Tabula Imperii Byzantini, Band 15: Syria (Syria Prote, Syria Deutera, Syria Euphratesia)

The present three-volume study constitutes a Historical Geography of Northern Syria in the period from Hellenism until the end of the Crusades (300 B.C.-A.D. 1300). The geographical area covered in TIB 15 comprises not only the northern part of the territory of the Syrian Arab Republic, but also the provinces of the Republic of Turkey adjacent to Syria. In addition to the previous historical and archaeological research done on the regions of Syria and concentrating either on the ancient Middle Eastern cultures of Syria, the Hellenistic-Roman period or the Islamic and Crusader times, this volume of the TIB aims at the demonstration of the not yet sufficiently recognised Byzantine constituent in this area, which not only was effective during the period of time covered in this study, but which is still constitutive for the actual self-conception of the Greek-Orthodox Christians living in the modern Middle East. The importance of Northern Syria for the Eastern Roman resp. Byzantine Empire can scarcely be overestimated. Up to the catastrophes of the 6th century, the imperial provinces Syria prote including the capital Antioch (today Antakya, Turkey), Syria deutera with its capital Apameia (now Qal`at al-Maiq) and Syria Euphratesia together with its capital Hierapolis (modern Manbig) ranked among the most densely populated and economically prosperous territories of the Roman Empire. After the Arab-Muslim conquest of the Middle East (633-638) Northern Syria served as a concentration area of Arab armies in their campaigns against Byzantium. Following the Byzantine recapture of the regions close to the coast of the Mediterranean the dukaton of Antioch constituted the most eminent military governorate of the empire, extending unto the very walls of Tripolis and im (Homs). Though Aleppo continued to be the capital of an Arab-Muslim emirate, nevertheless its lords up to the 1060s were obliged to pay tribute to the emperor. The Greek-Orthodox patriarchate of Antioch had been reintegrated into the Byzantine church. In the 12th century, two out of the four (resp. three) Crusader states, viz. the County of Tripolis and the Principality of Antioch, were at times vassal states of the Byzantine empire. Even after 1180 Byzantium by means of temporarily very close diplomatic relations to the Mamluk sultans exercised a certain influence on the history of Syria. It has been the objective of our research work to describe the whole of the Hellenistic-Roman, the Byzantine and the Byzantine-influenced Northern Syria in the period between Hellenism resp. the Roman Imperial age and the end of the Crusades with respect to Historical Geography and Topography by means of a preferably complete survey of all epigraphic, literary and documentary source material in all relevant source languages (Ancient and Middle Greek, Latin, Syriac and other Aramaic dialects, Arabic, Armenian, Georgian, Turkic up to Turkish, Hebraic, Ancient Ethiopian/Ge`ez, and about a dozen others) as well as through an at least summary catalogue of all respective archaeological monuments. This three-volume work consists of an extensive introduction covering in chapters A-C the geography as well as the historical and administrative development of Northern Syria (including the numerous natural catastrophes). Chapters D-G are devoted to the very intricate ecclesiastical history, the history of monasticism, the population development, the economic history, an to an inquiry into the lines of communication. In the second part the authors give a detailed account of the history and archaeological monuments of the two most prominent cities of Northern Syria, Antioch and Aleppo, up to the second half of the 13th century resp. to the Mamluk period. The third section, comprising approximately 2,000 topographical entries, lists all cities and other settlements (including monasteries) mentioned by the literary or epigraphical sources together with those where more or less well-preserved remnants of archaeological monuments of the period from 300 B.C. to A.D. 1300 can still be detected. The study is accompanied by two thematical maps prepared in close cooperation with Prof. Dr. Anton ESCHER and geographers Barbara FUCHS and Peter SPEHS (members of the Geographical Institute of the Johannes Gutenberg- Universität Mainz). The main map (scale: 1:800,000) gives an overview over the whole of the area covered, the secondary map (scale: 1:400,000) shows the Northern Syrian limestone massif in greater detail.