1 One of the oldest cities in existence , Damascus is the capital and largest city of Syria , in the Middle East .
1 Arabic Dimashq city , capital of Syria .

2 It lies some 50 miles ( 80 kilometers ) from the Mediterranean Sea on the banks of the Barada River .
18 Some 50 miles ( 80 kilometres ) from the sea , yet separated from it by two mountain ranges , Damascus receives only about seven inches ( 178 millimetres ) of rain annually , most of it from November through February .

3 It is also at the eastern end of the only easy route through the Anti-Lebanon Mountains .
16 Its position on the edge of the desert and at the eastern end of the only easy route through the Anti-Lebanon range also made it a trade centre where caravan routes originated and terminated .

4 Over thousands of years , the city has been important for trade .
16 Its position on the edge of the desert and at the eastern end of the only easy route through the Anti-Lebanon range also made it a trade centre where caravan routes originated and terminated .

6 Damascus has a great amount of charm .
8 Now a burgeoning metropolis of the Middle East , it retains , as it has through centuries of triumph and disaster , an indomitable spirit and a not inconsiderable charm .

9 The area where the mosque stands has been the site of various religious buildings , including the Roman Temple of Jupiter , since the 9th century BC .
110 About 220 yards east of it is the Great Mosque of Damascus , built by the Umayyads on the same site as the Byzantine Church of St . John , the Roman Temple of Jupiter , and the Aramaean sanctuary of Hadad .

16 Damascus University , begun in 1923 , is the largest of Syria's universities .
86 The University of Damascus , founded in 1923 , is the largest and oldest of Syria's four universities , and there are several institutes of technical training .

22 Like other nearby cities , Damascus was an ancient trade center , and it changed hands frequently in wars between many kingdoms -- including the Assyrians , Persians , Greeks , and Romans -- in its early history .
105 In succeeding centuries before Christ , it fell like other capitals of the Middle East to foreign conquerors -- to Assyrians in the 8th century , Babylonians in the 7th , Persians in the 6th , Greeks in the 4th , and Romans in the 1st .

23 After 635 AD , Muslim Arabs ruled Damascus .
116 As a result , Damascus opened its gates not unwillingly to the Muslim armies in 635 .

24 For almost 100 years , from 661 to 750 , it was the capital of the Muslim world .
119 The city was renowned for almost a century thereafter as the capital of a luxurious and extensive empire -- the most far-reaching of any achieved by Islam .

26 During this period the city endured attacks by the Mongols and others .
135 Damascus was the second city -- after Cairo -- of the Mamluk Empire , its first line of defense , and the staging point for attacks to drive out crusaders and Mongols .

28 By the 14th century the city had grown well beyond its old walls .
137 In the 14th century as many Damascenes lived outside the walls as within .

29 After a battle in 1516 , Damascus became part of the Ottoman Empire .
148 With the Ottoman conquest of Syria in 1516 , Damascus lost its political strength yet retained its commercial importance .

32 During World War I ( 1914-18 ) , the city was the headquarters of the Ottoman and German armies in the region .
165 During World War I the Syrian capital was the combined headquarters of Ottoman and German forces in their thrust to the Suez Canal and subsequent defensive war against British forces and their Arab allies .

33 After the Ottomans were defeated in the war , Damascus and Syria came under the control of France .
172 A few months later , the French , with a League of Nations mandate , defeated his army and entered the city .

36 In 1946 Syria became an independent republic with Damascus as its capital .
177 Once again Damascus was the capital of an independent Syria .

38 After World War II the population grew with amazing speed , mainly because thousands of families moved there from rural areas .
51 Damascus ' population of more than 1,200,000 represents a fivefold increase since 1945 .

38 After World War II the population grew with amazing speed , mainly because thousands of families moved there from rural areas .
52 It has grown at a rate higher than that of the country as a whole due mainly to migration from rural areas .

39 The United Nations Education , Scientific , and Cultural Organization ( UNESCO ) placed the Old City on its World Heritage List of cultural treasures in 1979 .
43 The Old City was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1979 .