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Damascus was the capital and largest ancient city of Syria, believed to have been founded in the third millennium BCE. Damascus was located in the eastern foothills of the Eastern Lebanon Mountain Range, near the delta of the Barada River.
History
High Middle Ages
During the Second Crusade, around 1148, the city repelled multiple attacks until being acquired by Salah Al'din in the mid 1100s. Upon gaining control of the city, he granted scholars from far and wide the chance to study in one of the many Madrasahs scattered throughout the city's neighborhoods. In between 1190 and 1191, the Assassin Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad visited the city numerous times and assassinated a number of prominent Templar figures including Alaat, Tamir, Abu'l Nuqoud and Jubair al Hakim. Virtually unaffected by the war, the city remained an extremely clean and gorgeous site.
Districts
Poor District
The Poor District was considered to be a very busy section and constantly packed with citizens. This caused a lot of traffic throughout the streets with many civilians moving about. It was home to the sprawling and very impressive Souk Al-Silaah, which was a major trading point within the city. Being a prominent landmark, the Souk Al-Silaah dominated the area. Due to its eloquent ceremonial courtyard, situated in the center, the Souk was the site where the arms dealer Tamir conducted his daily business. He also stationed multiple guards in the nearby corridors to supervise the crowd. Strangely, though, the security around the Souk was rather light, which allowed Altaïr to slip in and assassinate Tamir.[1]
Middle District
The Middle District contained the Sinan Pasha Mosque and Formal Gardens. These featured larger east-west thoroughfares connecting the different areas. This section of Damascus included many places of learning, until Jubiar al Hakim arrived and began a city quest to destroy all written text. The central feature was Jubair's Madrasah, where books were burned and valuable knowledge was lost because of this. When Altaïr traveled there to assassinate Jubair, the security was very high, due to the Assassins' continued success.[1]
Rich District
The Rich District stretched across almost half of the city, and possessed many of the structural landmarks that attracted outsiders to the city. The partially rebuilt Citadel of Salah Al'Din was a key fortification that demanded planning for a successful infiltration. The most impressive feature of the district, and probably the entire city, was the Umayyad Mosque and the Merchant King's Palace.[1]
The interior of the palace was lightly secured, except for when the Merchant King Abu'l Nuqoud hosted one of his lavish parties. Traffic around the palace grounds was rather light, given the location. Slightly north was the Sarouja Souk Market Quarter, where both traffic and security were moderate. Sarouja Souk held the reputation of being the largest market in the Holy Land. It was split into two separate structures that ran from west to east, and north to south.[1]
Though the Umayyad Mosque and Merchant King's Palace dominated the district, the Grand Courtyard north of the Mosque was equally an interesting place. Here, within the impressive district, Abu'l Nuqoud held immense power over the people.[1]
Map
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| Rich District | Middle District | Poor District |
Gallery
References
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