Ross Burns was in the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs for 37 years until his retirement in 2003, including as Ambassador to Syria from 1984 to 1987. After his retirement, he completed a PhD at Macquarie University in Sydney on ‘The Origins of the Colonnaded Streets in the Cities of the Roman East’. He is the author of Aleppo (2016) and Monuments of Syria (3rd edition, 2009).

'Despite widespread interest in Damascus due to the Syrian Civil War, little has been written about the city in English. First published in 2004, Burns’ Damascus: A History remains the only English language volume to offer a comprehensive overview of the archaeology, architecture and history of one of the oldest cities on Earth. Therefore the second edition of this work is to be warmly welcomed for the addition of a new chapter bringing the reader up to date with the current situation and offering us a timely reminder of the effects of the war on this exceptional and fascinating city.'- Emma Loosley, University of Exeter, UK

• List of Illustrations; List of Maps; Foreword; List of Abbreviations; Introduction; PART ONE; Chapter 1 – The Emergence of Damascus (9000 – c1100 BC); Chapter 2 – Dimashqu – Damascus from the Aramaeans to the Assyrians (c1100 – 732 BC); Chapter 3 – A Greater Game – Assyrians, Persians, Greeks (732 – c300 BC); Chapter 4 – The Sowing of Hellenism – Ptolemies and Seleucids (300 – 64 BC); Chapter 5 – Towards a Pax Romana (64 BC – AD 30); Chapter 6 – Metropolis Romana (AD 30 – 268); Chapter 7 – Holding the Line (AD 269 – 610); Chapter 8 – ‘Farewell, Oh Syria’ (611 – 661); Chapter 9 – The Umayyads (661 – 750); PART TWO; Preface to Part Two - When did the ancient end?; Chapter 10 – Decline, Confusion and Irrelevance (750 – 1008); Chapter 11 – Islam Resurgent (1098 – 1174); Chapter 12 – Saladin and the Ayyubids (1174 – 1250); Chapter 13 – Mamluks (1250 – 1515); Chapter 14 – The First Ottoman Centuries (1516 – 1840); Chapter 15 – Reform and Reaction (1840 – 1918); Chapter 16 Epilogue – Countdown to Catastrophe (1919–2011); Glossary of Terms and Names; Maps of City and Environs; Bibliography; Index