Ancient City of Aleppo
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How it came to be
Aleppo has stood at the crossing of trade routes since the 2nd millennium BC, ruled in turn by Hittites, Assyrians, Akkadians, Greeks, Romans, Umayyads, Ayyubids, Mamluks and Ottomans. The walled old city keeps a Graeco-Roman street plan, and the citadel rises on the hill at its centre.
Saladin's son al-Zahir Ghazi, who ruled Aleppo from 1193 to 1215, rebuilt the citadel, faced its slopes with stone and bridged its moat. It was damaged in the Mongol invasion of 1260 and again by Timur in 1400-1401. The Great Mosque, founded under the Umayyads, was rebuilt in the 12th century, and covered souqs, caravanserais and baths filled the city.
The old city was inscribed in 1986. From 2012, fighting in the Syrian civil war destroyed parts of its old markets, and in 2013 it was placed on the List of World Heritage in Danger. An estimated 30% of the old city was destroyed, and UNESCO's first emergency mission in 2017 reported extensive damage.
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