Syrian Empire
Syria has often been called the Cradle of Civilization and the Gateway to History (History pp). Archaeological finds proves that Syria was inhabited deep into the Stone Age (Syrian pp). The remains of Ebla discovered a few years ago on Tel Mardikh, south of Aleppo, confirm the fact that a prosperous Kingdom existed in the second half of the third millennium B.C. (Syria pp). The finds at Tel Hariri Marie on the Euphrates River have provided valuable information concerning the ancient history of Syria and her relations with the kingdoms of Mesopotamia (Syria pp). Ancient Syria was the target of more powerful neighboring kingdoms of the time. For example, after defeating the kingdom of Ebla in 2250 B.C., the Akkadians controlled Syria as well as the Egyptians who sought to rule the entire of Syria in the second millennium B.C. (Syria pp). Then during the 12th century B.C., the eastern coastline of the Mediterranean experience dramatic changes through attacks by the 'Sea Peoples' and by the successive waves of immigration by Semitic tribes, which eventually led to the rise of new kingdoms such as the Aramaeans in the cities of Damascus, Hama, and Aleppo, and the Canaanite city states on the coastline, including Arwad, Tyre and Jbeil (Syria pp). Throughout history, it has been a great cross road for trade between the Mediterranean and the East, and is responsible for exporting the Alphabet to the West and has been linked to Religion from the Semitic Deities to the Monotheistic faiths (History pp).
Syria today constitutes only a small portion of the ancient geographical Syria (McGowan Pp). Until Western powers during...
The name Syria was given by the ancient Greeks to the land bridge that links three continents, and it is for this reason, historians and political scientists generally use the term Greater Syria to denote the area in the pre-state period (McGowan Pp).
Historically, Greater Syria rarely ruled itself due to its vulnerable position between the Mediterranean Sea and the desert (McGowan Pp). With powerful empires on the north, east and south, Syria was often a battlefield for the political destinies of dynasties and empires (McGowan Pp). Unlike other parts of the Middle East, Greater Syria was prized as a fertile cereal-growing oasis as well as a critical source of the lumber needed for building imperial fleets in the pre-industrial period (McGowan Pp).
Although it was exploited politically, Greater Syria benefited immeasurable from the cultural diversity of the peoples who came to claim parts or all of it and who remained to contribute and participate in the remarkable and extraordinary spiritual and intellectual flowering that characterized Greater Syria's cultures in the ancient and medieval periods (McGowan Pp). Incorporating some of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, Greater Syria was in the unique position to foster and nurture intellectual activities (McGowan Pp). By 1400 B.C. many cities, such as Damascus (Dimashq), Aleppo (Halab), Hamah (Hamath), Byblos…
