Syria (region)

An 1810 map of the Ottoman Empire in Asia, showing the region of Ottoman Syria The historic region of Syria ( Hieroglyphic Luwian : Sura/i ; ; in modern literature called Greater Syria , Syria-Palestine , or inaccurately, the Levant ) is an area located east of the Mediterranean sea. The oldest attestation of the name Syria is from the 8th century BC in a bilingual inscription in Hieroglyphic Luwian and Phoenician . In this inscription the Luwian word Sura/i was translated to Phoenician ʔšr " Assyria ." For Herodotus in the 5th century BC, Syria extended as far north as the Halys river and as far south as Arabia and Egypt. In Late Antiquity Syria meant a region located to the East of the Mediterranean Sea , West of the Euphrates River , North of the Arabian Desert and South of the Taurus Mountains . This late definition is equivalent to the region known in Classical Arabic by the name ash-Shām الشام /ʔaʃ-ʃaːm/ , which means the north [country] (from the root šʔm شأم "left, north"). After the Islamic conquest of Byzantine Syria in the 7th century CE, the name Syria fell out of use in the region itself, being superseded by the Arabic equivalent Shām . In the 19th century the name Syria (in Arabic Sūriyya ) was revived by the Maronite Christians of Lebanon. The new name quickly caught on and was adopted officially by the Ottoman government before the turn of the 20th century. After World War I , the name Syria was applied to the new nation of Syria . Throughout history, the region has been controlled by numerous different peoples, including Ancient Egyptians , Canaanites , Assyrians , Babylonians , Persians , Ancient Greeks , Romans , Byzantines , the Sunni Arab Caliphates , the Shia Fatimid Caliphate , Crusaders , Ayyubids , Mameluks , Ottomans , the British and the French . The boundaries of the region have changed throughout history, and were last defined in modern times by the proclamation of the short lived Arab Kingdom of Syria and subsequent definition by French and British mandatory agreement. The area was passed to French and British Mandates following WWI and divided into Greater Lebanon , various Syrian-mandate states, Mandatory Palestine and Transjordan . The Syrian-mandate states were gradually unified as the State of Syria and finally became the independent Syria in 1946. Throughout this period, pan-Syrian nationalists advocated for the creation of a Greater Syria . Robert Rollinger (2006), The terms “Assyria” and “Syria” Again The Middle East and North Africa: 2004, Routledge , page 1015: "Syria" Article "AL-SHĀM" by C.E. Bosworth , Encyclopaedia of Islam , Volume 9 (1997), page 261. Bosworth , Encyclopaedia of Islam , Volume 9 (1997), page 261.

Region east of the Mediterranean Sea "Shaam" redirects here. Place The region of Syria ( , Ash-Shām ; Hieroglyphic Luwian : Sura/i ; ), known in modern literature as "Greater Syria" ([سُوْرِيَّة ٱلْكُبْرَىٰ] Error: {{Lang}}: invalid parameter: |link= ( help ) , Sūrīyah al-Kubrā ), "Syria-Palestine", or the Levant , is an area located east of the Mediterranean Sea . Throughout history, the region has been controlled by numerous different peoples, including ancient Egyptians , Canaanites , Israelites , Assyria , Babylonia , the Achaemenid Empire , the ancient Macedonians , the Roman Empire , the Byzantine Empire , the Rashidun Caliphate , the Umayyad Caliphate , the Abbasid Caliphate , the Fatimid Caliphate , the Crusaders , the Ayyubid dynasty , the Mamluk Sultanate , the Ottoman Empire , the United Kingdom and the French Third Republic . Central Conference of American Rabbis . The western coastline and the eastern deserts set the boundaries for the Levant ... The Euphrates and the area around Jebel el-Bishrī mark the eastern boundary of the northern Levant, as does the Syrian Desert beyond the Anti-Lebanon range's eastern hinterland and Mount Hermon. This boundary continues south in the form of the highlands and eastern desert regions of Transjordan.

Region east of the Mediterranean Sea This article is about the region of Syria also called "Greater Syria" or "Syria-Palestine". Place Syria ( Hieroglyphic Luwian : 𔒂𔒠 ‎ Sura/i ; ; ) or Sham ( ) is the name of a historical region located east of the Mediterranean Sea in West Asia , broadly synonymous with the Levant . Other synonyms are Greater Syria or Syria-Palestine . The region boundaries have changed throughout history. In modern times, the term "Syria" alone is used to refer to the Syrian Arab Republic . The term is originally derived from Assyria , an ancient civilization centered in northern Mesopotamia , modern-day Iraq . During the Hellenistic period , the term Syria was applied to the entire Levant as Coele-Syria . Under Roman rule , the term was used to refer to the province of Syria , later divided into Syria Phoenicia and Coele Syria , and to the province of Syria Palaestina . Under the Byzantines, the provinces of Syria Prima and Syria Secunda emerged out of Coele Syria. After the Muslim conquest of the Levant , the term was superseded by the Arabic equivalent Shām, and under the Rashidun , Umayyad , Abbasid , and Fatimid caliphates , Bilad al-Sham was the name of a metropolitan province encompassing most of the region. In the 19th century, the name Syria was revived in its modem Arabic form to denote the whole of Bilad al-Sham, either as Suriyah or the modern form Suriyya , which eventually replaced the Arabic name of Bilad al-Sham. After World War I , the boundaries of the region were last defined in modern times by the proclamation of and subsequent definition by French and British mandatory agreement. The area was passed to French and British Mandates following World War I and divided into Greater Lebanon , various states under Mandatory French rule , British-controlled Mandatory Palestine and the Emirate of Transjordan . The term Syria itself was applied to several mandate states under French rule and the contemporaneous but short-lived Arab Kingdom of Syria . The Syrian-mandate states were gradually unified as the State of Syria and finally became the independent Syria in 1946. Throughout this period, pan-Syrian nationalists advocated for the creation of a Greater Syria. The western coastline and the eastern deserts set the boundaries for the Levant ... The Euphrates and the area around Jebel el-Bishrī mark the eastern boundary of the northern Levant, as does the Syrian Desert beyond the Anti-Lebanon range's eastern hinterland and Mount Hermon. This boundary continues south in the form of the highlands and eastern desert regions of Transjordan. "The terms "Assyria" and "Syria" again".