. Under the Technical and Financial Cooperation Agreement between the governments of Italy and Syria, the museum was to undergo a restoration and renovation project starting in 2010, omayya Idlib, founded in 1972, is the most popular football team in the city
Idlib
–
Typical olive field in the valleys surrounding Idlib
Idlib
–
Byzantine temple at
Ruweiha near Idlib.
20.
Cyprus
–
Cyprus, officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the Eastern Mediterranean and the third largest and third most populous island in the Mediterranean. It is located south of Turkey, west of Syria and Lebanon, northwest of Israel and Palestine, north of Egypt, the earliest known human activity on the island dates to around the 10th millennium BC. Archaeological remains from this include the well-preserved Neolithic village of Khirokitia. Cyprus was settled by Mycenaean Greeks in two waves in the 2nd millennium BC, Cyprus was placed under British administration based on Cyprus Convention in 1878 and formally annexed by Britain in 1914. While Turkish Cypriots made up 18% of the population, the partition of Cyprus and creation of a Turkish state in the north became a policy of Turkish Cypriot leaders, following nationalist violence in the 1950s, Cyprus was granted independence in 1960. On 15 July 1974, a coup détat was staged by Greek Cypriot nationalists and elements of the Greek military junta in an attempt at enosis and these events and the resulting political situation are matters of a continuing dispute. The Cyprus Republic has de jure sovereignty over the island of Cyprus, as well as its territorial sea and exclusive economic area, another nearly 4% of the islands area is covered by the UN buffer zone. The international community considers the part of the island as territory of the Republic of Cyprus occupied by Turkish forces. The occupation is viewed as illegal under law, amounting to illegal occupation of EU territory since Cyprus became a member of the European Union. Cyprus is a major tourist destination in the Mediterranean, on 1 January 2008, the Republic of Cyprus joined the eurozone. The earliest attested reference to Cyprus is the 15th century BC Mycenaean Greek
Cyprus
–
A copper mine on Cyprus. In antiquity, Cyprus was a major source of copper.
Cyprus
–
Flag
Cyprus
–
Archeologic site of Choirokoitia with early remains of human habitation during Aceramic Neolithic period (reconstruction)
Cyprus
–
Sanctuary of Apollo Hylates,
Kourion
21.
Seleucid empire
–
Seleucus received Babylonia and, from there, expanded his dominions to include much of Alexanders near eastern territories. At the height of its power, it included central Anatolia, Persia, the Levant, Mesopotamia, and what is now Kuwait, Afghanistan, and parts of Pakistan and Turkmenistan. The Seleucid Empire was a center of Hellenistic culture that maintained the preeminence of Greek customs where a Greek political elite dominated. The Greek population of the cities who formed the dominant elite were reinforced by immigration from Greece, Seleucid expansion into Anatolia and Greece was abruptly halted after decisive defeats at the hands of the Roman army. Their attempts to defeat their old enemy Ptolemaic Egypt were frustrated by Roman demands, contemporary sources, such as a loyalist degree from Ilium, in Greek language define the Seleucid state both as an empire and as a kingdom. Similarly, Seleucid rulers were described as kings in Babylonia and he refers to either Alexander Balas or Alexander II Zabinas as a ruler. Alexander, who conquered the Persian Empire under its last Achaemenid dynast, Darius III, died young in 323 BC. Alexanders generals jostled for supremacy over parts of his empire, Ptolemy, a former general and the satrap of Egypt, was the first to challenge the new system, this led to the demise of Perdiccas. Ptolemys revolt led to a new subdivision of the empire with the Partition of Triparadisus in 320 BC, Seleucus, who had been Commander-in-Chief of the Companion cavalry and appointed first or court chiliarch received Babylonia and, from that point, continued to expand his dominions ruthlessly. Seleucus established himself in Babylon in 312 BC, the used as the foundation date of the Seleucid Empire. The whole region from Phrygia to the Indus was subject to Seleucus, but Seleucus Nicator gave them to Sandrocottus in consequence of a marriage contract, and received in return five hundred elephants. Following his and Lysimachus victory over Antigonus Monophthalmus at the decisive Battle of Ipsus in 301 BC, Seleucus took control over eastern Anatolia, in the latter area, he founded a new capital at Antioch on the Orontes, a city he named after his father. An alternative capital was established at Seleucia on the Tigris, north of Babylon, Seleucuss empire reached its greatest extent following his defeat of his erstwhile ally, Lysimachus, at Corupedion in 281 BC, after which Seleucus expanded his control to encompass western Anatolia. He hoped further to take control of Lysimachuss lands in Europe – primarily Thrace and even Macedonia itself, nevertheless, even before Seleucus death, it was difficult to assert control over the vast eastern domains of the Seleucids. Seleucus invaded the Punjab region of India in 305 BC, confronting Chandragupta Maurya and it is said that Chandragupta fielded an army of 600,000 men and 9,000 war elephants. Archaeologically, concrete indications of Mauryan rule, such as the inscriptions of the Edicts of Ashoka, are known as far as Kandahar in southern Afghanistan and it is generally thought that Chandragupta married Seleucuss daughter, or a Macedonian princess, a gift from Seleucus to formalize an alliance. In a return gesture, Chandragupta sent 500 war elephants, an asset which would play a decisive role at the Battle of Ipsus in 301 BC. In addition to this treaty, Seleucus dispatched an ambassador, Megasthenes, to Chandragupta, Megasthenes wrote detailed descriptions of India and Chandraguptas reign, which have been partly preserved to us through Diodorus Siculus
Seleucid empire
–
Tetradrachm of
Seleucus I, the horned horse, the
elephant and the anchor were all used as symbols of the Seleucid monarchy.
Seleucid empire
Seleucid empire
–
Coin of
Seleucus I Nicator
Seleucid empire
–
In
Bactria, the satrap
Diodotus asserted independence to form the
Greco-Bactrian kingdom c.245 BC.
22.
Roman empire
–
Civil wars and executions continued, culminating in the victory of Octavian, Caesars adopted son, over Mark Antony and Cleopatra at the Battle of Actium in 31 BC and the annexation of Egypt. Octavians power was then unassailable and in 27 BC the Roman Senate formally granted him overarching power, the imperial period of Rome lasted approximately 1,500 years compared to the 500 years of the Republican era. The first two centuries of the empires existence were a period of unprecedented political stability and prosperity known as the Pax Romana, following Octavians victory, the size of the empire was dramatically increased. After the assassination of Caligula in 41, the senate briefly considered restoring the republic, under Claudius, the empire invaded Britannia, its first major expansion since Augustus. Vespasian emerged triumphant in 69, establishing the Flavian dynasty, before being succeeded by his son Titus and his short reign was followed by the long reign of his brother Domitian, who was eventually assassinated. The senate then appointed the first of the Five Good Emperors, the empire reached its greatest extent under Trajan, the second in this line. A period of increasing trouble and decline began with the reign of Commodus, Commodus assassination in 192 triggered the Year of the Five Emperors, of which Septimius Severus emerged victorious. The assassination of Alexander Severus in 235 led to the Crisis of the Third Century in which 26 men were declared emperor by the Roman Senate over a time span. It was not until the reign of Diocletian that the empire was fully stabilized with the introduction of the Tetrarchy, which saw four emperors rule the empire at once. This arrangement was unsuccessful, leading to a civil war that was finally ended by Constantine I. Constantine subsequently shifted the capital to Byzantium, which was renamed Constantinople in his honour and it remained the capital of the east until its demise. Constantine also adopted Christianity which later became the state religion of the empire. However, Augustulus was never recognized by his Eastern colleague, and separate rule in the Western part of the empire ceased to exist upon the death of Julius Nepos. The Eastern Roman Empire endured for another millennium, eventually falling to the Ottoman Turks in 1453, the Roman Empire was among the most powerful economic, cultural, political and military forces in the world of its time. It was one of the largest empires in world history, at its height under Trajan, it covered 5 million square kilometres. It held sway over an estimated 70 million people, at that time 21% of the entire population. Throughout the European medieval period, attempts were made to establish successors to the Roman Empire, including the Empire of Romania, a Crusader state. Rome had begun expanding shortly after the founding of the republic in the 6th century BC, then, it was an empire long before it had an emperor
Roman empire
–
The
Augustus of Prima Porta (early 1st century AD)
Roman empire
–
Aureus of
Augustus, the first
Roman Emperor.
Roman empire
–
A segment of the ruins of Hadrian's Wall in northern England
Roman empire
–
A 5th-century
papyrus showing a parallel Latin-Greek text of a speech by
Cicero
23.
Ummayad
–
The Umayyad Caliphate, also spelled Omayyad, was the second of the four major caliphates established after the death of Muhammad. This caliphate was centred on the Umayyad dynasty, hailing from Mecca, Syria remained the Umayyads main power base thereafter, and Damascus was their capital. The Umayyads continued the Muslim conquests, incorporating the Caucasus, Transoxiana, Sindh, the Maghreb and the Iberian Peninsula into the Muslim world. At its greatest extent, the Umayyad Caliphate covered 11,100,000 km2 and 62 million people, the Umayyad Caliphate was secular by nature. At the time, the Umayyad taxation and administrative practice were perceived as unjust by some Muslims, Muhammad had stated explicitly during his lifetime that Abrahamic religious groups, should be allowed to practice their own religion, provided that they paid the jizya taxation. The welfare state of both the Muslim and the poor started by Umar ibn al Khattab had also continued, financed by the zakat tax levied only on Muslims. Muawiyas wife Maysum was also a Christian, the relations between the Muslims and the Christians in the state were stable in this time. Prominent positions were held by Christians, some of whom belonged to families that had served in Byzantine governments, the employment of Christians was part of a broader policy of religious assimilation that was necessitated by the presence of large Christian populations in the conquered provinces, as in Syria. This policy also boosted Muawiyas popularity and solidified Syria as his power base, the rivalries between the Arab tribes had caused unrest in the provinces outside Syria, most notably in the Second Muslim Civil War of AD 680–692 and the Berber Revolt of 740–743. During the Second Civil War, leadership of the Umayyad clan shifted from the Sufyanid branch of the family to the Marwanid branch. A branch of the family fled across North Africa to Al-Andalus, where they established the Caliphate of Córdoba, according to tradition, the Umayyad family and Muhammad both descended from a common ancestor, Abd Manaf ibn Qusai, and they originally came from the city of Mecca. Muhammad descended from Abd Manāf via his son Hashim, while the Umayyads descended from Abd Manaf via a different son, Abd-Shams, the two families are therefore considered to be different clans of the same tribe. However Muslim Shia historians suspect that Umayya was a son of Abd Shams so he was not a blood relative of Abd Manaf ibn Qusai. Umayya was later discarded from the noble family, Sunni historians disagree with this and view Shia claims as nothing more than outright polemics due to their hostility to the Umayyad family in general. While the Umayyads and the Hashimites may have had bitterness between the two clans before Muhammad, the rivalry turned into a case of tribal animosity after the Battle of Badr. The battle saw three top leaders of the Umayyad clan killed by Hashimites in a three-on-three melee and this fueled the opposition of Abu Sufyan ibn Harb, the grandson of Umayya, to Muhammad and to Islam. Abu Sufyan sought to exterminate the adherents of the new religion by waging another battle with Muslims based in Medina only a year after the Battle of Badr and he did this to avenge the defeat at Badr. The Battle of Uhud is generally believed by scholars to be the first defeat for the Muslims, as they had incurred greater losses than the Meccans
Ummayad
–
Umayyad Caliphate in 750
Ummayad
–
Flag
Ummayad
–
History of Afghanistan
24.
Abbasid
–
The Abbasid Caliphate was the third of the Islamic caliphates to succeed the Islamic prophet Muhammad. The Abbasid dynasty descended from Muhammads youngest uncle, Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib and they ruled as caliphs, for most of their period from their capital in Baghdad in modern-day Iraq, after assuming authority over the Muslim empire from the Umayyads in 750 CE. The Abbasid caliphate first centered its government in Kufa, but in 762 the caliph Al-Mansur founded the city of Baghdad, the political power of the caliphs largely ended with the rise of the Buyids and the Seljuq Turks. Although Abbasid leadership over the vast Islamic empire was reduced to a ceremonial religious function. The capital city of Baghdad became a center of science, culture, philosophy and this period of cultural fruition ended in 1258 with the sack of Baghdad by the Mongols under Hulagu Khan. The Abbasid line of rulers, and Muslim culture in general, though lacking in political power, the dynasty continued to claim authority in religious matters until after the Ottoman conquest of Egypt. The Abbasid caliphs were Arabs descended from Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib, one of the youngest uncles of Muhammad, the Abbasids claimed to be the true successors of Prophet Muhammad in replacing the Umayyad descendants of Banu Umayya by virtue of their closer bloodline to Muhammad. The Abbasids also distinguished themselves from the Umayyads by attacking their moral character, according to Ira Lapidus, The Abbasid revolt was supported largely by Arabs, mainly the aggrieved settlers of Marw with the addition of the Yemeni faction and their Mawali. The Abbasids also appealed to non-Arab Muslims, known as mawali, Muhammad ibn Ali, a great-grandson of Abbas, began to campaign for the return of power to the family of Prophet Muhammad, the Hashimites, in Persia during the reign of Umar II. During the reign of Marwan II, this culminated in the rebellion of Ibrahim the Imam. On 9 June 747, Abu Muslim successfully initiated a revolt against Umayyad rule. Close to 10,000 soldiers were under Abu Muslims command when the hostilities began in Merv. General Qahtaba followed the fleeing governor Nasr ibn Sayyar west defeating the Umayyads at the Battle of Nishapur, the Battle of Gorgan, after this loss, Marwan fled to Egypt, where he was subsequently assassinated. The remainder of his family, barring one male, were also eliminated, immediately after their victory, As-Saffah sent his forces to Central Asia, where his forces fought against Tang expansion during the Battle of Talas. Barmakids, who were instrumental in building Baghdad, introduced the worlds first recorded paper mill in Baghdad, As-Saffah focused on putting down numerous rebellions in Syria and Mesopotamia. The Byzantines conducted raids during these early distractions, the first change the Abbasids, under Al-Mansur, made was to move the empires capital from Damascus, in Syria, to Baghdad in Iraq. Baghdad was established on the Tigris River in 762, a new position, that of the vizier, was also established to delegate central authority, and even greater authority was delegated to local emirs. During Al-Mansurs time control of Al-Andalus was lost, and the Shiites revolted and were defeated a year later at the Battle of Bakhamra, the Abbasids had depended heavily on the support of Persians in their overthrow of the Umayyads
Abbasid
–
The Black Banner of the Abbasids.
Abbasid
–
Coin of the Abbasids,
Baghdad, Iraq, 765
Abbasid
–
Image of the
Amir of
Khorasan Isma'il ibn Ahmad on the
Tajikistani somoni who exercised independent authority from the Abassids
25.
Byzantine empire
–
It survived the fragmentation and fall of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD and continued to exist for an additional thousand years until it fell to the Ottoman Turks in 1453. During most of its existence, the empire was the most powerful economic, cultural, several signal events from the 4th to 6th centuries mark the period of transition during which the Roman Empires Greek East and Latin West divided. Constantine I reorganised the empire, made Constantinople the new capital, under Theodosius I, Christianity became the Empires official state religion and other religious practices were proscribed. Finally, under the reign of Heraclius, the Empires military, the borders of the Empire evolved significantly over its existence, as it went through several cycles of decline and recovery. During the reign of Maurice, the Empires eastern frontier was expanded, in a matter of years the Empire lost its richest provinces, Egypt and Syria, to the Arabs. This battle opened the way for the Turks to settle in Anatolia, the Empire recovered again during the Komnenian restoration, such that by the 12th century Constantinople was the largest and wealthiest European city. Despite the eventual recovery of Constantinople in 1261, the Byzantine Empire remained only one of several small states in the area for the final two centuries of its existence. Its remaining territories were annexed by the Ottomans over the 15th century. The Fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 finally ended the Byzantine Empire, the term comes from Byzantium, the name of the city of Constantinople before it became Constantines capital. This older name of the city would rarely be used from this point onward except in historical or poetic contexts. The publication in 1648 of the Byzantine du Louvre, and in 1680 of Du Canges Historia Byzantina further popularised the use of Byzantine among French authors, however, it was not until the mid-19th century that the term came into general use in the Western world. The Byzantine Empire was known to its inhabitants as the Roman Empire, the Empire of the Romans, Romania, the Roman Republic, Graikia, and also as Rhōmais. The inhabitants called themselves Romaioi and Graikoi, and even as late as the 19th century Greeks typically referred to modern Greek as Romaika and Graikika. The authority of the Byzantine emperor as the legitimate Roman emperor was challenged by the coronation of Charlemagne as Imperator Augustus by Pope Leo III in the year 800. No such distinction existed in the Islamic and Slavic worlds, where the Empire was more seen as the continuation of the Roman Empire. In the Islamic world, the Roman Empire was known primarily as Rûm, the Roman army succeeded in conquering many territories covering the entire Mediterranean region and coastal regions in southwestern Europe and north Africa. These territories were home to different cultural groups, both urban populations and rural populations. The West also suffered heavily from the instability of the 3rd century AD
Byzantine empire
–
Tremissis with the image of
Justinian the Great (r. 527–565) (see
Byzantine insignia)
Byzantine empire
–
Byzantine
lamellar armour klivanium (Κλιβάνιον) - a predecessor of Ottoman krug
mirror armour
Byzantine empire
–
The Baptism of Constantine painted by
Raphael 's pupils (1520–1524,
fresco, Vatican City,
Apostolic Palace);
Eusebius of Caesarea records that (as
was common among converts of early Christianity) Constantine delayed receiving
baptism until shortly before his death
Byzantine empire
–
Restored section of the Theodosian Walls.
26.
Fatimid
–
The Fatimid Caliphate was an Ismaili Shia Islamic caliphate that spanned a large area of North Africa, from the Red Sea in the east to the Atlantic Ocean in the west. The dynasty ruled across the Mediterranean coast of Africa and ultimately made Egypt the centre of the caliphate, at its height the caliphate included in addition to Egypt varying areas of the Maghreb, Sudan, Sicily, the Levant, and Hijaz. The Fatimids claimed descent from Fatima bint Muhammad, the daughter of Islamic prophet Muhammad, in 921 the Fatimids established the Tunisian city of Mahdia as their new capital. In 948 they shifted their capital to Al-Mansuriya, near Kairouan in Tunisia, in 969 they conquered Egypt and established Cairo as the capital of their caliphate, Egypt became the political, cultural, and religious centre of their empire. The ruling class belonged to the Ismaili branch of Shiism, as did the leaders of the dynasty, the existence of the caliphate marked the only time the descendants of Ali through Fatimah were united to any degree and the name Fatimid refers to Fatimah. The different term Fatimite is sometimes used to refer to the caliphates subjects, after the initial conquests, the caliphate often allowed a degree of religious tolerance towards non-Ismaili sects of Islam, as well as to Jews, Maltese Christians, and Egyptian Coptic Christians. The Fatimid caliphate was also distinguished by the role of Berbers in its initial establishment and in helping its development, especially on the military. During the late eleventh and twelfth centuries the Fatimid caliphate declined rapidly and he founded the Ayyubid dynasty and incorporated the Fatimid state into the Abbasid Caliphate. The Fatimid regime lasted until the twelfth century, though its leaders made little headway in persuading the Egyptian population. The Fatimid Caliphates religious ideology originated in an Ismaili Shia movement launched in the 9th century in Salamiyah, Syria by their eighth Imam and he claimed descent through Ismail, the seventh Ismaili Imam, from Fatimah and her husband ʻAlī ibn-Abī-Tālib, the first Shīʻa Imām. Thus his name was al-Fātimiyyūn Fatimid, the eighth to tenth Imams, remained hidden and worked for the movement against the periods times rulers. According to legend, Abdullah and his son were fulfilling a prophecy that the mahdi would come from Mesopotamia to Sijilmasa. They hid among the population of Sijilmasa, then an independent emirate, for four years under the countenance of the Midrar rulers, al-Mahdi was supported by dedicated Shiite Abu Abdullah al-Shii, and al-Shii started his preaching after he encountered a group of Muslim North African during his hajj. These men bragged about the country of the Kutama in western Ifriqiya, and the hostility of the Kutama towards, and their independence from. This triggered al-Shii to travel to the region, where he started to preach the Ismaili doctrine, the Berber peasants, who had been oppressed for decades by the corrupt Aghlabid rule, would prove themselves to be a perfect basis for sedition. Instantly, al-Shii began conquering cities in the region, first Mila, then Sétif, Kairouan, and eventually Raqqada, in 909 Al-Shii sent a large expedition force to rescue the Mahdi, conquering the Khariji state of Tahert on its way there. After gaining his freedom, Abdullah al-Mahdi Billah became the leader of the state and assumed the position of imam. The Fatimids existed during the Islamic Golden Age, the dynasty was founded in 909 by the eleventh Imam ʻAbdullāh al-Mahdī Billah
Fatimid
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Fatimid green banner.
Fatimid
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The
Al-Hakim Mosque in Cairo, of
Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah, the sixth caliph, as renovated by
Dawoodi Bohra
Fatimid
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Fragment of a bowl depicting a mounted warrior, 11th century. Fatimid dynasty, found in Fustat, Egypt.
Brooklyn Museum
27.
Seljuk Turks
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The Seljuqs established both the Seljuk Empire and Sultanate of Rum, which at their heights stretched from Anatolia through Iran and were targets of the First Crusade. During the 10th century, due to events, the Oghuz had come into close contact with Muslim cities. Around 985, Seljuq converted to Islam, in the 11th century the Seljuqs migrated from their ancestral homelands into mainland Persia, in the province of Khurasan, where they encountered the Ghaznavid empire. In 1025,40,000 families of Oghuz Turks migrated to the area of Caucasian Albania, the Seljuqs defeated the Ghaznavids at the battle of Nasa plains in 1035. Tughril, Chaghri, and Yabghu received the insignias of governor, grants of land, at the battle of Dandanaqan they defeated a Ghaznavid army, and after a successful siege of Isfahan by Tughril in 1050/51, they established an empire later called the Great Seljuk Empire. The Seljuqs mixed with the population and adopted the Persian culture. The Great Seljuqs were heads of the family, in theory their authority extended over all the other Seljuq lines, turkish custom called for the senior member of the family to be the Great Seljuq, although usually the position was associated with the ruler of western Persia. Muhammads son Mahmud II succeeded him in western Persia, but Ahmad Sanjar, the rulers of western Persia, who maintained a very loose grip on the Abbasids of Baghdad. Several Turkic emirs gained a level of influence in the region. Kerman was a province in southern Persia, between 1053 and 1154, the territory also included Umman. Kerman was eventually annexed by the Khwarezmid Empire in 1196, the Empire of the Steppes, a History of Central Asia. Early Seljuq History, A New Interpretation, New York, NY, Routledge,2010 Previté-Orton, C. W
Seljuk Turks
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History of the Turkic peoples Pre-14th century
Seljuk Turks
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Seljuq dynasty
Seljuk Turks
28.
Crusades
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The First Crusade arose after a call to arms in a 1095 sermon by Pope Urban II. Urban urged military support for the Byzantine Empire and its Emperor, Alexios I, the response to Urbans preaching by people of many different classes across Western Europe established the precedent for later Crusades. Volunteers became Crusaders by taking a vow and receiving plenary indulgences from the church. Some were hoping for apotheosis at Jerusalem, or forgiveness from God for all their sins, others participated to satisfy feudal obligations, gain glory and honour, or find opportunities for economic and political gain. Many modern Historians have polarised opinions of the Crusaders behaviour under Papal sanction, to some it was incongruous with the stated aims and implied moral authority of the papacy and the Crusades, to the extent that on occasions that the Pope excommunicated Crusaders. Crusaders often pillaged as they travelled, while their leaders retained control of captured territory rather than returning it to the Byzantines. During the Peoples Crusade thousands of Jews were murdered in what is now called the Rhineland massacres, Constantinople was sacked during the Fourth Crusade rendering the reunification of Christendom impossible. These tales consequently galvanised medieval romance, philosophy and literature, but the Crusades also reinforced the connection between Western Christendom, feudalism, and militarism. Crusade is not a term, instead the terms iter for journey or peregrinatio for pilgrimage were used. Not until the word crucesignatus for one who was signed with the cross was adopted at the close of the century was specific terminology developed. The Middle English equivalents were derived from old French, croiserie in the 13th–15th centuries, croisade appeared in English c1575, and continued to be the leading form till c1760. By convention historians adopt the term for the Christian holy wars from 1095, the Crusades in the Holy Land are traditionally counted as nine distinct campaigns, numbered from the First Crusade of 1095–99 to the Ninth Crusade of 1271/2. Usage of the term Crusade may differ depending on the author, pluralists use the term Crusade of any campaign explicitly sanctioned by the reigning Pope. This reflects the view of the Roman Catholic Church that every military campaign given Papal sanction is equally valid as a Crusade, regardless of its cause, justification, generalists see Crusades as any and all holy wars connected with the Latin Church and fought in defence of their faith. Popularists limit the Crusades to only those that were characterised by popular groundswells of religious fervour – that is, only the First Crusade, Medieval Muslim historiographers such as Ali ibn al-Athir refer to the Crusades as the Frankish Wars. The term used in modern Arabic, ḥamalāt ṣalībiyya حملات صليبية, campaigns of the cross, is a loan translation of the term Crusade as used in Western historiography. The Islamic prophet Muhammad founded Islam in the Arabian Peninsula, the resulting unified polity in the seventh and eighth centuries led to a rapid expansion of Arab power. This influence stretched from the northwest Indian subcontinent, across Central Asia, the Middle East, North Africa, southern Italy, tolerance, trade, and political relationships between the Arabs and the Christian states of Europe waxed and waned
Crusades
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Madrid Skylitzes illuminated manuscript depicting Byzantine Greeks punishing ninth-century
Cretan Saracens
Crusades
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Map of the
Eastern Mediterranean in 1135, showing crusader-held and neighbouring territories
Crusades
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Fifteenth-century illustrated French translation of
Boccaccio 's
De Casibus Virorum Illustrium, showing
Seljuk emperor
Alp Arslan ritually humiliating
Romanos IV in 1071 after Manzikert; Alp Arslan allowed Romanos to return to
Constantinople, where he was killed by the Byzantines.
Crusades
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Illumination from the Livre des Passages d'Outre-mer (c. 1490) of Urban II at the Council of Clermont (from the
Bibliothèque Nationale)
29.
Seleucid Empire
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Seleucus received Babylonia and, from there, expanded his dominions to include much of Alexanders near eastern territories. At the height of its power, it included central Anatolia, Persia, the Levant, Mesopotamia, and what is now Kuwait, Afghanistan, and parts of Pakistan and Turkmenistan. The Seleucid Empire was a center of Hellenistic culture that maintained the preeminence of Greek customs where a Greek political elite dominated. The Greek population of the cities who formed the dominant elite were reinforced by immigration from Greece, Seleucid expansion into Anatolia and Greece was abruptly halted after decisive defeats at the hands of the Roman army. Their attempts to defeat their old enemy Ptolemaic Egypt were frustrated by Roman demands, contemporary sources, such as a loyalist degree from Ilium, in Greek language define the Seleucid state both as an empire and as a kingdom. Similarly, Seleucid rulers were described as kings in Babylonia and he refers to either Alexander Balas or Alexander II Zabinas as a ruler. Alexander, who conquered the Persian Empire under its last Achaemenid dynast, Darius III, died young in 323 BC. Alexanders generals jostled for supremacy over parts of his empire, Ptolemy, a former general and the satrap of Egypt, was the first to challenge the new system, this led to the demise of Perdiccas. Ptolemys revolt led to a new subdivision of the empire with the Partition of Triparadisus in 320 BC, Seleucus, who had been Commander-in-Chief of the Companion cavalry and appointed first or court chiliarch received Babylonia and, from that point, continued to expand his dominions ruthlessly. Seleucus established himself in Babylon in 312 BC, the used as the foundation date of the Seleucid Empire. The whole region from Phrygia to the Indus was subject to Seleucus, but Seleucus Nicator gave them to Sandrocottus in consequence of a marriage contract, and received in return five hundred elephants. Following his and Lysimachus victory over Antigonus Monophthalmus at the decisive Battle of Ipsus in 301 BC, Seleucus took control over eastern Anatolia, in the latter area, he founded a new capital at Antioch on the Orontes, a city he named after his father. An alternative capital was established at Seleucia on the Tigris, north of Babylon, Seleucuss empire reached its greatest extent following his defeat of his erstwhile ally, Lysimachus, at Corupedion in 281 BC, after which Seleucus expanded his control to encompass western Anatolia. He hoped further to take control of Lysimachuss lands in Europe – primarily Thrace and even Macedonia itself, nevertheless, even before Seleucus death, it was difficult to assert control over the vast eastern domains of the Seleucids. Seleucus invaded the Punjab region of India in 305 BC, confronting Chandragupta Maurya and it is said that Chandragupta fielded an army of 600,000 men and 9,000 war elephants. Archaeologically, concrete indications of Mauryan rule, such as the inscriptions of the Edicts of Ashoka, are known as far as Kandahar in southern Afghanistan and it is generally thought that Chandragupta married Seleucuss daughter, or a Macedonian princess, a gift from Seleucus to formalize an alliance. In a return gesture, Chandragupta sent 500 war elephants, an asset which would play a decisive role at the Battle of Ipsus in 301 BC. In addition to this treaty, Seleucus dispatched an ambassador, Megasthenes, to Chandragupta, Megasthenes wrote detailed descriptions of India and Chandraguptas reign, which have been partly preserved to us through Diodorus Siculus
Seleucid Empire
–
Tetradrachm of
Seleucus I, the horned horse, the
elephant and the anchor were all used as symbols of the Seleucid monarchy.
Seleucid Empire
Seleucid Empire
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Coin of
Seleucus I Nicator
Seleucid Empire
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In
Bactria, the satrap
Diodotus asserted independence to form the
Greco-Bactrian kingdom c.245 BC.
Syria
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Sousse, Tunisia
Mersin, Turkey[64]
Constanţa, Romania
Rimini, Italy
Gilan Province, Iran[65]
"Latakia". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). 1911.
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