View source for Damascus

{{Short description|Capital city of Syria}}
{{Redirect|Dimashq|the Syrian governorate|Rif Dimashq Governorate}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2020}}
{{Infobox settlement
| official_name      = Damascus
| native_name        = {{lang|ar|دِمَشق}}
| settlement_type    = [[Metropolis]] <!--Dimash'a For Country or Village (Leave blank for the default City) -->
| image_skyline      = {{multiple image
  | total_width            = 280
  | border                 = infobox
  | perrow                 = 1/2/2/1
  | caption_align          = center
  | image1       = الجامع_الأموي_في_دمشق.jpg
  | caption1     = [[Umayyad Mosque]]
  | image2       = Umayyad_Square,_Damascus.jpg
  | caption2     = [[Umayyad Square]]
  | image3       = Sunset clouds in Damascus.jpg
  | caption3     = [[Mount Qasioun]]
  | image4       = Damascus Straight Street and East Gate 8193.jpg
  | caption4     = [[Straight Street]]
  | image5       = Azm Palace - Damascus.jpg
  | caption5     = [[Al-Azm Palace|Azm Palace]]
  | image6       = Damaskus4.jpg
  | caption6     = [[Citadel of Damascus]]
  | image7 = Damascus from qasioun mountain.jpg
  | caption7    = A view of the city at night.
}}
| motto              = 
| image_flag         = 
| image_seal         = Emblem of Damascus Governorate (from 2024).svg
| seal_type          = Emblem
| map_caption        = 
| pushpin_map        = Syria#Asia
| pushpin_label_position = right
| pushpin_mapsize    = 
| pushpin_map_caption = Location of Damascus within Syria##Location within Asia
| pushpin_relief     = 1
| coordinates        = {{coord|33|30|47|N|36|18|34|E|region:SY|display=inline,title}}
| subdivision_type   = Country
| subdivision_name   = {{flagicon image|Flag of the Syrian revolution.svg}} [[Syria]]
| subdivision_type1  = [[Governorates of Syria|Governorate]]
| subdivision_name1  = [[Damascus Governorate]], Capital City
| subdivision_type2  = 
| subdivision_name2  = 
| government_footnotes = 
| government_type    = [[Mayor–council government]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Damascus/Administration-and-society|title=Damascus Administration and society|date=3 August 2024 }}</ref>
| leader_title       = [[List of governors of Damascus|Governor]]
| leader_name        = [[Maher Marwan]]
| leader_title1      = President of Damascus City Council
| leader_name1       = [[Mohammad Yasser Ghazal]]
| parts_type         = Municipalities
| parts              = [[Municipalities of Damascus|16]]
| established_title  = First settlement
| established_date   = [[Tell Ramad]]
| area_footnotes     = <ref>Albaath.news [http://www.albaath.news.sy/user/?act=print&id=811&a=73882 statement by the governor of Damascus, Syria] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110516062342/http://www.albaath.news.sy/user/?act=print&id=811&a=73882 |date=16 May 2011 }} {{in lang|ar}}, April 2010</ref>
| area_total_km2     = 105
| area_land_km2      = 
| area_water_km2     = 
| area_water_percent = 
| area_urban_km2     = 77
| area_urban_sq_mi   = 29.73
| elevation_m        = 680
| population_urban   = 
| population_as_of   = 2022 estimate
| population_metro   = 2,685,000<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.macrotrends.net/global-metrics/cities/22610/damascus/population|access-date=23 September 2022|title=Damascus metro population 2022|publisher=macrotrends.net}}</ref>
| population_density_metro_km2 = 7,090
| population_density_urban_km2 = 24,000
| population_note    = 
| population_rank    = [[List of cities in Syria|1st in Syria]] <br/>[[List of largest cities in the Arab world|15th in the Arab World]]
| population_demonyms = {{langx|en|Damascene}}<br />{{langx|ar|دِمَشقِيّ|links=no|Dimašqī}}
| blank3_name        = [[Human Development Index|HDI]] (2021)
| blank3_info        = 0.612<ref>{{cite web |last1=Sub-national HDI |title=Area Database – Global Data Lab |url=https://globaldatalab.org/shdi/table/shdi/SYR/?levels=1+4&years=2021&interpolation=0&extrapolation=0 |website=hdi.globaldatalab.org |language=en}}</ref> – <span style="color:#fc0;">medium</span>
| blank_name_sec2    = [[International airport]]
| blank_info_sec2    = [[Damascus International Airport]]
| timezone           = [[Eastern European Summer Time|EEST]]
| utc_offset         = +03:00
| timezone_DST       = 
| utc_offset_DST     = 
| postal_code_type   = Postal code
| postal_code        = 0100
| area_code          = Country code: 963, City code: 11{{force singular}}
| geocode            = C1001
| iso_code           = SY-DI
| blank_name         = [[Köppen climate classification|Climate]]
| blank_info         = [[Desert climate#Cold desert climates|BWk]]
| website            = {{URL|http://www.damascus.gov.sy/}}
| mapframe           = yes
| mapframe-zoom      = 11
| mapframe-wikidata  = yes
| footnotes          = {{designation list
 | embed                   = yes
 | designation1            = WHS
 | designation1_offname    = [[Ancient City of Damascus]]
 | designation1_date       = 1979 {{small|(3rd [[World Heritage Committee|session]])}}
 | designation1_number     = [https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/20 20]
 | designation1_criteria   = i, ii, iii, iv, vi
 | designation1_type       = Cultural
 | designation1_free1name  = Region
 | designation1_free1value = [[List of World Heritage Sites in the Arab States|Arab States]]
}}
}}
'''Damascus'''{{efn|{{IPAc-en|d|ə|ˈ|m|æ|s|k|ə|s}} {{respell|də|MAS|kəs}}, {{IPAc-en|UKalso|d|ə|ˈ|m|ɑː|s|k|ə|s|audio=LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-Damascus.wav}} {{respell|də|MAH|skəs}}; {{langx|ar|دِمَشْق|Dimašq}}}} is the capital and <!--Please seek discussion before considering removal-->[[List of largest cities in the Levant region by population|largest city]] of [[Syria]].<ref>[[2025 Interim Constitution of Syria|Constitutional Declaration of the Syrian Arab Republic]] - Article 5: "Damascus is the capital of the Syrian Arab Republic, and the state emblem and national anthem are determined by law."</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=2004 official census |url=https://archive.ph/20120801022816/http://www.cbssyr.org/new%20web%20site/General_census/census_2004/NH/TAB01-1-2004.htm}}</ref> It is the oldest capital city in the world. Known colloquially in Syria as {{transliteration|ar|ALA|aš-Šām}}{{efn|{{langx|ar|الشَّام}}}} and dubbed, poetically, the "City of [[Jasmine]]" ({{lang|ar|مَدِيْنَةُ الْيَاسْمِينِ}} {{transliteration|ar|ALA|Madīnat al-Yāsmīn}}),<ref name="worldatlas">{{Cite web|title=Biggest Cities In Syria|date=25 April 2017|url=https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/biggest-cities-in-syria.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191025200105/https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/biggest-cities-in-syria.html|archive-date=25 October 2019|access-date=25 October 2019}}</ref> Damascus is a major cultural center of the [[Levant]] and the [[Arab world]].

Situated in southwestern Syria, Damascus is the center of a large metropolitan area. Nestled among the eastern foothills of the [[Anti-Lebanon]] mountain range {{convert|80|km|mi}} inland from the eastern shore of the Mediterranean on a plateau {{convert|680|m|ft}} [[above sea level]], Damascus experiences an arid climate because of the [[rain shadow effect]]. The [[Barada|Barada River]] flows through Damascus.

Damascus is one of the [[List of oldest continuously inhabited cities|oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world]].<ref>{{Citation|last=Bowker|first=John|title=Damascus|date=2003-01-01|url=https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780192800947.001.0001/acref-9780192800947-e-1793|work=The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions|publisher=Oxford University Press|language=en|doi=10.1093/acref/9780192800947.013.1793|doi-broken-date=3 July 2025|isbn=978-0-19-280094-7|access-date=2021-01-15|archive-date=7 April 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220407024822/https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780192800947.001.0001/acref-9780192800947-e-1793|url-status=live}}</ref> First settled in the 3rd millennium BC, it was chosen as the capital of the [[Umayyad Caliphate]] from 661 to 750. After the victory of the [[Abbasid dynasty]], the seat of Islamic power was moved to [[Baghdad]]. According to some, Damascus is the fourth [[Holiest sites in Islam|holiest city in Islam]].<ref name="DumperStanley2007-Damascus">{{cite encyclopedia |year=2007 |title=Cities of the Middle East and North Africa: A Historical Encyclopedia |publisher=[[ABC-CLIO]] |access-date=12 May 2021 |editor=Janet L. Abu-Lughod |pages=119–126 |isbn=978-1-5760-7919-5 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230402185752/https://books.google.com/books?id=3SapTk5iGDkC&q=damascus+%22fourth+holiest%22&pg=PA121 |archive-date=2 April 2023 |last2=Stanley |first2=Bruce E. |last1=Dumper |first1=Michael R. T. |chapter=Damascus |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3SapTk5iGDkC&q=damascus+%22fourth+holiest%22&pg=PA121}}</ref><ref name="Birke2013">{{citation |first=Sarah | last=Birke |title=Damascus: What's Left |date=2013-08-02 |url=https://www.nybooks.com/daily/2013/08/02/damascus-whats-left/ |access-date=12 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181204005633/https://www.nybooks.com/daily/2013/08/02/damascus-whats-left/ |archive-date=4 December 2018 |url-status=live |publisher=[[New York Review Books|New York Review of Books]]}}</ref><ref name="Totah2009">{{cite journal |last=Totah |first=Faedah M. |year=2009 |title=Return to the origin: negotiating the modern and unmodern in the old city of Damascus |journal=[[City & Society]] |volume=21 |issue=1 |pages=58–81 |doi=10.1111/j.1548-744X.2009.01015.x}}</ref> The city saw its importance decline throughout the Abbasid era, only to regain significant importance in the [[Ayyubid dynasty|Ayyubid]] and [[Mamluk sultanate|Mamluk]] periods.

Today, it is the seat of the central [[government of Syria]]. Damascus was named the least livable city out of 140 global cities in the [[Global Liveability Ranking]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/worlds-most-livable-cities-2019-trnd/index.html|title=World's most livable city revealed|last=Buckley|first=Julia|date=2019-09-04|website=CNN Travel|language=en|access-date=2019-09-23|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190915055104/https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/worlds-most-livable-cities-2019-trnd/index.html|archive-date=15 September 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> {{As of|2023|June}}, it was the least livable out of 173 global cities in the same Global Liveability Ranking. In 2017, two new development projects were launched in Damascus to build new residential districts, [[Marota City]] and Basillia City to symbolize post-war reconstruction.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2018-11-05 |title=A luxury city shows blueprint for Syria's rebuilding plans |url=https://apnews.com/article/5b5c0055ddfd46d2916f29b9e43349f5 |access-date=2024-06-07 |website=AP News |language=en}}</ref>

=={{anchor|Names and etymology}}Names and etymology==
{{see also|Names of Damascus in different languages}}
{{hiero|ṯmsqw<ref>{{cite book |last1=Gauthier |first1=Henri |title=Dictionnaire des Noms Géographiques Contenus dans les Textes Hiéroglyphiques Vol. 6 |date=1929 |page=42 |url=https://archive.org/details/Gauthier1929/page/n23/}}</ref>|<hiero>ti-ms-q-w-xAst</hiero> '''or''' <hiero>ti-ms-z:q-w</hiero>|era=nk|align=left}}
The name of Damascus first appeared in the geographical list of [[Thutmose III]] as {{transliteration|egy|ṯmśq}} ({{lang|egy|{{script|Egyp|{{huge|𓍘𓄟𓊃𓈎𓅱}}}}}}) in the 15th century BC.<ref>List I, 13 in J. Simons, ''[https://oi-idb-static.uchicago.edu/multimedia/2380/simons_topographical_lists_1937.pdf Handbook for the Study of Egyptian Topographical Lists relating to Western Asia] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180726072325/https://oi-idb-static.uchicago.edu/multimedia/2380/simons_topographical_lists_1937.pdf |date=26 July 2018 }}'', Leiden 1937. See also Y. AHARONI, ''The Land of the Bible: A Historical Geography'', London 1967, p147, No. 13.</ref>
The [[etymology]] of the ancient name {{transliteration|egy|ṯmśq}} is uncertain. It is attested as {{transliteration|akk|Imerišú}} ({{lang|akk|𒀲𒋙}}) in [[Akkadian language|Akkadian]], {{transliteration|arc|Damašq}} ({{lang|arc|{{script|Armi|𐡃𐡌𐡔𐡒}}}}) in [[Aramaic language|Old Aramaic]] and {{transliteration|he|Dammeśeq}} ({{lang|he|דַּמֶּשֶׂק}}) in [[Biblical Hebrew language|Biblical Hebrew]]. A number of Akkadian spellings are found in the [[Amarna letters]], from the 14th century BC: {{transliteration|akk|Dimašqa}} ({{lang|akk|𒁲𒈦𒋡}}), {{transliteration|akk|Dimašqì}} ({{lang|akk|𒁲𒈦𒀸𒄀}}), and {{transliteration|akk|Dimašqa}} ({{lang|akk|𒁲𒈦𒀸𒋡}}).

Later [[Aramaic language|Aramaic]] spellings of the name often include an intrusive ''[[resh]]'' (letter ''r''), perhaps influenced by the root {{transliteration|arc|dr}}, meaning "dwelling". Thus, the English and [[Latin]] name of the city is {{transliteration|la|Damascus}}, which was imported from [[Greek language|Greek]] {{lang|grc|Δαμασκός}} and originated from the [[Qumran]]ic {{transliteration|he|Darmeśeq}} ({{lang|he|דרמשק}}), and {{transliteration|syr|Darmsûq}} ({{lang|syr|{{script|Syrc|ܕܪܡܣܘܩ}}}}) in [[Syriac language|Syriac]],<ref>{{cite journal|jstor=1357008|title=''Ancient Damascus: A Historical Study of the Syrian City-State from Earliest Times Until Its Fall to the Assyrians in 732 BC.'', Wayne T. Pitard|author= Paul E. Dion|journal=Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research|issue= 270|date=May 1988|page= 98}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|jstor=1356214 |title=The Stele Dedicated to Melcarth by Ben-Hadad of Damascus|author=Frank Moore Cross|journal=Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research|issue= 205|date=Feb 1972|page= 40 |doi=10.2307/1356214|s2cid=163497507}}</ref> meaning "a well-watered land".<ref>{{cite book |last1=Miller |first1=Catherine |last2=Al-Wer |first2=Enam |last3=Caubet |first3=Dominique|last4=Watson |first4=Janet C.E. |date=2007 |title=Arabic in the City: Issues in Dialect Contact and Language Variation |publisher=Routledge |page=189 |isbn=978-1135978761 }}</ref>

According to ancient Greek tradition, there were three myths about the origin of the city's name (Δαμασκός). One claims it was named after the giant [[Ascus (mythology)|Ascus]] (Ἄσκος). Another says it was named after Damaskos, the son of [[Hermes]] and the nymph Alimede, who traveled from [[Arcadia (region)|Arcadia]] to Syria and founded a city bearing his name. A third version holds that Damaskos was a man who, after [[Dionysus]] made Syria fertile with vineyards, cut them down with an axe. Enraged, Dionysus pursued and flayed him. His original name was Darmaskos, which later evolved into Damaskos.<ref>[https://archive.org/details/STEPHANUSVONBYZANZMargaretheBillerbeckChristianZublerSTEPHANIBYZANTIIENICAIIpdf/page/9/mode/2up Stephanus of Byzantium, Ethnica, p.9, in German]</ref><ref>[https://topostext.org/work/241#D217.7 Stephanus of Byzantium, Ethnica, Damaskos, in original Greek]</ref>

In [[Arabic language|Arabic]], the city is called Dimashq ({{lang|ar|دمشق}} {{transliteration|ar|Dimašq}}).<ref>{{Cite web|title=Kalmasoft - Phonetic Database of Syriac Words|url=http://www.kalmasoft.com/KLEX/dbsyriac.htm|access-date=2021-06-20|website=www.kalmasoft.com|archive-date=16 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210616165306/https://kalmasoft.com/KLEX/dbsyriac.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> The city is also known as {{transliteration|ar|aš-Šām}} by the citizens of Damascus, of Syria and other Arab neighbors and Turkey ({{Transliteration|tr|Şam}}). {{transliteration|ar|Aš-Šām}} is an Arabic term for "[[Levant]]" and for "Syria"; the latter, and particularly the historical [[Syria (region)|region of Syria]], is called {{transliteration|ar|Bilād aš-Šām}} ({{lang|ar|بلاد الشام}}, {{lit|land of the Levant}}).{{refn|group="note"|Historically, ''[[Baalshamin]]'' ({{langx|arc|ܒܥܠ ܫܡܝܢ|Ba'al Šamem|lit=Lord of Heaven(s)}}),<ref>{{cite book|author=Teixidor, Javier|title=The Pagan God: Popular Religion in the Greco-Roman Near East|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=m5Z9BgAAQBAJ&q=Baalshamin%20%27Lord%20of%20Heaven%28s%29%27&pg=PA27|access-date=14 August 2017|year=2015|publisher=Princeton University Press|isbn=9781400871391|pages=27|archive-date=2 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230402185800/https://books.google.com/books?id=m5Z9BgAAQBAJ&q=Baalshamin%20%27Lord%20of%20Heaven%28s%29%27&pg=PA27|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author1=Beattie, Andrew|author2=Pepper, Timothy|title=The Rough Guide to Syria|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9iCfkTe8v2EC&q=Baalshamin%20%27Lord%20of%20Heaven%28s%29%27&pg=RA2-PA290|access-date=14 August 2017|year=2001|publisher=Rough Guides|isbn=9781858287188|pages=290|archive-date=2 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230402185801/https://books.google.com/books?id=9iCfkTe8v2EC&q=Baalshamin%20%27Lord%20of%20Heaven%28s%29%27&pg=RA2-PA290|url-status=live}}</ref> was a [[Ancient Semitic religion|Semitic sky-god]] in [[Canaan]]/[[Phoenicia]] and ancient [[Palmyra]].<ref name="Dirven1999">{{cite book|author=Dirven, Lucinda|title=The Palmyrenes of Dura-Europos: A Study of Religious Interaction in Roman Syria|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_LfXg2r6FT0C&pg=PA76|access-date=17 July 2012|year=1999|publisher=BRILL|isbn=978-90-04-11589-7|pages=76|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191216195727/https://books.google.com/books?id=_LfXg2r6FT0C&pg=PA76&lpg=PA76|archive-date=16 December 2019|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=J.F. Healey|title=The Religion of the Nabataeans: A Conspectus|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hbO9CwAAQBAJ&q=Baalshamin%20sky%20god&pg=PA126|access-date=14 August 2017|year=2001|publisher=BRILL|isbn=9789004301481|pages=126}}</ref> Hence, Sham refers to (''heaven'' or ''sky'').}} The latter term etymologically means "land of the left-hand side" or "the north", as someone in the [[Hijaz]] facing east, oriented to the sunrise, will find the north to the left. This is contrasted with the name of [[Yemen]] ({{lang|ar|اَلْيَمَن}} {{transliteration|ar|al-Yaman}}), correspondingly meaning "the right-hand side" or "the south". The variation {{lang|ar|ش ء م}} ({{transliteration|ar|š-ʾ-m}}'), of the more typical {{lang|ar|ش م ل}} ({{transliteration|ar|š-m-l}}), is also attested in [[Old South Arabian]], {{lang|xsa|{{script|Sarb|𐩦𐩱𐩣}}}} ({{transliteration|xsa|šʾm}}), with the same semantic development.<ref name="Volume 9 1997 page 261">{{cite encyclopedia |last=Bosworth |first=Clifford Edomond |author-link=Clifford Edmund Bosworth |title=AL-SHĀM |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopaedia of Islam]] |volume=9 |year=1997 |page=261}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | last = Younger| first = K. Lawson Jr.| title = A Political History of the Arameans: From Their Origins to the End of Their Polities (Archaeology and Biblical Studies)| publisher = SBL Press| date = 7 October 2016| location = Atlanta, GA| pages = 551| language = en| isbn =978-1589831285}}</ref>

==Geography==
[[File:Damascus SPOT 1363.jpg|thumb|left|upright=.8|Damascus in spring seen from [[Spot (satellites)|Spot satellite]]]]
[[File:Damascus-snow-ثلج-الشام.jpg|thumb|left|[[Mount Qasioun]] overlooking the city]]
Damascus was built in a strategic site on a plateau {{convert|680|m|ft|abbr=on}} [[above sea level]] and about {{convert|80|km|mi|abbr=on}} inland from the Mediterranean, sheltered by the [[Anti-Lebanon Mountains]], supplied with water by the [[Barada|Barada River]], and at a crossroads between trade routes: the north–south route connecting Egypt with [[Asia Minor]], and the east–west cross-desert route connecting [[Lebanon]] with the [[Euphrates]] river valley. The Anti-Lebanon Mountains mark the border between Syria and Lebanon. The range has peaks of over {{convert|10,000|ft|m|abbr=on}} and blocks precipitation from the Mediterranean Sea, so the region of Damascus is sometimes subject to droughts. However, in ancient times, the Barada River mitigated this, which originates from mountain streams fed by melting snow. Damascus is surrounded by the [[Ghouta]], irrigated farmland where many vegetables, cereals, and fruits have been farmed since ancient times. Maps of Roman Syria indicate that the Barada River emptied into a lake of some size east of Damascus. Today it is called Bahira Atayba, the hesitant lake because in years of severe drought, it does not even exist.<ref name="romeartlover"/>

The modern city has an area of {{convert|105|km2|abbr=on}}, out of which {{convert|77|km2|abbr=on}} is urban, while [[Jabal Qasioun]] occupies the rest.<ref>{{cite web|publisher=Damascus Metropolitan Area Urban Planning and Development |url=http://dma-upd.org/PublicFiles/File/Discussion%20Papers/02_Strategy%20and%20Frameworks%20for%20the%20Damascus%20City%20Urbanization%20to%20Guide%20the%20City%20Master%20Plan%20Revision_R1.pdf?lang=en |title=DMA-UPD Discussion Paper Series No.2 |date=October 2009 |page=2 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121028075616/http://dma-upd.org/PublicFiles/File/Discussion%20Papers/02_Strategy%20and%20Frameworks%20for%20the%20Damascus%20City%20Urbanization%20to%20Guide%20the%20City%20Master%20Plan%20Revision_R1.pdf?lang=en |archive-date=2012-10-28}}</ref>

[[File:Barada river in Damascus (April 2009).jpg|thumb|upright|One of the rare periods the [[Barada]] river is high, seen here next to the [[Four Seasons Hotel Damascus|Four Seasons]] hotel in downtown Damascus]]
The old city of Damascus, enclosed by the city walls, lies on the south bank of the river [[Barada]] which is almost dry ({{convert|3|cm|0|abbr=on}} left). To the southeast, north, and northeast it is surrounded by suburban areas whose history stretches back to the Middle Ages: [[Midan]] in the southwest, [[Sarouja]] and Imara in the north and north-west. These neighborhoods originally arose on roads leading out of the city, near the tombs of religious figures. In the 19th century outlying villages developed on the slopes of [[Jabal Qasioun]], overlooking the city, already the site of the al-Salihiyah neighborhood centered on the important shrine of medieval [[Andalusia]]n Sheikh and philosopher [[Ibn Arabi]]. These new neighborhoods were initially settled by Kurdish soldiery and Muslim refugees from the [[Europe]] regions of the [[Ottoman Empire]] which had fallen under Christian rule. Thus they were known as ''al-Akrad'' ''(the Kurds)'' and ''al-Muhajirin'' ''(the migrants)''. They lay {{convert|2|-|3|km|abbr=on|0}} north of the old city.

From the late 19th century on, a modern administrative and commercial center began to spring up to the west of the old city, around the Barada, centered on the area known as [[Marjeh Square|al-Marjeh]] or "the meadow". Al-Marjeh soon became the name of what was initially the central square of modern Damascus, with the city hall in it. The courts of justice, post office, and railway station stood on higher ground slightly to the south. A Europeanized residential quarter soon began to be built on the road leading between al-Marjeh and [[al-Salihiyah, Damascus|al-Salihiyah]]. The commercial and administrative center of the new city gradually shifted northwards slightly towards this area.

[[File:Districts of damascus english.svg|thumb|upright=0.95|[[Municipalities of Damascus]]]]In the 20th century, newer suburbs developed north of the Barada, and to some extent to the south, invading the [[Ghouta]] oasis.{{Citation needed|date=May 2014}} In 1956–1957, the new neighborhood of [[Yarmouk (camp)|Yarmouk]] became a second home to many [[Palestinian refugees|Palestinian]] refugees.<ref>The Palestinian refugees in Syria. Their past, present, and future. Dr. Hamad Said al-Mawed, 1999</ref> City planners preferred to preserve the Ghouta as far as possible, and in the later 20th century some of the main areas of development were to the north, in the western [[Mezzeh]] neighborhood and most recently along the Barada valley in [[Dummar]] in the northwest and on the slopes of the mountains at [[Barzeh, Syria|Barzeh]] in the north-east. Poorer areas, often built without official approval, have mostly developed south of the main city.

Damascus used to be surrounded by an [[oasis]], the Ghouta region ({{langx|ar|الغوطة|''al-ġūṭä''}}), watered by the Barada river. The [[Ain al-Fijah|Fijeh spring]], west along the Barada valley, used to provide the city with drinking water, and various sources to the west are tapped by water contractors. The flow of the Barada dropped with the rapid expansion of housing and industry in the city and it is almost dry. The lower aquifers are polluted by the city's runoff from heavily used roads, industry, and sewage.

===Climate===
Damascus has a [[desert climate#Cold desert climates|cool arid climate]] (''BWk'') in the [[Köppen-Geiger climate classification system|Köppen-Geiger system]],<ref>{{cite journal|author=M. Kottek|author2=J. Grieser|author3=C. Beck|author4=B. Rudolf|author5=F. Rubel|title=World Map of the Köppen-Geiger climate classification updated|journal=Meteorol. Z.|volume=15|issue=3|pages=259–263|url=http://koeppen-geiger.vu-wien.ac.at/pics/kottek_et_al_2006.gif|doi=10.1127/0941-2948/2006/0130|access-date=1 August 2013|year=2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111017125921/http://koeppen-geiger.vu-wien.ac.at/pics/kottek_et_al_2006.gif|archive-date=17 October 2011|url-status=live|bibcode=2006MetZe..15..259K}}</ref> due to the [[rain shadow effect]] of the Anti-Lebanon Mountains<ref>{{cite web
 |url=http://www.climates.com/ASIA/PDF/SYR02ASA.pdf
 |title=SUNSHINE GUIDE TO THE DAMASCUS AREA, SYRIA
 |last=Tyson
 |first=Patrick J.
 |year=2010
 |publisher=climates.com
 |access-date=26 November 2010
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110511211807/http://www.climates.com/ASIA/PDF/SYR02ASA.pdf
 |archive-date=11 May 2011
 |url-status=live
 }}</ref> and the prevailing ocean currents. Summers are prolonged, dry, and hot with less humidity. Winters are cool and somewhat rainy; snowfall is infrequent. Autumn is brief and mild, but has the most drastic temperature change, unlike spring where the transition to summer is more gradual and steady. Annual rainfall is around {{convert|130|mm|0|abbr=on}}, occurring from October to May.

{{Weather box
| width = auto
| location = Damascus ([[Damascus International Airport]]) 1991–2020
| metric first = Y
| single line = Y
| Jan record high C = 23.2
| Feb record high C = 28.0
| Mar record high C = 34.4
| Apr record high C = 37.6
| May record high C = 41.4
| Jun record high C = 45.0
| Jul record high C = 45.8
| Aug record high C = 44.8
| Sep record high C = 44.6
| Oct record high C = 38.0
| Nov record high C = 31.0
| Dec record high C = 25.1
| year record high C = 45.8

| Jan high C = 13.1
| Feb high C = 15.3
| Mar high C = 20.0
| Apr high C = 25.3
| May high C = 30.9
| Jun high C = 35.3
| Jul high C = 37.8
| Aug high C = 37.6
| Sep high C = 34.6
| Oct high C = 29.0
| Nov high C = 20.6
| Dec high C = 14.8

|Jan mean C = 	5.9
|Feb mean C = 	7.8
|Mar mean C = 	11.0
|Apr mean C = 	15.5
|May mean C = 	20.2
|Jun mean C = 	24.4
|Jul mean C = 	26.3
|Aug mean C = 	26.0
|Sep mean C = 	23.2
|Oct mean C = 	18.1
|Nov mean C = 	11.8
|Dec mean C = 	7.2
| year mean C = 16.6

| Jan low C =  0.8
| Feb low C =  2.0
| Mar low C =  4.8
| Apr low C =  8.0
| May low C = 12.1
| Jun low C = 15.9
| Jul low C = 18.6
| Aug low C = 18.6
| Sep low C = 15.3
| Oct low C = 11.0
| Nov low C =  5.2
| Dec low C =  1.9

| Jan record low C = −10.8
| Feb record low C = −12.0
| Mar record low C = −6.0
| Apr record low C = −7.5
| May record low C = 1.4
| Jun record low C = 6.2
| Jul record low C = 10.5
| Aug record low C = 9.5
| Sep record low C = 3.5
| Oct record low C = -1.0
| Nov record low C = −8.6
| Dec record low C = −8.8
| year record low C = -12.0

| precipitation colour = green
| Jan precipitation mm = 26.0
| Feb precipitation mm = 22.4
| Mar precipitation mm = 13.9
| Apr precipitation mm = 5.6
| May precipitation mm = 4.8
| Jun precipitation mm = 0.3
| Jul precipitation mm = 0
| Aug precipitation mm = 0
| Sep precipitation mm = 0.3
| Oct precipitation mm = 6.3
| Nov precipitation mm = 21.4
| Dec precipitation mm = 23.6
| year precipitation mm = 124.7

| unit precipitation days = 1 mm
| Jan precipitation days = 4.8
| Feb precipitation days = 4.4
| Mar precipitation days = 2.6
| Apr precipitation days = 1.3
| May precipitation days = 1.0
| Jun precipitation days = 0.1
| Jul precipitation days = 0.0
| Aug precipitation days = 0.0
| Sep precipitation days = 0.1
| Oct precipitation days = 1.2
| Nov precipitation days = 3.3
| Dec precipitation days = 4.2
| year precipitation days = 23.0

| Jan snow days = 1
| Feb snow days = 1
| Mar snow days = 0.1
| Apr snow days = 0
| May snow days = 0
| Jun snow days = 0
| Jul snow days = 0
| Aug snow days = 0
| Sep snow days = 0
| Oct snow days = 0
| Nov snow days = 0
| Dec snow days = 0.2
| year snow days =

| Jan humidity = 76
| Feb humidity = 69
| Mar humidity = 59
| Apr humidity = 50
| May humidity = 43
| Jun humidity = 41
| Jul humidity = 44
| Aug humidity = 48
| Sep humidity = 47
| Oct humidity = 52
| Nov humidity = 63
| Dec humidity = 75
| year humidity = 56

| Jan sun = 164.3
| Feb sun = 182.0
| Mar sun = 226.3
| Apr sun = 249.0
| May sun = 322.4
| Jun sun = 357.0
| Jul sun = 365.8
| Aug sun = 353.4
| Sep sun = 306.0
| Oct sun = 266.6
| Nov sun = 207.0
| Dec sun = 164.3
| year sun = 3164.1

| Jand sun = 5.3
| Febd sun = 6.5
| Mard sun = 7.3
| Aprd sun = 8.3
| Mayd sun = 10.4
| Jund sun = 11.9
| Juld sun = 11.8
| Augd sun = 11.4
| Sepd sun = 10.2
| Octd sun = 8.6
| Novd sun = 6.9
| Decd sun = 5.3
| yeard sun = 8.5

| Jan uv =  3
| Feb uv =  4
| Mar uv =  6
| Apr uv =  8
| May uv = 10
| Jun uv = 12
| Jul uv = 12
| Aug uv = 11
| Sep uv =  9
| Oct uv =  6
| Nov uv =  4
| Dec uv =  3

| source 1 = [[NOAA]] (mean temperature 1961–1990, humidity and sun 1970–1990)<ref name = NOAA>{{cite web
| url = https://www.nodc.noaa.gov/archive/arc0216/0253808/1.1/data/0-data/Region-6-WMO-Normals-9120/Syria/XLS/DamaskusIntAirport_40080.xls
| title = Damascus INTL Climate Normals 1991–2020
| publisher = [[National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration]]
| access-date = 26 April 2017
| archive-date = 19 October 2017
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20171019065948/ftp://ftp.atdd.noaa.gov/pub/GCOS/WMO-Normals/TABLES/REG_VI/SY/40080.TXT
| url-status = live
}}</ref><ref>
{{cite web|access-date=3 December 2014|publisher=National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171009220956/ftp://ftp.atdd.noaa.gov/pub/GCOS/WMO-Normals/TABLES/REG_VI/SY/40080.TXT|archive-date=2017-10-09|url-status=dead|title=Damascus INTL Climate Normals 1961&ndash;1990|url=ftp://ftp.atdd.noaa.gov/pub/GCOS/WMO-Normals/TABLES/REG_VI/SY/40080.TXT}}</ref>
}}

==History==
{{For timeline}}

===Early settlement===
[[Carbon-14]] dating at [[Tell Ramad]], on Damascus's outskirts, suggests that the site may have been occupied since the second half of the seventh millennium BC, possibly around 6300 BC.<ref>Moore, A.M.T. ''The Neolithic of the Levant''. Oxford, UK: Oxford University, 1978. 192–198. Print.</ref> But evidence of settlement in the wider Barada basin dating to 9000 BC exists, although no large-scale settlement was present within Damascus's walls until the second millennium BC.<ref name="Burns2">{{Harvnb|Burns|2005|p=2}}</ref>

===Late Bronze===
Some of the earliest [[Ancient Egypt|Egyptian]] records are the [[Amarna letters]], from 1350 BC, when Damascus (called ''Dimasqu'') was ruled by king [[Biryawaza]]. Circa 1260 BC, the Damascus region and the rest of Syria became a battleground between the [[Hittites]] from the north and the [[Ancient Egyptians|Egyptians]] from the south,<ref name="Burns5">{{Harvnb|Burns|2005|pp=5–6}}</ref> ending with a signed treaty between [[Hattusili III]] and [[Ramesses II]]. The former handed over control of the Damascus area to the latter in 1259 BC.<ref name="Burns5" /> The arrival of the [[Sea Peoples]] around 1200 BC marked the end of the [[Bronze Age]] in the region and brought about new development of warfare.<ref name="Burns7">{{Harvnb|Burns|2005|p=7}}</ref> Damascus was only a peripheral part of this picture, which mostly affected the larger population centers of ancient Syria. But these events contributed to Damascus's emergence as an influential center during the transition from the Bronze Age to the [[Iron Age]].<ref name="Burns7" />

Damascus is mentioned in [[Book of Genesis|Genesis]] 14:15 as existing at the time of the [[Chedorlaomer|War of the Kings]].<ref>{{Cite book|url=http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis%2014:15&version=NIV|title=Genesis 14:15 (New International Version)|publisher=Bible Gateway|access-date=25 November 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100807050209/http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Genesis%2014:15&version=NIV|archive-date=7 August 2010|url-status=live}}</ref> According to the 1st-century Jewish historian [[Flavius Josephus]]'s ''[[Antiquities of the Jews]]'', Damascus (along with [[Trachonitis]]) was founded by [[Uz (son of Aram)|Uz]], the son of [[Aram, son of Shem|Aram]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.gutenberg.org/files/2848/2848-h/2848-h.htm#link2HCH0006 |title=The Antiquities of the Jews, by Flavius Josephus, Book 1, Ch. 6, Sect. 4 |publisher=Project Gutenberg |access-date=19 September 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150613020910/http://www.gutenberg.org/files/2848/2848-h/2848-h.htm#link2HCH0006 |archive-date=13 June 2015 |url-status=live }}</ref> In Antiquities i. 7,<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.gutenberg.org/files/2848/2848-h/2848-h.htm#link2HCH0007 |title=The Antiquities of the Jews, by Flavius Josephus, Book 1, Ch. 7, Sect. 2 |publisher=Project Gutenberg |access-date=19 September 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150613020910/http://www.gutenberg.org/files/2848/2848-h/2848-h.htm#link2HCH0007 |archive-date=13 June 2015 |url-status=live }}</ref> Josephus reports:

{{blockquote|[[Nicolaus of Damascus]], in the fourth book of his History, says thus: "[[Abraham]] reigned at Damascus, being a foreigner, who came with an army out of the land above [[Babylon]], called the land of the Chaldeans: but, after a long time, he got him up, and removed from that country also, with his people, and went into the land then called the land of [[Canaan]], but now the land of Judea, and this when his posterity became a multitude; as to which posterity of his, we relate their history in another work. Now the name of Abraham is even still famous in the country of Damascus; and there is a village named after him, The Habitation of Abraham.}}

===Aram-Damascus===
{{Main|Aram-Damascus}}

[[File:ISS036-E-012047.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|Annotated view of Damascus and surroundings from space.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=81629|title=Damascus, Syria : Image of the Day|website=nasa.gov|access-date=5 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150511121729/http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=81629|archive-date=11 May 2015|url-status=live|date=15 July 2013}}</ref>]]
Damascus is first documented as an important city during the arrival of the [[Aramaeans]], a [[Semitic people]], in the 11th century BC. By the start of the first millennium BC, several Aramaic kingdoms formed, as Aramaeans abandoned their nomadic lifestyle and formed federated tribal states. One of these was [[Aram-Damascus]], centered on its capital, Damascus.<ref name="Burns9">{{Harvnb|Burns|2005|p=9}}</ref> The Aramaeans who entered the city without battle adopted the name "Dimashqu" for their new home. Noticing the agricultural potential of the still undeveloped and sparsely populated area,<ref name="Burns10">{{Harvnb|Burns|2005|p=10}}</ref> they established a water distribution system by constructing canals and tunnels that maximized the efficiency of the river Barada. The Romans and the Umayyads later improved the network, which still forms the basis of the water system of the old part of the city.<ref name="Burns13">{{Harvnb|Burns|2005|pp=13–14}}</ref> The Aramaeans initially turned Damascus into an outpost of a loose federation of Aramaean tribes, known as [[Zobah|Aram-Zobah]], based in the [[Beqaa Valley]].<ref name="Burns10" />

The city gained preeminence in southern Syria when [[Rezon the Syrian|Ezron]], the claimant to Aram-Zobah's throne who was denied kingship of the federation, fled Beqaa and captured Damascus by force in 965 BC. He overthrew the city's tribal governor and founded the independent entity of Aram-Damascus. As this state expanded south, it prevented the [[Kingdom of Israel (united monarchy)|Kingdom of Israel]] from spreading north and the two kingdoms soon clashed as they both sought to dominate trading hegemony in the east.<ref name="Burns10" /> Under Ezron's grandson, [[Ben-Hadad I]] (880–841 BC), and his successor [[Hazael]], Damascus annexed [[Bashan]] (modern-day [[Hauran]] region), and went on the offensive with Israel. This conflict continued until the early 8th century BC, when [[Ben-Hadad II]] was captured by Israel after unsuccessfully besieging [[Sebastia, Nablus|Samaria]]. As a result, he granted Israel trading rights in Damascus.<ref name="Burns11">{{Harvnb|Burns|2005|p=11}}</ref>

Another possible reason for the treaty between Aram-Damascus and Israel was the common threat of the [[Neo-Assyrian Empire]], which was trying to expand into the Mediterranean coast. In 853 BC, King [[Hadadezer]] of Damascus led a [[Levant]]ine 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 was victorious, temporarily preventing the Assyrians from encroaching into Syria. But after Hadadzezer was killed by his successor, Hazael, the Levantine alliance collapsed. Aram-Damascus tried to invade Israel but was interrupted by the renewed Assyrian invasion. Hazael ordered a retreat to the walled part of Damascus while the Assyrians plundered the remainder of the kingdom. Unable to enter the city, they declared their supremacy in the Hauran and Beqa'a valleys.<ref name="Burns11" />

By the 8th century BC, Damascus was practically engulfed by the Assyrians and entered a Dark Age. Nonetheless, it remained the economic and cultural center of the Near East as well as the Arameaen resistance. In 727, a revolt took place in the city but was put down by Assyrian forces. After Assyria led by [[Tiglath-Pileser III]] went on a wide-scale campaign of quelling revolts throughout Syria, Damascus became subjugated by their rule. One effect of this was stability for the city and benefits from the spice and incense trade with [[Arabia]]. In 694 BC, the town was called ''Šaʾimerišu'' (Akkadian: 𒐼𒄿𒈨𒊑𒋙𒌋) and its governor was named ''Ilu-issīya''.<ref>{{cite web| url = https://ccp.yale.edu/P237772?line=P237772.58&frag=P237772.54#P237772.54| title = Yale ORACC| access-date = 26 August 2020| archive-date = 2 December 2020| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20201202124225/https://ccp.yale.edu/P237772?line=P237772.58&frag=P237772.54#P237772.54| url-status = live}}</ref> Assyrian authority dwindled by 609–605 BC, and Syria-Palestine fell into the orbit of Pharaoh [[Necho II]]'s Egypt. By 572 BC, [[Nebuchadnezzar II]] of the [[Neo-Babylonian]]s had conquered all of Syria, but Damascus's status under [[Babylon]] is relatively unknown.<ref name="Burns2123">{{Harvnb|Burns|2005|pp=21–23}}</ref>

===Hellenistic period===
Damascus was conquered by [[Alexander the Great]]. After his death in 323 BC, it became the site of a struggle between the [[Seleucid Empire|Seleucid]] and [[Ptolemaic dynasty|Ptolemaic]] empires. Control of the city passed frequently from one empire to the other. [[Seleucus I Nicator]], one of Alexander's generals, made [[Antioch]] the capital of his empire, which led to the decline of Damascus's importance compared with new Seleucid cities such as [[Latakia|Syrian Laodicea]] in the north. Later, [[Demetrius III Eucaerus|Demetrius III]] Philopator rebuilt the city according to the Greek [[hippodamian]] system and renamed it "Demetrias".<ref>Cohen raises doubts about this claim in {{Citation | author1=Cohen, Getzel M | author2=EBSCOhost | title=The Hellenistic settlements in Syria, the Red Sea Basin, and North Africa | date=2006 | publisher=University of California Press | url=http://trove.nla.gov.au/work/32915052 | access-date=26 May 2014 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140527214426/http://trove.nla.gov.au/work/32915052 | archive-date=27 May 2014 | url-status=live }} page 137 note 4 – suggesting the ''received tradition'' of the renaming rests on a few writers following Mionnets writings in 1811</ref>

=== Roman period ===
[[File:The Jupiter temple in Damascus.jpg|thumb|Ruins of the [[Temple of Jupiter, Damascus|Jupiter Temple]] at the entrance of [[Al-Hamidiyah Souq]]]]In 64 BC, the [[Ancient Rome|Roman]] general [[Pompey]] annexed the western part of Syria. The Romans occupied Damascus and incorporated it into the league of ten cities known as the [[Decapolis]]<ref>{{cite book|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=qQKIAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA181|title= Rome in the East: The Transformation of an Empire|author= Warwick Ball|page= 181|year= 2002|publisher= Routledge|isbn= 9781134823871|access-date= 15 August 2016|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20161124091527/https://books.google.com/books?id=qQKIAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA181|archive-date= 24 November 2016|url-status= live}}</ref> which itself was incorporated into the province of Syria and granted autonomy.<ref>Skolnik, Fred; Michael Berenbaum ( 2007) ''Encyclopaedia Judaica'' Volume 5 Granite Hill Publishers pg 527</ref>

Damascus was entirely redesigned by the Romans after [[Pompey]] conquered the region. The Old Town of Damascus retains the rectangular shape of the Roman city, with its two main axes: the Decumanus Maximus (east-west; known today as the ''Via Recta'') and the Cardo (north-south), the Decumanus being about twice as long. The Romans built a monumental gate at the eastern end of Decumanus Maximus. The gate originally had three arches, with the central arch for chariots and others for pedestrians.<ref name="romeartlover">romeartlover, [http://romeartlover.tripod.com/Damasco1.html "Damascus: the ancient town"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151008020818/http://romeartlover.tripod.com/Damasco1.html |date=8 October 2015 }}</ref>

[[File:Ancient City of Damascus-107623.jpg|thumb|upright=.8|Remnants of ancient Damascus]]
In 23 BC, [[Augustus|Caesar Augustus]] gave [[Herod the Great]] lands controlled by [[Zenodorus son of Lysanias|Zenodorus]],<ref>Knoblet, Jerry (2005) ''Herod the Great'' University Press of America.</ref> and some scholars believe Herod was also granted control of Damascus.<ref>Burns, Ross (2007) ''Damascus: A History'' Routledge pg 52</ref> Either control of Damascus reverted to Syria upon Herod the Great's death or it was part of the lands given to Herod Philip that were given to Syria with his death in 33/34 AD.

It is speculated that control of Damascus was gained by [[Aretas IV Philopatris]] of [[Nabataean kingdom|Nabatea]] between the death of [[Herod Philip II.|Herod Philip]] in 33/34 AD and the death of Aretas in 40 AD, but there is substantial evidence that Aretas did not control the city before 37 AD and there are many reasons it could not have been a gift from [[Caligula]] between 37 and 40 AD.<ref>Riesner, Rainer (1998) ''Paul's Early Period: Chronology, Mission Strategy, Theology'' Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing pg 73–89</ref><ref>Hengel, Martin (1997) ''Paul Between Damascus and Antioch: The Unknown Years'' Westminster John Knox Press pg 130</ref> In fact, all these theories stem not from any actual evidence outside the New Testament but rather "a certain understanding of 2 Corinthians 11:32" and in reality "neither from archaeological evidence, secular-historical sources, nor New Testament texts can Nabatean sovereignty over Damascus in the first century AD be proven."<ref>Riesner, Rainer (1998) ''Paul's Early Period: Chronology, Mission Strategy, Theology'' Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing pg 83–84, 89</ref> Roman emperor [[Trajan]], who annexed the Nabataean Kingdom, creating the province of [[Arabia Petraea]], had previously been in Damascus, as his father [[Marcus Ulpius Traianus (father of Trajan)|Marcus Ulpius Traianus]] was governor of Syria from 73 to 74 AD, where he met the ethnically Greek architect and engineer [[Apollodorus of Damascus]], who joined him in [[Rome]] when he was a [[consul]] in 91 AD and built several monuments during the 2nd century.{{sfn|Abdulkarim|2003|pp=35–37}}

Damascus became a metropolis by the beginning of the 2nd century and in 222 it was upgraded to a ''colonia'' by Emperor [[Septimius Severus]]. During the ''[[Pax Romana]]'', Damascus and the entire Roman province of Syria began to prosper. Damascus's importance as a [[caravan city]] was evident, with the trade routes from southern [[Arabian Peninsula|Arabia]], [[Palmyra]], [[Petra]], and [[the Silk Road]] all converging on it. The city satisfied the Roman demands for eastern luxuries. Circa 125 AD the Roman emperor [[Hadrian]] promoted the city of Damascus to "Metropolis of [[Coele-Syria]]".<ref>{{cite book|last=Butcher|first=Kevin|title=Coinage in Roman Syria: Northern Syria, 64 BC-AD 253|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9FlmAAAAMAAJ|year=2004|publisher=Royal Numismatic Society|isbn=978-0-901405-58-6|page=220|access-date=10 July 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161124092353/https://books.google.com/books?id=9FlmAAAAMAAJ|archive-date=24 November 2016|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Barclay Vincent Head|title=Historia Numorum: A Manual of Greek Numismatics|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_oFBAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA662|year=1887|page=662|chapter=VII. Coele-Syria|access-date=10 July 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161124151745/https://books.google.com/books?id=_oFBAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA662|archive-date=24 November 2016|url-status=live}}</ref>

Little remains of the architecture of the Romans, but the town planning of the old city had a lasting effect. Roman architects brought together the city's Greek and Aramaean foundations and fused them into a new layout measuring about {{convert|1500|by|750|m|ft|sp=us|abbr=on}}, surrounded by a wall. The wall had seven gates, but only the eastern gate, [[Bab Sharqi]], remains. Roman Damascus lies mostly at depths of up to {{convert|5|m|ft|abbr=off|sp=us|spell=in}} below the modern city.

[[File:Bab Sharqi Street, Damascus.jpg|left|thumb|The Biblical [[Street called Straight]] of Damascus]]The old borough of [[Bab Tuma]] was developed at the end of the Roman/Byzantine era by the local [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Eastern Orthodox]] community. According to the [[Acts of the Apostles]], Saint Paul and [[Thomas the Apostle|Saint Thomas]] both lived in that neighborhood. Roman Catholic historians also consider Bab Tuma the birthplace of several [[Popes]], such as [[Pope John V|John V]] and [[Pope Gregory III|Gregory III]]. Accordingly, a community of [[Jewish Christians]] converted to Christianity with the advent of Saint Paul's proselytization.

During the [[Byzantine–Sasanian War of 602–628]], the city was besieged and captured by [[Shahrbaraz]] in 613 along with a large number of Byzantine troops as prisoners.{{sfn|Kaegi|2003|pp=75–77}} It was in Sasanian hands until near the end of the war.{{sfn|Crawford|2013|pp=42–43}}

===Rashidun period===
The [[Muhammad|Prophet 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. The letter stated: "Peace be upon him who follows true guidance. Be informed that my religion shall prevail everywhere. You should accept Islam, and whatever under your command shall remain yours."<ref>Safiur-Rahman Mubarakpuri, [https://books.google.com/books?id=-ppPqzawIrIC&pg=PA227 The Sealed Nectar] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160512192332/https://books.google.com/books?id=-ppPqzawIrIC&pg=PA227 |date=12 May 2016 }}, p. 227</ref><ref name="history">Akbar Shāh Ḵẖān Najībābādī, [https://books.google.com/books?id=Pi5tAAAAMAAJ History of Islam, Volume 1] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150905215842/https://books.google.com/books?ei=L8VHVM-lPNT77Aaiw4CICw&id=Pi5tAAAAMAAJ&dq=kalbi |date=5 September 2015 }}, p. 194. Quote: "Again, the Holy Prophet sent Dihyah bin Khalifa Kalbi to the Byzantine king Heraclius, Hatib bin Abi Baltaeh to the king of Egypt and Alexandria; Allabn Al-Hazermi to Munzer bin Sawa the king of Bahrain; Amer bin Aas to the king of Oman. Salit bin Amri to Hozah bin Ali— the king of Yamama; Shiya bin Wahab to Haris bin Ghasanni to the king of Damascus"</ref>
[[File:الجامع الاموي-2.jpg|thumb|Courtyard of the [[Umayyad Mosque]]]]
After most of the Syrian countryside was conquered by the [[Rashidun Caliphate]] during the reign of Caliph [[Umar]] ({{Reign|634|644}}), Damascus itself was [[Siege of Damascus (634)|conquered]] by the [[Arab Muslims|Arab Muslim]] general [[Khalid ibn al-Walid]] in August–September 634 CE. His [[Rashidun army|army]] had previously attempted to capture the city in April 634 but without success.<ref name="Burns99">{{Harvnb|Burns|2005|pp=98–99}}</ref> With Damascus now in Muslim-Arab hands, the Byzantines, alarmed at the loss of their most prestigious city in the Near East, had decided to wrest back control of it. Under Emperor [[Heraclius]], the Byzantines fielded an army superior to that of the Rashidun in manpower. They advanced into southern Syria during the spring of 636 and consequently Khalid ibn al-Walid's forces withdrew from Damascus to prepare for renewed confrontation.<ref name="Burns100">{{Harvnb|Burns|2005|p=100}}</ref> In August, the two sides met along the [[Yarmouk River]] where they fought a [[Battle of Yarmouk|major battle]] which ended in a decisive Muslim victory, solidifying Muslim rule in Syria and Palestine.<ref name="Burns104">{{Harvnb|Burns|2005|pp=103–104}}</ref> While the Muslims administered the city, the population of Damascus remained mostly Christian—[[Eastern Orthodox]] and [[Monophysite]]—with a growing community of [[Muslims]] from [[Mecca]], [[Medina]], and the [[Syrian Desert]].<ref name="Burns105">{{Harvnb|Burns|2005|p=105}}</ref> The governor assigned to the city which had been chosen as the capital of [[Bilad al-Sham|Islamic Syria]] was [[Mu'awiya I]].

=== Umayyad and Abbasid periods ===
[[File:Umayyad Mosque, Damascus.jpg|thumb|left|View of Damascus with the Umayyad Mosque in center]]

Following the fourth Rashidun caliph [[Ali]]'s death in 661, Mu'awiya was chosen as the caliph of the expanding Islamic empire. Because of the vast amounts of assets his clan, the [[Umayyad]]s, owned in the city and because of its traditional economic and social links with the [[Hijaz]] as well as the [[Christian Arab]] tribes of the region, Mu'awiya established Damascus as the capital of the entire [[Caliphate]].<ref name="Burns107">{{Harvnb|Burns|2005|pp=106–107}}</ref> With the ascension of Caliph [[Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan|Abd al-Malik]] in 685, an Islamic coinage system was introduced, and all the surplus revenue of the Caliphate's provinces was forwarded to the treasury of Damascus. [[Arabic language|Arabic]] was also established as the official language, giving the city's Muslim minority an advantage over the Aramaic-speaking Christians in administrative affairs.<ref name="Burns110">{{Harvnb|Burns|2005|p=110}}</ref>

[[Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan|Abd al-Malik]]'s successor al-Walid initiated the construction of the [[Grand Mosque of Damascus]] (known as the Umayyad Mosque) in 706. The site originally had been the Christian Cathedral of St. John and the Muslims maintained the building's dedication to [[John the Baptist]].<ref name="Burns113">{{Harvnb|Burns|2005|p=113}}</ref> By 715, the mosque was complete. Al-Walid died that same year and was succeeded at first by [[Suleiman ibn Abd al-Malik]] and then by [[Umar II]], who each ruled for brief periods before the reign of [[Hisham]] in 724. With these successions, the status of Damascus was gradually weakening, as Suleiman chose [[Ramla]] as his residence and Hisham chose [[Resafa]]. Following the murder of the latter in 743, the Caliphate of the Umayyads—which by then stretched from Spain to India—was crumbling as a result of widespread revolts. During the reign of [[Marwan II]] in 744, the capital of the empire was relocated to [[Harran]] in the [[Al Jazira, Mesopotamia|Jazira]] region.<ref name="Burns122">{{Harvnb|Burns|2005|pp=121–122}}</ref>

[[File:Umayyad Mosque-Dome of the Treasury211099.jpg|thumb|left|The [[Qubbat al-Khazna|dome of Damascus's treasury]] in the Umayyad Mosque]]

On 25 August 750, the [[Abbasid]]s, having already beaten the Umayyads in the [[Battle of the Zab]] in Iraq, conquered Damascus after facing little resistance. With the heralding of the Abbasid Caliphate, Damascus became eclipsed and subordinated by [[Baghdad]], the new Islamic capital. Within the first six months of Abbasid rule, revolts began erupting in the city, albeit too isolated and unfocused to present a viable threat. Nonetheless, the last of the prominent Umayyads were executed, the traditional officials of Damascus were ostracised, and army generals from the city were dismissed. Afterwards, the Umayyad family cemetery was desecrated and the city walls were torn down, reducing Damascus into a provincial town of little importance. It mostly disappeared from written records for the next century, and the only significant improvement of the city was the Abbasid-built treasury dome in the Umayyad Mosque in 789. In 811, distant remnants of the Umayyad dynasty staged a strong uprising in Damascus that was eventually put down.<ref name="Burns132">{{Harvnb|Burns|2005|pp=130–132}}</ref>

On 24 November 847, a [[847 Damascus earthquake|multiple earthquake struck and destroyed Damascus]], killing about 70,000 people.

[[Ahmad ibn Tulun]], a dissenting Turkish wali appointed by the Abbasids, conquered Syria, including Damascus, from his overlords in 878–79. Out of respect for the Umayyad rulers, he erected a shrine on the site of Mu'awiya's grave. [[Tulunid]] rule of Damascus was brief, lasting only until 906 before being replaced by the [[Qarmatians]], who adhered to [[Shia Islam]]. Due to their inability to control the vast land they occupied, the Qarmatians withdrew from Damascus and a new dynasty, the [[Ikhshidid]]s, took control of it. They maintained the independence of Damascus from the Arab [[Hamdanid]] dynasty of [[Aleppo]] 967. A period of instability in the city followed, with a Qarmatian raid in 968, a Byzantine raid in 970, and increasing pressures from the [[Fatimid]]s in the south and the Hamdanids in the north.<ref name="Burns135">{{Harvnb|Burns|2005|pp=135–136}}</ref>

[[File:Califate 750.jpg|thumb|Damascus was the capital of the Umayyad Caliphate, which extended from Western Europe to Southern Asia]]

The Shia Fatimids gained control in 970, inflaming hostilities between them and the city's Sunni Arabs, who frequently revolted. The Turk [[Alptakin]] drove out the Fatimids five years later, and through diplomacy, prevented the Byzantines during the [[Syrian campaigns of John Tzimiskes]] from attempting to annex the city. But by 977, the Fatimids under Caliph [[al-Aziz]] wrested control of the city back and tamed Sunni dissidents. The Arab geographer [[al-Muqaddasi]] visited Damascus in 985, remarking that the architecture and infrastructure of the city were "magnificent" but living conditions were awful. Under al-Aziz, the city saw a brief period of stability that ended with the reign of [[Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah|al-Hakim]] (996–1021). In 998, he executed hundreds of Damascus citizens for incitement. Three years after his mysterious disappearance, a rebellion began in southern Syria against the Fatimids but was stifled by the Fatimid Turkish governor of Syria and Palestine, [[Anushtakin al-Dizbari|Anushtakin al-Duzbari]], in 1029. This victory gave him mastery over Syria, displeasing his Fatimid overlords but gaining the admiration of Damascus's citizens. He was exiled by Fatimid authorities to [[Aleppo]], where he died in 1041.<ref name="Burns138">{{Harvnb|Burns|2005|pp=137–138}}</ref> From that date to 1063, there are no known records of the city's history. By then, Damascus lacked a city administration and had an enfeebled economy and a greatly reduced population.<ref name="Burns139">{{Harvnb|Burns|2005|p=139}}</ref>

===Seljuq and Ayyubid periods===

With the arrival of the [[Seljuq Turks]] in the late 11th century, Damascus again became the capital of independent states. It was ruled by [[Tutush I|Abu Sa'id Taj ad-Dawla Tutush I]] starting in 1079 and he was succeeded by his son [[Duqaq (Seljuk ruler of Damascus)|Abu Nasr Duqaq]] in 1095. The Seljuqs established a court in Damascus and a systematic reversal of Shia inroads in the city. The city also saw an expansion of religious life through private endowments financing religious institutions (''[[madrasa]]s'') and hospitals (''maristans''). Damascus soon became one of the most important centers of propagating Islamic thought in the Muslim world. After Duqaq died in 1104, his mentor (''[[atabeg]]''), [[Toghtekin]], took control of Damascus and the [[Burid Dynasty|Burid line]] of the Seljuq dynasty. Under Duqaq and Toghtekin, Damascus experienced stability, elevated status, and a revived role in commerce. In addition, the city's Sunni majority enjoyed being a part of the larger Sunni framework effectively governed by various Turkic dynasties who in turn were under the [[moral authority]] of the Baghdad-based Abbasids.<ref name="Burns142">{{Harvnb|Burns|2005|p=142}}</ref>

While the rulers of Damascus were preoccupied in conflict with their fellow Seljuqs in Aleppo and [[Diyarbakir]], the Crusaders, who arrived in the [[Levant]] in 1097, conquered [[Jerusalem]], [[Mount Lebanon]] and Palestine. Duqaq seemed to have been content with Crusader's rule as a buffer between his dominion and the Fatimid Caliphate of Egypt. Toghtekin, however, saw the Western invaders as a viable threat to Damascus which, at the time, nominally included [[Homs]], the Beqaa Valley, Hauran, and the Golan Heights as part of its territories. With military support from Sharaf al-Din [[Mawdud]] of [[Mosul]], Toghtekin managed to halt Crusader raids in the Golan and Hauran. Mawdud was assassinated in the Umayyad Mosque in 1109, depriving Damascus of northern Muslim backing and forcing Toghtekin to agree to a truce with the Crusaders in 1110.<ref name="Burns147">{{Harvnb|Burns|2005|p=147}}</ref> In 1126, the Crusader army led by [[Baldwin II of Jerusalem|Baldwin II]] fought Burid forces led by Toghtekin at [[Battle of Marj al-Saffar (1126)|Marj al-Saffar]] near Damascus; however, despite their tactical victory, the Crusaders failed in their objective to capture Damascus.

[[File:Kuppel Nur ad-Din Madrasa.JPG|thumb|The twin domes of the funerary-Medresa of [[Nur ad-Din (died 1174)|Nur ad-Din]] also Known as the Madrasah Nuriyya al-Kubra<ref name="madainkubra">{{cite web |title=Madrasa Nuriya al-Kubra |url=https://madainproject.com/madrasa_nuriyya_kubra |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200507215612/https://madainproject.com/madrasa_nuriyya_kubra |archive-date=7 May 2020 |website=Madain Project |access-date=7 May 2020}}</ref><ref name="archnet-nuriya">{{cite web |title=Madrasa al-Nuriyya al-Kubra (Damascus) |url=https://archnet.org/sites/1840 |website=Archnet |access-date=7 May 2020 |archive-date=29 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200729011551/https://archnet.org/sites/1840 |url-status=live }}</ref>]]
Following Toghtekin's death in 1128, his son, [[Taj al-Muluk Buri]], became the nominal ruler of Damascus. Coincidentally, the Seljuq prince of [[Mosul]], [[Imad ad-Din Zengi|Imad al-Din Zengi]], took power in Aleppo and gained a mandate from the Abbasids to extend his authority to Damascus. In 1129, around 6,000 [[Isma'ili|Isma'ili Muslims]] were killed in the city along with their leaders. The Sunnis were provoked by rumors alleging there was a plot by the Isma'ilis, who controlled the strategic fort at [[Banias]], to aid the Crusaders in capturing Damascus in return for control of [[Tyre, Lebanon|Tyre]]. Soon after the massacre, the Crusaders aimed to take advantage of the unstable situation and launch an [[Crusade of 1129|assault]] against Damascus with nearly 2,000 knights and 10,000 infantry. However, Buri allied with Zengi and managed to prevent their army from reaching the city.<ref name="Burns148-9">{{Harvnb|Burns|2005|pp=148–149}}</ref> Buri was assassinated by Isma'ili agents in 1132; he was succeeded by his son, [[Shams al-Mulk Isma'il]] who ruled tyrannically until he was murdered in 1135 on secret orders from his mother, [[Zumurrud Khatun|Safwat al-Mulk Zumurrud]]; Isma'il's brother, Shihab al-Din Mahmud, replaced him. Meanwhile, Zengi, intent on putting Damascus under his control, married Safwat al-Mulk in 1138. Mahmud's reign then ended in 1139 after he was killed for relatively unknown reasons by members of his family. [[Mu'in al-Din Unur]], his ''[[mamluk]]'' ("slave soldier") took effective power of the city, prompting Zengi—with Safwat al-Mulk's backing—to lay siege against Damascus the same year. In response, Damascus allied with the Crusader [[Kingdom of Jerusalem]] to resist Zengi's forces. Consequently, Zengi withdrew his army and focused on campaigns against northern Syria.<ref name="Burns151">{{Harvnb|Burns|2005|p=151}}</ref>

In 1144, Zengi [[Siege of Edessa (1144)|conquered Edessa]], a crusader stronghold, which led to [[Second Crusade|a new crusade]] from Europe in 1148. In the meantime, Zengi was assassinated and his territory was divided among his sons, one of whom, [[Nur ad-Din Zangi|Nur ad-Din]], emir of Aleppo, made an alliance with Damascus. When the European crusaders arrived, they and the nobles of Jerusalem agreed to attack Damascus. [[Siege of Damascus (1148)|Their siege]], however, was a complete failure. When the city seemed to be on the verge of collapse, the crusader army suddenly moved against another section of the walls and was driven back. By 1154, Damascus was firmly under Nur ad-Din's control.<ref>{{cite book|first=Jonathan|last= Phillips|title=The Second Crusade: Extending the Frontiers of Christendom |publisher=[[Yale University Press]]|year= 2007|pages= 216–227}}</ref>

In 1164, King [[Amalric of Jerusalem]] [[Crusader invasions of Egypt|invaded Fatimid Egypt]], requested help from Nur ad-Din. The Nur ad-Din sent his general [[Shirkuh]], and in 1166 Amalric was defeated at the [[Battle of al-Babein]]. When Shirkuh died in 1169, he was succeeded by his nephew Yusuf, better known as [[Saladin]], who defeated a joint crusader-Byzantine siege of [[Damietta]].<ref>Hans E. Mayer, ''The Crusades'' (Oxford University Press, 1965, trans. John Gillingham, 1972), pp. 118–120.</ref> Saladin eventually overthrew the Fatimid caliphs and established himself as Sultan of Egypt. He also 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.<ref>{{cite book|first=Christopher |last=Tyerman|author-link = Christopher Tyerman|title=God's War: A New History of the Crusades|publisher=Penguin|year=2006|page=350}}</ref> In 1177 Saladin was defeated by the crusaders at the [[Battle of Montgisard]], despite his numerical superiority.<ref>{{cite book|first=Bernard|last= Hamilton|title=The Leper King and his Heirs: Baldwin IV and the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year= 2000|pages=132–136}}</ref> Saladin also [[siege of Kerak|besieged Kerak]] in 1183, but was forced to withdraw. He finally launched a full invasion of Jerusalem in 1187 and annihilated the crusader army at the [[Battle of Hattin]] in July. [[Acre, Israel|Acre]] fell to Saladin soon after, and Jerusalem itself [[siege of Jerusalem (1187)|was captured]] in October. These events shocked Europe, resulting in the [[Third Crusade]] in 1189, led by [[Richard I of England]], [[Philip II of France]] and [[Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor]], though the last drowned en route.<ref>"The Third Crusade: Richard the Lionhearted and Philip Augustus", in ''A History of the Crusades'', vol. II: The Later Crusades, 1189–1311, ed. R. L. Wolff and H. W. Hazard (Madison, Wisconsin: University of Wisconsin Press, 1969), pp. 45–49.</ref>

The surviving crusaders, joined by new arrivals from Europe, put Acre to a [[Siege of Acre (1189–1191)|lengthy siege]] which lasted until 1191. After re-capturing Acre, Richard defeated Saladin at the [[Battle of Arsuf]] in 1191 and the [[Battle of Jaffa (1192)|Battle of Jaffa]] in 1192, recovering most of the coast for the Christians, but could not recover Jerusalem or any of the inland territory of the kingdom. The crusade came to an end peacefully, with the [[Treaty of Jaffa (1192)|Treaty of Jaffa]] in 1192. Saladin allowed pilgrimages to be made to Jerusalem, allowing the Crusaders to fulfill their vows, after which they all returned home. Local crusader barons set about rebuilding their kingdom from Acre and the other coastal cities.<ref>Wolff and Hazard, pp. 67–85.</ref>

Saladin died in 1193, and there were frequent conflicts between different [[Ayyubid dynasty|Ayyubid sultans]] ruling in Damascus and Cairo. 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. At other times it was ruled by the Ayyubid rulers of Egypt.<ref>R. Stephen Humphreys, ''From Saladin to the Mongols: The Ayyubids of Damascus, 1193–1260'' (State University of New York Press, 1977), ''passim''.</ref> During the internecine wars fought by the Ayyubid rulers, Damascus was besieged repeatedly, as, e.g., [[Siege of Damascus (1229)|in 1229]].<ref>Kenneth M. Setton, Robert Lee Wolff, Harry W. Hazard (editors), ''A History of the Crusades, Volume II: The Later Crusades, 1189–1311'', p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=2dsycrclykIC&pg=PA695 695] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230102170609/https://books.google.com/books?id=2dsycrclykIC&pg=PA695 |date=2 January 2023 }}, University of Wisconsin Press, series "History of the Crusades", 2006</ref>

The patterned Byzantine and Chinese silks available through Damascus, one of the Western termini of the [[Silk Road]], gave the English language "damask".<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=h1s8K0_hCfoC&q=Damascus%2C++damask+silk+road&pg=PA149|title=All Things Medieval: An Encyclopedia of the Medieval World|last=Johnston|first=Ruth A.|date=2011-08-31|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=9780313364624|language=en|access-date=7 October 2020|archive-date=2 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230402185750/https://books.google.com/books?id=h1s8K0_hCfoC&q=Damascus%2C++damask+silk+road&pg=PA149|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Mamluk period===
[[File:Schedel Damaskus 1497.jpg|thumb|Woodcut of 1497]]
[[File:Délégation vénitienne à Damas.jpg|thumb|Venetian delegation in Damascus, painting of 1511. [[Louvre-Lens]].]]

Ayyubid rule (and independence) came to an end with the Mongol invasion of Syria in 1260, in which the Mongols led by [[Kitbuqa]] entered the city on 1 March 1260, along with the King of Armenia, [[Hethum I, King of Armenia|Hethum I]], and the Prince of Antioch, [[Bohemond VI of Antioch|Bohemond VI]]; hence, the citizens of Damascus saw for the first time for six centuries three Christian potentates ride in triumph through their streets.{{sfn|Runciman|1987|p=307}} However, following the Mongol defeat at [[Battle of Ain Jalut|Ain Jalut]] on 3 September 1260, Damascus was captured five days later and became the provincial capital of the [[Mamluk Sultanate (Cairo)|Mamluk Sultanate]], ruled from Egypt, following the Mongol withdrawal. Following their victory at the [[Battle of Wadi al-Khaznadar]], the Mongols led by [[Ghazan]] besieged the city for ten days, which surrendered between 30 December 1299, and 6 January 1300, though its Citadel resisted.{{sfn|Runciman|1987|p=439}} Ghazan then retreated with most of his forces in February, probably because the Mongol horses needed fodder, and left behind about 10,000 horsemen under the Mongol general [[Mulay]].{{sfn|Demurger|2007|p=146}} Around March 1300, Mulay returned with his horsemen to Damascus,{{sfn|Amitai|1987|p=247}} then followed Ghazan back across the [[Euphrates]]. In May 1300, the Egyptian Mamluks returned from Egypt and reclaimed the entire area{{sfn|Schein|1979|p=810}} without a battle.{{sfn|Amitai|1987|p=248}} In April 1303, the Mamluks managed to defeat the Mongol army led by [[Kutlushah]] and Mulay along with their Armenian allies at the [[Battle of Marj al-Saffar (1303)|Battle of Marj al-Saffar]], to put an end to [[Mongol invasions of the Levant]].{{sfn|Nicolle|2001|p=80}} Later on, the [[Black Death]] of 1348–1349 killed as much as half of the city's population.<ref>"[https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/150420/Damascus/25659/Islamic-city Islamic city] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081026021251/https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/150420/Damascus/25659/Islamic-city |date=26 October 2008 }}". ''Encyclopædia Britannica''.</ref>

In 1400, [[Timur]], the [[Turco-Mongol]] conqueror, [[Siege of Damascus (1400)|besieged Damascus]]. The Mamluk sultan dispatched a deputation from Cairo, including [[Ibn Khaldun]], who negotiated with him, but after their withdrawal, Timur sacked the city on 17 March 1401.{{sfn|Ibn Khaldun|1952|p=97}} The [[Umayyad Mosque]] was burnt and men and women were taken into slavery. A huge number of the city's artisans were taken to Timur's capital at [[Samarkand]]. These were the luckier citizens: many were slaughtered and their heads piled up in a field outside the north-east corner of the walls, where a city square still bears the name ''Burj al-Ru'us'' (between modern-day [[Al-Qassaa]] and [[Bab Tuma]]), originally "the tower of heads".

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

===Ottoman period===
{{see also|Damascus Eyalet|Syria Vilayet}}
[[File:Takiyya as-Süleimaniyya Mosque 01.jpg|left|thumb|[[Sulaymaniyya Takiyya]]]]
In early 1516, the [[Ottoman Empire]], wary of the danger of an alliance between the Mamluks and the Persian [[Safavids]], started a campaign of conquest against the Mamluk sultanate. On 21 September, the Mamluk governor of Damascus fled the city, and on 2 October the [[khutba]] in the Umayyad mosque was pronounced in the name of [[Selim I]]. The day after, the victorious sultan entered the city, staying for three months. On 15 December, he left Damascus by Bab al-Jabiya, intent on the conquest of Egypt. Little appeared to have changed in the city: one army had simply replaced another. However, on his return in October 1517, the sultan ordered the construction of a mosque, [[Khanqah|tekkiye]] and mausoleum at the shrine of Shaikh [[Ibn Arabi|Muhi al-Din ibn Arabi]] in [[Al-Salihiyah, Damascus|al-Salihiyah]]. This was to be the first of Damascus's great Ottoman monuments.
During this time, according to an Ottoman census, Damascus had 10,423 households.<ref>"Population and Revenue in the Towns of Palestine in the Sixteenth Century"</ref>
The Ottomans remained for the next 400 years, except for a brief occupation by [[Ibrahim Pasha of Egypt]] from 1832 to 1840. Because of its importance as the point of departure for one of the two great [[Hajj]] caravans to [[Mecca]], Damascus was treated with more attention by the [[Ottoman Porte|Porte]] than its size might have warranted—for most of this period, [[Aleppo]] was more populous and commercially more important. In 1559 the western building of [[Sulaymaniyya Takiyya]], comprising a mosque and [[caravanserai|khan]] for pilgrims on the road to Mecca, was completed to a design by the famous Ottoman architect [[Mimar Sinan]], and soon afterward the [[Salimiyya Madrasa]] was built adjoining it.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Abd al-Qadir al-Rihawi |author2=Émilie E. Ouéchek |year=1975|chapter=Les deux ''takiyya'' de Damas|title=Bulletin d'études orientales|journal=Bulletin D' Tudes Orientales |volume=28|pages=217–225|publisher=Institut Francais du Proche-Orient|jstor=41604595|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/41604595|access-date=24 June 2022|archive-date=17 June 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220617171138/https://www.jstor.org/stable/41604595|url-status=live}}</ref>
[[File:Khan Asad Pasha, Damascus.jpg|thumb|[[Khan As'ad Pasha]]]]
Early in the nineteenth century, Damascus was noted for its shady cafes along the banks of the Barada. A depiction of these by [[William Henry Bartlett]] was published in 1836, along with a poetical illustration by [[Letitia Elizabeth Landon]], see {{ws|[[s:Letitia Elizabeth Landon (L. E. L.) in Fisher's Drawing Room Scrap Book, 1837/Cafes in Damascus|Cafes in Damascus]]}} Under [[Ottoman rule]], Christians and [[Jews]] were considered [[dhimmi]]s and were allowed to practice their religious precepts. During the [[Damascus affair]] of 1840 the false accusation of [[ritual murder]] was brought against members of the Jewish community of Damascus. The [[1860 Druze-Christian conflict in Lebanon|massacre of Christians in 1860]] was also one of the most notorious incidents of these centuries when fighting between [[Druze]] and [[Maronites]] in [[Mount Lebanon]] spilled over into the city. Several thousand Christians were killed in June 1860, with many more being saved through the intervention of the Algerian exile [[Abd al-Qadir al-Jaza'iri|Abd al-Qadir]] and his soldiers (three days after the massacre started), who brought them to safety in Abd al-Qadir's residence and the [[Citadel of Damascus]]. The Christian quarter of the old city (mostly inhabited by Catholics), including several churches, was burnt down. The Christian inhabitants of the notoriously poor and refractory [[Midan]] district outside the walls (mostly Orthodox) were, however, protected by their Muslim neighbors.

American Missionary E.C. Miller records that in 1867 the population of the city was 'about' 140,000, of whom 30,000 were Christians, 10,000 Jews, and 100,000 'Mohammedans' with fewer than 100 Protestant Christians.<ref>Ellen Clare Miller, 'Eastern Sketches – notes of scenery, schools and tent life in Syria and Palestine'. Edinburgh: William Oliphant and Company. 1871. page 90. quoting Eli Jones, a [[Quaker]] from [[New England]].</ref> In the meantime, American writer [[Mark Twain]] visited Damascus, then wrote about his travel in ''[[The Innocents Abroad]]'', in which he mentioned: "Though old as history itself, thou art fresh as the breath of spring, blooming as thine own rose-bud, and fragrant as thine own orange flower, O Damascus, pearl of the East!".<ref>{{Harvnb|Twain|1869|p=283}}</ref> In November 1898, German emperor [[Wilhelm II, German Emperor|Wilhelm II]] toured Damascus, during his trip to the Ottoman Empire.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.abdelraoufsinno.com/periodicals/docum_41.pdf|title=The Emperor's visit to the East: As reflected in contemporary Arabic journalism|author=Abdel-Raouf Sinno|pages=14–15|date=1998|access-date=10 June 2021|archive-date=23 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201123135139/http://www.abdelraoufsinno.com/periodicals/docum_41.pdf|url-status=usurped}}</ref><gallery class="center">
File:Damaskus in Syrien - Peeters Jacob - 1690.jpg|Damascus in 1690 by [[Jacob Balthasar Peeters]]
File:Eduard Hildebrandt - Ansicht von Damaskus (1852).jpg|View of Damascus, by [[Eduard Hildebrandt]], 1852
File:The universal geography - the earth and its inhabitants (1876) (14578799080).jpg|Damascus, view taken from the Christian quarter, in 1876.<ref>{{cite book |author=[[Élisée Reclus]], [[Ernst Georg Ravenstein]], [[Augustus Henry Keane]] |url=https://archive.org/details/cu31924095158964/page/401/mode/1up?view=theate |title=The universal geography: the earth and its inhabitants |date=1876 |publisher=[[James Sprent Virtue|J.S. Virtue & Co Ltd]] |page=401}}</ref>
File:A Turkish Divan-Damascus - Carne John - 1836.jpg|A Turkish Divan in Damascus, in 1836, by [[John Carne]]
File:Gustav Bauernfeind - A Street Scene, Damascus (Sotheby's, ShafikGabrCollection) 001l2010.jpg|A painting by [[Gustav Bauernfeind]] of a crowd in Damascus street, circa 1890
</gallery>

===Modern period===
====20th century====
{{see also|Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon}}
[[File:4ALHinDamascus.jpg|thumb|The Turkish Hospital in Damascus on 1 October 1918, shortly after the entry of the Australian [[4th Light Horse Regiment (Australia)|4th Light Horse Regiment]]]]
In the early years of the 20th century, nationalist sentiment in Damascus, initially cultural in its interest, began to take a political coloring, largely in reaction to the [[turkicisation]] program of the [[Committee of Union and Progress]] government established in Istanbul in 1908. The hanging of a number of patriotic intellectuals by [[Jamal Pasha]], governor of Damascus, in Beirut and Damascus in 1915 and 1916 further stoked nationalist feeling, and in 1918, as the forces of the [[Arab Revolt]] and the British Imperial forces approached, residents fired on the retreating Turkish troops.
[[File:Emir Faisal; Lt. Colonel T.E. Lawrence - early 1918.jpg|thumb|[[Faisal I of Iraq|King Faisal of Syria]] and [[T. E. Lawrence]] on [[HMS Orion]] during [[World War I]], 1918.|left]]

On 1 October 1918, [[T. E. Lawrence]] [[Capture of Damascus (1918)|entered Damascus]], the third arrival of the day, the first being the Australian [[3rd Light Horse Brigade]], led by Major [[Arthur Charles Olden|A.C.N. 'Harry' Olden]].<ref>Barker, A. (1998) "The Allies Enter Damascus", ''History Today'', Volume 48</ref> Two days later, 3 October 1918, [[Sharifian Army|the forces of the Arab revolt led by]] [[Faisal I of Iraq|Prince Faisal]] also entered Damascus.<ref>Roberts, P.M., ''World War I, a Student Encyclopedia'', 2006, ABC-CLIO, p. 657</ref> A military government under [[Shukri Pasha Al-Ayyubi|Shukri Pasha]] was named and Faisal ibn Hussein was proclaimed [[Arab Kingdom of Syria|king of Syria]]. Political tension arose in November 1917, when the new [[Bolshevik]] government in Russia revealed the [[Sykes-Picot Agreement]] whereby Britain and France had arranged to partition the Arab East between them. A new Franco-British proclamation on 17 November promised the "complete and definitive freeing of the peoples so long oppressed by the Turks." The [[Syrian National Congress]] in March adopted a democratic constitution. However, the [[Versailles Conference]] had granted France a [[League of Nations mandate|mandate]] over Syria, and in 1920 a French army commanded by the General [[Mariano Goybet]] crossed the Anti-Lebanon Mountains, defeated a small Syrian defensive expedition at the [[Battle of Maysalun]] and [[Capture of Damascus (1920)|entered Damascus]]. The French made Damascus the capital of their [[League of Nations]] [[French Mandate of Syria and the Lebanon|Mandate for Syria]].

When in 1925 the [[Great Syrian Revolt]] in the [[Hauran]] spread to Damascus, the French suppressed it with heavy weaponry, bombing and shelling the city on 9 May 1926.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1926/05/20/archives/french-shells-kill-600-in-damascus-500-civilians-including-women.html French Shells Kill 600 in Damascus; 500 Civilians, Including Women and Children, Slain in the Second Bombardment— 300 Houses Are Burned; Guns Fire On Ancient City for 15 Hours After Druse Attack French May 6"], ''The New York Times'', May 20, 1926, p.1 ("First details to reach London of another bombardment of Damascus by guns and airplanes, involving the loss of 600 lives and the destruction of more than three hundred houses, is reported by The Daily Express Damascus correspondent in a dispatch dated May 9")</ref> As a result, the area of the old city between [[Al-Hamidiyah Souq]] and [[Medhat Pasha Souq]] was burned to the ground, with many deaths, and has since then been known as ''[[al-Hariqa]]'' ("the fire"). The old city was surrounded with barbed wire to prevent rebels from infiltrating the [[Ghouta]], and a new road was built outside the northern ramparts to facilitate the movement of armored cars. Reporter [[George Seldes]] viewed 308 bodies, and suggested there might be more dead under the rubble—and that a maximum might be one thousand.  "When the Muslims, who had rebelled, threatened to kill all Christians, General Maurice Sarrail gave the civilian population time to evacuate, then ordered Fort Gouraud to fire some warning shots, then shell the rebel sector."  <ref>Seldes, George, ''Witness to a Century'', 1987, Ballantine Books, p. 232</ref>

On 21 June 1941, 3 weeks into the Allied [[Syria-Lebanon campaign]], [[Battle of Damascus (1941)|Damascus was captured]] from the [[Vichy French]] forces by a mixed British Indian and Free French force. The French agreed to withdraw in 1946, following the British intervention during the [[Levant Crisis]], thus leading to the full independence of Syria. Damascus remained the capital and has been unchanged even following the start of [[Ba'athist Syria|Ba'athist rule]] in 1963.

In 1979, the [[Old City of Damascus]], with its collection of archaeological and historical religious sites, was listed as a [[World Heritage Site]] by [[UNESCO]].

==== Civil war ====
{{main|Syrian civil war}}

[[File:Damascus Opera House.jpg|thumb|The [[Damascus Opera House]], opened in 2004]]
[[File:ISS013-E-82035.jpg|thumb|Damascus in 2006, taken from the International Space Station]]

By January 2012, [[Rif Dimashq Governorate campaign|clashes]] between the regular army and rebels reached the outskirts of Damascus, reportedly preventing people from leaving or reaching their houses, especially when security operations there intensified from the end of January into February.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://syria-today.com/index.php/life/18976-dead-ends |title=Public transportation in Damascus is having an uphill go of it |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120321225005/http://syria-today.com/index.php/life/18976-dead-ends |archive-date=2012-03-21}}</ref>

By June 2012, bullets and shrapnel shells smashed into homes in Damascus overnight as troops battled the Free Syrian Army in the streets. At least three tank shells slammed into residential areas in the central Damascus neighborhood of Qaboun, according to activists. Intense exchanges of assault rifle fire marked the clash, according to residents and amateur video posted online.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.haaretz.com/news/middle-east/heavy-gunfire-in-syria-s-capital-during-the-weekend-1.435372|title=Heavy gunfire in Syria's capital during the weekend|newspaper=[[Haaretz]]|date=10 June 2012|access-date=10 June 2012|archive-date=2 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230402185806/https://www.haaretz.com/2012-06-10/ty-article/heavy-gunfire-in-syrias-capital-during-weekend/0000017f-f683-d887-a7ff-fee727e70000|url-status=live}}</ref>

The Damascus suburb of [[Ghouta]] suffered heavy bombing in December 2017 and a further wave of bombing started in February 2018, also known as [[Rif Dimashq offensive (February–April 2018)|Rif Dimashq Offensive]].

On 20 May 2018, Damascus and the entire Rif Dimashq Governorate came fully under government control for the first time in 7 years after the evacuation of [[Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant|IS]] from [[Yarmouk Camp]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/syrian-military-in-full-control-of-damascus-for-first-time-in-years/ |title=Syrian military in full control of Damascus for first time in years |first=Leith |last=Aboufadel |date=20 May 2018 |access-date=20 May 2018 |newspaper=[[Al-Masdar News]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180520192808/https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/syrian-military-in-full-control-of-damascus-for-first-time-in-years/ |archive-date=20 May 2018 |url-status=dead }}</ref> In September 2019, Damascus entered the ''[[Guinness World Records]]'' as the least liveable city, scoring 30.7 points on the [[Economist Intelligence Unit|Economist]]'s [[Global Liveability Ranking|Global Liveability Index]] in 2019, based on factors such as: stability, healthcare, culture and environment, education, and infrastructure.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/100393-least-habitable-city |title=Least habitable city |website=Guinness World Records |date=September 2019 |access-date=9 October 2020 |archive-date=25 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201125230533/https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/100393-least-habitable-city |url-status=live }}</ref> However, the trend of being the least liveable city on Earth started in 2017,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/news/liveable-cities-2017-economist-intelligence/ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/news/liveable-cities-2017-economist-intelligence/ |archive-date=11 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title= Revealed: The world's best (and worst) cities to live in |website=The Telegraph |date=16 August 2017 }}{{cbignore}}</ref> and continued as of 2024.<ref>{{cite web |date=27 June 2024 |title=Vienna secures its position as the world's most liveable city for third consecutive year |url=https://www.eiu.com/n/vienna-secures-its-position-as-the-worlds-most-liveable-city-for-third-consecutive-year/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240702050716/https://www.eiu.com/n/vienna-secures-its-position-as-the-worlds-most-liveable-city-for-third-consecutive-year/ |archive-date=2 July 2024 |publisher=The Economist}}</ref>
[[File:2024 Israeli invasion of Syria.png|thumb|190px|Israeli-occupied [[Golan Heights]] and [[2024 Israeli invasion of Syria|Israeli invasion of Syria]] in December 2024]]
Syrian rebels, led by the [[Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham|HTS]] rebel group [[Fall of Damascus (2024)|entered Damascus]] on 8 December 2024 after a [[2024 Syrian opposition offensives|series of offensives]], capturing [[Sednaya Prison]] and later resulting in [[Fall of the Assad regime|the collapse]] of [[Ba'athist Syria]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/live/2024/12/07/world/syria-war-damascus/7a2f4dc8-f7b8-5cbc-8563-574654b05876 |title=Syrian rebels said their forces had entered Damascus and taken the Sednaya prison complex north of the city. |date=7 December 2024 |last=Abdulrahim |first=Raja |work=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=7 December 2024}}</ref>

On 23 February 2025, Israeli Prime Minister [[Benjamin Netanyahu]] demanded the complete demilitarization of southern Syria in the provinces of [[Quneitra Governorate|Quneitra]], [[Daraa Governorate|Daraa]] and [[Suwayda Governorate|Suweyda]],<ref>{{cite news |title=Israel demands complete demilitarisation of southern Syria |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvgenz02lp8o |work=BBC |date=24 February 2025}}</ref> and the withdrawal of Syrian forces from Syrian territory south of Damascus.<ref>{{cite news |title=Netanyahu says Israel won't allow Syrian forces 'south of Damascus' |url=https://www.voanews.com/a/netanyahu-says-israel-won-t-allow-syrian-forces-south-of-damascus-/7985248.html |work=VOA News |date=23 February 2025}}</ref> Syria's new government under President [[Ahmed al-Sharaa]] rejected Netanyahu's demands.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Kliment |first1=Alex |title=Israel turns the screws on Syria's new leader |url=https://www.gzeromedia.com/middle-east/israel-turns-screws-on-syria |work=GZERO Media |date=26 February 2025}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=25 February 2025 |title=Syria calls for Israel's withdrawal from its lands, national dialogue closing statement says |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/syria-calls-israels-withdrawal-its-lands-national-dialogue-closing-statement-2025-02-25/ |website=Reuters}}</ref> Hours later, Israel conducted a wave of airstrikes in Damascus and southern Syria.<ref>{{cite news |title=Israel bombs 'military targets' in southern Syria, outside Damascus |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/2/26/israel-bombs-military-targets-in-southern-syria-outside-damascus |work=Al Jazeera |date=26 February 2025}}</ref>

==Economy==
[[File:BankSharqAndBlueTower.jpg|thumb|Bank Al-Sharq and the [[Blue Tower Hotel]], a 4-star hotel in Hamra Street.|left]]

The historical role that Damascus played as an important trade center has changed in recent years due to political development in the region as well as the development of modern trade.<ref name="Damascus">{{cite web |url= https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/150420/Damascus |title= Damascus |website= Encyclopædia Britannica |access-date= 28 November 2009 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20091107233311/https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/150420/Damascus |archive-date= 7 November 2009 |url-status= live }}</ref> Most goods produced in Damascus, as well as in Syria, are distributed to countries of the Arabian peninsula.<ref name="Damascus" /> Damascus has also held an annual [[Damascus International Fair|international trade exposition]] every fall, since 1954.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.peife.gov.sy|title=Damascus International Fair|access-date=28 November 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091112075549/http://www.peife.gov.sy/|archive-date=12 November 2009|url-status=live}}</ref>

The 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.<ref name="Damascus" /> Since the early 2000s, numerous boutique hotels and bustling cafes opened in the old city which attracts plenty of European tourists and Damascenes alike.<ref name="The Wall Street Journal">{{cite news|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB125841487085151317|title=Damascus Revels in Its New Allure to Investors|newspaper=The Wall Street Journal|access-date=28 November 2009|first=Chip|last=Cummins|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150930214351/http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB125841487085151317|archive-date=30 September 2015|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2009 new office space was built and became available on the real estate market.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cushwake.com/cwglobal/jsp/kcReportDetail.jsp?Country=GLOBAL&Language=EN&catId=100003&pId=c21200007p |title=Report: Office Space Across the World 2009 |publisher=Cushman & Wakefield |access-date=28 November 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110511153330/http://www.cushwake.com/cwglobal/jsp/kcReportDetail.jsp?Country=GLOBAL&Language=EN&catId=100003&pId=c21200007p |archive-date=11 May 2011 }}</ref> [[Marota City]] and Basilia City are two new development projects in Damascus.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Lilian |date=2021-02-26 |title=Marota and Basilia Cities… Smart Cities and Investment Opportunities in Damascus |url=https://www.arabisklondon.com/4617 |access-date=2024-06-07 |language=en-GB}}</ref> These two projects are viewed as post-war reconstruction efforts. The [[Damascus Securities Exchange|Damascus stock exchange]] formally opened for trade in March 2009, and the exchange is the only stock exchange in Syria.<ref>{{cite web |title=Inauguration of Damascus Stock Exchange |url=http://www.sebcsyria.com/web2008/art.php?art_id=1619 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110503210033/http://www.sebcsyria.com/web2008/art.php?art_id=1619 |archive-date=3 May 2011 |access-date=28 November 2009 |publisher=Syrian Enterprise and Business Center}}</ref> It is located in the Barzeh district, within Syria's financial markets and securities commission. Its final home is to be located in the upmarket business district of [[Yaafour|''Yaafur'']].<ref name="AP">{{cite web |date=10 March 2009 |title=AFP: Syria launches first stock exchange |url=https://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gPsB6CSsyXUgWdxEsC0B_O-jqV-w |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120212075555/http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gPsB6CSsyXUgWdxEsC0B_O-jqV-w |archive-date=12 February 2012 |access-date=20 June 2010}}</ref>

Damascus is home to a wide range of industrial activities, such as textile, [[food processing]], cement, and various chemical industries.<ref name="Damascus" /> The majority of factories are run by the state, however limited [[privatization]] in addition to economic activities led by the [[private sector]], were permitted starting in the early 2000s with the liberalization of trade that took place.<ref name="Damascus" />
Traditional handcrafts and artisan copper engravings are still produced in the old city.<ref name="Damascus" /><!-- Damascus airport -->
<!-- Stock exchange -->

==Demographics==
=== Population ===
[[File:Damascusfashion.jpg|thumb|upright|Three Damascene women, 1873: [[peasant]] (left), [[Druze]] in ''[[tantour]]'' headdress, and urban lady wearing ''qabqab'' (i.e. kabkab or [[platform shoes]])]]
[[File:ADDISON(1838) 2.006 SZENE IN THE BAZAR.jpg|thumb|upright|Scene in a [[bazaar]] in Damascus, in 1838, by [[Charles G. Addison]]. [[British Library]].]]
In the 2004 Census of Population conducted by [[Central Bureau of Statistics (Syria)]], Damascus had a population of 1,552,161 living in 309,317 of its 345,097 total dwellings.<ref name="CBS">[https://web.archive.org/web/20160305082831/http://cbssyr.sy/new%20web%20site/General_census/census_2004/NH/TAB01-1-2004.htm General Census of Population and Housing 2004] {{webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20130112150715/http://www.cbssyr.org/new%20web%20site/General_census/census_2004/NH/TAB01-1-2004.htm |date=2013-01-12 }}. [[Central Bureau of Statistics (Syria)|Syria Central Bureau of Statistics]] (CBS). Damascus Governorate. {{in lang|ar}}</ref>

Damascus is the center of a crowded metropolitan area with an estimated population of 5&nbsp;million. The metropolitan area of Damascus includes the cities of [[Douma, Syria|Douma]], [[Harasta]], [[Darayya]], [[Al-Tall (Syria)|Al-Tall]] and [[Jaramana]].

The city's growth rate is higher than in Syria as a whole, primarily due to [[Urbanization|rural-urban migration]] and the influx of young Syrian migrants drawn by employment and educational opportunities.<ref name="Britannica">{{Cite web |url= https://www.britannica.com/place/Damascus |title= Damascus {{!}} National Capital, Syria |website= Britannica.com |access-date= 31 January 2018 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180201221132/https://www.britannica.com/place/Damascus |archive-date= 1 February 2018 |url-status= live }}</ref> The migration of Syrian youths to Damascus has resulted in an average age within the city that is below the national average.<ref name=Britannica/> Nonetheless, the population of Damascus is thought to have decreased in recent years as a result of the ongoing [[Syrian civil war]].

===Ethnicity===
The vast majority of Damascenes are Syrian [[Arabs]]. The [[Kurds in Syria|Kurds]] are the second largest ethnic minority, with a population of approximately 300,000.<ref>{{Cite book |title= Displacement and Dispossession in the Modern Middle East |last= Chatty |first= Dawn |author-link= Dawn Chatty |publisher= Cambridge University Press |year= 2010 |isbn= 978-0-521-52104-8 |pages= 267 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=8OsgAwAAQBAJ |access-date= 29 October 2015 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160520113218/https://books.google.com/books?id=8OsgAwAAQBAJ |archive-date= 20 May 2016 |url-status= live }}</ref>{{better source needed|date=October 2016}} They reside primarily in the neighborhoods of Wadi al-Mashari ("Zorava" or "Zore Afa" in Kurdish) and [[Rukneddine|Rukn al-Din]].<ref>{{cite web |url= http://english.al-akhbar.com/node/17762 |title= Kurds of Damascus: Trapped between Secession and Integration |access-date= 24 May 2016 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160418022850/http://english.al-akhbar.com/node/17762 |archive-date= 18 April 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date= May 2013 |url= http://rudaw.net/english/middleeast/syria/05042013 |title= As Fighting Rages in Damascus, Kurds Flee Their Neighborhoods |access-date= 24 May 2016 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160813195654/http://rudaw.net/english/middleeast/syria/05042013 |archive-date= 13 August 2016 |url-status= live }}</ref> Other minorities include [[Palestinians in Syria|Palestinians]], [[Armenians in Syria|Armenians]], [[Assyrians in Syria|Assyrians]], [[Syrian Turkmen|Turkmens]], [[Circassians in Syria|Circassians]] and a small [[Greeks in Syria|Greek community]].

===Religion===
{{See also|Religion in Syria|Islam in Syria|Christianity in Syria|Druze in Syria|Jews in Syria|Secularism in Syria}}
{{bar box
|title=Religion in Damascus
|titlebar=
|left1=Religion
|right1=Percent
|float=right
|bars=
{{bar percent|[[Islam_in_Syria#Sunni|Sunni Islam]]|DarkGreen|78}}
{{bar percent|[[Christianity in Syria|Christian]]|DarkBlue|12}}
{{bar percent|[[Islam_in_Syria#Shia|Shia Islam]]|Green|10}}
}}
[[Islam]] is the largest religion. The majority of Muslims are [[Sunni]] while [[Alawites]] and [[Twelver Shi'a]] comprise sizeable minorities. Alawites live primarily in the neighbourhoods of Mezzeh 86 and Sumariyah part of the [[Mezzeh]] district, in addition to the neighbourhood of Eish al-Warwar in the district of [[Barzeh, Syria|Barzeh]]. Twelvers primarily live near the Shia holy sites of [[Sayyidah Ruqayya Mosque|Sayyidah Ruqayya]] and [[Sayyidah Zainab Mosque, Damascus|Sayyidah Zaynab]]. It is believed that there are more than 200 mosques in Damascus, the most well-known being the [[Umayyad Mosque]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Flood|first=Finbarr Barry|title=The Great Mosque of Damascus: studies on the makings of an Umayyad visual culture|publisher=BRILL|year=2001|volume=33|page=12|isbn=978-90-04-11638-2|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=r5f8kxIyykQC|access-date=26 November 2009|archive-date=2 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230402185803/https://books.google.com/books?id=r5f8kxIyykQC|url-status=live}}</ref>

Christians represent about 10%–15% of the population.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Syria |url=https://www.state.gov/reports/2022-report-on-international-religious-freedom/syria/ |access-date=2025-06-18 |website=United States Department of State |language=en-US}}</ref> Several Eastern Christian rites have their headquarters in Damascus, including the [[Syriac Orthodox Church]], the [[Syriac Catholic Church]], the [[Melkite Greek Catholic Church]], and the [[Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch]]. The Christian districts in the city are [[Bab Tuma]], [[Qassaa]] and Ghassani. Each have many churches, most notably the ancient [[Chapel of Saint Paul]], [[Syriac Catholic Cathedral of Saint Paul|St. Paul Cathedral]], [[Cathedral of Our Lady of the Dormition|Our Lady of the Dormition Cathedral]], and [[Cathedral of Saint George, Damascus|St Georges Cathedral]] in Bab Tuma. At the suburb of [[Our Lady of Soufanieh|Soufanieh]] a series of [[apparitions of the Virgin Mary]] have reportedly been observed between 1982 and 2004.<ref>Sbalchiero in: Laurentin/ Sbalchiero (2007), p. 1093–1097.</ref> The Patriarchal See of the Syriac Orthodox is based in Damascus, Bab Touma.

A smaller [[Druze]] minority inhabits the city, notably in the mixed Christian-Druze suburbs of [[Tadamon, Syria|Tadamon]],<ref>{{cite news |date=4 January 2013 |title=Syria's Alawites Under Siege |newspaper=Al-Monitor: Independent, Trusted Coverage of the Middle East |url=http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/01/alawites-syria-siege-sunni-druze.html |url-status=live |access-date=24 May 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160624032029/http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/01/alawites-syria-siege-sunni-druze.html |archive-date=24 June 2016}}</ref> [[Jaramana]],<ref>{{cite web |date=5 March 2015 |title=Despite pressure Druze remain in regime camp |url=http://syriadirect.org/news/jaramana-despite-pressures-druze-remain-in-regime-camp |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160624213228/http://syriadirect.org/news/jaramana-despite-pressures-druze-remain-in-regime-camp |archive-date=24 June 2016 |access-date=24 May 2016}}</ref> and [[Sahnaya]].

There was a small [[Syrian Jews|Jewish community]] namely in what is called ''[[Jewish Quarter of Damascus|Harat al-Yahud]]'' ("the Jewish quarter"). They are the remnants of an ancient and much larger [[Syrian Jews|Jewish presence in Syria]], dating back at least to Roman times, if not before to the time of King David.<ref>Katz, Ketsi'ah (1981), Masoret ha-lashon ha-'Ibrit shel Yehude Aram-Tsoba (Ḥalab) bi-qri'at ha-Miqra ve-ha-Mishnah (The Hebrew Language Tradition of the Jews of Aleppo in the Reading of the Bible and Mishnah)</ref> There was once a significant Jewish community in Damascus, but as of 2023, no Jews remain.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.thejc.com/news/world/new-report-urges-urgent-action-to-preserve-remaining-jewish-sites-in-syria-and-iraq-1.500280|title='Urgent' action required to preserve Jewish sites in Syria and Iraq |access-date=2023-07-13 |website=www.thejc.com|date=3 June 2020 }}</ref>


<gallery class="center" caption="Religious sites in Damascus">
File:The Umayyad Mosque, the Great Mosque of Damascus, Damascus, Syria.jpg|The [[Umayyad Mosque]]
File:Damascus Mosque al-Aqsab aka al-Zainabiye 4642.jpg|[[Aqsab Mosque|Al-Aqsab Mosque]]
File:Sayyidah Ruqayya Mosque 03.jpg|The [[Sayyidah Ruqayya Mosque]]
File:Melkite Greek Catholic Church, Damascus, Syria.jpg|The [[Cathedral of the Dormition of Our Lady, Damascus|Greek-Melkite Patriarchal Cathedral of the Dormition of Our Lady]]
File:Syriac Catholic Church, Damascus 01.jpg|The [[Syriac Catholic Cathedral of Saint Paul]]
File:Damascus-Bab Kisan.jpg|The [[Chapel of Saint Paul]]
</gallery>

====Sufism====
[[Sufism]] throughout the second half of the 20th century has been an influential current in the Sunni religious practises, particularly in Damascus. The largest women-only and girls-only Muslim movement in the world happens to be Sufi-oriented and is based in Damascus, led by [[Munira al-Qubaysi]]. Syrian Sufism has its stronghold in urban regions such as Damascus, where it also established political movements such as Zayd, with the help of a series of [[mosque]]s, and clergy such as [[Abd al-Ghani al-Nabulsi]], [[Sa'id Hawwa]], [[Abd al-Rahman al-Shaghouri]] and [[Muhammad al-Yaqoubi]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/10/syria-sufi-salafi-war-islam.html|title=Syrian Sufis Divided As Salafist Influence Grows|date=3 October 2013|access-date=6 October 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151006185556/http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/10/syria-sufi-salafi-war-islam.html|archive-date=6 October 2015|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Historical sites==
{{main|Old city of Damascus}}

[[File:Damasco via rectaHPIM3222.JPG|thumb|left|Typical historic Damascene street]]
[[File:Al-Hamidiyah Souq 02.jpg|thumb|[[Al-Hamidiyah Souq]], dating back to the [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman era]]]]
The Ancient City of Damascus was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1979. Beginning with the Aramaic kingdom (11th-7th centuries BC), Damascus grew into the political and urban hub for the region. Today, the ancient city encompasses over 125 cultural heritage sites that represent Damascus's long history, including archaeological and architectural remains from the Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine, Islamic, and Ottoman periods.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ancient History, Modern Destruction: Assessing the Current Status of Syria's World Heritage Sites Using High-Resolution Satellite Imagery {{!}} American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) |url=https://www.aaas.org/resources/ancient-history-modern-destruction-assessing-current-status-syria-s-world-heritage-sites#Damascus |access-date=2024-10-02 |website=www.aaas.org |language=en}}</ref> Tragically, ongoing conflict and war continues to threaten the archaeological heritage and prevent archaeological discovery of Damascus.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Omar |first=Lubna |date=2019-08-12 |title=I'm one of hundreds of archaeologists exiled from Syria who's mourning what the war is costing us |url=https://theconversation.com/im-one-of-hundreds-of-archaeologists-exiled-from-syria-whos-mourning-what-the-war-is-costing-us-116325 |access-date=2024-10-02 |website=The Conversation |language=en-US}}</ref>

The [[Citadel of Damascus]] is in the northwest corner of the Old City. The ''[[Damascus Straight Street]]'' (referred to in the account of the [[Conversion of Saint Paul|conversion]] of [[Paul of Tarsus|St. Paul]] in [[Acts of the Apostles|Acts]] 9:11), also known as the ''[[Via Recta]]'', was the [[Decumanus Maximus|decumanus]] (east–west main street) of Roman Damascus, and extended for over {{convert|1500|m|ft|sp=us|abbr=on}}. Today, it consists of the street of Bab Sharqi and the Souk Medhat Pasha, a covered market. The [[Bab Sharqi]] street is filled with small shops and leads to the old Christian quarter of [[Bab Tuma]] (St. Thomas's Gate), where [[Cathedral of Saint George, Damascus|St George's Cathedral]], the seat of the [[Syriac Orthodox Church]], is notably located. [[Medhat Pasha Souq]] is also a main market in Damascus and was named after [[Midhat Pasha]], the Ottoman governor of Syria who renovated the Souk. At the end of Bab Sharqi Street, one reaches the [[House of Saint Ananias|House of Ananias]], an underground chapel that was the cellar of [[Ananias of Damascus|Ananias]]'s house. The [[Umayyad Mosque]], also known as the Grand Mosque of Damascus, is one of the largest mosques in the world and also one of the oldest sites of continuous prayer since the rise of Islam. A shrine in the mosque is said to contain the body of [[St. John the Baptist]]. The [[Mausoleum of Saladin|mausoleum]] where [[Saladin]] was buried is located in the gardens just outside the mosque. [[Sayyidah Ruqayya Mosque]], the shrine of the youngest daughter of [[Husayn ibn Ali]], can also be found near the Umayyad Mosque. The ancient district of [[Amara District|Amara]] is also within walking distance from these sites. Another heavily visited site is [[Sayyidah Zainab Mosque, Damascus|Sayyidah Zaynab Mosque]], where the tomb of [[Zaynab bint Ali]] is located. [[File:Umayyad Square, Damascus.jpg|thumb|[[Umayyad Square]]|left]]Shias, Fatemids, and Dawoodi Bohras believe that after the battle of Karbala (680 AD), in Iraq, the Umayyad Caliph Yezid brought Imam Husain's head to Damascus, where it was first kept in the courtyard of Yezid Mahal, now part of Umayyad Mosque complex. All other remaining members of Imam Husain's family (left alive after Karbala) along with the heads of all other companions, who were killed at Karbala, were also brought to Damascus. These members were kept as prisoners on the outskirts of the city (near [[Bab al-Saghir]]), where the other heads were kept at the same location, now called Ru'ûs ash-Shuhadâ-e-Karbala or ganj-e-sarha-e-shuhada-e-Karbala.<ref>Linda Kay Davidson and David Martin Gitlitz, Pilgrimage: From the Ganges to Graceland, an Encyclopedia (Santa Barbara CA: ABC-CLIO, 2002), 141–42. 
{{ISBN|9781576070048}} and https://www.al-islam.org/ziyarat/syria.htm#Damascus {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171011161834/https://www.al-islam.org/ziyarat/syria.htm#Damascus |date=11 October 2017 }}</ref> There is a qibla (place of worship) marked at the place, where devotees say [[Ali ibn Husayn|Imam Ali-Zain-ul-Abedin]] used to pray while in captivity.{{citation needed|date=February 2020}}

The [[Jewish Quarter of Damascus|Harat Al Yehud]]<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.jpost.com/Magazine/Features/Jewish-Quarter-of-Damascus-blooms-again |title=Jewish Quarter of Damascus blooms again |date=5 November 2010 |access-date=16 March 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170316205404/http://www.jpost.com/Magazine/Features/Jewish-Quarter-of-Damascus-blooms-again |archive-date=16 March 2017 |url-status=live }}</ref> or Jewish Quarter is a recently restored historical tourist destination popular among Europeans before the outbreak of civil war.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Safran |first=Yair |date=2015-05-04 |title=Haifa al-Jadida: The Surrounding Walls and the City Quarters |url=http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00263206.2014.976623 |journal=Middle Eastern Studies |language=en |volume=51 |issue=3 |pages=452–461 |doi=10.1080/00263206.2014.976623 |issn=0026-3206|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Vacationers can enjoy the neighborhood and scenic ancient homes abandoned by the completely departed Syrian Jewish community.<ref>{{Cite news |last=England |first=Andrew |date=19 May 2010 |title=Damascus gives old Jewish quarter new life. Restoration produces hotels and art studios |url=https://www.ft.com/content/f64b596e-6366-11df-a844-00144feab49a |url-access=subscription |archive-url=https://archive.today/20220429195116/https://www.ft.com/content/f64b596e-6366-11df-a844-00144feab49a |archive-date=29 April 2022 |access-date=22 October 2025 |work=[[Financial Times]]}}</ref>

===Walls and gates of Damascus===
[[File:Bab Touma Gate Damascus.jpg|thumb|[[Bab Tuma]] gate]]
The Old City of Damascus with an approximate area of 86.12 hectares<ref>{{cite web |url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/20 |title=Ancient City of Damascus |publisher=[[UNESCO]] |access-date=31 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171027161431/http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/20/ |archive-date=27 October 2017 |url-status=live }}</ref> is surrounded by ramparts on the northern and eastern sides and part of the southern side. There are seven extant city gates, the oldest of which dates back to the Roman period. These are, clockwise from the north of the citadel:
* [[Bab al-Faradis]] ("the gate of the orchards", or "of the paradise")
* [[Bab al-Salam]] ("the gate of peace"), all on the north boundary of the Old City
* [[Bab Tuma]] ("Touma" or "Thomas's Gate") in the north-east corner, leading into the Christian quarter of the same name,
* [[Bab Sharqi]] ("eastern gate") in the east wall, the only one to retain its Roman plan
* [[Bab Kisan]] in the south-east, from which tradition holds that Saint Paul made his escape from Damascus, lowered from the ramparts in a basket; this gate has been closed and turned into [[Chapel of Saint Paul]] marking this event,
* [[Bab al-Saghir]] (The Small Gate)
* [[Bab al-Jabiya]] at the entrance to Souk Midhat Pasha, in the southwest.
Other areas outside the walled city also bear the name "gate": [[Bab al-Faraj (Damascus)|Bab al-Faraj]], [[Bab Mousalla]] and [[Bab Sreija]], both to the south-west of the walled city.

===Churches in the old city===
* [[File:Damascus Greek Orthodox Patriarchate 1573.jpg|thumb|[[Mariamite Cathedral of Damascus]]]][[Chapel of Saint Paul]]
* [[House of Saint Ananias]]
* [[Mariamite Cathedral of Damascus]]
* [[Cathedral of the Dormition of Our Lady, Damascus|Cathedral of the Dormition of Our Lady]]
* Saint John the Damascene Church
* Saint Paul's Laura
* [[Cathedral of Saint George, Damascus|Saint George's Syriac Orthodox Cathedral]]

===Islamic sites in the old city===
[[File:Saladin mouselum tomb Damascus.jpg|thumb|Saladin mausoleum]]
[[File:Bilal-al-Habashi.jpg|thumb|Grave of [[Bilal ibn Rabah]] in [[Bab al-Saghir]] cemetery, Damascus]]
* [[Umayyad Mosque]], also known as the Great Mosque of Damascus
* [[Sayyidah Ruqayya Mosque]]
* [[Bab Saghir]] Cemetery
* [[Mausoleum of Saladin]]
* [[Nabi Habeel Mosque]]

===Madrasas===
* [[Al-Adiliyah Madrasa]]
* [[Az-Zahiriyah Library]]
* [[Nur al-Din Madrasa]]

===Khans===
* [[Khan Jaqmaq]]
* [[Khan As'ad Pasha]]
* [[Khan Sulayman Pasha]]

===Old Damascene houses===
[[File:Damascusalley.JPG|thumb|upright|Narrow alley in old Damascus]]
* [[Azm Palace]], originally built in 1750 as the residence for the [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] governor of Damascus [[As'ad Pasha al-Azm]], housing the Museum of Arts and Popular Traditions.
* [[Bayt al-Aqqad]]
* [[Bayt Farhi]], a large late-18th-century courtyard Jewish mansion built for the prominent Farhi family.
* [[Maktab Anbar]], a mid-19th-century Jewish private mansion, restored by the [[Ministry of Culture (Syria)|Ministry of Culture]] in 1976 to serve as a library, exhibition center, museum and craft workshops.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://archnet.org/sites/203/media_contents/20341 |title=Archnet, Maktab Anbar Restoration |access-date=9 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151227013955/http://archnet.org/sites/203/media_contents/20341 |archive-date=27 December 2015 |url-status=live }}</ref>
* [[Beit al-Mamlouka Hotel|Beit al-Mamlouka]], a 17th-century Damascene house, serving as a luxury [[boutique hotel]] within the old city since 2005.

===Threats to the future of the old City===
Due to the rapid decline of the population of Old Damascus (between 1995 and 2009 about 30,000 people moved out of the old city for more modern accommodation),<ref name="Hendawi">{{cite news|last1=Hendawi|first1=Hamza|title=Old Damascus struggles to cope in the new Syria|url=http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/sdut-ml-syria-saving-old-city-020109-2009feb01-story.html|access-date=13 August 2017|agency=Associated Press|newspaper=The San Diego Union-Tribune|date=2009-02-01|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170813224640/http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/sdut-ml-syria-saving-old-city-020109-2009feb01-story.html|archive-date=13 August 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> a growing number of buildings are being abandoned or are falling into disrepair. In March 2007, the local government announced that it would be demolishing Old City buildings along a {{convert|1400|m|ft|abbr=on}} stretch of rampart walls as part of a redevelopment scheme. These factors resulted in the Old City being placed by the [[World Monuments Fund]] on its 2008 Watch List of the 100 Most Endangered Sites in the world.<ref name=press_release>{{cite web|author1=World Monuments Fund|title=2008 World Monuments Watch List Of 100 Most Endangered Sites |url=http://www.wmf.org/sites/default/files/wmf_publication/Watch_2008_site_descriptions_0.pdf |website=World Monuments Fund |access-date=27 July 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130320161546/http://www.wmf.org/sites/default/files/wmf_publication/Watch_2008_site_descriptions_0.pdf |archive-date=20 March 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=2008 Panelists Bios |publisher=World Monuments Fund |url=http://www.wmf.org/pdf/Watch_2008_panel.pdf |access-date=3 September 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080513042550/http://wmf.org/pdf/Watch_2008_panel.pdf |archive-date=13 May 2008 }}</ref> It is hoped that its inclusion on the list will draw more public awareness to these significant threats to the future of the historic Old City of Damascus.

====State of old Damascus====
In spite of the recommendations of the [[UNESCO]] World Heritage Center:<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.britishsyriansociety.org/dam2020/recommendations.asp |title=The British Syrian Society |publisher=The British Syrian Society|access-date=29 May 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070623050426/http://www.britishsyriansociety.org/dam2020/recommendations.asp |archive-date=2007-06-23}}</ref>
* [[Souq al-Atiq]], a protected buffer zone, was destroyed in three days in November 2006;
* [[King Faysal Street]], a traditional hand-craft region in a protected buffer zone near the walls of Old Damascus between the Citadel and ''Bab Touma'', is threatened by a proposed motorway.
* In 2007, the [[Ancient City of Damascus|Old City of Damascus]] and notably the district of [[Bab Tuma]] have been recognized by The World Monument Fund as one of the most endangered sites in the world.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.worldmonuments.org/ |title=Worldmonuments.org |publisher=Worldmonuments.org |access-date=6 November 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020930193523/http://www.worldmonuments.org/ |archive-date=30 September 2002 }}</ref>

In October 2010, [[Global Heritage Fund]] named Damascus one of 12 [[Cultural heritage|cultural heritage sites]] most "on the verge" of irreparable loss and destruction.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://globalheritagefund.org/vanishing |title=GHF |publisher=Global Heritage Fund |access-date=1 June 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110515054040/http://globalheritagefund.org/vanishing |archive-date=15 May 2011}}</ref>

==Education==
[[File:Damascus university internal view.jpg|thumb|[[Damascus University]]]]
Damascus is the main center of education in Syria. It is home to [[Damascus University]], which is the oldest and largest university in Syria. After the enactment of legislation allowing private higher institutions, several new universities were established in the city and the surrounding area, including:
* [[Syrian Virtual University]]
* [[International University for Science and Technology]]
* [[Syrian Private University]]<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://spu.edu.sy/index.php?&lang=2|title=Syrian Private University|access-date=2018-12-02|language=en-EN|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181202155321/http://spu.edu.sy/index.php?&lang=2|archive-date=2 December 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>
* [[Arab International University]]
* [[University of Kalamoon]]
* [[Yarmouk Private University]]
* [[Wadi International University]]
* [[Al-Jazeera University]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://jude.edu.sy/|title=Aljazeera Private University|website=jude.edu.sy|access-date=15 July 2022|archive-date=28 July 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220728140233/https://jude.edu.sy/|url-status=live}}</ref>
* European University Damascus

The institutes play an important rule in the education, including:
* Higher Institute of Business Administration
* [[Higher Institute of Applied Sciences and Technology (Damascus)|Higher Institute of Applied Science and Technology]]
* [[Higher Institute of Dramatic Arts (Damascus)|Higher Institute of Dramatic Arts]]
* National Institute of Administration
In Damascus, Higher education in Syrian Arab Republic started with sustainable development steps through Damascus University.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Al-Raeei |first=Marwan |date=2023-05-22 |title=Analysing of the sustainable development goals in Damascus University during Syrian crisis using the strategy in the university and the bibliometrics data from SciVal |journal=Discover Sustainability |language=en |volume=4 |issue=1 |article-number=24 |doi=10.1007/s43621-023-00140-y |issn=2662-9984 |pmc=10201509 |pmid=37251498|bibcode=2023DiSus...4...24A }}</ref> 
* Additional:
**Syrian International Academy for Training and Development

==Transportation==
[[File:Damascus, Syria, Highway.jpg|thumb|A highway in Damascus|left]]
Damascus is linked with other major cities in Syria via a [[Transport in Syria|motorway network]]. The [[M5 Motorway (Syria)|M5]] connects Damascus with [[Homs]], [[Hama]], [[Aleppo]] and [[Turkey]] in the north and [[Jordan]] in the south. The M1 is going from Homs onto [[Latakia]] and [[Tartus]].
The [[M4 Motorway (Syria)|M4]] links the city with [[Al-Hasakah]] and [[Iraq]]. The [[M1 motorway (Syria)|M1 highway]] connects the city to western Syria and [[Beirut]].

The main airport is [[Damascus International Airport]], approximately {{convert|20|km|mi|abbr=on}} away from the city, with connections to a few Middle Eastern cities. Before the beginning of the [[Syrian civil war]], the airport had connectivity to many Asian, European, African, and, South American cities.
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. Many taxi companies operate in Damascus. Fares are regulated by law and taxi drivers are obliged to use a [[taximeter]].[[File:King Long KLQ 6118GQ bus in Damascus.JPG|[[King Long]] KLQ 6118GQ bus used for public transport in Damascus|thumb]]

[[Public transport]] in Damascus depends extensively on [[buses]] and [[minibuses]]. There are about one hundred lines that operate inside the city and some of them extend from the city center to nearby suburbs. There is no schedule for the lines, and due to the limited number of official bus stops, buses will usually stop wherever a passenger needs to get on or off. The number of buses serving the same line is relatively high, which minimizes the waiting time. Lines are not numbered, rather they are given captions mostly indicating the two endpoints and possibly an important station along the line. Between 2019 and 2022, more than 100 modern buses were delivered from [[China]] as part of the international agreement. These deliveries strengthened and modernized the public transport of Damascus.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://sana.sy/en/?p=276570|title=Syria receives one hundred domestic traffic-buses offered by China|author=Mazen Eyon|publisher=SANA|date=29 June 2022|access-date=10 July 2022|archive-date=7 July 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220707011252/http://sana.sy/en/?p=276570|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://sana.sy/en/?p=168016|title=China grants 100 buses to Syria in contribution to enhancing transport sector|author=Ruaa al-Jazaeri|publisher=SANA|access-date=10 July 2022|date=20 June 2019|archive-date=10 July 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220710062328/https://sana.sy/en/?p=168016|url-status=live}}</ref>[[File:Damascus-Hejaz station.jpg|thumb|[[Hejaz Railway Station|Al-Hejaz Station]]]]

Served by [[Chemins de Fer Syriens]], the former main railway station of Damascus was [[Hejaz Railway|al-Hejaz railway station]], about {{convert|1|km|mi|frac=8|abbr=on}} west of the old city. The station is now defunct and the tracks have been removed, but there still is a ticket counter and a shuttle to Damascus [[Qadam]] station in the south of the city, which now functions as the main railway station.

In 2008, the government announced a plan to construct a Damascus Metro.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.damascus-metro.com |title=الخط الأخضر " أهلاً بكم في موقع الخط الأخضر |publisher=Damascus-metro.com |access-date=29 May 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080911213856/http://www.damascus-metro.com/ |archive-date=11 September 2008 |url-status=dead}}</ref> The green line will be an essential west–east axis for the future public transportation network, serving Moadamiyeh, Sumariyeh, Mezzeh, Damascus University, Hijaz, the Old City, Abbassiyeen and Qaboun Pullman bus station. A four-line metro network is expected to be in operation by 2050.

==Culture==
[[File:Damascus National Museum Umayyad Castle Gate.jpg|thumb|[[National Museum of Damascus]]|left]]
Damascus was chosen as the [[2008 Arab Capital of Culture]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://damascus.org.sy/ |title=دمشق عاصمة الثقافة العربية 2008 |publisher=Damascus.org.sy |access-date=27 December 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110805132907/http://damascus.org.sy/ |archive-date=5 August 2011 }}</ref> The preparation for the festivity began in February 2007 with the establishing of the Administrative Committee for "Damascus Arab Capital of Culture" by a presidential decree.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://damascus.org.sy/?d=298 |title=مجلس الإدارة و المجلس الاستشاري |publisher=Damascus.org.sy |date=22 October 2007 |access-date=20 June 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110511170247/http://damascus.org.sy/?d=298 |archive-date=11 May 2011}}</ref> Museums in Damascus includes [[National Museum of Damascus]], [[Azem Palace]], Military Museum, [[October War Panorama]] Museum, Museum of Arabic Calligraphy and [[Nur al-Din Bimaristan]]

===Sports and leisure===
[[File:Al-Fayhaa Stadium in Damascus, Syria as seen from Mount Qasioun.jpg|thumb|[[Al-Fayhaa Sports Complex]]|left]]
Popular sports include [[association football|football]], [[basketball]], swimming, tennis, table tennis, [[Equestrianism|equestrian]] and [[chess]]. Damascus is home to many football clubs that participate in the [[Syrian Premier League]] including [[Al-Jaish SC (Syria)|al-Jaish]], [[Al-Shorta SC (Syria)|al-Shorta]], [[Al-Wahda SC (Syria)|Al-Wahda]] and [[Al-Majd SC|Al-Majd]]. Many Other sports clubs are located in several districts of the city: [[Barada SC]], [[Al-Nidal SC]], [[Al-Muhafaza SC|Al-Muhafaza]], Qasioun SC, al-Thawra SC, Maysalun SC, al-Fayhaa SC, Dummar SC, al-Majd SC and al-Arin SC.

The [[1976 Pan Arab Games|fifth]] and the [[1992 Pan Arab Games|seventh]] [[Pan Arab Games]] were held in Damascus in 1976 and 1992 respectively.

The now modernized Al-Fayhaa Sports City features a basketball court and a hall that can accommodate up to 8,000 people. In late November 2021, [[Syria's national basketball team]] played there against [[Kazakhstan men's national basketball team|Kazakhstan]], making Damascus host of Syria's first international basketball tournament in almost two decades.<ref>{{cite news |author1=Albert Aji |title=Syria hosts first international basketball tourney in years |url=https://apnews.com/article/sports-middle-east-basketball-syria-damascus-44e346190adea0ad9381d1b217e03b42 |accessdate=14 December 2021 |work=[[Associated Press]] |date=29 November 2021 |archive-date=14 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211214064719/https://apnews.com/article/sports-middle-east-basketball-syria-damascus-44e346190adea0ad9381d1b217e03b42 |url-status=live }}</ref>

The city also has a modern golf course located near the Ebla Cham Palace Hotel on the southeastern outskirts of Damascus.

Damascus has a busy nightlife. [[Coffeehouse]]s offer [[Arabic coffee]], [[Arabic tea|tea]] and  [[nargileh]] (water pipes). [[Card game]]s, [[Tables (board game)|tables]] ([[backgammon]] variants), and [[chess]] are activities frequented in cafés.<ref>Beatties and Pepper, 2001, p. 102.</ref> These coffeehouses had an international reputation in the past, as indicated by [[Letitia Elizabeth Landon]]'s poetical illustration, ''Cafes in Damascus'', to a picture by [[William Henry Bartlett]] in Fisher's Drawing Room Scrap Book, 1837.<ref>{{cite book|last=Landon|first=Letitia Elizabeth|title=Fisher's Drawing Room Scrap Book, 1837|url=https://play.google.com/books/reader?id=39BbAAAAQAAJ&pg=GBS.PA10|section=picture|year=1836|publisher=Fisher, Son & Co.|access-date=6 December 2022|archive-date=6 December 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221206114753/https://play.google.com/books/reader?id=39BbAAAAQAAJ&pg=GBS.PA10|url-status=live}}{{cite book|last=Landon|first=Letitia Elizabeth|title=Fisher's Drawing Room Scrap Book, 1837|url=https://play.google.com/books/reader?id=39BbAAAAQAAJ&pg=GBS.PA12|section=poetical illustration|page=9|year=1836|publisher=Fisher, Son & Co.|access-date=6 December 2022|archive-date=6 December 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221206114749/https://play.google.com/books/reader?id=39BbAAAAQAAJ&pg=GBS.PA12|url-status=live}}</ref> Current movies can be seen at Cinema City which was previously known as [[Cinema Dimashq]].
{{wikisource|Letitia Elizabeth Landon (L. E. L.) in Fisher's Drawing Room Scrap Book, 1837/Cafes in Damascus|Cafes in Damascus,<br>a poetical illustration<br />by L. E. L.}}

[[Tishreen Park]] is one of the largest parks in Damascus. It is home to the annual Damascus Flower Show. Other parks include al-Jahiz, al-Sibbki, al-Tijara, al-Wahda, etc... The city's famous [[Ghouta]] oasis is also a weekend destination for recreation. Many recreation centers operate in the city including sports clubs, swimming pools, and golf courses. The Syrian Arab Horse Association in Damascus offers a wide range of activities and services for horse breeders and riders.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.saha-sy.org/ |title=Syrian Arab Horse Association |publisher=Saha-sy.org |access-date=20 June 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100712044901/http://www.saha-sy.org/ |archive-date=12 July 2010 |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Nearby attractions===
[[File:Alzabadani.JPG|thumb|Zabadani resort near Damascus]]
[[File:Bakdash ice-cream shop in the old souk in Damascus.jpg|thumb|upright=.8|[[Booza]] being sold in the [[Bakdash (ice cream parlor)|Bakdash]] ice cream shop in the Damascus market]]
* [[Madaya, Syria|Madaya]]: a small mountainous town and well-known holiday resort.
* [[Bloudan]]: a town located {{convert|51|km|abbr=on}} north-west of Damascus, its moderate temperature and low humidity in summer attracts many visitors from Damascus and throughout Syria, Lebanon and the [[Persian Gulf]].
* [[Zabadani]]: a city close to the border with Lebanon. Its mild weather along with the scenic views, made the town a popular resort both for tourists and for visitors from other Syrian cities.
* [[Maaloula]]: a town dominated by speakers of [[Western Neo-Aramaic]].
* [[Saidnaya]]: a city located in the mountains, {{convert|1500|m|0}} [[Above mean sea level|above sea level]], it was one of the episcopal cities of the ancient [[Patriarchate of Antioch]].

==Twin towns – sister cities==
{{see also|List of twin towns and sister cities in Asia#Syria}}
{{div col|colwidth=20em}}
*{{flagicon|TUR}} [[Ankara]], Turkey<ref>{{cite web|title=Ankaranın Kardeş Şehirleri|url=https://www.ankara.bel.tr/genel-sekreter/genel-sekreter-yardimcisi-faruk-cinki/dis-liskiler-daire-baskanligi/ankaranin-kardes-sehirleri/|website=ankara.bel.tr|publisher=Ankara|language=tr|access-date=2020-09-16|archive-date=25 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201025172312/https://www.ankara.bel.tr/genel-sekreter/genel-sekreter-yardimcisi-faruk-cinki/dis-liskiler-daire-baskanligi/ankaranin-kardes-sehirleri/|url-status=dead}}</ref>
*{{flagicon|KAZ}} [[Astana]], Kazakhstan{{citation needed|date=November 2020}}
*{{flagicon|ROU}} [[Bucharest]], Romania<ref>{{cite web|title=Care-i cel mai... înfrățit oraș din România? Care-i cu americanii, care-i cu rușii? Și care-i înfrățit cu Timișoara...|url=https://www.banatulazi.ro/care-i-cel-mai-infratit-oras-din-romania-care-i-cu-americanii-care-i-cu-rusii-si-care-i-infratit-cu-timisoara/|website=banatulazi.ro|publisher=Banatul Azi|language=ro|date=2016-08-06|access-date=2020-09-16|archive-date=21 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201221034421/https://www.banatulazi.ro/care-i-cel-mai-infratit-oras-din-romania-care-i-cu-americanii-care-i-cu-rusii-si-care-i-infratit-cu-timisoara/|url-status=live}}</ref>
*{{flagicon|ARG}} [[Buenos Aires]], Argentina<ref>{{cite web|title=Convenios Internacionales|url=https://www.buenosaires.gob.ar/internacionalesycooperacion/relacionesbilaterales/convenios|website=buenosaires.gob.ar|publisher=Buenos Aires|language=es|access-date=2020-09-16|archive-date=3 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200803135328/https://www.buenosaires.gob.ar/internacionalesycooperacion/relacionesbilaterales/convenios|url-status=live}}</ref>
*{{flagicon|ESP}} [[Córdoba, Spain|Córdoba]], Spain<ref>{{cite web|title=Las 12 hermanas de Córdoba|url=https://www.diariocordoba.com/noticias/cordobalocal/12-ciudades-hermanadas-cordoba_1353134.html|website=diariocordoba.com|publisher=Diario Córdoba|language=es|date=2020-02-10|access-date=2020-09-16|archive-date=21 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201021164614/https://www.diariocordoba.com/noticias/cordobalocal/12-ciudades-hermanadas-cordoba_1353134.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
*{{flagicon|UAE}} [[Dubai]], United Arab Emirates<ref>{{cite web|title=Internationale samenwerking|url=https://www.ajmannews.ae/news.php?id=39961&cat_id=2|website=ajmannews.ae|publisher=Ajman News|language=ar|date=2019-12-16|access-date=2020-07-03|archive-date=5 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201205115818/https://www.ajmannews.ae/news.php?id=39961&cat_id=2|url-status=live}}</ref>
*{{flagicon|TUR}} [[Istanbul]], Turkey<ref>{{cite web|title=Sister Cities of Istanbul|url=http://www.greatistanbul.com/sister_cities.html|website=greatistanbul.com|publisher=Istanbul|access-date=2020-09-16|archive-date=28 October 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161028163059/http://www.greatistanbul.com/sister_cities.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>
*{{flagicon|MAR}} [[Rabat]], Morocco 
*{{flagicon|ESP}} [[Toledo, Spain|Toledo]], Spain<ref>{{cite web|title=Toledo's sister cities|url=https://www.destinotoledo.com/en/toledos-sister-cities/|website=destinotoledo.com|publisher=Destino Toledo|date=2016-05-17|access-date=2020-09-16|archive-date=14 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414070700/https://www.destinotoledo.com/en/toledos-sister-cities/|url-status=live}}</ref>
*{{flagicon|ARM}} [[Yerevan]], Armenia<ref>{{cite web|title=Sister cities|url=https://www.yerevan.am/en/partner/sister-cities/|website=yerevan.am|publisher=Yerevan|access-date=2020-09-16|archive-date=29 March 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170329102031/http://www.yerevan.am/en/partner/sister-cities/|url-status=live}}</ref>
{{div col end}}

==Notable people==
{{main|List of people from Damascus}}

==See also==
*[[Damascus Document]]
*[[List of World Heritage in Danger]]

==Notes==
{{notelist}}
{{reflist|group="note"|22em}}
{{Clear}}

==References==
{{Reflist|22em}}

===Bibliography===
{{See also|Timeline of Damascus#Bibliography|l1=Bibliography of the history of Damascus}}
* {{Cite book|title=Apollodorus of Damascus and Trajan's Column|first1=Maamoun|last1=Abdulkarim|publisher=L'Erma di Bretschneider|year=2003|isbn=978-8-8826-5233-3 }}
* {{Cite book|title=The MacMillan Bible Atlas|first1=Yohanan|last1=Aharoni|first2=Michael|last2=Avi-Yonah|publisher=Carta Ltd.|year=1977|isbn=978-0-7318-1071-0}}
* {{cite journal|last=Amitai|first=Reuven|author-link=Reuven Amitai|title=Mongol Raids into Palestine (AD 1260 and 1300)|journal=[[Royal Asiatic Society|Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society]]|year=1987|pages=236–255}}
* {{Cite book|title=Damascus: A History|first1=Ross|last1=Burns|publisher=Routledge|year=2005|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1_bQTrpf62cC|isbn=978-0-415-27105-9 }}
* {{Cite book|title=Il Minareto di Gesù|first1=Stefano|last1=Cammelli|publisher=Il Mulino|year=2006}}
* {{Cite book|last1=Crawford |first1=Peter |title=The War of the Three Gods: Romans, Persians and the Rise of Islam |date=2013 |publisher=Pen and Sword |isbn=9781473828650 |language=en}}
* {{Cite book|last=Demurger|first=Alain|title=Jacques de Molay|language=fr|publisher=Editions Payot&Rivages|year=2007|isbn=978-2-228-90235-9}}
* {{Cite book|title=First to Damascus: The story of the Australian Light Horse and Lawrence of Arabia|last1=Hamilton|first1=Jill, Duchess of |year=2002|publisher=Kangaroo Press |isbn=978-0-7318-1071-0}}
* {{cite book|title=Ibn Khaldūn and Tamerlane: Their Historic Meeting in Damascus, 1401 A.d. (803 A. H.) A Study Based on Arabic Manuscripts of Ibn Khaldūn's "Autobiography," | last=[[Ibn Khaldun]] |translator=Walter Joseph Fischel |publisher= University of California Press |year=1952 }}
* {{Cite book| last = Kaegi| first =Walter Emil | author-link=Walter Kaegi | title =Heraclius: Emperor of Byzantium| publisher =Cambridge University Press| year =2003|isbn = 0-521-81459-6|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tlNlFZ_7UhoC}}
* {{cite book|last=Nicolle|first=David|title=The Crusades|series=Essential Histories|publisher=Osprey Publishing|year=2001|isbn=978-1-84176-179-4|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/crusades00nico}}
* {{Cite book|last=Runciman|first=Steven|title=A History of the Crusades: Volume 3, The Kingdom of Acre and the Later Crusades|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=1987|isbn=9780521347723}}
* {{cite journal|title=Gesta Dei per Mongolos 1300. The Genesis of a Non-Event|last=Schein|first=Sylvia|journal=The English Historical Review|volume=94|issue=373|date=October 1979|pages=805–819|doi=10.1093/ehr/XCIV.CCCLXXIII.805|jstor=565554}}
* {{Cite book|title=The Innocents Abroad |last=Twain |first=Mark |publisher=American Publishing Company |year=1869 }}

==External links==
{{Sister project links|auto=yes|commonscat=yes|d=yes}}
* {{Cite EB1911 |wstitle=Damascus|first=R. A. Stewart |last=Macalister |authorlink=R. A. Stewart Macalister |short=x}}
* [http://aleph.nli.org.il:80/F/?func=direct&doc_number=002370090&local_base=NNLMAP Map of Damascus, 1929], Eran Laor Cartographic Collection, The National Library of Israel, [http://historic-cities.huji.ac.il/syria/damascus/maps/tfl_1929_damascus.html Historic Cities Research Project].

{{Damascus|state=collapsed}}
{{Cities of Syria}}
{{List of Asian capitals by region}}
{{Decapolis cities}}
{{Capitals of Arab countries}}
{{World Heritage Sites in Syria}}
{{Arab Capital of Culture}}{{Ancient states and regions of the Levant}}{{Roman colonies in ancient Levant}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Damascus| ]]
[[Category:Cities in Syria]]
[[Category:Levant]]
[[Category:Sufi Muslim communities in Syria]]
[[Category:Capitals in Asia]]
[[Category:Amarna letters locations]]
[[Category:Archaeological sites in Rif Dimashq Governorate]]
[[Category:Capitals of caliphates]]
[[Category:Populated places along the Silk Road]]
[[Category:Populated places established in the 7th millennium BC]]
[[Category:World Heritage Sites in Danger]]
[[Category:New Testament cities]]