Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1860-08-03
The City of Damascus-Its Great Antiquity
The Late Massacre Of Christians There.

The City of Damascus-Its Great Antiquity
The Late Massacre Of Christians There.
The news from Syria continues to be of the
most appalling character. The late advices
report that from 1000 to 5000 Christians have
been slain, and Is villages laid waste with fire
and sword. The massacre at Damascus, where
500 Christians, including the Dutch Consul,
were msssscred, and the American Consul
wounded, gives renewed interest to the history
of thst ancient city. The Philadelphia Bull
letin supplies some particulars, which We SUBJ
join:
Damascus was an important place at least as
early as the time of Abraham, so that it is not
less than four thousand years old. Etymolo-
gists dispute about the meaning of the name.
1t was the ancient capital of Syria, and was
thus the quintessence of the quick -witted race
it represented 1t is called by some the most
ancient city in the world. This is no doubt,
Eastern exaggeration, but the fact that every
thing said by the orientalists about this famous
ly its real attractions had taken effect upon
their vivid Imagination. A celebrated epistle
of an ancient writer calls it "the great and
sacred city of Damascus, surprising every city,
both i'll the beauty of its temples and the mag
nitude of its shrines as we'll as the timeliness
of its seasons, the limpidnsss of its fountains,
the volume OF its waters, and the richness of
Its soil" ." Its people call it ga pearl surround
ed by emeralds." Of all the cities of the East,
it is perhaps the most oriental
The descriptions of Buckingham are not con-
sidered entirely reliable. But there has sell
dom anything been written with human pen
more beautiful than his picture of the plain of
Damascus. He compares it to an English seat
In the country, surrounded by an immense
park. The visitor inquiries for the family
and finds that they have been for year in
Italy Meanwhile the place has beel most
delightfully."- unkept. It's rich cultivation is
everywhere partially grown up; the trees un-
trimmed and dipping their branches in the
sparkling rivulets; the roses grown almost into
trees and covered with innumerable blossoms
Everywhere is seen rich verdure, luxuriant
growth, with but such touch of wildness as
70 give the finishing grace to the landscape.
Such, he says, is Damascus in the bloom of
the year.
Damascus was conquered by David, who
made it tributary. After being held by Solo
mon, it revolted, and afterwards was at the
head Of thirty -and-two kings. 1t was subse-
quently taken by Assyria and Persia. After
the battle of Issus, it fell into the hands of
Alexander the Great, and Pompey, annexed it
to the Roman Empire. After being celebrated
for its wealth and splendor under the Greek
Emperors, it was conquered by the Saracens.
and became for time the capital of the Mo-
hammedan world. The scepter of Islam passed
over to Bagdad but Damascus is still famous
In the history OF OF Salddln.
Ii was besieged by the Crusaders in the
twelfth century, Sut they failed to take it,
Later still, it was captured, with circumstances
of great barbarity, by Tamerlane, and finally
fell into the hands of the Turks under Selim l.
1t possesses, too, high moral interest, for on
that beautiful plain it was that st. Paul 90 be-
came obedient to the heavenly vision"
Among the points of interest connected with
this famous city are the Damascus blades, so
ma laa la hat thau oh ha hap
angle without losing their elasticity; so keen
that they could sever down or gauzc floating
in the air, or divide iron without destroying
their odge. For agos the seerot of their nam
ufacture was unknown. General Anossoff, in
the Ural mountains, however, succeeded, in
quite recent times, in making sword which
seemed to equal the best Damascus, ' with a
blade of reticulated lines-such as always
appeared on the finest Damsscene blades-in
broad stripes and showing a bright gilded re
Election. He cut through gauze hand erchief
in the air, and cleft bones and nails, feas
which cannot be performed with the best Eng
lish steel" Anderson, in his recent travels in
Siberia, states, however, that the secret died
with Anossof, as these swords are not now
made at Damascus.
Another point of interest is the famous Da-
mask stuff. They are properly silk, though
sometimes made Of other fabrics. Large quan-
titles of silk are still manufactured, and the
Damask roses have lost nothing Of their imme-
mortal beauty.
There is at Damascus a considerable trade,
both with India and Europe. From India are
brought by the Persian Gulf Bassora, Bagdad,
and Aleppo. spices, cotton goods, coarse and
fine muslins. and gold stufs English goods
come through Beyrout and Tripoli. The peo-
pie are MOhammedans, Druses, Oriental Chris
tans, Jews, &c. The population is about one
hundred thousand.