The Sassanid Persians had invaded and controlled Syria briefly in the early 7th century.

Soon after, Aleppo had fallen to Arabs under Abu Ubaidah ibn al Jarrah in 637.

In 944, it becomes the seat of an independent Emirate under the Hamdanid prince Sayf al-Daula, and enjoys a period of great prosperity, being home to the great poet al-Mutanabbi and the philosopher and polymath al-Farabi.

The city is sacked by a resurgent Byzantine Empire in 962, while Byzantine forces occupy it briefly from 974 to 987.

The city and its Emirate become an Imperial vassal from 969 until the Byzantine–Seljuk Wars.

The city is twice besieged by the Crusaders, in 1098 and in 1124, but is not conquered.