| Provincia Syria Prima | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Province of theByzantine Empire | |||||||||
| 415–630s | |||||||||
 Syria Prima within theDiocese of the East, c. 400. | |||||||||
| Capital | Antioch (modern-dayAntakya,Hatay,Turkey) | ||||||||
| History | |||||||||
• Established | 415 | ||||||||
• Disestablished | 630s | ||||||||
| |||||||||
| Today part of | Syria Turkey Lebanon | ||||||||
Syria Prima orSyria I ("First Syria", inGreek:Πρώτη Συρία,Prṓtē Suríā) was aByzantine province, formed c. 415 out ofSyria Coele. The province survived until theMuslim conquest of Syria in the 630s.
Syria I emerged out of Syria Coele, which during the reign of Antiochus III was one of the four satrapies in its region that included Phoenicia, Idumea, and an unknown territory that included Palestine.[1] The Syria Coele region along the Euphrates was separated to form the province ofEuphratensis.[2] After c. 415Syria Coele was further subdivided intoSyria I (orSyria Prima), with the capital remaining atAntioch, andSyria II (Syria Secunda) orSyria Salutaris, with capital atApamea on the Orontes. In 528,Justinian I carved out the small coastal provinceTheodorias out of territory from both provinces.[3]
The region remained one of the most important provinces of theByzantine Empire. It was governed by a Consularis based in Antioch.[4] Syria Prima wasoccupied by the Sasanians between 609 and 628, then recovered by the emperorHeraclius, but lost again to theadvancing Muslims after theBattle of Yarmouk and thefall of Antioch.[3]
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