Syria II Salutaris
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

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 This is a list of the monarchs of Armenia, for more information on ancient Armenia and Armenians, please see History of Armenia. For information on the medieval Armenian Kingdom in Cilicia, please see the separate page Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia. ...
Tigranes the Great. Following the partition of the
Herodian Kingdom of Judea The Herodian Kingdom of Judea was a client state of the Roman Republic from 37 BCE, when Herod the Great, who had been appointed "King of the Jews" by the Roman Senate in 40/39 BCE, took actual control over the country. When Herod died in 4 BCE, ...
into
tetrarchies The Tetrarchy was the system instituted by Roman emperor Diocletian in 293 AD to govern the ancient Roman Empire by dividing it between two emperors, the ''augusti'', and their juniors colleagues and designated successors, the ''caesares''. ...
in 6 AD, it was gradually absorbed into Roman provinces, with Roman Syria annexing Iturea and Trachonitis.


Provincia Syria

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 Proconsul of Syria. Following the
fall of the Roman Republic The crisis of the Roman Republic refers to an extended period of political instability and social unrest from about 134 BC to 44 BC that culminated in the demise of the Roman Republic and the advent of the Roman Empire. The causes and attributes ...
and its transformation into the Roman Empire, Syria became a Roman imperial province, governed by a
Legate Legate may refer to: *Legatus, a higher ranking general officer of the Roman army drawn from among the senatorial class :*Legatus Augusti pro praetore, a provincial governor in the Roman Imperial period *A member of a legation *A representative, ...
. 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 Augustus deposed the ethnarch Herod Archelaus and united Judea, Samaria and Idumea into the
Roman province of Judea Judaea ( la, Iudaea ; grc, Ἰουδαία, translit=Ioudaíā ) was a Roman province which incorporated the regions of Judea, Samaria, and Idumea from 6 CE, extending over parts of the former regions of the Hasmonean and Herodian kingdoms of ...
; such province was placed under the direct authority of the Legate of Syria Publius Sulpicius Quirinius, who appointed
Coponius Coponius was the 1st Roman governor (Prefect) of Judaea province (6 to 9). Biography He was, like the prefects who succeeded him, of knightly rank, and "had the power of life and death". During his administration the revolt of Judas the Galilean ...
as Prefect of Judea. Following the death of
Herod Philip II Philip the Tetrarch (c. 26 BCE. - 34 CE), sometimes called Herod Philip II by modern writers (see "Naming convention"), son of Herod the Great and his fifth wife, Cleopatra of Jerusalem, ruled over the northeast part of his father's kingdom be ...
(34 AD) and the removal of
Herod Antipas Herod Antipas ( el, Ἡρῴδης Ἀντίπας, ''Hērǭdēs Antipas''; born before 20 BC – died after 39 AD), was a 1st-century ruler of Galilee and Perea, who bore the title of tetrarch ("ruler of a quarter") and is referred to as both "H ...
(39 AD)
Ituraea Iturea ( grc, Ἰτουραία, ''Itouraía'') is the Greek name of a Levantine region north of Galilee during the Late Hellenistic and early Roman periods. It extended from Mount Lebanon across the plain of Marsyas to the Anti-Lebanon Mount ...
,
Trachonitis The Lajat (/ALA-LC: ''al-Lajāʾ''), also spelled ''Lejat'', ''Lajah'', ''el-Leja'' or ''Laja'', is the largest lava field in southern Syria, spanning some 900 square kilometers. Located about southeast of Damascus, the Lajat borders the Hauran ...
,
Galilee Galilee (; he, הַגָּלִיל, hagGālīl; ar, الجليل, al-jalīl) is a region located in northern Israel and southern Lebanon. Galilee traditionally refers to the mountainous part, divided into Upper Galilee (, ; , ) and Lower Galil ...
and Perea were also transferred under the jurisdiction of the province of Syria. From 37 to 41 AD much of Palestine was separated from Syria and transformed into a
client kingdom A client state, in international relations, is a State (polity), state that is economically, politically, and/or militarily subordinate to another more powerful state (called the "controlling state"). A client state may variously be described as ...
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 First Jewish–Roman War of 66–70 AD. In 66 AD, 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
Dor DOR, Dor, or DoR may refer to: Computer games and characters * '' Advance Wars: Days of Ruin'', a turn-based tactics video game for the Nintendo DS * Dor, a magician in the fictional Xanth universe; see Magicians of Xanth * ''WWE Day of Reckoning ...
in 1948, Gargilius Antiquus was known to have been the governor of a province in the eastern part of the Empire, possibly Syria, between his consulate and governing Asia.Dov Gera and Hannah M. Cotton
"A Dedication from Dor to a Governor of Syria"
''Israel Exploration Journal'', 41 (1991), pp. 258–66
In November 2016, an inscription in Greek was recovered off the coast of Dor by Haifa University underwater archaeologists, which attests that Antiquus was governor of the province of Judea between 120 and 130, possibly prior to the
Bar Kokhba revolt The Bar Kokhba revolt ( he, , links=yes, ''Mereḏ Bar Kōḵḇāʾ‎''), or the 'Jewish Expedition' as the Romans named it ( la, Expeditio Judaica), was a rebellion by the Jews of the Judea (Roman province), Roman province of Judea, led b ...
. As related by Theodor Mommsen, "Hadrian stationed an extra legion in Judaea, renaming it Syria Palaestina.". This was following the defeat of the
Bar Kokhba Revolt The Bar Kokhba revolt ( he, , links=yes, ''Mereḏ Bar Kōḵḇāʾ‎''), or the 'Jewish Expedition' as the Romans named it ( la, Expeditio Judaica), was a rebellion by the Jews of the Judea (Roman province), Roman province of Judea, led b ...
in 135 AD. The Syria-based legion, Legio III Gallica, took part in the quelling of the revolt in 132–136, and in the aftermath, the emperor
Hadrian Hadrian (; la, Caesar Trâiānus Hadriānus ; 24 January 76 – 10 July 138) was Roman emperor from 117 to 138. He was born in Italica (close to modern Santiponce in Spain), a Roman ''municipium'' founded by Italic settlers in Hispania B ...
renamed the greatly depopulated province of Judea and its extra legion ''Syria Palaestina''.


Aftermath


Division into Coele Syria and Syria Phoenice

Septimius Severus divided the province of Syria proper into
Syria Coele Coele-Syria (, also spelt Coele Syria, Coelesyria, Celesyria) alternatively Coelo-Syria or Coelosyria (; grc-gre, Κοίλη Συρία, ''Koílē Syría'', 'Hollow Syria'; lat, Cœlē Syria or ), was a region of Syria (region), Syria in cl ...
and
Syria Phoenice Phoenice ( lat, Syria Phoenīcē ; grc-koi, ἡ Φοινίκη Συρία, hē Phoinī́kē Syría ) was a province of the Roman Empire, encompassing the historical region of Phoenicia. It was officially created in 194 AD and after , Phoenice S ...
, with Antioch and Tyre as their respective provincial capitals. As related by Theodor Mommsen, From the later 2nd century, the Roman Senate included several notable Syrians, including
Claudius Pompeianus Tiberius Claudius Pompeianus ( 125 – 193 AD) was a politician and military commander during the 2nd century in the Roman Empire. A general under the Emperor Marcus Aurelius, Pompeianus distinguished himself during Rome's wars against the Parth ...
and
Avidius Cassius Gaius Avidius Cassius ( 130 – July 175 AD) was a Syrian Roman general and usurper. He was born in Cyrrhus, and was the son of Gaius Avidius Heliodorus, who served as ''praefectus'' or governor of Roman Egypt, and Julia Cassia Alexandra, who w ...
. 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 Shahba ( ar, شَهْبَا / ALA-LC: ''Shahbā'') is a city located south of Damascus in the Jabal el Druze in As-Suwayda Governorate of Syria, but formerly in the Roman province of Arabia Petraea. Known in Late Antiquity as Philippopolis (in ...
) 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.


Dominate reform

Following the reforms of
Diocletian Diocletian (; la, Gaius Aurelius Valerius Diocletianus, grc, Διοκλητιανός, Diokletianós; c. 242/245 – 311/312), nicknamed ''Iovius'', was Roman emperor from 284 until his abdication in 305. He was born Gaius Valerius Diocles ...
, Syria Coele became part of the Diocese of the East. Sometime between 330 and 350 (likely c. 341), the province of '' Euphratensis'' was created out of the territory of ''Syria Coele'' along the western bank of the
Euphrates The Euphrates () is the longest and one of the most historically important rivers of Western Asia. Tigris–Euphrates river system, Together with the Tigris, it is one of the two defining rivers of Mesopotamia ( ''the land between the rivers'') ...
and the former Kingdom of Commagene, with
Hierapolis Hierapolis (; grc, Ἱεράπολις, lit. "Holy City") was originally a Phrygian cult centre of the Anatolian mother goddess of Cybele and later a Greek city. Its location was centred upon the remarkable and copious hot springs in classica ...
as its capital.


Syria in the Byzantine Empire

After c. 415 ''Syria Coele'' was further subdivided into ''Syria I'' (or ''
Syria Prima Syria I or Syria Prima ("First Syria", in el, Πρώτη Συρία, ''Prṓtē Suríā'') was a Byzantine province, formed c. 415 out of Syria Coele. The province survived until the Muslim conquest of Syria in the 630s. History Syria I emerged ...
''), with the capital remaining at Antioch, and ''Syria II'' (''Syria Secunda'') or ''Syria Salutaris'', with capital at
Apamea on the Orontes ar, آفاميا , image =Apamea 01.jpg , alt = , caption = View of Apamea ruins , map_type = Syria , map_alt = , map_size = 200 , location = Hama Governorate, Syria , region = Ghab plain , coordinates = , type = settleme ...
. In 528, Justinian I carved out the small coastal province '' Theodorias'' out of territory from both provinces. The region remained one of the most important provinces of the Byzantine Empire. It was
occupied ' (Norwegian: ') is a Norwegian political thriller TV series that premiered on TV2 on 5 October 2015. Based on an original idea by Jo Nesbø, the series is co-created with Karianne Lund and Erik Skjoldbjærg. Season 2 premiered on 10 October 2 ...
by the Sasanians between 609 and 628, then reconquered by the emperor
Heraclius Heraclius ( grc-gre, Ἡράκλειος, Hērákleios; c. 575 – 11 February 641), was List of Byzantine emperors, Eastern Roman emperor from 610 to 641. His rise to power began in 608, when he and his father, Heraclius the Elder, the Exa ...
, but lost again to the advancing Muslims after the Battle of Yarmouk and the fall of Antioch. The city of Antioch was reconquered by Nikephorus Phocas in 963, along with other parts of the country, at that time under the Hamdanids, although still under the official suzerainty of the Abbasid caliphs and also claimed by the Fatimid caliphs. After emperor John Kurkuas failed to conquer Syria up to Jerusalem, a Muslim "reconquest" of Syria followed in the late 970s undertaken by the Fatimid Caliphate that resulted in the ouster of the Byzantines from most parts of Syria. However, Antioch and other northern parts of Syria remained in the empire and other parts were under the protection of the emperors through their Hamdanid, Mirdasid, and
Marwanid The Marwanids or Dustakids (983/990-1085, ) were a Kurdish Sunni Muslim dynasty in the Diyar Bakr region of Upper Mesopotamia (present day northern Iraq/southeastern Turkey) and Armenia, centered on the city of Amid (Diyarbakır). Territory Th ...
proxies, until the
Seljuk Seljuk or Saljuq (سلجوق) may refer to: * Seljuk Empire (1051–1153), a medieval empire in the Middle East and central Asia * Seljuk dynasty (c. 950–1307), the ruling dynasty of the Seljuk Empire and subsequent polities * Seljuk (warlord) (di ...
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.


Episcopal sees

Ancient episcopal sees of the late Roman province of Syria Prima (I) listed in the '' Annuario Pontificio'' as titular sees:''Annuario Pontificio 2013'' (Libreria Editrice Vaticana 2013 ), "Sedi titolari", pp. 819-1013 *
Anasartha Khanasir ( ar, خناصر / ALA-LC: ''Khanāṣir''),France, 2007, p. 243. also spelt Khanaser, is a town located in Syria's as-Safira District. It is one of twenty-four towns and villages located in the Khanasir valley, an area with a population ...
(Khanasir) * Barcusus (Baquza or Banqusa) * Beroea (Aleppo) *
Chalcis in Syria Qinnasrin ( ar, قنسرين; syr, ܩܢܫܪܝܢ, ''Qinnašrīn'', lit=Nest of Eagles), also known by numerous other romanizations and originally known as ( la, Chalcis ad Belum; grc-gre, Χαλκὶς, ''Khalkìs''), was a historical town in ...
(Qinnasrin) * Gabala (Jableh) * Gabula (at the marsh of Al-Jabbul) * Gindarus (Jandairis) * Laodicea in Syria (Latakia) *
Salamias A full view of Shmemis (spring 1995) Salamieh ( ar, سلمية ') is a city and district in western Syria, in the Hama Governorate. It is located southeast of Hama, northeast of Homs. The city is nicknamed the "mother of Cairo" because it wa ...
(Salamiyah) *
Seleucia Pieria Seleucia in Pieria (Greek Σελεύκεια ἐν Πιερίᾳ), also known in English as Seleucia by the Sea, and later named Suedia, was a Hellenistic town, the seaport of Antioch ad Orontes (Syria Prima), the Seleucid capital, modern Antaky ...
Ancient episcopal sees of the late Roman province of Syria Secunda (II) listed in the '' Annuario Pontificio'' as titular sees: *
Apamea in Syria ar, آفاميا , image =Apamea 01.jpg , alt = , caption = View of Apamea ruins , map_type = Syria , map_alt = , map_size = 200 , location = Hama Governorate, Syria , region = Ghab plain , coordinates = , type = settlement ...
, the Metropolitan Archdiocese * Arethusa (Al-Rastan) * Balanea (Baniyas) * Epiphania in Syria (Hama) *
Larissa in Syria Shaizar or Shayzar ( ar, شيزر; in modern Arabic Saijar; Hellenistic name: Larissa in Syria, Λάρισα εν Συρία in Greek language, Greek) is a town in northern Syria, administratively part of the Hama Governorate, located northwest of ...
(Shaizar) *
Mariamme Mariamme was a city in the late Roman province of Syria I, corresponding to present-day Qal'at El-Hosn or Krak des Chevaliers. The bishopric of Mariamme is no longer a residential episcopal see and is therefore included in the Catholic Church's ...
(Maryamin) * Raphanea *
Seleucobelus Seleucia ( grc-gre, Σελεύκεια, ''Seleukeia''), distinguished as Seleucia-near-Belus ( grc-gre, Σελεύκεια πρὸς Βήλῳ, ''Seleúkeia pròs Bḗlōi'',Ptolemy, ''Geography'', Bk. 5, Ch. 14, §12. or , ''pròs tôi B ...
(Seleucopolis)


See also

* History of Syria *
Ottoman Syria Ottoman Syria ( ar, سوريا العثمانية) refers to divisions of the Ottoman Empire within the region of Syria, usually defined as being east of the Mediterranean Sea, west of the Euphrates River, north of the Arabian Desert and south ...
* Assyria (Roman province) * List of governors of Roman Syria


References


Sources

* * *


External links

* {{coord, 36, 12, N, 36, 09, E, region:TR_type:adm1st_source:kolossus-dewiki, display=title Seleucid Empire successor states Former countries in Western Asia 60s BC establishments 1st-century BC establishments in the Roman Republic States and territories disestablished in the 2nd century 198 disestablishments 190s disestablishments in the Roman Empire 1st-century BC establishments 2nd-century disestablishments Jews and Judaism in the Roman Empire