Battle of Kadesh
Ramesses II's Egyptian army fights the Hittites near Kadesh in Syria, one of the largest chariot battles of antiquity.
Ramesses II's Egyptian army fights the Hittites near Kadesh in Syria, one of the largest chariot battles of antiquity.
Many Eastern Mediterranean states, including the Hittite Empire, collapse or decline sharply during a prolonged period of upheaval.
Rashidun Muslim forces defeat the Byzantine army, opening the way to the conquest of Syria and the Levant.
Launched after the fall of Edessa and led by Louis VII of France and Conrad III of Germany, the crusade ends in failure before Damascus.
Selim I defeats the Mamluks, annexing Syria, Egypt and the Hejaz and making the Ottomans the leading power of the Muslim world.
French forces under Napoleon Bonaparte occupy Egypt but are eventually forced out; the expedition sparks European Egyptology.
During the First World War, Ottoman authorities carry out mass deportations and killings of Armenians, causing roughly a million or more deaths.
With British backing, Sharif Hussein of Mecca launches an uprising against the Ottoman Empire seeking Arab independence.
Neighbouring Arab states go to war with Israel; the war ends with the 1949 armistice agreements, and about 700,000 Palestinians flee or are expelled from their homes.
Israel fights Egypt, Jordan and Syria, capturing the Sinai Peninsula, the Gaza Strip, the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) and the Golan Heights.
Egypt and Syria launch a surprise attack on Israel to regain Sinai and the Golan; the war ends in a ceasefire and paves the way for later negotiations.
Protests against Bashar al-Assad's government are suppressed and escalate into a multi-sided civil war, causing a major refugee crisis.
The Islamic State group proclaims a 'caliphate' over territory seized in Iraq and Syria; it loses nearly all of it by 2017–2019.
Opposition forces led by Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham enter Damascus; Bashar al-Assad leaves Syria, ending over 50 years of Assad family rule.