# Timeline of Damascus

The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Damascus, Syria.

## Prior to 7th century

* 965 BCE – Ezron, King of Aram-Zobah conquers Damascus
* 843 BCE – Hazael assassinated Ben-Hadad I and made himself king of Damascus.
* 732 BCE – Neo-Assyrian Empire conquers Damascus
* 572 BCE – Neo-Babylonians conquered Damascus
* 538 BCE – Achaemenid Empire annexes Damascus
* 333 BCE – Alexander the Great conquers Damascus
* 112 BCE – Damascus fell to Antiochus IX Cyzicenus.
* 150 CE – Damascus became a Roman provincial city under Trajan.
* 4th century – Temple of Jupiter built by the Romans.

## 7th–19th centuries

* 613 – Sasanian captured Damascus during the Byzantine–Sasanian War of 602–628
* 634 – Arab conquest of Damascus under Khalid ibn al-Walid.
* 715 – Great Mosque built by Al-Walid I by converting the church of St John the Baptist constructed by Arcadius.
* 789 – Qubbat al-Khazna built.
* 1078 – Citadel of Damascus built.
* 1126 – Crusaders attacked Damascus.
* 1129 – Crusaders march on Damascus.
* 1142 – Al-Mujahidiyah Madrasa established.
* 1154 – Nur al-Din Bimaristan built.
* 1196 – Mausoleum of Saladin built.
* 1215 – Al-Adiliyah Madrasa founded.
* 1216 – Citadel of Damascus rebuilt.
* 1224 – Al-Rukniyah Madrasa built.
* 1229 – Damascus besieged
* 1234 – Aqsab Mosque built.
* 1250 – Qaymariyya hand city over to al-Nasir Yusuf in bloodless coup.
* 1254 – Al-Qilijiyah Madrasa established.
* 1260 – Kitbuga, a confidant of the Mongol Ilkhan Hulagu, captured Damascus. Then, it was captured five days after the Battle of Ain Jalut by the Mamluk Sultanate.
* 1277 – Al-Zahiriyah Library established.
* 1400 – Timur, the Turco-Mongol conqueror, besieges Damascus.
* 1515 – Al-Sibaiyah Madrasa built.
* 1516 – Ottomans under Selim I conquered Damascus from the Mamluks.
* 1518 – Salimiyya Takiyya built.
* 1558 – Sulaymaniyya Takiyya built.
* 1566 – Salimiyya Madrasa established.
* 1574 – Khan al-Harir built.
* 1605 – Printing press established.
* 1736 – Khan Sulayman Pasha built.
* 1750 – Azm Palace built.
* 1752 – Khan As'ad Pasha built.
* 1832 – Captured by Ibrahim Pasha of Egypt.
* 1840 – Return of the city to Turkish domination, when the Egyptians were driven out of Syria.
* 1860 – Massacre; the Moslem population rose against the Christians.
* 1885 – Bakdash (ice cream parlor) established.
* 1900 – Population: 154,000. (approx date)

## 20th century

* 1918 – October: Arab troops led by Emir Feisal, and supported by British Armed Forces, capture Damascus, ending 400 years of Ottoman rule.
* 1920 – July: French Armed Forces occupy Damascus, forcing Feisal to flee abroad.
* 1923 – University founded.
* 1925/6 – French forces bombard Damascus.
* 1928 – Al-Wahda Club of Damascus founded.
* 1933 – Arab Women's Union in Damascus founded.
* 1935 – Population: 193,912.
* 1939 – Chapel of Saint Paul inaugurated.
* 1946 – Population: 303,952.
* 1947 – Al-Jaish Sports Club founded.
* 1960 – Syrian Television begins broadcasting.
* 1961 – September: Discontent with Egyptian domination of the United Arab Republic prompts a group of Syrian Army officers to seize power in Damascus and dissolve the union.
* 1964 – Population: 562,907 (estimate).
* 1970 – Population: 836,668 city; 923,253 urban agglomeration.
* 1977 – Higher Institute for Dramatic Arts founded.
* 1981
** Bomb explodes near Syrian Air Force headquarters.
** Azbakiyah bombing
* 1983 – Higher Institute for Applied Science and Technology founded.
* 1984 – Al-Assad National Library established.
* 1985 – Population: 1,196,710 (estimate).
* 1986 – Bombings
* 1994 – Population: 1,549,000 (estimate).
* 2000 – Spring

## 21st century

* 2004 – Damascus Opera House inaugurated.
* 2006
** February: "Danish and Norwegian embassies in Damascus are set on fire."
** September: "Attack on the US embassy."
* 2008 – Population: 1,680,000 (estimate).
* 2009 – Damascus Securities Exchange founded.
* 2011
** March: Protest; crackdown.
** Syrian civil war begins.
* 2012
** January 2012 al-Midan bombing
** March 2012 Damascus bombings
** April 2012 Damascus bombings
** 10 May 2012 Damascus bombings.
** Summer 2012 Damascus clashes
** Battle of Damascus (2012)
* 2013
** Damascus offensive
* 2018
** May: Syrian Armed Forces recapture the entire city of Damascus.
* 2024
** December: Syrian opposition forces captured the city.