Byzantine ruling groups frequently attacked the city, periodically recapturing it before losing it again to Arab powers, particularly the Fatimids.

Following World War I, Latakia was assigned to the French mandate of Syria, in which it served as the capital of the autonomous territory of the Alawites.

[8] It was first called Laodikeia on the Coast (Greek: Λαοδίκεια ἡ Πάραλος) by Seleucus I Nicator in honor of his mother, Laodice.

Subsequently, a Roman road was built from southern Anatolia toward Berytus and Damascus, that greatly improved the commerce through the port of Laodicea.

Despite a treaty in 1108 with Bohemond promising to return Latakia to the Byzantine Empire by 1110 it was firmly under the control of the Principality of Antioch,[22] as it was called "La Liche".

[19] This situation remained the same with the city serving as the primary port for the Principality until it was captured following a siege by the Ayyubids, under the rule of Saladin on 23 July 1188.

In circa 1300, Arab geographer al-Dimashqi noted that Latakia had no running water and that trees were scarce, but the city's port was "a wonderful harbor... full of large ships".

[28] From the late 17th century onward it was ruled by the Ibn al-Matarji family, some of whose members would go on to become governors of Damascus Eyalet.

The British, French and Spanish established consulates in the city, so that by mid-century Latakia was serving as co-capital of the entire province (eyalet) of Tripoli, Lebanon.

[30] In 1824, the Ottomans named Muhammad Paşa ibn Alman, a native of the area who was suspected of being an Alawite and a French sympathizer, governor of Latakia.

Like the Druzes, who also had a special status before the end of World War I, the Alawis had a strained relationship with the Ottoman overlords.

A French court-martial in Latakia sentenced Shaykh Saleh to death in absentia and offered a reward of 100,000 francs for information on his whereabouts.

[38] On 3 December 1936, it was decided that the Alawite state would be re-incorporated into Syria as a concession by the French to the Nationalist Bloc, which was the ruling party of the semi-autonomous Syrian government; the decision went into effect in 1937.

[38] In 1942, the Latakia and Druze regions were returned to Syrian control, and by 1946, the French completely left Syria and a new independent government was created.

All but a few classical buildings had been destroyed by the modern era, often by earthquakes; those remaining include a Roman triumphal arch and Corinthian columns known as the Colonnade of Bacchus.

[44] A major highway linked Latakia with Aleppo and the Euphrates valley starting in 1968, supplemented by the completion of a railway line to Homs.

The Syrian government claimed 12 were killed there in clashes in late March,[50] leading to the deployment of the military to restrict movement into and out of the city.

Hundreds of Syrians were reportedly arrested, and by late July, activists in Latakia were telling foreign media they feared a more violent crackdown was coming.

Russian president Vladimir Putin, accompanied by his Syrian counterpart Bashar al-Assad visited the Khmeimim airbase, Russia's main military base in Syria, located just outside Latakia near Jableh on 11 December 2017.

[63] Nearby towns and villages include Kasab to the north, Al-Haffah, Slinfah and Qardaha to the east in the Coastal Mountain Range, and Jableh and Baniyas to the south.

Exports include bitumen (asphalt), cereals, cotton, fruits, eggs, vegetable oil, pottery, and tobacco.

[90] Compared to other Syrian cities, window shopping and evening strolls in the markets is considered a favorite pastime in Latakia.

[82] The exhibits include inscribed tablets from Ugarit, ancient jewellery, coins, figurines, ceramics, pottery, and early Arab and Crusader-era chain-mail suits and swords.

The university first had only 3 faculties, Literature, Science and Agriculture and only an enrollment of 983 students during its founding,[99] but that number largely grew throughout the years to reach more than 70,000 students,[99] making the Latakia University the 3rd largest in Syria, with the number of its faculties rising to 17, including Medicine, Pharmacy, Dentistry, Science, Nursing, Education, Agriculture, Law, History, Electrical and Technical Engineering and Arts, among others.

The marina is built upon foundations of ancient columns, and there are in the town an old gateway and other antiquities, as also sarcophagi and sepulchral caves in the neighbourhood.

This gateway is a remarkable triumphal arch at the southeast corner of the town, almost entire: it is built with four entrances, like the Forum Jani at Rome.

[104] Notable points of interest in the nearby area include the massive Saladin's Castle and the ruins of Ugarit, where some of the earliest alphabetic writings have been found.

Lined with hotels, restaurants and the city museum, the street begins in central Latakia along the Mediterranean coast and ends at Hitteen Square.

Buses transport people to various Syrian, Lebanese, and Turkish cities, including Aleppo, Damascus, Deir ez-Zor, Palmyra, Tripoli, Beirut, Safita, Homs, Hama, Antakya, and Tartous.

On the same street is the older Hob-Hob Bus Station that operates a "depart when full" basis to Damascus and Aleppo.