The relationship between Turkiye and Syria is like a dense tapestry woven with threads of imperial legacy, ideological divergence and strategic recalibration. From the Ottoman conquest of Syria in 1516 to the 21st-century refugee crisis, the story is not merely one of borders and treaties, but also of civilisational crossroads and shifting identities.

For more than four centuries, Syria existed as an essential component of the Ottoman Empire. The collapse of the empire following World War I together with the establishment of the Republic of Turkiye in 1923 triggered a defining shift in both Turkish identity and foreign policy. With Mustafa Kemal Ataturk’s secular and Western-oriented state vision, Turkiye distanced itself from the Arab world. In his book, The Ottoman Empire and the World Around It, historian Ilber Ortayli explains that Turkiye’s separation from Arab provinces resulted in both territorial losses and cultural as well as ideological detachment (Ortayli, 2007, p132).

The issue of Hatay crystallised early tensions. After intense Turkish lobbying and a controversial 1939 referendum that was regarded widely as neither free nor fair, Hatay broke away from the French Mandate of Syria to join Turkiye.

The leadership of Syria continues to reject the loss of Hatay despite its official status as part of Turkiye.

According to Raymond Hinnebusch and Ozlem Tur in Turkiye–Syria Relations: Between Enmity and Amity, the Hatay question created a deep national psychological wound for Syria that has resulted in enduring........

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