Damascus and the Region Fourth Century bc–Eighth Century ad
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 23564819 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Ross Burns (0000-0003-2575-6368, independent scholar, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Pages | 629-646 |
| Publication date | 2025-04-22 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | CHAPTER |
| Venue | Oxford Handbook of the Hellenistic and Roman near East (SOURCE_BOOK) |
| Publisher | Oxford University Press (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190858155.013.47 |
| OpenAlex | W4409664941 |
| ISBN | 9780190858155 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 6 |
For a thousand years, Damascus played a central role in the consolidation in Syria of the dominant culture of the Mediterranean world. Though of largely Aramaean extraction, Damascene society reflected the influence of Greek and later Roman civilization without losing numerous elements of its Semitic past. The pivotal role of the city in the consolidation of Greek and Roman rule in southern Syria continued into Byzantine times when Syria played an active part in fending off incursions from Persia to the east. The Sasanian invasion launched in 609 brought Persian occupation of Damascus from 613. Byzantine rule was restored under Heraclius following the collapse of Persian forces at the Battle of Nineveh in 627 but Byzantine Syria had less than six years’ reprieve before it faced a new challenge: the arrival of new rulers from a previously neglected quarter, Arabia.
Ancient history · Geography · Ancient Near East History · Archaeology and Historical Studies · Eurasian Exchange Networks · History
| Highly cited | No |
|---|