Bronze Age

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  Mentioned for the first time in the fifteenth century BCE in an Egyptian text from the reign of Thuthmose III (r.1479-1457): T-m-ś-q. (Almost certainly a pre-Semitic name.) Thuthmose III established Egyptian rule in Canaan, which was to last until the mid-twelfth century BCE.
• Fertile plain of the Barada river, which emptied in a lake east of the town
• The Amarna Letters (i.e., the fourteenth century BCE) mention a Damascene king named Biryawaza
• First half of the twelfth century: end to the Bronze Age system. We learn about new people in the Near East who, until then, had not made their appearance. The Aramaeans took control of (a/o) Damascus. In the Bible, Damascus and "Aram" can be words for the same, important Iron Age kingdom.

Iron Age

• In the Bible, especially in the Book of Kings, Aram is mentioned as a rival to Israel and Judah. From Assyrian sources, we know that Aram's king Hadad-Ezer (Biblical: Ben-Hadad) was the leader of a Levantine, anti-Assyrian coalition, which managed to keep the Assyrians away in the Battle of Qarqar (853 BCE).
• Main sanctuary: a temple of the thunder-god Hadad
• In the last quarter of the ninth century, Damascus became part of the Assyrian Empire; a revolt in 727 BCE was suppressed.
• Assyria was replaced by Babylonia, which was in turn replaced by Achaemenid Persia. Damascus was used as treasury, but the details escape our understanding.

Hellenistic Age

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  After the battle of Issus (333 BCE), Alexander the Great's general Parmenio captured Damascus.
• Coele Syria was contested between the Ptolemaic and Seleucid Empire. Seleucid Damascus is taken by Ptolemy II Philadelphus in the Carian War (280-279) and reconquered in the First Syrian War (274-272).
• It was redesigned on a gridiron plan. Like all Seleucid towns, it had a "colonnaded street" (mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles as "the street which is called Straight"^note[Acts 9.11.] The temple of Hadad must have been converted to a temple of Zeus, not unlike the sanctuary at Baalbek.
• 97/96 BCE: the Seleucid princes Demetrius III Eucaerus and Philip I Philadelphus, supported by the Ptolemaic king Ptolemy IX Soter Lathyros, seize Damascus
• They expand their power; Philip moved to Beroea (Aleppo) and Demetrius attacks Judaea, but loses control of the situation and is defeated in 87 when the Parthians invade Syria; in Damascus, he is succeeded by a third brother, Antiochus XII Dionysus
• 83/82: Antiochus XII Dionysus is defeated and killed by the Nabataean Arabs; Damascus is seized by Ptolemy of Chalcis

Roman Age

• 64 BCE: Pompey the Great conquers the Seleucid Empire; Damascus becomes part of the Roman province Syria
• Part of the Decapolis^note[Pliny the Elder, Natural History 5.74.]
• The apostle Paul visited Damascus, where he met Ananias and was baptized
• Roman legionary base (III Gallica) at Raphanaea
• Severan age: Damascus recognized as colonia

Damascus, Milestone, inscription mentioning Apollodorus

Damascus, Temple of Jupiter, Outer court with Propylees

Damascus, "Street which is called Straight", Arch

Damascus, Roman wall (near Bab Sharqi)

Late Antiquity

• The temple of Zeus was converted into a church for John the Baptist
• After the battle of the Yarmuk, the city was captured by the Arabs; the church was shared by Christians and Muslims
• Capital of the Umayyad Caliphate
• c.705: the church is converted in the mosque. It still is in use as mosque, but you can recognize all kinds of elements from the former church and temple

Damascus, Temple of Jupiter, Theodosian capital

Damascus, Temple of Jupiter, west wall

Damascus, Temple of Jupiter, south wall, details

Damascus, Umayyad Mosque, Interior