- Written by you / Amr Khaldouny
Syria in ancient times
The Syrian Arab Republic is part of a larger geographic and historical framework, the Levant, with its privileged location at the crossroads of the three continents, its diverse environment and rich wealth, enabling it to play a central role in the development and spread of human civilization since ancient times. From this country came great cultural achievements in terms of urbanization, stability, innovation of agriculture, animal domestication, technology, crafts, management, trade, arts and beliefs, the emergence of countries, writing and so on. This research deals with the history of Syria with its current borders, with the emphasis that this history is an integral part of the history of the whole region. It is very overlapping with the history of Mesopotamia, Anatolia, the rest of the Levant, the Arabian Peninsula and the Nile Valley. Studies that began at the beginning of the last century and developed over time, using the latest laboratory and field technologies, have shown that Syria has been characterized by a very ancient, rich and diverse human and cultural existence.
prehistoric age
These periods include the period called the fourth quaternary geological period, the quaternary period, in which the human was characterized by climatic fluctuations between a rainy and dry one time, which coincided with the ice ages and warm ages in the northern hemisphere. The most important signs of these climatic cycles were geomorphological , Took the form of beaches and ancient river terraces, on the coasts of the Mediterranean and in the valleys of the important rivers, Euphrates and the Ossay and the Northern River of the North, and contained the data of research and archaeological rich prehistoric man. Which researchers divide as follows:
- Palaeolithic palaeolithic dating between 1500000-15000 years ago. It is divided into:
- The Lower Stone Age (Lower Palaeolite) 1500000-150000 years ago.
- Ancient Middle Stone Age (Middle Palaeolite): 150000-40000 years ago.
- Upper Stone Age (Upper Palaeolite): 40000-15000 BC.
- Middle Stone Age (Mesolithic Mesolithic): 1500 - 10000 years BC.
- Neolithic Neolithic: 10,000- 5000 years BC.
- The Stone Age of the Chalcolithic (Chalcolithic): 5000 - 3000 years BC.
The first human arrived in Syria since the Lower Paleolithic era, coming from Africa, through two natural routes: the Mediterranean coast and the Syrian-African devastation, from South-East Africa through the Red Sea, Wadi Araba, Litani valley and Wadi al-Asi. This human was of the type called Homo-erctus, the upright man with clear, though still primitive, human qualities, about the size of his small brain (about 1000 cm 3), and the shape of his large bones and short stature. As evidenced by the discovery of the first structures of Africa, which emerged two million years ago. The first traces of this man were found in Syria in the basin of the Northern River of Kabir, (the site of St. Markho), and in the basin of Al-Assi (Khattab site). They are stone tools, cutters and primitive axes of about 1,500,000 years ago. And is attributed to the so-called Old Acheulean, which lasted almost 700,000 years ago. In the later phase of the Mesopotamian period, between 700,000 and 400,000 years ago, the development of human settlements became more and more numerous and diverse. The first settlement, the Syrian Badia (Al-Meera site) and the Euphrates basin (Ma'adan site) Al-Tamamah remains in the basin of the River Al-Assi, the most important site of this age. It represents a temporary camp for a group of fishermen and pickers of wild goods, known for the first time, the use of fire and the construction of small huts in the open. In the Upper Acheulean period between 400,000 and 250,000 years ago, the human presence became more intense and the Assyrians, the makers of the Bifaces hand axes, reached the peak of their development. They reached all geographical regions of Syria and the Levant, especially the site of Qarmashi in the basin of Asi, District of Kom. In this last site revealed many archaeological levels rich in stone tools and research data, the most important of the left parietal bone os parietal human humus arctus, which is the most complete and most important to this human in the old East. In the transition between the Near Stone Age and the Middle Paleolithic, between 250,000 and 150,000 years ago, in Syria, along with the Assyrians, different human groups coexisted at the same time and place, each with its own specific tools and civilization; (The Yabrud site), which relied on the short and thick shrines, while the Assyrians continued to manufacture stone axes that are no longer of the same quality or intensity of the previous era.
In the Middle Paleolithic period, about 150,000 years ago, Syria entered a new phase. The Homo Eretus disappeared and the Assyrian civilization disappeared with it. The Neanderthal, the maker of the Musterian civilization, replaced him. Neanderthal, believed to be of European origin, was more sophisticated, physiologically and culturally, than his predecessor Homo Erectus. The size of his brain is greater (about 1200 cm 3), and his height is longer and his bones are less rigid, his culture is richer, and there is a sign that he practices spiritual rituals and simple works of art, as well as the use of bitumen in fixing toolbars and mastering the bayonet, North of Damascus, and the wheel and the mother of hills, in the area of Kom. In the Cave of the Dideriya in the valley of Afrin, skeletons of Neanderthals were discovered, buried in clear rituals, the oldest and most complete of its kind in the world to date.
In the Upper Paleolithic period, almost 40,000 years ago, Syria entered a new phase. The Neanderthals disappeared and the Mustarian civilization ended, for unknown reasons, and was replaced by Homo-sapiens of African origin. Many regions of the world, especially western Europe, have achieved a great cultural transition on every level. However, the Middle East, including Syria, has remained relatively poor. The arts, rituals, bone tools and construction have been absent. Local civilizations have emerged from this location. The first discovered such as red and Atalitia relative to the sites of the Red and Atalit in Palestine, Antelias, relative to the site of Antelias in Lebanon, in addition to the European civilization (Aurignacian) of European origin, as believed.
In the Middle Stone Age (Mesolite) about 15,000 years BC, this region regained its vitality and flourished in important local civilizations, such as the Cabaret, in relation to the Cave of the Gabbara and the Natufia in relation to the Wadi Al-Natuf in Palestine. For the first time, these civilizations practiced the arts, construction, use of bone tools, geometrical geometrical tools, and other achievements that developed over subsequent centuries. The sites of Al-Murebat and Abu Hurayrah, in the Euphrates, Al-Baz, Qalamoun and Taybeh in Horan, are the preferred form of this era, the era of the early fishermen villages, which paved the way for a major shift in the later era.
In the Neolithic era, 10,000 years ago, Syria and the region entered a period of radical change, both economic and social, and human groups shifted from the lifestyle of hunting and hunting to animals, plants and wild fruits to construction, stability and the practice of agriculture such as wheat, barley and maize , And the domestication of animals, such as sheep, goats and cows, thus establishing the early peasant villages that characterized the era of the "agricultural revolution" or the Neolithic Revolution, accompanied by major social transformations and new beliefs, including the "mother goddess" «P Grandfather's Mother, "which was practiced along the ancient Levant, from the Euphrates basin to the north, passing through the Damascus flora and up to the Jordan Valley to the south. The discoveries of the first phase of this era, prior to the study of pottery, came from dozens of sites such as Al-Murebat, Abu Hurayrah, Baqaras in the Euphrates Basin, Tel Ashwad and Ash Hill in the Damascus district, in addition to modern finds from Tel Taloula and the red cliff in the Euphrates basin. Unusual and unusual finds, including the houses of worship and large meetings and small stone paintings carrying symbolic signs and forms of birds and animals, believed to be a kind of early graphic writings that preceded the emergence of graphic writings in Mesopotamia about five thousand years ago. In the second phase of the Neolithic period, the phase associated with the use of pottery, agricultural communities were rooted, new villages emerged and the density of human settlements increased. Pottery vessels became the hallmarks of civilization and time, as evidenced by the sites of a white boy hill in the Balikh basin and Ras Shamra on the coast and Tel Karkh near Idlib.
At the end of the sixth millennium BC. The old area of the Orient entered the Copper Age, the Calcolate, with some communities using copper as well as stone in the manufacture of their vessels. The civilizational character of the societies of this era began to emerge more than ever before, embodied by the present civilization, in relation to the location of Tel Hafla in the upper Khabur in Syria, which covered the area from Mosul eastward to the Mediterranean coasts in the first half of this era. The Halifis have developed a comprehensive development in various economic and social fields, but the most important characteristic of them is the magnificent colored pottery with beautiful geometric, natural, human and animal motifs. It was made in specialized workshops, His main quarrels Anatolia to the long distances. We know of the Halafis with their special temples, circular houses with tholos, and the "mother goddess" statues, which appeared naked, wide-brimmed, carrying their noses with their hands and damaged by colored lines, a symbol of the long-lived Fertility Doctrine in ancient East civilizations. And towards the middle of the fifth millennium BC. Downgraded civilization, due to disasters or other, and replaced by the Ubaidip civilization, relative to the location of Tal slaves in southern Iraq. The Abidians were more widespread than their predecessors, and they moved southward to the shores of the Arabian Gulf. They represented the widest and first civilized unit known to the ancient Orient. They were characterized by an unprecedented urban development. They were the first to build the temples, which later became important. Although the pottery vessels were not the same accuracy and beauty of the previous background, but it became more abundant and varied, used in the manufacture of the slow wheel, for the first time, after it was manufactured manually in the previous era. The era of slaves has been very active in the agricultural, commercial and other areas. The sites of Shagar Bazaar, Tal Helfa, Tall Abu Al-Abyad, Tal Nabatah, Shams al-Din Tannira and Tal Aqab, on the island and Ras Shamra on the coast are among the most important Syrian sites, In the same locations. In the second half of the fourth millennium BC, Syria entered the last half of prehistoric times. From the south of Mesopotamia, the Warka civilization, which also settled many areas in the Syrian Euphrates Basin, began to develop. The fortified cities with strong walls and towers , The main and secondary streets, public squares, workshops, temples and channels; in addition to the development of pottery patterns, arts and cylinder seals, art and agricultural tools and others. But the most important innovation of this era was the Pictographs, formerly known as the Warka in Iraq, and were found in the sites of Habbouba al-Kabira, Tell Qanis, Jabal Arodeh and Tel Brak, on the Syrian island, sites that embodied the age of urbanization and the dawn of history in the northern part From Syria, while the southern part dominated the Ghassulian civilization, as compared to the lilies of the north-east of the Dead Sea, which achieved significant progress in construction and art, although less important than what was achieved in the North Mashreq.
Ancient Historical Ages
At the beginning of the third millennium BC, the Sumerians emerged as the greatest civilization power in the region. Ancient Eastern societies began using bronze in the manufacture of their tools and weapons, thus entering the region in the Bronze Age or the early dynastic era. In the first part of this era, ancient bronze, between 3000 - 2000 years BC. The cities of the Warka era followed their development, and the first city-state states emerged in different regions of Syria and Mesopotamia. The information on this stage is derived not only from archaeological finds, but from written documents and records of ancient historians, which contain the names of cities, kingdoms, kings, ruling families, and gods, as well as social and economic information, all of which crystallize religious and civic authority. The cities of the first cities in Syria were very similar to those of Mesopotamia, and the city of Tal al-Khuwayra, whose name we do not know, and Mary (Tal Hariri) in Syria, Evidence of the high level of civilization reached by the region, evidenced by the urban structures of walls and palaces and temples and crafts and attributed to the Sumerians, who now know based on the latest archaeological data that they are indigenous people and not immigrants coming from abroad, as previously thought, The creation of cuneiform writing that evolved from the book The pictorial figurine is written in all the languages of the ancient East, although this writing is still rare in this age. It was limited to some inscriptions on the statues of the gods and rulers, which came from Mary, Tel Khawira and other Rafidian sites.
In the middle of the third millenium BC, the Acadians, along with the Sumerians, began to play an important role in their importance until they reached the height of their glory during the reign of Sargon the First Akkadian, founded around the middle of the twenty-fourth century BC. The first empire extended from the Arabian Gulf to the Mediterranean and Anatolia to the north. Syria was part of the political and cultural power of the Akkadian era, and there were strong kingdoms that linked the Acadians to cooperative relations or fought according to circumstances. The site of Tel Brak on the island, where the Acadi Palace was revealed, is the most important evidence of these relations. The Kingdom of Ibla, Tel Mardikh, south of Aleppo, is the best example of a Syrian civilization with an independent and authentic character. The Great Mosque (Qasr G), which exceeded sixteen thousand palms, contained political, economic, social, religious and literary information, which is inexhaustible, from this stage with its rulers, gods, dictionaries, legends and others. They were all written in the language of the abbey, very close to Akkadian and Canaanite. . In the era of its powerful rulers such as Agrish Halam, Abriom and Damo, the influence of Abla extended to large areas between the Euphrates and the Mediterranean, and had international relations far from Mesopotamia eastward to Egypt to the west. The kingdom of Mary, one of the most important early kingdoms In the ancient east, where unique finds, archaeological and written, came to the fore, which brought many of the characteristics of Abla and entered with them in relations varied between peace or war, before being subjected to the Babylonian, and then end these two Syrian kingdoms and destroyed by the Acadians; Sargun I and his grandson Naram Sinn, that they were the first to spend on Ela about who The city of Nebada, on the Syrian island, is one of the important cities of this age. In addition to its palaces and temples, it found a small contemporary archive of the archive of Ibla, which included administrative and economic information indicating that this city It belonged to the Kingdom of Nagar (Tel Brak), which is believed to be comparable to Mary in importance. There are archaeological finds that indicate the existence of kingdoms and cities, others at the site of Tel Al Bayah, Totol, which revealed the graves and palaces rich ownership, and Al-Suweihat in the Euphrates basin and others. The Mozan Hill, in the Upper Khabour, was found to contain the remains of the ancient city of Orkish, the capital of the Haurites, who settled on the Upper Island since the middle of the third millennium BC and played a distinctive role throughout the third and second centuries BC.
In the middle of the twenty-second century BC, the Akkadian Empire collapsed under the blows of the Juteans, originating from their homeland in the Zagros Mountains of Iran. A new era was called the Neo-Sumerian era, in which the Syrian kingdoms retreated from their former role, And Najar), and concentrated the cultural weight in the kingdom of Lish (Tal al-Heba) and its religious capital Jarsu (Tal Loh) in southern Mesopotamia, and with the advent of the Middle Bronze Age between 2000-1600 BC BC, there has been a radical new shift in the political arena and civilization of the region, The political presence of the Sumerians and the Acadians was absent and the star of the Babylonians, who had witnessed the Assyrians, emerged And the Amorites in Mesopotamia, who are mentioned in Akkadian documents since the end of the third millennium BC. The Babylonians established their first small kingdoms at the beginning of the second millennium BC in the land of Mesopotamia, such as the Kingdom of Essen and the Kingdom of Larsa, before they built the empire and its capital, Babylon, during the reign of the great king Hammurabi in the 18th century BC. , The influence of the Babylonian Empire spread over the entire area of the ancient Orient, its history in Syria and the Amorite kingdoms, while the Canaanites established kingdoms on the eastern shores of the Mediterranean.
The ruins of the remains of an ancient civilization
Mary, in the reign of her king Zimri-Lim, one of the most important kingdoms of this age, as evidenced by its unique palace and temples and tombs, especially its huge archive of more than twenty thousand pendants, and was a source of information very rich about the region and history, and also star strong kingdoms and prosperous, , Aleppo, and its king Yarim-Lim. There are the Mamluks of Ibla (Tal Mardikh), Qutana (Tal al-Mashrefah), Al-Aalakh (Tel Atashana) and Qadash (Tel Nabi Mend), in addition to Tutul (Tel Al Bayah) on the Euphrates and Shakhna. And the tomb of his son was heard and identified as king before Hammurabi destroyed it in the middle of the 18th century BC. The center of life moved to the neighboring kingdom of Tara (the nearby hill of 'Ashara), an era also marked by the entry of the Hyksos, From the capital Avaris (Tel Dabaa in Upper Egypt), in the era of the fifteenth family, before being expelled from them and accompanied by disturbances in the century Ten days BC, as some attributed to the destruction of many Palestinian cities, at the end of the Bronze Age mediator, the Egyptians during the chase Hyksos, but it is difficult to prove it completely. On the other hand, archaeological and scriptural documents indicate a tragic end to the Babylonian Empire and to the owners of the Middle Bronze Age, which had undergone or joined with it. The star of the Hittites, Hindus and Europeans, who lived in Anatolia since the second half of the third millennium BC. Then they established a strong kingdom in the first half of the second millennium BC. They moved from their capital, Hatucha (Bogazkoy) at the beginning of the sixteenth century BC, led by their first king Murcelli to the south and west of Crmich, Aleppo and Ebla, and the destroyers of Babel, the capital of Hammurabi, which had long been in the hands of the Kashiens, These were themselves at the hands of the Elamites in the middle of the 12th century BC. In the era of modern bronze 1600-1200. After the disappearance of the Amorite kingdoms began to appear on the scene new forces like the Canaanites in the Levant and the Assyrians in Mesopotamia and the Huron-Mitnon in the Syrian High Island; who, with their capital and Ashokani, Jazeera, one of the most important actors in the region. There are the Hittites in Anatolia, and the Egyptians in the Nile Valley. The domination of Syria was one of the most important motives of these wars, led especially by the modern kingdom of Egypt, from which we know the battle of Megiddo (Tal al-Matalem) in Palestine occupied by Thutmose III in the 15th century BC. M, and the Battle of Kadesh at the beginning of the thirteenth century BC. In the reign of Pharaoh Ramses II, which ended with the sharing of influence between the Hittites in northern Syria and the Egyptians in the south.
The Canaanite kingdoms, led by Agarit, despite their modest military capabilities, managed to maintain a continuous cultural role and relative independence. Agarit Aga was a great example of its urban organization, its shrines, temples, tombs, statues, precious industries, ivory and glass artifacts, tools and treasures. Which exceeded six thousand palms and included historical, literary and religious information was the basis of the subsequent religions, and the complex of gods composed of El Baal and identified and Dajn and Ishtar and other gods, which followed the worship of the peoples of the East of the old, although differed From the era of the skies last. Agarit was a unique example of the influences of the Rafidian, Anatolian, Egyptian and Greek influences, which were re-crystallized in an original Syrian framework. The first alphabet was created in the history, which was carried by a small platter. It consisted of thirty characters written in the cuneiform script from left to right. It is written from right to left, before Greece takes it and becomes the origin of the current alphabets in the world.
Other cities in Syria have flourished in Syria, including Al-Aalakh (Tel Atashana), Al-Dakhaf, and Iqalta (Mambaka) in the Euphrates. The role of Katalimo (Sheikh Hamad) on the Khabour, which in turn carried the effects of neighboring, a fairy and Assyrian and Assyrian, as evidenced by the castle and archival written. The same applies to Imar (Miskan) on the Euphrates and other cities that lived throughout the second half of the second millennium BC.
At the end of the modern Bronze Age, a great disaster was once again overtaken by the old East, when the region was invaded by unknown peoples called the peoples of the sea, coming from different parts of the Mediterranean and Anatolia, including the Philistines who gave their name to Palestine. The peoples of the sea, with its strong armament and high combat capabilities, overthrew the Hittite Empire and all the Canaanite kingdoms on the Mediterranean coast and threatened Egypt, creating chaos and total turmoil. Agarit was destroyed as other kingdoms, such as Al-Arak, were abandoned, and many cities, such as Tel Barrak and Hama, were abandoned for reasons that may not be directly related to the peoples of the sea, and perhaps because of worsening economic and social crises. Thus began the Iron Age, which lasted between 1200-539 BC., The era of the emergence of the Arameans as one of the active forces in the history of the region for a few centuries to come. Archaeological excavations and biblical sources, the Assyrian and Torah calendars, provided abundant information about the Arameans who established many small kingdoms bearing the names of their tribes, including Beit Bakhiyani, with its capital, Gozan (Tel Halaf) at the source of the Khabur, and Beit Adini, Tash) in the Syrian island, and the house of Agoshi and its capital Arpad (Tel Rifat) in the area of Aleppo, and there are the kingdoms of Aram Soba, Hama, Damascus and others. The Arameans were known for their special architectural style, including the temples and palaces with their columns (Beit Hellani). Their large stone sculptures, ivory and metal traces and writings reflected various themes. Their rulers and gods included: Baqed, Baal, Baal Shamsin, El, Nabu and Ishtar. In addition to the Arameans, northern Syria underwent new Luvian-Neohitites, such as Carchemish and Zengerli, while the Canaanite and Phoenician kingdoms, known for their trade and precious industries of costume and ivory, grew up on the coasts and dominated the Mediterranean for a long time, As evidenced by the settlements of the Syrian coasts, Arwad, Jubla, Amrit, Ras al-Basit, Jubail, the Lebanese coast, Gaza, Palestine and others. The political history of the kingdoms and cities of the Iron Age is complex and overlapping; it is highly turbulent, in which all have fought conflicts and alliances, and they have been subjected to external pressures and pressures, especially Assyrian and Egyptian. The greatest influence on Syria came from the modern Assyrian Empire, which moved from its successive capitals, Kalkhu (Nimrod), Durcharkin (Khor Sebad), Nineveh (Tel Qwengik and Tel Nabi Younis) to impose its control in all directions to Egypt. The Battle of Gurgaar in the Ghab region of Syria is one of the major military confrontations in which the Aramean kings of the Levant fought against the Assyrians in the middle of the 9th century BC. As the obelisk found in Calchu tells us, and the king of Israel appeared in it, he accepted the land in front of the feet of the Assyrian monarch, the third king. The Arab obelisk and their owner, Jendobo, are mentioned in their first name for the first time.
The Sphinx (Aramaic) which was revealed at the site of the temple was identified
(The site of the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus today)
The Assyrians continued their pressure on the cities of the Arameans, Arabs and Phoenicians and ended up imposing total control over all, after the fall of the kingdoms of Damascus and the strong protectors, at the end of the eighth century BC. The Assyrian and Torah calendars record harsh details of the destruction and burning of cities and the killing and displacement of the population by the Assyrian armies against However, the Assyrian empire itself fell into the hands of the Chaldeans, allied with the Medes in Iran, in 612 BC. The Chaldeans destroyed Neo-Babylonians, the Assyrian capital of Nineveh, and made Babylon the capital of the Chaldean state. Syria was once again subject to Chaldean authority, which occupied Damascus and extended its influence to the shores of the Mediterranean and Egypt. The Chaldeans distinguished themselves by their wars against the Jews, especially when the powerful Chaldean king Nebuchadnezzar destroyed Jerusalem twice and the Jews were abandoned to Babylon in the first half of the 6th century. M. But after the death of Nebuchadnezzar, the modern Babylonian empire soon collapsed in the hands of the Persians in Iran, who occupied the Babylonian Empire in 539 BC. The kings of the Achaemenids followed their great conquests They established an empire that extended from the Indus Valley in the east to Egypt in the west, and imposed their control over Palestine, the Arabian Peninsula and Syria, which became the fifth state of the empire with Damascus as its capital. The city of Maratos (Amrit) maintains clear traces of this stage. Despite the military control of the Khmeris, the Levant remained a leading role, especially in the Aramaic adoption of the official language of the Achaemenid Empire. The Akkadian Empire itself fell into the hands of Alexander the Macedonian, who occupied Syria in 333 BC. Thus, the old Arab Orient entered a new stage in which its people no longer ruled by themselves, but were subject to external control, without this reflecting the decline of their cultural contribution throughout the ages.
Sultan Moheisen
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Syria in ancient times
The Syrian Arab Republic is part of a larger geographic and historical framework, the Levant, with its privileged location at the crossroads of the three continents, its diverse environment and rich wealth, enabling it to play a central role in the development and spread of human civilization since ancient times. From this country came great cultural achievements in terms of urbanization, stability, innovation of agriculture, animal domestication, technology, crafts, management, trade, arts and beliefs, the emergence of countries, writing and so on. This research deals with the history of Syria with its current borders, with the emphasis that this history is an integral part of the history of the whole region. It is very overlapping with the history of Mesopotamia, Anatolia, the rest of the Levant, the Arabian Peninsula and the Nile Valley. Studies that began at the beginning of the last century and developed over time, using the latest laboratory and field technologies, have shown that Syria has been characterized by a very ancient, rich and diverse human and cultural existence.
prehistoric age
These periods include the period called the fourth quaternary geological period, the quaternary period, in which the human was characterized by climatic fluctuations between a rainy and dry one time, which coincided with the ice ages and warm ages in the northern hemisphere. The most important signs of these climatic cycles were geomorphological , Took the form of beaches and ancient river terraces, on the coasts of the Mediterranean and in the valleys of the important rivers, Euphrates and the Ossay and the Northern River of the North, and contained the data of research and archaeological rich prehistoric man. Which researchers divide as follows:
- Palaeolithic palaeolithic dating between 1500000-15000 years ago. It is divided into:
- The Lower Stone Age (Lower Palaeolite) 1500000-150000 years ago.
- Ancient Middle Stone Age (Middle Palaeolite): 150000-40000 years ago.
- Upper Stone Age (Upper Palaeolite): 40000-15000 BC.
- Middle Stone Age (Mesolithic Mesolithic): 1500 - 10000 years BC.
- Neolithic Neolithic: 10,000- 5000 years BC.
- The Stone Age of the Chalcolithic (Chalcolithic): 5000 - 3000 years BC.
The first human arrived in Syria since the Lower Paleolithic era, coming from Africa, through two natural routes: the Mediterranean coast and the Syrian-African devastation, from South-East Africa through the Red Sea, Wadi Araba, Litani valley and Wadi al-Asi. This human was of the type called Homo-erctus, the upright man with clear, though still primitive, human qualities, about the size of his small brain (about 1000 cm 3), and the shape of his large bones and short stature. As evidenced by the discovery of the first structures of Africa, which emerged two million years ago. The first traces of this man were found in Syria in the basin of the Northern River of Kabir, (the site of St. Markho), and in the basin of Al-Assi (Khattab site). They are stone tools, cutters and primitive axes of about 1,500,000 years ago. And is attributed to the so-called Old Acheulean, which lasted almost 700,000 years ago. In the later phase of the Mesopotamian period, between 700,000 and 400,000 years ago, the development of human settlements became more and more numerous and diverse. The first settlement, the Syrian Badia (Al-Meera site) and the Euphrates basin (Ma'adan site) Al-Tamamah remains in the basin of the River Al-Assi, the most important site of this age. It represents a temporary camp for a group of fishermen and pickers of wild goods, known for the first time, the use of fire and the construction of small huts in the open. In the Upper Acheulean period between 400,000 and 250,000 years ago, the human presence became more intense and the Assyrians, the makers of the Bifaces hand axes, reached the peak of their development. They reached all geographical regions of Syria and the Levant, especially the site of Qarmashi in the basin of Asi, District of Kom. In this last site revealed many archaeological levels rich in stone tools and research data, the most important of the left parietal bone os parietal human humus arctus, which is the most complete and most important to this human in the old East. In the transition between the Near Stone Age and the Middle Paleolithic, between 250,000 and 150,000 years ago, in Syria, along with the Assyrians, different human groups coexisted at the same time and place, each with its own specific tools and civilization; (The Yabrud site), which relied on the short and thick shrines, while the Assyrians continued to manufacture stone axes that are no longer of the same quality or intensity of the previous era.
In the Middle Paleolithic period, about 150,000 years ago, Syria entered a new phase. The Homo Eretus disappeared and the Assyrian civilization disappeared with it. The Neanderthal, the maker of the Musterian civilization, replaced him. Neanderthal, believed to be of European origin, was more sophisticated, physiologically and culturally, than his predecessor Homo Erectus. The size of his brain is greater (about 1200 cm 3), and his height is longer and his bones are less rigid, his culture is richer, and there is a sign that he practices spiritual rituals and simple works of art, as well as the use of bitumen in fixing toolbars and mastering the bayonet, North of Damascus, and the wheel and the mother of hills, in the area of Kom. In the Cave of the Dideriya in the valley of Afrin, skeletons of Neanderthals were discovered, buried in clear rituals, the oldest and most complete of its kind in the world to date.
In the Upper Paleolithic period, almost 40,000 years ago, Syria entered a new phase. The Neanderthals disappeared and the Mustarian civilization ended, for unknown reasons, and was replaced by Homo-sapiens of African origin. Many regions of the world, especially western Europe, have achieved a great cultural transition on every level. However, the Middle East, including Syria, has remained relatively poor. The arts, rituals, bone tools and construction have been absent. Local civilizations have emerged from this location. The first discovered such as red and Atalitia relative to the sites of the Red and Atalit in Palestine, Antelias, relative to the site of Antelias in Lebanon, in addition to the European civilization (Aurignacian) of European origin, as believed.
In the Middle Stone Age (Mesolite) about 15,000 years BC, this region regained its vitality and flourished in important local civilizations, such as the Cabaret, in relation to the Cave of the Gabbara and the Natufia in relation to the Wadi Al-Natuf in Palestine. For the first time, these civilizations practiced the arts, construction, use of bone tools, geometrical geometrical tools, and other achievements that developed over subsequent centuries. The sites of Al-Murebat and Abu Hurayrah, in the Euphrates, Al-Baz, Qalamoun and Taybeh in Horan, are the preferred form of this era, the era of the early fishermen villages, which paved the way for a major shift in the later era.
In the Neolithic era, 10,000 years ago, Syria and the region entered a period of radical change, both economic and social, and human groups shifted from the lifestyle of hunting and hunting to animals, plants and wild fruits to construction, stability and the practice of agriculture such as wheat, barley and maize , And the domestication of animals, such as sheep, goats and cows, thus establishing the early peasant villages that characterized the era of the "agricultural revolution" or the Neolithic Revolution, accompanied by major social transformations and new beliefs, including the "mother goddess" «P Grandfather's Mother, "which was practiced along the ancient Levant, from the Euphrates basin to the north, passing through the Damascus flora and up to the Jordan Valley to the south. The discoveries of the first phase of this era, prior to the study of pottery, came from dozens of sites such as Al-Murebat, Abu Hurayrah, Baqaras in the Euphrates Basin, Tel Ashwad and Ash Hill in the Damascus district, in addition to modern finds from Tel Taloula and the red cliff in the Euphrates basin. Unusual and unusual finds, including the houses of worship and large meetings and small stone paintings carrying symbolic signs and forms of birds and animals, believed to be a kind of early graphic writings that preceded the emergence of graphic writings in Mesopotamia about five thousand years ago. In the second phase of the Neolithic period, the phase associated with the use of pottery, agricultural communities were rooted, new villages emerged and the density of human settlements increased. Pottery vessels became the hallmarks of civilization and time, as evidenced by the sites of a white boy hill in the Balikh basin and Ras Shamra on the coast and Tel Karkh near Idlib.
At the end of the sixth millennium BC. The old area of the Orient entered the Copper Age, the Calcolate, with some communities using copper as well as stone in the manufacture of their vessels. The civilizational character of the societies of this era began to emerge more than ever before, embodied by the present civilization, in relation to the location of Tel Hafla in the upper Khabur in Syria, which covered the area from Mosul eastward to the Mediterranean coasts in the first half of this era. The Halifis have developed a comprehensive development in various economic and social fields, but the most important characteristic of them is the magnificent colored pottery with beautiful geometric, natural, human and animal motifs. It was made in specialized workshops, His main quarrels Anatolia to the long distances. We know of the Halafis with their special temples, circular houses with tholos, and the "mother goddess" statues, which appeared naked, wide-brimmed, carrying their noses with their hands and damaged by colored lines, a symbol of the long-lived Fertility Doctrine in ancient East civilizations. And towards the middle of the fifth millennium BC. Downgraded civilization, due to disasters or other, and replaced by the Ubaidip civilization, relative to the location of Tal slaves in southern Iraq. The Abidians were more widespread than their predecessors, and they moved southward to the shores of the Arabian Gulf. They represented the widest and first civilized unit known to the ancient Orient. They were characterized by an unprecedented urban development. They were the first to build the temples, which later became important. Although the pottery vessels were not the same accuracy and beauty of the previous background, but it became more abundant and varied, used in the manufacture of the slow wheel, for the first time, after it was manufactured manually in the previous era. The era of slaves has been very active in the agricultural, commercial and other areas. The sites of Shagar Bazaar, Tal Helfa, Tall Abu Al-Abyad, Tal Nabatah, Shams al-Din Tannira and Tal Aqab, on the island and Ras Shamra on the coast are among the most important Syrian sites, In the same locations. In the second half of the fourth millennium BC, Syria entered the last half of prehistoric times. From the south of Mesopotamia, the Warka civilization, which also settled many areas in the Syrian Euphrates Basin, began to develop. The fortified cities with strong walls and towers , The main and secondary streets, public squares, workshops, temples and channels; in addition to the development of pottery patterns, arts and cylinder seals, art and agricultural tools and others. But the most important innovation of this era was the Pictographs, formerly known as the Warka in Iraq, and were found in the sites of Habbouba al-Kabira, Tell Qanis, Jabal Arodeh and Tel Brak, on the Syrian island, sites that embodied the age of urbanization and the dawn of history in the northern part From Syria, while the southern part dominated the Ghassulian civilization, as compared to the lilies of the north-east of the Dead Sea, which achieved significant progress in construction and art, although less important than what was achieved in the North Mashreq.
Ancient Historical Ages
At the beginning of the third millennium BC, the Sumerians emerged as the greatest civilization power in the region. Ancient Eastern societies began using bronze in the manufacture of their tools and weapons, thus entering the region in the Bronze Age or the early dynastic era. In the first part of this era, ancient bronze, between 3000 - 2000 years BC. The cities of the Warka era followed their development, and the first city-state states emerged in different regions of Syria and Mesopotamia. The information on this stage is derived not only from archaeological finds, but from written documents and records of ancient historians, which contain the names of cities, kingdoms, kings, ruling families, and gods, as well as social and economic information, all of which crystallize religious and civic authority. The cities of the first cities in Syria were very similar to those of Mesopotamia, and the city of Tal al-Khuwayra, whose name we do not know, and Mary (Tal Hariri) in Syria, Evidence of the high level of civilization reached by the region, evidenced by the urban structures of walls and palaces and temples and crafts and attributed to the Sumerians, who now know based on the latest archaeological data that they are indigenous people and not immigrants coming from abroad, as previously thought, The creation of cuneiform writing that evolved from the book The pictorial figurine is written in all the languages of the ancient East, although this writing is still rare in this age. It was limited to some inscriptions on the statues of the gods and rulers, which came from Mary, Tel Khawira and other Rafidian sites.
In the middle of the third millenium BC, the Acadians, along with the Sumerians, began to play an important role in their importance until they reached the height of their glory during the reign of Sargon the First Akkadian, founded around the middle of the twenty-fourth century BC. The first empire extended from the Arabian Gulf to the Mediterranean and Anatolia to the north. Syria was part of the political and cultural power of the Akkadian era, and there were strong kingdoms that linked the Acadians to cooperative relations or fought according to circumstances. The site of Tel Brak on the island, where the Acadi Palace was revealed, is the most important evidence of these relations. The Kingdom of Ibla, Tel Mardikh, south of Aleppo, is the best example of a Syrian civilization with an independent and authentic character. The Great Mosque (Qasr G), which exceeded sixteen thousand palms, contained political, economic, social, religious and literary information, which is inexhaustible, from this stage with its rulers, gods, dictionaries, legends and others. They were all written in the language of the abbey, very close to Akkadian and Canaanite. . In the era of its powerful rulers such as Agrish Halam, Abriom and Damo, the influence of Abla extended to large areas between the Euphrates and the Mediterranean, and had international relations far from Mesopotamia eastward to Egypt to the west. The kingdom of Mary, one of the most important early kingdoms In the ancient east, where unique finds, archaeological and written, came to the fore, which brought many of the characteristics of Abla and entered with them in relations varied between peace or war, before being subjected to the Babylonian, and then end these two Syrian kingdoms and destroyed by the Acadians; Sargun I and his grandson Naram Sinn, that they were the first to spend on Ela about who The city of Nebada, on the Syrian island, is one of the important cities of this age. In addition to its palaces and temples, it found a small contemporary archive of the archive of Ibla, which included administrative and economic information indicating that this city It belonged to the Kingdom of Nagar (Tel Brak), which is believed to be comparable to Mary in importance. There are archaeological finds that indicate the existence of kingdoms and cities, others at the site of Tel Al Bayah, Totol, which revealed the graves and palaces rich ownership, and Al-Suweihat in the Euphrates basin and others. The Mozan Hill, in the Upper Khabour, was found to contain the remains of the ancient city of Orkish, the capital of the Haurites, who settled on the Upper Island since the middle of the third millennium BC and played a distinctive role throughout the third and second centuries BC.
In the middle of the twenty-second century BC, the Akkadian Empire collapsed under the blows of the Juteans, originating from their homeland in the Zagros Mountains of Iran. A new era was called the Neo-Sumerian era, in which the Syrian kingdoms retreated from their former role, And Najar), and concentrated the cultural weight in the kingdom of Lish (Tal al-Heba) and its religious capital Jarsu (Tal Loh) in southern Mesopotamia, and with the advent of the Middle Bronze Age between 2000-1600 BC BC, there has been a radical new shift in the political arena and civilization of the region, The political presence of the Sumerians and the Acadians was absent and the star of the Babylonians, who had witnessed the Assyrians, emerged And the Amorites in Mesopotamia, who are mentioned in Akkadian documents since the end of the third millennium BC. The Babylonians established their first small kingdoms at the beginning of the second millennium BC in the land of Mesopotamia, such as the Kingdom of Essen and the Kingdom of Larsa, before they built the empire and its capital, Babylon, during the reign of the great king Hammurabi in the 18th century BC. , The influence of the Babylonian Empire spread over the entire area of the ancient Orient, its history in Syria and the Amorite kingdoms, while the Canaanites established kingdoms on the eastern shores of the Mediterranean.
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| The ruins of the remains of an ancient civilization |
Mary, in the reign of her king Zimri-Lim, one of the most important kingdoms of this age, as evidenced by its unique palace and temples and tombs, especially its huge archive of more than twenty thousand pendants, and was a source of information very rich about the region and history, and also star strong kingdoms and prosperous, , Aleppo, and its king Yarim-Lim. There are the Mamluks of Ibla (Tal Mardikh), Qutana (Tal al-Mashrefah), Al-Aalakh (Tel Atashana) and Qadash (Tel Nabi Mend), in addition to Tutul (Tel Al Bayah) on the Euphrates and Shakhna. And the tomb of his son was heard and identified as king before Hammurabi destroyed it in the middle of the 18th century BC. The center of life moved to the neighboring kingdom of Tara (the nearby hill of 'Ashara), an era also marked by the entry of the Hyksos, From the capital Avaris (Tel Dabaa in Upper Egypt), in the era of the fifteenth family, before being expelled from them and accompanied by disturbances in the century Ten days BC, as some attributed to the destruction of many Palestinian cities, at the end of the Bronze Age mediator, the Egyptians during the chase Hyksos, but it is difficult to prove it completely. On the other hand, archaeological and scriptural documents indicate a tragic end to the Babylonian Empire and to the owners of the Middle Bronze Age, which had undergone or joined with it. The star of the Hittites, Hindus and Europeans, who lived in Anatolia since the second half of the third millennium BC. Then they established a strong kingdom in the first half of the second millennium BC. They moved from their capital, Hatucha (Bogazkoy) at the beginning of the sixteenth century BC, led by their first king Murcelli to the south and west of Crmich, Aleppo and Ebla, and the destroyers of Babel, the capital of Hammurabi, which had long been in the hands of the Kashiens, These were themselves at the hands of the Elamites in the middle of the 12th century BC. In the era of modern bronze 1600-1200. After the disappearance of the Amorite kingdoms began to appear on the scene new forces like the Canaanites in the Levant and the Assyrians in Mesopotamia and the Huron-Mitnon in the Syrian High Island; who, with their capital and Ashokani, Jazeera, one of the most important actors in the region. There are the Hittites in Anatolia, and the Egyptians in the Nile Valley. The domination of Syria was one of the most important motives of these wars, led especially by the modern kingdom of Egypt, from which we know the battle of Megiddo (Tal al-Matalem) in Palestine occupied by Thutmose III in the 15th century BC. M, and the Battle of Kadesh at the beginning of the thirteenth century BC. In the reign of Pharaoh Ramses II, which ended with the sharing of influence between the Hittites in northern Syria and the Egyptians in the south.
The Canaanite kingdoms, led by Agarit, despite their modest military capabilities, managed to maintain a continuous cultural role and relative independence. Agarit Aga was a great example of its urban organization, its shrines, temples, tombs, statues, precious industries, ivory and glass artifacts, tools and treasures. Which exceeded six thousand palms and included historical, literary and religious information was the basis of the subsequent religions, and the complex of gods composed of El Baal and identified and Dajn and Ishtar and other gods, which followed the worship of the peoples of the East of the old, although differed From the era of the skies last. Agarit was a unique example of the influences of the Rafidian, Anatolian, Egyptian and Greek influences, which were re-crystallized in an original Syrian framework. The first alphabet was created in the history, which was carried by a small platter. It consisted of thirty characters written in the cuneiform script from left to right. It is written from right to left, before Greece takes it and becomes the origin of the current alphabets in the world.
Other cities in Syria have flourished in Syria, including Al-Aalakh (Tel Atashana), Al-Dakhaf, and Iqalta (Mambaka) in the Euphrates. The role of Katalimo (Sheikh Hamad) on the Khabour, which in turn carried the effects of neighboring, a fairy and Assyrian and Assyrian, as evidenced by the castle and archival written. The same applies to Imar (Miskan) on the Euphrates and other cities that lived throughout the second half of the second millennium BC.
At the end of the modern Bronze Age, a great disaster was once again overtaken by the old East, when the region was invaded by unknown peoples called the peoples of the sea, coming from different parts of the Mediterranean and Anatolia, including the Philistines who gave their name to Palestine. The peoples of the sea, with its strong armament and high combat capabilities, overthrew the Hittite Empire and all the Canaanite kingdoms on the Mediterranean coast and threatened Egypt, creating chaos and total turmoil. Agarit was destroyed as other kingdoms, such as Al-Arak, were abandoned, and many cities, such as Tel Barrak and Hama, were abandoned for reasons that may not be directly related to the peoples of the sea, and perhaps because of worsening economic and social crises. Thus began the Iron Age, which lasted between 1200-539 BC., The era of the emergence of the Arameans as one of the active forces in the history of the region for a few centuries to come. Archaeological excavations and biblical sources, the Assyrian and Torah calendars, provided abundant information about the Arameans who established many small kingdoms bearing the names of their tribes, including Beit Bakhiyani, with its capital, Gozan (Tel Halaf) at the source of the Khabur, and Beit Adini, Tash) in the Syrian island, and the house of Agoshi and its capital Arpad (Tel Rifat) in the area of Aleppo, and there are the kingdoms of Aram Soba, Hama, Damascus and others. The Arameans were known for their special architectural style, including the temples and palaces with their columns (Beit Hellani). Their large stone sculptures, ivory and metal traces and writings reflected various themes. Their rulers and gods included: Baqed, Baal, Baal Shamsin, El, Nabu and Ishtar. In addition to the Arameans, northern Syria underwent new Luvian-Neohitites, such as Carchemish and Zengerli, while the Canaanite and Phoenician kingdoms, known for their trade and precious industries of costume and ivory, grew up on the coasts and dominated the Mediterranean for a long time, As evidenced by the settlements of the Syrian coasts, Arwad, Jubla, Amrit, Ras al-Basit, Jubail, the Lebanese coast, Gaza, Palestine and others. The political history of the kingdoms and cities of the Iron Age is complex and overlapping; it is highly turbulent, in which all have fought conflicts and alliances, and they have been subjected to external pressures and pressures, especially Assyrian and Egyptian. The greatest influence on Syria came from the modern Assyrian Empire, which moved from its successive capitals, Kalkhu (Nimrod), Durcharkin (Khor Sebad), Nineveh (Tel Qwengik and Tel Nabi Younis) to impose its control in all directions to Egypt. The Battle of Gurgaar in the Ghab region of Syria is one of the major military confrontations in which the Aramean kings of the Levant fought against the Assyrians in the middle of the 9th century BC. As the obelisk found in Calchu tells us, and the king of Israel appeared in it, he accepted the land in front of the feet of the Assyrian monarch, the third king. The Arab obelisk and their owner, Jendobo, are mentioned in their first name for the first time.
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| The Sphinx (Aramaic) which was revealed at the site of the temple was identified | (The site of the Umayyad Mosque in Damascus today) |
The Assyrians continued their pressure on the cities of the Arameans, Arabs and Phoenicians and ended up imposing total control over all, after the fall of the kingdoms of Damascus and the strong protectors, at the end of the eighth century BC. The Assyrian and Torah calendars record harsh details of the destruction and burning of cities and the killing and displacement of the population by the Assyrian armies against However, the Assyrian empire itself fell into the hands of the Chaldeans, allied with the Medes in Iran, in 612 BC. The Chaldeans destroyed Neo-Babylonians, the Assyrian capital of Nineveh, and made Babylon the capital of the Chaldean state. Syria was once again subject to Chaldean authority, which occupied Damascus and extended its influence to the shores of the Mediterranean and Egypt. The Chaldeans distinguished themselves by their wars against the Jews, especially when the powerful Chaldean king Nebuchadnezzar destroyed Jerusalem twice and the Jews were abandoned to Babylon in the first half of the 6th century. M. But after the death of Nebuchadnezzar, the modern Babylonian empire soon collapsed in the hands of the Persians in Iran, who occupied the Babylonian Empire in 539 BC. The kings of the Achaemenids followed their great conquests They established an empire that extended from the Indus Valley in the east to Egypt in the west, and imposed their control over Palestine, the Arabian Peninsula and Syria, which became the fifth state of the empire with Damascus as its capital. The city of Maratos (Amrit) maintains clear traces of this stage. Despite the military control of the Khmeris, the Levant remained a leading role, especially in the Aramaic adoption of the official language of the Achaemenid Empire. The Akkadian Empire itself fell into the hands of Alexander the Macedonian, who occupied Syria in 333 BC. Thus, the old Arab Orient entered a new stage in which its people no longer ruled by themselves, but were subject to external control, without this reflecting the decline of their cultural contribution throughout the ages.
Sultan Moheisen
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