The first of the two books under review is dedicated to a fascinating aspect of ancient architecture. Burns offers a systematic approach to the origin and genesis of the impressive colonnaded streets that defined the cityscapes of much of the eastern Mediterranean, with a comprehensive discussion of relevant sources; the book is illustrated with numerous plans and photos.
The book is divided into three parts (A, B, C), with a total of twelve chapters. B. begins with a comprehensive introduction explaining his intentions and approach, assessing different perspectives and influences on the development of colonnaded streets. Historical and sociological aspects are just as important here as architectural ideas and developments. B. is particularly interested in why colonnaded streets hardly played a role in urban development in Rome and the western provinces, and what this in turn might say about the cities in the eastern part of the Empire, where such streets eventually came to form part of the standard urban repertoire.
The book is structured broadly chronologically. B. starts by looking at ‘Architectural Traditions’ (Part A). In this part, possible antecedents and elements from Hellenistic, Achaemenid, Parthian and Egyptian traditions that could have had an impact on the development of the colonnaded streets are presented and analysed. B. then examines the various urban elements that tended to encourage the development of colonnades. These include the lay-out of cities on a rectangular grid, as became widespread in the Hellenistic period; such cities often included an especially long and wide axial thoroughfare. Also relevant is the increasing use of architecture to define axes or temple entrances. B. here emphasises the importance of the city of Alexandria in the development of the colonnaded street. Thanks to Alexandria's impressive dimensions, its streets, especially the central axes, were able to play a role as a space for representative and social functions. In order to do so, the streets needed an architectural setting, which was found in the tradition of arranging columns in rows to define and limit the spaces.
In Part B (‘Evolution of the Colonnaded Axis’), B. describes the creation of the colonnaded streets in the cities of the East. Several important actors can be identified around the turn of the era, in particular Herod the Great, Agrippa and Augustus. Josephus, writing at the end of the first century a.d. (Jewish War 1.21.11), describes the lining of the main axis of Antioch by Herod. B. argues that this idea of urbanism as a scenographic event, which seems first to have evolved in the early imperial period, was advanced over the course of the first century a.d. throughout the eastern provinces. Although B. makes a coherent and plausible case for the origin and the development of the building-type, and defends Josephus as a trustworthy source for an early colonnaded road, archaeologically there is no evidence of this monumental extension in Antioch under Herod (see Appendix 1). Similarly, in other cities of the eastern Mediterranean there is no clear archaeological evidence before the end of the first century, as B. himself states (198). Currently, the only first-century example that can be firmly dated archaeologically is Sagalassos (186–8). It is noteworthy that other plausible examples of colonnades along a street in the first century a.d. all come from Asia Minor, while the subsequent development of the colonnades (and especially the large dimensions) is largely a Near Eastern phenomenon. B. goes on to study the colonnaded streets down into Late Antiquity, and notes changes in material use and financing, as well as changes in function and meaning.
Part C (‘Monumentalism and the New Building Programme’) describes the colonnades in the light of the chronological development outlined in earlier chapters. Here he often draws on archaeological investigations and descriptions. This section summarises the results of published studies in a clear and readable manner, linking them nicely with B.’s ideas on the significance of colonnaded streets. In my opinion, however, the really innovative parts of the book are Parts A and B, which trace the development of an impressive architectural form with learning and clarity. As B. shows, monumental colonnaded streets arose from a very specific East Mediterranean cultural and political cityscape, coming under the influence and the creative will of certain individual personalities, in some cases the emperor himself.
At the end of the book we find a summary of the excavations in Antioch by Jean Lassus (appendix 1, 323–4), as well as a table of colonnaded streets discussed in the book, with key data such as length, building material, capitals, etc. (appendix 2, 325–36). One cannot do justice in a short review to the complex ideas and range of contexts (as well as abundance of sources) that B. has collected. In short, the study presents a truly impressive and comprehensive analysis of this fascinating architectural form.
Aleppo is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the Middle East, from the Bronze Age to the present day. This fact alone provides reason enough for a detailed examination of its history. In the second book under review, B. traces the imprints that human presence has left behind over the centuries. The book is comprised of eleven chapters, as well as a detailed postscript and glossary with technical terms and foreign expressions. The chapters follow the division into historical epochs, which in the Middle Ages are particularly shaped by the ruling groups and families. He embeds the story of the city into the historical narrative of the entire region, but with the focus always remaining firmly on Aleppo.
B. begins with a description of the topography. The site of Aleppo does not, at first sight, offer any particularly excellent conditions for a city. However, there are a number of features that together create a suitable settlement site: there is water (the river Quweig); a natural hill just before the landscape opens out into a vast steppe; and proximity to several trade routes. Moreover, the tradition of high places where certain gods were worshipped helped make the citadel of Aleppo an important sacred place.
In Greek and Roman times Aleppo was a medium-sized city, without supra-regional significance; other cities, in particular the nearby port city of Antioch, were of considerably greater importance. Aleppo long stood in the shadow of its larger neighbour, but nonetheless enjoyed an eventful history, especially in the early Middle Ages. During the Crusades, the border between the areas conquered by Christians and the Muslim regions often lay close to Aleppo; however, the city itself was not conquered by the Crusaders.
The first longer-term stabilisation, and emergence from the shadow of Antioch, took place in the twelfth century under the Ayyubids. In the later centuries of the Middle Ages, Aleppo grew in importance and size, first under the Mamluks, then under the early Ottoman rulers. The great heyday of Aleppo came in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, and the great Khans, central buildings for the organisation of supra-regional trade in Aleppo, also date from this period. Decline began in the late Ottoman period, but the great upheaval for Aleppo and its role as a commercial metropolis came about due to geopolitical changes after the First World War. Much of Aleppo's hinterland, as well as the nearest large port (Antioch/Antakya), fell to Turkey in the first half of the twentieth century. The city came to terms with this situation by showing off its past, finding a new role through cultivating and promoting tourism.
Since the outbreak of the civil war in 2011, many important structures and buildings have been destroyed. Nevertheless, B. is optimistic that Aleppo, as a millennia-old metropolis with long experience of integrating the ethnic and religious groups that live here, will find new ways to continue to exist. The book is written with enormous expertise and in readable and engaging language; the reader will fully appreciate B.’s understanding and affection for the city and its inhabitants. Unfortunately, the book includes only a few black and white illustrations. One would have liked to see a greater number of images, ideally in colour, of some of the many buildings, crafts and other Aleppan peculiarities that B. draws to our attention.
