Damascus

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Coordinates: 33°30′47″N 36°18′34″E / 33.51306°N 36.30944°E / 33.51306; 36.30944
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"Dimashq" redirects here. For the Syrian governorate, see Rif Dimashq Governorate.
For other uses, see Damascus (disambiguation).

Damascus
دِمَشق
Azm Palace
Sulaymaniyya Takiyya
AST)
Postal code
0100
Area code(s)Country code: 963, City code: 11
GeocodeC1001
ISO 3166 codeSY-DI
ClimateBWk
HDI (2021)0.612[7] – medium
International airportDamascus International Airport
Websitewww.damascus.gov.sy
Map
Arab States

Damascus (

Arabic: دِمَشْق, romanized: Dimašq) is the capital and largest city of Syria.[8] It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth holiest city in Islam.[9][10][11] Known colloquially in Syria as aš-Šām (الشَّام) and dubbed, poetically, the "City of Jasmine" (مَدِيْنَةُ الْيَاسْمِينِ Madīnat al-Yāsmīn),[1] Damascus is a major cultural center of the Levant and the Arab world
.

Situated in southwestern Syria, Damascus is the center of a large metropolitan area. Nestled among the eastern foothills of the

rain shadow effect. The Barada River
flows through Damascus.

Damascus is one of the

Mamluk
periods.

Today, it is the seat of the central

Global Liveability Ranking.[13] As of June 2023, it was the least livable out of 173 global cities in the same Global Liveability Ranking. In 2017, two new development projects were launched in Damascus to build new residential districts, Marota City and Basillia City to symbolize post-war reconstruction.[14]

Names and etymology

See also:
Names of Damascus in different languages
timsqwxAst
or
timsz
q		 w
ṯmsqw[15]
in hieroglyphs
Era: New Kingdom
(1550–1069 BC)

The name of Damascus first appeared in the geographical list of Thutmose III as ṯmśq (𓍘𓄟𓊃𓈎𓅱) in the 15th century BC.[16] The

Biblical Hebrew. A number of Akkadian spellings are found in the Amarna letters
, from the 14th century BC: Dimašqa (𒁲𒈦𒋡), Dimašqì (𒁲𒈦𒀸𒄀), and Dimašqa (𒁲𒈦𒀸𒋡).

Later

Aramaic spellings of the name often include an intrusive resh (letter r), perhaps influenced by the root dr, meaning "dwelling". Thus, the English and Latin name of the city is Damascus, which was imported from Greek Δαμασκός and originated from the Qumranic Darmeśeq (דרמשק), and Darmsûq (ܕܪܡܣܘܩ) in Syriac,[17][18] meaning "a well-watered land".[19]

According to ancient Greek tradition, there were three myths about the origin of the city's name (Δαμασκός). One claims it was named after the giant Ascus (Ἄσκος). Another says it was named after Damaskos, the son of Hermes and the nymph Alimede, who traveled from Arcadia to Syria and founded a city bearing his name. A third version holds that Damaskos was a man who, after Dionysus made Syria fertile with vineyards, cut them down with an axe. Enraged, Dionysus pursued and flayed him. His original name was Darmaskos, which later evolved into Damaskos.[20][21]

In

Old South Arabian, 𐩦𐩱𐩣 (šʾm), with the same semantic development.[27][28]

Geography

Spot satellite
Mount Qasioun overlooking the city

Damascus was built in a strategic site on a plateau 680 m (2,230 ft)

Ghouta, irrigated farmland where many vegetables, cereals, and fruits have been farmed since ancient times. 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.[29]

The modern city has an area of 105 km2 (41 sq mi), out of which 77 km2 (30 sq mi) is urban, while

Jabal Qasioun occupies the rest.[30]

One of the rare periods the Barada river is high, seen here next to the Four Seasons hotel in downtown Damascus

The old city of Damascus, enclosed by the city walls, lies on the south bank of the river

Jabal Qasioun, overlooking the city, already the site of the al-Salihiyah neighborhood centered on the important shrine of medieval Andalusian Sheikh and philosopher Ibn Arabi. These new neighborhoods were initially settled by Kurdish soldiery and Muslim refugees from the Europe regions of the Ottoman Empire
which had fallen under Christian rule. Thus they were known as al-Akrad (the Kurds) and al-Muhajirin (the migrants). They lay 2–3 km (1–2 mi) north of the old city.

From the late 19th century on, a modern administrative and commercial center began to spring up to the west of the old city, around the Barada, centered on the area known as al-Marjeh or "the meadow". Al-Marjeh soon became the name of what was initially the central square of modern Damascus, with the city hall in it. The courts of justice, post office, and railway station stood on higher ground slightly to the south. A Europeanized residential quarter soon began to be built on the road leading between al-Marjeh and al-Salihiyah. The commercial and administrative center of the new city gradually shifted northwards slightly towards this area.

Yarmouk became a second home to many Palestinian refugees.[31] City planners preferred to preserve the Ghouta as far as possible, and in the later 20th century some of the main areas of development were to the north, in the western Mezzeh neighborhood and most recently along the Barada valley in Dummar in the northwest and on the slopes of the mountains at Barzeh
in the north-east. Poorer areas, often built without official approval, have mostly developed south of the main city.

Damascus used to be surrounded by an

Arabic: الغوطة, romanized: al-ġūṭä), watered by the Barada river. The Fijeh spring
, west along the Barada valley, used to provide the city with drinking water, and various sources to the west are tapped by water contractors. The flow of the Barada dropped with the rapid expansion of housing and industry in the city and it is almost dry. The lower aquifers are polluted by the city's runoff from heavily used roads, industry, and sewage.

Climate

Damascus has a

rain shadow effect of the Anti-Lebanon Mountains[33]
and the prevailing ocean currents. Summers are prolonged, dry, and hot with less humidity. Winters are cool and somewhat rainy; snowfall is infrequent. Autumn is brief and mild, but has the most drastic temperature change, unlike spring where the transition to summer is more gradual and steady. Annual rainfall is around 130 mm (5 in), occurring from October to May.

Climate data for Damascus (Damascus International Airport) 1991–2020
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 23.2
(73.8) 		28.0
(82.4) 		34.4
(93.9) 		37.6
(99.7) 		41.4
(106.5) 		45.0
(113.0) 		45.8
(114.4) 		44.8
(112.6) 		44.6
(112.3) 		38.0
(100.4) 		31.0
(87.8) 		25.1
(77.2) 		45.8
(114.4)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) 13.1
(55.6) 		15.3
(59.5) 		20.0
(68.0) 		25.3
(77.5) 		30.9
(87.6) 		35.3
(95.5) 		37.8
(100.0) 		37.6
(99.7) 		34.6
(94.3) 		29.0
(84.2) 		20.6
(69.1) 		14.8
(58.6) 		26.2
(79.1)
Daily mean °C (°F) 5.9
(42.6) 		7.8
(46.0) 		11.0
(51.8) 		15.5
(59.9) 		20.2
(68.4) 		24.4
(75.9) 		26.3
(79.3) 		26.0
(78.8) 		23.2
(73.8) 		18.1
(64.6) 		11.8
(53.2) 		7.2
(45.0) 		16.6
(61.9)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) 0.8
(33.4) 		2.0
(35.6) 		4.8
(40.6) 		8.0
(46.4) 		12.1
(53.8) 		15.9
(60.6) 		18.6
(65.5) 		18.6
(65.5) 		15.3
(59.5) 		11.0
(51.8) 		5.2
(41.4) 		1.9
(35.4) 		9.5
(49.1)
Record low °C (°F) −10.8
(12.6) 		−12
(10) 		−6
(21) 		−7.5
(18.5) 		1.4
(34.5) 		6.2
(43.2) 		10.5
(50.9) 		9.5
(49.1) 		3.5
(38.3) 		−1.0
(30.2) 		−8.6
(16.5) 		−8.8
(16.2) 		−12.0
(10.4)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 26.0
(1.02) 		22.4
(0.88) 		13.9
(0.55) 		5.6
(0.22) 		4.8
(0.19) 		0.3
(0.01) 		0
(0) 		0
(0) 		0.3
(0.01) 		6.3
(0.25) 		21.4
(0.84) 		23.6
(0.93) 		124.7
(4.91)
Average precipitation days (≥ 1 mm) 4.8 4.4 2.6 1.3 1.0 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.1 1.2 3.3 4.2 23.0
Average snowy days 1 1 0.1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.2 2.3
Average
relative humidity
(%) 		76 69 59 50 43 41 44 48 47 52 63 75 56
Mean monthly sunshine hours 164.3 182.0 226.3 249.0 322.4 357.0 365.8 353.4 306.0 266.6 207.0 164.3 3,164.1
Mean daily sunshine hours 5.3 6.5 7.3 8.3 10.4 11.9 11.8 11.4 10.2 8.6 6.9 5.3 8.5
Average ultraviolet index 3 4 6 8 10 12 12 11 9 6 4 3 7
Source:
NOAA (mean temperature 1961–1990, humidity and sun 1970–1990)[34][35]

History

For a chronological guide, see Timeline of Damascus.

Early settlement

Carbon-14 dating at Tell Ramad, on Damascus's outskirts, suggests that the site may have been occupied since the second half of the seventh millennium BC, possibly around 6300 BC.[36] But evidence of settlement in the wider Barada basin dating to 9000 BC exists, although no large-scale settlement was present within Damascus's walls until the second millennium BC.[37]

Late Bronze

Some of the earliest

Hattusili III and Ramesses II. The former handed over control of the Damascus area to the latter in 1259 BC.[38] The arrival of the Sea Peoples around 1200 BC marked the end of the Bronze Age in the region and brought about new development of warfare.[39] Damascus was only a peripheral part of this picture, which mostly affected the larger population centers of ancient Syria. But these events contributed to Damascus's emergence as an influential center during the transition from the Bronze Age to the Iron Age.[39]

Damascus is mentioned in

Uz, the son of Aram.[41] In Antiquities i. 7,[42]
Josephus reports:

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

Aram-Damascus

Main article: Aram-Damascus
Annotated view of Damascus and surroundings from space.[43]

Damascus is first documented as an important city during the arrival of the

Aramaeans, a Semitic people, in the 11th century BC. By the start of the first millennium BC, several Aramaic kingdoms formed, as Aramaeans abandoned their nomadic lifestyle and formed federated tribal states. One of these was Aram-Damascus, centered on its capital, Damascus.[44] The Aramaeans who entered the city without battle adopted the name "Dimashqu" for their new home. Noticing the agricultural potential of the still undeveloped and sparsely populated area,[45] they established a water distribution system by constructing canals and tunnels that maximized the efficiency of the river Barada. The Romans and the Umayyads later improved the network, which still forms the basis of the water system of the old part of the city.[46] The Aramaeans initially turned Damascus into an outpost of a loose federation of Aramaean tribes, known as Aram-Zobah, based in the Beqaa Valley.[45]

The city gained preeminence in southern Syria when

Ben-Hadad II was captured by Israel after unsuccessfully besieging Samaria. As a result, he granted Israel trading rights in Damascus.[47]

Another possible reason for the treaty between Aram-Damascus and Israel was the common threat of the

King Ahab of Israel in the Battle of Qarqar against the Neo-Assyrian army. Aram-Damascus was victorious, temporarily preventing the Assyrians from encroaching into Syria. But after Hadadzezer was killed by his successor, Hazael, the Levantine alliance collapsed. Aram-Damascus tried to invade Israel but was interrupted by the renewed Assyrian invasion. Hazael ordered a retreat to the walled part of Damascus while the Assyrians plundered the remainder of the kingdom. Unable to enter the city, they declared their supremacy in the Hauran and Beqa'a valleys.[47]

By the 8th century BC, Damascus was practically engulfed by the Assyrians and entered a Dark Age. Nonetheless, it remained the economic and cultural center of the Near East as well as the Arameaen resistance. In 727, a revolt took place in the city but was put down by Assyrian forces. After Assyria led by

Neo-Babylonians had conquered all of Syria, but Damascus's status under Babylon is relatively unknown.[49]

Hellenistic period

Damascus was conquered by

hippodamian system and renamed it "Demetrias".[50]

Roman period

Ruins of the Jupiter Temple at the entrance of Al-Hamidiyah Souq

In 64 BC, the Roman general Pompey annexed the western part of Syria. The Romans occupied Damascus and incorporated it into the league of ten cities known as the Decapolis[51] which itself was incorporated into the province of Syria and granted autonomy.[52]

Damascus was entirely redesigned by the Romans after Pompey conquered the region. The Old Town of Damascus retains the rectangular shape of the Roman city, with its two main axes: the Decumanus Maximus (east-west; known today as the Via Recta) and the Cardo (north-south), the Decumanus being about twice as long. The Romans built a monumental gate at the eastern end of Decumanus Maximus. The gate originally had three arches, with the central arch for chariots and others for pedestrians.[29]

Remnants of ancient Damascus

In 23 BC,

Zenodorus,[53] and some scholars believe Herod was also granted control of Damascus.[54]
Either control of Damascus reverted to Syria upon Herod the Great's death or it was part of the lands given to Herod Philip that were given to Syria with his death in 33/34 AD.

It is speculated that control of Damascus was gained by

Herod Philip in 33/34 AD and the death of Aretas in 40 AD, but there is substantial evidence that Aretas did not control the city before 37 AD and there are many reasons it could not have been a gift from Caligula between 37 and 40 AD.[55][56] In fact, all these theories stem not from any actual evidence outside the New Testament but rather "a certain understanding of 2 Corinthians 11:32" and in reality "neither from archaeological evidence, secular-historical sources, nor New Testament texts can Nabatean sovereignty over Damascus in the first century AD be proven."[57] Roman emperor Trajan, who annexed the Nabataean Kingdom, creating the province of Arabia Petraea, had previously been in Damascus, as his father Marcus Ulpius Traianus was governor of Syria from 73 to 74 AD, where he met the ethnically Greek architect and engineer Apollodorus of Damascus, who joined him in Rome when he was a consul in 91 AD and built several monuments during the 2nd century.[58]

Damascus became a metropolis by the beginning of the 2nd century and in 222 it was upgraded to a colonia by Emperor

the Silk Road all converging on it. The city satisfied the Roman demands for eastern luxuries. Circa 125 AD the Roman emperor Hadrian promoted the city of Damascus to "Metropolis of Coele-Syria".[59][60]

Little remains of the architecture of the Romans, but the town planning of the old city had a lasting effect. Roman architects brought together the city's Greek and Aramaean foundations and fused them into a new layout measuring about 1,500 by 750 m (4,920 by 2,460 ft), surrounded by a wall. The wall had seven gates, but only the eastern gate, Bab Sharqi, remains. Roman Damascus lies mostly at depths of up to five meters (16 feet) below the modern city.

Jewish Christians
converted to Christianity with the advent of Saint Paul's proselytization.

During the Byzantine–Sasanian War of 602–628, the city was besieged and captured by Shahrbaraz in 613 along with a large number of Byzantine troops as prisoners.[61] It was in Sasanian hands until near the end of the war.[62]

Rashidun period

The Prophet Muhammad's first indirect interaction with the people of Damascus was when he sent a letter, through his companion Shiya ibn Wahab, to Harith ibn Abi Shamir, the king of Damascus. The letter stated: "Peace be upon him who follows true guidance. Be informed that my religion shall prevail everywhere. You should accept Islam, and whatever under your command shall remain yours."[63][64]

Courtyard of the Umayyad Mosque

After most of the Syrian countryside was conquered by the

Monophysite—with a growing community of Muslims from Mecca, Medina, and the Syrian Desert.[68] The governor assigned to the city which had been chosen as the capital of Islamic Syria was Mu'awiya I
.

Umayyad and Abbasid periods

View of Damascus with the Umayyad Mosque in center

Following the fourth Rashidun caliph

Arabic was also established as the official language, giving the city's Muslim minority an advantage over the Aramaic-speaking Christians in administrative affairs.[70]

Jazira region.[72]

The dome of Damascus' treasury in the Umayyad Mosque

On 25 August 750, the

Abbasids, having already beaten the Umayyads in the Battle of the Zab in Iraq, conquered Damascus after facing little resistance. With the heralding of the Abbasid Caliphate, Damascus became eclipsed and subordinated by Baghdad, the new Islamic capital. Within the first six months of Abbasid rule, revolts began erupting in the city, albeit too isolated and unfocused to present a viable threat. Nonetheless, the last of the prominent Umayyads were executed, the traditional officials of Damascus were ostracised, and army generals from the city were dismissed. Afterwards, the Umayyad family cemetery was desecrated and the city walls were torn down, reducing Damascus into a provincial town of little importance. It mostly disappeared from written records for the next century, and the only significant improvement of the city was the Abbasid-built treasury dome in the Umayyad Mosque in 789. In 811, distant remnants of the Umayyad dynasty staged a strong uprising in Damascus that was eventually put down.[73]

On 24 November 847, a multiple earthquake struck and destroyed Damascus, killing about 70,000 people.

Fatimids in the south and the Hamdanids in the north.[74]

Damascus was the capital of the Umayyad Caliphate, which extended from Western Europe to Southern Asia

The Shia Fatimids gained control in 970, inflaming hostilities between them and the city's Sunni Arabs, who frequently revolted. The Turk

al-Muqaddasi visited Damascus in 985, remarking that the architecture and infrastructure of the city were "magnificent" but living conditions were awful. Under al-Aziz, the city saw a brief period of stability that ended with the reign of al-Hakim (996–1021). In 998, he executed hundreds of Damascus citizens for incitement. Three years after his mysterious disappearance, a rebellion began in southern Syria against the Fatimids but was stifled by the Fatimid Turkish governor of Syria and Palestine, Anushtakin al-Duzbari, in 1029. This victory gave him mastery over Syria, displeasing his Fatimid overlords but gaining the admiration of Damascus's citizens. He was exiled by Fatimid authorities to Aleppo, where he died in 1041.[75] From that date to 1063, there are no known records of the city's history. By then, Damascus lacked a city administration and had an enfeebled economy and a greatly reduced population.[76]

Seljuq and Ayyubid periods

With the arrival of the

Burid line of the Seljuq dynasty. Under Duqaq and Toghtekin, Damascus experienced stability, elevated status, and a revived role in commerce. In addition, the city's Sunni majority enjoyed being a part of the larger Sunni framework effectively governed by various Turkic dynasties who in turn were under the moral authority of the Baghdad-based Abbasids.[77]

While the rulers of Damascus were preoccupied in conflict with their fellow Seljuqs in Aleppo and

Diyarbakir, the Crusaders, who arrived in the Levant in 1097, conquered Jerusalem, Mount Lebanon and Palestine. Duqaq seemed to have been content with Crusader's rule as a buffer between his dominion and the Fatimid Caliphate of Egypt. Toghtekin, however, saw the Western invaders as a viable threat to Damascus which, at the time, nominally included Homs, the Beqaa Valley, Hauran, and the Golan Heights as part of its territories. With military support from Sharaf al-Din Mawdud of Mosul, Toghtekin managed to halt Crusader raids in the Golan and Hauran. Mawdud was assassinated in the Umayyad Mosque in 1109, depriving Damascus of northern Muslim backing and forcing Toghtekin to agree to a truce with the Crusaders in 1110.[78] In 1126, the Crusader army led by Baldwin II fought Burid forces led by Toghtekin at Marj al-Saffar
near Damascus; however, despite their tactical victory, the Crusaders failed in their objective to capture Damascus.

Nur ad-Din also Known as the Madrasah Nuriyya al-Kubra[79][80]

Following Toghtekin's death in 1128, his son,

Mu'in al-Din Unur, his mamluk ("slave soldier") took effective power of the city, prompting Zengi—with Safwat al-Mulk's backing—to lay siege against Damascus the same year. In response, Damascus allied with the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem to resist Zengi's forces. Consequently, Zengi withdrew his army and focused on campaigns against northern Syria.[82]

In 1144, Zengi

Nur ad-Din, emir of Aleppo, made an alliance with Damascus. When the European crusaders arrived, they and the nobles of Jerusalem agreed to attack Damascus. Their siege, however, was a complete failure. When the city seemed to be on the verge of collapse, the crusader army suddenly moved against another section of the walls and was driven back. By 1154, Damascus was firmly under Nur ad-Din's control.[83]

In 1164, King

Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor, though the last drowned en route.[87]

The surviving crusaders, joined by new arrivals from Europe, put Acre to a lengthy siege which lasted until 1191. After re-capturing Acre, Richard defeated Saladin at the Battle of Arsuf in 1191 and the Battle of Jaffa in 1192, recovering most of the coast for the Christians, but could not recover Jerusalem or any of the inland territory of the kingdom. The crusade came to an end peacefully, with the Treaty of Jaffa in 1192. Saladin allowed pilgrimages to be made to Jerusalem, allowing the Crusaders to fulfill their vows, after which they all returned home. Local crusader barons set about rebuilding their kingdom from Acre and the other coastal cities.[88]

Saladin died in 1193, and there were frequent conflicts between different Ayyubid sultans ruling in Damascus and Cairo. Damascus was the capital of independent Ayyubid rulers between 1193 and 1201, from 1218 to 1238, from 1239 to 1245, and from 1250 to 1260. At other times it was ruled by the Ayyubid rulers of Egypt.[89] During the internecine wars fought by the Ayyubid rulers, Damascus was besieged repeatedly, as, e.g., in 1229.[90]

The patterned Byzantine and Chinese silks available through Damascus, one of the Western termini of the Silk Road, gave the English language "damask".[91]

Mamluk period

Woodcut of 1497
Venetian delegation in Damascus, painting of 1511. Louvre-Lens.

Ayyubid rule (and independence) came to an end with the Mongol invasion of Syria in 1260, in which the Mongols led by

Mamluk Sultanate, ruled from Egypt, following the Mongol withdrawal. Following their victory at the Battle of Wadi al-Khaznadar, the Mongols led by Ghazan besieged the city for ten days, which surrendered between December 30, 1299, and January 6, 1300, though its Citadel resisted.[93] Ghazan then retreated with most of his forces in February, probably because the Mongol horses needed fodder, and left behind about 10,000 horsemen under the Mongol general Mulay.[94] Around March 1300, Mulay returned with his horsemen to Damascus,[95] then followed Ghazan back across the Euphrates. In May 1300, the Egyptian Mamluks returned from Egypt and reclaimed the entire area[96] without a battle.[97] In April 1303, the Mamluks managed to defeat the Mongol army led by Kutlushah and Mulay along with their Armenian allies at the Battle of Marj al-Saffar, to put an end to Mongol invasions of the Levant.[98] Later on, the Black Death of 1348–1349 killed as much as half of the city's population.[99]

In 1400,

Turco-Mongol conqueror, besieged Damascus. The Mamluk sultan dispatched a deputation from Cairo, including Ibn Khaldun, who negotiated with him, but after their withdrawal, Timur sacked the city on 17 March 1401.[100] The Umayyad Mosque was burnt and men and women were taken into slavery. A huge number of the city's artisans were taken to Timur's capital at Samarkand. These were the luckier citizens: many were slaughtered and their heads piled up in a field outside the north-east corner of the walls, where a city square still bears the name Burj al-Ru'us (between modern-day Al-Qassaa and Bab Tuma
), originally "the tower of heads".

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

Ottoman period

See also:
Syria Vilayet
Damascus in 1690 by Jacob Balthasar Peeters
A Turkish Divan in Damascus, in 1836, by John Carne

In early 1516, the

tekkiye and mausoleum at the shrine of Shaikh Muhi al-Din ibn Arabi in al-Salihiyah
. This was to be the first of Damascus' great Ottoman monuments. During this time, according to an Ottoman census, Damascus had 10,423 households.[101]

View of Damascus, by Eduard Hildebrandt, 1852
Damascus, view taken from the Christian quarter, in 1876.[102]

The Ottomans remained for the next 400 years, except for a brief occupation by

Porte than its size might have warranted—for most of this period, Aleppo was more populous and commercially more important. In 1559 the western building of Sulaymaniyya Takiyya, comprising a mosque and khan for pilgrims on the road to Mecca, was completed to a design by the famous Ottoman architect Mimar Sinan, and soon afterward the Salimiyya Madrasa was built adjoining it.[103]

A painting by Gustav Bauernfeind of a crowd in Damascus street, circa 1890

Early in the nineteenth century, Damascus was noted for its shady cafes along the banks of the Barada. A depiction of these by

Midan
district outside the walls (mostly Orthodox) were, however, protected by their Muslim neighbors.

American Missionary E.C. Miller records that in 1867 the population of the city was 'about' 140,000, of whom 30,000 were Christians, 10,000 Jews, and 100,000 'Mohammedans' with fewer than 100 Protestant Christians.

Wilhelm II toured Damascus, during his trip to the Ottoman Empire.[106]

Modern period

20th century

See also: Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon
The Turkish Hospital in Damascus on 1 October 1918, shortly after the entry of the Australian 4th Light Horse Regiment

In the early years of the 20th century, nationalist sentiment in Damascus, initially cultural in its interest, began to take a political coloring, largely in reaction to the

Jamal Pasha, governor of Damascus, in Beirut and Damascus in 1915 and 1916 further stoked nationalist feeling, and in 1918, as the forces of the Arab Revolt
and the British Imperial forces approached, residents fired on the retreating Turkish troops.

King Faisal of Syria and T. E. Lawrence on HMS Orion during World War I
, 1918.

On 1 October 1918,

Mandate for Syria
.

When in 1925 the

Ghouta, and a new road was built outside the northern ramparts to facilitate the movement of armored cars. Reporter George Seldes viewed 308 bodies, and suggested there might be more dead under the rubble—and that a maximum might be one thousand. "When the Muslims, who had rebelled, threatened to kill all Christians, General Maurice Sarrail gave the civilian population time to evacuate, then ordered Fort Gouraud to fire some warning shots, then shell the rebel sector." [109]

On 21 June 1941, 3 weeks into the Allied

Vichy French forces by a mixed British Indian and Free French force. The French agreed to withdraw in 1946, following the British intervention during the Levant Crisis, thus leading to the full independence of Syria. Damascus remained the capital and has been unchanged even following the start of Ba'athist rule
in 1963.

In 1979, the

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

Civil war

Main article: Syrian civil war
The Damascus Opera House, opened in 2004
Damascus in 2006, taken from the International Space Station

By January 2012, clashes between the regular army and rebels reached the outskirts of Damascus, reportedly preventing people from leaving or reaching their houses, especially when security operations there intensified from the end of January into February.[110]

By June 2012, bullets and shrapnel shells smashed into homes in Damascus overnight as troops battled the Free Syrian Army in the streets. At least three tank shells slammed into residential areas in the central Damascus neighborhood of Qaboun, according to activists. Intense exchanges of assault rifle fire marked the clash, according to residents and amateur video posted online.[111]

The Damascus suburb of

Ghouta suffered heavy bombing in December 2017 and a further wave of bombing started in February 2018, also known as Rif Dimashq Offensive
.

On 20 May 2018, Damascus and the entire Rif Dimashq Governorate came fully under government control for the first time in 7 years after the evacuation of

Global Liveability Index in 2019, based on factors such as: stability, healthcare, culture and environment, education, and infrastructure.[113] However, the trend of being the least liveable city on Earth started in 2017,[114] and continued as of 2024.[115]

Israeli invasion of Syria
in December 2024

Syrian rebels, led by the HTS rebel group entered Damascus on 8 December 2024 after a series of offensives, capturing Sednaya Prison and later resulting in the collapse of Ba'athist Syria.[116]

On 23 February 2025, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu demanded the complete demilitarization of southern Syria in the provinces of Quneitra, Daraa and Suweyda,[117] and the withdrawal of Syrian forces from Syrian territory south of Damascus.[118] Syria's new regime under President Ahmed al-Sharaa rejected Netanyahu's demands.[119][120] Hours later, Israel conducted a wave of airstrikes in Damascus and southern Syria.[121]

Economy

Bank Al-Sharq and the Blue Tower Hotel, a 4-star hotel in Hamra Street.

The historical role that Damascus played as an important trade center has changed in recent years due to political development in the region as well as the development of modern trade.[2] Most goods produced in Damascus, as well as in Syria, are distributed to countries of the Arabian peninsula.[2] Damascus has also held an annual international trade exposition every fall, since 1954.[122]

The tourism industry in Damascus has a lot of potential, however, the civil war has hampered these prospects. The abundance of cultural wealth in Damascus has been modestly employed since the late 1980s with the development of many accommodation and transportation establishments and other related investments.[2] Since the early 2000s, numerous boutique hotels and bustling cafes opened in the old city which attracts plenty of European tourists and Damascenes alike.[123]

In 2009 new office space was built and became available on the real estate market.[124] Marota City and Basilia City are two new development projects in Damascus.[125] These two projects are viewed as post-war reconstruction efforts. The Damascus stock exchange formally opened for trade in March 2009, and the exchange is the only stock exchange in Syria.[126] It is located in the Barzeh district, within Syria's financial markets and securities commission. Its final home is to be located in the upmarket business district of Yaafur.[127]

Damascus is home to a wide range of industrial activities, such as textile, food processing, cement, and various chemical industries.[2] The majority of factories are run by the state, however limited privatization in addition to economic activities led by the private sector, were permitted starting in the early 2000s with the liberalization of trade that took place.[2] Traditional handcrafts and artisan copper engravings are still produced in the old city.[2]

Demographics

Population

platform shoes
)
Scene in a bazaar in Damascus, in 1838, by Charles G. Addison. British Library.

In the 2004 Census of Population conducted by Central Bureau of Statistics (Syria), Damascus had a population of 1,552,161 living in 309,317 of its 345,097 total dwellings.[128]

Damascus is the center of a crowded metropolitan area with an estimated population of 5 million. The metropolitan area of Damascus includes the cities of

Al-Tall and Jaramana
.

The city's growth rate is higher than in Syria as a whole, primarily due to rural-urban migration and the influx of young Syrian migrants drawn by employment and educational opportunities.[129] The migration of Syrian youths to Damascus has resulted in an average age within the city that is below the national average.[129] Nonetheless, the population of Damascus is thought to have decreased in recent years as a result of the ongoing Syrian civil war.

Ethnicity

The vast majority of Damascenes are Syrian

Assyrians, Syrian Turkmen, Armenians, Circassians and a small Greek community
.

There was once a significant Jewish community in Damascus, but as of 2023, no Jews remain.[133]

Religion

Religion in Damascus (2024)
  1. Sunni Islam (78%)
  2. Shia Islam (10%)
  3. Christianity (12%)

Sayyidah Zaynab. It is believed that there are more than 200 mosques in Damascus, the most well-known being the Umayyad Mosque.[134]

Christians represent about 10%–15% of the population.

apparitions of the Virgin Mary have reportedly been observed between 1982 and 2004.[136]
The Patriarchal See of the Syriac Orthodox is based in Damascus, Bab Touma.

A smaller Druze minority inhabits the city, notably in the mixed Christian-Druze suburbs of Tadamon,[137] Jaramana,[138] and Sahnaya.

There was a small Jewish community namely in what is called Harat al-Yahud the Jewish quarter. They are the remnants of an ancient and much larger Jewish presence in Syria, dating back at least to Roman times, if not before to the time of King David.[139]

Sufism

Sa'id Hawwa, Abd al-Rahman al-Shaghouri and Muhammad al-Yaqoubi.[140]

Historical sites

Main article: Old city of Damascus
Typical historic Damascene street
Al-Hamidiyah Souq, dating back to the Ottoman era

The Ancient City of Damascus was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1979. Beginning with the Aramaic kingdom (11th-7th centuries BC), Damascus grew into the political and urban hub for the region. Today, the ancient city encompasses over 125 cultural heritage sites that represent Damascus’ long history, including archaeological and architectural remains from the Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine, Islamic, and Ottoman periods.[141] Tragically, ongoing conflict and war continues to threaten the archaeological heritage and prevent archaeological discovery of Damascus.[142]

The

Imam Ali-Zain-ul-Abedin used to pray while in captivity.[citation needed
]

The Harat Al Yehud[144] or Jewish Quarter is a recently restored historical tourist destination popular among Europeans before the outbreak of civil war.[145]

Walls and gates of Damascus

Bab Tuma gate

The Old City of Damascus with an approximate area of 86.12 hectares[146] is surrounded by ramparts on the northern and eastern sides and part of the southern side. There are seven extant city gates, the oldest of which dates back to the Roman period. These are, clockwise from the north of the citadel:

  • Bab al-Faradis ("the gate of the orchards", or "of the paradise")
  • Bab al-Salam ("the gate of peace"), all on the north boundary of the Old City
  • Bab Tuma ("Touma" or "Thomas's Gate") in the north-east corner, leading into the Christian quarter of the same name,
  • Bab Sharqi ("eastern gate") in the east wall, the only one to retain its Roman plan
  • Bab Kisan in the south-east, from which tradition holds that Saint Paul made his escape from Damascus, lowered from the ramparts in a basket; this gate has been closed and turned into Chapel of Saint Paul marking this event,
  • Bab al-Saghir (The Small Gate)
  • Bab al-Jabiya
    at the entrance to Souk Midhat Pasha, in the southwest.

Other areas outside the walled city also bear the name "gate": Bab al-Faraj, Bab Mousalla and Bab Sreija, both to the south-west of the walled city.

Churches in the old city

Islamic sites in the old city

Saladin mausoleum
Grave of Bilal ibn Rabah in Bab al-Saghir cemetery, Damascus

Madrasas

Khans

Old Damascene houses

Narrow alley in old Damascus

Threats to the future of the old City

Due to the rapid decline of the population of Old Damascus (between 1995 and 2009 about 30,000 people moved out of the old city for more modern accommodation),[148] a growing number of buildings are being abandoned or are falling into disrepair. In March 2007, the local government announced that it would be demolishing Old City buildings along a 1,400 m (4,600 ft) stretch of rampart walls as part of a redevelopment scheme. These factors resulted in the Old City being placed by the World Monuments Fund on its 2008 Watch List of the 100 Most Endangered Sites in the world.[149][150] It is hoped that its inclusion on the list will draw more public awareness to these significant threats to the future of the historic Old City of Damascus.

State of old Damascus

In spite of the recommendations of the UNESCO World Heritage Center:[151]

  • Souq al-Atiq, a protected buffer zone, was destroyed in three days in November 2006;
  • King Faysal Street, a traditional hand-craft region in a protected buffer zone near the walls of Old Damascus between the Citadel and Bab Touma, is threatened by a proposed motorway.
  • In 2007, the
    Old City of Damascus and notably the district of Bab Tuma have been recognized by The World Monument Fund as one of the most endangered sites in the world.[152]

In October 2010, Global Heritage Fund named Damascus one of 12 cultural heritage sites most "on the verge" of irreparable loss and destruction.[153]

Education

Damascus University

Damascus is the main center of education in Syria. It is home to Damascus University, which is the oldest and largest university in Syria. After the enactment of legislation allowing private higher institutions, several new universities were established in the city and the surrounding area, including:

The institutes play an important rule in the education, including:

In Damascus, Higher education in Syrian Arab Republic started with sustainable development steps through Damascus University.[156]

  • Additional:
    • Syrian International Academy for Training and Development

Transportation

A highway in Damascus

Damascus is linked with other major cities in Syria via a

M5 connects Damascus with Homs, Hama, Aleppo and Turkey in the north and Jordan in the south. The M1 is going from Homs onto Latakia and Tartus
. The
M4 links the city with Al-Hasakah and Iraq. The M1 highway connects the city to western Syria and Beirut
.

The main airport is Damascus International Airport, approximately 20 km (12 mi) away from the city, with connections to a few Middle Eastern cities. Before the beginning of the Syrian civil war, the airport had connectivity to many Asian, European, African, and, South American cities.

Streets in Damascus are often narrow, especially in the older parts of the city, and speed bumps are widely used to limit the speed of vehicles. Many taxi companies operate in Damascus. Fares are regulated by law and taxi drivers are obliged to use a taximeter.

King Long KLQ 6118GQ bus used for public transport in Damascus

Al-Hejaz Station

Served by

al-Hejaz railway station, about 1 km (5⁄8 mi) west of the old city. The station is now defunct and the tracks have been removed, but there still is a ticket counter and a shuttle to Damascus Qadam
station in the south of the city, which now functions as the main railway station.

In 2008, the government announced a plan to construct a Damascus Metro.[159] The green line will be an essential west–east axis for the future public transportation network, serving Moadamiyeh, Sumariyeh, Mezzeh, Damascus University, Hijaz, the Old City, Abbassiyeen and Qaboun Pullman bus station. A four-line metro network is expected to be in operation by 2050.

Culture

National Museum of Damascus

Damascus was chosen as the

Azem Palace, Military Museum, October War Panorama Museum, Museum of Arabic Calligraphy and Nur al-Din Bimaristan

Sports and leisure

Al-Fayhaa Sports Complex

Popular sports include football, basketball, swimming, tennis, table tennis, equestrian and chess. Damascus is home to many football clubs that participate in the Syrian Premier League including al-Jaish, al-Shorta, Al-Wahda and Al-Majd. Many Other sports clubs are located in several districts of the city: Barada SC, Al-Nidal SC, Al-Muhafaza, Qasioun SC, al-Thawra SC, Maysalun SC, al-Fayhaa SC, Dummar SC, al-Majd SC and al-Arin SC.

The

Pan Arab Games
were held in Damascus in 1976 and 1992 respectively.

The now modernized Al-Fayhaa Sports City features a basketball court and a hall that can accommodate up to 8,000 people. In late November 2021,

Syria's national basketball team played there against Kazakhstan, making Damascus host of Syria's first international basketball tournament in almost two decades.[162]

The city also has a modern golf course located near the Ebla Cham Palace Hotel on the southeastern outskirts of Damascus.

Damascus has a busy nightlife.

tables (backgammon variants), and chess are activities frequented in cafés.[163] These coffeehouses had an international reputation in the past, as indicated by Letitia Elizabeth Landon's poetical illustration, Cafes in Damascus, to a picture by William Henry Bartlett in Fisher's Drawing Room Scrap Book, 1837.[164] Current movies can be seen at Cinema City which was previously known as Cinema Dimashq
.

English Wikisource has original text related to this article:

Ghouta oasis is also a weekend destination for recreation. Many recreation centers operate in the city including sports clubs, swimming pools, and golf courses. The Syrian Arab Horse Association in Damascus offers a wide range of activities and services for horse breeders and riders.[165]

Nearby attractions

Zabadani resort near Damascus
Booza being sold in the Bakdash ice cream shop in the Damascus market
  • Madaya: a small mountainous town and well-known holiday resort.
  • Bloudan: a town located 51 km (32 mi) north-west of Damascus, its moderate temperature and low humidity in summer attracts many visitors from Damascus and throughout Syria, Lebanon and the Persian Gulf.
  • Zabadani
    : a city close to the border with Lebanon. Its mild weather along with the scenic views, made the town a popular resort both for tourists and for visitors from other Syrian cities.
  • Maaloula: a town dominated by speakers of Western Neo-Aramaic.
  • Patriarchate of Antioch
    .

Twin towns – sister cities

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Asia § Syria

Notable people

Main article: List of people from Damascus

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Al-Fayḥāʾ (الْفَيْحَاء) literally translates as "the Spacious One".[3]
  2. Imperial Aramaic: ܒܥܠ ܫܡܝܢ, romanized: Ba'al Šamem, lit. 'Lord of Heaven(s)'),[23][24] was a Semitic sky-god in Canaan/Phoenicia and ancient Palmyra.[25][26]
    Hence, Sham refers to (heaven or sky).

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Bibliography

See also: Bibliography of the history of Damascus
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