a celebrated city of Asia, and anciently the capital of Syria,
may be accounted one of the most venerable places in the world for its
antiquity. It is supposed to have been founded by Ux, the son of Aram;
and is, at least, known to have subsisted in the time of Abraham, Gen.
xv, 2. It was the residence of the Syrian kings, during the space of
three centuries; and experienced a number of vicissitudes in every
period of its history. Its sovereign, Hadad, whom Josephus calls the
first of its kings, was conquered by David, king of Israel. In the reign
of Ahaz, it was taken by Tiglath Pileser, who slew its last king, Rezin,
and added its provinces to the Assyrian empire. It was taken and
plundered, also, by Sennacherib, Nebuchadnezzar, the generals of
Alexander the Great, Judas Maccabeus, and at length by the Romans in the
war conducted by Pompey against Tigranes, in the year before Christ, 65.
During the time of the emperors, it was one of their principal arsenals
in Asia, and is celebrated by the emperor Julian as, even in his day,
“the eye of the whole east.” About the year 634, it was taken by the
Saracen princes, who made it the place of their residence, till Bagdad
was prepared for their reception; and, after suffering a variety of
revolutions, it was taken and destroyed by Tamerlane, A. D. 1400. It was
repaired by the Mamelukes, when they gained possession of Syria; but was
wrested from them by the Turks, in 1506; and since that period has
formed the capital of one of their pachalics. The modern city is
delightfully situated about fifty miles from the sea, in a fertile and
extensive plain, watered by the river which the Greeks called
Chrysorrhoras, or “Golden River,” but which is known by the name of
Barrady, and of which the ancient Abana and Pharpar are supposed to have
been branches. The city is nearly two miles in length from its
north-east to its north-west extremity; but of very inconsiderable
breadth, especially near the middle of its extent, where its width is
much contracted. It is surrounded by a circular wall, which is strong,
though not lofty; but its suburbs are extensive and irregular. Its
streets are narrow; and one of them, called Straight, mentioned in Acts
ix, 11, still runs through the city about half a mile in length. The
houses, and especially those which front the streets, are very
indifferently built, chiefly of mud formed into the shape of bricks, and
dried in the sun; but those toward the gardens, and in the squares,
present a more handsome appearance. In these mud walls, however, the
gates and doors are often adorned with marble portals, carved and inlaid
with great beauty and variety; and the inside of the habitation, which
is generally a large square court, is ornamented with fragrant trees and
marble fountains, and surrounded with splendid apartments, furnished and
painted in the highest style of luxury. The market places are well
constructed, and adorned with a rich colonnade of variegated marble. The
principal public buildings are, the castle, which is about three hundred
and forty paces in length; the hospital, a charitable establishment for
the reception of strangers, composing a large quadrangle lined with a
colonnade, and roofed in small domes covered with lead; and the mosque,
the entrance of which is supported by four large columns of red granite;
the apartments in it are numerous and magnificent, and the top is
covered with a cupola ornamented with two minarets.
Damascus is surrounded by a fruitful and delightful country, forming a
plain nearly eighty miles in circumference; and the lands, most adjacent
to the city, are formed into gardens of great extent, which are stored
with fruit trees of every description. “No place in the world,” says Mr.
Maundrell “can promise to the beholder at a distance a greater
voluptuousness;” and he mentions a tradition of the Turks, that their
prophet, when approaching Damascus, took his station upon a certain
precipice, in order to view the city; and, after considering its
ravishing beauty and delightful aspect, was unwilling to tempt his
frailty by going farther; but instantly took his departure with this
remark, that there was but one paradise designed for man, and that, for
his part, he was resolved not to take his in this world. The air or
water of Damascus, or both, are supposed to have a powerful effect in
curing the leprosy, or, at least, in arresting its progress, while the
patient remains in the place.
The Rev. James Conner visited Damascus in 1820, as an agent of the
Church Missionary Society. He had a letter from the archbishop of Cyprus
to Seraphim, patriarch of Antioch, the head of the Christian church in
the east, who resides at Damascus. This good man received Mr. Conner in
the most friendly manner; and expressed himself delighted with the
system and operations of the Bible Society. He undertook to encourage
and promote, to the utmost of his power, the sale and distribution of
the Scriptures throughout the patriarchate; and, as a proof of his
earnestness in the cause, he ordered, the next day, a number of letters
to be prepared, and sent to his archbishops and bishops, urging them to
promote the objects of the Bible Society in their respective stations.
may be accounted one of the most venerable places in the world for its
antiquity. It is supposed to have been founded by Ux, the son of Aram;
and is, at least, known to have subsisted in the time of Abraham, Gen.
xv, 2. It was the residence of the Syrian kings, during the space of
three centuries; and experienced a number of vicissitudes in every
period of its history. Its sovereign, Hadad, whom Josephus calls the
first of its kings, was conquered by David, king of Israel. In the reign
of Ahaz, it was taken by Tiglath Pileser, who slew its last king, Rezin,
and added its provinces to the Assyrian empire. It was taken and
plundered, also, by Sennacherib, Nebuchadnezzar, the generals of
Alexander the Great, Judas Maccabeus, and at length by the Romans in the
war conducted by Pompey against Tigranes, in the year before Christ, 65.
During the time of the emperors, it was one of their principal arsenals
in Asia, and is celebrated by the emperor Julian as, even in his day,
“the eye of the whole east.” About the year 634, it was taken by the
Saracen princes, who made it the place of their residence, till Bagdad
was prepared for their reception; and, after suffering a variety of
revolutions, it was taken and destroyed by Tamerlane, A. D. 1400. It was
repaired by the Mamelukes, when they gained possession of Syria; but was
wrested from them by the Turks, in 1506; and since that period has
formed the capital of one of their pachalics. The modern city is
delightfully situated about fifty miles from the sea, in a fertile and
extensive plain, watered by the river which the Greeks called
Chrysorrhoras, or “Golden River,” but which is known by the name of
Barrady, and of which the ancient Abana and Pharpar are supposed to have
been branches. The city is nearly two miles in length from its
north-east to its north-west extremity; but of very inconsiderable
breadth, especially near the middle of its extent, where its width is
much contracted. It is surrounded by a circular wall, which is strong,
though not lofty; but its suburbs are extensive and irregular. Its
streets are narrow; and one of them, called Straight, mentioned in Acts
ix, 11, still runs through the city about half a mile in length. The
houses, and especially those which front the streets, are very
indifferently built, chiefly of mud formed into the shape of bricks, and
dried in the sun; but those toward the gardens, and in the squares,
present a more handsome appearance. In these mud walls, however, the
gates and doors are often adorned with marble portals, carved and inlaid
with great beauty and variety; and the inside of the habitation, which
is generally a large square court, is ornamented with fragrant trees and
marble fountains, and surrounded with splendid apartments, furnished and
painted in the highest style of luxury. The market places are well
constructed, and adorned with a rich colonnade of variegated marble. The
principal public buildings are, the castle, which is about three hundred
and forty paces in length; the hospital, a charitable establishment for
the reception of strangers, composing a large quadrangle lined with a
colonnade, and roofed in small domes covered with lead; and the mosque,
the entrance of which is supported by four large columns of red granite;
the apartments in it are numerous and magnificent, and the top is
covered with a cupola ornamented with two minarets.
Damascus is surrounded by a fruitful and delightful country, forming a
plain nearly eighty miles in circumference; and the lands, most adjacent
to the city, are formed into gardens of great extent, which are stored
with fruit trees of every description. “No place in the world,” says Mr.
Maundrell “can promise to the beholder at a distance a greater
voluptuousness;” and he mentions a tradition of the Turks, that their
prophet, when approaching Damascus, took his station upon a certain
precipice, in order to view the city; and, after considering its
ravishing beauty and delightful aspect, was unwilling to tempt his
frailty by going farther; but instantly took his departure with this
remark, that there was but one paradise designed for man, and that, for
his part, he was resolved not to take his in this world. The air or
water of Damascus, or both, are supposed to have a powerful effect in
curing the leprosy, or, at least, in arresting its progress, while the
patient remains in the place.
The Rev. James Conner visited Damascus in 1820, as an agent of the
Church Missionary Society. He had a letter from the archbishop of Cyprus
to Seraphim, patriarch of Antioch, the head of the Christian church in
the east, who resides at Damascus. This good man received Mr. Conner in
the most friendly manner; and expressed himself delighted with the
system and operations of the Bible Society. He undertook to encourage
and promote, to the utmost of his power, the sale and distribution of
the Scriptures throughout the patriarchate; and, as a proof of his
earnestness in the cause, he ordered, the next day, a number of letters
to be prepared, and sent to his archbishops and bishops, urging them to
promote the objects of the Bible Society in their respective stations.