Syria History

Syria: Land of Civilizations

With the advent of the third millennium, Syrian antiquities and unearthed finds will be shown to the world in a roving exhibition. The exhibition will be held under the title "Syria: Land of Civilizations."

The chairman of the Syrian antiquities and museums department, Dr. Ali Abu Assaf, said in statements to the local media that the exhibition will be opened at the beginning of November in Switzerland and will later on move to Canada and the United States, respectively.

He added that the exhibition contains some 551 antiquities representing the most remarkable archaeological finds discovered in Syria in the past and the present.

The exhibition sheds light on the different aspects of the human civilizations that have flourished in Syria since prehistory and the role of these civilizations in contributing to human advancement.

Dr. Abu Assaf commented that one of the main objectives of the exhibition is to acquaint foreigners with the history and deeply-rooted civilizations in Syria.

"Syria is probably the finest example you can see of many cultures on the same land succeeding one after another," said Francois Tremblay of Canada’s Musee de la Civilization de Quebec, which has been the driving force in working with Syria to organize the tour.

"You really have an overview of different cultures, from the very early stages of civilization up to the present," Tremblay told Reuters in the artifact-cluttered basement of Damascus Museum while photographing the final selection of treasures for the exhibition catalog. "Syria was an easy choice."

The collection is spectacular. Although chosen to illustrate themes in civilization rather than purely for their artistic merit, individual pieces are likely to stagger Western audiences unprepared for Syria’s cultural heritage.

A figure with a gold lion’s head and wings of solid lapis lazuli was excavated at Mari on the Euphrates River nearly 5,000 years after it had arrived as a gift from Ur in Mesopotamia. The refinement of Roman times is demonstrated by a silver helmet and a solid gold mask, both excavated near the city of Homs.

Syria is at the center of the Fertile Crescent, the arc of well-watered land reaching from Mesopotamia in present-day Iraq to Egypt where agriculture began 10,000 years ago.

That pivotal position, often falling under the sway of empires at either end of the Fertile Crescent, has left Syria with an unparalleled archaeological record.

Early city states like Mari rose and fell, the Assyrian, Egyptian and Hittite empires battled for control, Greek, Roman and Byzantine civilizations dotted the land with cities. The Arab invasion of the seventh century produced masterpieces of Islamic religious and military architecture.

Syria was the ideal focus for an exhibition centered on themes in human development: the organization of society, economy and spiritual life. It covers Syrian contributions—such as the first alphabet—until the Crusades, a suitable end because that invasion re-acquainted Europe with its own cultural roots in the Middle East.

"At the dawn of the new millennium we are trying to reflect on the rules of civilization and the best way is to look at the very early stage and ask ourselves ‘What heritage will we leave to our descendants for the next millennium?"’ said Tremblay.

The exhibition will open in Basel, Switzerland, and then move to Quebec from May 30, 2000, to Jan. 7, 2001. It then moves to Edmonton and on to the United States in June 2001: San Jose until September, New York’s American Museum of Natural History from October to January and Denver until May 5, 2002.

There have been other Syrian exhibitions abroad, though not organized along such thematic lines. And none has included all the items seen this time—and none is likely to in the future.

"Many of the artifacts that have been loaned by Syrian authorities have never been out of Syria," said Tremblay. "And many of them will be on tour for the last time because they are now planning to renew many of their own galleries and these major artifacts will after this stay in Syria."