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Damascus

Capital of Syria, on the River Barada, 100 km/62 mi southeast of Beirut; population (1994 est) 1,394,300. It produces silk, wood products, textiles, brass, and copperware. Said to be the oldest continuously inhabited city in the world, Damascus was an ancient city even in Old Testament times.

History

The Assyrians destroyed Damascus in about 733 BC. In 332 BC it fell to one of the generals of

Alexander the Great; and in 63 BC it came under Roman rule. In AD 635 it was taken by the Arabs, and has since been captured many times, by Egyptians, Mongolians, and Turks. In 1918, during World War I, it was taken from the Turks by the British with Arab aid, and in 1920 became the capital of French-mandated Syria.

Features Most notable of the old buildings is the Omayyad Mosque (705), built on the site of a 5th-century Christian cathedral. The mausoleum of Saladin is here, next to a long-established madrasah or religious college. The fortress dates from 1219. Founded in 1923, the University of Damascus is the oldest and largest of the four universities in Syria.

The city formerly had a wooded background. There

are numerous mosques and other public buildings of interest. The Omayyad Mosque, with its dome 36 m/118 ft high, was originally erected at the beginning of the 8th century by the caliph Waliph 'Abd-el-Melik. It took the place of a Christian church, which, in turn, had replaced a pagan temple three centuries earlier. The building was burned down several times, notably at the hands of Tamerlane in 1401. In the southwest suburb of Meidan is the Gate of God, through which the hajj, the great pilgrimage to Mecca, sets out.

Location On three sides of the city rise the heights of Anti-Lebanon, from which flows the Barada River, spreading itself in seven branches over the great plain. Two of these branches are the Abana and the Pharpar, and immersion in their waters is believed to have therapeutic properties. The plain of Damascus (area 1,300 sq km/502 sq mi) is dotted with towns and villages and is extremely fertile.

Industries Commercially, Damascus occupies a prime position, being the centre of communications by road, rail, and air. The chief exports are grain, flour, inlaid wood, silk and cotton goods, and apricot and other fruits. Its traditional industries include metalwork, mother-of-pearl inlaid work, gold and silver work, perfumes, and carpets. Newer industries include cement, glassware, pharmaceuticals, and batteries. Damascus gives its name to damsons (Damascene plums), damascene (a metal), damask, and damask roses.

History

The history of Damascus goes back to the days of Abraham. It was the scene of two important religious events: the conversion of St Paul; and, according to Muslim tradition, a decisive moment in the life of Muhammad, when he resolutely turned his back on the pleasures of the world. Damascus belonged in turn to Assyria, Persia, and Rome, and from 661 to 750 was the capital of the caliphate. After being the centre of struggle between Muslims and Tatars, Damascus became the capital of Syria within the Ottoman Empire in 1516. Turkish rule continued until 1 October 1918, when Damascus was occupied by the Allied troops under British field marshal General Allenby and the Arab troops under Emir Feisal. Feisal established an Arab national state and reigned for nearly two years. Meanwhile the French had obtained the mandatory control of the Syrian seaboard with headquarters at Beirut, and friction between the French and the Arabs led to the French occupation of Damascus on 25 July 1920. Feisal fled to Baghdad. Damascus never accepted French rule and several uprisings took place. Syria having remained under control of the Vichy government in World War II, Damascus was taken by combined British and Free French troops on 21 June 1941. On 27 September 1941 the independence of Syria was proclaimed at Damascus, which became the capital.

Damascus

Town in Montgomery County, west-central Maryland; population (1990) 9,817. It is a suburb 45 km/28 mi north-northwest of Washington, DC, at the head of the Patuxent River.

Aleppo Amana Apollodorus Aram

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