Book Review Bybx Byblos Through The Ages By Nina Jidejian 221 pp. illus. Dar el-Machreq LLK The secrets of Byblos' past civilizations lay buried and \ neglected through the centuries until 1860 when a French archeologist named Ernest Renan appeared on the Levantine scene Commissioned by Napoleon III to make a survey of the ancient sites of Phoenicia, Renan unexpectedly located the lost sites of Byblos. He xxbxesposiblefuxxitxxixikialx was responsible for its initial excavation. Subsequent expeditions unearthed the vestiges of a dozen civilizations and empires. The keys began to (correction on last page) appear in many forms: primitive weapons of the Stone Age, idols scratched on pebbles and stones, clay burial jars, scarabs, amulets, votive offerings in wood, bone, and gold Pharaonic tombs, fragments of inscribed stone tablets and papyrus scrolls all serving to telegraph across the ages the emblems and voices of the Phoenicians and their conquerers. The Crusader castle at Byblos was built by men who used material nearest at hand, who dislodged Roman as well as earlier foundations in order to construct their own mammoth fortifications. These destructive building habits as well as periodic earthquaked and landslides EARTHQUAKES have made the task of deciphering Byblos' ancestry a painstaking and laborious one. Nor is the complex work completed; many problems remain to be resoved and, RESOLVED as yet, much must fall into the realm of conjecture. 2 Nina Jidejian's book examines the existing pieces of the puzzle. By assembling them in chronological order she focuses a steady beam of light on the overlapping cultures in the Phoenician past. In acting as a guide to Byblos from its earliest times the book should be welcome to scholars and interested laymen alike. For the scholar desiring source material for fuller studies Mrs. Jidejian has footnoted her pages assiduously. This is profitable as her undertaking has demanded access to many obscure texts and journals. When there are conflicting theories she presents the major opposing views. In this manner shehas also produced a well documented story independantly understandable and stimulating to the intelligent amateur. The history of Phoenicia is one of strong contrasts. This strategic chain of cities on the Eastern Mediterranean was invaded in turn by Egypt, assyria, Babylonia, Persia, AssyRiA Greece, Rome, and, finally, Byzantium, Islam and the Christian Kingdon of Kingdon Jerusalem The respective policies and cultures of these empires profoundly affected and reshaped the Phoenicians commercially, industrially, and religiously. But that is not to say that Byblos and her sister cities remained passive entities. Rather, it was to their interest that the large empires effect a stability for their region. Their only subservience was made manifest in quickly offered tributes. Their autonomous state thus cunningly pre- served, they were relatively free to expand their commercial and artistic patterns with extra, outside stimulous. In effect, they survived on their own terms, instinctively exploiting the stability made more available by the presence of a large empire in a simple coastal strip. In their supple vision the Phoenicians were unique. The story of Byblos is as absorbing as it is complex. Its scope in history is produgious for it was not until prodigious thefinal retreat of the Franks that her influence and activities ceased to exist. In concise chapters Mrs. Jidejian traces each period of development, dwelling some- times on specific artifacts and written evidences, sometimes on individual personalities, and where necessary, on the more general historical patterns of the area. Her sense of balance is consistantly and admirably apparent. Her tone is calm and modest. This is both attractive and deceptive for an extensive knowledge and perception unquestionably operate on every page of her study. the Levantine scene. P.I P.1 earthquakes and landslides remain to be resolved and, P.I Assyria, Babylonia, Persia, P.2 Christian Kingdom of P.2 prodigious for it was not until P.B