44 Facts About Damascus

Damascus is a major cultural center of the Levant and the Arab world.

Damascus is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world.

Damascus saw its importance decline throughout the Abbasid era, only to regain significant importance in the Ayyubid and Mamluk periods.

Name of Damascus first appeared in the geographical list of Thutmose III as in the 15th century BC.

Damascus is surrounded by the Ghouta, irrigated farmland where many vegetables, cereals and fruits have been farmed since ancient times.

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Damascus used to be surrounded by an oasis, the Ghouta region, watered by the Barada river.

Damascus has a cool arid climate in the Koppen-Geiger system, due to the rain shadow effect of the Anti-Lebanon mountains and the prevailing ocean currents.

Damascus was only a peripheral part of this picture, which mostly affected the larger population centers of ancient Syria.

Damascus is mentioned in Genesis 14:15 as existing at the time of the War of the Kings.

Damascus is first documented as an important city during the arrival of the Aramaeans, a Semitic people, in the 11th century BC.

Under Ezron's grandson, Ben-Hadad I, and his successor Hazael, Damascus annexed Bashan (modern-day Hauran region), and went on the offensive with Israel.

In 853 BC, King Hadadezer of Damascus led a Levantine coalition, that included forces from the northern Aram-Hamath kingdom and troops supplied by King Ahab of Israel, in the Battle of Qarqar against the Neo-Assyrian army.

Aram-Damascus came out victorious, temporarily preventing the Assyrians from encroaching into Syria.

Aram-Damascus attempted to invade Israel, but was interrupted by the renewed Assyrian invasion.

Seleucus I Nicator, one of Alexander's generals, made Antioch the capital of his vast empire, which led to the decline of Damascus' importance compared with new Seleucid cities such as Latakia in the north.

City of Damascus was entirely redesigned by the Romans after Pompey conquered the region.

Still today the Old Town of Damascus retains the rectangular shape of the Roman city, with its two main axes: the Decumanus Maximus and the Cardo (north-south), the Decumanus being about twice as long.

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

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.

Tulunid rule of Damascus was brief, lasting only until 906 before being replaced by the Qarmatians who were adherents of Shia Islam.

In 998, hundreds of Damascus' citizens were rounded up and executed by him for incitement.

Damascus was exiled by Fatimid authorities to Aleppo where he died in 1041.

Damascus soon became one of the most important centers of propagating Islamic thought in the Muslim world.

Under Duqaq and Toghtekin, Damascus experienced stability, elevated status and a revived role in commerce.

Damascus began to assert his independence from Nur ad-Din, and with the death of both Amalric and Nur ad-Din in 1174, he was well-placed to begin exerting control over Damascus and Nur ad-Din's other Syrian possessions.

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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.

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

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

On 21 June 1941, 3 weeks into the Allied Syria-Lebanon campaign, Damascus was captured from the Vichy French forces by a mixed British Indian and Free French force.

In September 2019, Damascus entered the Guinness World Records as the least liveable city, scoring 30.

Damascus has held an annual international trade exposition every fall, since 1954.

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.

Damascus is home to a wide range of industrial activity, such as textile, food processing, cement and various chemical industries.

The metropolitan area of Damascus includes the cities of Douma, Harasta, Darayya, Al-Tall and Jaramana.

The migration of Syrian youths to Damascus has resulted in an average age within the city that is below the national average.

Nonetheless, the population of Damascus is thought to have decreased in recent years as a result of the ongoing Syrian Civil War.

Several Eastern Christian rites have their headquarters in Damascus, including the Syriac Orthodox Church, the Syriac Catholic Church, and the Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch.

Damascus has a wealth of historical sites dating back to many different periods of the city's history.

Medhat Pasha Souq is a main market in Damascus and was named after Midhat Pasha, the Ottoman governor of Syria who renovated the Souk.

Damascus is linked with other major cities in Syria via a modern motorway network.

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.

Damascus is home to many football clubs that participate in the Syrian Premier League including al-Jaish, al-Shorta, Al-Wahda and Al-Majd.

The Syrian Arab Horse Association in Damascus offers a wide range of activities and services for horse breeders and riders.