15; Curt. Then it made a part of the kingdom of the Seleueida:, from whom it passed into the hands of the Romans (Pion iii:5; Diod. Sic. xxxix :30). In the time of the Apostle Paul it belonged to the dependent kingdom of the Arabian prince Aretas. At a later period it N%as reckoned among the cities of Decapolis (Plin. Hist. Nat. v:16) ; then it was added to the prov ince of Phwnice, and at last made a part of the province of Phccnicia Libanesia (1 I ierocles, Synec.). From the time of Hadrian it bore the honorary title of Metropolis, without enjoying the rights of a metropolis. Under the Greek emper ors of Constantinople Damascus was the most cele brated city of the East, remarkable for its wealth, luxury, magnificence, and its very large Christian population. A great era in its history is its con quest by the Saracens, of which an account may be found in the writings of the Arabic historian Alwakidi (Ockley's Hist, of the Saracens). The war was begun about A. D. 633, by the celebrated Abubeker, the successor of Mohammed; and end ed in the capture of the city, and the substitution of Islamism for Christianity. It then became the capital of the whole Mussulman world, till the Caliphate was removed from it to Bagdad. The city continued under the sway of the caliphs of Bagdad till it came into the hands of the Turks, and was held and rendered famous by Noureddin and Saladin. In 1301 Timour the Tartar cap tured the city and barbarously treated its inhab itants. From Josephus (De Bell. Jud. !2: XXV : 2; XX :2 ; comp. Acts ix:2) it appears that its pop ulation contained great numbers of Jews.
Damascus is famous in the first age of Chris tianity for the conversion and first preaching of the apostle Paul (Acts ix:3, 20; Gal. i :17). The consequences might have been fatal to the apostle. his life was endangered in this fanatical city. In Damascus the governor under Aretas. the king, kept the city of the Damascenes with a garrison, desirous to apprehend me; and through a window in a basket was I let down by the wall, and es caped his hands' (2 Cor. xi:32-3).
(4) The Present Condition. The interior of the city does not correspond with the exquisite beauty of its environs. In the Armenian quar ter the houses are built with mud. and pierced towards the street by a very few small grated win dows with red painted shutters. They are low, and the flat arched doors resemble those of stables. A filthy dunghill and a pool of stinking water are almost invariably before the doors. In some of these dwellings, belonging to the principal Arme nian merchants, there is great internal richness and elegance. The furniture consists of magnifi cent Persian or Bagdad carpets, which entirely cover the marble or cedar floor. and of numerous cushions and mattresses. spread in the middle of the saloon, for the members of the family to sit or lean against.
There is a fine wide street, formed by the. palaces of the agar of Damascus. who are the nobility of the land The fronts of these palaces, however, towards the street, are like long prison or hospital walls, mere grey mud walls, with few or no windows, whilst at intervals is a great gate opening on a court. But the interior is magnifi cent. The bazaars are very striking. The great bazaar is about half a league long. There are long streets covered in with high wood-work, and lined with shops, stalls, magazines, and cafés. The shops are narrow, and go only a short way back.
The merchant is seated in front, with his legs dou bled up below him, and the pipe in his mouth. The magazines are stored with merchandise of all sorts, and particularly with Indian manufactures, which are brought in great profusion by the cara vans from Bagdad. In the midst of the bazaars stands the finest khan in the East, that of Uussan Pasha. It is an immense cupola, whose bold springing arch recalls that of St. Peter's at Rome; it is in like manner borne on granite pillars.
Not far distant is the principal mosque, formerly a church consecrated to St. John, whose skull and sepulchre, found in this holy place, give it such a sanctity that it is death for even a Moham medan to enter the room where the relics are kept. Situated at the edge of the desert, at the mouth of the plains of Cale-Syria and the valleys of Galilee, of Idumtea, and of the coasts of the Sea of Syria, Damascus was needed as a resting place for the caravans to India. It is essentially a commercial town. Two hundred merchants are permanently settled in it. Foreign trade is car ried on by the Great Mecca caravan, the Bagdad caravan, the Aleppo, and by several small ones to Beirut (its sea-port), Tripoli, Acre, etc. Lamar tine makes its population to be some 300,000, of whom 30,000 are Christians. Another estimate (McCulloch, Geograph. Diet.) gives only from 120,000 to 130,000 inhabitants, comprising 12,000 Christians and as many Jews, which is probably a pretty high estimate.
Political changes and social influences have les sened and mitigated the proverbial bigotry of the Damascenes. The lower classes, indeed, are still fanatical, but a better feeling on religion prevails in the higher. Winding round the walls on the outskirts of the city, one conies to a point where they were broken at the top. at which Paul is said to have been let down in a basket, to escape the indignation of the Jews, when (Acts ix) 'the dis ciples took him by night, and let him down by the wall in a basket.' From hence, passing on through some pretty lanes, the traveler reaches an open green spot, surrounded by trees, over the tops of which can be seen the distant summits of Mount Hermon. At this place it is said Saul had arrived when (Acts ix:3) as he journeyed he came near Damascus, and suddenly there shined round about him a great light from heaven. These localities are pointed out with the greatest confidence by the Damascene Christians of all sects, and are held in great veneration; nor is it dil.icult to suppose that the true spots have been handed down by tradition among the followers of the cross. 'The street which is called Straight' (Acts ix :t t) is still found in Damascus. or at any rate a street bearing that name. Addison says it is 'a mile in length,' and 'so-called because it leads direct from the gate to the castle or palace of the Pasha.' The house of Judas, also, to which Ananias went, is still pointed out, as well as that of Ananias him self. How much credulity may have had to do in fixing on and perpetuating the recollection of these localities, it is probably easier to suspect than to ascertain. J. R. B.
Burckhardt, Arabia, p. too; Lamartine, Travels in the East; Addison's Damascus and Palmyra, ii :too: Bowring's Report on Syria; Stanley, Sinai and Palestine; Porter. Five Years in Damascus; Pococke, Travels; Kelley, Syria.