As a green oasis on the Euphrates riverbank, Deir Ezzor (about 432 km north east of Damascus) and the Euphrates valley date back a long way. Starting in the 3rd century BC, Deir Ezzor was a part of the Akkadian empire under the King Sargon I from 2700 to 2550 BC.

It then fell into the hands of Hammurabi the famous king who setup the first steps of law. Then it went through the Assyrians, Chaldeans, and Persians. After the defeat of the Persians it became part of the Hellenistic empire under Alexander the Great then it became part of the Seleucid Empire.

In the Roman period it flourished as a trading point between the Mediterranean and the Indian subcontinent. During Zenobia's power it became part of the Palmyrian kingdom.

Islamic conquest of the area took place in the 4th century Hegira and it was ruled by the Hamdanids of Aleppo, then the Ayyubids and Mamelukes successively.

It was destroyed in the Mongol invasion and left to the desert, till recently when it was redeveloped for the benefit of the Syrian economy to service Oil and Petrol production in the fields nearby.