Damascus: Genesis 15:2; 1 Kings 11:24-25; Isaiah 7:8; Acts 9:2
Helbon: The Chalybon of the Greeks and Romans, now called by the natives Haleb, and by us Aleppo, said to have been so celebrated for its wine, that the Persian kings would drink no other. It was a celebrated city of Syria, situated about 90 miles from the Mediterranean by way of Antioch, and 100 from the Euphrates, in lat. 36 degrees 11 minutes 25 seconds north, long. 37 degrees 9 minutes east; and previous to its destruction by an earthquake in 1822, occupied, including its suburbs, eight small hills, with the intermediate valleys, comprehending a circuit of about seven miles; and its inhabitants were variously estimated at from 100,000 to 258,000 souls.