Coele-Syria

Coele-Syria ( ), traditionally given the meaning 'hollow' Syria, was the region of southern Syria disputed between the Seleucid dynasty and the Ptolemaic dynasty . Rather than limiting the Greek term to the Beqaa Valley of Lebanon , it is often used to cover the entire area south of the river Eleutherus including Judea . In fact Diodorus Siculus indicates Coelo-Syria to also include the Palestinian coasts as far south as Joppa . The Hellenistic term Koile Syria that appears first in Arrian 's Anabasis (2.13.7) and has been much discussed, now seems simply to have been a transcription of Aramaic kul , "all, the entire", identifying all of Syria, very much as the range of applications have suggested. Alexander the Great 's general Ptolemy first occupied Coele-Syria in 318 BC . When Ptolemy joined the coalition against Antigonus I Monophthalmus in 313 BC he, however, quickly withdrew from Coele-Syria. In 312 Seleucus I Nicator , defeated Demetrius , the son of Antigonus, in the Battle of Gaza which again allowed Ptolemy to occupy Coele-Syria. Though he was again to pull out after only a few months, after Demetrius had won a battle over his general and Antigonus entered Syria in force up to Antigonuses, this brief success had enabled Seleucus to make a dash for Babylonia which Seleucus secured. In 302 , Ptolemy joined a new coalition against Antigonus and reoccupied Coele-Syria but quickly withdrew on hearing a false report that Antigonus had won a victory. He was only to return when Antigonus had been defeated at Ipsus in 301 BC . Coele-Syria was assigned to Seleucus , by the victors of Ipsus as Ptolemy had added nothing to the victory. Though, given Ptolemy's track record, he was unlikely to organize a serious defense of Coele-Syria, Seleucus acquiesced in Ptolemy's occupation, probably because Seleucus remembered how it had been with Ptolemy's help he had reestablished himself in Babylonia. The later Seleucids were not to be so understanding, resulting in the century of Syrian Wars between the Ptolemies and Seleucids. Sartre, "La Syrie creuse n'existe pas", in G. Géographie historique au proche-orient (1988:15-40), reviving the explanation offered by A. Schalit (1954), is reported by Robin Lane Fox, Travelling Heroes in the Epic Age of Homer ( 2008, notes p378f): "the crux is solved".

Historical Levant Koile Syria ( ), Cœle-Syria , Cæle-Syria or Celesyria , was a Hellenistic term for a region of Syria. It is widely accepted that the term Coele is a transcription of Aramaic kul , meaning "all, the entire", such that the term originally identified all of Syria. The word "Coele", which literally means "hollow" in Koine Greek , is thought to have come about via a folk etymology referring to the "hollow" Beqaa Valley between Mount Lebanon and the Anti-Lebanon mountains . However, the term Coele-Syria was also used in a wider sense to indicate "all Syria" or "all Syria except Phoenicia", by the writers; Pliny , Arrian , Ptolemy and also Diodorus Siculus , who indicated Coele-Syria to at least stretch as far south as Joppa , while Polybius stated that the border between Egypt and Coele-Syria lay between the towns of Rhinocolara and Rhaphia . The first and only official use of the term was during the period of Seleucid rule of the region, between c. 200 BCE and 64 BCE. During this period, the term "Coele Syria and Phoenicia" or "Coele Syria" was also used in a narrower sense to refer to the former Ptolemaic territory which the Seleucids now controlled, being the area south of the river Eleutherus . This usage was adopted by Strabo and the Books of the Maccabees . However, Greek writers such as Agatharchides and Polemon of Athens used the term Palestine to refer to the region during this period, which was a term originally given circa 450 BCE by Herodotus . Later during the Roman Period c.350 CE, Eunapius wrote that the capital of Coele-Syria was the Seleucid city of Antioch , which is North of the Eleutherus. , "La Syrie creuse n'existe pas", in G. Géographie historique au proche-orient (1988:15-40), reviving the explanation offered by A. Schalit (1954), is reported by Robin Lane Fox, Travelling Heroes in the Epic Age of Homer (2008, notes p378f): "the crux is solved". A History of the Jews and Judaism in the Second Temple Period, Volume 2, Lester L. Grabbe, p173 "Yet the suggestion is widely accepted that the name actually derives from Aramaic for "all Syria", which was then assimilated by the Greeks to a more usual pattern for place names" From Sartre, pages 21-25: Diodorus 18.6.3, 61.4; 20.73.2; Polybius 8.17.10–11; Pliny, Naturalis Historiæ 5.106–10; Arrian Anabasis 2.13.7; Ptolemy 5.14.1. Diodorus Siculus c.150 BCE, Bibliotheca historica , XIX, 93; XXIX, 29 Diodorus of Sicily, with an English translation by C.H. The Histories of Polybius . Having marched to Pelusium Ptolemy made his first halt in that town; and having been there joined by the stragglers, and having given out their rations of corn to his men, he got the army in motion, and led them by a line of march which goes through the waterless region skirting Mount Casius and the Marshes.(Called Barathra, See Strabo, 17, 1, 21.) On the fifth day's march he reached his destination, and pitched his camp a distance of fifty stades from Rhaphia, which is the first city of Coele-Syria towards Egypt. Sibyls and sibylline prophecy in classical antiquity . Agatharchides (5.87, quoted in Diodorus Siculus 's Bibliotheca historica ; Strabo 's Geographica , and Photios ' Bibliotheca ) Diodorus (Siculus.) (1814). The sea here so abounds with them that it is to the admiration of the beholders. The promontory that shoots out towards this island lies over against Petra in Arabia and Palestine. The Truth of the Christian Religion ... Corrected and illustrated with notes by Mr. To which is added, a seventh book, concerning this question, What Christian church we ought to join ourselves to? By the said Mr. The ninth edition, with additions. Particularly one whole book of Mr. Le Clerc's against indifference of what religion a man is of. Polemon, &c.] He seems to have lived in the Time of Ptolemy Epiphanes ; concerning which, see that very useful Book of the famous Gerrard Vossius , of the Greek Historians. Africanus says, the Greek Histories were wrote by him; which is the same Book Athenæus calls, ???. His Words are these: "In the Reign of Apis the Son of Phoroneus , Part of the Egyptian Army went out of Egypt , and dwelt in Syria called Palestine , not far from Arabia ." As Africanus preserved the Place of Polemon , so Eusebius in his Chronology preserved that of Africanus .

Historical Levant Coele-Syria , Coele Syria , Coelesyria ( , Koílē Syría ), also rendered as Coelosyria and Celesyria , otherwise Hollow Syria ( ), was a region of Syria in classical antiquity . It probably derived from the Aramaic for all of the region of Syria but more often was applied to the Beqaa Valley between the Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon mountain ranges. The area now forms part of the modern nations of Lebanon and Syria .

Region of Syria in classical antiquity This article is about the Hellenistic region. Historical Levant Coele-Syria ( / ˌ s iː l iː ˈ s ɪ r i ə / , also spelt Coele Syria , Coelesyria , Celesyria ) alternatively Coelo-Syria or Coelosyria ( / ˌ s iː l ə -/ ; , Koílē Syría , 'Hollow Syria'; or Cava Syria ), was a region of Syria in classical antiquity . It probably derived from the Aramaic word for all of the region of Syria , but it was most often applied to the Beqaa Valley between the Lebanon and the Anti-Lebanon mountain ranges. The area is now part of the modern-day Syria and Lebanon .

Region of Syria in classical antiquity This article is about the Hellenistic region. Coele-Syria ( Ancient Greek : Κοίλη Συρία , romanized : Koílē Syría , lit. ' Hollow Syria ' ) was a region of Syria in classical antiquity . The term originally referred to the "hollow" Beqaa Valley between the Lebanon and the Anti-Lebanon mountain ranges, but sometimes it was applied to a broader area of the region of Syria. The area is now part of modern-day Syria and Lebanon .