Syria

• 1918 October


  Arab troops led by Emir Feisal, and supported by British forces, capture Damascus, ending 400 years of Ottoman rule.
• 1919


  Emir Feisal backs Arab self-rule at the Versailles peace conference, following the defeat of Germany and the Ottoman Empire in World War I.
• 1920 June


  San Remo conference puts Syria-Lebanon under a French mandate and Palestine under British control. King Feisal flees abroad ahead of French occupation forces the following month.
• 1920-21


  Syria is divided into three autonomous regions by the French, with separate areas for the Alawis on the coast and the Druze in the south. Lebanon is separated off entirely.
• 1925-6


  Nationalist agitation against French rule develops into uprising. French forces bombard Damascus.
• 1928


  Elections held for a constituent assembly, which drafts a constitution for Syria. French High Commissioner rejects the proposals, sparking nationalist protests.
• 1936


  France agrees to work towards Syrian independence and dissolves the autonomous regions, but maintains military and economic dominance and keeps Lebanon as a separate state.
• 1941


  British and Free French troops occupy Syria. General De Gaulle promises to end the French mandate.
• 1943


  Veteran nationalist Shukri al-Kuwatli is elected first president of Syria, leads the country to full independence three years later.
• 1947


  Michel Aflaq and Salah-al-Din al-Bitar found the Arab Socialist Baath Party.
• 1949-1954


  Civilian government disrupted by repeated coups.
• 1958 February


  Syria and Egypt form the United Arab Republic. Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser heads the new state. He orders the dissolution of Syrian political parties, to the dismay of the Baath party, which had campaigned for union.
• 1961 September


  Discontent with Egyptian domination prompts a group of Syrian army officers to seize power in Damascus and dissolve the union.
• 1963 March


  Baathist army officers seize power.
• 1967 June


  Israeli forces seize the Golan Heights from Syria and destroy much of Syria's air force in the Six Day War with Egypt, Jordan and Syria.
• 1970 November


  Hafez al-Assad (an Alawite) overthrows president Nur al-Din al-Atasi and imprisons Salah Jadid.
• 1973


  Rioting breaks out after President Assad drops the constitutional requirement that the president must be a Muslim. Suppressed by the army.
• 1973 October


  Syria and Egypt go to war with Israel, but fail to retake the Golan Heights seized in 1967.
• 1975 February


  President Assad says he's prepared to make peace with Israel in return for an Israeli withdrawal from "all occupied Arab land".
• 1976 June


  Syrian army intervenes in the Lebanese civil war to ensure that the status quo is maintained, keeping its Maronite Christian allies in a position of strength.
• 1980


  After the Islamic Revolution in Iran, Muslim groups instigate uprisings and riots in Aleppo, Homs and Hama.
• 1980 September


  Start of Iran-Iraq war. Syria backs Iran, in keeping with the traditional rivalry between Baathist leaderships in Iraq and Syria.
• 1981 December


  Israel formally annexes the Golan Heights.
• 1983 May


  Lebanon and Israel announce the end of hostilities. Syrian forces remain in Lebanon.
• 1990


  Iraq invades Kuwait; Syria joins the US-led coalition against Iraq. This leads to improved relations with Egypt and the US.
• 2000 June


  President Assad dies and is succeeded by his second son, Bashar.
• 2000 November


  The new president orders the release of 600 political prisoners.
• 2001 April


  Outlawed Muslim Brotherhood says it will resume political activity, 20 years after its leaders were forced to flee.
• 2001 June


  Syrian troops evacuate Beirut, redeploy in other parts of Lebanon, following pressure from Lebanese critics of Syria's presence.
• 2001 September


  Detention of MPs and other pro-reform activists, crushing hopes of a break with the authoritarian past of Hafez al-Assad. Arrest continue, punctuated by occasional amnesties, over the following decade.
• 2002 May


  Senior US official includes Syria in a list of states that make-up an "axis of evil", first listed by President Bush in January. Undersecretary for State John Bolton says Damascus is acquiring weapons of mass destruction.
• 2011 March


  Security forces shoot dead protestors in southern city of Deraa demanding release of political prisoners, triggering violent unrest that steadily spread nationwide over the following months.