1.
Diocese of the East
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The Diocese of the East was a diocese of the later Roman Empire, incorporating the provinces of the western Middle East, between the Mediterranean Sea and Mesopotamia. Its capital was at Antioch, and its governor had the title of comes Orientis instead of the ordinary vicarius. The diocese was established after the reforms of Diocletian, and was subordinate to the prefecture of the East. The last creation of a new province dated in the reign of Justinian I, when Theodorias, at about the same time, Cyprus was split off and became part of a new super-province, the quaestura exercitus. The entire area of the diocese came under Sassanid Persian occupation in the 610s and 620s. From the old provinces of the Diocese of the East, only Isauria and parts of the two Cilicias remained under Byzantine rule, grouped under the new Anatolic Theme
2.
Byzantine Empire
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It survived the fragmentation and fall of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD and continued to exist for an additional thousand years until it fell to the Ottoman Turks in 1453. During most of its existence, the empire was the most powerful economic, cultural, several signal events from the 4th to 6th centuries mark the period of transition during which the Roman Empires Greek East and Latin West divided. Constantine I reorganised the empire, made Constantinople the new capital, under Theodosius I, Christianity became the Empires official state religion and other religious practices were proscribed. Finally, under the reign of Heraclius, the Empires military, the borders of the Empire evolved significantly over its existence, as it went through several cycles of decline and recovery. During the reign of Maurice, the Empires eastern frontier was expanded, in a matter of years the Empire lost its richest provinces, Egypt and Syria, to the Arabs. This battle opened the way for the Turks to settle in Anatolia, the Empire recovered again during the Komnenian restoration, such that by the 12th century Constantinople was the largest and wealthiest European city. Despite the eventual recovery of Constantinople in 1261, the Byzantine Empire remained only one of several small states in the area for the final two centuries of its existence. Its remaining territories were annexed by the Ottomans over the 15th century. The Fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 finally ended the Byzantine Empire, the term comes from Byzantium, the name of the city of Constantinople before it became Constantines capital. This older name of the city would rarely be used from this point onward except in historical or poetic contexts. The publication in 1648 of the Byzantine du Louvre, and in 1680 of Du Canges Historia Byzantina further popularised the use of Byzantine among French authors, however, it was not until the mid-19th century that the term came into general use in the Western world. The Byzantine Empire was known to its inhabitants as the Roman Empire, the Empire of the Romans, Romania, the Roman Republic, Graikia, and also as Rhōmais. The inhabitants called themselves Romaioi and Graikoi, and even as late as the 19th century Greeks typically referred to modern Greek as Romaika and Graikika. The authority of the Byzantine emperor as the legitimate Roman emperor was challenged by the coronation of Charlemagne as Imperator Augustus by Pope Leo III in the year 800. No such distinction existed in the Islamic and Slavic worlds, where the Empire was more seen as the continuation of the Roman Empire. In the Islamic world, the Roman Empire was known primarily as Rûm, the Roman army succeeded in conquering many territories covering the entire Mediterranean region and coastal regions in southwestern Europe and north Africa. These territories were home to different cultural groups, both urban populations and rural populations. The West also suffered heavily from the instability of the 3rd century AD
3.
Syria Palaestina
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Syria Palaestina was a Roman province between 135 and about 390. It was established by the merger of Roman Syria and Roman Judaea, shortly after 193, the northern regions were split off as Syria Coele in the north and Phoenice in the south, and the province Syria Palaestina was reduced to Judea. The earliest numismatic evidence for the name Syria Palaestina comes from the period of emperor Marcus Aurelius, 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 Armenian King Tigranes the Great. Following the partition of the Herodian Kingdom into tetrarchies in 6 AD, it was absorbed into Roman provinces, with Roman Syria annexing Iturea. The Roman province of Judea incorporated the regions of Judea, Samaria, and Idumea and it was named after Herod Archelauss Tetrarchy of Judea, but the Roman province encompassed a much larger territory. H. Ben-Sasson, had been the capital of the region beginning in 6 AD. Judea province was the scene of unrest at its founding in 6 AD during the Census of Quirinius and several wars were fought in its history, the Temple was destroyed in 70 as part of the Great Jewish Revolt resulting in the institution of the Fiscus Judaicus. Disturbances followed throughout the region during the Kitos War in 117–118, between 132–135, Simon Bar Kokhba led a revolt against the Roman Empire, controlling parts of Judea but seemingly not Jerusalem, for three years. As a result, Hadrian sent Sextus Julius Severus to the region, after crushing the Bar Kokhba revolt, the Roman Emperor Hadrian applied the name Syria Palestina to the entire region, that had formerly included Judea province. The city of Aelia Capitolina was built by the emperor Hadrian on the ruins of Jerusalem, the capital of the enlarged province remained in Antiochia. In 193, the province of Syria-Coele was split from Syria Palaestina, in the 3rd century, Syrians even reached for imperial power, with the Severan dynasty. Syria was of strategic importance during the Crisis of the Third Century. Beginning in 212, Palmyras trade diminished as the Sassanids occupied the mouth of the Tigris, in 232, the Syrian Legion rebelled against the Roman Empire, but the uprising went unsuccessful. Septimius Odaenathus, a Prince of the Aramean state of Palmyra, was appointed by Valerian as the governor of the province of Syria Palaestina. After Valerian was captured by the Sassanids in 260, and died in captivity in Bishapur, Odaenathus campaigned as far as Ctesiphon for revenge, when Odaenathus was assassinated by his nephew Maconius, his wife Septimia Zenobia took power, ruling Palmyra on behalf of her son, Vabalathus. Zenobia rebelled against Roman authority with the help of Cassius Longinus and took over Bosra and lands as far to the west as Egypt, next, she took Antioch and large sections of Asia Minor to the north. In 272, the Roman Emperor Aurelian finally restored Roman control and Palmyra was besieged and sacked, Aurelian captured Zenobia, bringing her back to Rome. He paraded her in chains in the presence of the senator Marcellus Petrus Nutenus, but allowed her to retire to a villa in Tibur
4.
Jund Filastin
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Jund Filastin was one of the military districts of the Ummayad and Abbasid Caliphate province of Bilad al-Sham, organized soon after the Muslim conquest of the Levant in the 630s. According to al-Biladhuri, the towns of the district, following its conquest by the Rashidun Caliphate, were Gaza, Sebastia, Nablus, Caesarea, Ludd, Yibna, Imwas, Jaffa, Rafah. At first, under the early Umayyad caliphs, Ludd served as the district capital, after the caliph Suleiman ibn Abd al-Malik founded the nearby city of Ramla, he designated it the capital, and most of Ludds inhabitants were forced to settle there. In the 9th century, during Abbasid rule, Jund Filastin was the most fertile of Syrias districts, the population of the region did not become predominantly Muslim and Arab in identity until several centuries after the conquest. At its greatest extent, Jund Filastin extended from Rafah in the south to Lajjun in the north, the mountains of Edom, and the town of Zoar at the southeastern end of the Dead Sea were included in the district. However, the Galilee was excluded, being part of Jund al-Urdunn in the north, the district persisted in some form until the Seljuk invasions and the Crusades of the late 11th century. Palaestina Prima Syria Palaestina Le Strange, Guy, Palestine Under the Moslems, A Description of Syria and the Holy Land from A. D.650 to 1500. London, Committee of the Palestine Exploration Fund, mideastweb Map of Palestine Under the Caliphs, showing Jund boundaries
5.
Caesarea Maritima
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Caesarea Maritima is an Israeli National Park in the Sharon plain, including the ancient remains of the coastal city of Caesarea. The city and harbor were built under Herod the Great during c, 22–10 BC near the site of a former Phoenician naval station known as Stratonos pyrgos. It later became the capital of Roman Judea, Roman Syria Palaestina. It was re-fortified by the Crusaders, and finally slighted by the Mamluks in 1265, the name Caesarea was adopted into Arabic as Qaysaria قيسارية. The location was all but abandoned in 1800, the ruins of the ancient city, on the coast just about 2 km south of modern Caesarea, were excavated in the 1950s and 1960s and the site was incorporated into a new national park in 2011. The site of the former Phoenician naval station was awarded to Herod the Great in 30 BC, Herod built his palace on a promontory jutting out into the sea, with a decorative pool surrounded by stoas. He went on to build a port and a city. In the year AD6, Caesarea became the civilian and military capital of Iudaea Province and the residence of the Roman procurator Antonius Felix. This city is the location of the 1961 discovery of the Pilate Stone and it is likely that Pilate used it as a base, and only went to Jerusalem when needed. It is also the location of Herods tomb. The city was described in detail by the 1st-century Roman Jewish historian Flavius Josephus, Josephus describes the harbor as being as large as the one at Piraeus, the major harbor of Athens. Remains of the buildings erected by Herod and the medieval town are still visible today, including the city walls, the castle. Caesarea grew rapidly, becoming the largest city in Judea, with a population of 125,000 over an urban area of 3.7 square kilometres. According to Josephus, the outbreak of the Jewish revolt of AD66 was provoked by Greeks of a merchant house in Caesarea sacrificing birds in front of a local synagogue. According to Josephus, Caesarea was the scene in AD26 of an act of civil disobedience to protest Pilates order to plant eagle standards on the Temple Mount of Jerusalem. The emperor Vespasian raised its status to that of a Colonia, in AD70, after the Jewish revolt was suppressed, games were held here to celebrate the victory of Titus. Many Jewish captives were brought to Caesarea Maritima, Kasher claims that 2,500 captives were slaughtered in gladiatorial games, Caesarea was one of four Roman colonies for veterans in the Syria-Phoenicia region. Caesarea is mentioned in the 3rd century Mosaic of Rehob, with respect to its non-Jewish population, when it was built in the 1st century BC, Sebastos Harbor ranked as the largest artificial harbor built in the open sea, enclosing around 100,000 m2
6.
Late antiquity
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Late antiquity is a periodization used by historians to describe the time of transition from classical antiquity to the Middle Ages in mainland Europe, the Mediterranean world, and the Near East. The development of the periodization has generally been accredited to historian Peter Brown, precise boundaries for the period are a continuing matter of debate, but Brown proposes a period between the 3rd and 8th centuries AD. Generally, it can be thought of as from the end of the Roman Empires Crisis of the Third Century to, in the East, the early Islamic period, following the Muslim conquests in the mid–7th century. In the West the end was earlier, with the start of the Early Medieval period typically placed in the 6th century, beginning with Constantine the Great, Christianity was made legal in the Empire, and a new capital was founded at Constantinople. The resultant cultural fusion of Greco-Roman, Germanic and Christian traditions formed the foundations of the subsequent culture of Europe, the term Spätantike, literally late antiquity, has been used by German-speaking historians since its popularization by Alois Riegl in the early 20th century. Concurrently, some migrating Germanic tribes such as the Ostrogoths and Visigoths saw themselves as perpetuating the Roman tradition, Constantine confirmed the legalization of the religion through the so-called Edict of Milan in 313, jointly issued with his rival in the East, Licinius. Monasticism was not the only new Christian movement to appear in Late Antiquity, notable in this regard is the topic of the Fifty Bibles of Constantine. Within the recently legitimized Christian community of the 4th century, a division could be distinctly seen between the laity and an increasingly celibate male leadership. Celibate and detached, the clergy became an elite equal in prestige to urban notables. The Late Antique period also saw a transformation of the political and social basis of life in. The later Roman Empire was in a sense a network of cities, archaeology now supplements literary sources to document the transformation followed by collapse of cities in the Mediterranean basin. Burials within the urban precincts mark another stage in dissolution of traditional urbanistic discipline, overpowered by the attraction of saintly shrines, in Roman Britain, the typical 4th- and 5th-century layer of black earth within cities seems to be a result of increased gardening in formerly urban spaces. A similar though less marked decline in population occurred later in Constantinople. In Europe there was also a decline in urban populations. As a whole, the period of antiquity was accompanied by an overall population decline in almost all Europe. Long-distance markets disappeared, and there was a reversion to a degree of local production and consumption, rather than webs of commerce. The degree and extent of discontinuity in the cities of the Greek East is a moot subject among historians. In the western Mediterranean, the new cities known to be founded in Europe between the 5th and 8th centuries were the four or five Visigothic victory cities
7.
Samaritan revolts
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The Samaritan revolts were a series of insurrections during the 5th and 6th centuries in Palaestina Prima province, launched by the Samaritans against the Byzantine Empire. The revolts were marked by violence on both sides, and their brutal suppression at the hands of the Byzantines and their Ghassanid allies severely reduced the Samaritan population. The events irreversibly shifted the demographics of the region, making the Christians the only dominant group in the Palaestina Prima province for many decades onward, Samaritans fared badly under the Roman Empire, when Samaria was a part of the Roman-ruled province of Judaea. Though not directly targeted, Samaritans also suffered the consequences of Jewish–Roman wars in the area, during. Samaritans and Byzantine Christians filled this vacuum in the regions of Southern Levant, whereas Nabataeans. This period is considered an age for the Samaritan community. The Temple of Gerizim was rebuilt after the Bar Kochba revolt in Judaea, with the withdrawal of Roman legions, Samaria enjoyed a limited kind of independence on the course of the 3rd and 4th century. Baba Rabba, the leader of the Samaritans, divided Samaritan territories to districts and he also executed a series of reforms and installed state institutions. Much of Samaritan liturgy was set by Baba Rabba during this time and this period of semi-independence was however brief, as Byzantine forces overran Samaria, and took Baba Rabba captive to Constantinople, where he died in prison several years later c.362 CE. During the reign of Emperor Zeno, tensions between the Christian community and the Samaritans in Neapolis grew dramatically, according to Samaritan sources, Eastern Roman Emperor Zeno persecuted the Samaritans with no mercy. The Emperor went to Sichem, gathered the elders and asked them to convert, when refused, Zeno had many Samaritans killed. Later, in 484, the Samaritans revolted, provoked by rumors that the Christians intended to transfer the remains of Aarons sons and grandsons Eleazar, Ithamar, Samaritans reacted by entering the cathedral of Neapolis, killing the Christians inside and severing the fingers of the bishop Terebinthus. The Samaritans elected Justa as their king and moved to Caesarea, there many Christians were killed and the church of St. Procopius was destroyed. Justa celebrated the victory with games in the circus, according to John Malalas, the Dux Palaestinae Asclepiades, whose troops were reinforced by the Caesarea-based Arcadiani of general Rheges, defeated Justa, killed him and sent his head to Zeno. Terebinthus meanwhile fled to Constantinople, requesting an army garrison to prevent further attacks, according to Procopius, Terebinthus went to Zeno to ask for revenge, the Emperor personally went to Samaria to quell the rebellion. As a result of the revolt, the Byzantine emperor Zeno erected a dedicated to Mary on Mount Gerizim. He also forbade the Samaritans to travel to the mountain to celebrate their religious ceremonies and these actions by the emperor fueled Samaritan anger towards the Christians further. Zeno rebuilt the church of St. Procopius in Neapolis and the Samaritans were banned from Mount Gerizim, Samaritans rebelled again in 495 under the rule of emperor Anastasius I, reoccupying Mount Gerizim
8.
Jewish revolt against Heraclius
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Following the Battle of Antioch in 613, Shahrbaraz led his forces through Palaestina Secunda and into Palaestina Prima provinces. In 614, Shahrbaraz conquered Caesarea Maritima, the capital of the Palaestina Prima province. The Persian army reinforced by Jewish forces led by Nehemiah ben Hushiel, after only a few months a Christian revolt occurred. Nehemiah ben Hushiel and his council of sixteen righteous were killed along with many other Jews, Christians were able to briefly retake the city before the walls were breached by Shahrbaraz’s forces who lay siege to the city. In addition 35,000 or 37,000 people including the patriarch Zacharias are said to have been deported to Mesopotamia, the city is said to have been burnt down. However, neither wide spread burning nor destruction of churches have found in the archaeological record. The Jewish army is said to have consisted of 20,000 men, the expedition, however, miscarried, as the Christians of Tyre learned of the impending danger, and seized the 4,000 Tyrian Jews as hostages. The Jewish invaders destroyed the churches around Tyre, an act which the Christians avenged by killing two thousand of their Jewish prisoners, the besiegers, to save the remaining prisoners, withdrew. The Jews had hoped that Khosrau II would give all of the Land of Israel in exchange for their support. By 617 CE the Persians had reversed their policy and sided with the Christians over the Jews, by 622 CE, the Roman Emperor Heraclius had assembled an army to retake the territory lost to the Sasanian Empire. In 628, following the deposition of Khosrau II, Kavadh II made peace with Heraclius and it is said that Benjamin even accompanied Heraclius on his voyage to Jerusalem and Benjamin was persuaded to convert, Benjamin obtained a general pardon for himself and the Jews. On 21 March 630, Emperor Heraclius marched in triumph into Jerusalem with the True Cross, a general massacre of the Jewish population ensued. The massacre devastated the Jewish communities of the Galilee and Jerusalem, only those Jews who could flee to the mountains or Egypt are said to have been spared. Some historians believe the war reduced and weakened the Christian population not just in Jerusalem but across the Near East, however, over the past thirty years the archaeological evidence has not supported the ancient manuscripts which record the devastation of the Christian community in Jerusalem. Jews and Samaritans were persecuted frequently by the Byzantines resulting in numerous revolts, Byzantine religious propaganda developed strong anti-Jewish elements. In several cases Jews tried to support the Sasanian advance. A pogrom in Antioch in 608 would lead to a Jewish revolt in 610 which was crushed, Jews also revolted in both Tyre and Acre in 610. The Jews of Tyre were massacred in reprisal, unlike in earlier times when Jews had supported Christians in the fight against Shapur I, the Byzantines had now become viewed as oppressors
9.
Muslim conquest of the Levant
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During the Roman period, beginning after the fall of Jerusalem in the year 70, the entire region was renamed Palaestina, subdivided into Diocese I and II. The Romans also renamed an area of land including the Negev, Sinai, part of the area was ruled by the Arab vassal state of the Ghassanids symmachos. Thus, on the eve of the Muslim conquests the Romans were still in the process of rebuilding their authority in these territories, politically, the Syrian region consisted of two provinces, Syria proper stretched from Antioch and Aleppo in the north to the top of the Dead Sea. To the west and south of the Dead Sea lay the province of Palestine, Syria was mostly a Syriac and Hellenized land with some Jewish presence and with a partly Arab population, especially in its eastern and southern parts. The Ghassan Dynasty became one of the princely dynasties of the Empire, with the Ghassan king ruling over the Arabs in Jordan. The last of the Ghassan kings, who ruled at the time of the Muslim invasion, was Jabla bin Al Aiham, the Byzantine Emperor Heraclius, after re-capturing Syria from the Sassanians, set up new defense lines from Gaza to the south end of the Dead Sea. These lines were designed to protect communications from bandits, and the bulk of the Byzantine defenses were concentrated in Northern Syria facing the traditional foes. This defense line had as a drawback that it enabled the Muslims, the 7th century was a time of fast military changes in the Byzantine Empire. Muhammad died in June 632, and Abu Bakr was appointed Caliph, soon after Abu Bakrs succession, several Arab tribes revolted against him in the Ridda wars. The Campaign of the Apostasy was fought and completed during the year of the Hijri. The year 12 Hijri dawned, on 18 March 633, with Arabia united under the authority of the Caliph at Medina. After successful campaigns against the Sassanids and the ensuing conquest of Iraq Khalid established his stronghold in Iraq, while engaged with Sassanid forces, confrontation also ensued with the Byzantine Arab clients, the Ghassanids. Tribal contingents were recruited to the call from Medinah from all over the Arabian peninsula. The tradition of raising armies from tribal contingents remained in use until 636, Abu Bakr organised the army into four corps, each with its own commander and objective. Move on Elat route, then across Valley of Arabah, Yazid ibn Abu Sufyan, Objective Damascus. Move on Tabuk route after Yazid, Abu Ubaidah ibn al-Jarrah, Objective Emesa. Move on Tabuk route after Shurahbil, in case the corps had to concentrate for one major battle, Abu Ubaidah was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the entire army. In the first week of April 634, the Muslim forces began to move from their camps outside Medina, the first to leave was Yazids corps, followed by Shurahbil, Abu Ubaidah and Amr, each a days march from the other
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