TheLevant is the area inSouthwest Asia, south of theTaurus Mountains, bounded by theMediterranean Sea in the west, theArabian Desert in the south, andMesopotamia in the east. It stretches roughly 400 mi (640 km) north to south, from theTaurus Mountains to theSinai Peninsula andSyrian Desert,[1] and east to west between theMediterranean Sea and theKhabur river.[2] The term is often used to refer to the following regions or modern states:Syria,Lebanon,Israel,Palestine,Jordan andHatay Province inTurkey. More broadly it also includes:Sinai (Egypt),Cilicia (Turkey) andCyprus.
The Levant is one of the earliest centers ofsedentism andagriculture in history, and some of the earliest agrarian cultures,Pre-Pottery Neolithic, developed in the region.[3][4][5] Previously regarded as a peripheral region in theancient Near East, modern academia largely considers the Levant as a center of civilization on its own, independent ofMesopotamia andEgypt.[6][7] Throughout theBronze andIron ages, the Levant was home to manyancient Semitic-speaking peoples and kingdoms, and is considered by many to be the urheimat ofSemitic languages.
| History of the Levant |
|---|
| Prehistory |
| Ancient history |
| Classical antiquity |
| Middle Ages |
| Modern history |
Anatomically modernHomo sapiens are demonstrated at the area ofMount Carmel[8] in Canaan during theMiddle Paleolithic dating fromc. 90,000 BC. These migrantsout of Africa seem to have been unsuccessful,[9] and byc. 60,000 BC in the Levant,Neanderthal groups seem to have benefited from the worsening climate and replaced Homo sapiens, who were possibly confined once more to Africa.[10][9]
A second move out of Africa is demonstrated by the Boker Tachtit Upper Paleolithic culture, from 52,000 to 50,000 BC, with humans atKsar Akil XXV level being modern humans.[11] This culture bears close resemblance to the Badoshan Aurignacian culture of Iran, and the laterSebilian I Egyptian culture ofc. 50,000 BC.Stephen Oppenheimer[12] suggests that this reflects a movement of modern human groups back into North Africa, at this time.
It would appear this sets the date by which Homo sapiens Upper Paleolithic cultures begin replacing NeanderthalLevalo-Mousterian, and byc. 40,000 BC the region was occupied by theLevanto-AurignacianAhmarian culture, lasting from 39,000 to 24,000 BC.[13] This culture was quite successful spreading as theAntelian culture (late Aurignacian), as far as Southern Anatolia, with the Atlitan culture.
After theLate Glacial Maxima, a newEpipaleolithic culture appears. The appearance of theKebaran culture, ofmicrolithic type implies a significant rupture in the cultural continuity of Levantine Upper Paleolithic. The Kebaran culture, with its use of microliths, is associated with the use of the bow and arrow and the domestication of the dog.[14] Extending from 18,000 to 10,500 BC, the Kebaran culture[15] shows clear connections to the earlier microlithic cultures using the bow and arrow, and using grinding stones to harvest wild grains, that developed from thec. 24,000 – c. 17,000 BCHalfan culture ofEgypt, that came from the still earlierAterian tradition of the Sahara. Some linguists see this as the earliest arrival ofNostratic languages in the Middle East.
Kebaran culture was quite successful, and was ancestral to the laterNatufian culture (12,500–9,500 BC), which extended throughout the whole of the Levantine region. These people pioneered the first sedentary settlements, and may have supported themselves from fishing and the harvest of wild grains plentiful in the region at that time. As of July 2018,[update] the oldest remains of bread were discoveredc. 12,400 BC at the archaeological site of Shubayqa 1, once home of the Natufian hunter-gatherers, roughly 4,000 years before the advent of agriculture.[16]
Natufian culture also demonstrates the earliest domestication of thedog, and the assistance of this animal in hunting and guarding human settlements may have contributed to the successful spread of this culture. In the northern Syrian, eastern Anatolian region of the Levant, Natufian culture atCayonu andMureybet developed the first fully agricultural culture with the addition of wild grains, later being supplemented with domesticated sheep and goats, which were probably domesticated first by theZarzian culture of Northern Iraq and Iran (which like the Natufian culture may have also developed from Kebaran).
By 8500–7500 BC, the Pre-Pottery Neolithic A (PPNA) culture developed out of the earlier local tradition of Natufian, dwelling in round houses, and building the first defensive site atTell es-Sultan (ancient Jericho) (guarding a valuable fresh water spring). This was replaced in 7500 BC by Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (PPNB), dwelling in square houses, coming from Northern Syria and the Euphrates bend.
During the period of 8500–7500 BC, another hunter-gatherer group, showing clear affinities with the cultures of Egypt (particularly the Outacha retouch technique for working stone) was in Sinai. ThisHarifian culture[17] may have adopted the use of pottery from the Isnan culture andHelwan culture of Egypt[citation needed] (which lasted from 9000 to 4500 BC), and subsequently fused with elements from the PPNB culture during the climatic crisis of 6000 BC to form whatJuris Zarins calls the Syro-Arabian pastoral technocomplex,[18] which saw the spread of the firstNomadic pastoralists in the Ancient Near East. These extended southwards along theRed Sea coast and penetrating the Arabian bifacial cultures, which became progressively more Neolithic and pastoral, and extending north and eastwards, to lay the foundations for the tent-dwellingMartu andAkkadian peoples of Mesopotamia.
In theAmuq valley of Syria,PPNB culture seems to have survived, influencing further cultural developments further south. Nomadic elements fused with PPNB to form the Minhata Culture andYarmukian Culture, which were to spread southwards, beginning the development of the classic mixed farming Mediterranean culture, and from 5600 BC were associated with theGhassulian culture of the region, the firstChalcolithic culture of the Levant. This period[which?] also witnessed the development of megalithic structures, which continued into the Bronze Age.[19][dubious –discuss]
Historically, theBedouin engaged in nomadic herding, agriculture and sometimes fishing in the Syriansteppe since 6000 BCE. By about 850 BCE, a complex network of settlements and camps were established. The earliest Arab tribes emerged from Bedouins.[20]
The Kish civilization or Kish tradition is a concept created byIgnace Gelb and discarded by more recent scholarship,[21] which Gelb placed in what he called the earlyEast Semitic era inMesopotamia and theLevant, starting in the early 4th millennium BC. The concept encompassed the sites ofEbla andMari in the Levant,Nagar in the north,[22] and the proto-Akkadian sites ofAbu Salabikh andKish in central Mesopotamia, which constituted the Uri region as it was known to theSumerians.[23] The Kish civilisation was considered to end with the rise of theAkkadian empire in the 24th century BC.[24]
Some recent scholars dealing with the Syrian part of the Levant during theBronze Age use Syria-specific subdivision: "Early/Proto Syrian" for theEarly Bronze Age (3300–2000BC); "Old Syrian" for theMiddle Bronze Age (2000–1550BC); and "Middle Syrian" for theLate Bronze Age (1550–1200BC). "Neo-Syrian" corresponds to the EarlyIron Age.[25] The Early Syrian period was dominated by theEast Semitic-speaking kingdoms ofEbla,Nagar and theMari. At its greatest extent, Ebla controlled an area roughly half the size of modern Syria,[26] fromUrsa'um in the north,[27][28] to the area aroundDamascus in the south,[29] and fromPhoenicia and thecoastal mountains in the west,[30][31] toHaddu in the east,[32] with more than sixty vassal kingdoms and city-states. Mobilenomadic tribal confederations such as Mardu, Dadanu andIb'al lived in the steppes to the south of Ebla.[33]
Ebla and Mari were incorporated into theAkkadian Empire bySargon of Akkad and his successors, until the empire collapsed due toa major climatic event around 2200 BC.[34] This event prompted the influx of nomadicAmorites intoSumer, and correlates with a subsequent influx and settlement expansion in many regions of Syria as well.[35] In the later periods of theThird Dynasty of Ur, immigrating Amorites had become such a force that the king of Ur,Shu-Sin, was obliged to construct a 270-kilometre (170 mi) wall dubbed "Repeller of the Amorites", extending in between theTigris andEuphrates, to hold them off.[36][37][38] The Amorites are depicted in contemporary records asnomadic tribes under chiefs, who forced themselves into lands they needed to graze theirherds. Some of theAkkadian literature of this era speaks disparagingly of the Amorites and implies that the urbanized people ofMesopotamia viewed their nomadic and primitive way of life with disgust and contempt. In the Sumerian myth "Marriage of Martu", written early in the2nd millennium BC, a goddess considering marriage to the god of the Amorites is warned:
Now listen, their hands are destructive and their features are those of monkeys; (An Amorite) is one who eats what (the Moon-god)Nanna forbids and does not show reverence. They never stop roaming about [...], they are an abomination to the gods’ dwellings. Their ideas are confused; they cause only disturbance. (The Amorite) is clothed in sack-leather [...], lives in a tent, exposed to wind and rain, and cannot properly recite prayers. He lives in the mountains and ignores the places of gods, digs up truffles in the foothills, does not know how to bend the knee (in prayer), and eats raw flesh. He has no house during his life, and when he dies he will not be carried to a burial-place. My girlfriend, why would you marry Martu?[39]
The Amorites came to politically and culturally dominate much of theancient Near East for centuries, and founded multiple kingdoms throughout the region including theOld Babylonian Empire.[35] Famed Amorites included Babylonian kingHammurabi and warlordShamshi-Adad I.[40] After the decline of the Third dynasty of Ur, Amorite rulers gained power in a number of Mesopotamian city-states beginning in theIsin-Larsa period and peaking in the Old Babylonian period.
In southern Mesopotamia,Babylon became the major power under Amorite rulerSumu-la-El and his successorHammurabi (c. 1792–1750 BC).[35] In northern Mesopotamia, the Amorite warlordShamshi-Adad I conquered much ofAssyria and formed the large, though short-lived Kingdom of Upper Mesoptamia.[41] In the Levant, Amorite dynasties ruled various kingdoms ofQatna, Ebla andYamhad, which also had a significantHurrian population.[42]Mari was similarly ruled by the Amorite Lim dynasty which belonged to the pastoral Amorites known as theHaneans, who were split into theYaminites (sons of the south) andSim'alites (sons of the north) tribes.[42][43][44] Another Semitic peoples during this period, theSuteans, inhabitedSuhum and were in direct conflict with Mari.[42] The Suteans were nomads famous in epic poetry for being fierce nomadic warriors, and like theHabiru, traditionally worked as mercenaries.[45][46]
Amorite elements were also to be found inEgypt with theFourteenth Dynasty of Egypt of theNile Delta, whose rulers bore distinctly Amorite names such asYakbim. TheHyksos, who overranEgypt and founded theFifteenth dynasty, were an amalgam of Levantine elements including the Amorites.[47][48]
.jpg)
By the 16th and 15th centuriesBC, most of the major urban centers in theLevant had been overran and went into steep decline.[49] Mari was destroyed and reduced in a series of wars and conflicts withBabylon, whileYamhad andEbla were conquered and completely destroyed by Hittite kingMursili I in about 1600 BC.[50][51][52] In northern Mesopotamia, the era ended with the defeat of the Amorite states by Assyrian kingsPuzur-Sin andAdasi between in 1740–1735BC, and the rise of the nativeSealand Dynasty further south.[53] In Egypt,Ahmose I expelled the Levantine Hyksos rulers from power, pushingEgypt's borders further intoCanaan.[54] The Amorites were eventually absorbed by anotherWest Semitic-speaking people known collectively as theAhlamu. TheArameans rose to be the prominent group amongst the Ahlamu, and from c. 1200BC on, the Amorites disappeared from the pages of history.
Between 1550 and 1170BC, much of the Levant was contested betweenEgypt and theHittites. The political vacuum paved way for the rise ofMitanni, a mixedSemitic andHurrian-speaking kingdom whose names of the ruling family bore influence fromIndo-Aryan languages.[49] Egyptian rule remained strong over the Canaanite-city states inPalestine, facing resistance mainly from pastoral nomadic groups such as theShasu.[55][56][57] The Shasu grew so powerful that they were able to cut off Egypt's northern routes through Palestine andTransjordan, prompting a vigorous punitive campaigns byRamesses II and his sonMerneptah. After Egyptians abandoned the region, Canaanite city-states came under the mercy of the Shasu and theHabiru, who were seen as 'mighty enemies'.[55][56] Egyptian control over the southern Levant completely collapsed in the wake of theLate Bronze Age collapse.[58]
During the 12th century BC, between c. 1200 and 1150, all of these powers suddenly collapsed. Centralized state systems collapsed, and the region was hit byfamine. Chaos ensued throughout the region, and many urban centers were burnt to the ground by famine-struck natives[59] and an assortment of raiders known as theSea Peoples, who eventually settled in the Levant. The Sea Peoples' origins are ambiguous and many theories have proposed them to beTrojans,Sardinians,Achaeans,Sicilians orLycians.[60][61][62][63]
Urban centers which survived Hittite and Egyptian expansions in 1600 BC, includingAlalakh,Ugarit,Megiddo andKadesh, were razed to the ground and were never rebuilt. TheHittite empire was destroyed, and its capitalTarḫuntašša was razed to the ground. Egypt repelled its attackers with only a major effort, and over the next century shrank to its territorial core, its central authority permanently weakened.
Despite the tumultuous beginning of theIron Age, the period a number of technological innovations spread, most notablyiron working and thePhoenician alphabet, which was developed by the Phoenicians around the 11th century BC from theOld Canaanite script, possibly a hybrid ofHieroglyphs,Cuneiform and the mysteriousByblos syllabary.[64] The massivedestruction at the end of the Bronze Age collapsed most major polities and city-states of the Bronze Age. The early Iron Age inSyria andMesopotamia saw a dispersal of settlements and ruralization, with the appearance of large numbers of hamlets, villages, and farmsteads.[65]
Following the Late Bronze age collapse,Aramean tribes and kingdoms came to dominate most of present-daySyria andUpper Mesopotamia.[66][67][68][69] The pastoral expansion of the Arameans in upper Mesopotamia quickly brought them into conflict with theAssyrians, whose dominion in upper Mesopotamia consequently came to an end (ca. 1114–1056 BCE).[70][71] Aramean infiltration also extended into southern Mesopotamia, where their presence was felt by cities in centralBabylonia as early as the 10th century.[72] Some of the major Aramaean kingdoms includedAram-Damascus,Hamath,Samʾal andAram-Zobah (in Syria); andBet-Adini,Bet-Bagyan,Bet-Zamani andBet-Halupe (in upper Mesopotamia).[66] In northern Syria, the dispersal of the Hittites and expansion of Aramaeans gave rise to a conglomeration ofWest Semitic andAnatolian-speaking kingdoms known as theSyro-Hittite states.[73][74][75][76]
TheChaldeans, anotherWest Semitic-speaking group from the Levant, infiltrated Babylonia after the Aramaeans (ca. 940–860 BC), where they were actively involved in rebellion against the Assyrians.[66]Assyrian texts of the 9th century BC further mention theArabs (Aribi), who inhabited swaths of land in theLevant and inBabylonian border region in a similar suit to the Aramaeans, their presence seemingly intermingled.[77][78][66] In Laqe nearTerqa, a mix of Arab and Aramaean tribes settled the lowerKhabur valley in 12th century BC, forming a confederation comparable to other tribal leagues of the time.[66]
Along the coast of northern Canaan, thePhoenician city-states managed to escape the destruction that ensued in the Late Bronze Age collapse and developed into commercial maritime powers with established colonies across theMediterranean Sea.[30] These colonies stretched intoSardinia,North Africa,Cyprus,Sicily,Malta andIberia.[30][79] One prominent colony,Carthage (fromPunicqrt-ḥdšt, meaning 'New City'), would eventually become an independent city-state which quarrelled with theRoman Republic over control of the Mediterranean.[80][30][81]The Phoenicians transmitted their alphabetic system across the maritime networks, which was eventually adopted and developed intoGreek alphabet andLatin alphabet.[30]
In the southern Levant,pastoral nomadic tribal groups began to settle down at the start of the 11th century. These included theIsraelites in the Cisjordan and theAmmonites,Moabites andEdomites in theTransjordan.[82] The Philistines, a group ofAegean immigrants arrived at the shores ofCanaan circa 1175 BCE and settled there.[82][83][84]
During the seventh century BC, no fewer than eight nations were settled in the southern Levant. These included theArameans of the kingdom ofGeshur; theSamaritans who replaced the Israelite kingdom inSamaria; thePhoenicians in the northern cities and parts ofGalilee; thePhilistines in thePhilistine pentapolis; the three kingdoms of theTransjordan–Ammon,Moab andEdom; and the Judaeans ofKingdom of Judah.[85][86][87][88][89]
In theIron Age, the Levant was characterized by patches of scattered kingdoms and tribal confederations which originated from the same cultural and linguistic milieu.[2] Occasionally, these peoples united against expansion from neighboring regions, notably in theBattle of Qarqar (853 BC) which saw an alliance of Aramaeans,Phoenicians, Israelites, Ammonites and Arabs united against the Assyrians underShalmaneser III (859–824 BC).[91][92] The alliance, led byHadadezer ofAram-Damascus, succeeded in halting the Assyrian army boasting 120,000 soldiers active in Syria.[93][77]
By 843 BC the political situation in central and southern Syria changed radically, afterHazael succeeded Hadadzer as king of Aram-Damascus. The anti-Assyrian alliance dissolved, and former allies of Aram-Damascus turned into enemies.[66] In 842, Hazael invaded the northern parts of theKingdom of Israel and reportedly penetrated into the coastal planes as far asAsdod, seizingGilead andeastern Jordan in the process.[66] Hazael survived Assyrian attempts to subjugate Aram-Damascus and also expanded his influence in northern Syria, where he reportedly crossed theOrontes river and seized territories as far asAleppo.[66][94][95][96] These northern forays allowed Hazael to control much of Syria and Palestine, fromEgypt to theEuphrates.[97] Hazael's power far exceeded that of former Aramean kings, and some scholars consider his state to have been a nascent empire.[97]
The Assyrians managed to subdue the Levantine states after multiple campaigns that were finalized byTiglath-Pileser III (745–727 BC).[98][66][99][100][101][90][102][103] Consolidation of Assyrian rule was followed by numerous revolts throughout the Levant, including division along pro- and anti-Assyrian axes, and intra-Levantine conflict in theSyro-Ephraimite War.[104] The anti-Assyrian axis includedDamascus–Tyre–Samaria–the Arabs; and a pro-Assyrian axis which includedArwad,Ashqalon andGaza joined byJudah, Ammon, Moab and Edom.[77] The anti-Assyrian forces were eventually crushed by 732 BC.[77] Aram-Damascus was annexed and its population was deported;Hamath was razed to the ground and Arameans were prohibited from rebuilding it;[105] theKingdom of Israel based inSamaria was destroyed and, according toBiblical accounts, the city's population was deported intoAssyrian captivity.[106]
The fierce resistance and fighting capabilities of the Arameans convinced the Assyrian kings to incorporate them into the army, namely the tribes of Gurru and Itu'u.[107] By the time ofShalmaneser V (727–722 BC), these tribes were an essential part of the empire, and were given the task of securing the empire's peripheries. The Aramaean identity of these tribes probably contributed to the consolidation ofAramaic's prestigious status as the empire'slingua franca.[98]
After theBattle of Carchemish, which effectively annihilated Assyrian resistance andEgyptian intervention, Nebuchadnezzar IIbesieged Jerusalem and destroyed the Temple (597 BC), starting the period of theBabylonian captivity, which lasted about half a century. Nebuchadnezzar alsobesieged the Phoenician city ofTyre for 13 years (586–573 BC).
The subsequent balance of power was, however, short-lived. In the 550s BC, theAchaemenids revolted against the Medes and gained control of their empire, and over the next few decades annexed the realms ofLydia,Damascus,Babylonia, and Egypt into their empire, consolidating control as far asIndia. This vast kingdom was divided up into varioussatrapies and governed roughly according to the Assyrian model, but with a far lighter hand.Babylon became one the empire's four capitals, and the lingua franca wasAramaic. Around this timeZoroastrianism became the predominant religion inPersia.
Achaemenid Empire took over the Levant after 539 BC, but by the 4th century the Achaemenids had fallen into decline. ThePhoenicians frequently rebelled against the Persians, who taxed them heavily, in contrast to theJudeans who were granted return from theexile byCyrus the Great.The campaigns ofXenophon in 401-399 BC illustrated how very vulnerable Persia had become to armies organized alongGreek lines. Eventually, such an army underAlexander the Great conquered the Levant in 333-332 BC. However, Alexander did not live long enough to consolidate his realm, and soon after his death in 323 BC, the greater share of the east eventually went tothe descendants ofSeleucus I Nicator. Seleucus built his capitalSeleucia in 305, but the capital was later moved toAntioch in 240 BC.
Alexander and hisSeleucid successors founded manypoleis in Syria, which were then populated by settled troops and locals.[108] The Seleucids also sponsoredGreek settlement fromMacedon,Athens,Euboea,Thessaly,Crete andAetolia in military settlements across northern Syria andAnatolia.[109] It was among these communities thatKoine Greek formed and became the standard Greek dialect across the Hellenistic world and theByzantine empire later on.[110] Use of Koine Greek was largely confined to administration and trade whileAramaic remained the lingua franca in much of the rural areas, whereas Hellenistic urban centers were for the most part bilingual.[111][112][113][114][108] During the period,Hellenistic culture developed as a fusion ofancient Greek culture and local cultures of Syria, Babylonia and Egypt. The Seleucid kings would also adopt the title 'Basileus (King) ofSyria'.[108][109] Hellenistic settlements established by Alexander and his Seleucid successors in the Levant include:
The Greek settlers would be used to form the Seleucidphalanx and cavalry units, with picked men put into the kingdom's guards' regiments. While the Seleucids were happy to recruit from smaller groups and outlying parts of the Empire such asArabs and Jews, as well as Iranians fromCentral Asia and the people ofAsia Minor; they generally eschewed recruiting Syrians (Arameans) andBabylonians. This was presumably from a desire not to train and arm the people who were an overwhelming majority in the trade and governmental centers of the Empire, inAntioch and Babylon, which would have undermined the empire's very existence in case of revolt.[109] However, recruitment policy would become less strict by time of theRoman–Seleucid war (192–188 BC)[109]
The Seleucids gradually lost their domains inBactria to theGreco-Bactrian Kingdom, and inIran andMesopotamia to the risingParthian Empire. Eventually, this limited Seleucid domains to the Levant, and the power decline would lead to the formation of several breakaway states in the Levant.
In the north, Greco-Iranian satrapPtolemaeus declared himself the king ofCommagene in 163 BC,[115] while the ArabAbgarids ruledOsroene independently since 132 BC.[116][117] TheMaccabean Revolt inPalestine inaugurated theHasmonean kingdom in 140 BCE.[118] TheNabataeans further south had maintained theirkingdom since the 3rd century BC.[119] This rendered the Seleucids a weak, vulnerable state limited to parts ofSyria andLebanon.
TheRomans gained a foothold in the region in 64 BC after permanently defeating theSeleucids andTigranes.Pompey deposed the last Seleucid kingPhilip II Philoromaeus, and incorporated Syria into Roman domains. However, the Romans only gradually incorporated local kingdoms intoprovinces, which gave them considerable autonomy in local affairs. TheHerodian Kingdom of Judea replaced theHasmonians in 37 BC until the full incorporation of Judea asProvincia Iudaea in 44 CE afterHerod Agrippa II.Commagene andOsroene were incorporated as Roman provinces in 72 and 214 CE respectively, whileNabatea was incorporated asArabia Petraea in 106 CE.
Between the 1st and 3rd centuries theLevant prospered and flourished, reaching an estimated population of 3.5 to 6 million, which were only later matched by those of the 19th century. Urban centers peaked, and so did population density in the rural settlements.Antioch andPalmyra each reached a peak of 200,000–250,000 inhabitants, whileApamea counted 117,000 'free citizens' in AD 6. Combined with the dependencies and villages, Apamea may have, in fact, counted as high as 500,000. TheSyrian Coastal Mountain Range, a marginal hill country, was less densely settled and had a population of around 40–50,000.[120] According to Robert Kennedy,Palestine and the Transjordan accounted for roughly 800,000–1,200,000 of the population.[120] The first to second centuries saw the emergence of a plethora of religions and philosophical schools.Neoplatonism emerged withIamblichus andPorphyry,Neopythagorianism withNumenius of Apamea, and Hellenic Judaism withPhilo of Alexandria.Christianity initially emerged as a sect ofJudaism and finally as an independent religion by the mid-second century.Gnosticism also took significant hold in the region.
The region ofPalestine orJudea experienced abrupt periods of conflict between Romans and Jews. TheFirst Jewish–Roman War (66–73) erupted in 66, resulting in thedestruction of Jerusalem and the Second Temple in 70. Province forces were directly engaged in the war; in 66 AD,Cestius Gallus sent the Syrian army, based onLegio X Fretensis andLegio XII Fulminata reinforced byvexillationes of IVScythica and VIFerrata, to restore order in Judaea and quell the revolt, but suffered a defeat in theBattle of Beth Horon. However, XIIFulminata fought well in the last part of the war, and supported its commanderVespasian in his successful bid for the imperial throne.[121] Two generations later, theBar Kokhba revolt (132–136) erupted once again, after which the provinceSyria Palaestina was created in 132.
During theCrisis of the Third Century, the Sassanids underShapur I invaded the Levant and captured Roman emperorValerian in theBattle of Edessa. A Syrian notable ofPalmyra,Odaenathus assembled the Palmyrene army and Syrian peasants, and marched north to meet Shapur I.[122][123][124][125] The Palmyrene monarch fell upon the retreating Persian army betweenSamosata andZeugma, west of the Euphrates, in late summer 260, defeating and expelling them.[126][127] After eliminating Roman usurpers in Syria –Balista andQuietus– in 261, Odaeanathus penetrated the Sassanid province ofAsōristān in late 262 and laid siege to the Sassanid capital,Ctesiphon in 263.[127] However, logistical problems meant the siege could not continue for long, and soon after Odaenathus broke the siege and brought numerous prisoners and booty to Rome.[127] After his return, Odaenathus assumed the title ofKing of Kings of the East (Mlk Mlk dy Mdnh /Rex Regum).[128][129] Odaenathus was succeeded by his sonVaballathus under the regency of his mother QueenZenobia. In 270, Zenobia detached from Roman authority and declared thePalmyrene Empire, rapidly conquering much of Syria,Egypt,Arabia Petraea and large parts ofAsia Minor, reaching present-dayAnkara.[122] However, by 273, Zenobia was decisively defeated byAurelian and his ArabTanukhid allies in Syria.[122][130]
Following the permanent division of the Roman Empire in 391, the Levantine provinces became part of theByzantine Empire. In the southern Levant, a newly establishedfoederati were crystallizing, theGhassanid Arabs. The Ghassanids became a client state of the Byzantines, and served as a bulwark against Sassanid incursions and raids by nomads.[131] With the consolidation ofChristianity, Jews had become a minority in southern Levant, remaining a majority only in Southern Judea,Galilee andGolan. Jewish revolts had also become much rarer, mostly with theJewish revolt against Constantius Gallus (351–352) andJewish revolt against Heraclius (617). This time theSamaritans, whose population swelled to over a million, insurrected theSamaritan revolts (484–572) against the Byzantines, which killed an estimated 200,000 Samaritans,[132] after the civil uprising ofBaba Rabba and his subsequent execution in 328/362.
The devastatingByzantine–Sasanian War of 602–628 ended with Byzantine recapture of the land, but left the empire rather exhausted, which taxed the inhabitants heavily. The Levant became the frontline between the Byzantines and the PersianSassanids, which devastated the region.[133][134][135] The war triggered the displacement of many inhabitants from Syria and Palestine toEgypt, and from there toCarthage andSicily,[136] although archaeological evidence suggests smooth continuity and little displacement of the overall population.[137]
Eastern Roman control over the Levant lasted until 638 whenArab armiesconquered the Levant, after which it became a part of theRashidun Caliphate and was known asBilād ash-Shām.
Under theUmayyads, the capital was moved toDamascus. However, the Levant did not experience wide-scale Arabian tribal settlement unlike inIraq, where the focus of Arabian tribal migration was. Archaeological and historical evidence strongly suggest there was smooth population continuity and no large-scale abandonment of major sites and regions of the Levant after the Muslim conquest.[134][138][139][140] Moreover, in contrast toIran,Iraq andNorth Africa, where Muslim soldiers established separategarrison cities (amsar), Muslim troops in the Levant settled alongside locals in pre-existing cities such asDamascus,Homs,Jerusalem andTiberias.[141] The Umayyads also relied on the native Syrian Arab tribes for their military, who oversaw a recruitment policy that resulted in considerable numbers of tribesmen and frontier peasants filling the ranks of the regular and auxiliary forces.[142] These were Arab tribes who inhabited the Levant before Islam, and included tribes such asLakhm,Judham,Ghassan,Amilah,Balqayn,Salih andTanukh.[142] When theAbbasids moved the capital toBaghdad in 750, this exposed the Muslim Arabs to the challenge of the strong and well-articulated identity ofIran, whereas in Damascus, they had only to contend with the numerous parochial and fractured identities of the Levant.[143]
Abbasid focus on Iraq and Iran neglected the Levant, which in turn experienced a period of frequent uprisings and revolts. Syria became fertile grounds for anti-Abbasid sentiments, in various contrasting pro-Umayyad and pro-Shiite forms. In 841,al-Mubarqa ('the Veiled One') lead a rebellion against the Abbasids in Palestine, declaring himself the UmayyadSufyani.[144] In 912, a revolt against the Abbasids arose in theDamascus region, this time by anAlid descendant of tenth Shiite ImamAli al-Hadi.[144] The growingIsma'ilidawah moved to the town ofSalamiyah as its headquarters in 765, binding missionaries over toIraq,Khuzestan,Yemen,Egypt andMaghreb.[145] From Salamiyah, Isma'ili ImamAbd Allah al-Mahdi Billah moved toSijilmasa inMorocco in 904, where his missionaries were active in proselytizing Berber tribes, eventually establishing theFatimid empire by 909.[146][147]
Material was copied from this source, which is available under aCreative Commons Attribution 4.0 International LicenseTurbón, Daniel; Arroyo-Pardo, Eduardo (5 June 2014)."Ancient DNA Analysis of 8000 B.C. Near Eastern Farmers Supports an Early Neolithic Pioneer Maritime Colonization of Mainland Europe through Cyprus and the Aegean Islands".PLOS Genetics.10 (6): e1004401.doi:10.1371/journal.pgen.1004401.ISSN 1553-7404.PMC 4046922.PMID 24901650.
One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Amorites".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 1 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 876.The recent radiocarbon dates from the earliest levels in Carthage situate the founding of this Tyrian colony in the years 835–800 cal BC, which coincides with the dates handed down by Flavius Josephus and Timeus for the founding of the city.
