Overview

Syria's Monuments: their Survival and Destruction examines the fate of the various monuments in Syria (including present-day Lebanon, Jordan and Palestine/Israel) from Late Antiquity to the fall of the Ottoman Empire in the early 20th century. It examines travellers’ accounts, mainly from the 17th to 19th centuries, which describe religious buildings and housing in numbers and quality unknown elsewhere. The book charts the reasons why monuments lived or died, varying from earthquakes and desertification to neglect and re-use, and sets the political and social context for the Empire’s transformation toward a modern state, provoked by Western trade and example. An epilogue assesses the impact of the recent civil war on the state of the monuments, and strategies for their resurrection, with plentiful references and web links.

Full Product Details

Author:   Michael Greenhalgh
Publisher:   Brill
Imprint:   Brill
Volume:   5
Dimensions:   Width: 15.50cm , Height: 3.30cm , Length: 23.50cm
Weight:   0.943kg
ISBN:  

9789004329577

ISBN 10:   9004329579
Pages:   532
Publication Date:   03 November 2016
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Undergraduate
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Available To Order  
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Table of Contents

Contents Introduction The Extent of Syri Mapping Syria The Syria of Yesterday 1 The State of Syria in Recent Centuries Governance Earthquakes and Disease Trade Circassians and Other Settlers amongst the Monuments Nomadic Arabs Agriculture and Desertification Conclusion: Impact of Ottoman Decline on Antiquities 2 Travel throughout Syria Where to Go and How to Get There Languages, Dress and Descriptions Scholars in the East The Bible as a Guidebook Changing Horizons Meet the Unchanging East Biblical Monuments “Identified” Other Guidebooks: Baedeker, Cook & Murray Confected Guidebooks: An Example Travel then Tourism: The Agony and the Ecstasy Taxes and Robbery Profiteering Sheikhs Haram/Forbidden: Access to Muslim Sites Architectural Quality: Is Syria Worth Visiting? One-upmanship and Verbal Wars in Travel Narratives Modernisation Changes Travelling in the Unchanging East Conclusion 3 The Life and Death of Monuments Superstitions and Monuments Treasure-hunting and Locals’ Knowledge of the Past Vandalism Roads Milestones Bridges Railways Aqueducts Temples Degradation Locals and Antiquities Columns as Structural Tie-bars Mosaics and Veneers Quarries and Marble Re-use Ancient Towns and Villages and Their Houses 4 The Seabord: Harbours and Ports North to South 5 Aleppo and the North 238 6 Damascus and the Centre 262 7 Bosra and the South 287 8 West of the River Jordan 319 9 East of the River Jordan 331 10 Fortresses Roman, Muslim and Crusader 356 11 Mayhem: Archaeology, Museums and Mandates 379 Archaeology Digging in Palestine Filling Western Museums The First World War and the French & British Mandates Conclusion Epilogue: The Monuments of Syria in 2016 Syria: Timelines History of Archaeology and Travel in Syria Recent Political/Military Developments in the Region, and Their Sources Websites Detailing Syria’s Monuments Damaged Sites, Monuments and Museums Photographic Evidence of Destruction in Syria Guides/Surveys of Monuments and Regions Computer Reconstructions Conclusion: Warning about “Restoration” Appendix: Brief Biographies of Traveller-Scholars Bibliography Index Illustrations

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Author Information

Michael Greenhalgh (PhD 1968) is Emeritus Professor of Art History at the Australian National University. He has published widely on the survival of the Roman world, including most recently Destruction of the Cultural Heritage of 19th-century France: Old Stones versus Modern Identities (Leiden, 2015).

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