Damascus in present-day is the capital and the 2nd-largest city of Syria after Aleppo. It is commonly known in Syria as "Ash-Sham" and nicknamed as the "City of Jasmine"(Arabic: Madinat Al-Yasmin"). In addition to be one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the World, Damascus is a major cultural and religious center of the Levant.
In the 13th and 14th centuries, the term Levant was used for Italian maritime commerce in the Eastern Mediterranean, including Greece, Anatolia, Syria-Palestine, and Egypt (the lands East of Venice). Eventually the term was restricted to the Muslim countries of Syria-Palestine and Egypt.
Damascus was built in a strategically site on a Plateau 680m/2230ft above sea-level and about 80km/50mi inland from the Mediterranean, sheltered by the Anti-Lebanon Mountains, supplied with water by the Barada river, and at a Crossroads between Trade Routes: the North-South route connecting Egypt with Asia Minor, and the East-West Cross-Desert route connecting Lebanon with the Eupharates River Valley.
The Anti-Lebanon Mountains mark the border between Syria and Lebanon.
Damascus experience the rain shadow effect giving the Region a semi-arid climate due to the elevation of the Mountains over the Plateau making it an important weather and climate factor of the area. The Anti-Lebanon Mountain Range has peaks of over 3053m/10,000ft and blocks precipitation from the Mediterranean Sea, making the region of Damascus subject to drought seasons. Throughout the arid Plateau region East of Damas-cus, oases, streams, and a few minor rivers that empty into swamps and small lakes provide water for local irrigation.
The Barada River (Greek: Chry-Sorrh-Oas) is the main river in Damascus. It rises in the Anti-Lebanon Mountains and disappears into the desert. It descends through a steep, narrow gorge before it arrives at Damascus, where it divides into 7 Branches that irrigate the Al Ghutah Oasis, the location of Damascus. Eventually the Ghouta reached a size of 370 square kilometers, making Damascus be surrounded by oasis and farmlands where many vegetables, cereals and fruits have been farmed since ancient times. Although in 1980s, urban growth started (2.6 million in 2004) replacing agricultural use with housing and industry. The river has also suffered from severe drought in the last decades. It also suffers from serious pollution problems, especially in the Summer, where there is no flow and little water in the Basin.
No large-scale settlement was present within Damascus until the 2nd millennium BC. Carbon-14 dating at Tell Ramad, on the outskirts of Damascus, suggests that the site was occupied since the 2nd half of the 7th millennium BC, possibly around 6300BC. However, evidence of settlements have been found in the wider Barada basin dating back to 9000BC. The old city, enclosed by the city walls, lies on the South bank of the River Barada, now almost dry.
Damascus was part of the ancient Province of Amur-Ru in the Hyksos Kingdom, from 1720 to 1570BC. Some of the earliest Egyptian records are from the 1350 BC Armana Letters, when Damascus (called Dimas-Qu) was ruled by king Birya-Waza.
The Damascus region, as well as the rest of Syria, became a battleground circa 1260BC, between the Hittites from the North and the Egyptians from the South, ending with a signed treaty between Hat--Tusili and Ramesses II where the former handed over control to Ramesses II in 1259BC. The arrival of the Sea Peoples, around 1200BC brought about new development of Warfare.
Damas-cus is mentioned in Genesis 14:15 as existing at the time of the War of the Kings. According to 1st century Jewish historian Flavius Josephus, Damascus was founded by Uz, the son of Aram, son of Shem, making Uz grandson of Noah. His name was given to an area, later inhabited by Job. Nicolaus of Damas-Cus, (born around 64BC in Damas-Cus) a Greek historian and philosopher who lived during the Augustan Age of the Roman Empire, "Abraham reigned at Damas-Cus, being a foreigner, who came with an army out of the Land above Babylon, called the Land of the Chaldeans. But, after a long time, "He" got him up, and removed from that country also, with his people, and went into the Land then called the Land of Canaan, but now the Land of Judea, and this when his posterity were become a multitude; as to which of his posterity, we relate their history in another work. Now the name of Abraham is even still famous in the country of Damas-Cus; and there is shown a Village named from him, The Habitation of Abraham.
By the start of the 1st millennium BC, several Aramaic Kingdoms were formed. One of this Kingdoms was Aram-Damas-Cus, centered on its capital Damas-They entered the city without battle and adopted the name "Dimash-Qu" for their new Home. Noticing the agricultural potential they established the water distribution system by constructing canals and tunnels which maximized the efficiency of the River Barada. The same network was later adopted and improved by the Romans and the Umay-Yads, and still forms the basis of the water system of the old part of the city today.
By the 8th century BC, Damas-Cus was practically engulfed by the Assyrians and entered a dark age.
By 609-605 BC, Assyrian authority was dwindling, and Syria-Palestine was falling into the orbit of Pharaoh Necho II's. In 572, all of Syria had been conquered by the Neo-Babylonians, but the status of Damas-Cus under Babylon is relatively unknown.
During the Greco-Roman period, Damas-Cus was conquered by Alexander the Great. After the death of Alexander in 323 BC, Damas-Cus became the site of struggle between the Seleucid and Ptolemaic Empires. The control of the city passed frequently from one empire to the other.
In 64 BC, the Roman general Pompey annexed the Western part of Syria. The Romans occupied Damas-Cus and subsequently incorporated it into the League of Ten Cities known as the Decapolis which themselves were incorporated into the province of Syria and granted autonomy.
In 23 BC Herod the Great was granted lands controlled by Zeno-Dorus son of Lysanias by Caesar Augustus, including Damas-Cus. The control of Damas-Cus reverted to Syria upon the death of Herod.
A certain understanding of 2 Corinthians 11:32 is the only prove of this events.
Damas-Cus became a metropolis by the beginning of the 2nd century and in 222 it was upgraded to a "Colonia" by the Emperor Septimius Severus. During the Pax Romana, Damas-Cus and the Roman province of Syria began to prosper. Damas-Cus's importance as a caravan city was evident with the Trade Routes from Southern Arabia, Palmyra, Petra, and the Silk Routes from China all converging on it. Little is being left of the architecture of the Romans, but the town planning of the Old City did have a lasting effect.
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