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DAMASCUS

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Originally appearing in Volume V07, Page 785 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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DAMASCUS , the See also:

chief See also:town of See also:Syria, and the See also:capital of a See also:government See also:province of, the same name, 57 M. from See also:Beirut, situated in 330 30' N., and 36° 18' E. See also:History.—The origin of the See also:city is unknown, and the popular belief that it is the See also:oldest city in the See also:world still inhabited has much to recommend it. It has been suggested that the ideogram by which it is indicated in Babylonian monuments literally means " fortress of the See also:Amorites "; could this be proved it would be valuable testimony to its antiquity if not its origin. The city is mentioned in the document that describes the See also:battle of the four See also:kings against five, inserted in the See also:book of See also:Genesis (ch. xiv.): Abram (See also:Abraham) is reported to have pursued the routed kings to Hobah See also:north of Damascus (v. 15). The name of the steward of Abram's See also:establishment is given in Genesis xv. 2, as Dammesek Eliezer, which is explained in the Aramaic and See also:Syriac versions as " Eliezer of Damascus." This See also:reading is adopted by the authorized version, but the See also:Hebrew, as it stands, will not support it. There is probably here some textual corruption. In the See also:period of the See also:Egyptian See also:suzerainty over See also:Palestine in the eighteenth See also:dynasty Damascus (whose name frequently appears in the Tell el-Amarna tablets) was capital of the small province of Ubi. The name of the city in the Tell el-Amarna See also:correspondence is Dimashka. Towards the end of that period tha. overrunning of Palestine and Syria by the Khabiri and Suti, the forerunners of the Aramaean See also:immigration, changed the conditions, See also:language and government of the See also:country. One of the first indications of this See also:change that has been traced is the See also:appearance of the Aramaean Darmesek for Damascus in an inscription of See also:Rameses III.

The growth of an See also:

independent See also:kingdom with Damascus as centre must date from very See also:early in the Aramaean occupation. It had reached such strength that though Tiglath-Pileser I. reduced the whole of See also:northern Syria, and by the fame of his victories induced the See also:king of See also:Egypt to send him presents, yet he did not venture to attack Kadesh and Damascus, so that this kingdom acted as a " buffer " between the king of See also:Assyria and the rising kingdom of See also:Saul. See also:David, however, after his See also:accession made an expedition against Damascus as a reprisal for the assistance the city had given his enemy Hadadezer, king of Zobah. The expedition was successful; David smote of the Syrians 22,000 men, and took and garrisoned the city; " and the Syrians became servants to David, and brought gifts " (2 Sam. viii. 5, 6; 1 Chron. xviii. 5). This statement, it should be noticed, has been questioned by some See also:modern See also:historical and textual critics, who believe that " Syria " (Hebrew See also:Aram) is here a corruption for " See also:Edom." There is no other evidence—save the corrupt passage, 2 Sam. See also:xxiv. 6, where " Tabtim-hodshi " is explained as meaning " the See also:land of the See also:Hittites to Kadesh "—that David's kingdom was so far extended northward. However this may be, it is evident that the Israelite See also:possession of Syria did not last See also:long. A subordinate of Hadadezer named Rezon (Rasun) succeeded in establishing himself in Damascus and in See also:founding there a royal dynasty. Throughout the reign of See also:Solomon (1 Kings xi. 23, 24) this Rezon seems to have been a See also:constant enemy to the kingdom of See also:Israel.

It is inferred from r Kings xv. 19 that See also:

Abijah, son of See also:Rehoboam, king of See also:Judah, made a See also:league with Tab-Rimmon of Damascus to assist him in his See also:wars against Israel, and that afterwards Tab-Rimmon's son See also:Ben-See also:Hadad came to terms with the second successor of See also:Jeroboam, Baasha. See also:Asa, son of Abijah, followed his See also:father's policy, and bought the aid of Syria, whereby he was enabled to destroy the border fort that Baasha had erected (1 Kings xv. 22). Hostilities between Israel and Syria lasted to the days of See also:Ahab. From See also:Omri the king of Syria took cities and the right to establisha See also:quarter for his merchants in See also:Samaria (r Kings xx. 34). His son Ben-Hadad made an unsuccessful attack on Israel at Aphek, and was allowed by Ahab to depart on a reversal of these terms (loc. cit.). This was the cause of a prophetic denunciation (1 Kings xx. 42). According to the See also:Assyrian records Ahab fought as Ben-Hadad's ally at the battle of Karkar against See also:Shalmaneser in 854. This seems to indicate an intermediate defeat and vassalage of Ahab, of which no See also:direct See also:record remains; and it was probably in the See also:attempt to throw off this vassalage in 853, the See also:year after the battle of Karkar, that Ahab met his See also:death in battle with the Syrians (I Kings xxii.

34-40). In the reign of See also:

Jehoram, Naaman, the Syrian See also:general, carne and was cleansed by the See also:prophet See also:Elisha of leprosy (2 Kings v.). In 843 Hazael assassinated Ben-Hadad and made himself king of Damascus. The states which Ben-Hadad had brought together into a See also:coalition against the advancing See also:power of Assyria all revolted; and Shalmaneser, king of Assyria, took See also:advantage of this in 842 and attacked Syria. He wasted the country, but could not take the capital. See also:Jehu, king of Israel, paid See also:tribute to Assyria, for which Hazael afterwards revenged himself, during the See also:time when Shalmaneser was distracted by. his Armenian wars, by attacking the See also:borders of Israel (2 Kings x. 32). See also:Adad-nirari IV. invaded Syria and besieged Damascus in 8o6. Taking advantage of this and similar succeeding events, Jehoash, king of Israel, recovered the cities that his father had lost to Hazael. In 734 See also:Ahaz became king of Judah, and Rezon (Rasun, Rezin), the king of Damascus at the time, came up against him; at the same time the Edomites and the See also:Philistines revolted. Ahaz appealed to Tiglath-Pileser III., king of Assyria, sent him gifts, and besought his See also:protection. Tiglath-Pileser invaded Syria, and in 732 succeeded in reducing Damascus (see also BABYLONIA AND ASSYRIA, See also:Chronology, § 5, and See also:JEWS, §§ ro sqq.).

Except for the abortive rising under See also:

Sargon in 720, we hear nothing more of Damascus for a long period. In 333 B.C., after the battle of Issus, it was delivered over by treachery to See also:Parmenio, the general of See also:Alexander the See also:Great; the See also:harem and treasures of See also:Darius had here been lodged. It had a chequered history during the wars of the successors of Alexander, being occasionally in Egyptian hands. In 112 B.C. the See also:empire of Syria was divided by See also:Antiochus Grypus and Antiochus See also:Cyzicenus; the city of Damascus See also:fell to the See also:share of the latter. See also:Hyrcanus took advantage of the disputes of these rulers to advance his own kingdom. See also:Demetrius Eucaerus, successor of Cyzicenus, invaded Palestine in 88 B.C., and defeated Alexander Jannaeus at See also:Shechem. On his dethronement and captivity by the Parthians, Antiochus See also:Dionysus, his See also:brother, succeeded him, but was slain in battle by IIaritha (See also:Aretas) the Arab—the first instance of Arab interference with Damascene politics. IJaritha yielded to See also:Tigranes, king of See also:Armenia, who in his turn was driven out by Q. See also:Caecilius See also:Metellus (son of Scipio Nasica), the See also:Roman general. In 63 Syria was made a Roman province. In the New Testament Damascus appears only in connexion with the miraculous See also:conversion of St See also:Paul (Acts ix., xxii., See also:xxvi.), his See also:escape from Aretas the See also:governor by being lowered in a See also:basket over the See also:wall (Acts ix. 25; 2 See also:Cor.

Xi. 32, 33), and his return thither after his retirement in See also:

Arabia (Gal. i. 17). In 15o, under See also:Trajan, Damascus became a Roman provincial city. On the establishment of See also:Christianity Damascus became the seat of a See also:bishop who ranked next to the See also:patriarch of See also:Antioch. The great See also:temple of Damascus was turned by See also:Arcadius into a See also:Christian See also:church. In 635 Damascus was captured for See also:Islam by Khalid See also:ibn Walid, the great general of the new See also:religion, being the first city to yield after the battle of the Yarmuk (Hieromax). After the See also:murder of See also:Ali, the See also:fourth See also:caliph, his successor Moawiya transferred the seat of the See also:Caliphate (q.v.) from See also:Mecca to Damascus and thus commenced the great dynasty of the Omayyads, whose See also:rule extended from the See also:Atlantic to See also:India. This dynasty lasted about ninety years; it was supplanted by that of the See also:Abbasids, who removed the seat of empire to See also:Mesopotamia ; and Damascus passed through a period of unrest in which it was captured and ravaged by Egyptians, See also:Carmathians and See also:Seljuks in turn. The crusaders attacked Damascus in 1126, but never succeeded in keeping a See also:firm hold of it, even during their brief domination of the country. It was the headquarters of See also:Saladin in the wars with the See also:Franks. Of its later history we need only mention the Mongolian See also:capture in 1260; its Egyptian recapture by the See also:Mameluke Kotuz; the ferocious See also:raid of Timur (Tamerlane) in 1399; and the See also:conquest by the See also:Turkish See also:sultan See also:Selim, whereby it became a city of the See also:Ottoman empire (1516).

In its more See also:

recent history the only incidents that need be mentioned are its capture by See also:Ibrahim See also:Pasha, the Egyptian general, in 1832, when the city was first opened to the representatives of See also:foreign See also:powers; its revolt against Ibrahim's tyranny in 1834, which he crushed with the aid of the See also:Druses; the return of the city to Turkish domination, when the Egyptians were driven out of Syria in 184o by the allied powers; and the See also:massacre of See also:July r86o, when the Moslem See also:population See also:rose against the Christians, burnt their quarter, and slaughtered about 3000 adult See also:males. Modern City.—Damascus is a city with a population estimated at from 154,000 (35,000 Christians and Jews) to 225,000 (55,000 Christians and Jews), situated near the northern edge of a See also:plain called the Ghutah, at the See also:foot of See also:Anti-See also:Lebanon, 2250 ft. above the See also:sea. The See also:river Barada (the Abanah of 2 Kings v. 12) rises in the Anti-Lebanon, runs for about ro m. in a narrow channel, and then spreads itself See also:fan-See also:wise over the plain. About 18 m. See also:east of the city it loses itself in the marshlands known as the Meadow Lakes. A second river, the 'Awaj (possibly the Pharpar of 2 Kings), pursues a similar course. The plain is thus exceptionally well irrigated, and its consequent fertility is proverbial over the East. Damascus is situated on both See also:banks of the Barada, about 2 M. from the exit of the river from the See also:gorge. On the right See also:bank is all the older See also:part of the city, and a long suburb called El-Meidan extending about a mile along the See also:Hajj Road. On the See also:left bank are the suburbs El `Amara and El-Salihia. The See also:waters of the river are carried by channels and conduits to all the houses of the city. The orchards, gardens, vineyards and See also:fields of Damascus are said to extend over a See also:circuit of at least 6o m.

In the surrounding plain are one See also:

hundred and See also:forty villages; occupied in all by about 50,000 persons (r000 Christians, 2000 Druses). The rough mud walls in the private houses give poor promise of splendour within. The entrance is usually by a See also:low See also:door, and through a narrow winding passage which leads to the See also:outer See also:court, where the See also:master has his reception See also:room. From this another winding passage leads to the harem, which is the See also:principal part of the See also:house. The See also:plan of all is the same—an open court, with a tesselated See also:pavement, and one or two See also:marble fountains; See also:orange and See also:lemon trees, flowering shrubs, and climbing See also:plants give freshness and fragrance. All the apartments open into the court; and on the See also:south See also:side is an open See also:alcove, with a marble See also:floor, and raised See also:dais See also:round three sides, covered with cushions; the front wall is supported by an ornamented Saracenic See also:arch. The decoration of some of the rooms is gorgeous, the walls being covered in part with mosaics and in part with carved See also:work, while the ceilings are See also:rich in See also:arabesque ornaments, elaborately gilt. A few of the modern Jewish houses have been embellished at an enormous cost, but they are wanting in See also:taste. Antiquities.—Considering the great See also:age of Damascus, its See also:comparative poverty in antiquities is remarkable. The walls of the city seem to be Seleucid in origin; some of the Roman gateways being still in See also:good See also:order. The Derb el-Mistakim, or " Straight See also:Street," still runs through the city from the eastern to the western See also:gate. At the north-See also:west corner is a large See also:castle built in A.D.

1219, by El-Malik el-Ashraf, on the site of an earlier See also:

palace. It is quadrangular, surrounded by a See also:moat filled by the Barada. The outer walls are in good preservation, but the interior is ruined. The church of St See also:John the Baptist constructed by Arcadius on the site of the temple was turned by Caliph Walid I. (705–717) to a See also:mosque which was the most important See also:building of Damascus. It was a structure 431 ft. by 125 ft.. interior dimensions, extendingalong the south side of a quadrangle 163 yds.by ro8 yds. Except the famous inscription over the door—" Thy kingdom, 0 See also:Christ, is an See also:everlasting kingdom, and thy dominion endureth throughout all generations "—every trace of Christianity was effaced from the church at its conversion. It was destroyed by See also:fire on the 14th of See also:October 1893, and though it was subsequently rebuilt, much that was of archaeological and historical See also:interest perished. It is estimated that there are over two hundred mosques in Damascus. Products, Manufactures, &°c.—Damascus occupies an important commercial position, being the See also:market for the whole of the See also:desert; it also is of great importance religiously, as being the starting-point for the Hajj See also:pilgrimage from Syria to Mecca, which leaves on the 15th of the lunar See also:month of Shawwal each year. This of course brings much See also:trade to the city. Its chief manufactures are See also:silk work, cloths and cloaks, See also:gold and See also:silver ornaments, &c., See also:brass and See also:copper work, See also:furniture and ornamental woodwork.

The bazaars of Damascus are among the most famous of their See also:

kind. It is connected with Beirut and Mezerib by railway, and at the end of the past See also:century the great undertaking of See also:running a See also:line to Mecca was commenced. In the surrounding gardens and fields walnuts, apricots, See also:wheat, See also:barley, See also:maize, &c. are grown. Its commercial importance is referred to by See also:Ezekiel (See also:xxvii. 18), who mentions its trade in wines and See also:wool. The See also:climate is good; in See also:winter there is often hard See also:frost and much See also:snow, and even in summer, with a See also:day temperature of See also:roe F., the nights are always cool. See also:Fever, See also:dysentery and ophthalmia, chiefly due to exposure to heavy dews and See also:cold nights, are prevalent. Though still the market of the nomads, the surer and cheaper sea route has almost destroyed the transit trade to which it once owed its See also:wealth, and has even diminished the importance of the See also:annual See also:pilgrim See also:caravan to Mecca. The Damascene, however, still retains his skill as a craftsman and tiller of the See also:soil. The chief imports are cloths, prints, muslins, raw silk, See also:sugar, See also:rice, &c. The value of exports and imports in certain specified years is shown in the following table: 1890. 1894.

1898. 1905. Exports £325,660 £400,830 £302,050 £386,000 Imports . . . 525,710 614,490 675,080 872,400 Most of the Christians belong to the Orthodox and Roman See also:

Catholic (See also:United) See also:Greek Churches; and there are also communities of See also:Melchites, See also:Jacobites, See also:Maronites, See also:Nestorians, Armenians and Protestants. There are See also:Protestant See also:missions, founded 1843, and a See also:British See also:hospital.

End of Article: DAMASCUS

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