At the military court for the assassination of Colonel Adnan al-Malki, the Deputy Chief-of-Staff of the Syrian Army. Seated in the middle is judge Afif al-Bizreh (who became Chief-of-Staff in 1957), and to the left is Colonel Amin al-Nfuri.

Akram Hawrani (far right), the speaker of the Syrian Parliament, with Chief-of-Staff Afif al-Bizreh on the eve of Syria’s merger with Egypt to form the United Arab Republic (UAR) in 1958.

A group of Syrian officers in Cairo in January 1958, demanding union with Gamal Abdul Nasser’s Egypt. The Syrian delegation went to Egypt without authorization from Syrian President Shukri al-Quwatli and famously, cornered the Syrian government into union talks with Nasser. Back row (left to right): Hussein Hiddeh, Mustapha Hamdun, Bashir Sadiq, and Jaddo Izzeddine. Middle row (left to right): Mohammad Nisr, Yassin Farjani, Amin al-Hafez (future President of the Syrian Republic), Tomeh al-Awadallah, and Mohammad al-Sufi.

Prince Fahd Ibn Abdul-Aziz (later king of Saudi Arabia) at the Presidential Palace in Damascus being escorted to meet President Shukri al-Quwatli in the late 1950s.

President Shukri al-Quwatli receiving King Hussein of Jordan at the Presidential Palace in Damascus in 1957. Standing between both men is Fouad al-Halabi, the bureau chief of the Syrian President.

A poster for the “Free Theatre Group” (one of the first in Syria) dating back to the union years between Syria and Egypt (1958-1961). The show was held at the Damascus International Fair, staring the Syrian comedian Abdul-Latif Fathi.