My ignorance of political geography in the 1920s forced a librarian friend to take pity on me and direct me to the treasure trove of historical maps at the Perry-Castañeda Library of the University of Austin at Texas. [1] There, I found a link to this map of Syria and Lebanon in 1923. What it shows, very clearly, is that the French Mandate of Lebanon and Syria bulged into what is now Turkey thanks to a chunk of Turkey captured by the British, who then handed it to the French. So “Syria” extended further north then than it does now, when the border with Turkey is just 50 km north of Aleppo.
Where, then was Vavilov when he visited “the beautiful valley of the Euphrates” and had such a good time collecting? I haven’t the faintest idea. Somewhere northeast of Aleppo. we’re working on it …
Notes:
- Thanks Sarah. [↩]
