تطور الفنون المعمارية في سورية قبل الاسلام ٣_a .. كتاب العمارة العربية الاسلامية

No traces of Hellenistic buildings remain in Syria. However, there are many traces of Roman architecture, which is considered a development of Greek architecture, and we can see them anywhere in the Syrian territories.

In the field of architectural arts, the Romans inherited the arts of the Etruscans and Greece and introduced great development to these arts, especially in the field of technology and the use of elements and materials. This is normal if we know the cultural advancement and economic and political prosperity that the Roman state achieved, especially during its imperial era, and the resulting dedication to erecting numerous architectural facilities such as temples, theatres, palaces, houses, baths, canals, bridges, triumphal arches, cemeteries, walls, fortresses, streets, etc. (see photos 6 and 7). .

Roman architectural art was influenced by the prevailing traditions in the East in two ways: the first was inherited from the Etruscans who came to Italy at the beginning of the first millennium BC from Asia Minor, and brought with them the use of domes, arches, and gabled roofs, and the decoration of the walls with colorful drawings (frescoes). The second is what they took after the Romans occupied Syria from the traditions of Eastern architecture. We note that the buildings built according to Roman architecture in Syria had artistic characteristics that distinguished them from buildings built in Roman Europe and Italy itself. We glimpse in Syrian buildings a local character stemming from its ancient traditions in art and architecture. These characteristics are evident in the following aspects:

1) Care was taken in carving stone, using it, and relying on it in most parts of the building, even in the roofing of the level (rabad) and in the domes. We find the first type in buildings in southern Syria, while we find the second type in northern Syria. Brick was rarely used, contrary to what was common in Rome and its European states.

3) Reconciling the Eastern and classical traditions in building temples, as they generally have an Eastern plan and classical architectural elements, and are characterized by the following characteristics: a wide heavenly courtyard within a wall surrounded from the inside by a portico, and in the middle of the courtyard is a small temple or temple, and these temples are like the Temple of Jupiter in Damascus. The Temple of Bel in Palmyra and the Temple of Hisn Solomon near Dar Yakish have a large area that is unmatched by any temple in Roman Europe.

In the last stage of the development of classical art, an art called Byzantine art appeared. This art is linked to the emergence of the Christian religion, although Christian or Byzantine buildings did not appear until nearly four centuries after the emergence of the Christian religion, when it became the official state religion during the reign of Emperor Theodosius in the year 395 AD.)

We can define Byzantine art as Roman art mixed with the Christian spirit and Eastern, Syrian and Sasanian traditions. Byzantine art originated in Asia Minor, and Syria was one of its most important and finest centers. Most of the Byzantine buildings date back to the fifth and sixth centuries, and Byzantine art is particularly embodied in basilicas or large churches, in monasteries, and in the shrines of saints. The general plan of the building is based on colonnaded porticoes. The arches were sometimes interspersed with high domes, and the arches or arches were semicircular. Arches became popular in Byzantine art because they help increase the height of the building without the need to use very high columns. This method replaced the stone lintels that used to connect the columns in Roman art. It is noted that preparing stones for arches is easier than providing lintels from: one piece, as well. This is often breakable. There is the aesthetic aspect, as the perspective of the arches is more beautiful than the perspective of the straight lines on the tops of Roman buildings (Pass No. 8).

Reliance on frescoes and mosaics continued to decorate buildings and cover walls, but there was a noticeable development in the decorations engraved on stone, which became smoother, including the hollow ones that resemble “lace” and are seen in capitals, arches, and borders.

There are many traces of Byzantine art in Syria, which still constitute entire villages, but they are abandoned, in Al-Rusafa, Samaan Castle, Al-Bara, and in many villages in the Maarrat and Afrin regions. In the villages of Hauran and Jabal Al-Arab, we find walls, gates, churches, monasteries, hotels, houses, and cemeteries, with differences in technology and style of construction between them. The buildings built in the north of Syria and the buildings built in the south. In the first area we find roofs in the form of gables made of wood and tiles, and white stone pillars cut from limestone rock, while in the south we find buildings roofed by stone bridges (rabds) carried on arches resting on square pillars. Mostly, the building stone is volcanic stone (basalt).

The Syrian school of Byzantine architecture is considered one of the finest architectural schools, and its influence extended to parts of the empire and to Italy (Ravenna) and most countries of the Mediterranean basin. It continued until the tenth century, and was influenced by European Romanesque art.

4- Sassanian architecture:

The Syrian lands are devoid of traces of Persian architecture, but there were mutual influences between Syrian architecture and Persian architecture over many centuries.

For a period of time, Syria became a state belonging to the Persians, from the year 538 until the year 333 BC, the date on which Alexander’s conquests took place. After this date, trade relations and wars continued for centuries between the Persians on the one hand and the Romans and Byzantines on the other hand. The Sasanian Persians were also able to occupy parts of Syria during the reign of Khosrau Anushirwan in the year 540 AD. The Persian raids on Syria were renewed in the early seventh century, before the Islamic conquest.

Sassanid art was the last stage in the development of Persian arts (Achaemenid and Parthian), the legacy of the Mesopotamian civilizations. Sassanian art reached its peak in the fourth century AD. Iwan Khosrau is considered the first in Medina (Ktesiphon) to be his father. The palace was built of mud and is distinguished by its very high iwan arch, and its facade with architectural decoration consisting of niches separated by wall supports in the form of a half-column. The ceilings of the halls are vaulted in the shape of an inverted cradle, with a pointed top, while plaster reliefs constitute the main element of the hall.