Mapping Damascus Over Time

The city of Damascus has always intrigued me. Maybe because it is the oldest established metropolis in the Levant region and the most continuously inhabited city in the world, or maybe it is because it is in the heart of the Middle East. Regardless of the reason behind this intriguing city, it is interesting to see how the city developed over time from a spatial perspective.  I have compiled a list of eight maps to show how the city developed since the Romans occupied the Levant region of the Middle East.  The first in the series of maps shows the various empires throughout history that helped shaped the city into its early 20th century boundaries.  Then each of the following maps progressively show how Damascus grew over time.  Now with the civil war destroying this city, it would be interesting to see how the city will be altered again.

Map 1: Urban Evolution of the City of Damascus - Roman Era until the 1960's

Map 2: French cartographic map of Damascus in 1929

Map 3: Cultural Map of the city of Damascus in 1936

Map 4: Growth of Damascus from 1936 to 1994

Map 5: Population Growth of Damascus, 1981 to 2000

Map 6: The City of Damascus in 2004

Map 7: The inner-city of Damascus, Present Day

Map 8: Present day satellite imagery of Damascus

Map Sources:

Map 1: Al-Qattan, N. (2002) Litigants and Neighbours: The Communal Topography of
           Ottoman Damascus Comparative Studies in Society and History Vol 44 No 3, p 511-533.
Map 2: Bureau Topographique des Troupes Francaises du Levant (1929) Damas available from  
           http://historiccities.huji.ac.il/syria/damascus/maps/tfl_1929_damascus.html
Map 3: a) Map - Al-Qattan, N. (2002) Litigants and Neighbours: The Communal Topography of
           Ottoman Damascus Comparative Studies in Society and History Vol 44 No 3, p 511-533.
           b) Religion overlay - Khoury, P.S. (1984) Syrian Urban Politics in Transition: The Quarters of
           Damascus during the French Mandate International Journal of Middle East
           Studies Vol 16 No 4 p 507-540 (1984).
Map 4: El-Ibrahim, K. (2001) Spontaneous Settlements around the City of Damascus
           Damascus: University of Damascus, p 80Map 5: El-Ibrahim, K. (2001) Spontaneous Settlements around the City of Damascus
           Damascus: University of Damascus, p. 71
Map 6: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Districts_of_damascus.gif
Map 7: http://www.studio-basel.com/assets/files/files/21_urban_development_of_damascus_web.pdf
Map 8: Astrium Geo. 2012. http://www.imagekind.com/Damascus-Syria--Satellite-Image-art?
           IMID=5cd73cc1-6559-42a0-a1c0-b1d745c9d45f

Geographic Conflicts of Land

Territorial boundaries drawn by past empires, who have had little regard for geographic realities, often become major sources of conflict.


Throughout history, empires have chosen specific boundaries based on mainly cultural and physical geographic areas.  The British Empire, which controlled many geographic areas in various continents throughout the world, was notably known for performing choosing specific boundaries.  Frequently, in the news I see Israel and its territorial disputes with its neighbors; therefore, I have decided to focus on Israel’s sources of conflicts based on its boundaries.  I will begin with a brief geographic history of Israel for an understanding of its current events. 


The land now known as Israel was once called Palestine is considered a holy land to the Muslims, Jews, and Christians.  Ancient Hebrews that lived in this region called the area Caanan.  After 1000 B.C., this area was split into two different kingdoms which were called Israel and Judah and were invaded by other empires constantly, some of which were the Egyptians, Macedonians, Romans, Persians, and the list continues.  Most of the original Hebrews who settled the region were then forced to emigrate elsewhere.  Afterwards, Palestine became a center of Christian pilgrimage after the emperor Constantine converted to that faith.  Hundreds of years later, the Arabs gained control of Palestine from the Byzantine Empire and Muslims continued to rule this region until the 20th century.  Throughout this period, Hebrews started to settle back into Palestine. During World War I, British forces defeated the Turks in Palestine and governed the area until they officially withdrew in 1948, which formed the State of Israel.  In the following days, Muslim forces from Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, and Iraq invaded the new formed nation.  As a result, Israel had increased its original territory by 50%, taking western Galilee, a broad corridor through central Palestine to Jerusalem, and part of modern Jerusalem.  Almost a decade later, Egypt nationalized the Suez Canal and forbidden Israeli shipping to travel through the newly created canal.  This led Israel to seize the area known as the Gaza Strip located on the Sinai Peninsula.  Another decade later, Israel made simultaneous attacks against Syrian, Jordanian, and Egyptian air bases, totally defeating the neighboring Muslim nations which tripled the size of Israel’s territory.  The areas controlled by Israel were the Golan Heights, the West Bank of the Jordan River, Jerusalem's Old City and the Gaza Strip.


As a result, the dispute over the territories controlled by Israel has created a sense of instability in the region.  The land that was provided to the Hebrews from Great Britain is now in constant turmoil.  The Palestinians, who are of Arab descent, are now looking to regain control of their land.  Constant upheavals in the area known as Gaza continue to rise.  The primary issue that continues to instigate this conflict is the attempt to maintain an ethnically preferred state which is inevitable considering the majority of people in Israel are now Jewish.  This region once was mainly settled by Muslims; however, they are now prohibited from returning to their homes because the state proclaims Judaism.  Furthermore, Israel’s military occupation over the aforementioned regions that were seized prior to the 1970’s is still burdensome to the Palestinians who have minimal control over their lives and live in disarray daily.  Peace efforts continue to try to resolve this conflict, but Israel refuses to give the controlled land back to its rightful owners who were forced out.  Obviously, when the original borders were implemented, no one took into consideration that people would be forced out and not have anywhere to go.  Hopefully in the future, Israel will resolve this issue by giving back the Gaza, West Bank, and the other areas they have taken control of especially because it is a constant battle to keep these lands for Israel.  


For the record, I have no bias toward either side; I am just stating my observables.

Geographic Civilizations - Sumer

The Sumerians are known in world history as being the first civilization dating back to around 3000 B.C.  They excelled in many areas for a civilization of that time.  Furthermore, they established the basics for socio-economics and intellect in the area known as present-day Iraq, nestled in-between the Tigris and Euphrates River.  Many breakthroughs and inventions assisted in the foundations of the Sumerian society which lasted for approximately 1000 years.

Their society was headed by a king and divided into four sets of classes: nobles, clients, commoners, and slaves, which all contributed in some way to their flourishing culture. The Sumerians were heavily involved in trade, whether it was with other nearby civilizations or in the Persian Gulf.  Within their own city-states, citizens were involved in various types of trades, such as masonry, metalworking, and pottery to contribute to the culture within, and trade with foreign entities outward.  Agriculture was a necessity and therefore led to an intensive system of irrigation being created by digging canals from the major rivers.  This lead to rich land for growing food.

Moreover, the Sumerians established a system of writing which was depicted in several forms: pictographs, ideograms, and phonetic signs.  This system of writing bridged the gap between Sumerian city-states and their following generations.  Mathematics, specifically geometry and trigonometry, played a huge role in assisting the Sumerians in erecting structures, such as palaces, temples, ziggurats, canals, et cetera.  Lastly, the Sumerians also used a system of medicine to rid citizens of sickness (or rid them of evil spirits).  Several different treatments were used to help cure the sick and these treatments consisted of magic, surgery, and prescriptions, or even a combination of all three.

All of the aforementioned reasons laid the groundwork for a flourishing civilization in Mesopotamia.  Their influence and culture followed onto other civilizations that conquered in the same geographical region such as the Semites and the Babylonians.  Ultimately, Sumerian culture helped form political and economic stability in the civilized world for the following civilizations to come.