Background
Early history
In a classic example of the tail wagging the dog, Tartus really owes its existence to the small island of Arwad (ancient Greek: Aradous), some 3 km offshore from the modern city. In fact the town’s name reflects this subservient status, being derived from anti-Aradous, or opposite Aradous. (For details of the history of Arwad Island.)
The town was established by the Phoenicians (and called Antaradous) to act as a kind of service base for the more secure Arwad Island. This situation continued following Alexander the Great’s capture of both town and island for the Greeks in 330 BC, and the imposition of Roman rule in 64 BC. In fact, it was not until the Byzantine period (AD 324-638) that Tartus began to outstrip Arwad in importance.
The deciding factor in the change is said to be the Emperor Constantine’s preference for the mainland Christian population over the pagan inhabitants of Arwad Island. Tartus subsequently became known as Constantia, though the name does not appear to have stuck. The association of Tartus with the cult of the Virgin Mary, revived during the Crusader period, is attributed to the town’s early Christian population, and there is reason to suppose that the chapel built here before the fourth century is one of the first in the region dedicated to the Virgin Mary.
The collapse of the Byzantine Empire in the seventh century saw the town fall into Arab hands, though the town was briefly recaptured in AD 968 when Nicephorus Phocas attempted to revive the moribund Byzantine Empire. However, by the time the Crusaders arrived from Europe in 1099, the town had been taken over first by the Fatimids (from Egypt), and then had fallen under the control of the Emir of Tripoli.
The crusades
Except for the town’s recent development and transformation into Syria’s second port, the most important era in Tartus’ history was the medieval period. Tartus was of immense strategic value to the maritime Crusader forces and, though the port was lost to the Muslims almost as quickly as it had been gained in 1099, a concerted effort by Raymond, Count of Toulouse (at the head of the Genoese fleet) saw Tartus recaptured in 1102. He subsequently set about turning the town into a fortified stronghold, renamed Tortosa. In addition to the fortress, work also began on the construction of the Church of Our Lady of Tortosa.
However, divisions within the Crusader community allowed Nur ud-Din, the Muslim ruler of Aleppo, to capture the city briefly in 1152; an event which led Baldwin IV, king of Jerusalem, to hand over control of the city to the Knights Templar. Despite their formidable military reputation, the Templars did not appear to have learnt the lessons of their Frankish predecessors, and in 1188 Nur ud-Din’s nephew, Salah ud-Din, was able to capture and sack most of the town. The Templar garrison survived by retreating into the donjon of the fortress, from where they managed to hold Salah ud-Din at bay. Following the withdrawal of the Arab army, the Templars set about refortifying not just Tortosa but the surrounding countryside as well, building a network of castles that guarded the approach to their coastal stronghold. Tortosa withstood several prolonged assaults by the Mamluk sultan, Baibars in 1267 and 1270), though the fall of the Templars’ stronghold of Acre (in modern-day Israel) in 1291 meant that the writing was on the wall for the Crusader presence in the Holy Land. The Templars rapidly withdrew to Arwad Island and though they maintained a garrison there for the next 12 years, they were hardly able to influence events on the mainland; by 1303 the last of the knights had withdrawn to Cyprus.
Few details are known about the town’s subsequent history, though it appears that most of it may have been destroyed as early as the 14th century. Its revival began under the Ottomans (1516-1917), who used both Tartus and Arwad as a base, though the town’s real expansion must be credited to the period of post-Syrian independence. Tartus is now Syria’s second port (after Lattakia), with a growing industrial sector.
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