About the book: 2007 / Konstantin Mikhailovich Basili, popular in Russian literary circles of the 30s of the XIX century. the author of "Essays on Constantinople", a prominent diplomat, friend of N.V. Gogol, is perhaps least known for his works on Syria (following the author, we use here the historical concept of "Syria", meaning the modern territories of Lebanon and Syria). Meanwhile, Basili’s work on Syria left a significant mark on science. His book “Syria and Palestine under the Turkish Government” was one of the first works in world literature on the New History of Syria, Lebanon and Palestine. Borrowing material from Arab handwritten chronicles, European travels, and using his own observations, Basili was able to fully and thoroughly cover the history of Syria in the 16th–18th centuries for that time, and skillfully describe the events of the 30–40s of the 19th century, the complex and turbulent years of Syrian history , and give them a deeper analysis than any of the foreign historians of the last century did. Compiled by: I. M. Smilyanskaya