8th of March Revolution

1963 Syrian coup d'état ثورة الثامن من آذار
Part of the Arab Cold War
Military Committee members Salim Hatum (left), Muhammad Umran (center) and Salah Jadid (right) celebrate the coup's success
Date 8 March 1963 Location Syria Result Overthrow of Nazim al-Kudsi Beginning of Ba'athist rule
Belligerents
Syrian government	Military committee of the Syrian Regional Branch of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party
Commanders and leaders
Nazim al-Kudsi, President of Syria Khalid al-Azm, Prime Minister of Syria	Ziad al-Hariri Muhammad Umran Salah Jadid Hafez al-Assad Rashid al-Qutayni Muhammad al-Sufi
Casualties and losses
820 killed

The 1963 Syrian coup d'état, referred to by the Syrian government as the 8 March Revolution (Arabic: ثورة الثامن من آذار‎‎), was the successful seizure of power in Syria by the military committee of the Syrian Regional Branch of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party. The planning and the unfolding conspiracy was inspired by the Iraqi Regional Branch's successful military coup.

The coup was planned by the military committee, rather than the Ba'ath Party's civilian leadership, but Michel Aflaq, the leader of the party, consented to the conspiracy. The leading members of the military committee throughout the planning process and in the immediate aftermath of taking power were Muhammad Umran, Salah Jadid and Hafez al-Assad. The committee enlisted the support of two Nasserists, Rashid al-Qutayni and Muhammad al-Sufi, and the independent Ziad al-Hariri. The coup was originally planned for 7 March, but was postponed one day after the government discovered where the conspirators were planning to assemble.

Modern Syria was first established in 1920 as the Arab Kingdom of Syria under King Faisal. This state was planned to be a new Arab kingdom, and not just Syrian, and the state espoused Arab nationalism and pan-Islamic policies. However the British, who had helped establish the state after World War I, made a secret agreement with France and established the French Mandate of Syria and Lebanon. The area thereby functioned as one of France's colonies, and the newly established state was viewed unfavorably by most Syrians, with many of them regarding it as a vessel of European imperialism. At this stage, some movements tried to establish a Syrian identity, most notably the Syrian Social Nationalist Party, or became advocates of communism and Islamism. The majority of Syrians continued to see themselves as Arabs rather than Syrians.

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