Page:Syria, the land of Lebanon (1914).djvu/124

SYRIA, THE LAND OF LEBANON which since the dawn of history has sat in proud strength between the mountains and the desert.

From the viewpoint of physical geography, Syria is Lebanon; but politically commercially and socially, it is still true that "the head of Syria is Damascus." Indeed, the city is now hardly ever called by its real name, Dimeshk. It is simply esh-Shâm—Syria!

History does not recall a time when Damascus did not nestle here among the orchards which sweep out to the edge of the desert. The Moslem tradition that it was founded by Eliezer, the chief servant of Abraham, points to far too late a date. Josephus tells us that it was built by Uz, the grandson of Shem the son of Noah, and that when Abraham came hither from Ur with an army of Chaldeans, he captured the already old capital and for a time reigned here as king of Syria. "The name of Abram is even now famous in the country of Damascus," adds the Jewish historian. Eighteen hundred years later, that is still true.

Without discussing further its legendary claims to supreme antiquity, it is safe to say that Damascus is the oldest important city in the world with an unbroken history reaching to the present day. The fame of its artificers and gardeners is embodied even in our English language; for we speak of Damascus steel, the damask plum, damask rose, damask color, [ 90 ]