SYRIA  , the name given generally to the See also:

• LAND

land lying between the easternmost See also:

• SHORE

shore of the Levantine Gulf and a natural inland boundary formed in See also:

• PART

part by the See also:

• MIDDLE

Middle See also:

• EUPHRATES (Babylon. Purattu, Heb. Perath, Arab. Frdt or Furst, Old Pers. Ufratu, Gr. Eb4 parrls)

Euphrates and in part by the western edge of the Hamad or See also:

• DESERT

desert See also:

• STEPPE (from the Russ. stepi, a waste)

steppe . The See also:

• NORTHERN

northern limit is the Tauric See also:

• SYSTEM

system of mountains, and the See also:

• SOUTHERN

southern limit the edge of the Sinaitic desert . This See also:

• LONG, GEORGE (1800-1879)
• LONG, JOHN DAVIS (1838– )

long See also:

• STRIP

strip extends, therefore, for about 400 M. between 38° and 31° N. See also:

• LAT

lat. with a mean breadth of about 150 M . Since, however, the steppe edge on the See also:

• EAST
• EAST, ALFRED (1849- )

east is somewhat indefinite, some See also:

• EARLY
• EARLY, JUBAL ANDERSON (1816-1894)

early Moslem and other geographers have included all the Hamad in Syria, making of the latter a See also:

• BLUNT, JOHN HENRY (1823–1884)
• BLUNT, JOHN JAMES (1794–1855)
• BLUNT, WILFRID SCAWEN (184o— )

blunt-headed triangle with a See also:

• BASE

base some 700 M. long resting on. the See also:

• NORTH
• NORTH, BARONS
• NORTH, MARIANNE (1830—1890)
• NORTH, ROGER (1653-1734)
• NORTH, SIR THOMAS (1535?-16o1?)

north Arabian Nefud . But See also:

• STRABO (born c. 63 n.c.)

Strabo, See also:

• PLINY, THE ELDER
• PLINY, THE YOUNGER

Pliny and See also:

• PTOLEMY (CLAUDIUS PTOLEMAEUS)

Ptolemy, as well as the better Moslem geographers, See also:

• DREW
• DREW, SAMUEL (1765-1833)

drew the easternonly under the Graeco-See also:

• ROMAN

Roman See also:

• ADMINISTRATION (Lat. administrare, to serve)

administration that we find a definite See also:

• DISTRICT

district known as Syria, and that was at first restricted to the See also:

• ORONTES

Orontes See also:

• BASIN, or BASON (the older form bacin is found in many of the Romanic languages, from the Late Lat. baccinus or bacchinus, probably derived from bacca, a bowl)
• BASIN, THOMAS (1412—1491)

basin . Later, all that we understand by Syria came to be so known officially to the See also:

• ROMANS
• ROMANS, EPISTLE TO THE

Romans and Byzantines; but the only See also:

• PROVINCE
• PROVINCE (Lat. provincia; perhaps a contraction of providentia)

province called simply Syria, without qualification, remained in the Orontes valley . Under the See also:

• PRESENT

present See also:

• OTTOMAN

Ottoman See also:

• DISTRIBUTION (Lat. distribuere, to deal out)

distribution " Syria " is the province of Sham or See also:

• DAMASCUS

Damascus, exclusive of the vilayets of See also:

• ALEPPO (native Haleb)

Aleppo and See also:

• BEIRUT

Beirut and the sanjaks of See also:

• LEBANON
• LEBANON (from Semitic laban, " to be white," or " whitish," probably referring not to snow, but to the bare white walls ofchalk or limestone which form the characteristic feature of the whole range)

Lebanon and See also:

• JERUSALEM (Heb. ^S0-r, Yerushalaim, pronounced as a dual)
• JERUSALEM, SYNOD OF (1672)

Jerusalem, which all fall in what is called Syria is the wider See also:

• GEOGRAPHICAL

geographical sense . Taking Syria as the strip limited by the See also:

• SEA (in O. Eng. sae, a common Teutonic word; cf. Ger. See, Dutch Zee, &c.; the ultimate source is uncertain)
• SEA, COMMAND OF THE

sea, the edge of the Hamad, the See also:

• TAURUS (" the Bull ")

Taurus and the Sinaitic desert, we have a remark-ably homogeneous geographical See also:

• AREA

area with very obvious natural boundaries; but these, for various reasons, have proved very frontier obliquely from the Gulf of Akeba to Rakka (Raqqa) on Euphrates, and thus placed the Hamad in See also:

• ARABIA

Arabia . The name Syria is not found in the See also:

• HEBREW

Hebrew See also:

• ORIGINAL

original of the Scriptures; but it was used by the See also:

• SEPTUAGINT, THE (Gr. of 0', Lat. LXX.)

Septuagint to translate See also:

• ARAM, EUGENE (17o4-17J9)

Aram . See also:

• HOMER, WINSLOW (1836-191o)

Homer knows only "ApiµoL, but See also:

• HERODOTUS (c. 484-425 B.C.)

Herodotus speaks of " Syrians" as identical with Assyrians, the latter being, he thinks, a " See also:

• BARBARIAN (Gr. fap/3apos)

barbarian " See also:

• FORM (Lat. forma)

form, and he applies the name very widely to include, e.g. north Cappadocians (" See also:

• WHITE
• WHITE, ANDREW DICKSON (1832– )
• WHITE, GILBERT (1720–1793)
• WHITE, HENRY KIRKE (1785-1806)
• WHITE, HUGH LAWSON (1773-1840)
• WHITE, JOSEPH BLANCO (1775-1841)
• WHITE, RICHARD GRANT (1822-1885)
• WHITE, ROBERT (1645-1704)
• WHITE, SIR GEORGE STUART (1835– )
• WHITE, SIR THOMAS (1492-1567)
• WHITE, SIR WILLIAM ARTHUR (1824--1891)
• WHITE, SIR WILLIAM HENRY (1845– )
• WHITE, THOMAS (1628-1698)
• WHITE, THOMAS (c. 1550-1624)

White Syrians " of See also:

• PTERIA (mod. Boghaz Keui)

Pteria) . Syria, however, is probably the Babylonian Suri, used of a north Euphratean district, and a word distinct from See also:

• ASSYRIA

Assyria . Generally the ethnic See also:

• TERM

term, Syrians, came to mean in antiquity the Semiti peoples domiciled outside the Mesopotamian and Arabian areas: but neither in pre-See also:

• GREEK
• GREEK, ETRUSCAN AND

Greek nor in Greek times had the word Syria any very precise geographical significance, various lands, which we include under it, retaining their distinctive status, e.g .

Commagene (Kummukh), Cyrrhestica, See also:

• PHOENICIA

Phoenicia, See also:

• PALESTINE

Palestine, &c . It is $meryWilkey ec, ineffective in See also:

• HISTORY

history, especially on the See also:

• SOUTH
• SOUTH, ROBERT (1634–1716)

south and east . Syria happens to See also:

• LIE, JONAS LAURITZ EDEMIL (1833—1908)
• LIE, MARIUS SOPHUS (1842–1899)

lie on the See also:

• LINE

line of least resistance for communication between the early subtropic seats of See also:

• CIVILIZATION

civilization in the See also:

• NILE
• NILE, BATTLE OF THE
• NILE, SOBAT

Nile and Euphrates valleys and the civilizations of See also:

• EUROPE

Europe . Its eastern boundary is in See also:

• GREAT

great part a steppe, which breeds See also:

• POPULATION (Lat. populus, people; populare, to populate)

population, but, unable to nourish increase, sends it over its boundaries in a See also:

• CONSTANT, BENJAMIN (1845-1902)

constant stream of See also:

• MIGRATION

migration . Consequently south Palestine has been continuously " Arabized "; and indeed the whole of Syria has been characterized by racial and religious fusions, and by civilization of a singularly syncretic and derived See also:

• KIND (O. E. ge-cynde, from the same root as is seen in " kin," supra)

kind, of which the See also:

• ANCIENT
• ANCIENT (also spelt ANTIENT; derived, through the Fr. ancien, old, from the late Lat. antianum, from ante, before)

ancient Phoenician is a sufficient example . The See also:

• SURFACE

surface configuration of almost all the strip is remarkably See also:

• UNIFORM

uniform . With the exception of the extreme north (Commagene), which is shut off by a barrier of hills and belongs to See also:

• FOREIGN

foreign hydro-graphic systems, the whole See also:

• COUNTRY (from the Mid. Eng. contre or contrie, and O. Fr. cuntree; Late Lat. contrata, showing the derivation from contra, opposite, over against, thus the tract of land which fronts the sight, cf. Ger. Gegend, neighbourhood)

country is roughly a gable-shaped See also:

• PLATEAU (a French term, older platel, for a flat piece of wood, metal, &c., from plat, flat)
• PLATEAU, JOSEPH ANTOINE FERDINAND (1801-1883)

plateau, falling north and south from a medial See also:

• RIDGE (a word. common to many Teutonic languages, meaning " back," whether of a man or an animal, cf. German Rucke)
• RIDGE, WILLIAM PETT (1864- )

ridge, which crosses Syria at about its central point . This gable is tilted eastwards, and its two long slopes are defined by bordering See also:

• MOUNTAIN (0. Fr. montaigne; popular Lat. montanea, an adjectival form from the classical mons, montis, whence Eng. " mount," a form usually used along with the name of an individual mountain, e.g. Mt Everest)
• MOUNTAIN, THE (La Montagne)

mountain chains which run across its medial ridge; the See also:

• MAIN (from the Aryan root which appears in " may " and " might," and Lat. magnus, great)
• MAIN (Lat. Moenus)

main Syrian streams are those which follow those slopes between the chains, thus See also:

• RUNNING

running either north or south for most of their courses, and only finding their way to the western sea by making See also:

• SHARP, GRANVILLE (1735-1813)
• SHARP, JAMES (1618-1679)
• SHARP, JOHN (1645-1714)
• SHARP, RICHARD (1759-1835)
• SHARP, WILLIAM (1749-1824)
• SHARP, WILLIAM (1856-1905)

sharp elbows at the last . Syrian See also:

• OROGRAPHY (Gr. opos, mountain, ypadeuv, to write)

orography, therefore, is See also:

• SIMPLE

simple, being composed of nothing but these two parallel systems . That on the See also:

• WEST
• WEST, BENJAMIN (1738-1820)
• WEST, NICHOLAS (1461-1533)

west, which rises behind the Mediterranean littoral, springs from Taurus in the well-afforested Mt Ama nus (See also:

• GIAOUR (a Turkish adaptation of the Pers. gdwr or gbr, an infidel)

Giaour Dagh), and is continued by See also:

• JEBEL (plur. jibed)

Jebel Bereket and J . Akhma, aver the northern end of which runs a single easy pass (Beilan) to the north-east See also:

• ANGLE (from the Lat. angulus, a corner, a diminutive, of which the primitive form, angus, does not occur in Latin; cognate are the Lat. angere, to compress into a bend or to strangle, and the Gr. ayKOS, a bend; both connected with the Aryan root ank-, to

angle of the See also:

• LEVANT

Levant See also:

• COAST (from Lat. costa, a rib, side)

coast (See also:

• ALEXANDRETTA, or ISKANDERUN (med. Scanderoon)

Alexandretta), while at the southern end is a See also:

• GAP

gap through which the Orontes turns sharply to the sea . South of this, with J .

Akra (the Bald Mountain, anc . Casius) begins a further See also:

• SECTION
• SECTION (Lat. sectio, cutting, secare, to cut)

section, rounded and grassy, called J . Ansariya, which presently springs up into a high See also:

• CHAIN (through the O. Fr. citable, chcene, &c., from Lat. catena)

chain of See also:

• JURASSIC

Jurassic See also:

• LIMESTONE

limestone with basaltic intrusions, whose peaks rise to Io,000 ft. and whose passes do not fall under 6000 ft . Here it is called J. al-Gharbi or Libnan (see LEBANON) . Thereafter it broadens out and becomes the high table-land of See also:

• GALILEE
• GALILEE (Heb. 5'S?, " border " or " ring," Gr. I'aXi?aia)
• GALILEE, SEA OF

Galilee, See also:

• SAMARIA

Samaria and See also:

• JUDAEA

Judaea, and gradually sinks into the plateau of north See also:

• SINAI

Sinai . The eastern system springs from the Tauric offshoot (Kurd Dagh, '&c.), which shuts off the Commagenian basins, and as the triple chain of J. al See also:

• ALA

Ala, it defines the Orontes valley on the east . Like its western parallel it springs up presently into a higher chain and is known as J. es-Sharki, or See also:

• ANTI, or CAMPA

Anti-Libanus, which culminates in a See also:

• KNOT
• KNOT (O.E. cnotta, from a Teutonic stem knutt; cf. " knit," and Ger. knoten)

knot on the south, to which is given the name J. es-See also:

• SHEIKH, or SHAIKH

Sheikh, or See also:

• HERMON

Hermon (8000 ft.) . Thereafter it loses much of its distinctive See also:

• CHARACTER (Gr. xapareri7p, from xap&crew, to scratch)

character, but may be traced southwards in J . IUauran and the Moabite hills to See also:

• HOREB

Horeb and the Midianite Mountains of the See also:

• HEBREWS, EPISTLE TO THE

Hebrews, which run into Arabia . See also:

• HYDROGRAPHY (.Gr. 6&,p, water, and cypfidiecv, to write)

Hydrography.—Between these systems run the main See also:

• RIVERS
• RIVERS, ANTHONY WOODVILLE, or WYDEVILLE, 2ND EARL (c. 1442—1483)
• RIVERS, EARL
• RIVERS, RICHARD SAVAGE, 4TH EARL (c. 1660—1712)

rivers; and these naturally rise near the medial ridge, in the lacustrine district of el-Buka'a, or Coelesyria, and flow in opposite directions . That following the northern slope is the Nahr al-'Asi (see ORONTES) into which, when it has turned sharply towards the sea, flow some tributary streams from the Commagenian See also:

• DIVIDE

divide on the north . The main stream flowing south is the See also:

• JORDAN (the down-comer; Arab. esh-Sheri'a, the watering-place)
• JORDAN, CAMILLE (1771—1821)
• JORDAN, DOROTHEA (1762—1816)
• JORDAN, THOMAS (1612 ?–1685)
• JORDAN, WILHELM (1819–1904)

Jordan, which fails to reach the sea, being absorbed into the great rift of the See also:

• GHOR, or GHUR

Ghor: but a smaller stream, the North Litani (called Kasimiya in its See also:

• LOWER

lower course), whose source lies very near that of Jordan, repeats the course of the Orontes on a See also:

• MINOR
• MINOR (Lat. for smaller, lesser)
• MINOR, ROBERT CRANNELL (1839-1904)

minor See also:

• SCALE
• SCALE (1) A

scale and gets through the western mountain system to the sea near Sur (See also:

• TYRE (Phoen. and Hebr. =" rock," Assyr. S'urru, Egypt. Dara, Early Lat. Sarra)

Tyre) .

Outside the basins of these rivers and their bordering mountain systems there only remain to be considered the following: (I) The Mediterranean littoral strip (the ancient PHOENICIA), with a few torrent-like streams . (2) The shut-off district in the extreme north, ancient Commagene, which consists of two basins divided by a See also:

• LOW, SETH (1850- )
• LOW, WILL HICOK (1853- )

low ridge running from south to north . These basins belong, one to the Cilician See also:

• RIVER

river-system, and the other to the Euphratean . In the first See also:

• LAY

lay the ancient Germanicia (mod . See also:

• MARASH (anc. Germanicia-Marasion)

Marash) ; in the second the ancient See also:

• SAMOSATA (Eau6vara, -arum, Ptol. v. 15 § r 1 ; Strabo xvi. 749)

Samosata (mod . Samsat), whose importance has now passed to Adiaman . The southern boundary of both basins is a low chain which leaves the Euphrates near the mouth of the Sajur tributary, and runs west towards Mt Amanus, to which it is linked by a See also:

• SILL
• SILL (O.Eng. syl, Mid. E. sylle, selle; the word appears in Icel. syll, svill, Swed. syll, and Dan. syld, and in German, as Schwelle; Skeat refers to the Teutonic root swal-, swell, the word meaning the rise or swell formed by a beam at a threshold; the L
• SILL, EDWARD ROWLAND (1841-1887)

sill whereon stood the ancient fortified See also:

• PALACE (Lat. Palatium, the name given by Augustus to his residence on the Palatine Hill)

palace of Samal (Sinjerli; see See also:

• HITTITES

HITTITES) . (3) A See also:

• SUCCESSION (Lat. successio, from succedere, to follow after)

succession of oases lying east of the eastern mountain system on the edge of the steppe, and fed by See also:

• SHORT, FRANCIS JOB (1857– )

short See also:

• LOCAL

local streams . Of these the most important are, from north to south, (a) the Saltpan of See also:

• JEBEIL (anc. Gebal-Byblus)

Jebeil, fed by the North al-Dahab ; (b) the oases of Kinnesrin and Aleppo, fed by the North Kuwaik; and (c) that of Sham or Damascus, fed by streams from Hermon, of which the Barada (See also:

• ABANA (or AMANAH, classical Chrysorrhoas)

Abana) and the Awaj (Pharpar) are the See also:

• CHIEF (from Fr. chef, head, Lat. caput)

chief . Since these streams had in no See also:

• CASE
• CASE, JOHN (d. 1600)

case originally easy See also:

• ACCESS (Lat. accessus)

access to the sea, we naturally find lakes on their course, and several of them terminate in tracts of more or less permanent inundation . Those which occur on the course of the See also:

• PRINCIPAL

principal rivers are described under ORONTES and JORDAN . The See also:

• ETHERS

ethers, which terminate streams, are the See also:

• BAHR

Bahr el-Ateiba, which receives the See also:

• WATERS, TERRITORIAL

waters of Damascus; the See also:

• MAT (O. Eng. meatt, from late Lat. mattes, whence Ital. mallet, Ger. and Dan. matte, Du. mat, &c.)

Mat, into which the Kuwaik flows below Kinnesrin; and the Ak Deniz, or Bahrat See also:

• ANTAKIA

Antakia, the ancient See also:

• LAKE
• LAKE, GERARD LAKE, 1ST VISCOUNT (1744-1808)

Lake of See also:

• ANTIOCH

Antioch, which collects the waters of the Kara Su and Afrin, the southward from the See also:

• WATERSHED

watershed which shuts off Commagene .

The last-named lake has now been almost entirely dried up by the cutting of a channel, which conducts its feeders directly to the Orontes . See also:

• GEOLOGY (from Gr. yp7, the earth, and Abyor, science)

Geology.--Geologically, Syria belongs to two distinct regions of the See also:

• EARTH
• EARTH (a word common to Teutonic languages, cf. Ger. Erde, Dutch aarde, Swed. and Dan. jord; outside Teutonic it appears only in the Gr. 'pq'e, on the ground; it has been connected by some etymologists with the Aryan root ar-, to plough, which is seen in
• EARTH, FIGURE OF
• EARTH, FIGURE OF THE

earth's crust, the northern and smaller portion lying within the great See also:

• BELT (a word common to Teutonic languages, the Old Ger. form being bale, from which the Lat. balteus probably derived)
• BELT, THOMAS (1832-1878)

belt of folding of southern Europe and central See also:

• ASIA

Asia, and the southern and larger portion belonging to the Indo-See also:

• AFRICAN

African area, which, though often faulted, is usually See also:

• FREE

free from crumpling . According to M . Blanckenhorn the boundary between the two regions runs from the See also:

• BAY

Bay of Jebele along the Afrin River to See also:

• AINTAB (anc. Doliche)

Aintab, and thence to the Euphrates above See also:

• BIREJIK (Arab. Bir; classical, Apamea-Zeugma)

Birejik . In the southern region, which is by far the better known, the See also:

• OLDEST

oldest rocks are granites, crystalline See also:

• SCHISTS (Gr. vxq'ecv, to split)

schists and other rocks of Archean aspect . These are overlaid by zonglomerates, tuffs, sandstones and arkoses, which perhaps do not all belong to the same See also:

• PERIOD
• PERIOD (Gr. irepioSos, a going or way round, circuit, aepi, round, and &Sis, way, road)

period . In Palestine a See also:

• LIME
• LIME (O. Eng. lim, Lat. limes, mud, from linere, to smear)

lime-See also:

• STONE
• STONE (0. Eng. shin; the word is common to Teutonic languages, cf. Ger. Stein, Du. steen, Dan. and Swed. sten; the root is also seen in Gr. aria, pebble)
• STONE, CHARLES POMEROY (1824-1887)
• STONE, EDWARD JAMES (1831-1897)
• STONE, FRANK (1800-1859)
• STONE, GEORGE (1708—1764)
• STONE, LUCY [BLACKWELL] (1818-1893)
• STONE, MARCUS (184o— )
• STONE, NICHOLAS (1586-1647)

stone containing Carboniferous fossils is found in the midst of the See also:

• SANDSTONE

sandstone See also:

• SERIES (a Latin word from serere, to join)

series, and here the sandstone is immediately succeeded by limestones with Hippurites and other fossils belonging to the Upper Cretaceous . Farther north, however, Jurassic beds are met with, but of very limited extent . Cretaceous limestones See also:

• COVER (from the Fr. convert, from couvrir, to cover, Lat. cooperire)

cover thegreater part of Palestine and rocks of the same period form Mt Lebanon, the Casius See also:

• MONS (Flemish Bergen)

Mons, &c., farther north . Nummulitic lime-stone (See also:

• EOCENE (Gr. *In, dawn, icauvos, recent)

Eocene) overlies the Cretaceous in Philistia, and north of Lebanon Eocene and See also:

• MIOCENE

Miocene deposits cover the greater part of the country . The See also:

• PLIOCENE (from the Gr. sr?eiov, mere, and xatvbs, recent)

Pliocene deposits are not very widely spread and are generally of fresh-See also:

• WATER

water origin excepting near the coast, but marine Pliocene beds have been found at el Forklus in the See also:

• PALMYRA

Palmyra desert . Jebel Hauran, east of the Jordan, is capped by a great See also:

• SHEET

sheet of See also:

• BASALT

basalt; and many other basalt flows are found, especially in the country north of Lebanon .

They are mostly true See also:

• FELSPAR, or FELDSPAR

felspar basalts, but a few contain See also:

• NEPHELINE

nepheline in addition to the felspar . In most cases the eruptions appear to be of Pliocene or later date, but in the extreme north some of the basalt seems to belong to the Miocene period . There is historic See also:

• EVIDENCE (Lat. evidentia, evideri, to appear clearly)

evidence of mud eruptions in some of the volcanic areas . The most striking feature in the structure of Syria is the existence of long Graben, or narrow depressions formed by faulting . The best known of these Graben is that of the Jordan, but the upper part of the Orontes lies in a similar depression, which is, indeed, very probably the continuation of the Jordan-Araba trough . The faulting which formed the depressions is certainly later than the deposition of the Cretaceous beds and probably belongs to the later portion of the See also:

• TERTIARY

Tertiary era . Little is known of the part of Syria which lies within the folded belt, and includes the Amanus and Kurd mountains . The rocks do not appear to differ very markedly from those farther south, but the Devonian is believed to be represented . The folds are approximately parallel to those of the Taurus, and geologically these mountains may be said to belong to that range.' See also:

• CLIMATE

Climate.—Within historic times the climate, and with it the productivity of the country, cannot have greatly changed; at most the precipitation may have been greater, the area under See also:

• WOOD, ANTHONY A2 (1632-1695)
• WOOD, JOHN GEORGE (1827—1889)
• WOOD, MRS HENRY [ELLEN] (1814—1887)
• WOOD, SEARLES VALENTINE (1798—188o)

wood having been more extensive . Except for Jerusalem, we have hardly any accurate meteorological observations; there the mean See also:

• ANNUAL

annual temperature is about 63 ° F.; in Beirut it is about 68° . The rainfall in Jerusalem is 36.22 in., in Beirut 2I.66 . The See also:

• HEAT (0. E. haktu, which like " hot," Old Eng. hat, is from the Teutonic type haita, hit, to be hot; cf. Ger. hitze, heiss; Dutch, hitte, heet, &c.)

heat at Damascus and Aleppo is great, the cooling winds being kept off by the mountains .

See also:

• FROST (a common Teutonic word, cf. Dutch, vorst, Ger. Frost, from the common Teutonic verb meaning " to freeze," Dutch, vriezcn, Ger. frieren; the Indo-European root is seen in Lat. pruina, hoar-frost, cf. prurire, to itch, burn, pruna, burning coal, Sans
• FROST, WILLIAM EDWARD (1810–1877)

Frost and See also:

• SNOW (in O. Eng. sndw; a common Indo-European word; cf. in Teutonic languages, Ger. Schnee, Du. sneeuw; in Slavonic snieg', Lith. snegas; Gr. vi4a, Lat. nix, nivis, whence the Romanic forms, Ital. neve, Fr. neige, &c.; Ir. and Gael. sneachd; the original

snow are occasionally experienced among the mountains and on the inland plateaus, but never along the coast . Even the steppe exhibits great contrasts of temperature; there the rainfall is slight and the See also:

• AIR (from an Indo-European root meaning " breathe," " blow ")
• AIR, or ASBEN

air exceedingly exhilarating and healthy . The See also:

• SKY (M. Eng. skie, cloud; O. Eng. skua, shade; connected with an Indo-European root sku, cover, whence " scum," Lat. obscurus, dark, &c.)

sky is continuously cloudless from the beginning of May till about the end of See also:

• OCTOBER

October; during the summer months the nights as a See also:

• RULE

rule are dewy, except in the desert . See also:

• RAIN (O.E. regn; the word is common to Teutonic languages, cf. Ger. Regen, Swed. and Dan. regn; it has been connected with Lat. rigare, to wet, Gr. 13pixeav)

Rain is brought by the west See also:

• WIND
• WIND (a common Teut. word, cognate with Skt. vats, Lat. ventus, cf. " weather," to be of course distinguished from to " wind," to coil or twist, O.Eng. windan, cf. "wander," "wend," &c.)

wind; the north-west wind, which blows often, moderates the heat . On the other See also:

• HAND
• HAND (a word common to Teutonic languages; cf. Ger. Hand, Goth. handus)
• HAND, FERDINAND GOTTHELF (1786-185r)

hand, an ozoneless east wind (See also:

• SIROCCO

sirocco) is occasionally experienced—especially during the second See also:

• HALF

half of May and before the beginning of the See also:

• RAINY, ROBERT (1826-1906)

rainy See also:

• SEASON (0. Fr. seson, seison, mod. saison, Lat. satio, sowing time, the spring, from serere, to sow; in Late Lat. the word is found with its present meaning, the spring being considered as particularly the season of the year)

season—which has a prejudicial See also:

• INFLUENCE (Late Lat. influentia, from influere, to flow in)

influence on both See also:

• ANIMAL
• ANIMAL (Lat. animalis, from anima, breath, soul)

animal and See also:

• VEGETABLE

vegetable See also:

• LIFE

life . On the whole the climate of Syria—if the Jordan valley and the moister districts are excepted—is not unhealthy, though intermittent fevers are not uncommon in some places . The See also:

• GENERAL
• GENERAL (Lat. generalis, of or relating to a genus, kind or class)

general character of the country, resultant on these conditions, varies according to See also:

• ELEVATION

elevation and See also:

• LATITUDE (Lat. latitudo, latus, broad)

latitude . Owing to the high barrier which shuts off almost all Syria from the sea, and precipitates vapours mainly on the western slope, little of the land is highly productive without See also:

• IRRIGATION (Lat. in, and rigare, to water or wet)

irrigation, except the narrow littoral strip which was the ancient Phoenicia, and the small deltas, such as that of See also:

• LATAKIA (anc. Laodicea)

Latakia (See also:

• LAODICEA
• LAODICEA, SYNOD OF

Laodicea) . Palestine, being less shut in and enjoying a comparatively large general rainfall, would be still a land " flowing with See also:

• MILK (0. Eng. meoluc; from a common Indo-European root, cf. Lat. mulgere, Gr. ?t dXyetv)

milk and See also:

• HONEY (Chin. me ; Sansk. madhu, mead, honey; cf. A.S. medo, medu, mead; Gr. p Xt, in which 0 or b is changed into X; Lat. mel ; Fr. miel ; A.S. hung ; Ger. Honig)

honey " had its forests not been destroyed, and the terracing, which used to hold up See also:

• SOIL

soil on the See also:

• HIGHLANDS, THE

highlands, been maintained . As it is, it has very fertile patches of See also:

• LOWLAND

lowland, such as the plains of Esdraelon and Jaffa; and the high levels, largely composed of disintegrated igneous See also:

• ROCK
• ROCK (O.Fr. rake, Sp. rota, Ital. rocca; possibly from a Lat. form rupica, from rupes, rock)
• ROCK, DANIEL (1799–187t)

rock, west of Jordan, over which the sea-wind carries the rains, offer excellent See also:

• CORN (a common Teutonic word; cf. Lat. granum, seed, grain)
• CORN (fromm Lat. corms, horn)

corn-land . In the extreme south Palestine begins to be affected by the Arabian dryness . For the See also:

• REST (O. Eng. rest, reste, bed, cognate with other Teutonic forms, e.g. Ger. Rast, Riiste, rest, and probably Gothic Rasta, league, i.e. resting or stopping place)

rest, Syria needs irrigation; and since neither of its larger rivers, Orontes or Jordan, flowing as these do in deep beds, is of much use for this purpose, all See also:

• MID

Mid-Syria, except the lacustrine oases, is a region mainly occupied by pastures, and yielding only thin cereal crops .

Commagene, where not rocky, and the district lying along the southward drains from its divide (anc . Cyrrhestica), is in better case, enjoying perennial streams which can be utilized, and the fringe of the Tauric rainfall . The latter See also:

• DIES, CHRISTOPH ALBERT (1755-1822)

dies away over the plains east and south-east of Aleppo, making them afford See also:

• GOOD, JOHN MASON (1764-1827)

good See also:

• SPRING (from " to spring," " to leap or jump up," " burst out," O. Eng., springau, a common Teut. word, cf. Ger. springer, possibly allied to Gr. QnrFpxecOac, to move rapidly)

spring pasture, which has attracted the nomads from farther south: but below the latitude of Rakka-See also:

• HOMS

Homs thin steppe begins, and quickly degenerates into sheer desert broken only by a chain of poor oases, south of a low ridge running from Anti-Lebanon to Euphrates . Of these the principal are Karietein and Tadmor (Palmyra), through which passes the See also:

• TRADE (O. Eng. trod, footstep, from tredan, to tread; in M. Eng. the forms teed, trod and trade appear, the last in the sense of a beaten track)
• TRADE, BOARD OF

trade from Damascus to the east . In ancient times, i See O . See also:

• FRAAS, KARL NIKOLAS

Fraas, Aus dem Orient, pt. ii . (See also:

• STUTTGART

Stuttgart, 1878) ; C . Diener, Libanon (See also:

• VIENNA (Ger. Wien; Lat. Vindobona)
• VIENNA, CONGRESS OF (1814-1815)

Vienna, 1886) ; M . Blanckenhorn, Beitrage zur Geologie Syriens (See also:

• CASSEL
• CASSEL, or KASSEL

Cassel, 189o, &c.), and Grundziige der Geologie and physikalischen Geographie von See also:

• NORD

Nord-Syrien (See also:

• BERLIN
• BERLIN, CONGRESS AND TREATY OF
• BERLIN, ISAIAH (1725–1799)

Berlin, 1891) . See also the references under PALESTINE . A See also:

• SUMMARY

summary by M . Blanckenhorn will be found in Monatsschr. f. wirtschaftl .

Erschliessung Palastinas, pp . 289–301 (Berlin, 1904) . up to the Arab invasion, the northern part of the eastern plateau, between Orontes and Euphrates, was made habitable and even fertile by storage of rainfall . It supported a large number of villages and small towns, whose remains are remarkably well preserved, and still serve to shelter a sparse See also:

• PASTORAL (from Lat. pastor, a shepherd)

pastoral population . See also:

• FLORA

Flora.—Two distinct floral regions meet in Syria, that of the Mediterranean and that of the west Asian steppe-land . The first, to be seen on the coast and the western slopes of the highlands, is characterized by a number of See also:

• EVERGREEN

evergreen shrubs with small leathery leaves, and by quickly-flowering spring See also:

• PLANTS

plants . On the lowest levels the southern forms, the Ficus sycomorus and the date-See also:

• PALM (Lat. palma, Gr. iraX6.jn )
• PALM, JOHANN PHILIPP (1768-1806)

palm, appear, and increase in the direction of See also:

• EGYPT

Egypt (see LEBANON and PALESTINE) . The steppe region, whose flora begins to appear east of the western ridge, is distinguished by the variety of its See also:

• SPECIES

species, the dry and thorny character of its shrubs, and great poverty in trees . Between these regions the greatly depressed valley of Jordan shows a subtropic vegetation . Among cultivated trees, the See also:

• OLIVE (Olea europaea)

olive is at See also:

• HOME
• HOME, DANIEL DUNGLAS (1833-1886)
• HOME, EARLS OF

home throughout Syria, except on the steppe; the mulberry is planted extensively in the lower Lebanon; and all sorts of See also:

• FRUIT (through the French from the Lat. fructus; frui, to enjoy)

fruit-trees flourish in irrigated gardens, especially on the Phoenician coast, in the Palestinian See also:

• PLAIN (O. Fr. plain, from Lat. plenum)

plain, in the See also:

• OASIS (Gr. &toss, the name given by Herodotus to the fertile spots in the Libyan desert: it probably represents an Egyptian word, cf. Coptic ouahe, ouih, to dwell, from which the Egyptian Arabic sod is derived)

oasis of Damascus, and in the Buka'a, The main cereal regions are the Hauran, and the plains of Antioch and Commagene; and the lower western slopes of the coast range are largely devoted to the culture of See also:

• TOBACCO

tobacco . On the northern inland See also:

• DOWNS

downs See also:

• LIQUORICE

liquorice grows See also:

• WILD, JONATHAN (c. 1682-1725)

wild and is collected by the peasants and sent down to Alexandretta . See also:

• FAUNA

Fauna.—The mammals of Syria are rather sharply to be distinguished into those which range only north of Mt See also:

• CARMEL

Carmel, and those which pass that limit .

The first class includes the isabelline See also:

• BEAR
• BEAR, BLACK
• BEAR, BROWN
• BEAR, GRIZZLY
• BEAR, ISABELLINE
• BEAR, WHITE

bear, See also:

• BADGER

badger, See also:

• POLE (FAMILY)
• POLE, REGINALD (1500-1558)
• POLE, RICHARD DE LA (d. 1525)
• POLE, WILLIAM (1814—1900)

pole-See also:

• CAT
• CAT, CIVET
• CAT, HOUSE

cat, See also:

• ERMINE

ermine, See also:

• ROE (or Row), SIR THOMAS (c. 1581—1644)
• ROE, EDWARD PAYSON (1838-1888)

roe and See also:

• FALLOW

fallow See also:

• DEER (O. E. rigor, dfor, a common Teutonic word, meaning a wild animal, cf. Ger. Tier, Du. dier, &c., probably from a root dhus-, to breathe)
• DEER, CHINESE

deer, wild See also:

• ASS (O.E. assa; Lat. asinus)
• ASS, FEAST OF THE

ass, Syrian See also:

• SQUIRREL
• SQUIRREL (Fr. ecureuil)

squirrel, pouched See also:

• MARMOSET

marmoset, gerbill and See also:

• LEOPARD

leopard . The second class will be found under PALESTINE; and it includes a sub-class which is not found outside Palestine at all . In the latter are the coney, See also:

• JERBOA

jerboa, several small rodents and the See also:

• IBEX

ibex . Only in the Jordan valley do intrusions from the Ethiopic region appear . Elsewhere the forms are Palaearctic with intrusions from the east; but the length of the Syrian strip and the variety of its surface See also:

• RELIEF

relief admit of considerable difference in the species inhabiting different districts . The Lebanon and the hills of north Galilee offer the greatest number of mammals . Population.—The actual population of Syria is over 3,000,000, spread over a superficial area of about 600,000 sq. m,, i.e. about 51 persons to the square mile . But this poor See also:

• AVERAGE

average is largely accounted for by the inclusion of the almost uninhabited northern steppe-land; and those parts of Syria, which are settled, show a much higher See also:

• RATE

rate . Phoenicia and the Lebanon have the densest population, over 70 to the square mile, while Palestine, the north part of the western plateau east of Jordan, the oases of Damascus and Aleppo, the Orontes valley, and parts of Cornmagene, are well peopled . The bulk of the population, so far as See also:

• RACE

race goes, is of the Semitic See also:

• FAMILY

family, and at bottom Aramaean with a large admixture of immigrant Arabian See also:

• BLOOD

blood, which is constantly being reinforced, and a comparatively small See also:

• STRAIN (through O. Fr. straindre, estraindre, mod. i treindre, from Lat. stringere, to draw tight, related to stress, stretch, string, &c.)

strain of Hebrew blood . The latter appears mainly in Palestine, and has of See also:

• LATE

late been considerably strengthened by See also:

• IMMIGRATION (from Lat. in, into, and tnigrare, to depart)

immigration of See also:

• EUROPEAN

European See also:

• JEWS
• JEWS (Heb. Y8hudi, man of Judah; Gr. 'Iovbaiot; Lat. Judaei)

Jews, who have almost doubled the population of Jerusalem, and settled upon several fertile spots throughout the See also:

• HOLY

Holy Land . But how far these, or the indigenous " Jews " are of Hebrew rather than of Aramaean origin is impossible to say .

We only know that as long ago as the 1st See also:

• CENTURY (from Lat. centuria, a division of a hundred men)

century B.C. true Hebrew blood was becoming rare, and that a vast proportion of the Jews of Roman times were Hebraized Aramaeans, whose assimilation into the Jewish community did not date much further back than the Maccabaean See also:

• AGE (Fr. age, through late Lat. aetaticum, from aetas)

age . Among this Semitic folk is to be observed a great variety of immigrant See also:

• STOCKS

stocks, settled in isolated patches, which have done much to contaminate the masses about them . In the extreme north (Commagene) the highlands are almost entirely held by Kurds who entered from beyond Euphrates in comparatively See also:

• RECENT

recent times . Kurds live upon the Commagenian plains here and there, as also in the northern trans-Euphratean plains . Among them in the Tauras and Amanus, and outnumbering them on the plains, are Armenian communities, the remains of the Rupenian invasion of the loth century A.D . (see ZEITUN) . These are found as far south as the plain of Antioch and the basin of the Sajur . To the north of Aleppo and Antioch live remnants of pre-Aramaean stocks, mixed with many half-settled and settled Turkomans (Yuruks, Avshars, &c.) who came in before the See also:

• MAHOMMEDAN

Mahommedan era, and here and there colonies ofrecently imported Circassians . The latter are also settled numerously to the west of Jordan . Mid-Syria shows a medley of populations of more or less mixed origin, in large part See also:

• ALIEN (Lat. alienus)

alien, for which see See also:

• DRUSES
• DRUSES, or DRUZES (Arab. Druz)

DRUSES; See also:

• MARONITES (Arab. Mawarina)

MARONITES and LEBANON . In the Phoenician coast towns are many Greeks (to be distinguished from Orthodox Syrians, called also Greeks on See also:

• ACCOUNT
• ACCOUNT (through O. Fr. acont, Late Lat. comptum, cornputare, to calculate)

account of creed) . In the steppe-land and in the southern trans-Jordanic districts are See also:

• NUMBERS, BOOK OF
• NUMBERS, PARTITION OF

numbers of true See also:

• ARABS

Arabs, mostly belonging to the great Anazeh family, which has been coming northwards from See also:

• NEJD

Nejd in detachments since the 13th century .

These are mainly nomadic, and include offshoots of the great tribes of Ruala, Walad See also:

• ALI

Ali, B . Sokhr, Adwan and Bishr, the first two roaming mainly in the north, the last two in See also:

• MOAB

Moab and See also:

• AMMON
• AMMON, CHRISTOPH FRIEDRICH VON (1766—185o)

Ammon . Ottoman See also:

• TURKS

Turks, scattered gipsy communities, See also:

• GERMAN
• GERMAN, DUTCH AND SCANDINAVIAN

German settlers in north See also:

• PALES

Pales-tine, and all sorts of Europeans make up a heterogeneous and incompatible population . See also:

• RELIGION
• RELIGION, FOLKLORE, CUSTOM

Religion.—The religious types also are strongly divergent . The bulk of the population is Mahommedan; the See also:

• BEDOUINS (Ahl Bedu, " dwellers in the open land," or Ahl el beit, " people of the tent," as they call themselves)

Bedouins have not much religion of any kind, but they profess See also:

• ISLAM

Islam . Besides orthodox Moslems there are also Shiite sects, as well as a number of religious communities whose See also:

• DOCTRINE

doctrine is the out-come of the See also:

• PROCESS

process of See also:

• FERMENTATION

fermentation that characterized the first centuries of Islam . To this last class belong the Ismailites (Assassins), q.v., Metawali, See also:

• NOSAIRIS (also known as Ansayrii, sometimes Ansariyeh)

Nosairis, Ansarieh, and especially the Druses (q.v.) . In many cases it is obvious that the See also:

• POLITICAL

political antipathy of the natives to the Arabs has found expression in the formation of such sects . The Ansarieh, for instance, and no doubt the Druses also, were originally survivals of the Syrian population . The Jews are found mainly in the larger centres of population . The Christians are an important See also:

• ELEMENT (Lat. elementum)

element, constituting probably as much as a fifth of the whole population; the See also:

• MAJORITY (Fr. majorite; Med. Lat. majoritas; Lat. major, greater)

majority of them belong to the Orthodox Greek See also:

• CHURCH
• CHURCH (according to most authorities derived from the Gr. Kvpcaxov [&wµa], " the Lord's [house]," and common to many Teutonic, Slavonic and other languages under various forms—Scottish kirk, Ger. Kirche, Swed. kirka, Dan. kirke, Russ. tserkov, Buig. cerk
• CHURCH, FREDERICK EDWIN (1826-1900)
• CHURCH, GEORGE EARL (1835–1910)
• CHURCH, RICHARD WILLIAM (1815–189o)
• CHURCH, SIR RICHARD (1784–1873)

Church, which has two patriarchs in Syria, at Antioch and Jerusalem . Catholics—See also:

• UNITED

United Greeks, United Syrians and Maronites—are numerous .

The See also:

• MISSION

mission of the See also:

• AMERICAN

American Presbyterian Church, which has had its centre in Beirut for the last sixty years, has done much for Syria, especially in the spread of popular See also:

• EDUCATION

education; numerous publications issue from its See also:

• PRESS (through Fr. presse from Lat. pressare, frequentative of premere, to crush, squeeze, press)

press, and its medical school has been extremely beneficial . The See also:

• CATHOLIC (Gr. KcaBoXuK6s, general, universal)

Catholic mission has done very good See also:

• WORK

work in what relates to See also:

• SCHOOLS

schools, institutes and the See also:

• DIFFUSION (from the Lat. diffundere; dis-, asunder, and fundere, to pour out)

diffusion of literature . The Christians constitute the educated portion of the Syrian See also:

• PEOPLE

people; but the spirit of rivalry has produced stimulative effects on the Mahommedans, who had greatly fallen away from that zeal for knowledge which characterized the earlier centuries of their faith . See also:

• LANGUAGE (adapted from the Fr. langage, from langue, tongue, Lat. lingua)

Language.—The language throughout southern and middle Syria as high as See also:

• KILLIS

Killis is Arabic, which has entirely ousted Aramaic and Hebrew from See also:

• COMMON

common use, and tends to prevail even over the speech of recent immigrants like the Circassians . The last survivals of Aramaic are to be sought in certain remote villages of Anti-Lebanon, and in the See also:

• SYRIAC

Syriac known to the See also:

• CLERGY (M.E. clergie, O. Fr. clergie, from Low Lat. form clericia [Skean, by assimilation with O. Fr. clergie, Fr. clerge,from Low Lat. clericatus)
• CLERGY, BENEFIT OF

clergy . From the upper Sajur northwards See also:

• TURKISH

Turkish prevails, even among the Armenians; but many Kurdish communities retain their own See also:

• TONGUE (O. Eng. lunge)

tongue . See also:

• GOVERNMENT
• GOVERNMENT (0. Fr. governement, mod. gouvernement, O. Fr. governer, mod. gouverner, from Lat. gubernare, to steer a ship, guide, rule; cf. Gr. xv(3epvav)

Government.—The political status of the country is controlled by the Ottoman See also:

• EMPIRE

Empire, of which Syria makes part, divided into the vilayets of Aleppo, Sham or Syria (Damascus), the Lebanon (q.v.) and Beirut, and the See also:

• SEPARATE

separate sanjaks or mutessarifliks of Zor and Jerusalem . Ottoman See also:

• CONTROL (Fr. contrdle, older form contre rolle, from Med. Lat. contra-rotulus, a counter roll or copy of a document used to check the original; there is no instance in English of the use of " control " in this, its literal, meaning)

control is imperfect in Lebanon, the Houran, and over the Armenian mountain region of Zeitun and over the eastern steppe-lands, whose nomadic populations can withdraw themselves out of reach . But considerable success has been achieved in inducing the Syrian Arabs to See also:

• SETTLE
• SETTLE, ELKANAH (1648–1724)

settle and in supplying a counteracting influence to their unrest by the See also:

• ESTABLISHMENT (0. Fr. establissement, Fr. etablissement, late Norm. Fr. establishement, from O. Fr. establir, Fr. etablir, Lat. stabilire, to make stable)

establishment of agricultural colonies, e.g. those of the Circassians in See also:

• BASHAN

Bashan, Ammon and Moab . Communications are still very imperfect, but have been greatly improved of late years . See also:

• RAILWAYS

Railways run from Beirut to Homs, See also:

• HAMAH

Hamah, Aleppo and Damascus (See also:

• FRENCH
• FRENCH, DANIEL CHESTER (1850– )
• FRENCH, NICHOLAS (1604-1678)

French), and to the latter also from See also:

• HAIFA

Haifa (Turkish) . From the termination of the Damascus-Mzerib railway a line (the " See also:

• MECCA (Arab. Makkah)

Mecca railway ") has been laid by Ottoman enterprise east of Jordan to the southern limit of Syria and beyond .

From Jaffa a short line runs to Jerusalem, and a 308 See also:

• STEAM
• STEAM (0. Eng. steam, vapour, smoke, cf. Du. steam; the origin is unknown)

steam See also:

• TRAMWAY

tramway connects Beirut with See also:

• TRIPOLI
• TRIPOLI (Tarabulus el-Gharb, i.e. Tripoli of the West)
• TRIPOLI, or TARABULUS (anc. Tripolis)

Tripoli . There are See also:

• CARRIAGE

carriage roads radiating from Aleppo to the sea at Alexandretta, and to Aintab; and Antioch is also connected with Alexandretta; Beirut and Horns with Tripoli; Damascus with Beirut; and See also:

• NAZARETH (mod. en-Ndsira)

Nazareth with Haifa . But carriage roads in the Ottoman dominions are seldom completely made, and hardly ever kept in repair . The Lebanon district is well supplied with both roads and made See also:

• MULE (Lat. mulus)

mule-tracks . See also:

• COMMERCE
• COMMERCE (Lat. commercium, from, cum, together, and rnerx, merchandise)

Commerce.—From the See also:

• EGYPTIAN

Egyptian and Assyno-Babylonian monuments we learn that in ancient times one of the principal exports of Syria was See also:

• TIMBER

timber; this has now entirely ceased . But it continues to export See also:

• WHEAT
• WHEAT (Triticum)

wheat . Other articles of export are See also:

• SILK

silk cocoons, woo:, hides, See also:

• SPONGES

sponges, eggs and fruits (oranges, almonds, raisins and the like) ; the amounts of See also:

• COTTON
• COTTON (Fr. coton; from Arab. qutun)
• COTTON, CHARLES (163o–1687)
• COTTON, GEORGE EDWARD LYNCH (1813–1866)
• COTTON, JOHN (1585–1652)
• COTTON, SIR ROBERT BRUCE

cotton, tobacco and See also:

• WINE (Lat. vinum, Gr. oivos)

wine sent out of the country are small . The only good harbours are those of Beirut and Alexandretta (Iskanderun) . The See also:

• CARAVAN (more correctly Karwan)

caravan trade with the East has almost entirely ceased, and the great trade routes from Damascus northwards to Aleppo and eastwards through the See also:

• WILDERNESS

wilderness are quite abandoned . The See also:

• TRAFFIC

traffic with Arabia has ceased to be important, being limited to the See also:

• TIME (0. Eng. Lima, cf. Icel. timi, Swed. timme, hour, Dan. time; from the root also seen in " tide," properly the time of between the flow and ebb of the sea, cf. O. Eng. getidan, to happen, " even-tide," &c.; it is not directly related to Lat. tempus)
• TIME, MEASUREMENT OF
• TIME, STANDARD

time of the going and returning of the great See also:

• PILGRIMAGE (Fr. pelerinage, Lat. peregrinatio)

pilgrimage to Mecca, which continues to have its mustering-See also:

• PLACE (through Fr. from Lat. platea, street; Gr. IrAar6s, wide)

place at Damascus, but leaves mainly by See also:

• RAIL