Roman Syria

Coordinates: 36°12′N 36°09′E / 36.200°N 36.150°E / 36.200; 36.150
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
(Redirected from
Syria (Roman province)
)
For other uses, see Syria (disambiguation).
Provincia Syria
ἐπαρχία Συρίας
eparchía Syrías
Province of the Roman Empire
64 BC–198 AD

Roman Syria highlighted in 125 AD
CapitalAntioch
(modern-day Antakya, Hatay, Turkey)
History 
• Conquest of Coele-Syria by Pompey
64 BC
• Province divided into Coele Syria and Phoenice
198 AD
Preceded by		 Succeeded by
Seleucis of Syria
Coele-Syria
Herodian Tetrarchy
 ∟Iturea
 ∟Trachonitis
Coele Syria (Roman province)
Phoenice (Roman province)
Today part of

Roman Syria was an early Roman province annexed to the Roman Republic in 64 BC by Pompey in the Third Mithridatic War following the defeat of King of Armenia Tigranes the Great, who had become the protector of the Hellenistic kingdom of Syria.[1]

Following the partition of the

Iturea and Trachonitis. By the late 2nd century AD, the province was divided into Coele Syria and Syria Phoenice
.

Provincia Syria

The ancient city of Palmyra was an important trading center and possibly Roman Syria's most prosperous city
imperial province of Syria (Syria/Lebanon), with four legions
deployed in 125 AD. (During the Principate)

Syria was

annexed to the Roman Republic in 64 BC, when Pompey the Great had the Seleucid king Antiochus XIII Asiaticus executed and deposed his successor Philip II Philoromaeus. Pompey appointed Marcus Aemilius Scaurus
to the post of governor of Syria.

Following the

fall of the Roman Republic and its transformation into the Roman Empire, Syria became a Roman imperial province, governed by a Legate. During the early empire, the Roman army in Syria accounted for three legions with auxiliaries who defended the border with Parthia
.

In 6 AD, Emperor

Trachonitis, Galilee and Perea
were also transferred under the jurisdiction of the province of Syria.

From 37 to 41 AD, much of the southern region was separated from Syria and transformed into a

client kingdom under Herod Agrippa I. After Agrippa's death, his kingdom was gradually re-absorbed into the Roman Empire, until it was officially transformed into a Roman province following the death of Herod Agrippa II
.

Syrian province forces were directly engaged in the

Cestius Gallus, legate of Syria, brought the Syrian army, based on Legio XII Fulminata, reinforced by auxiliary troops, to restore order in Judaea and quell the revolt. The legion, however, was ambushed and destroyed by Jewish rebels at the Battle of Beth Horon, a result that shocked the Roman leadership. The future emperor Vespasian was then put in charge of subduing the Jewish revolt. In the summer of 69, Vespasian, with the Syrian units supporting him, launched his bid to become Roman emperor. He defeated his rival Vitellius and ruled as emperor for ten years when he was succeeded by his son Titus
.

Based on an inscription recovered from

Judea between 120 and 130, possibly prior to the Bar Kokhba revolt.[3]

As related by Theodor Mommsen,

The governor of Syria retained the civil administration of the whole large province undiminished, and held for long alone in all Asia a command of the first rank. [...] It was only in the course of the second century that a diminution of his prerogatives occurred, when Hadrian took one of the four legions from the governor of Syria and handed it over to the governor of Palestine.[4]

Aftermath

Division into Coele Syria and Syria Phoenice

Main articles:
Syria Phoenice
Provincia Coele Syria
ἐπαρχία Κοίλης Συρίας
Province of the Roman Empire
198–end of 4th century

Roman Empire in 210
CapitalAntioch
History 
• Established
198
• Disestablished
end of 4th century
Preceded by		 Succeeded by
Syria (Roman province)
Syria Prima
Syria Secunda
Today part of
Provincia Syria Phoenice
Province of the Roman Empire
198–end of 4th century

Roman Empire in 210
CapitalTyre
History 
• Established
198
• Disestablished
end of 4th century
Preceded by		 Succeeded by
Syria (Roman province)
Syria Palaestina
Phoenice Paralia
Phoenice Libanensis

Syria Phoenice,[5][6] with Antioch and Tyre
as their respective provincial capitals.

As related by Theodor Mommsen,

It was

Syro-Phoenicia, one [legion].[4]

From the later 2nd century, the

Claudius Pompeianus and Avidius Cassius
.

Syria was of crucial strategic importance during the Crisis of the Third Century. In 244 AD, Rome was ruled by a native Syrian from Philippopolis (modern day Shahba) in the province of Arabia Petraea. The emperor was Marcus Iulius Philippus, more commonly known as Philip the Arab. Philip became the 33rd emperor of Rome upon its millennial celebration.

Roman Syria was invaded in 252/253 (the date is disputed) after a Roman field army was destroyed in the Battle of Barbalissos by the King of Persia Shapur I which left the Euphrates river unguarded and the region was pillaged by the Persians. In 259/260 a similar event happened when Shapur I again defeated a Roman field army and captured the Roman emperor, Valerian, alive at the Battle of Edessa. Again, Roman Syria suffered as cities were captured, sacked and pillaged.

From 268 to 273, Syria was part of the breakaway Palmyrene Empire.

The 'Orient' in the time of Septimius Severus c. 200 AD[7]
Coele Syria Provincia Syria Coele
Phoenicia Provincia Syria Phoenice
Palaestina Provincia Syria Palaestina
Arabia Provincia Arabia Petraea

Dominate reform

Following the reforms of

Kingdom of Commagene, with Hierapolis as its capital.[9]

Syria in the Byzantine Empire

Further information: History of the Byzantine Empire
20 square meter Byzantine era mosaic found in Maryamin, Syria, currently located in the Hama museum

After c. 415, Syria Coele was further subdivided into Syria I (or

Apamea on the Orontes. In 528, Justinian I carved out the small coastal province Theodorias out of territory from both provinces.[8]

Church of Saint Simeon Stylites, one of the oldest surviving churches in the world

The region remained one of the most important provinces of the

Battle of Yarmouk and the fall of Antioch.[8][10][11]
The city of
Seljuk arrival, who after three decades of incursions, conquered Antioch in 1084. Antioch was captured again during the 12th century by the revived armies of the Comnenii
. However, by that time the city was regarded as part of Asia Minor and not of Syria.

Demographics

Provinicia Syria had a diverse demographic distribution. The rural inland was mostly populated by

Trachonitis and Emesa which they controlled. Arabs were also part of Palmyra's composition, which included Aramaeans, Arabs and Amorites.[12] The Phoenician coast maintained a Phoenician-speaking majority well into the end of 2nd century, and their main urban centers included Tyre, Sidon and Berytus
.

On the other hand, Greeks comprised a majority in Hellenistic urban centers such Antioch, Apamea, Cyrrhus and the Decapolis, which had been settled by Greeks under Seleucid patronage.[13]

Estimates for the population of the entire Levant in the 1st century vary from 3.5–4 million to 6 million, levels only matched even by 19th century levels. Urban centers peaked and so did population density in the rural settlements. Antioch and Palmyra reached a peak of 200,000–250,000 inhabitants, while Apamea counted 117,000 'free citizens' circa AD 6. Combined with their dependancies and villages, Apamea and Cyrrhus may have counted as high as 500,000 each. The Syrian Coastal Mountain Range, marginal hill country, were less densely settled and had a population of around 40–50,000.[14]

Identity

The inhabitants of Syria adopted

neo-Hittite influences. However, many areas documented exclusively Greek elements.[15]

In contrast to Jews, who shared collective historical memories, Syrians lacked a unified cultural or social identity. The unifying aspects in Roman Syria were Greek civic structures and narratives promoted by Roman imperial rule, suggesting that Syrian culture was largely defined through Greek and Roman influences. The term 'Syrian' therefore primarily functioned as a geographical designation.[15]

Episcopal sees

Ancient episcopal sees of the late Roman province of Syria Prima (I) listed in the Annuario Pontificio as titular sees:[16]

Ancient episcopal sees of the late Roman province of Syria Secunda (II) listed in the Annuario Pontificio as titular sees:[16]

See also

References

  1. ISBN 978-0-275-97140-3
    .
  2. ^ Dov Gera and Hannah M. Cotton, "A Dedication from Dor to a Governor of Syria", Israel Exploration Journal, 41 (1991), pp. 258–66
  3. ^ Divers Find Unexpected Roman Inscription From the Eve of Bar-Kochba Revolt Haaretz.com (Last accessed 6 June 2017)
  4. ^ a b Mommsen 1886, pp. 117–118.
  5. ^ Marquardt 1892, p. 373: "Tandis que la Judée ou Syria Palaestina demeurait ainsi séparée de la Syrie depuis l'an 66 après J.-C., la Syrie elle-même fut plus tard divisée en deux provinces : la Syria magna ou Syria Coele, et la Syria Phoenice".
  6. ^ Adkins & Adkins 1998, p. 121: "Septimius Severus divided the remaining province into Syria Coele and Syria Phoenice".
  7. ISBN 978-0-520-93102-2
    . In 194 A.D. The emperor Septimus Severus divided the province of Syria and made the northern part into a separate province called Coele Syria.
  8. ^
    ISBN 978-0-19-504652-6
    .
  9. ISBN 978-0-19-504652-6
    .
  10. ISBN 978-0-86078-992-5
    .
  11. ISBN 978-0-520-34041-1
    .
  12. ISBN 978-0-472-08315-2
    .
  13. ISBN 9780520931022
    .
  14. ^ Kennedy, David L. "Demography, the Population of Syria and the Census of Q. Aemilius Secundus". Academia.
  15. ^
    ISBN 978-0-511-99780-8
    , retrieved 2024-02-04
  16. ^
    ISBN 978-88-209-9070-1
    ), "Sedi titolari", pp. 819-1013

Sources

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Syria (Roman province).
  • Bagnall, R., J. Drinkwater, A. Esmonde-Cleary, W. Harris, R. Knapp, S. Mitchell, S. Parker, C. Wells, J. Wilkes, R. Talbert, M. E. Downs, M. Joann McDaniel, B. Z. Lund, T. Elliott, S. Gillies (30 January 2018). "Places: 981550 (Syria)". Pleiades. Retrieved March 8, 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

36°12′N 36°09′E / 36.200°N 36.150°E / 36.200; 36.150

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Roman_Syria&oldid=1217732642"