Syria is home to some of the world's richest historical and archaeological remains--dating from the Bronze Age through Byzantine times to the Ottoman Period. Until now, however, they have been little known and rarely visited. Only a handful of sites are familiar from travel literature: the Roman desert city of Palmyra, the Crusader castle of Krak des Chevaliers, and the great Ummayad Mosque of Damascus. This is the definitive historical guide to Syria.