SYRIA. 813 
some wheat. The climate is mild, and the town well adapt¬ 
ed for a winter residence, but in summer it is rendered 
unhealthy by the marshes at the head of the harbour; it 
is 30 miles south-south-east of Catania, and 80 south-south¬ 
west of Messina. Lat. 37. 3. 0. N. long. 15. 27.3. E. 
SY'REN. See Siren. 
SYRESHAM, a parish of England, in Northamptonshire; 
4 miles north-east of Brackley. Population 593. 
SYRESTON, a parish of England, in Nottinghamshire ; 
5 miles south-west of Newark. 
SYRIA, a fine country of Asia, situated along the most 
interior coast of the Mediterranean, which bounds it on the 
west, while on the north Mount Taurus and its branches 
divide it from Asia Minor, and on the east a vast and track¬ 
less desert, stretching northwards from Arabia, and partaking 
of the dreariest character of that region, separates it at an 
undefined point from the Persian or independent provinces 
of Kurdistan and Irak Arabi. On the north it has Pales¬ 
tine. That country, indeed, has been often considered as 
part of Syria, the frontier of which would thus be extended 
to Arabia and Egypt. As, however, Palestine has already 
been described at some length, it will be in a great measure 
excluded from our present description of Syria. 
There is no country in Asia more celebrated in antiquity, 
or which recalls more solemn recollections than Syria. 
In the earliest periods of the Jewish history, we find it 
already formed into a powerful kingdom, having Damas¬ 
cus for its capital. Its most remarkable district, however, 
consisted of the sea coast, entitled Phoenicia, in which com¬ 
merce first derived its origin, and flourished to a degree un¬ 
exampled in ancient times, unless in its own colony of Car¬ 
thage. After the conquests and death of Alexander, Syria 
was erected by his lieutenant, Seleucus, into a separate king¬ 
dom, which at first comprehended the whole west of Asia, 
and even after its limits were reduced, opposed, under Anti- 
ochus, a long and vigorous resistance to the Roman arms. 
Even under Rome, Antioch was still the splendid and luxu¬ 
rious capital of the east, and, next to Rome itself, and to 
Alexandria, the greatest city in the empire. On the rise of 
the Saracen power, Syria, exposed to their immediate inroads, 
was among the first to fall under their sway. Soon, how¬ 
ever, when the crusading armies poured into Asia, it became 
the grand theatre of contest between the armies of the cross 
and the crescent; and its plains, during many ages, were 
deluged with blood. At length the Moslem force triumphed 
over armies whose resources were at so great a distance, and 
whose strength lay only in the romantic enthusiasm with 
which they were animated. Syria was finally absorbed in 
the Turkish empire, of which it has formed one of the richest 
appendages. Its situation, however, is sufficiently distant to 
make it be with difficulty kept in regular subjection. Chiefs 
have from time to time started up, who have for some time 
set the power of the Porte at defiance. Among the earliest 
was Fackerdin, emir of the Druses, a well known people, in¬ 
habiting the mountainous district of Lebanon. Not contented 
with reigning over them as a tributary prince, he made him¬ 
self master of Bairout, and successively of all the towns on 
the Syrian coast. He pretended to be only the instrument 
of the Porte in punishing refractory pachas, and recommend¬ 
ed himself by remitting a larger tribute than before. He re¬ 
mained for a considerable time almost absolute master of 
Syria, till, having abandoned himself to ease and luxury, 
which he had learned during a visit to Italy, the Porte, 
whose jealousy was now fully awakened, sent against him a 
strong force, by which the emir w'as defeated, taken, and 
put to death. His posterity, however, continued to admi¬ 
nister the affairs of the Druses, but entirely as vassals of the 
Porte. About the middle of the last century, Daher, a 
powerful Arabian sheik, established in Syria a power so in¬ 
dependent, that the Porte, in order to preserve any form of al¬ 
legiance, was obliged first to grant him an annual lease of his 
dominions, and then fo confirm it to his successor; thus ren¬ 
dering him completely an independent sovereign. At length 
the Porte, determined to vindicate his power, dispatched a large 
army into Syria; and though Daher, fortified by the alliance 
You XXIII. No. 1G09. 
of the celebrated Ali Bey, gained repeated victories, he was 
ultimately overpowered and put to death. During his ad¬ 
ministration, he had greatly improved the condition of 
Syria. He made no distinctions in point of religion; and 
his justice had established among the people a sense of se¬ 
curity elsewhere unknown in Turkey. His successor was 
the celebrated Dsjezzar Pacha, who soon raised a power 
almost equally independent, but the savage energy of whose 
administration was not accompanied by the improving and 
protecting system of his predecessor. The reign of this 
chief was rendered remarkable by the invasion of Syria by 
Buonaparte, when Dsjezzar, with the aid of British seamen 
gave that dreaded commander the first serious check he had 
received. After the death of Dsjezzar, the power reverted to 
the Porte, and Soleiman was appointed Pacha. About this 
time the state of Syria became critical, in consequence of 
the formidable inroad of the Wahabis, who had entirely 
blocked up the route to Mecca. They would no longer 
permit the great armed caravan from Damascus to proceed 
thither, though they allowed passage to single and unarmed 
pilgrims. The porte sent repeated injunctions to the pacha 
to avenge this insult to the majesty of the empire. Under 
this impulse, Abdallah, pacha of Damascus, undertook 
repeated expeditions, but was always obliged to return with¬ 
out reaching Mecca. He was supplanted by Yussuf Pacha, 
who made a good governor, and by a just and protecting 
system, had greatly improved the territory under his juris¬ 
diction; but he was not successful in resisting the Wahabis 
who, advancing through the Syrian desert, alarmed Da¬ 
mascus itself. Another deadly sin of Yussuf was the being 
very sparing in his remittances to the Porte, who therefore 
transferred the pachalic of Damascus to Soleiman, under 
whose government Acre and Tripoli had already been placed. 
In 1811, accordingly, when Mr. Burckhardt was at Da¬ 
mascus, Soleiman reigned over the whole of Syria and Pales¬ 
tine, except the pachalic of Aleppo. 
The leading feature in the physical aspect of Syria con¬ 
sists in the great mountain chain traversing it from south to 
north, and known, from its highest pinnacle near Tripoli 
and Bairout, under the name of Lebanon, or Libanus. 
Connected with Mount Casius, which stretches farther to 
the north, it forms a continued range, locking in with Mount 
Taurus on the frontier of Asia Minor. While Lebanon 
faces the Mediterranean, a parallel chain, called Anti Liba¬ 
nus, looks eastward upon the Syrian desert. Thus Syria, 
in its inhabited districts, may be considered as a country of 
valleys; but many of these valleys are blessed with extreme 
fertility, as well as with the utmost felicity of climate. That 
interposed between Lebanon and the Mediterranean, where 
it is of any breadth, yields amply all the richest products, 
being preserved, by the vicinity both of the mountains and 
the sea, from that aridity which forms the usual source of 
sterility in tropical regions. Besides all the most valuable 
grains, its fruits are held in especial esteem, particularly the 
oranges of Tripoli, the figs of Bairout, and the pistachios of 
Aleppo. As we ascend the sloping sides of Lebanon, all 
the varieties of European climate are successively experi¬ 
enced. These mountain tracks being possessed by free and 
industrious tribes, are much more diligently cultivated than 
the plains, whose tenants are continually exposed to the 
extortions of the pachas. The vine and the mulberry are 
reared by care to great perfection; silks and wines are pro¬ 
duced, which rival those of Italy and France. Olives and 
tobacco are also cultivated successfully, and to a great ex¬ 
tent. Lebanon is chiefly composed of lime-stone, and 
presents those castellated rocks, and those extensive caves, 
which are characteristic of that formation. To the east of 
this chain vast plains extend, which, as long as they are 
refreshed with any portion of its moisture, yield most abund¬ 
ant crops of grain. The plains of the Hauran and the Lesge, 
to the south of Damascus, are peculiarly celebrated for 
their fertility. From this to the Euphrates, a vast track of 
desert intervenes, entirely given up to the wandering tribes 
of the Bedouins. 
The commerce of Syria has never been so great in modern 
9 X as 
