Bilad al-Sham ( ar, بِلَاد الشَّام, Bilād al-Shām), often referred to as Islamic Syria or simply Syria in English-language sources, was a province of the
Rashidun,
Umayyad
The Umayyad Caliphate (661–750 CE; , ; ar, ٱلْخِلَافَة ٱلْأُمَوِيَّة, al-Khilāfah al-ʾUmawīyah) was the second of the four major caliphates established after the death of Muhammad. The caliphate was ruled by the ...
,
Abbasid
The Abbasid Caliphate ( or ; ar, الْخِلَافَةُ الْعَبَّاسِيَّة, ') was the third caliphate to succeed the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abdul-Muttalib ...
, and
Fatimid
The Fatimid Caliphate was an Ismaili Shi'a caliphate extant from the tenth to the twelfth centuries AD. Spanning a large area of North Africa, it ranged from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to the Red Sea in the east. The Fatimids, a dyna ...
caliphate
A caliphate or khilāfah ( ar, خِلَافَة, ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with the title of caliph (; ar, خَلِيفَة , ), a person considered a political-religious successor to th ...
s. It roughly corresponded with the Byzantine
Diocese of the East
The Diocese of the East ( la, Dioecesis Orientis; el, ) was a diocese of the later Roman Empire, incorporating the provinces of the western Middle East, between the Mediterranean Sea and Mesopotamia. During late Antiquity, it was one of the majo ...
,
conquered by the Muslims in 634–647. Under the Umayyads (661–750) Bilad al-Sham was the metropolitan province of the Caliphate and different localities throughout the province served as the seats of the Umayyad caliphs and princes.
Bilad al-Sham was first organized into the four ''
ajnad'' (military districts; singular ''jund'') of
Filastin (Palestine),
al-Urdunn (Jordan),
Dimashq (Damascus), and
Hims
ar, حمصي, Himsi
, population_urban =
, population_density_urban_km2 =
, population_density_urban_sq_mi =
, population_blank1_title = Ethnicities
, population_blank1 =
, population_blank2_t ...
(Homs), between 637 and 640 by Caliph
Umar
ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb ( ar, عمر بن الخطاب, also spelled Omar, ) was the second Rashidun caliph, ruling from August 634 until his assassination in 644. He succeeded Abu Bakr () as the second caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate ...
following the Muslim conquest. The ''jund'' of
Qinnasrin
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 ...
was created out of the northern part of Hims by caliphs
Mu'awiya I () or
Yazid I
Yazid ibn Mu'awiya ibn Abi Sufyan ( ar, يزيد بن معاوية بن أبي سفيان, Yazīd ibn Muʿāwiya ibn ʾAbī Sufyān; 64611 November 683), commonly known as Yazid I, was the second caliph of the Umayyad Caliphate. He ruled from ...
(). The
Jazira
Jazira or Al-Jazira ( 'island'), or variants, may refer to:
Business
*Jazeera Airways, an airlines company based in Kuwait
Locations
* Al-Jazira, a traditional region known today as Upper Mesopotamia or the smaller region of Cizre
* Al-Jazira ( ...
(Upper Mesopotamia) was made an independent province from the Mesopotamian part of Qinnasrin by Caliph
Abd al-Malik in 692. In 786 the ''jund'' of
al-Awasim and al-Thughur were established from the northern frontier region of Qinnasrin by Caliph
Harun al-Rashid
Abu Ja'far Harun ibn Muhammad al-Mahdi ( ar
, أبو جعفر هارون ابن محمد المهدي) or Harun ibn al-Mahdi (; or 766 – 24 March 809), famously known as Harun al-Rashid ( ar, هَارُون الرَشِيد, translit=Hārūn ...
. As centralized Abbasid rule over Bilad al-Sham collapsed in the 10th century, control over the region was divided by several potentates and the ''ajnad'' only represented nominal divisions. The Abbasids and the Egypt-based
Fatimid Caliphate continued to officially recognize the province and its ''ajnad'' until the
Crusader invasions of the coastal regions in 1099.
Name
The name ''Bilad al-Sham'' in Arabic translates as "the left-hand region". It was so named from the perspective of the people of the
Hejaz (western Arabia), who considered themselves to be facing the rising sun, that the Syrian region was positioned to their left, while to their right was ''
al-Yaman'' ("the right-hand-region").
Geography
Bilad al-Sham comprised the area of
Greater Syria, spanning the modern countries of
Syria,
Lebanon
Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to Lebanon–Syria border, the north and east and Israel to Blue ...
,
Jordan
Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...
, and
Palestine, as well as the regions of
Hatay
Hatay Province ( tr, Hatay ili, ) is the southernmost province of Turkey. It is situated almost entirely outside Anatolia, along the eastern coast of the Levantine Sea. The province borders Syria to its south and east, the Turkish province of ...
,
Gaziantep
Gaziantep (), previously and still informally called Aintab or Antep (), is a major city and capital of the Gaziantep Province, in the westernmost part of Turkey's Southeastern Anatolia Region and partially in the Mediterranean Region, approxi ...
, and
Diyarbakir in modern
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...
. It was bound by the
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ...
in the west and the
Syrian Desert in the east toward Iraq. The western, Mediterranean coastal range were characterized by rolling hills in Palestine in the south, rising to their highest points in
Mount Lebanon in the center before becoming considerably lower in the
Jabal Ansariya range in the north. Eastward from the coastal range, the ridges of inland Syria become gradually lower, with the exception of
Mount Hermon
Mount Hermon ( ar, جبل الشيخ or جبل حرمون / ALA-LC: ''Jabal al-Shaykh'' ("Mountain of the Sheikh") or ''Jabal Haramun''; he, הַר חֶרְמוֹן, ''Har Hermon'') is a mountain cluster constituting the southern end of th ...
north of the
Golan
Golan ( he, גּוֹלָן ''Gōlān''; ar, جولان ' or ') is the name of a biblical town later known from the works of Josephus (first century CE) and Eusebius (''Onomasticon'', early 4th century CE). Archaeologists localize the biblical ...
, and include the ranges of the
Anti-Lebanon
The Anti-Lebanon Mountains ( ar, جبال لبنان الشرقية, Jibāl Lubnān ash-Sharqiyyah, Eastern Mountains of Lebanon; Lebanese Arabic: , , "Eastern Mountains") are a southwest–northeast-trending mountain range that forms most of ...
,
Jabal al-Ruwaq, and
Jabal Bishri. With the termination of the inland ridges begins the mostly level
Syrian steppe.
History
Muslim conquest
Following the consolidation of Islamic hegemony over
Arabia
The Arabian Peninsula, (; ar, شِبْهُ الْجَزِيرَةِ الْعَرَبِيَّة, , "Arabian Peninsula" or , , "Island of the Arabs") or Arabia, is a peninsula of Western Asia, situated northeast of Africa on the Arabian Plat ...
and its nomadic Arab tribes in the
Ridda wars
The Ridda Wars ( ar, حُرُوْبُ الرِّدَّةِ, lit=Apostasy Wars) were a series of military campaigns launched by the first caliph Abu Bakr against rebellious Arabian tribes. They began shortly after the death of the Islamic proph ...
of 632–633, the
caliph
A caliphate or khilāfah ( ar, خِلَافَة, ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with the title of caliph (; ar, خَلِيفَة , ), a person considered a political-religious successor to th ...
(leader of the Muslim community)
Abu Bakr
Abu Bakr Abdallah ibn Uthman Abi Quhafa (; – 23 August 634) was the senior companion and was, through his daughter Aisha, a father-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, as well as the first caliph of Islam. He is known with the honor ...
() turned the nascent Muslim state's goals toward the conquest of Syria. The conquest unfolded in three main phases, according to the historian
Fred Donner. In the first phase, Abu Bakr dispatched four armies from Medina in late 633 led by the commanders
Amr ibn al-As
( ar, عمرو بن العاص السهمي; 664) was the Arab commander who led the Muslim conquest of Egypt and served as its governor in 640–646 and 658–664. The son of a wealthy Qurayshite, Amr embraced Islam in and was assigned impo ...
,
Yazid ibn Abi Sufyan
Yazid ibn Abi Sufyan ibn Harb ibn Umayya ( ar, يزيد بن أبي سفيان بن حرب بن أمية, Yazīd ibn Abī Sufyān ibn Ḥarb ibn Umayya; died 639) was a leading Arab Muslim commander in the conquest of Syria from 634 until his de ...
,
Shurahbil ibn Hasana
Abū ʿAbd Allāh Shuraḥbīl ibn Ḥasana () was one of the earliest Muslim converts, ''sahaba'' (companion of the Islamic prophet Muhammad) and a key commander in the Rashidun army during the Muslim conquest of the Levant.
Early life
Shurahbil ...
, all veterans of the Ridda wars, and
Abu Ubayda ibn al-Jarrah, a leading companion of Muhammad. Abu Ubayda may not have been dispatched until 636. Each commander was assigned to a different zone, with Amr entrusted over
Palestine, Yazid to the
Balqa (central
Transjordan Transjordan may refer to:
* Transjordan (region), an area to the east of the Jordan River
* Oultrejordain, a Crusader lordship (1118–1187), also called Transjordan
* Emirate of Transjordan, British protectorate (1921–1946)
* Hashemite Kingdom of ...
), Shurahbil to
southern Transjordan, and Abu Ubayda to the Ghassanid stomping grounds of the
Golan Heights
The Golan Heights ( ar, هَضْبَةُ الْجَوْلَانِ, Haḍbatu l-Jawlān or ; he, רמת הגולן, ), or simply the Golan, is a region in the Levant spanning about . The region defined as the Golan Heights differs between di ...
. The Muslim commanders mainly engaged in small-scale skirmishes in the southern Syrian countryside with local garrisons. The goal of the Muslims at the start of the conquest was likely bringing the Arabic-speaking nomadic, semi-nomadic, and settled tribesmen of the southern Syrian desert fringes under their control.
The second phase began with the arrival of
Khalid ibn al-Walid and his troops to Syria in 634. Under Khalid's supreme command, the Muslim armies besieged and captured the southern Syrian urban centers of
Bosra
Bosra ( ar, بُصْرَىٰ, Buṣrā), also spelled Bostra, Busrana, Bozrah, Bozra and officially called Busra al-Sham ( ar, بُصْرَىٰ ٱلشَّام, Buṣrā al-Shām), is a town in southern Syria, administratively belonging to the Dara ...
,
Damascus,
Beisan (Scythopolis),
Pella
Pella ( el, Πέλλα) is an ancient city located in Central Macedonia, Greece. It is best-known for serving as the capital city of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon, and was the birthplace of Alexander the Great.
On site of the ancient cit ...
, Gaza, and temporarily,
Homs (Emesa) and
Baalbek (Hierapolis).
Heraclius responded by deploying successive imperial armies against the Muslims. The Byzantines were decisively defeated in the resulting major battles of
Ajnadayn in Palestine and
Fahl and
Yarmouk in Transjordan, all occurring in 634–636. The Muslim battlefield victories effectively ended organized resistance by the Byzantines.
In the third phase, beginning about 637, the Muslim armies quickly occupied the northern Syrian countryside, while steadily conquering individual towns throughout the region whose garrisons held out alone following the breakdown of the imperial defense. Among the towns, a number of which held out until 637 or 638, were
Aleppo (Beroea) and
Qinnasrin
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 ...
(Chalcis) in the north,
Hama, Homs and Baalbek (the latter two possibly for the second time), Damascus possibly for the second time, Jerusalem. Within the next few years, the Mediterranean coastal towns of
Beirut
Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...
,
Sidon
Sidon ( ; he, צִידוֹן, ''Ṣīḏōn'') known locally as Sayda or Saida ( ar, صيدا ''Ṣaydā''), is the third-largest city in Lebanon. It is located in the South Governorate, of which it is the capital, on the Mediterranean coast. ...
,
Tyre,
Caesarea,
Antioch
Antioch on the Orontes (; grc-gre, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου, ''Antiókheia hē epì Oróntou'', Learned ; also Syrian Antioch) grc-koi, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου; or Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπ ...
,
Tripoli
Tripoli or Tripolis may refer to:
Cities and other geographic units Greece
*Tripoli, Greece, the capital of Arcadia, Greece
* Tripolis (region of Arcadia), a district in ancient Arcadia, Greece
* Tripolis (Larisaia), an ancient Greek city in ...
and
Ascalon were captured by Muslim forces.
Governorship of Mu'awiya
Umar has appointed Abu Ubayda ibn al-Jarrah commander of the Muslim troops in Syria in and governor of the conquered region. He died in the
plague of Amwas The plague of Amwas ( ar, طاعون عمواس, ''ṭāʿūn ʿAmwās''), also spelled plague of Emmaus, was a bubonic plague epidemic that afflicted Islamic Syria in 638–639, during the first plague pandemic and toward the end of the Muslim c ...
, which devastated the Muslims at their camp near Jerusalem and caused significant loss of life throughout Syria. Umar replaced him with Yazid ibn Abi Sufyan in the southern districts of Syria and
Iyad ibn Ghanm
ʿIyāḍ ibn Ghanm ibn Zuhayr al-Fihrī ( ar, عياض بن غنم بن زهير الفهري) (died 641), was an Arab general who played a leading role in the Muslim conquests of al-Jazira (Upper Mesopotamia) and northern Syria. He was among th ...
in the northern districts. Yazid died from the plague soon after and was replaced by his brother
Mu'awiya
Mu'awiya I ( ar, معاوية بن أبي سفيان, Muʿāwiya ibn Abī Sufyān; –April 680) was the founder and first caliph of the Umayyad Caliphate, ruling from 661 until his death. He became caliph less than thirty years after the deat ...
. Umar's successor, Caliph
Uthman
Uthman ibn Affan ( ar, عثمان بن عفان, ʿUthmān ibn ʿAffān; – 17 June 656), also spelled by Colloquial Arabic, Turkish and Persian rendering Osman, was a second cousin, son-in-law and notable companion of the Islamic prop ...
(), gradually expanded Mu'awiya's governorship to span all of Syria.
As governor, Mu'awiya, forged strong ties with the old-established Arab tribes of Syria, which, by dint of their long service under the Byzantines, were more politically experienced than the tribesmen of Arabia, who filled the ranks of the Muslim armies. Among the Syrian tribes, the powerful
Banu Kalb
The Banu Kalb ( ar, بنو كلب) was an Arab tribe which mainly dwelt in the desert between northwestern Arabia and central Syria. The Kalb was involved in the tribal politics of the eastern frontiers of the Byzantine Empire, possibly as early ...
and their
Quda'a
The Quda'a ( ar, قضاعة, translit=Quḍāʿa) were a confederation of Arab tribes, including the powerful Kalb and Tanukh, mainly concentrated throughout Syria and northwestern Arabia, from at least the 4th century CE, during Byzantine rule, ...
confederacy gained the preeminent position in Mu'awiya's government. He also accommodated Arab newcomers, most prominently the
Kinda of South Arabia. The tribes and commanders of Syria backed Mu'awiya in his confrontation with Caliph
Ali
ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib ( ar, عَلِيّ بْن أَبِي طَالِب; 600 – 661 CE) was the last of four Rightly Guided Caliphs to rule Islam (r. 656 – 661) immediately after the death of Muhammad, and he was the first Shia Imam ...
at the
Battle of Siffin
The Battle of Siffin was fought in 657 CE (37 AH) between Ali ibn Abi Talib, the fourth of the Rashidun Caliphs and the first Shia Imam, and Mu'awiya ibn Abi Sufyan, the rebellious governor of Syria. The battle is named after its location ...
in 657, which ended in a stalemate and an agreement to arbitrate their dispute. The arbitration talks collapsed and Mu'awiya's Syrian supporters recognized him as caliph in a ceremony in Jerusalem in 660. Ali was murdered the following year, paving the way for Mu'awiya to gain control of the rest of the Caliphate.
Umayyad period
Syria became the metropolitan province of the
Umayyad Caliphate
The Umayyad Caliphate (661–750 CE; , ; ar, ٱلْخِلَافَة ٱلْأُمَوِيَّة, al-Khilāfah al-ʾUmawīyah) was the second of the four major caliphates established after the death of Muhammad. The caliphate was ruled by th ...
which Mu'awiya founded and whose capital was at Damascus. Syria's history under Umayyad rule was "essentially the history of the
Umayyad dynasty
Umayyad dynasty ( ar, بَنُو أُمَيَّةَ, Banū Umayya, Sons of Umayya) or Umayyads ( ar, الأمويون, al-Umawiyyūn) were the ruling family of the Caliphate between 661 and 750 and later of Al-Andalus between 756 and 1031. In t ...
", according to the historians
Henri Lammens
Henri Lammens (1 Jul 1862 – 23 Apr 1937) was a Belgian Orientalist historian and Jesuit, who wrote (in French) on the early history of Islam.
Education and career as a Jesuit
Born in Ghent, Belgium of Catholic Flemish stock, Henri Lammens jo ...
and
Clifford Edmund Bosworth
Clifford Edmund Bosworth FBA (29 December 1928 – 28 February 2015) was an English historian and Orientalist, specialising in Arabic and Iranian studies.
Life
Bosworth was born on 29 December 1928 in Sheffield, West Riding of Yorkshire (now ...
. Mu'awiya had his son
Yazid I
Yazid ibn Mu'awiya ibn Abi Sufyan ( ar, يزيد بن معاوية بن أبي سفيان, Yazīd ibn Muʿāwiya ibn ʾAbī Sufyān; 64611 November 683), commonly known as Yazid I, was the second caliph of the Umayyad Caliphate. He ruled from ...
, the son of a Kalbi woman, recognized as his successor. Yazid I () was opposed by the people of the
Hejaz, whose revolt against him was crushed by Syria's troops at the
Battle of al-Harra
The Battle of al-Harra ( ar, يوم الحرة, Yawm al-Ḥarra ) was fought between the Syrian army of the Umayyad caliph Yazid I () led by Muslim ibn Uqba and the defenders of Medina from the Ansar and Muhajirun factions, who had rebelled agai ...
. The Syrians proceeded to
besiege Mecca in 683, but withdrew to Syria after Yazid I died. The Meccan leader of the revolt,
Ibn al-Zubayr
Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr ibn al-Awwam ( ar, عبد الله ابن الزبير ابن العوام, ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-Zubayr ibn al-ʿAwwām; May 624 CE – October/November 692), was the leader of a caliphate based in Mecca that rivaled the ...
, was recognized as caliph across much of the Muslim empire, while Yazid I's son and successor,
Mu'awiya II
Mu'awiya ibn Yazid ( ar, معاوية بن يزيد, Muʿāwiya ibn Yazīd; 664 – 684 CE), usually known simply as Mu'awiya II was the third Umayyad caliph. He succeeded his father Yazid I as the third caliph and last caliph of the Sufyanid ...
, succumbed to the plague.
The Kalb and other loyalist tribes elected another Umayyad,
Marwan I
Marwan ibn al-Hakam ibn Abi al-As ibn Umayya ( ar, links=no, مروان بن الحكم بن أبي العاص بن أمية, Marwān ibn al-Ḥakam ibn Abī al-ʿĀṣ ibn Umayya), commonly known as MarwanI (623 or 626April/May 685), was the fo ...
, as caliph and he moved to secure the dynasty's Syrian heartland. With these tribes' support, he defeated the
Qays
Qays ʿAylān ( ar, قيس عيلان), often referred to simply as Qays (''Kais'' or ''Ḳays'') were an Arab tribal confederation that branched from the Mudar group. The tribe does not appear to have functioned as a unit in the pre-Islamic e ...
tribes and other supporters of Ibn al-Zubayr at the
Battle of Marj Rahit, north of Damascus, in 684. Under his son and successor,
Abd al-Malik (), Syrian troops reconquered the rest of the Caliphate and killed Ibn al-Zubayr in a
second siege of Mecca. A standing army composed of the Syrian tribal soldiery was established under this caliph and his sons and successors. Abd al-Malik inaugurated a more Arab–Islamic government in Syria by changing the language of its bureaucracy from Greek to Arabic, switching from Byzantine coinage to a strictly Islamic currency, and building the
Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem, which he may have promoted as an additional center of Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca.
Abd al-Malik's son and successor,
al-Walid I (), ruled with autocratic tendencies and less tolerance for the non-Muslims in Syria and the empire in general, which reached its greatest territorial extent during his reign. He largely demolished the Christian basilica of St. John in Damascus and built in its place the landmark
Great Umayyad Mosque. He achieved great popularity among the Syrian Arabs. During his rule and that of his successors, Damascus retained its role as the administrative capital of the empire, but the caliphs increasingly resided in their country estates in the
Syrian steppe.
After a period of stagnation, the caliph
Hisham () restored the prestige of Umayyad Caliphate through his administrative reforms, state-building and austerity, though the conquests ground to a halt. His successor,
al-Walid II, was assassinated, sparking the
Third Muslim Civil War. His successor
Yazid III
Yazīd ibn al-Walīd ibn ʿAbd al-Malik (701 – 3/4 October 744) ( ar, يزيد بن الوليد بن عبد الملك) usually known simply as Yazid III was the twelfth Umayyad caliph. He reigned for six months, from April 15 to October 3 or ...
died after a few months, followed by the weak rule of
Ibrahim
Ibrahim ( ar, إبراهيم, links=no ') is the Arabic name for Abraham, a Biblical patriarch and prophet in Islam.
For the Islamic view of Ibrahim, see Abraham in Islam.
Ibrahim may also refer to:
* Ibrahim (name), a name (and list of people ...
.
Marwan II
Marwan ibn Muhammad ibn Marwan ibn al-Hakam ( ar, مروان بن محمد بن مروان بن الحكم, Marwān ibn Muḥammad ibn Marwān ibn al-Ḥakam; – 6 August 750), commonly known as Marwan II, was the fourteenth and last caliph of ...
took control of the caliphate, crushed his Syrian tribal opponents, and shifted the capital to
Harran
Harran (), historically known as Carrhae ( el, Kάρραι, Kárrhai), is a rural town and district of the Şanlıurfa Province in southeastern Turkey, approximately 40 kilometres (25 miles) southeast of Urfa and 20 kilometers from the border cr ...
, outside of Syria, which increased Syrian opposition to his rule.
Post-Umayyad period
Al-Sham became much less important under the
Abbasid Caliphate
The Abbasid Caliphate ( or ; ar, الْخِلَافَةُ الْعَبَّاسِيَّة, ') was the third caliphate to succeed the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abdul-Muttalib ...
, which succeeded the Umayyads in 750. The Abbasids moved the capital first to
Kufa
Kufa ( ar, الْكُوفَة ), also spelled Kufah, is a city in Iraq, about south of Baghdad, and northeast of Najaf. It is located on the banks of the Euphrates River. The estimated population in 2003 was 110,000. Currently, Kufa and Najaf a ...
, and then to
Baghdad
Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon. I ...
and
Samarra, all of which were in
Iraq
Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...
, which consequently became their most important province. The mainly Arab Syrians were marginalized by
Iranian
Iranian may refer to:
* Iran, a sovereign state
* Iranian peoples, the speakers of the Iranian languages. The term Iranic peoples is also used for this term to distinguish the pan ethnic term from Iranian, used for the people of Iran
* Iranian lan ...
and
Turkish forces who rose to power under the Abbasids, a trend which also expressed itself on a cultural level. From 878 until 905, Syria came under the effective control of the
Tulunids
The Tulunids (), were a Mamluk dynasty of Turkic origin who were the first independent dynasty to rule Egypt, as well as much of Syria, since the Ptolemaic dynasty. They were independent from 868, when they broke away from the central authority ...
of Egypt, but Abbasid control was re-established soon thereafter. It lasted until the 940s, when the province was partitioned between the
Hamdanid
The Hamdanid dynasty ( ar, الحمدانيون, al-Ḥamdāniyyūn) was a Twelver Shia Arab dynasty of Northern Mesopotamia and Syria (890–1004). They descended from the ancient Banu Taghlib Christian tribe of Mesopotamia and Eastern ...
Emirate of Aleppo
)), is an adjective which means "white-colored mixed with black".
, motto =
, image_map =
, mapsize =
, map_caption =
, image_map1 =
...
in the north and
Ikhshidid
The Ikhshidid dynasty (, ) was a Turkic mamluk dynasty who ruled Egypt and the Levant from 935 to 969. Muhammad ibn Tughj al-Ikhshid, a Turkic mamluk soldier, was appointed governor by the Abbasid Caliph al-Radi. The dynasty carried the Arabic t ...
-controlled Egypt in the south. In the 960s the Byzantine Empire under
Nikephoros II Phokas
Nikephoros II Phokas (; – 11 December 969), Latinized Nicephorus II Phocas, was Byzantine emperor from 963 to 969. His career, not uniformly successful in matters of statecraft or of war, nonetheless included brilliant military exploits whi ...
conquered much of northern Syria, and
Aleppo became a Byzantine tributary, while the southern provinces passed to the
Fatimid Caliphate after its conquest of Egypt in 969. The division of Syria into northern and southern parts would persist, despite political changes, until the
Mamluk
Mamluk ( ar, مملوك, mamlūk (singular), , ''mamālīk'' (plural), translated as "one who is owned", meaning " slave", also transliterated as ''Mameluke'', ''mamluq'', ''mamluke'', ''mameluk'', ''mameluke'', ''mamaluke'', or ''marmeluke'') ...
conquest in the late 13th century.
Administrative history
Roman–Byzantine precursors
![Dioecesis Orientis 400 AD](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e6/Dioecesis_Orientis_400_AD.png)
The ''ajnad'' were an adaptation of the preexisting administrative system of the
Diocese of the East
The Diocese of the East ( la, Dioecesis Orientis; el, ) was a diocese of the later Roman Empire, incorporating the provinces of the western Middle East, between the Mediterranean Sea and Mesopotamia. During late Antiquity, it was one of the majo ...
(Byzantine Syria) to suit the nascent Muslim state's needs. The Byzantine system, in turn, had been based on that instituted by its
Roman predecessor in the aftermath of the
First Jewish Revolt
First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1).
First or 1st may also refer to:
*World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement
Arts and media Music
* 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...
in 70 CE and the
Bar Kokhba Revolt in 135 CE. To establish closer control over the broadly spread population of Syria following the revolts, the region was subdivided into smaller units centered around an urban center which policed and collected taxes from the surrounding hinterland. By 400 the southern half of Syria was divided between the three Palestines (
Palaestina Prima
Palaestina Prima or Palaestina I was a Byzantine province that existed from the late 4th century until the Muslim conquest of the Levant in the 630s, in the region of Palestine. It was temporarily lost to the Sassanid Empire (Persian Empire) in ...
,
Palaestina Secunda
Palæstina Secunda or Palaestina II was a Byzantine province from 390, until its conquest by the Muslim armies in 634–636. Palaestina Secunda, a part of the Diocese of the East, roughly comprised the Galilee, Yizrael Valley, Bet Shean Valley a ...
, and
Palaestina Tertia
Palaestina Salutaris or Palaestina Tertia was a Byzantine (Eastern Roman) province, which covered the area of the Negev, Sinai (except the north western coast) and south-west of Transjordan, south of the Dead Sea. The province, a part of the Di ...
),
Phoenice
Phoenice or Phoenike ( el, Φοινίκη) was an ancient Greek city in Epirus and capital of the Chaonians.: "To the north the Chaonians had expelled the Corcyraeans from their holdings on the mainland and built fortifications at Buthrotum, K ...
and
Arabia
The Arabian Peninsula, (; ar, شِبْهُ الْجَزِيرَةِ الْعَرَبِيَّة, , "Arabian Peninsula" or , , "Island of the Arabs") or Arabia, is a peninsula of Western Asia, situated northeast of Africa on the Arabian Plat ...
.
Beginnings of Islamic administration
Following the decisive Muslim victory at Yarmouk in 636, and the occupation of most of the
Mediterranean
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western Europe, Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa ...
coast and northern Syria in the next two years, the Muslims began to militarily and administratively organize the region for their needs. Caliph Umar, who ruled from Medina, visited the Muslim army's principal camp at
Jabiya, the former Ghassanid capital, at least once between 637 and 639. From there he personally oversaw the distribution of allowances (''ata'') and rations (''rizq'') to the Muslim soldiery, tax collection from the conquered population, and the appointments to military command. There may have been initial Muslim intentions to establish Jabiya as the permanent, central
garrison town of Syria along the lines of those later established in the conquered regions of Iraq (
Kufa
Kufa ( ar, الْكُوفَة ), also spelled Kufah, is a city in Iraq, about south of Baghdad, and northeast of Najaf. It is located on the banks of the Euphrates River. The estimated population in 2003 was 110,000. Currently, Kufa and Najaf a ...
and
Basra
Basra ( ar, ٱلْبَصْرَة, al-Baṣrah) is an Iraqi city located on the Shatt al-Arab. It had an estimated population of 1.4 million in 2018. Basra is also Iraq's main port, although it does not have deep water access, which is han ...
), Egypt (
Fustat
Fusṭāṭ ( ar, الفُسطاط ''al-Fusṭāṭ''), also Al-Fusṭāṭ and Fosṭāṭ, was the first capital of Egypt under Muslim rule, and the historical centre of modern Cairo. It was built adjacent to what is now known as Old Cairo by t ...
), and
Ifriqiya (
Kairouan
Kairouan (, ), also spelled El Qayrawān or Kairwan ( ar, ٱلْقَيْرَوَان, al-Qayrawān , aeb, script=Latn, Qeirwān ), is the capital of the Kairouan Governorate in Tunisia and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The city was founded by t ...
). Those garrison cities developed into major urban centers of the Caliphate. During one of his visits, or by 640 at the latest, the central army camp at Jabiya was disbanded by Umar. Instead, as a result of several factors, "a self-supporting, more flexible" military-administrative system was established, according to the historian Alan Walmsley.
Unlike Iraq and Egypt where settlement was concentrated along the major rivers of those provinces, Syrian settlement was distributed over an extensive area of mountains, valleys, and plains. The complex geography slowed communications and army movements in the region, necessitating multiple regional centers for efficient administration and defense; according to Walmsley, this was "a principle confirmed by over 500 years of Roman and Byzantine administration". The change of Muslim military objectives following Yarmouk, when focus shifted to the northern Syrian and Mediterranean fronts, also necessitated the establishment of additional army headquarters and garrisons, such as Homs, diminishing Jabiya's centrality. Further reducing troop numbers in Jabiya was the
Plague of Amwas The plague of Amwas ( ar, طاعون عمواس, ''ṭāʿūn ʿAmwās''), also spelled plague of Emmaus, was a bubonic plague epidemic that afflicted Islamic Syria in 638–639, during the first plague pandemic and toward the end of the Muslim c ...
in 639, which reduced the garrison there from 24,000 to 4,000. The decrease was likely due to factors in addition to the plague. In late 639 or early 640, a significant number of Muslim troops also left Syria for the conquest of Egypt under Amr's command.
Troop numbers in Jabiya could not be restored in the aftermath of the plague and the departure of Muslim troops to other fronts. Unlike in Iraq where there were high levels of Arab tribal immigration, similar immigration into Syria was restricted by the Qurayshite elite in a bid to preserve their pre-established interests in the region. Syria had a substantial, long-standing Arab population, both in the tribes who dominated the
steppe and formerly served Byzantium and in the urban Arab communities, particularly those of Damascus and Homs. Not long after Yarmouk, the Arab tribes of Syria were incorporated into the nascent Muslim military structure there. The native tribes had a preference for the established urban centers with which they were long familiarized. Muslim settlement in the urban centers was facilitated by the wide availability of property in the cities in the wake of the conquests, as a result of the exodus of pro-Byzantine, Greek-speaking residents or in property transfers to the Muslims secured in capitulation agreements. Muslim settlement in the hinterland, on the other hand, was limited as the Aramaic-speaking peasantry remained in their villages.
The ''jund'' divisions
![Early Islamic Syria, ca](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6c/Early_Islamic_Syria%2C_ca._640s.png)
Umar divided Syria into the four ''
ajnad'' of
Filastin,
al-Urdunn,
Dimashq, and
Hims
ar, حمصي, Himsi
, population_urban =
, population_density_urban_km2 =
, population_density_urban_sq_mi =
, population_blank1_title = Ethnicities
, population_blank1 =
, population_blank2_t ...
. The new garrisons were assigned to the urban centers of
Lydda
Lod ( he, לוד, or fully vocalized ; ar, اللد, al-Lidd or ), also known as Lydda ( grc, Λύδδα), is a city southeast of Tel Aviv and northwest of Jerusalem in the Central District of Israel. It is situated between the lower Sheph ...
,
Tiberias
Tiberias ( ; he, טְבֶרְיָה, ; ar, طبريا, Ṭabariyyā) is an Israeli city on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee. A major Jewish center during Late Antiquity, it has been considered since the 16th century one of Judaism's F ...
, Damascus, and Homs, respectively. In effect, Umar gave his sanction of the existing military situation in Syria, where different army units operated independently on the different fronts. By establishing the ''ajnad'', Umar transformed the military structures into provincial governments concerned with the taxation of the local populations and the distribution of collected money and supplies for the troops. During the caliphate of Umar's successor
Uthman
Uthman ibn Affan ( ar, عثمان بن عفان, ʿUthmān ibn ʿAffān; – 17 June 656), also spelled by Colloquial Arabic, Turkish and Persian rendering Osman, was a second cousin, son-in-law and notable companion of the Islamic prop ...
(), supplemental garrisons were established in the respective ''ajnad'', especially in the coastal cities.
During the reign of Mu'awiya I or Yazid I, Qinnasrin (northern Syria) and the Jazira (
Upper Mesopotamia
Upper Mesopotamia is the name used for the uplands and great outwash plain of northwestern Iraq, northeastern Syria and southeastern Turkey, in the northern Middle East. Since the early Muslim conquests of the mid-7th century, the region has been ...
) were separated from Jund Hims and became
Jund Qinnasrin
''Jund Qinnasrīn'' ( ar, جُـنْـد قِـنَّـسْـرِيْـن, "military district of Qinnasrin") was one of five sub-provinces of Syria under the Umayyad and Abbasid Caliphates, organized soon after the Muslim conquest of Syria in th ...
. The separation may have been a response to the influx of northern Arab (
Qays
Qays ʿAylān ( ar, قيس عيلان), often referred to simply as Qays (''Kais'' or ''Ḳays'') were an Arab tribal confederation that branched from the Mudar group. The tribe does not appear to have functioned as a unit in the pre-Islamic e ...
and
Mudar
The Mudar ( ar, مُضَر) are one of the most powerful northern Arab tribal groupings.
History
The Mudar and Rabi'a are recorded in central Arabia in the Arabic histories of the pre-Islamic period; the kings of the Kindah bore the title o ...
) immigrant tribesmen to Qinnasrin and the Jazira during Mu'awiya's governorship and caliphate. In 692 Caliph Abd al-Malik separated the Jazira from Jund Qinnasrin, and it became the independent province of the
Jazira
Jazira or Al-Jazira ( 'island'), or variants, may refer to:
Business
*Jazeera Airways, an airlines company based in Kuwait
Locations
* Al-Jazira, a traditional region known today as Upper Mesopotamia or the smaller region of Cizre
* Al-Jazira ( ...
. According to Blankinship, this change of status may have been related to the peace settlement reached with the Qays in 691 after the Qays had rebelled against the Umayyads during the
Second Muslim Civil War
The Second Fitna was a period of general political and military disorder and civil war in the Islamic community during the early Umayyad Caliphate., meaning trial or temptation) occurs in the Qur'an in the sense of test of faith of the believer ...
. According to the historian
Hugh N. Kennedy
Hugh Nigel Kennedy (born 22 October 1947) is a British medieval historian and academic. He specialises in the history of the early Islamic Middle East, Muslim Iberia and the Crusades. From 1997 to 2007, he was Professor of Middle Eastern Histor ...
, the separation was done at the request of
Muhammad ibn Marwan
Abū ʿAbd al-Raḥmān Muḥammad ibn Marwān ibn al-Ḥakam () (died 719/720) was an Umayyad prince and one of the most important generals of the Umayyad Caliphate in the period 690–710, and the one who completed the Arab conquest of Armenia. ...
, Abd al-Malik's brother and his commander responsible for the Jazira.
In 786 Caliph
Harun al-Rashid
Abu Ja'far Harun ibn Muhammad al-Mahdi ( ar
, أبو جعفر هارون ابن محمد المهدي) or Harun ibn al-Mahdi (; or 766 – 24 March 809), famously known as Harun al-Rashid ( ar, هَارُون الرَشِيد, translit=Hārūn ...
established
Jund al-Awasim out of the northern part of Jund Qinnasrin. It spanned the frontier zone with the Byzantine Empire, extending from the areas immediately south of
Antioch
Antioch on the Orontes (; grc-gre, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου, ''Antiókheia hē epì Oróntou'', Learned ; also Syrian Antioch) grc-koi, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου; or Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπ ...
, Aleppo, and
Manbij
Manbij ( ar, مَنْبِج, Manbiǧ, ku, مەنبج, Minbic, tr, Münbiç, Menbic, or Menbiç) is a city in the northeast of Aleppo Governorate in northern Syria, 30 kilometers (19 mi) west of the Euphrates. In the 2004 census by the Cen ...
and eastward to the Euphrates. Manbij and later Antioch became the capitals of the new ''jund''. Jund al-Awasim served as the second defensive line behind the actual frontier zone, the Thughur, which encompassed the far northern Syrian towns of
Baghras
Bagras or Baghrās but realistically Bagdas/Bagdans or Bogd·apo, ancient Pagrae ( gr, Πάγραι) ( hy, Պաղրաս, translit=Paġras), is a town and its nearby castle in the İskenderun district of Turkey, in the Amanus Mountains.
Strabo's ' ...
,
Bayas,
Duluk,
Alexandretta,
Cyrrhus
Cyrrhus (; el, Κύρρος ''Kyrrhos'') is a city in ancient Syria founded by Seleucus Nicator, one of Alexander the Great's generals. Other names for the city include Coricium, Corice, Hagioupolis, Nebi Huri ( ar, نبي هوري), and Khoros ...
,
Ra'ban and
Tizin. The Thughur was subdivided into the
Cilicia
Cilicia (); el, Κιλικία, ''Kilikía''; Middle Persian: ''klkyʾy'' (''Klikiyā''); Parthian: ''kylkyʾ'' (''Kilikiyā''); tr, Kilikya). is a geographical region in southern Anatolia in Turkey, extending inland from the northeastern coa ...
n or Syrian ''al-Thughur al-Sha'miya'' and the Jaziran or Mesopotamian ''al-Thughur al-Jaziriya'' sectors, roughly separated by the
Amanus
The Nur Mountains ( tr, Nur Dağları, "Mountains of Holy Light"), formerly known as Alma-Dağ, the ancient Amanus ( grc, Ἁμανός), medieval Black Mountain, or Jabal al-Lukkam in Arabic, is a mountain range in the Hatay Province of south ...
mountains.
Tarsus and
Malatya
Malatya ( hy, Մալաթիա, translit=Malat'ya; Syro-Aramaic ܡܠܝܛܝܢܐ Malīṭīná; ku, Meletî; Ancient Greek: Μελιτηνή) is a large city in the Eastern Anatolia region of Turkey and the capital of Malatya Province. The city h ...
were the most important towns in the Syrian and the Mesopotamian sectors respectively, though the two districts did not have administrative capitals sometimes were under the administrative control of Jund al-Awasim. By the 10th century, the terms ''Thughur'' and ''al-Awasim'' were often used interchangeably in the sources.
The governor of the provinces were called or .
*
Jund Dimashq
''Jund Dimashq'' ( ar, جند دمشق) was the largest of the sub-provinces (''ajnad'', sing. ''jund''), into which Syria was divided under the Umayyad and Abbasid dynasties. It was named after its capital and largest city, Damascus ("Dimashq") ...
(, "military district of
Damascus"), with its capital at Damascus, was the largest of the provinces and encompassed much of present-day Lebanon and territories east of the Jordan River known as the
al-Balqa region.
*
Jund Filastin
Jund Filasṭīn ( ar, جُنْد فِلَسْطِيْن, "the military district of Palestine") was one of the military districts of the Umayyad and Abbasid province of Bilad al-Sham (Levant), organized soon after the Muslim conquest of the Lev ...
(, "military district of
Palestine") stretched from
Aqaba
Aqaba (, also ; ar, العقبة, al-ʿAqaba, al-ʿAgaba, ) is the only coastal city in Jordan and the largest and most populous city on the Gulf of Aqaba. Situated in southernmost Jordan, Aqaba is the administrative centre of the Aqaba Govern ...
on the Red Sea and
al-'Arish in the Sinai in the south to the lower Galilee in the north, encompassing most of the territory of the Byzantine provinces of
Palaestina Prima
Palaestina Prima or Palaestina I was a Byzantine province that existed from the late 4th century until the Muslim conquest of the Levant in the 630s, in the region of Palestine. It was temporarily lost to the Sassanid Empire (Persian Empire) in ...
and
Palaestina Tertia
Palaestina Salutaris or Palaestina Tertia was a Byzantine (Eastern Roman) province, which covered the area of the Negev, Sinai (except the north western coast) and south-west of Transjordan, south of the Dead Sea. The province, a part of the Di ...
. The Tulunids expanded the province eastwards and southwards, at the expense of Jund Dimasq, to include regions in modern-day southern Jordan and north-western Saudi Arabia.
Ramla
Ramla or Ramle ( he, רַמְלָה, ''Ramlā''; ar, الرملة, ''ar-Ramleh'') is a city in the Central District of Israel. Today, Ramle is one of Israel's mixed cities, with both a significant Jewish and Arab populations.
The city was f ...
was founded in 715 and became both the administrative capital and most important city in Palestine.
*
Jund al-Urdunn
Jund al-Urdunn ( ar, جُـنْـد الْأُرْدُنّ, translation: "The military district of Jordan") was one of the five districts of Bilad al-Sham (Islamic Syria) during the early Islamic period. It was established under the Rashidun and ...
(, "military district of
the Jordan
The Jordan River or River Jordan ( ar, نَهْر الْأُرْدُنّ, ''Nahr al-ʾUrdunn'', he, נְהַר הַיַּרְדֵּן, ''Nəhar hayYardēn''; syc, ܢܗܪܐ ܕܝܘܪܕܢܢ ''Nahrāʾ Yurdnan''), also known as ''Nahr Al-Shariea ...
") corresponded with
Palaestina Secunda
Palæstina Secunda or Palaestina II was a Byzantine province from 390, until its conquest by the Muslim armies in 634–636. Palaestina Secunda, a part of the Diocese of the East, roughly comprised the Galilee, Yizrael Valley, Bet Shean Valley a ...
and covered most of the Galilee and the western part of
Peraea
Peraia, and Peraea or Peræa (from grc, ἡ περαία, ''hē peraia'', "land across") in Classical Antiquity referred to "a community's territory lying 'opposite', predominantly (but not exclusively) a mainland possession of an island state" a ...
in Transjordan. It also included the cities Acre and Tyre on the coast.
Tabariyyah
Tiberias ( ; he, טְבֶרְיָה, ; ar, طبريا, Ṭabariyyā) is an Israeli city on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee. A major Jewish center during Late Antiquity, it has been considered since the 16th century one of Judaism's Fou ...
(Tiberias) replaced
Scythopolis as the new capital of the province.
[; ]
*
Jund Hims
''Jund Ḥimṣ'' ( ar, جند حمص, " military district of Homs") was one of the military districts of the caliphal province of Syria.
Geography
The capital of Jund Hims was Homs, from which the district received its name. Its principal urb ...
(, "military district of
Homs"), with its capital at
Homs.
*
Jund Qinnasrin
''Jund Qinnasrīn'' ( ar, جُـنْـد قِـنَّـسْـرِيْـن, "military district of Qinnasrin") was one of five sub-provinces of Syria under the Umayyad and Abbasid Caliphates, organized soon after the Muslim conquest of Syria in th ...
(, "military district of
Qinnasrin
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 ...
"), with its capital at
Qinnasrin
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 ...
, was carved out of the northern part of Jund Hims.
Post-Abbasid rule
As direct Abbasid rule over the Levant faltered and eventually collapsed in the 10th century, different parts of the region were controlled by several different rulerships. The ''ajnad'' became nominal divisions with no practical relevance. The administrative system continued to be officially recognized by the Abbasid and
Fatimid
The Fatimid Caliphate was an Ismaili Shi'a caliphate extant from the tenth to the twelfth centuries AD. Spanning a large area of North Africa, it ranged from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to the Red Sea in the east. The Fatimids, a dyna ...
governments until the
Crusader conquests of the western parts of Bilad al-Sham, beginning in 1099. As a geographic expression, "Bilad al-Sham" continued to be used by Arabic-speaking Muslims into the late 19th century, when ''Suriyya'', the Arabic word for "Syria", generally replaced the term in common usage. Leading up to that point, ''Suriyya'' had been increasingly used in 19th-century Arabic
Christian literature
Christian literature is the literary aspect of Christian media, and it constitutes a huge body of extremely varied writing.
Scripture
While falling within the strict definition of literature, the Bible is not generally considered literature. Ho ...
and among Europeans.
See also
*
Crusader states (Outremer)
*
Middle East
The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europ ...
*
Palaestina Prima
Palaestina Prima or Palaestina I was a Byzantine province that existed from the late 4th century until the Muslim conquest of the Levant in the 630s, in the region of Palestine. It was temporarily lost to the Sassanid Empire (Persian Empire) in ...
*
Syria Palaestina
References
Bibliography
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{{Syria topics
Geography of the Middle East
Medieval Jordan
Medieval Lebanon
Medieval Palestine
Historical regions