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Presents a map and excerpt from "Philips' New Historical Atlas for Students." This plate is primarily intended to illustrate the later Crusades, but also serves to illustrate the history of the Eastern Empire in the twelfth, thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. 29 (b) shows the break-up of the Eastern Empire as a result of the Fourth Crusade. In 29 (c), which serves to illustrate the fighting in Syria, note the limits of the territory secured by Frederick II, by treaty in 1229.

This article presents a timeline for the history of Syria from 3,000 B.C. to 2003.

This chapter discusses the history of Syria as of 2003. Its original inhabitants were nomadic tribes that followed their flocks of sheep and goats from place to place in search of food and water. These people belonged to a group known as the Semites. Family and tribal ties have always been more important than government allegiance to people in this area of the world. Although there had never really been a fully realized Syrian state to divide, many people of the Greater Syrian region deeply resented what they saw as the carving up of their homeland. They were especially angry at the loss of their seacoast to Lebanon and Turkey. Equally disturbing was that the French government treated Syria like a colony, rather than as a country that would one day rule itself. In the schools, French was the language used in the classrooms, and the French national anthem was sung every day. Syrians railed against these attempts to force them to become French. It was clear to them that the French policies in Syria were for the benefit of France, not the Syrian people.

The Syrian Arab Republic lies in the heart of one of the most troubled regions in the world today. Before the European victors of World War I divided up much of the Middle East, Syria encompassed an area covering the present-day states of Syria and Lebanon, as well as the northern parts of Saudi Arabia and Jordan and much of Israel. The modern state of Syria is less than two-thirds the size of Greater Syria. The three most prominent terrorist groups with ties to Syria are Hezbollah, Hamas and the Abu Nidal organization.