syria Summary and Overview

(Heb. Aram), the name in the Old Testament given to the whole country which lay to the NE of Phoenicia, extending to beyond the Euphrates and the Tigris. Mesopotamia is called (Gen. 24:10; Deut. 23:4) Aram-naharain (=Syria of the two rivers), also Padan-aram (Gen. 25:20). Other portions of Syria were also known by separate names, as Aram-maahah (1 Chr. 19:6), Aram-beth-rehob (2 Sam. 10:6), Aram-zobah (2 Sam. 10:6, 8). All these separate little kingdoms afterwards became subject to Damascus. In the time of the Romans, Syria included also a part of Israel and Asia Minor. "From the historic annals now accessible to us, the history of Syria may be divided into three periods: The first, the period when the power of the Pharaohs was dominant over the fertile fields or plains of Syria and the merchant cities of Tyre and Sidon, and when such mighty conquerors as Thothmes III. and Rameses II. could claim dominion and levy tribute from the nations from the banks of the Euphrates to the borders of the Libyan desert. Second, this was followed by a short period of independence, when the Jewish nation in the south was growing in power, until it reached its early zenith in the golden days of Solomon; and when Tyre and Sidon were rich cities, sending their traders far and wide, over land and sea, as missionaries of civilization, while in the north the confederate tribes of the Hittites held back the armies of the kings of Assyria. The third, and to us most interesting, period is that during which the kings of Assyria were dominant over the plains of Syria; when Tyre, Sidon, Ashdod, and Jerusalem bowed beneath the conquering armies of Shalmaneser, Sargon, and Sennacherib; and when at last Memphis and Thebes yielded to the power of the rulers of Nineveh and Babylon, and the kings of Assyria completed with terrible fulness the bruising of the reed of Egypt so clearly foretold by the Hebrew prophets.", Boscawen.

is the term used throughout our version for the Hebrew Aram, as well as for the Greek Zupia. Most probably Syria is for Tsyria, the country about Tsur or Tyre which was the first of the Syrian towns known to the Greeks. It is difficult to fix the limits of Syria. The limits of the Hebrew Aram and its subdivisions are spoken of under ARAM. Syria proper was bounded by Amanus and Taurus on the north by the Euphrates and the Arabian desert on the east, by Israel on the south, by the Mediterranean near the mouth of the Orontes, and then by Phoenicia on the west. This tract is about 300 miles long from north to south, and from 50 to 150 miles broad. It contains an area of about 30,000 square miles. General physical features. --The general character of the tract is mountainous, as the Hebrew name Aram (from a roof signifying "height") sufficiently implies. The most fertile and valuable tract of Syria is the long valley intervening between Libanus and Anti-Libanus. Of the various mountain ranges of Syria, Lebanon possesses the greatest interest. It extends from the mouth of the Litany to Arka, a distance of nearly 100 miles. Anti-Libanus, as the name implies, stands lover against Lebanon, running in the same direction, i.e. nearly north and south, and extending the same length. [LEBANON] The principal rivers of Syria are the Litany and the Orontes. The Litany springs from a small lake situated in the middle of the Coele-Syrian valley, about six miles to the southwest of Baalbek. It enters the sea about five miles north of Tyre. The source of the Orontes is but about 15 miles from that of the Litany. Its modern name is the Nahr-el-Asi, or "rebel stream," an appellation given to it on account of its violence and impetuosity in many parts of its course. The chief towns of Syria may be thus arranged, as nearly as possible in the order of their importance: 1, Antioch; 2, Damascus; 3, Apamea; 4, Seleucia; 5, Tadmor or Palmyra; 6, Laodicea; 7, Epiphania (Hamath); 8, Samosata; 9, Hierapolis (Mabug); 10, Chalybon; 11, Emesa; 12, Heliopolis; 13, Laodicea ad Libanum; 14, Cyrrhus; 15, Chalcis; 16, Poseideum; 17, Heraclea; 18, Gindarus; 19, Zeugma; 20, Thapsacus. Of these, Samosata, Zeugma and Thapsacus are on the Euphrates; Seleucia, Laodicea, Poseideum and Heraclea, on the seashore, Antioch, Apamea, Epiphania and Emesa (Hems), on the Orontes; Heliopolis and Laodicea ad Libanum, in Coele-Syria; Hierapolis, Chalybon, Cyrrhus, Chalcis and Gindarns, in the northern highlands; Damascus on the skirts, and Palmyra in the centre, of the eastern desert. History. --The first occupants of Syria appear to have been of Hamitic descent --Hittites, Jebusites, Amorites, etc. After a while the first comers, who were still to a great extent nomads, received a Semitic infusion, while most Probably came to them from the southeast. The only Syrian town whose existence we find distinctly marked at this time is Damascus, #Ge 14:15; 15:2| which appears to have been already a place of some importance. Next to Damascus must be placed Hamath. #Nu 13:21; 34:8| Syria at this time, and for many centuries afterward, seems to have been broken up among a number of petty kingdoms. The Jews first come into hostile contact with the Syrians, under that name, in the time of David. #Ge 15:18; 2Sa 8:3,4,13| When, a few years later, the Ammonites determined on engaging in a war with David, and applied to the Syrians for aid, Zolah, together with Beth-rehob sent them 20,000 footmen, and two other Syrian kingdoms furnished 13,000. #2Sa 10:6| This army being completely defeated by Joab, Hadadezer obtained aid from Mesopotamia, ibid. ver. 16, and tried the chance of a third battle, which likewise went against him, and produced the general submission of Syria to the Jewish monarch. The submission thus begun continued under the reign of Solomon. #1Ki 4:21| The only part of Syria which Solomon lost seems to have been Damascus, where an independent kingdom was set up by Rezon, a native of Zobah. #1Ki 11:23-25| On the separation of the two kingdoms, soon after the accession of Rehoboam, the remainder of Syria no doubt shook off the yoke. Damascus now became decidedly the leading state, Hamath being second to it, and the northern Hittites, whose capital was Carchemish, near Bambuk, third. [DAMASCUS] Syria became attached to the great Assyrian empire, from which it passed to the Babylonians, and from them to the Persians, In B.C. 333 it submitted to Alexander without a struggle. Upon the death of Alexander, Syria became, for the first time the head of a great kingdom. On the division of the provinces among his generals, B.C. 321, Seleucus Nicator received Mesopotamia and Syria. The city of Antioch was begun in B.C. 300, and, being finished in a few years, was made the capital of Seleucus' kingdom. The country grew rich with the wealth which now flowed into it on all sides. Syria was added to the Roman empire by Pompey, B.C. 64, and as it holds an important place, not only in the Old Testament but in the New, some account of its condition under the Romans must be given. While the country generally was formed into a Roman province, under governors who were at first proprietors or quaestors, then procounsuls, and finally legates, there were exempted from the direct rule of the governor in the first place, a number of "free cities" which retained the administration of their own affairs, subject to a tribute levied according to the Roman principles of taxation; secondly, a number of tracts, which were assigned to petty princes, commonly natives, to be ruled at their pleasure, subject to the same obligations with the free cities as to taxation. After the formal division of the provinces between Augustus and the senate, Syria, being from its exposed situation among the province principis, were ruled by legates, who were of consular rank (consulares) and bore severally the full title of "Legatus Augusti pro praetore." Judea occupied a peculiar position; a special procurator was therefore appointed to rule it, who was subordinate to the governor of Syria, but within his own province had the power of a legatus. Syria continued without serious disturbance from the expulsion of the Parthians, B.C. 38, to the breaking out of the Jewish war, A.D. 66. in A.D. 44-47 it was the scene of a severe famine. A little earlier, Christianity had begun to spread into it, partly by means of those who "were scattered" at the time of Stephen's persecution, #Ac 11:19| partly by the exertions of St. Paul. #Ga 1:21| The Syrian Church soon grew to be one of the most flourishing #Ac 13:1; 15:23,35,41| etc. (Syria remained under Roman and Byzantine rule till A.D. 634, when it was overrun by the Mohammedans; after which it was for many years the scene of fierce contests, and was finally subjugated by the Turks, A.D. 1517, under whose rule it still remains. --ED.)

SYR'IA , the Greek name for the country known to the Hebrews as "Aram." It may signify "the region of Tyre." This country included, in a stricter sense, only the highlands of Libanus and Anti-Libanus, but in a more extended sense it reached to the Taurus Mountains on the north and across the Euphrates, eastward to the Tigris and the great desert, and westward to Phoenicia and the Mediterranean Sea. It was about 370 miles long and 150 miles wide, and may be called a continuation of Palestine on the north. In its most extended sense it consisted of Syria of Damascus, Syria of Zobah, and Syria of the Two Rivers, which was nearly the same as Mesopotamia. For this latter district see Mesopotamia. Physical Features. - Syria proper is naturally divided into three or four separate sections: (1) North of the Orontes. The principal feature of this region is Mount Amanus (Musa Dagh), between 5000 and 6000 feet high. East of Mount Amanus is a hilly tract, drained by the streams which fall into the Lake of Antioch. Beyond this lies the dry upland tract extending to the Euphrates. (2) The Orontes valley extends from Antioch to Eleutherus. Through this district, and almost parallel to the coast, runs a mountain- range which is steep toward the Orontes, but descends into low, irregular hills on the west. East of the fertile valley is another range of mountains of less elevation. (3) The valley of the Leontes (Litany), which flows between the two great mountain ranges of Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon. See Lebanon. The valley between the mountains is called "Coele-Syria," or "hollow Syria." Among the rivers of Syria, besides the Orontes and the Leontes, are the Barada, known as the Abana of Scripture, and the Awaj, or Pharpar. The chief mountains of Syria are: Great Hermon, 9:583 feet high, in the Anti-Libanus or eastern range; Jebel Makhual, near Beirut and Tripoli, 10,016 feet high; and Dakr-el-Kodib, lO,052feet high, in the Lebanon, or western range. Mons Carius of the ancients is on the coast, and Amanus (Musa Dagh) borders on the Taurus range. Of the mountains on the east of Jordan to the south, the largest number are volcanic until the table-lands of the Hauran are reached. See Moab. On the climate of Syria consult the article Palestine. Among the principal cities may be noticed Damascus, Antioch, Hamath, Gebal, Berytus or Beirut, Tadmor or Palmyra, Heliopolis or Baalbec, Aleppo, Emesah, and Zedad. Baalbec is one of the most wonderful ruins in Syria; Damascus is its oldest and largest city; Beirut is a flourishing seaport-town, which is a progressive and energetic modern city and the seat of an American Protestant college. History. - Syria was first settled by the Hittites and other Hamitic races. Later, a Shemitic element entered it from the south-east, under leaders such as Abraham and Chedorlaomer. In early times the country was divided among many petty kings, as those at Damascus, Rehob, Zobah, and Geshur. 1 Kgs 10:29; 2 Kgs 7:6. Joshua subdued the country in the region of Hermon and Lebanon. Josh 11:2-18. David conquered the Syrians of Damascus and reduced the country to submission. 2 Sam 8; 2 Sam 10:6-19. It continued subject to Solomon, but near the close of his reign an independent kingdom was formed at Damascus. 1 Kgs 4:21; 1 Kgs 11:23-25. The kings of Damascus became formidable enemies of Israel, and were frequently engaged in wars with one or the other of the Israelitish nations. 1 Kgs 15:18-20; 1 Kgs 15:20; 1 Kgs 15:22; 2 Kgs 6:8-33;2 Kgs 7; 2 Kgs 9:14-15; 2 Kgs 10:32-33; 2 Kgs 13:3; 2 Kgs 13:14-25. The attempt of the king of Syria and of the king of Israel to overthrow Judah led Ahaz to seek the aid of the king of Assyria, and at the end of the conflict Syria became a part of the great Assyrian empire. It was ruled by the Babylonians, by the Persians, and conquered by Alexander the Great, b.c. 333. At his death it came into possession of one of his generals, Seleucus Nicator, who made Syria the head of a vast kingdom and founded Antioch as its capital, b.c. 300. The country was less prosperous under his successors, the most remarkable of them being Antiochus Epiphanes, who was a most cruel oppressor of the Jews. He plundered the Jewish temple, desecrated the holy of holies, and caused a revolt of the Jews under the Hasmonean princes, who gained their independence. The Parthians, under Mithridates I., overran the eastern provinces, b.c. 164, but, later, Syria was added to the Roman empire by Pompey, b.c. 64. In the organization under Augustus, Syria became an imperial province, of which Antioch was the capital. Several districts, however, retained a degree of independence for some time, and took the position of protected states. Of these, Chaleis was a little kingdom; Abilene, a tetrarchy; Damascus, partially independent (till the time of Nero); while Judaea, being remote from Antioch, the capital, and having a restless people, was put under a special procurator, subordinate to the governor of Syria, but having the power of a legate within his own province. Damascus was under a governor or ethnarch, appointed by Aretas, king of Arabia Petraea, when Paul escaped from it. 2 Cor 11:32. Palmyra did not actually belong to the empire until a later age - about a.d. 114. Christianity spread in Syria through the preaching of Paul. Acts 15:23, 1 Chr 4:41; Matt 18:18; Acts 21:3; Gal 1:21. The country was overrun by the Saracens, a.d. 632, but was under the control of the Crusaders for a time. Selim I. conquered the country, a.d. 1517, and it has since belonged to the Turkish empire, with the exception of a few years when it was controlled by Egypt. See Map at the end of the Dictionary. Present Condition. - Syria is now one of the divisions of Asiatic Turkey, and contains about 60,000 square miles. The population is estimated at about 2,000,000, and consists of a very mixed race, including many wandering tribes of Bedouins poorly governed. In religion the people are Mohammedans, Jews, and Christians of various churches. The American missionaries have been very successful in establishing missions and churches, and Protestant missionary societies in Europe also have prosperous missions in the country. The language usually spoken is the Arabic. Syria has great natural resources, and, under a good government, it would have a promising future. The mode of travelling in Syria is much the same now as in the days of the patriarchs. There are no railroads, and the only modern carriage-roads are the diligence-route from Beirut to Damascus, built by a French company after the massacre of Christians in 1860, and, in Palestine, the road from Jaffa to Jerusalem. Horses, mules, donkeys, and camels, accompanied by dragomans, tents, cooking-utensils, beds, blankets, and whatever else may be actually necessary for the traveller, are still the means of transporting passengers and tourists through this land. Steamers ply along the coast from the various Mediterranean ports, but inland the primitive method of journeying followed four thousand years ago still prevails. Under Syrians proper are usually classed all the descendants of the people who spoke Aramaic at the beginning of the Christian era, except the Jews. The Aramaic language has been displaced by the Arabic, the former being spoken in only a few (perhaps three) villages of Antilibanus. Some Greeks have recently settled in the country, but there are few, if any, descendants of those Greeks who settled in Syria during the supremacy of the Europeans, which extended over nearly one thousand years. The Arabians are of two classes - the settlers in towns, and the Bedouins, or nomadic tribes. The latter are professed Muslims, living a half-savage life, dwelling in tents, and preying upon the traveller, the settled inhabitants, and not infrequently upon one another. The Bedouin regards with great scrupulosity the law of hospitality, and protects a guest for three days after his departure from his camp, if he has been hospitably received. There are many small tribes of these nomadic Arabs, and they are generally at war with each other or have deadly blood-feuds existing among them, rendering it unsafe to travel within any region over which they roam. About four-fifths of the whole population of Syria are believed to be Muslims and followers of Mohammed. The native Christians chiefly belong to the Greek Church, but usually speak and conduct their services in the Arabic tongue. The Roman Catholic, or Latin, Church includes several sects. Among them are the Maronites and the European monks. The Maronite population of Lebanon alone is upward of 200,000. They live by agriculture, silk-culture, and raising cattle. The Jews in Syria, and especially Palestine, are rapidly increasing, though they still form only a small fraction of the entire population in any section of the country. Syria has not been very thoroughly or scientifically explored, and the ruins and inscriptions, as those at Hamath, when investigated thoroughly, may hereafter throw much clearer light upon its early history.

Septuagint Greek for Hebrew 'Aram, fifth of Shem's sons. Aram means the high land N.E. of the Holy Land, extending from the Jordan and the sea of Galilee to the Euphrates; the term means "high". In Genesis Aram-Naharaim, i.e. "Aram between the two rivers", is Mesopotamia, part of which is Padan Aram; and Laban who lived there is called the Aramaean or Syrian. Syria is by some derived from Assyria, by others from Tyre, as if Tsyria; by Ritter from Shur, the wilderness into which Israel passed out of Egypt (Genesis 25:18; Exodus 15:22; 1 Samuel 27:8), from whence the name was extended over all Syria. The Hebrew Aram begins on the northern border of Israel, and thence goes northward to Mount Taurus, westward to the Mediterranean, eastward to the Khabour river. Divided into Aram or Syria of Damascus, Aram or Syria of Zobah (the tract between Euphrates and Coelosyria), Aram or Syria Naharaim ('of the two rivers"), i.e. Padan Aram or Mesopotamia, the N.W. part of the land between the Tigris and Euphrates. On the W. two mountain chains run parallel to one another and to the coast from the latitude of Tyre to that of Antioch, namely, Lebanon and Antilebanon; Lebanon the western chain at its southern end becomes Bargylus. Mount Amanus, an offshoot of Taurus, meets the two long chains at their northern extremity, and separates Syria from Cilicia. The valley between Lebanon and Antilebanon is the most fertile in Syria, extending 230 miles, and in width from 8 to 20 miles. The southern portion is Coelosyria and Hamath. The Litany in this valley (el Bukaa) flows to the S.W.; the Orontes (nahr el Asi, i.e. "the rebel stream") flows to the N. and N.E. for 200 miles; the Barada of Damascus is another river of Syria. The Syrian desert is E. of the inner chain of mountains, and S. of Aleppo; it contains the oasis of Palmyra, and toward its western side the productive plain of Damascus. The chief towns were Antioch, Damascus, Tadmor or Palmyra, Laodicea, Hamath (Epiphaneia), Hierapolis, Heliopolis or Baalbek in Coelosyria, Chalybon or Aleppo, Apamea, and Emesa. Hamites, as the Hittites (the Khatti in the monuments), first occupied Syria. Then a Shemite element entered from the S.E., e.g. Abraham, Chedorlaomer, Amraphel. In early times Syria was divided among many petty "kings," as Damascus, Rehob, Maacah, Zobah, Geshur, etc. 1 Kings 10:29, "kings of Syria"; 2 Kings 7:6, "kings of the Hittites." Joshua fought with the chiefs of the region of Lebanon and Hermon (Joshua 11:2-18). David conquered Hadadezer of Zobah, the Syrians of Damascus, Bethrehob. Rezon of Zobah set up an independent kingdom at Damascus, in Solomon's time. Damascus became soon the chief state, Hamath next, the Hittites with Carchemish their capital third. Scripture and the Assyrian records remarkably agree in the general picture of Syria. In both the country between the middle Euphrates and Egypt appears parceled out among many tribes or nations; in the N. the Hittites, Hamathites, Phoenicians, and Syrians of Damascus; in the S. the Philistines and Idumeans. Damascus in both appears the strongest state, ruled by one monarch from one center; Hamath with its single king is secondary (2 Kings 19:13; 1 Chronicles 18:9). In contrast with these two centralized monarchies stand the Hittites and the Phoenicians, with their several independent kings (1 Kings 10:29; 1 Kings 20:1). Chariots and infantry, but not horsemen, are their strength The kings combined their forces for joint expeditions against foreign countries. Egypt and Assyria appear in both in the background, not yet able to subdue Syria, but feeling their way toward it, and tending toward the mutual struggle for supremacy in the coveted land between the Nile and the Euphrates (G. Rawlinson, Hist. Illustr. of Old Testament). Syria passed under Assyria (Tiglath Pileser slaying Rezin and carrying away the people of Damascus to Kir), Babylon, and Graeco Macedonia successively. At Alexander's death Seleucus Nicator made Syria head of a vast kingdom, with Antioch (300 B.C.) as the capital. Under Nicator's successors Syria gradually disintegrated. The most remarkable of them was Antiochus IV (Epiphanes), who would have conquered Egypt but for the mediation of Rome (A.D. 168). Then he plundered the Jewish temple, desecrated the holy of holies, and so caused the revolt of the Jews which weakened the kingdom. The Parthians under Mithridates I overran the eastern provinces, 164 B.C. Syria passed under Tigranes of Armenia, 83 B.C., and finally under Rome upon Pompey's defeat of Mithridates and Tigranes his ally, 64 B.C. In 27 B.C. at the division of provinces between the emperor and the senate Syria was assigned to the emperor and ruled by legates of consular rank. Judaea, being remote from the capital (Antioch) and having a restless people, was put under a special procurator, subordinate to the governor of Syria, but within his own province having the power of a legate. (See BENHADAD; AHAB; HAZAEL, on the wars of the early kings of Syria.) Abilene, so-called from its capital Abila, was a tetrarchy E. of Antilibanus, between Baalbek and Damascus. Lysanias was over it when John began baptizing (Luke 3:1), A.D. 26. Pompey left the principality of Damascus in the hands of Aretas, an Arabian prince, a tributary to Rome, and bound to allow if necessary a Roman garrison to hold it (Josephus, Ant. 14:4, section 5; 5, section 1; 11, section 7). Under Augustus Damascus was attached to Syria; Caligula severed it from Syria and gave it to another Aretas, king of Petra. At Paul's conversion an "ethnarch of king Aretas" held it (2 Corinthians 11:32).