What does Isaiah 17:1 mean?

The next of the Lord's predictions delivered by Isaiah is against the city of Damascus and its surrounding regions. It seems to be an earlier prophecy, due to the events described having already taken place before the oracles against Babylon, Assyria, Philistia, and Moab. This oracle was given before the northern ten tribes of Israel had been wiped out and deported. Their fate is mentioned alongside Isaiah's declaration about what was coming for Damascus.

Damascus still exists today as the capital of Syria. This would be north and east of Israel. At the time Isaiah wrote, Syria was sometimes called Aram (2 Samuel 8:6), but it was dominated by the major world city of Damascus. Damascus became an economic powerhouse because most of the trade of the region travelled through the city. Situated along the Barada River at the crossroads of two major highways, Damascus became a major player in world events. The city was also regularly in conflict with Israel and, later, Assyria.

Isaiah's oracle against Damascus begins bluntly: it will not be a city for long. It will become a pile of destruction. This massive devastation took place in 732 BC when Tiglath-Pileser and the Assyrians laid siege to the city and obliterated it.