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Syria was a Roman province
Roman province

In Ancient Rome, a province was the basic, and until the Tetrarchy , largest territorial and administrative unit of the empire's territorial possessions outside of the Italia ....
, annexed in 64 BC by Pompey
Pompey

Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus, commonly known as Pompey /'p?mpi/, Pompey the Great or Pompey the Triumvir , was a distinguished military and political leader of the late Roman Republic....
, as a consequence of his military presence after pursuing victory in the Third Mithridatic War
Third Mithridatic War

The Third Mithridatic War was the last and longest of three Mithridatic Wars fought between Mithridates VI of Pontus and the Roman Republic. The Romans won the war, and Mithridates committed suicide, ending the menace of Pontus and conquering the Kingdom of Armenian kingdom....
. It remained under Roman, and subsequently Byzantine, rule for seven centuries, until 637 when it fell to the Islamic conquests.

The Syrian army accounted for three legions of the Roman army
Roman army

The Roman Army was employed by the Roman Kingdom, the Roman Republic and later the Roman Empire, as part of the Roman military. Its most important infantry constituent for much of its history was the Roman legion....
, defending the Parthian
Parthian

Parthian may be:A demonym "of Parthia", a region of north-eastern Iran* Parthian language, a now-extinct Middle Iranian language* Parthian shot, an archery skill famously employed by Parthian horsemen...
 border. In the 1st century, it was the Syrian army that enabled Vespasian
Vespasian

Titus Flavius Vespasianus, commonly known as Vespasian , was a Roman Emperor who reigned from 69 A.D. until his death in 79 A.D. Vespasian was the founder of the short lived Flavian dynasty, which ruled the Roman Empire between 69 A.D....
's coup. Syria was of crucial strategic importance during the crisis of the third century
Crisis of the Third Century

Crisis of the Third Century was the crumbling and near collapse of the Roman Empire between 235 and 284 caused by invasion, civil war, Plague of Cyprian, and economic collapse....
.

From the later 2nd century, the Roman senate
Roman Senate

The Senate of the Roman Republic was a political institution in the ancient Roman Republic. According to the Greek historian Polybius, our principal source on the Constitution of the Roman Republic, the Roman Senate was the predominant branch of government....
 included several notable Syrians, including Claudius Pompeianus
Claudius Pompeianus

Tiberius Claudius Pompeianus Quintianus was a Ancient Rome general of emperor Marcus Aurelius. He married Aurelius' daughter Lucilla and rose to the rank of senior senator in Rome before twice refusing emperorship for himself....
 and Avidius Cassius
Avidius Cassius

Gaius Avidius Cassius was a Roman usurper who briefly ruled Aegyptus Province and Syria in 175.A native of Cyrrhus, Syria, he was the son of Gaius Avidius Heliodorus, a noted orator who had become prefect of Egypt....
. In 193, the province was divided into Syria Coele and Syria Phoenice. In the 3rd century, Syrians even reached for imperial power, with the Severan dynasty
Severan dynasty

The Severan dynasty was a Ancient Rome imperial dynasty, which ruled the Roman Empire between 193 and 235. The dynasty was founded by the African general Septimius Severus, who rose to power during the civil war of 193, known as the Year of the Five Emperors....
.






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Syria was a Roman province
Roman province

In Ancient Rome, a province was the basic, and until the Tetrarchy , largest territorial and administrative unit of the empire's territorial possessions outside of the Italia ....
, annexed in 64 BC by Pompey
Pompey

Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus, commonly known as Pompey /'p?mpi/, Pompey the Great or Pompey the Triumvir , was a distinguished military and political leader of the late Roman Republic....
, as a consequence of his military presence after pursuing victory in the Third Mithridatic War
Third Mithridatic War

The Third Mithridatic War was the last and longest of three Mithridatic Wars fought between Mithridates VI of Pontus and the Roman Republic. The Romans won the war, and Mithridates committed suicide, ending the menace of Pontus and conquering the Kingdom of Armenian kingdom....
. It remained under Roman, and subsequently Byzantine, rule for seven centuries, until 637 when it fell to the Islamic conquests.

The Syrian army accounted for three legions of the Roman army
Roman army

The Roman Army was employed by the Roman Kingdom, the Roman Republic and later the Roman Empire, as part of the Roman military. Its most important infantry constituent for much of its history was the Roman legion....
, defending the Parthian
Parthian

Parthian may be:A demonym "of Parthia", a region of north-eastern Iran* Parthian language, a now-extinct Middle Iranian language* Parthian shot, an archery skill famously employed by Parthian horsemen...
 border. In the 1st century, it was the Syrian army that enabled Vespasian
Vespasian

Titus Flavius Vespasianus, commonly known as Vespasian , was a Roman Emperor who reigned from 69 A.D. until his death in 79 A.D. Vespasian was the founder of the short lived Flavian dynasty, which ruled the Roman Empire between 69 A.D....
's coup. Syria was of crucial strategic importance during the crisis of the third century
Crisis of the Third Century

Crisis of the Third Century was the crumbling and near collapse of the Roman Empire between 235 and 284 caused by invasion, civil war, Plague of Cyprian, and economic collapse....
.

From the later 2nd century, the Roman senate
Roman Senate

The Senate of the Roman Republic was a political institution in the ancient Roman Republic. According to the Greek historian Polybius, our principal source on the Constitution of the Roman Republic, the Roman Senate was the predominant branch of government....
 included several notable Syrians, including Claudius Pompeianus
Claudius Pompeianus

Tiberius Claudius Pompeianus Quintianus was a Ancient Rome general of emperor Marcus Aurelius. He married Aurelius' daughter Lucilla and rose to the rank of senior senator in Rome before twice refusing emperorship for himself....
 and Avidius Cassius
Avidius Cassius

Gaius Avidius Cassius was a Roman usurper who briefly ruled Aegyptus Province and Syria in 175.A native of Cyrrhus, Syria, he was the son of Gaius Avidius Heliodorus, a noted orator who had become prefect of Egypt....
. In 193, the province was divided into Syria Coele and Syria Phoenice. In the 3rd century, Syrians even reached for imperial power, with the Severan dynasty
Severan dynasty

The Severan dynasty was a Ancient Rome imperial dynasty, which ruled the Roman Empire between 193 and 235. The dynasty was founded by the African general Septimius Severus, who rose to power during the civil war of 193, known as the Year of the Five Emperors....
. From 260 to 273, Syria was part of the breakaway Palmyrene Empire
Palmyrene Empire

The Palmyrene Empire was a splinter empire that broke off the Roman Empire during the Crisis of the Third Century. It encompassed the Roman provinces of Syria , Syria Palaestina, Aegyptus and large parts of Asia Minor....
.

In the 4th century, under Theodosius I
Theodosius I

Flavius Theodosius , also called Theodosius I and Theodosius the Great , was Roman Emperor from 379 to 395. Reuniting the eastern and western portions of the empire, Theodosius was the last emperor of both the Eastern Roman Empire and Western Roman Empire....
, Syria Coele was further subdivided into Syria, Syria Salutaris, and Syria Euphratensis), while Syria Phoenice was divided into Phoenice and Phoenicia Libanesia.

The region remained an important province of the Byzantine Empire
Byzantine Empire

Byzantine Empire and Eastern Roman Empire are conventional names used to describe the Roman Empire during the Middle Ages, centered on its capital of Constantinople....
 well into the 6th century, although frequently plagued by Sassanid incursions. In 637, Antioch was conquered
Battle of Iron bridge

The Battle of Iron Bridge was fought between the Rashidun army and the Byzantine army in 637 A.D. The battle was fought near an iron bridge spanning the River Orontes, from which the battle took its name....
 by the Rashidun Caliphate army.

See also

  • History of Syria
    History of Syria

    This article deals with the history of Syria, and the nations previously occupying its territory....
  • Ottoman Syria
    Ottoman Syria

    Ottoman Syria refers to the Levant within the Ottoman Empire from 1516 to 1918. Syria in the Ottoman era included modern Syria, Lebanon, Israel, the West Bank, Gaza Strip, Jordan, and parts of Turkey and Iraq....
  • Assyria (Roman province)
    Assyria (Roman province)

    Assyria or Assyria Provincia was one of three Roman provinces created by the Roman emperor Trajan in 116 C.E. following a successful military campaign against Parthia, in present-day Iraq....
  • List of governors of Roman Syria