ABSTRACT
Following the Ottoman victory at Marj Dabiq in 1516, the Mamluk Empire fell to the Ottoman Turks. The Ottomans quickly set their stamp on Syria and exploited the significance of the annual Hajj to underline their religious credentials. The Ottoman takeover restored vigour to the economy. An Ottoman metropolitan style of architecture was introduced in a number of new institutions catering to the Sufi order of mystics. The most notable example was the Tekkiye, designed by the court architect, Sinan. Damascus spread beyond its walls to cater to new institutions. Growth in trade saw the number of khans catering to the trade in bulk goods. Aleppo overtook Damascus given its more advantageous position on international routes from east to west. Damascus governors by the eighteenth century often rotated among appointees of the ʿAzem family who acquired immense wealth and fame as builders but in the end aroused the hostility of the central Ottoman authorities. The occupation of Syria in the 1830s by the forces of Ibrahim Pasha, son of the reformist governor in Cairo, Muhammad ʿAli, did much to shake up the moribund Ottoman system.
