Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume II.djvu/622

 602 BEYROUT The old city is a dense nucleus of substantial buildings with narrow streets on the shore, whence extends a broad margin of picturesque villas with gardens running up to the summit of the heights. Beyond these are mulberry groves. The streets in the suburbs are wide and passable for carriages, and the houses, which are built of stone, are spacious. The popula- tion has nearly doubled within the last few years, partly owing to the opening of com- merce with Europe, which has proved very suc- cessful, and partly in consequence of the mas- sacre at Damascus in 1860, after which num- bers of the Christians there removed to Beyrout. The harbor is partly filled with sand, and ves- sels have to anchor in the road, or in St. George's bay, so called from the legend that St. George killed the dragon near that place. Beyrout is alternately with Damascus, for six months of the year, the seat of the governor of the vilayet of Syria, as organized in 1865. It is also the residence of the consuls gen- eral of most of the European powers and of the United States. It has Greek, United Greek, and United Syrian archbishops, a Jesuit college with a printing office, and a convent of Sisters of Charity. It is the centre of the American Protestant missions in Syria, with a literary and medical college and a theologi- cal seminary; and there are two Protestant religious journals in Arabic, and a house of German Protestant deaconesses. A large number of Europeans reside here, which has had the effect of giving new force and vitality to commerce. A macadamized road to Damas- cus has been built by a French company ; and silk-winding establishments, iron works, cot- ton factories, banking houses, &c., are con- Beyrout ducted mainly by foreigners. The exports are chiefly gram, wool, cotton, raw silk, hides, tobacco, oils, soap, hemp, drugs, figs, raisins, and native wines; the imports from the United States, Europe, and Egypt are kerosene, broad- cloth, woollen, cotton, linen, and silk stuffs, rice, sugar, coffee, and foreign wines and other deli- cacies. The importation of American petro- leum during the year 1870 amounted to $120,- 491 28. The exports to America, mainly of wool, for the same period amounted to $85,- 340 06. Beyrout is supposed to have been founded by the Phoenicians, although the first mention of it in classical writings is made by Strabo. Some critics identify it with the Berothah or Berothai of Scripture. In 140 B. C. it was destroyed by Diodotus Tryphon, the usurper of the throne of Syria. After its cap- ture by the Romans and restoration in the time of Augustus by Agrippa, it became a Ro- man colony under the name of Julia Augus- ta Felix Berytus. Under Claudius it was em- bellished by the erection of magnificent thea- tres, amphitheatres, and other edifices ; and under Caracalla it was surnamed Antoniniana. Here Titus after the destruction of Jerusalem celebrated the birthday of his father Vespasian by combats of gladiators, in which a great num- ber of the captive Jews perished. Later it be- came celebrated as a seat of learning, and par- ticularly of law, and attracted students from distant lands. The emperor Theodosius II. made it a metropolis. In 551 an earthquake laid the town in ruins, and before it was com- pletely restored it fell into the hands of the conquering Moslems, who destroyed alike agri- culture, commerce, architecture, and literature. In 1110 it was captured by the crusaders under Baldwin I., and was comprised within the king- dom of Jerusalem. It was again captured by