Syria Independence Day – April 17, 2027

History of Syria Independence Day

Syria became a component of the Islamic empire when the Muslim Arabs conquered it from 634 to 640 under the command of Khalid Ibn al-Rashidun Walid’s army. The Umayyad dynasty, which ruled the empire in the seventh century, relocated the capital to Damascus. The districts of Damascus, Homs, Palestine, and Jordan made up Syria during this period. The Islamic empire grew so quickly that, at its height, it spanned from Spain to parts of Central Asia and India, which helped Syria, the empire’s capital, prosper economically.

The emperors of the empire permitted Assyrians in the Northeast and Christians, the majority of whom were of the Aramaean ethnicity. These Christians also held several positions in the government. The Caliphate fell in the middle of the eighth century amid dynastic conflicts and religious disagreements. The Abbasid dynasty eventually overthrew the Umayyad monarchy in 750, and Baghdad became the new capital of the empire. The Umayyad dynasty had declared Arabic the official language, and the Abbasids afterward designated Arabic the language of instruction.

The court of Saif al-Daula was a center of culture, owing to its nurturing of Arabic literature. Saif al-Daula resisted Byzantine efforts to reconquer Syria by employing defensive tactics and counter-raids into Anatolia. After his death, however, Antioch and Aleppo fell to the Byzantines, who captured them in 969. Though Syria was fully conquered by the Byzantines as of 996, it was still a backdrop for several power tussles.