Ross Burns - Damascus: A History

DAMASCUS

Despite widespread interest in Damascus due to the Syrian Civil War, little has been written about the city in English. First published in 2004, Burns Damascus: A History remains the only English language volume to offer a comprehensive overview of the archaeology, architecture and history of one of the oldest cities on Earth. Therefore the second edition of this work is to be warmly welcomed for the addition of a new chapter bringing the reader up to date with the current situation and offering us a timely reminder of the effects of the war on this exceptional and fascinating city.

Emma Loosley, University of Exeter, UK

Damascus , first published in 2005, was the first account in English of the history of the city, bringing out the crucial role it has played at many points in the regions past. It traces the story of this colourful, significant and complex city through its physical development, from its emergence in around 7000 BC through the changing cavalcade of Aramaean, Persian, Greek, Roman, Byzantine, Arab, Turkish and French rulers to independence in 1946. This new edition has been thoroughly updated using recent scholarship and includes an additional chapter placing the events of the Syrian post-2011 conflict in the context of the citys tumultuous experiences over the last century.

This volume is a must-read for anyone interested in the sweep of Syrian history and archaeology, and is an ideal partner to Burns Aleppo (2016). Lavishly illustrated, Damascus: A History remains a unique and compelling exploration of this fascinating city.

Ross Burns was in the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs for 37 years until his retirement in 2003, including as Ambassador to Syria from 1984 to 1987. After his retirement, he completed a PhD at Macquarie University in Sydney on The Origins of the Colonnaded Streets in the Cities of the Roman East. He is the author of Aleppo (Routledge, 2016) and Monuments of Syria (3rd edition, 2009).

Cities of the Ancient World

Cities of the Ancient World examines the history, archaeology and cultural significance of key cities from across the ancient world, spanning northern Europe, the Mediterranean, Africa, Asia and the Near East. Each volume explores the life of a significant place, charting its developments from its earliest history, through the transformations it experienced under different cultures and rulers, through to its later periods. These texts offer academics, students and the interested reader comprehensive and scholarly accounts of the life of each city.

Thebes
A History
Nicholas Rockwell

Carlisle
A Frontier and Border City
Mike McCarthy

Elis
Internal Politics and External Policy in Ancient Greece
Graham Bourke

Palmyra
A History
Michael Sommer

Damascus
A History, Second Edition
Ross Burns

https://www.routledge.com/classicalstudies/series/CITYBIOS

DAMASCUS

A History

Second Edition

Ross Burns

Second edition published 2019
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN

and by Routledge
52 Vanderbilt Avenue, New York, NY 10017

Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business

2019 Ross Burns

The right of Ross Burns to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.

Trademark notice : Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.

First edition published by Routledge 2007

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Burns, Ross, author.

Title: Damascus : a history / Ross Burns.

Description: Second edition. | Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon ; New York, NY : Routledge, 2019. | Series: Cities of the ancient world

Identifiers: LCCN 2018034599 (print) | LCCN 2018039504 (ebook) | ISBN 9781351055222 (ebook) | ISBN 9781351055215 (web pdf) | ISBN 9781351055208 (epub) | ISBN 9781351055192 (mobi/kindle) | ISBN 9781138483323 | ISBN 9781138483323(hardback :alk. paper) | ISBN 9781138483354(pbk. :alk. paper) | ISBN 9781351055222(ebook)

Subjects: LCSH: Damascus (Syria)History.

Classification: LCC DS99.D3 (ebook) | LCC DS99.D3 B867 2019 (print) | DDC 956.91/44dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018034599

ISBN: 978-1-138-48332-3 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-138-48335-4 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-351-05522-2 (ebk)

Typeset in Bembo
by Swales & Willis Ltd, Exeter, Devon, UK

The bounties of this world are in ten parts; nine of them are in Damascus

(ibn `Asakir)

All illustrations are by the author unless otherwise credited in the caption

This book has had a long genesis stretching back almost four decades before this new edition. It would be impossible or foolhardy to attempt to name all those who have provided inspiration, information, encouragement or sustenance over those years or to provide orders of magnitude for their contributions. Many names were cited as direct sources of inspiration and scholarship in the first edition. I will not repeat them here but acknowledge the additional support in the satisfying work of revising for this new edition from the helpful comments of Stephen Bourke and James Barr who untangled some challenging periods when so much seemed to be going on in Damascus but so much that had already become wrapped in enigma.

This survey has been written in the hope it will be accessible to an informed reader not specialised in each or any of the various historical eras covered. I have used footnotes where it seems necessary to give more leads on the background to issues that require elaboration, where doubt or controversy still exists or to give credit to the original work of sources. The bibliography is given at length because of the great range of material necessarily consulted for a work covering so many eras with many titles added even in Damascus recent troubled years. In the case of original (usually ancient) sources, I have not prescribed particular editions of works but use commonly accepted numbering systems where they exist. Arab sources in translation are listed under the original writers name except for Ibn Asakir whose description of Damascus was extracted from his massive work and edited by Nikita Elisseff, under whose name it is listed.

The transliteration practice followed is totally indefensible; but then any system must be deficient to some extent. A non-system which tries to use the most recognisable versions that have passed into accessible modern accounts seems the least likely to cause acute eye strain. Where a commonly accepted word is available, even if it is not manifestly the most correct guide to pronunciation (e.g. Saladin, Koran) I have used it. As many names from the Greek era have become more familiar to readers in their Latin version, I usually opt for the latter. I employ the ain () or hamza () where it aids accuracy. Q and K are not assigned consistently. Both are used for kaf , reflecting customary usage, but Q is reserved for qaf . All extracts from the Bible are given in the translation of The New Jerusalem Bible , London: Dartman, Todd and Longman, 1985. High religious titles are usually capitalised except when there were contested claims when caliph is used instead of Caliph.