Coast Of Syria Research Articles

Setting Irrigation Thresholds for Building a Platform Aimed at the Improved Management of Citrus Orchards in Coastal Syria

Citrus is one of the most valuable crops in Syria, with the largest production areas being in the coastal provinces of Tartus and Latakia, where this study was performed. A companion paper reported on the basal crop coefficients derived from the field water balance and on the performance assessment of various irrigation methods used in a citrus orchard located in the same region. That study evidenced the need for the improved management of irrigation water, mainly reducing water applications and increasing productivity, thus leading to the current research. The main objectives consisted of (i) providing a set of reliable basal (Kcb) and average (Kc) crop coefficients to be used in practice in the citrus orchards of the Syrian coastal area, while accounting for the diversity of characteristics observed; (ii) to estimate the seasonal consumptive use of typical orchards under different climate-demand and deficit-irrigation scenarios; and (iii) to assess possible water savings and related yield reductions. The previously calibrated water balance model SIMDualKc was used for these purposes. The computed Kcb values for the mid-season and average demand for water ranged from 0.52, when the plant density was low, to 0.84, when plant density was very high. The corresponding Kc values, which further reflected the impact of drip irrigation on controlling soil evaporation, were 0.72 and 0.97, respectively. Overall, the consumptive use of water was estimated to range from 867 to 1573 mm. The assessed water-saving scenarios consisted of adopting increased management-allowed depletion (MAD) thresholds relative to the p depletion fraction for no stress: MAD = 1.05, 1.10, 1.20, and 1.30 p. For trees under a very high climatic demand, water savings ranged from 12 to 34%, but the yield losses induced by the water deficits ranged from 8 to 48%. Although the selection of optimal strategies should be based upon economic terms, these may only be used when the Syrian economy recovers from civil war and the current crisis. The present results show the feasibility of adopting such MAD thresholds for building an irrigation management platform. The data provided by the current study are valuable because they can be efficiently used to support of the irrigation management of Syrian citrus production systems.

From Şxex to Chorta: The Adaptation of Maronite Foraging Customs to the Greek Ones in Kormakitis, Northern Cyprus.

The traditional foraging of wild vegetables (WVs) has played an important role in the post-Neolithic development of rural local food systems of the Near East and the Mediterranean. This study assessed the WVs gathered by the ancient Maronite Arabic diaspora of Kurmajit/Kormakitis village in Northern Cyprus and compared them with those gathered by their Cypriot and Arab Levantine neighbors. An ethnobotanical field survey focusing on WVs was conducted via twenty-two semi-structured interviews among the few remaining Maronite elderly inhabitants (approximately 200); and the resulting data were compared with those described in a few field studies previously conducted in Cyprus, Lebanon, and coastal Syria. Wild vegetables in Kormakitis are grouped into a folk category expressed by the emic lexeme Şxex, which roughly corresponds to the Greek concept of Chorta (wild greens). The large majority of Şxex have Greek folk phytonyms and they overlap for the most part with the WVs previously reported to be gathered by Greek Cypriots, although a remarkable number of WVs are also shared with that of the other groups. The findings address a possible adaptation of Maronite WV foraging to the Greek one, which may be explained by the fact that the Maronite minority and the majority Greek communities lived side by side for many centuries. Additionally, after Turkish occupation in 1974, a remarkable migration/urbanization of Maronites to the main Greek centers on the southern side of the isle took place, and Kurmajit became part of Cypriot trans-border family networks.

Chorta (Wild Greens) in Central Crete: The Bio-Cultural Heritage of a Hidden and Resilient Ingredient of the Mediterranean Diet.

Simple SummaryWild greens (WGs) are thought to have played a crucial role in the post-Neolithic Mediterranean diets of the Near East and the Mediterranean. The current study reports the bio-cultural diversity of WGs (Chorta) in Central Crete. Comparison with some Greek historical data of the 19th and 20th centuries shows that WGs have remained resilient and are still crucial in the daily Cretan diet, with an important role played by weedy Asteraceae species. Cross-cultural comparison with the WGs gathered and consumed in the Central and Eastern Mediterranean demonstrates a remarkable diversity of Cretan WGs and important similarities with those consumed in Greek-speaking Cyprus, the Bodrum area of Turkey, coastal Syria, and Southern Italy. The implications of Cretan Chorta for both historical studies of the Mediterranean Diet and for promoting WGs-centered food heritage are discussed.An ethnobotanical field study focusing on traditional wild greens (WGs) was carried out in Central Crete, Greece. Through thirty-one semi-structured interviews, a total of fifty-five wild green plants and their culinary uses and linguistic labels were documented; they were mostly consumed boiled (vrasta) or fried (tsigariasta), as a filling for homemade pies. Comparison with some Greek historical data of the 19th and 20th centuries showed that WGs have remained resilient and are still present in the current Cretan diet. Cross-cultural comparison with the WGs gathered and consumed in other areas of the Central and Eastern Mediterranean demonstrated a remarkable diversity of Cretan WGs and important similarities with those consumed in Greek-speaking Cyprus, the Bodrum area of Turkey, coastal Syria, and Southern Italy. We discussed the cognitive categories linked to Chorta, as well as the possible origin of an original “bulk” of post-Neolithic food weeds that could have spread from the Fertile Crescent westwards across the Mediterranean basin over a few millennia. The current study represents a crucial effort to document and preserve the bio-cultural gastronomic heritage of Chorta and it is advisable that both biology and history scholars, as well as policy makers, pay needed attention to the WGs of the Cretan and Mediterranean diet.

The Archaeology of the Bronze Age Levant: From Urban Origins to the Demise of City-States, 3700–1000 BCE

The Archaeology of the Bronze Age Levant: From Urban Origins to the Demise of City-States, 3700–1000 BCE

The Administration of Syria under Alexander the Great

Summary The author is of the opinion that as a result of Alexander the Great’s conquest of Syria (late 333–332 BC), which had been a single administrative entity under the Achaemenids, it was divided into two satrapies – the northern and the southern one. He believes that Menon, son of Cerdimmas, was appointed as the first head of the northern satrapy (winter 333/332), to be replaced by Arimmas (early spring 331), who, in his turn, was succeeded by Asclepiodorus, son of Eunicus (late summer 331). Besides, it seems that Andromachus became the first head of the southern satrapy (shortly before winter 332/331), and after he was killed, Menon, transferred from the north to the south, took his place (early spring 331). Already in Alexander’s lifetime, probably in 329/328, Syria was once again merged into one satrapy. It is unclear who was installed as satrap of the unified region. At any rate, it could not have been Menes, son of Dionysius: the hypothesis that in winter 331/330 he was made satrap of the new province including Syria and Cilicia does not stand scrutiny. In the author’s view, the main task Alexander assigned to Menes was to take control and then to keep open and organized the sea communications with the coast of Syria, Phoenicia and Cilicia, and in the matters concerning these activities Menes was fully independent of the local satraps.

Cold and dry outbreaks in the eastern Mediterranean 3200 years ago

Abstract Can climate affect societies? This question, of both past and present importance, is encapsulated by the major socioeconomic crisis that affected the Mediterranean 3200 yr ago. The demise of the core civilizations of the Aegean and eastern Mediterranean during the Late Bronze Age and the early Iron Age (Dark Ages) is still controversial because it raises the question of climate-change impacts on ancient societies. Although evidence for this climate shift has gradually gained currency, recent attempts to quantify its magnitude remain equivocal. Here we focus on the northern Levant (coastal Syria) where the economic, political, and cultural changes were particularly acute. We quantify past climate changes and find that mean annual temperatures attained anomalies of − 2.3 ± 0.3 °C to − 4.8 ± 0.4 °C compared to present-day conditions. Rainfall regimes displayed an important shift in seasonality, with a 40% decrease in winter precipitation. A 300 yr period of dry and cool climate started ∼3200 yr ago and was coeval with deep social changes in the eastern Mediterranean. These “Little Ice Age”–type conditions affected harvests, leading to severe food shortages that probably aggravated the sociopolitical tensions. This crisis highlights the fragility of societies, both past and present, to major climate-change episodes and their broader consequences.

Rebellion, Unrest, Calamity: British Reports on Ottoman Syria in 1821-1823

.extortions and vexations practised by the pasha of Acre." " ..a most awful calamity which has befallen [Aleppo].. "...the dreadful earthquake that has desolated the whole pashalik... " ". .heapsofstone and rubbish..." "...scenes of horror..." ".. .the crush of falling walls —the shrieks, the groans, the accents of agony and despair of that long night.. a greater mass of human misery has seldom been produced by any ofthe awful convulsions Of nature." "...the aggressions and violence which British commerce and navigation (even the most innocent and legal) are now suffering in consequence of the audacity of the Greek cruizers on the coast of Syria..." "... the cholera morbus has made its appearance among the wretched and houseless population , and.. .its ravages were daily encreasing..." These sharp observations by British diplomats posted to the Ottoman Levant described the turbulent state of affairs in parts of Syria in the early 1820s, a time of rebellion, unrest, and calamity symbolized by the devastating earthquake of 1822 in Aleppo. The turmoil in Ottoman Syria reflected the multiple dimensions of the larger crisis confronting Sultan Mahmud II's realm at a tense but pivotal moment in Ottoman history. The Empire had to deal with daunting internal and external pressures triggered by war, revolt, sectarian strife, the breakdown of once effective ruling institutions, and European intervention. The Greek insurrection against the Sublime Porte broke out in 1821 in the Danubian Principalities, the Peloponnese, and other Greek-inhabited areas, resulting in a prolonged and costly conflict between Ottoman troops and Greek rebels on both land and sea.

Mid- to late-Holocene coastal vegetation patterns in Northern Levant (Tell Sukas, Syria): Olive tree cultivation history and climatic change

A detailed, high-resolution, pollen record conducted on Holocene sediments from Tell Sukas provides an advanced picture of landscape evolution and vegetation dynamics between 6000 and 2600 cal. BP (ca. 4050–650 BCE) in coastal Syria (core TSII). We report a prominent and abrupt increase in Olea pollen content and a coeval decrease in other arboreal essences at 4600 cal. BP, reflecting an intensification of olive horticulture in coastal Syria which is probably contemporaneous with the development of olive oil production in Northern Levant and an increased influence of human activities on vegetation dynamics. Highest abundances of Olea pollen (up to 60%) occurred between ca. 3900 and 3600 cal. BP at Tell Sukas, suggesting that the region became an important olive oil producer. However, the 4200 cal. BP increase in regional dryness widely reported in the Eastern Mediterranean coincides only with a slight decline in olive exploitation in Northern Levant, suggesting that milder conditions prevailed in coastal Syria. Conversely, the abrupt decline of Olea pollen abundances during 3400–3000 cal. BP along with increased values of semi-arid indicators and non-palatable herbs implies a significant drier climate, in accordance with other studies from the Levantine region. This is concurrent with the period of turmoil and crisis characterizing the end of the late Bronze Age and the transition to the Iron Age in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Sāfitā castle and rockfalls in the ‘dead villages’ of coastal Syria – an archaeoseismological study

Sāfītā, a crusader fortification in Tartūs Governorate, coastal Syria, bears major damages of earthquake origin. The tower suffered heavy vibration, which produced fractures across the thick walls, widening the central portion of the building, and causing arch keystones to slide downwards. Apparently a ∼north–south strong motion was responsible for the damages. Further north, at Khirbat al-Qurshiyya, an abandoned village from Late Antiquity, a quarry abounds with fallen blocks. These display displacement predominantly in a northerly direction, suggesting a north–south strong motion. ‘Ayn-Qadīb, a small village in the Jabal Ansāriyya ranges, was damaged by a northward-directed rockfall. A contemporary letter testifies to the fact that Sāfītā donjon was heavily damaged by the AD 1202 earthquake. The Yammouneh Fault, which probably caused the damage, is only 50km away further south.

Pollen-inferred palaeoclimatic patterns in Syria during the Little Ice Age

The alluvial deposits from Jableh (coastal Syria) and the Wadi Jarrah (inland Syria) have provided unique records of environmental history covering the last 1000 years. The pollen-derived climatic proxies inferred from these two cores suggest that a shift towards drier conditions started during the early 15th century AD. The main dry and cool interval recorded both in coastal and inland Syria occurred from ca. 1500 to 1850 cal yr AD, a time frame encompassing the Little Ice Age. In Syria, the Little Ice Age is not only cooler, but also much drier than the Medieval Climate Anomaly and the present-day climate. Despite a strong human presence in Syria throughout the last millennia, climate rather than human activities seem to be the driving force behind the natural vegetation dynamics in these regions.

First record of Aequorea globosa Eschscholtz, 1829 (Cnidaria: Hydrozoa) in the coast of Syria

The Indo-Pacific jellyfish Aequorea globosa Eschscholtz, 1829 was reported last year for the first time in the Mediterranean Sea from Iskenderun Bay (S. Turkey). This jellyfish was observed in the coast of Syria, on 8 January 2012, during a regular monthly sampling program.

The medieval climate anomaly and the little Ice Age in coastal Syria inferred from pollen-derived palaeoclimatic patterns

The alluvial deposits of a small spring valley near Jableh, in north-western coastal Syria, provides a unique record of environmental history covering the last 1000 years. The pollen-derived climatic proxy inferred from a 315 cm deep core of alluvial deposits suggests that a shift towards wetter climatic conditions occurred from circa ( ca.) 1000 to 1250 calibrated (cal) yr AD. This period is situated within the time frame of the Medieval Climate Anomaly. The reconstructed temperature trends show that the warming during this medieval episode was not as high as the modern scores, except for short intervals during the early 12th century AD. The core also recorded a shift towards drier conditions starting during the late 12th century AD, which represents the Eastern Mediterranean expression of the European “Great Famine” climatic event. The main dry and cool interval recorded in coastal Syria occurred from ca. 1520 to 1870 cal yr AD, a time frame encompassing the Little Ice Age. In Mediterranean Syria, the Little Ice Age is not only cooler, but also much drier than the Medieval Climate Anomaly and the present-day climate. Despite a strong human presence in coastal Syria throughout the last millennia, climate rather than anthropogenic activity seems to be the driving force behind the natural vegetation dynamics in this region.

Late second–early first millennium BC abrupt climate changes in coastal Syria and their possible significance for the history of the Eastern Mediterranean

The alluvial deposits near Gibala-Tell Tweini provide a unique record of environmental history and food availability estimates covering the Late Bronze Age and the Early Iron Age. The refined pollen-derived climatic proxy suggests that drier climatic conditions occurred in the Mediterranean belt of Syria from the late 13th/early 12th centuries BC to the 9th century BC. This period corresponds with the time frame of the Late Bronze Age collapse and the subsequent Dark Age. The abrupt climate change at the end of the Late Bronze Age caused region-wide crop failures, leading towards socio-economic crises and unsustainability, forcing regional habitat-tracking. Archaeological data show that the first conflagration of Gibala occurred simultaneously with the destruction of the capital city Ugarit currently dated between 1194 and 1175 BC. Gibala redeveloped shortly after this destruction, with large-scale urbanization visible in two main architectural phases during the Early Iron Age I. The later Iron Age I city was destroyed during a second conflagration, which is radiocarbon-dated at circa 2950 cal yr BP. The data from Gibala-Tell Tweini provide evidence in support of the drought hypothesis as a triggering factor behind the Late Bronze Age collapse in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Political dynamics in the rise of Fakhr al-Din, 1590–1633: Crusade, trade, and state formation along the Levantine Coast

The rise of the Druze emir, Fakhr al-Din II Ma’n, is best treated as a case study in political dynamics. A tax farmer in the Shuf in 1590, who received his first administrative appointment three years later, he became the most powerful provincial leader along the Levantine coast by the late 1620s, when he controlled three districts (sanjaks) in the Ottoman province of Damascus, and also the province of Tripoli. Except for Jaffa and Alexandretta, he controlled the key ports along the coast of Syria and Palestine — Sidon, Beirut, and Tripoli; smaller ports like Acre; and most of the trade in regional goods and the associated revenues.1

Middle East coastal ecosystem response to middle-to-late Holocene abrupt climate changes

The Holocene vegetation history of the northern coastal Arabian Peninsula is of long-standing interest, as this Mediterranean/semiarid/arid region is known to be particularly sensitive to climatic changes. Detailed palynological data from an 800-cm alluvial sequence cored in the Jableh plain in northwest Syria have been used to reconstruct the vegetation dynamics in the coastal lowlands and the nearby Jabal an Nuşayriyah mountains for the period 2150 to 550 B.C. Corresponding with the 4.2 to 3.9 and 3.5 to 2.5 cal kyr BP abrupt climate changes (ACCs), two large-scale shifts to a more arid climate have been recorded. These two ACCs had different impacts on the vegetation assemblages in coastal Syria. The 3.5 to 2.5 cal kyr BP ACC is drier and lasted longer than the 4.2 to 3.9 cal kyr BP ACC, and is characterized by the development of a warm steppe pollen-derived biome (1100-800 B.C.) and a peak of hot desert pollen-derived biome at 900 B.C. The 4.2 to 3.9 cal kyr BP ACC is characterized by a xerophytic woods and shrubs pollen-derived biome ca. 2050 B.C. The impact of the 3.5 to 2.5 cal kyr BP ACC on human occupation and cultural development is important along the Syrian coast with the destruction of Ugarit and the collapse of the Ugarit kingdom at ca. 1190 to 1185 B.C.

An archaeological approach to the concept of value

Value is one of the concepts which are of importance in the way people structure their material surroundings. According to the philosophy of Georg Simmel, value finds its origins in the tension between the desire for objects and access to them. The dimensions of desirability and accessibility may be investigated archaeologically, in order to approach the concept of value. Such a perspective is taken in this article with reference to three different classes of imported Mycenaean pottery, which have been found in the Late Bronze Age levels of the site of Ugarit at the Mediterranean coast of Syria. It is concluded that various vessel types were appreciated differently at the city. The meanings imposed on these imported objects derived from the roles they played in the local cultural context.

The nesting of marine turtles on the coast of Syria

Abstract The entire Syrian Mediterranean coast (193 km) was surveyed for marine turtle nesting in 1991. Significant nesting was found between Latakia and Jablah. The entire Syrian coast is heavily polluted with plastic litter which covers the beaches for many kilometres with a layer of rubbish up to 0.5 m high. The establishment of a protected area on the coast must be accompanied by a solution to the garbage problem.

A Chalcolithic "Fine Ware" from Kataret Es-Samra in the Jordan Valley

Recent excavations at Kataret es-Samra in the eastern Jordan Valley have produced sherds of a distinctive, polychromatic pottery that appear to date to the end of the fourth millennium B. C., i. e., the interface between the Chalcolithic period and the Early Bronze/Proto-Urban Age. Such decorative pottery is exceptional at this time in the Jordan Valley and finds its closest parallels in Phases D and E of the Syrian Amuq Plain and other cultures well to the north of Kataret es-Samra. This article describes the pottery, defines its stratigraphical placement, and attempts to place it within its own cultural horizon by examining comparanda from the Jordan Valley, coastal Syria, and southeastern Anatolia.

An Ancient "Correlation" between Streamflow and Distant Rainfall in the near East

Previous articleNext article No AccessAn Ancient "Correlation" between Streamflow and Distant Rainfall in the near EastP. Alpert and J. NeumannP. Alpert Search for more articles by this author and J. Neumann Search for more articles by this author PDFPDF PLUS Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by Journal of Near Eastern Studies Volume 48, Number 4Oct., 1989 Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1086/373411 Views: 5Total views on this site Citations: 13Citations are reported from Crossref Copyright 1989 The University of ChicagoPDF download Crossref reports the following articles citing this article:Calian J. Hazell, Matthew J. Pound, Emma P. Hocking Response of the Akrotiri Marsh, island of Cyprus, to Bronze Age climate change, Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 587 (Feb 2022): 110788.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.palaeo.2021.110788Revital Bookman The Dead Sea and Its Deviation from Natural Conditions, (May 2020): 1–33.https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-42254-7_1David Kaniewski, Nick Marriner, Joachim Bretschneider, Greta Jans, Christophe Morhange, Rachid Cheddadi, Thierry Otto, Frédéric Luce, Elise Van Campo 300-year drought frames Late Bronze Age to Early Iron Age transition in the Near East: new palaeoecological data from Cyprus and Syria, Regional Environmental Change 19, no.88 (Jan 2019): 2287–2297.https://doi.org/10.1007/s10113-018-01460-wDavid Kaniewski, Nick Marriner, Rachid Cheddadi, Christophe Morhange, Joachim Bretschneider, Greta Jans, Thierry Otto, Frédéric Luce, Elise Van Campo Cold and dry outbreaks in the eastern Mediterranean 3200 years ago, Geology (Aug 2019).https://doi.org/10.1130/G46491.1David Kaniewski, Joël Guiot, Elise Van Campo Drought and societal collapse 3200 years ago in the Eastern Mediterranean: a review, Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Climate Change 6, no.44 (May 2015): 369–382.https://doi.org/10.1002/wcc.345D Bozkurt, OL Sen, S Hagemann Projected river discharge in the Euphrates–Tigris Basin from a hydrological discharge model forced with RCM and GCM outputs, Climate Research 62, no.22 (Jan 2015): 131–147.https://doi.org/10.3354/cr01268Dafna Langgut, Israel Finkelstein, Thomas Litt, Frank Harald Neumann, Mordechai Stein Vegetation and Climate Changes during the Bronze and Iron Ages (∼3600–600 BCE) in the Southern Levant Based on Palynological Records, Radiocarbon 57, no.22 (Feb 2016): 217–235.https://doi.org/10.2458/azu_rc.57.18555Elisa Joy Kagan, Dafna Langgut, Elisabetta Boaretto, Frank Herald Neumann, Mordechai Stein Dead Sea Levels during the Bronze and Iron Ages, Radiocarbon 57, no.22 (Feb 2016): 237–252.https://doi.org/10.2458/azu_rc.57.18560Dafna Langgut, Frank Harald Neumann, Mordechai Stein, Allon Wagner, Elisa Joy Kagan, Elisabetta Boaretto, Israel Finkelstein Dead Sea pollen record and history of human activity in the Judean Highlands (Israel) from the Intermediate Bronze into the Iron Ages (∼2500–500 BCE), Palynology 38, no.22 (May 2014): 280–302.https://doi.org/10.1080/01916122.2014.906001David Kaniewski, Elise Van Campo, Joël Guiot, Sabine Le Burel, Thierry Otto, Cecile Baeteman, Michael D. Petraglia Environmental Roots of the Late Bronze Age Crisis, PLoS ONE 8, no.88 (Aug 2013): e71004.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0071004Brandon L. Drake The influence of climatic change on the Late Bronze Age Collapse and the Greek Dark Ages, Journal of Archaeological Science 39, no.66 (Jun 2012): 1862–1870.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2012.01.029D. Kaniewski, E. Paulissen, E. Van Campo, H. Weiss, T. Otto, J. Bretschneider, K. Van Lerberghe Late second–early first millennium BC abrupt climate changes in coastal Syria and their possible significance for the history of the Eastern Mediterranean, Quaternary Research 74, no.22 (Jan 2017): 207–215.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.yqres.2010.07.010D. Kaniewski, E. Paulissen, E. Van Campo, M. Al-Maqdissi, J. Bretschneider, K. Van Lerberghe Middle East coastal ecosystem response to middle-to-late Holocene abrupt climate changes, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 105, no.3737 (Sep 2008): 13941–13946.https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0803533105

Sexual Activity in the Terrapin, Mauremys caspica rivulata, in Israel, in Relation to the Testicular Cycle and Climatic Factors

Sexual Activity in the Terrapin, Mauremys caspica rivulata, in Israel, in Relation to the Testicular Cycle and Climatic Factors