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Latakia - History |
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Latakia's
history goes back a long way. In the 2nd Millennium BC Latakia
was part of the Kingdom of Ugarit. Ugarit a Syro-Phoenician kingdom is
being excavated at the moment about 20 km north of Latakia. Then it fell
to the Assyrians, and then the Persians. Later
it became an important part of the Seleucid kingdom and with
corresponding Antioch, Apamea, and Seleucia-on-Tigris was considered one
of the most important cities of this kingdom. It was named after the
mother of Seleucos I the founder of this kingdom, whose name was Laodicea.
It then fell in the hands of all the following occupiers of Syria and
became part of the Roman and Byzantine empires, the Islamic dynasties,
and played an important role in the Crusader wars. It was mentioned in
the Bible in connection with the Apostles. Devastating earthquakes in 494 and 555 badly damaged Latakia, but it was rebuilt by Justinian. Latakia was taken in AD 638 by the Arabs, in 1097 - 1103 by the crusaders, and in 1188 by Saladin. Subsequently the town was administered by Christians from Tripoli, Muslims from Hama, and the Ottoman Turks; it came within the French mandate of Syria and Lebanon in 1920.
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Latakia
