Muslim conquest of the Levant
The Muslim conquest of the Levant, or Arab conquest of Syria, was a 634–638 CE invasion of Byzantine Syria by the Rashidun Caliphate. A part of the wider Arab-Byzantine Wars, the Levant was brought under Arab Muslim rule and developed into the provincial region of Bilad al-Sham. Clashes between the Arabs and Byzantines on the southern Levantine borders of the Byzantine Empire had occurred during the lifetime of Muhammad, with the Battle of Muʿtah in 629 CE. However, the actual conquest did not begin until 634, two years after Muhammad's death. It was led by the first two Rashidun caliphs who succeeded Muhammad: Abu Bakr and Umar ibn al-Khattab. During this time, Khalid ibn al-Walid was the most important leader of the Rashidun army.
Scene of the Roman Theatre at Palmyra, 2005
Ruins of Ancient Petra, one of the first cities to fall to invading Muslim armies
Temple of Jupiter, Lebanon.
Roman Syria was an early Roman province annexed to the Roman Republic in 64 BC by Pompey in the Third Mithridatic War following the defeat of King of Armenia Tigranes the Great, who had become the protector of the Hellenistic kingdom of Syria.
The ancient city of Palmyra was an important trading center and possibly Roman Syria's most prosperous city
20 square meter Byzantine era mosaic found in Maryamin, Syria, currently located in the Hama museum
Church of Saint Simeon Stylites, one of the oldest surviving churches in the world