Turkish-Syrian relations have reached a new low point, due in part to Syria shooting down a Turkish fighter jet. The two countries look back on a complicated history but were long on good terms.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke at the beginning of 2011 of "Turkish-Syrian brotherhood," but those days are long gone. For more than a year, Syrian government troops have fought against opposition forces. Turkey wanted to act as a mediator in the conflict but was ignored by the Syrian regime, leading each of the two to expel diplomats from the other country.
Turkey and Syria's fates long seemed intertwined. For centuries, Syria was part of the Ottoman Empire. Turkish rule extended throughout the region, including parts of North Africa, before the empire broke up during World War I. Afterwards, Arabs in Syria no longer lived under Turkish rule...