Greater Syria, as claimed by Syrian Social Nationalist Party (SSNP)

Modern states in the historical region of Syria / the Levant

Greater Syria, also known (in a historic context) as Syria, or Bilad ash-Sham (Arabic: بلاد الشام‎) or Suriya Al-Kubra (Arabic: سوريا الكبرى‎) , is a term that denotes an historic region in the Middle East bordering the Eastern Mediterranean Sea or the Levant. The Syrian Social Nationalist Party (or SSNP ( Arabic: الحزب السوري القومي الاجتماعي al-Hizb as-Sūrī al-Qawmī al-Ijtimā`ī) often referred The Levant is a geographical term that refers to a large area in Southwest Asia, south of the Taurus Mountains, bounded by the Mediterranean Sea in The Stone Age is a broad prehistoric time period during which Humans widely used stone for toolmaking Kebarans was an archaeological culture that lived in the eastern Mediterranean area (c The Natufian culture (natʏˈfjẽː existed in the Mediterranean region of the Levant. Tell Halaf ( Akkadian: Guzana; تل حلف, Syria) Jericho ( Arabic, ʼArīḥā; Hebrew, Standard Yəriḥo Tiberian Yərîḫô "Ancient" redirects here For other uses see Ancient_(disambiguation. Sumer ( Sumerian: sux-Latn [[Ki (earth ki]]-[[EN (cuneiform en]]-'''ĝir15''', Akkadian: Šumeru; possibly Biblical Shinar Ebla ( Arabic: عبيل، إيبلا modern Tell Mardikh, Syria) was an ancient city about 55 km southwest of Aleppo. Canaanites redirects here For the 1940s social and political movement in Israel, see Canaanites (movement. Phoenicia ( Phoenician: Phoenician nunsvg|12px|נ]]Phoenician nun Amorite ( Sumerian MARTU, Akkadian Tidnum or Amurrūm, Egyptian Amar, Hebrew ’emōrî The Aramaeans (also Arameans) ( Aramaic / Syriac: ܐܪܡܝܐ, Ārāmāye' were a Semitic (West Semitic language group The Hittites were an ancient Anatolian people who spoke a language of the Anatolian branch of the Indo-European language family and established The Nabataeans ( Arabic: الأنباط, Al-Anbāṭ) were an ancient Semitic people Arabs of southern Jordan, Canaan Palmyra ( Arabic: تدمر Tadmor) was in ancient times an important city of central Syria, located in an Oasis 215 km northeast of Damascus The Philistines ( Hebrew פלשתים plishtim) (see "other uses" below were a people who inhabited the southern coast of Canaan, The history of Ancient Israel and Judah is known to us from classical sources including Judaism 's Tanakh or Hebrew Bible (known Early history The most Neolithic site in Assyria is at Tell Hassuna, the center of the Hassuna culture Babylonia was an Amorite state in lower Mesopotamia (modern southern Iraq) with Babylon as its capital The Persian Empire was a series of Iranian empires that ruled over the Iranian plateau, the original Persian homeland and beyond in Western Asia The Seleucid Empire /sə'lusɪd/ ( 312 - 63 BC) was a Hellenistic empire i The Hasmoneans (/hæzməˡniən/ חשמונאים Hashmonaiym, Audio were the ruling dynasty of the Hasmonean Kingdom ( 140 &ndash 37 BCE The Roman Empire was the post-Republican phase of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial The Ottoman Empire (1299–1923 ( Old Ottoman Turkish: دولتْ علیّه عثمانیّه Devlet-i Âliye-yi Osmâniyye, Late Ottoman and Modern Turkish The term modern period or modern era (sometimes also modern times) is the period of history that followed the Middle Ages between c The Palestine Mandate, was a set of protocols or articles that formed a multilateral legal and administrative agreement History of Bahrein, AND COMPARE THE TRUE IMPORTANCE OF THE TWO STATES The history of Lebanon is almost as old as the earliest evidence of humankind The land that became Jordan forms part of the richly historical Fertile Crescent region The State of Israel (מדינת ישראל Medinat Yisrael) was established in 1948 after nearly two thousand Name There are differences of opinion as to what the Palestinian territories should be called Arabic (ar الْعَرَبيّة (informally ar عَرَبيْ) in terms of the number of speakers is the largest living member of the Semitic language Arabic (ar الْعَرَبيّة (informally ar عَرَبيْ) in terms of the number of speakers is the largest living member of the Semitic language The Middle East is a Subcontinent with no clear boundaries often used as a synonym to Near East, in opposition to Far East. See also Names of the Levant The Levant (lə'vænt is a geographical term that denotes a large area in Western Asia, roughly bounded on the north by the

History and territory

Greater Syria consists of modern-day Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Kuwait, Israel, the Palestinian territories, Cyprus, the Alexandretta region in modern-day Turkey -- which was originally a part of Syria until it was ceded to the Turks by the French colonialists in 1939 -- and the settled areas of Jordan or the western region of that country. Syria ( سوريّة or) officially the Syrian Arab Republic (Arabic ar الجمهورية العربية السورية Lebanon (ˈlɛbənɒn Arabic: ar لبنان Lubnān) officially the Republic of Lebanon or Lebanese Republic (ar الجمهورية اللبنانية For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Iraq topics. The State of Kuwait ( دولة الكويت IPA [dawlatt̪ alkuwajt̪]) is a sovereign Arab Emirate on the coast of the Persian Gulf, enclosed For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Israel topics. Name There are differences of opinion as to what the Palestinian territories should be called Cyprus (Κύπρος transliterated: Kýpros,; Kıbrıs officially the Republic of Cyprus (Κυπριακή Δημοκρατία Kypriakī́ Dīmokratía İskenderun, also Iskenderon (formerly in Greek Ἀλεξανδρέττα Alexandretta; in Arabic الإسكندرون al-ʼIskandarūn Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan (الأردنّ al-Urdunn) is an Arab country in Southwest Asia spanning the southern The region was annexed to the Islamic Caliphate after the Muslim Rashidun victory against the Byzantine Empire at the Battle of Yarmouk. A caliphate (from the Arabic خلافة or khilāfa) is the political leadership of the Muslim community in classical and medieval Islamic history A Muslim (مسلم pronounced Muslim, not Muzlim) is an adherent of the Religion The Rightly Guided Caliphs or The Righteous Caliphs ( ar الخلفاء الراشدون) is a term used in Sunni Islam to refer to the first The Battle of Yarmouk ( معركة اليرموك, also spelled Yarmuk, Yarmuq or Hieromyax) comprised a series of engagements between the During Umayyad times, the area was declared Bilad ash-Sham or "lands of the left" due to its location in the Muslim empire whereas Yemen correspondingly meant "of the right". The region was divided into four junds or military districts. They were Jund Dimashq, Jund Halab, Jund Filastin and Jund al-Urrdun. Jund Filastin ( جند فلسطين, "the military district of Palestine" was one of four sub-provinces of the Ummayad and Abbasid Caliphate The city of Damascus was the capital of the Islamic Caliphate until the rise of Abassid Dynasty

In Ottoman times, it was divided into the five wilayas or sub-provinces of Halab (Aleppo), Dimashq (Damascus), Sayda (Sidon), al-Quds (Jerusalem) and al-Urrdun (Jordan). Damascus ( دمشق,, also commonly known as الشام ash-Shām) is the capital and largest city of Syria. The Ottoman Empire (1299–1923 ( Old Ottoman Turkish: دولتْ علیّه عثمانیّه Devlet-i Âliye-yi Osmâniyye, Late Ottoman and Modern Turkish For other meanings see Aleppo (disambiguation. Halab redirects here for other meanings see Halab (disambiguation. Damascus ( دمشق,, also commonly known as الشام ash-Shām) is the capital and largest city of Syria. Sidon,or Saïda, ( Arabic ar صيدا; Phoenician phoenician yodh Jerusalem (יְרוּשָׁלַיִם, he-Latn Yerushaláyim; Arabic: ar القُدس, ar-Latn al-Quds) is the Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan (الأردنّ al-Urdunn) is an Arab country in Southwest Asia spanning the southern Halab consisted of most of northern modern-day Syria, Dimashq covered southern Syria and Sayda covered Lebanon and the coast of Syria from the port-city of Tartus southward. Tartus ( طرطوس, also transliterated Tartous) is a city in Syria, the capital of Tartus Governorate. Al-Urrdun encompassed most of Western Jordan as well as the Galilee, while al-Quds consisted of the land south of the Galilee and west of the Jordan River and the Wadi Arabah. "Galil" redirects here For the weapon see IMI Galil. Galilee (הגליל ha-Galil, lit the province, This article is about the Jordan River and its valley in western Asia The Arabah (הָעֲרָבָה Tiberian: HāʻĂrāḇā وادي عربة Wādī ʻAraba) is a section of the Great

Although the region's population was dominated by Sunni Muslims, it also contained sizable populations of Shi'a Muslims, Maronite, Greek Orthodox and Melkite Christians, as well as Mizrahi Jews, Alawite and Ismaili Muslims and Druzes. Sunni Islam is the largest denomination of Islam. Sunni Islam is also referred to as Ahl as-Sunnah wa’l-Jamā‘h (Arabic Maronites ( الموارنة,, Syriac: ܡܪܘܢܝܐ, Latin: Ecclesia Maronitarum) are members of one of the Syriac The Greek Orthodox Church ( Greek: Ἑλληνορθόδοξη Ἐκκλησία Hellēnorthódoxē Ekklēsía) is formed by several autocephalous churches The term Melkite (also written Melchite) is used to refer to various Christian churches and their members originating in the Middle East. Mizrahi Jews or Mizrahim, ( also referred to as Edot HaMizrach (Communities of the East are Jews descended For the Alaouite dynasty of Morocco see Alaouite Dynasty, for the former state now in Yemen see Alawi (sheikhdom The Alawites For the Egyptian city see Ismaïlia. The Ismāʿīlī ( Urdu: إسماعیلی Ismāʿīlī, Arabic: الإسماعيليون The Druze ( Arabic: درزي derzī or durzī, plural دروز durūz) are a religious community found primarily in Syria, Lebanon

A Druze Prince from Lebanon and a Sunni-Muslim Merchant from Damascus. Lebanon (ˈlɛbənɒn Arabic: ar لبنان Lubnān) officially the Republic of Lebanon or Lebanese Republic (ar الجمهورية اللبنانية Damascus ( دمشق,, also commonly known as الشام ash-Shām) is the capital and largest city of Syria.

Al-Sham vs. Syria

Ottoman Palestine and Syria

Bilad al-Sham is not always precisely synonymous with "Greater Syria" or "Levant", since Greater Syria can refer to a smaller region, while the Levant can refer to a larger region. Today the term is most commonly used by historians to describe the area in earlier times. For much of the history of the Middle East, Bilad al-Sham was closely integrated and shared a common culture and economy. The Middle East is a Subcontinent with no clear boundaries often used as a synonym to Near East, in opposition to Far East. The colonialism of the post-WWI years and the rise of a number of states in the region has ended this unity. See Colony and Colonization for examples of colonialism which do not refer to Western colonialism It is still useful for historians looking at pre-twentieth century history to consider it as a region, however.

"Sham" can also be transcribed as "Cham" under French influence. The adjective shami شامي means someone coming from this region. Note that the name Sham has no valid etymological connection with the Biblical figure Shem son of Noah — Sham comes from the Arabic consonantal root shin-hamza-mim ش ء م (referring to unluckiness, such as that traditionally associated with the left), as seen in alternative Arabic spellings such as شأم and شآم, while Shem son of Noah appears in Arabic as sam سام (with a different initial consonant, and without any internal glottal stop consonant). Shem (; Greek: Σημ, Sēm; Arabic: ar سام; Ge'ez: ሴም Sēm; "renown prosperity name" Noah (or Noe, Noach;; Nūḥ; Arabic: نوح; "Rest") was according to the Bible, the tenth and last of In the terminology used to discuss the grammar of the Semitic languages and some other Afro-Asiatic languages, a triliteral ( Arabic: جذر ثلاثي This article is about the sound in spoken language For the letter see Glottal stop (letter. There is also no connection with the word shams "sun" (as in Majdal Shams or ash-Shams). Majdal Shams (مجدل شمس מג'דל שמס is a Druze village in the northern part of the Golan Heights, the center of Druze life in the region Surat Ash-Shams (الشمس aš-Šams The Sun) is the 91st sura of the Qur'an with 15 Ayat.

The Arabic word suriyya (سوريا) was not widely used among Arabic-speaking Muslims before about 1870, though it had been used by Arabic-speaking Christians earlier. According to the Syrian Orthodox Church, "Syrian" used to mean "Christian" in early Christianity, and the special Arabic word suryani سرياني (singular) / suryan سريان (plural) means one who belongs to the Syrian Orthodox Church, as opposed to the general Arabic adjective for "Syrian" suri سوري (singular) / suriyun سوريون (plural). The Syriac Orthodox Church is an autocephalous Oriental Orthodox church based in the Middle East with members spread throughout the world

Currently, the Arabic term suriyya is used to refer to the modern state of Syria (as opposed to the whole Greater Syria region referred to as Bilad al-Sham), but this distinction was not as clear before the mid 20th-century. Syria ( سوريّة or) officially the Syrian Arab Republic (Arabic ar الجمهورية العربية السورية The Hashemite dream of a Greater Syrian Arab kingdom was frustrated after WW1 due to the Sykes-Picot Agreement, and the uniting of the separate French mandates in Syria into one unified entity in 1936.

Greater Syria and the Syrian Social Nationalist Party

In the Syrian nationalist irredentist ideology developed by the founder of the Syrian Social Nationalist Party, the Lebanese Antun Saadeh, Greater Syria is seen as the geographic environment in which the Syrian nation state evolved. Irredentism is any position advocating Annexation of territories administered by another State on the grounds of common Ethnicity or prior historical possession The Syrian Social Nationalist Party (or SSNP ( Arabic: الحزب السوري القومي الاجتماعي al-Hizb as-Sūrī al-Qawmī al-Ijtimā`ī) often referred Lebanon (ˈlɛbənɒn Arabic: ar لبنان Lubnān) officially the Republic of Lebanon or Lebanese Republic (ar الجمهورية اللبنانية Antun Sa'adah (انطون سعادة (March 1 1904-July 8 1949 was a Syrian nationalist thinker from Lebanon and founder of the Syrian Social Nationalist For the online game see Jennifer Government NationStates. The nation-state is a certain form of State that derives its legitimacy Initially considered co-terminus with historic Syria as described above, Saadeh later expanded it to include the Sinai, Iraq, Kuwait and Cyprus. The Sinai Peninsula or Sinai ( Coptic: sina; Egyptian Arabic: sina سينا Arabic, sina'a سيناء For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Iraq topics. The State of Kuwait ( دولة الكويت IPA [dawlatt̪ alkuwajt̪]) is a sovereign Arab Emirate on the coast of the Persian Gulf, enclosed Cyprus (Κύπρος transliterated: Kýpros,; Kıbrıs officially the Republic of Cyprus (Κυπριακή Δημοκρατία Kypriakī́ Dīmokratía He pointed to what he considered to be the region's distinct natural boundaries, and described it as extending from the Taurus range in the northwest and the Zagros Mountains in the northeast to the Suez Canal and the Red Sea in the south and includes the Sinai Peninsula and the Gulf of Aqaba, and from the Mediterranean Sea in the west, including the island of Cyprus, to the arch of the Arabian Desert and the Persian Gulf in the east. Borders define geographic boundaries of political entities or legal jurisdictions such as Governments States or subnational administrative For the Taurus Mountains on the moon see Montes Taurus. For Mount Taurus outside Cold Spring New York, see Bull Hill. The Zagros Mountains (جبال زاجروس (رشته كوههاى زاگرس ( Sorani Kurdish: Zagros - زاگرۆس make up Iran 's and Iraq 's The Suez Canal is a Canal in Egypt. Opened in 1869 it allows Water transportation between Europe and Asia without circumnavigation The Red Sea is a Salt water Inlet of the Indian Ocean between Africa and Asia. The Sinai Peninsula or Sinai ( Coptic: sina; Egyptian Arabic: sina سينا Arabic, sina'a سيناء The Gulf of Aqaba ( Arabic: خليج العقبة transliterated: Khalyj al-'Aqabah in Israel known as the Gulf of Eilat ( Hebrew Cyprus (Κύπρος transliterated: Kýpros,; Kıbrıs officially the Republic of Cyprus (Κυπριακή Δημοκρατία Kypriakī́ Dīmokratía The Arabian Desert is a vast Desert wilderness stretching from Yemen to the Persian Gulf and Oman to Jordan and Iraq. The Persian Gulf, in the Southwest Asian region is an extension of the

See also

• Damascus Protocol
• Greater Lebanon
• Greater Israel
• Land of Israel/Region of Palestine
• Levant
• Mashriq
• Names of the Levant

Sources

• Article "Al-Sham" in the Encyclopedia of Islam by C.E. Bosworth, volume 9, p. The Damascus Protocol was a document given to Faisal bin Hussein by the Arab secret societies al-Fatat and Al-'Ahd on his second visit to Damascus during a mission The French Mandate of Lebanon was a League of Nations Mandate created at the end of World War I. Greater Israel (also Complete Land of Israel, ארץ ישראל השלמה Eretz Yisrael Hashlemah) is an expression with several different meanings For other uses see Israel (disambiguation The Land of Israel ( Hebrew: אֶרֶץ יִשְׂרָאֵל Eretz Yisrael) is Palestine is a name which has been widely used since Roman times to refer to the region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River. See also Names of the Levant The Levant (lə'vænt is a geographical term that denotes a large area in Western Asia, roughly bounded on the north by the This article is about the Mashriq region For other uses see Mashriq (disambiguation The Mashriq or Mashreq (also in use Mashrek Over recorded history there have been many names of the Levant, a large area in the Middle East The Encyclopaedia of Islam ( EI) is the standard Encyclopaedia of the Academic discipline of Islamic studies. Clifford Edmund Bosworth (born December 29, 1928, Sheffield, United Kingdom) is an English historian and orientalist, specializing 261 (1997).
• Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic by Hans Wehr (4th edition, 1994). The Dictionary of Modern Written Arabic is an Arabic - English Dictionary compiled by Hans Wehr and edited by J Milton Cowan Hans Wehr (1909-1981 was a German Arabist. A professor at the University of Münster from 1957-1974 he published the Arabisches Wörterbuch (1952