Palestine Under the Moslems: A Description of Syria and the Holy Land From A.D. 650 to 1500 Kindle Edition

Palestine under the Moslems; a description of Syria and the Holy Land from A.D. 650 to 1500. Translated from the works of the mediaeval Arab geographers.SYRIA AND PALESTINE. SYRIA a name first given by the Greeks to the country lying immediately round Sur, or Tyre, and which afterwards came to be applied by them to the whole province was never adopted by the Arabs as a general term for the lands on the eastern border of the Mediterranean. The whole of the great and fertile tract of mountain-land and plain, generally known to us as Syria and Palestine, extending from the Cilician Passes on the north, to the desert of Egypt on the south, and bounded on the west and east by the sea and the desert of Arabia respectively, the Arabs called Ash Sham, that being an ancient Arabic word for " left," (or " north ") when the speaker faced the rising sun. Another, and more fanciful, etymology of this name is also given by Mukaddasi and others:" It has been said that Syria is called ' Sham,' " says Mukaddasi, " because it lies on the left of the Ka'abah, and also because those who journey thither (from the Hijjaz) bear to the left or north; or else it may be because there are in Syria so many Beauty-spots, such as we call Shamat red, white and black (which are the fields and gardens held to resemble the moles on a beauty's face).""Syria is very pleasantly situated. The country, physically, may be divided into four zones. The first zone is that on the border of the Mediterranean Sea. It is the plain-country, the sandy tracts following one another, and alternating with the cultivated land. Of towns situated herein are Ar Ramlah, and also all the cities of the sea-coast. The second zone is the mountain country, well wooded, and possessing many springs, with frequent villages, and cultivated fields. Of the cities that are situated in this part are: Bait Jibril, Jerusalem, Nabulus, Al-Lajjun, Kabul, Kadas, the towns of the Bika' and Antioch. The third zone is that of the valleys of the (Jordan) Ghaur, wherein are found many villages and streams, also palm-trees, well cultivated fields, and indigo plantations. Among the towns in this part are Wailah, Tabuk, Sughar, Jericho, Baisan, Tiberias, Baniyas. The fourth zone is that bordering on the Desert. The mountains here are high and bleak, and the climate resembles that of the Waste; but it has many villages, with springs of water and forest trees. Of the towns therein are Maab, 'Amman, Adhra'ah, Damascus, Hims, Tadmur, and Aleppo."JERUSALEM.JERUSALEM is known to the Muslims by the names of Bait au Mukaddas or Bait al Makdis, signifying " The Holy House "; or else simply as Al Kuds, " The Holy "; the latter being the more common name at the present day. The ancient Hebrew name, " Yerushalaim," was, however, well known to the Arabs, though not used, and Yakut mentions the forms Urtshallum, Urishalum, also Shallow, as the various names of the Holy City in the days of the Jews. (Yak., i. 402; Hi. 315; iv. 590.)The Emperor Hadrian, after removing all the Jews from Jerusalem (A.D. 130), gave the town the name of. Ælia Capitolina the first part of this name was preserved in the Arabic as Iliya, a name which, having no signification for the Arabs, gave rise to numerous legends. Yakut writes:" It is reported on the authority of Ka'ab that the Holy City was called Iliya because Iliya was the name of a woman who built the city." (Yak., iv. 592.) Further, Iliya is said to mean Bait Allah (the House of God). And, again, Iliya is said to have been so called " after the name of its builder, who was Iliya, son of Aram, son of Sam (Shem), son of Nun (Noah), and he was the brother of Dimishk (Damascus), Hims (Emessa), Urdunn (Jordan), and Filastin (Palestine)." (Yak., i. 423, 424.) Read more