Syria is one of the oldest lands in the world, inhabited since the beginning, a crossroads of peoples and civilizations where some of the oldest cities of humanity were born, such as Ebla, Mari, Ugarit and Damascus
In the beginning this land was inhabited by Neolithic communities that built villages along the rivers, cultivated the land and raised animals, very soon Syria became a vital center between Mesopotamia, Anatolia and the Levant, its people spoke Semitic languages and founded the first city states, each with its own king, its temples and its laws
Ebla was one of the first great powers of ancient Syria, located in the north near Aleppo, it became famous for its library of clay tablets written in cuneiform that tell of trade with Sumer, Accad and even with Egypt. Ebla was a rich, strong city led by rulers who knew how to deal with both war and diplomacy
Mari, another large city along the Euphrates, was also an important center with splendid palaces and a refined culture, here they spoke Akkadian and worshipped ancient deities and canals were built to irrigate the fields Mari was often disputed between the kings of Mesopotamia and the local lords
In the north of Syria another ancient pearl was born Ugarit a port on the Mediterranean that spoke to the entire world Ugarit was famous for its alphabet one of the oldest in history from here the Phoenician writings developed and then the Greek and Latin ones it was a cosmopolitan city where different cults coexisted merchants from Cyprus from Egypt and the Greek islands
Syria was also a land of conquest the Sumerians the Akkadians the Babylonians and the Assyrians all tried to control it the Assyrians in particular dominated vast areas of Syria building fortified cities and imposing their culture but the Syrian resistance never died out
When the Hittite Empire expanded from the heart of Anatolia it brought with it new wars and new trades the Syrian kings dealt with the Hittites as well as with the Egyptians and often found themselves in the middle of their battles legendary
Damascus, already inhabited in ancient times, became a central city even if for a long time it was not the capital of an empire, it was always one of the most inhabited, most loved, most sacred cities in the Middle East
Then came the Phoenicians, the coastal people who spoke the same language as the Syrians of the north and sailed the seas to found cities in Africa and Spain, they were skilled traders and navigators but their roots were right in coastal Syria
Finally, the Arameans arrived, a Semitic people who spread throughout the region, bringing with them the Aramaic language, which became one of the most spoken in the Near East and remained in use for centuries even after the arrival of the Greeks and Romans
When Alexander the Great conquered the East, Syria also entered the Hellenistic sphere and many of its cities changed face, but under the Greek temples and marble statues the Syrian roots remained deep
Ancient Syria is a world of legendary cities, of lost languages, of temples and palaces buried under the sand but still alive in the memory of history