SYRIA
399
SYRIA
parishes, churches, and schools in various parts of
the diocese. The Lithuanians are, as yet, compara-
tively few in number. They have fine property, a
temporarj' church, a resident priest in Utica, and
give evidence of rapid progress. The Syrians
began to come about a decade ago. They are found
chiefly in Syracuse and Utica. In the latter city,
they have a handsome church, and a resident priest.
They worship according to the SjTO-Maronite Rite.
The Slovaks began coming to the diocese only within
the last few years. They are of the Latin and the
Greek Rite, and are found principally in SjTacuse
and in Binghamton. In the latter city they have a
resident priest and a flourishing parish.
Religiods CoMMfNiTiES. — Another important fac- tor in the upbuilding of the diocese, was the work of the different religious communities devoted to education and charity. The Franciscan Fathers of the Order of Minor Conventuals came in 1S59. The mother-house of the Order of the Minor Conven- tuals in the Ignited States is located in Syracuse. The Christian Brothers have been labouring in the dio- cese for more than half a century. They have a large and flourishing academy in Syracuse. Assump- tion Academy is the academic department for boys of the LUica Catholic Academy. The Sisters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul (Emmitsburg) for more than three-quarters of a century have laboured in Utica, and for most of that time in Syracuse, caring for the oqihans and building Up their schools. The Sisters of St. Joseph, from St. Louis, Mo., have an academy for yovmg laches in Binghamtom and have charge of many parochial schools. The Sisters of the Holy Name have an academy for j'oung ladies at Rome. The Sisters of the Third Order of St. Francis have charge of hospitals in Syracuse and Utica.
Statistics for 1911 are: priests, regular 16, secular 115; parish churches, 7.5; mission churches, 34; chap- els, 3.5; parochial schools, 25; parochial high schools, 4; academies, 4; orphan a.sylums, 5; maternity hos- pital, 1; infant asylums, 2; hospitals, 3. In the various religious orders there are: brothers, 33; sisters, 330; lay teachers, S. The pupils in Catholic schools number 10,000. The Catholic population includes, English-speaking, 95,000; Italians, 25,000; Germans, 15,000; Poles, 120,000; Lithuanians, 1000; Slavs (Latin and Greek), 2000; Bohemians, 100; French, 2000; Syrians, 1000.
Mabtin, Life of Father Jogues (New York, 1896); Donqan, Reporls in Documents relating to the Colonial History of New York City. Ill (Albany. 1853); ed. Thwaites, Jesuit Relations (Cleve- land. 1896-1901); O'Callaghax. Documentary History of the Slate of New York (Albany. 1849-51); Shea. History of the Catholic Church in the United States (New York, 1886-92); DoNOHUE, The Iroquois and the Jesuits (BufTalo, 1895); Bruce, Memorial History of the City of Syracuse (Syracuse, 1891); Bannon, Pioneer Irish of Onondaga (Syracuse, 1911); Cookin- BAM, History of Oneida County (Utica, 1912); Bugg, Memoirs of Utica (Utica, 1884); Campbell, Pioneer Priests of North America (New York, 1908); Hewitt, History of the Diocese of Syracuse (Syracuse, 1909); Lynch. A Page of Church History in New York (Utica, 1903); U. S. Cath. Hist. Society. Historical Records and Studies (New York, April. 1909-Feb.. 1911); Farley, History of St. Patrick's Cathedral (New York. 1908); Zwierlein, Religion in New Netherland (Rochester, 1910); Batley, A Brief Sketch of the Early History of the Catholic Church in the Island of New York (New York, 1870); Gbiffis, The Story of New Nether- land (New York, 1909); Diefendoff, The Historic Mohawk (New York. 1910). J. S. M. LynCH.
Syria. — Geography and Political Divisions, Ancient and Modern. — A country in Western Asia, which in modern times compri.ses all that region bounded on the north by the highlands of the Taurus, on the south by Egypt, on the east by Mesopotamia and the Arabian Desert,;ind on the west by the Medi- terranean; thus including within its area the ancient and modern countries of Aram or North Syria, a por- tion of the Hittite and Mitanni kingdoms, Phoenicia, the Land of Canaan or Palestine, and even a section of the Sinailic Peninsula. Strictly speaking, however, and especially from the point of view of Biblical and
classical geography, which is the one followed in this
article, Syria proper comprises only that portion of
the above-mentioned territories that is bounded on the
north and north-west by the Taurus and Asia Minor,
on the south by Palestine, on the ea.st by the Eu-
phrates, the Syro-Arabian desert, and Mesopotamia,
and on the west by the Mediterranean. The northern
portion is elevated, the eastern is level, extending to
the Syro-.\rabian desert; the north-western is crowned
by the Amanus and Taurus mountains, while the
mountains of Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon are parallel
ranges on the north of Palestine or south of Syria.
Between these two ranges is the long narrow valley
called Ccele-Syria (Hollow Syria). Its chief rivers are
the Litany (Leontes), the Orontes (Al-'Asi), and the
Barada or Abana. Ccele-Syria varies in breadth
from three or four miles to fifteen miles, and is in some
places broken by projecting spurs of the Lebanon
ranges. At its northern end it curves round to the
west and opens out to the Mediterranean. It has
two slopes, a northerly and a southerly one, and both
are fertile and beautifid. This valley was always an
important route of travel between ^Iesopotamia, the
Mediterranean coast, Arabia, and Egypt. The whole
of Syria, however, is about 250 miles in length, and an
average of 130 miles in breadth, having a total area of
about 32,500 square miles. The most important
towns of Syria in ancient times were Damascus,
Karkamish, Hamath, Baalbec, Palmyra or Tadmur,
Riblah, Antioch, Daphne, Seleucia, Abila, Chalcis,
Lybo, Laodicea, Arethusa, and Apamea, whereas the
famous cities of Tyre, Sidon, Berytus Byblos, and
Aradus belong properly speaking to Phoenicia. The
most important towns of modern Sj-ria are Alexan-
dretta, Antakiah, Beirut, Aleppo, Latakyah, Hamah,
Horns, Tripoli, Damascus, Sayda, Akka, and Jatfa.
The name "Syria" was formerly believed to be
either an abbreviation of "Assyria" or derived from
Tsur (Tyre), hence Tsurya, and that it was of Greek
origin. This, however, is untenable, as the name,
in all probability, is derived from the old Babylonian
name Suri, applied originally to the north-eastern
region of the present Syria. Later on the name Syria
was applied by the Greeks and Romans to the whole
of Syria, or the country lying between the Euphrates,
the Mediterranean, the Taurus, and Egypt. By the
Babylonians and Assyrians it was called "Amurru"
(the Land of the Amorites) and "Martu" (the West-
Land). The extreme northern part of it was also
known as "Khatti", or the Land of the Hittites,
whilst the most southern region was known as
"Kena'nu" or "Kanaan" (Palestine). In Arabic it
is called either "Suriyya" (Syria), or "Al-Sham" (the
country situated to the "left"), in opposition to "El-
Yemen" or South .\rabia, which is situated to the
"right". The political and geographical divisions of
Syria have been numerous and constantly varying.
In the Old Testament it is generally called "Aram",
and its inhabitants, "Aramcans". But thereweresev-
eral Biblical "Arams", viz: " Aram-naharaim", or
"Aram of the two rivers", i.e. Mesopotamia; "Pad-
don-Aram" (the region of Harran), in the extreme
north of Mesopotamia; "Aram-Ma'ak", to the north
of Palestine; "Aram-beth Rehob"; "Aram-Sobah",
etc. The SjTian Aram, however, which corresponds
to the classical Syria is called generally in the Old
Testament ".Vram of Damascu.s , from the principal
city of the country. It is of these Arameans or Syri-
ans, who occupied Central Syria, with Damascus as
the capital city, that we hear most in the Old
Testament.
During the Greek and Roman dominations the political divisions of Syria were indefinite and almost unintelligible. Stnibo merit ions five great provinces: (1) Commagene, a small territory in the extreme north, with Samosata for capital, situated on the Euphrates; (2) Seleucia, lying south of the former,
