Palestine - Bostra (Plate 39)

Description

This engraving depicts the ancient city of Bosra (Busra), located in modern-day Syria. As the capital of the Arabian Petraea province during the Roman Empire, Bosra became one of the region's most strategic centers, both administratively and militarily, from the 2nd century AD onward. The columnar architectural order seen in the engraving is a row of columns with Corinthian capitals, representing a component of the city's fabric of forums, temples, and public buildings. Bosra maintained its importance in the early Christian era, continuing its existence as a bishopric. Today, the city, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is one of the primary sites that illuminate the "Roman-Byzantine transitional architecture" of the Eastern Mediterranean. Furthermore, this engraving clearly reflects the contemporary view of the Levant, which viewed the region as a single historical basin under the heading "Palestine." Although the ancient city of Bosra lies within the borders of present-day Syria, its inclusion under the heading "Palestine" in publications is a typical example of 19th-century geographical and historical classification.