History of Syria ( " Middle Age : ISLAM " )

Contents

Islam

1. The Rashedeen Caliphate .

2.The Umayyad .

3.Syria under the Abbasids.

4.The Crusaders and the Ayyubids .

5.The Mamelukes .

1.The Rashedeen Caliphate 632-661AD:

After the death of the prophet Muhammad, the Arab fighters began to spread Islam through battles and faith preaching. Under the Caliph Omar Bin Al Khattab, Syria was taken over form the Byzantines, in 636 the Muslims fought against the Byzantines in the battle of Yarmuk (on the river Yarmuk). 



2.The Umayyad Period 661 - 750AD:

Muawiya former governor of Syria, fought with the Caliph Ali Bin Abi Talib along the Euphrates, and in 661 when Caliph Ali was assassinated he took over and made Damascus capital of the Umayyad territory. Damascus became the capital of a land extending from Spain in Andalusia to the Indus River in India. The Umayyads showed tolerance of the Christian faith and were very encouraging of education and the sciences.

Umayyad Caliphate at its greatest extent.

Syria was divided into the following military districts (junds):

* Filistin (Palestine), consisting of Judaea, Samaria and a portion of the territory east of Jordan; its capital was Ramleh, Jerusalem ranking next.
* Urdunn (Jordan), with capital in Tiberias; roughly speaking, it consisted of the rest of Palestine    as far as Tyre.
* Damascus, which included Damascus, Baalbek, Tripoli and Beirut.
* Hims (Homs), including Hama.
*Kinnesrin, corresponding to northern Syria; the capital at first was Kinnesrin (Qinnasrin) to the south of Aleppo, by which it was afterwards superseded.
The sixth district was the military frontier (Al-'Awasim) bordering upon the Byzantine dominions in Asia Minor.

Abd al-Malik depicted on a coin

Amawi mosque

Amawi mosque in Damascus

In 750AD Damascus was taken over by Abu Al Abbas who founded the Abbasid Dynasty in Baghdad. 


3.Syria under the Abbasids 750 - 1199AD:

Syria, was neglected greatly under the Abbasid Dynasty, this is reflected by the lack of Abbasid architecture in Syria, which is only evident in Raqqa.

Castle Ja'bar

 After the reign of Harun Al Rashid, the Fatimids in 978AD took over the South and Damascus, while Aleppo was ruled by the Hamdanids in the 10th and 11th Centuries. The Fatimids under the leadership of Caliph Hakim began to demolish churches in the Holy Land. This coupled with the appeal for help by the Byzantines against the Seljuks prompted the next phase of Syria? the Crusades. 


4.The Crusaders and the Ayyubids 1098 - 1250:

Arriving to Syria in 1098, under Raymond de Saint Gilles, Count of Toulouse, they took the route via the Orontes Valley (upper) then through Hama and Sheizar to the site that is now Krak Des Chevaliers.

Al'Hosin Castle

 In December 1098 they massacred the Male population of Maarat Al Numan. When Edessa, a Latin enclave, fell to Zengi (a Muslim leader)? a second crusade arrived from France and Germany. However they were unable to recapture Edessa and they couldn't capture Damascus either. This dampened European enthusiasm. Saladin, was very influential in the defeat of the Crusaders. He managed to recapture Jerusalem, Acre, Sidon, and Beirut all in 1187. He also had many battles against the leader of the third crusade, Richard the Lionheart. 


5.The Mamelukes 1250 - 1516:

This period was not very positive for the Syria and the Syrians. Eight years after the Burgi Mamelukes took power (from their capital in Cairo), saw the attack of the Mongols who destroyed everything in their way. Under Baybars the Mameluke commander, the Mongols were defeated and the Krak, Safita, and Latakia were all taken back from the Crusaders (1271 - 1289). In 1291 Tartous was taken back by his successor Sultan Khalil. 1302, when the Crusade garrison in Arwad was taken back, saw the end of the Crusader venture in the Middle East. A second group of Mamelukes, the Burgis, took power in 1382. It took decades of rivalries between them and their predecessors the Bahris before they took power. This undermined their defense and in 1400 Damascus was hit by its biggest attacker yet, Tamerlane. He destroyed most of Syria and with the rerouting of European trade around Africa, Syria's trade dropped. 



References :

* http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Syria
* http://www.123muslim.com/islamic-articles/482-history-syria-shaam.html