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SYRACUSE 216 SYRIA tinued with scarcely an interruption through the reign (50 years) of the en- lightened Hiero II., the friend and ally of Rome, down to the conquest of the city by the Romans after a siege of two years, in which Archimedes perished (212 B, c). This event was occasioned during the Hannibalic war by Hier- onymus, a rash and vain young man, abandoning the prudent policy of his grandfather, Hiero, breaking the alli- ance with Rome, and joining his and their foes, the Carthaginians. Under the Romans Syracuse slowly declined, though w^ith its handsome public build- ings and its artistic and intellectual cul- ture, it always continued to be the first city of Sicily. It was captured, pillaged, and burned by the Saracens in A. D. 878, and after that sank into complete de- cay. The modern city, Siracusa, is confined to the original limits, Ortygia, which, however, is no longer an island, but a peninsula. The streets, which are de- fended by walls and a citadel, are, with few exceptions, narrow and dirty. Syra- cuse has a cathedral (the ancient temple of Minerva), a museum of classical antiquities, a public library with some curious MSS., numerous churches, mon- asteries, and nunneries, the ancient foun- tain of Arethusa (its waters mingled with sea water since the earthquake of 1170), and remains of ancient Greek and Roman temples, aqueducts, the citadel Euryalus, a theater, an amphitheater, and quarries, besides ancient Christian catacombs. The people manufacture chemicals and pottery, and trade in fruits, olive oil, wine (exports), wheat, timber, and petroleum. Pop. about 27,- 500. SYRACUSE, a city of New York, the county seat of Onondaga co. It is on the Onondaga Lake, the New York State Barge Canal, the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western, and the Ontario and West- ern railroads. There are six interurban lines radiating from the city which give excellent passenger and freight service. The present city includes the former villages of Danford, Geddes, Syracuse, and Salina. Syracuse is an important industrial city. In the manufacture of tool steel and automobile gears, it ranks first. Other industries include the man- ufacture of agricultural implements, china ware, shoes, typewriters, automo- biles, etc. There are within the city lim- its over 1,000 manufacturing establish- ments, with a total of over 40,000 employees. Syracuse is situated in the midst of the beautiful lake region of New York State and is surrounded by attractive and diversified scenery. There are over 60 parks within the city limits, including children's playgrounds, public golf courts, tennis courts, swimming pools, skating rinks, etc. The total area of the park system is 361 acres. The city has an excellent system of public schools, of which there are 40, attended by about 25,000 pupils, with over 700 teachers. In addition there are 25 paro- chial and private schools. It is the seat of Syracuse University. Among the notable public buildings are the Central High School, a court house, a public library, a city hall, and a museum of fine arts. Its institutions include the State Asylum for Feeble Minded Chil- dren, the House of Providence Orphan Asylum, county orphan asylum, an old ladies' home, and five hospitals. The city has over 100 churches and over 50 the- aters. There are about 125 miles of paved streets and over 200 miles of sewers. There were in 1920 three na- tional banks, three trust companies, and two savings banks, with total deposits of $132,909,273. The assessed value in 1920 was $181,770,758, and the tax rate $23.18 per thousand. On the State Fair Grounds one of the greatest annual fairs in the United States is held annually. Syracuse was settled about 1805, and became important after the completion of the Erie Canal. It was incorporated as a village in 1825. In the earlier years it had great importance from the de- posits of salt and the State purchased a large tract of land containing salt springs, part of which was afterward sold to individuals. The manufacture of salt from the brine pumped out of these springs was formerly the main industry of the city, but is now of minor impor- tance. Pop. (1910) 137,249; (1920) 171,- 717. SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY, a co-edu- cational institution in Syracuse, N. Y.; founded in 1871 under the auspices of the Methodist Episcopal Church; re- ported at the close of 1919: Professors and instructors, 368; students, 4,033; volumes in the library, 103,222; Chan- cellor, Rev. J. R. Day, LL.D. SYRIA, Asiatic Turkey, bounded by Euphrates and Syrian Desert on the east, by the Mediterranean on the west, by Alma Dagh mountains, north, and Egypt, south. Area, 114,530. Pop. be- fore the World War about 3,500,000. The physical conformation of Syria is througihout simple and uniform. A range of mountains, split in the N. into two parallel chains — Libanus and Anti-Liba- nus — fronts the Mediterranean, ranging in height from 6,000 feet in the N. up to 10,000 feet in the central parts, but