Near East Kingdoms

Modern Syria
AD 1920 - Present Day
Incorporating Heads of State (1920-2024), State of Aleppo (1920-1922), State of Damascus (1920-1922), Syrian Federation (1922), Union of Syrian States (1922-1925), State of Syria (1925-1936), Republic of Syria (1936-1939), State of Syria (1939-1941), Republic of Syria (1941-1958), United Arab Republic (1958-1961), & Syrian Arab Republic (1961-On)

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The modern 'Syrian Arabic Republic' borders Lebanon to the west, Iraq to the east, Turkey to the north, and Jordan and Israel to the south and south-west respectively. The capital is the ancient city of Damascus, but while the country has cultural roots which go back at least four thousand years, it has no political roots before 1918, having been submerged within the Ottoman empire for several centuries.

Part of a Near East region with a history of settlements which stretches back to the earliest days of civilisation as part of the Pottery Neolithic, ancient Syria was a patchwork of city states during the third millennium BC. Many, or even most, of these would later be subsumed at one point or another within larger empires.

Those included the kingdom of Upper Mesopotamia, the Hittites, the Mitanni, Egypt, Assyria, neo-Babylonia, the Persians, the Greek empire and its descended forms, and then the Roman empire, which held onto it until the seventh century AD. Then the entire region was conquered by the Islamic empire, between AD 638-640 under Khaled ibn al-Walid. Later in the same century the Umayyads moved the capital of the empire to Damascus, making it the centre of Islamic power.

Later Islamic control shifted to Anatolia, but the the defeat of the Ottomans at the end of the First World War saw Syria administered for two years as the 'State of Damascus' under Hashemite and British control. The Hashemite Prince Faysal was offered the Syrian throne on 7 March 1920 but the San Remo conference of April that year gave the mandate for Syria to France.

The French immediately ended Faysal's Arabic government and arranged elections which saw Faysal's former prime minister brought to power as the country's first president. Modern Syria gained independence from France in 1946. That independence was rarely smooth, with frequent spells of dictatorship marring any moves towards creating a moderate, inclusive state.

Please note that the History Files does not regularly monitor changes in modern heads of state or their representatives. Get in touch here if this section requires updating.

(Information by Peter Kessler, with additional information by Allan Rousso and the John De Cleene Archive, from Ancient Israel and Its Neighbours: Interaction and Counteraction. Collected Essays Vol 1, Nadav Na'aman, from The Cambridge Ancient History, edited by I E S Edwards, from The Horizon History of the British Empire, Steven W Sears (Ed, American Heritage Publishing Co, 1973), from Times Atlas of World History (Maplewood, New Jersey, 1979), from World In Brief: Washington Post (29 June 2007), and from External Links: A Brief History of Hattusha/Boğazköy (Archive.today), and Anatolian Conference abstracts (Emory University), and Expedition to Zincirli (University of Chicago), and Jewish Encyclopaedia, and Encyclopaedia Britannica, and Barcelona Centre for International Affairs (CIDOB), and BBC Country Profiles, and Syria (Rulers.org), and Syria (Zárate's Political Collections (ZPC)), and Mossad, and Two generals killed in Israeli strike on Syria consulate (The Guardian), and Bashar al-Assad reported to have fled (The Guardian), and Syria's new leader has two identities (The Guardian), and Israel strikes hundreds of military targets in Syria (The Guardian), and Syrian rebels reveal year-long plot (The Guardian).)

1920

First president of Syria to replace Hashemite Syria (Jul-Aug).

1920

Mount Lebanon becomes the state of 'Great Lebanon' under French mandate controls on 1 September 1920. One day later the 'Alawite Territory' or 'State of Alawites' is detached from Syria as a separate state.

King Faysal was photographed at Homs in 1919, standing third from the left, during an intensive period of negotiation and political manoeuvring to see who would control what in the post-Ottoman Near East

1920

President (Sep-Nov only).

1920 - 1922

France divides the remainder of Syria on 1 December 1920, creating the 'State of Damascus' and the 'State of Aleppo'. The Jabal Druze becomes autonomous from 1 May 1921, but the 'Syrian Federation' of 1922 is swiftly amended.

The ancient cities of Aleppo and Damascus are reunited into a single Syria on 28 June 1922. This united Syria is now formally known as the 'Union of Syrian States', but it remains under French mandate.

1922 - 1925

President of the 'Union of Syrian States'.

1922

The 'Alawite Territory' is incorporated into Syria until 1925. The League of Nations confirms the French mandate over Syria and 'Great Lebanon' on 23 July 1922. The mandate goes into effect on 29 September 1923.

1922 - 1924

The autonomous sanjak (governorate) of Alexandretta in the north-west of the country is attached to the 'State of Aleppo' in 1923, despite the Ottomans continuing to claim it as a province. In 1925 it is attached directly to Syria while retaining special administrative status.

This colour photochrome print shows a wall in Damascus' defences which is rumoured to be the one over which St Paul escaped in the first century AD

1925

Syrian resentment at French control finally erupts in the form of the Great Syrian Revolt (otherwise known as the Great Druze Revolt because it first breaks out in Jabal Druze). It quickly spreads across all of Syria and Lebanon with the aim of ejecting the French. Sultan al-Atrash quickly becomes the revolt's senior commander and figurehead, although he does not control all involved factions.

1925 - 1927

Arab Druze leader. Senior commander during revolt.

1925 - 1927

The Syrian revolt is ignited in what, from 1 January 1925, is the 'State of Syria'. Despite the best efforts of al-Atrash, and much like the civil war of 2011, its efforts are not centrally organised, with the result that its efforts are piecemeal.

However, the revolt wins early battles at al-Kafr (on 21 July 1925, the revolt's first battle), al-Mazraa (on 2-3 August 1925), and Salkhad, al-Musayfirah, and Suwayda. Ultimately, despite a rather shaky, ill-equipped start, the French use hardline and often brutal tactics to crush the revolt.

Damascus was attacked during the first year of the revolt in which notable victories were won against the poorly-equipped French forces

Sultan al-Atrash survives the conflict (by escaping with fellow rebels to Transjordan where he is eventually pardoned), and lives out his life in relative obscurity, dying at the age of ninety-one in 1982.

1926

Acting president (Feb-Apr only).

1926 - 1928

President (Apr 1926 on).

1928 - 1931

Acting head of state (1928-1931). Acting president in 1941.

1932 - 1936

President.

1936

France unities all its separate Syrian mandates on 2 December 1936 - the states of Jabal Druze, Alawites, Latakia (on 5 December), and Syria - into a single unified territory which is labelled the 'Republic of Syria'.

1936 - 1939

President (to 7 July 1939).

1937

The League of Nations sponsors an agreement between Turkey and France under which the Alexandretta district of the Syrian republic becomes autonomous, along with its substantial population of Turkish descent.

Seen here in Ottoman times, the Alexandretta district of Syria became in 1938 the 'Republic of Hatay' and in 1939 part of Turkey under the name Iskenderun

1938

Turks and Arabs riot in Alexandretta, so France and Turkey establish joint military control over the district. France converts the district on 2 September 1938 into the autonomous 'Republic of Hatay'.

1939

Acting president (7-10 Jul only).

1939

A plebiscite determines that the population of Hatay wishes to join Turkey. This is enacted on 23 June 1939. Just two weeks or so later, on 10 July, the 'Republic of Syria' is abolished and the 'State of Syria' is restored.

1939 - 1941

Acting chairman of the council of commissioners (10 Jul).

1940 - 1941

Syria falls under the control of the Vichy government in occupied France, until it is liberated by the British together with Free French forces. The Syrians proclaim their independence on 16 September 1941, replacing the 'State of Syria' once again with the 'Republic of Syria'. It takes until 1944 before this proclamation is officially recognised.

Syria was administered by Vichy France following the fall of France to the Nazi Germans - until Free French and British forces managed to wrest control

1941

Acting president (Apr-Sep only).

1941 - 1943

Acting president (Sep 1941-Jan 1943). Former head of state.

1943

Acting president (Jan-Mar only).

1943

Head of state (Mar-Aug only).

1943 - 1949

President (National Bloc) (Aug-Mar).

1944 - 1945

The French mandate in Syria officially comes to an end. French troops are gradually removed, although their presence is substantial until 1946. Syria becomes a charter member of the United Nations on 24 October 1945.

1946

Syria gains full independence from France with the withdrawal of the last of the colonial troops, five years after proclaiming their country independent, and two years after that independence is recognised. Syria progresses rapidly, but continual changes of government and constitution makes it unstable.

In San Francisco, USA, in summer 1945, representatives of fifty countries signed the United Nations charter to establish a new, international body which was tasked with upholding the human rights of citizens the world over

1947

A riot in Aleppo results in the city's Jewish quarter being burned and seventy-five people being killed. Members of the Jewish Diaspora now begin heading out of the country in large numbers, primarily heading to Lebanon.

1948

Syria joins with the other Arab nations to fight the Arab-Israeli War and, with the Israelis generally proving to be victorious, Syria barely manages to hold onto its own border, losing areas of the Golan Heights by degrees over subsequent years. The defeat is a trigger (amongst others) for a series of military coups.

1949

Army colonel (Mar-Aug only). Overthrown & executed.

1949

Army colonel (14-15 Aug only). Assassinated.

1949 - 1951

Head of state (15 Aug-2 Dec).

1951

Army colonel (2-3 Dec only). Overthrown.

1951 - 1953

Army colonel (from 3 Dec).

1953 - 1954

Military president (to 25 Feb). Arab Liberation Movement.

1953 - 1954

Adib Shishakli launches a second coup in order to solidify his total control over the country. He is overthrown in a further coup on 25 February 1954 and flees the country. This time the parliamentary system is restored.

Colonel Sami al-Hinnawi was the second military ruler of the newly independent Syria in 1949, which was the first Arab country to suffer a coup following the war

1954

Acting president (26-28 Feb only) (no party).

1954 - 1955

President (from 18 Feb).

1955 - 1958

President for a second time (Syrian National Party / HSQ).

1956

Syria imposes martial law during the Suez Crisis. In November of the same year it launches attacks on Iraq's oil pipelines and signs a pact with the Soviet empire for military equipment and cooperation with the communist state.

1958

Syria and Egypt agree the 'United Arab Republic' on 1 February 1958, whereby the two countries agree to merge politically. During Kuwatli's presidency, the military remains the real ruler of Syria, but overall control of the new republic will fall to Gamal Abdel Nasser, president of Egypt.

Syria and Egypt formalise the agreement on 22 February 1958, with Egypt as the predominant member. The union only lasts until 29 September 1961 when Syria withdraws to become the 'Syrian Arab Republic'. Egypt continues to refer to itself the 'United Arab Republic' for some time after the union's break-up.

Egyptian Prime Minister Gamal Nasser after announcing the nationalisation of the British Suez Canal Company in 1956, sparking a major international crisis

1961 - 1962

It is a military coup which is headed by Abd al-Karim al-Nahlawi on 28 September 1961 which causes the 'United Arab Republic' to be terminated. Now Syria is controlled by a group of officers until the leader of the coup launches a second coup in 1962 to personally seize power.

1961

Military acting president (Sep-Nov only).

1961

Military acting president (Nov-Dec only).

1961 - 1963

President (People's Party / HS). Deposed.

1962

Former military officer. Quickly overthrown.

1963

Military chairman of the national revolutionary council.

1963 - 1966

Following these various further coups, emergency rule is instigated under a Ba'ath party takeover of the government. The implementation of emergency law is not rescinded and Syria is again governed by a group of military officers.

The Ba'ath party Arab nationalist takeover of Syria saw Amin al-Hafiz first as military chairman of the national revolutionary council and then as military chairman of the presidential council before he was overthrown in 1964: the ruling government is shown here, with the country's prime minister, Salah al-Din al-Bitar second-from-right, and the president on the far right

1963 - 1964

Military chairman of the national revolutionary council.

1964 - 1966

Military chairman of the presidential council. Overthrown.

1966 - 1967

The Baath (or Ba'ath) party stages a coup after which it clears out all political opposition in the country. The following year, amid ever-increasing tensions and acrimonious relations with Israel, Egypt expels United Nations peacekeepers from Sinai and announces a partial blockade of Israel's access to the Red Sea.

Expecting further military action, several Arab states begin to mobilise their troops. Israel sees this as reason enough to launch a pre-emptive attack against Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, and Syria, triggering the Six Day War.

Jordan loses the West Bank and East Jerusalem, a third of the kingdom, while Israel also gains the Golan Heights and the ancient region of Bashan from Syria, and the Gaza Strip from Egypt, and also temporarily occupies the Sinai peninsula for a second time.

Hafez al-Assad is seen here with Colonel Gaddafi of Libya, around the time of Assad's sudden rise to power in Syria of 1970 as part of the 'Corrective Revolution'

1966 - 1970

'President' (Ba'ath). Jailed.

1970

The Assad family comes to power in Syria after former defence minister Hafez al-Assad launches a bloodless coup known as the Corrective Revolution. Al-Assad claims the title of president but effectively rules as an authoritarian dictator over a police state. His family members gain several prominent positions in authority.

1970 - 2000

Military dictator. 'Prime minister' until 1971.

1973

The Yom Kippur War (alternatively known as the Arab-Israeli War of 1973) sees the combined forces of Egypt and Syria simultaneously attack Israel during its highest holiday. Jordan does not actively participate in the conflict as it is still licking the wounds it had suffered in 1967.

The Syrian army is held and repulsed by the Israelis while the Egyptian armies take longer to pin back. The war ends in an imposed ceasefire, supported by the USA (backers of the Israelis) and the Soviets (supporting the Arab forces) as tension rises between the two superpowers.

Israeli artillery fires on Syrian positions during the brief but decisive Yom Kippur War or Arab-Israeli War of 1973, with this action taking place on 12 October 1973

1975 - 1990

The Lebanese Civil War breaks out in Lebanon, pitching Christian, Muslim, and Palestinian groups against each other as they vie for control, with involvement from Syria and Israel further confusing an often violent situation with continually shifting loyalties.

1982

The Lebanon War of 1982 sees Israel invade southern Lebanon in response to a series of attacks and counter-attacks across the border between them and the Palestine 'Liberation Organisation' (PLO). When the Israeli-installed Lebanese president, Bachir Gemayel, is assassinated in September 1982, Israeli hopes of a beneficial peace treaty fade rapidly.

Israel withdraws from the increasing mess of the Lebanese Civil War. Now the remnants of several militant groups return to fighting each other, some being backed by the PLO and others by Syria.

Israel invaded southern Lebanon in 1982 in an ill-fated attempt to impose vassal rule there which led to the long-running Lebanese Civil War

1983 - 1984

A heart attack places al-Assad in hospital, so he creates a six-man governing council to take charge, with his younger brother, Rifaat al-Assad, a member. In the following year, 1984, and with rumours rife that Hafez is dead or nearly so, Rifaat attempts to seize power. Hafez is forced to rise from his sick bed to take charge again, and Rifaat is exiled to France.

1991

Syria joins the US-led First Gulf War to oust Iraq from its occupation of Kuwait. In the same year, following the 'Madrid Conference' to reignite the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, the USA pressures Syria to ease its extremely tight restrictions on its Jewish Diaspora community.

Syria does so in the following year, allowing exit visas to be granted on the condition that holders do not emigrate to Israel. The country's several thousand Jews head mainly for the US and a large Syrian Jewish community in South Brooklyn, New York. Others head for France and Turkey. Only a handful of Jews remain in Syria, mainly older people.

The Lebanese Civil War took place between 1975-1990 and claimed the lives of some two hundred thousand people, while leaving Lebanon in ruins

1994

Son. Groomed for succession. Killed in car crash in 1994.

2000

Acting president (Jun-Jul only) (Ba'ath).

2000 - 2024

Brother of Basil. Dictator (Ba'ath). Fled to Russia.

2000

The accession of Basher al-Assad signals a very gradual shift towards political reform and an increase in civil liberties, but progress is painfully slow at first and eventually appears to stall completely.

2011

A wave of popular protests against a deeply unpopular and dictatorial government in Tunisia forces the president to flee the country, paving the way for fresh elections and a new start. The protests strike a chord in Arabs across North Africa and the Near East, and similar protests are triggered in Bahrain, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Syria, and Yemen.

Little information about Syria's protests leaks out of the secretive state, but there are certainly calls for reform, some of which Bashar al-Assad appears to agree to introduce.

Isis militia carrying their black flag suddenly launched the sweeping conquest from Syria across large areas of northern Iraq in 2014, proclaiming the caliphate in June 2014

The call for reform intensifies, and then breaks out into open civil war which, after an initial onslaught and loss of territory, Bashar al-Assad survives. He is able to secure his key territory and begin a slow fight-back, edging back the mixed bag of opposition groups over successive years.

Many opposition groups include an increasing number of hardline Muslims, some of which have links to the self-proclaimed freedom fighter group al-Qaeda (prescribed as terrorists by much of the civilised world), while others support the recreation of the Islamic caliphate.

The position of caliph descends directly from the Prophet Muhammad himself, and had last been held by the Abbasids before being destroyed in 1258.

The notion of reviving it seems initially to be a pipedream, but sudden massive gains of Iraqi territory in early 2014 makes it a reality, and the Islamic State is proclaimed on 30 June 2014.

Bashar al-Assad did not speak in public following the sudden rebel advance into Aleppo, and then fled a similarly-threatened Damascus to take refuge in Russia

2015

The organisation which goes by the self-proclaimed name of Islamic State continues to export terrorism from its main base in northern Syria, an area over which Bashar al-Assad has absolutely no control.

At least two serious atrocities are pinned to their door, the first being the massacre in June of thirty-eight people in Tunisia, when a gunman opens fire on tourists who are staying in the popular resort of Port El Kantaoui, just to the north of Sousse. Thirty of the dead are British.

The second act takes place on 13 November, when 130 people are killed and up to 368 injured during a series of coordinated attacks across the French capital of Paris.

2016 - 2017

Having recovered from the initial shock of Islamic State launching itself across northern Syria and Iraq almost unopposed, both states have recovered and rallied. Syria, with Russian support, is largely winning its own civil war.

Islamic State continued to be a highly active and lethal insurgent force in the Near East even after its defeat as a state, particularly in rural Iraq and Syria

Iraq has reorganised and revitalised its own army, while the Kurds in the north can always be guaranteed to provide reliable service and organisation. The Iraqis and Kurds launch effective campaigns around Mosul and in the northern Sinjar province respectively, while the US-backed 'Syrian Democratic Forces' (SDF) conduct the Raqqa campaign in northern Syria.

By July 2017 Mosul is cleared of IS fighters while they continue to hold firm in Tal Afar and three towns in the western province of Anbar. Raqqa, the IS capital for three years, falls in October 2017. Syria appears to recover under al-Assad and his Russian backers.

2024

Eleven days into a lightening campaign which has seemingly come out of nowhere (but which has been solidly planned for an entire year) shocks the forces of Bashar al-Assad after capturing Aleppo with ease. The president flees the country as the rebel forces sweep into Damascus. Assad's Russian backers publish a statement on 8 December 2024 to confirm he has officially resigned his office.

Upon learning of the news of the downfall of Assad's notoriously brutal regime, Syrians who had fled the conflict to seek refuge in other countries during the war now celebrated

2024 - On

Damascene rebel leader.

2024

The commander of the rebel forces, and now de facto leader of Syria, is Ahmed al-Sharaa. He has largely fought as the leader of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) since seizing control there in 2017, under the nom de plume, the Abu Mohammed al-Jolani. His initial message suggests that the new Syria will be strictly-governed but will also be inclusive.

Almost immediately a highly belligerent Israel invades Syria across the occupied Golan Heights. Its stated mission is to remove weapons stockpiles to 'stop them from falling into the hands of extremists'.

Israeli forces consolidate their hold on a demilitarised zone in Syria to the east of the Golan Heights, and also seize a strip of mountainous territory which extends northwards from there. Egypt, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey all condemn Israel's incursion, accusing it of exploiting the disarray in Syria and violating international law.

The new ruling figure in Syria, Ahmed al-Sharaa, who during the civil war was known as Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, addressed a crowd in the Umayyad mosque in Damascus following the fall of the Assad regime