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140-621: The national name "Syrian" was used in antiquity to denote the inhabitants of the Levant. Following the Muslim conquest of the Levant, Arab identity became dominant and the ethnonym "Syrian" was used mainly by Christians who spoke Syriac. In the 19th century, the name "Syrian" was revived amongst the Arabic speakers of the Levant. Following the establishment of the Arab Kingdom of Syria in 1920,

280-434: A res publica as long as it continued to use Latin as its official language. Rome acquired imperial character de facto from the 130s BC with the acquisition of Cisalpine Gaul , Illyria , Greece and Hispania , and definitely with the addition of Iudaea , Asia Minor and Gaul during the 1st century BC. At the time of the empire's maximal extension during the reign of Trajan (AD 117), Rome controlled

420-569: A bill to distribute farmland to his veterans, and landless members of the urban poor. A similar measure had been rejected in 63 BC, which arguably made the Senate over confident in their ability to control popular unrest. Although Pompey could not overcome optimate opposition on his own, the situation changed when Marius' nephew Julius Caesar sought his endorsement for the consulship in 59 BC. A skilled, unscrupulous, and ambitious politician, Caesar used this alliance to harness Pompey's influence with

560-545: A centre of piracy, along with other inland areas and reorganised into six parts. These actions significantly increased Roman state income and presented Pompey with multiple opportunities to increase his personal wealth and patronage base. Before his return to Italy in 62 BC, Pompey paid his troops bonuses totalling around 16,000 talents , but despite fears he intended to follow Sulla's example, they were dismissed upon arrival at Brundisium. His journey to Rome drew huge crowds wherever he stopped, showing that although opinion in

700-544: A commander in the civil war of 83–81 BC . Pompey's success as a general while young enabled him to advance directly to his first consulship without following the traditional cursus honorum (the required steps to advance in a political career). He was elected as consul on three occasions (70, 55, 52 BC). He celebrated three triumphs , served as a commander in the Sertorian War , the Third Servile War ,

840-699: A fresh revolt in Caucasian Albania forced him to retrace his steps. Victory at the Abas enabled him to impose terms on the Albanians and agree truces with other tribes on the northern side of the Caucasus. Pompey then wintered in Armenia, settling minor border contests and raids between his allies Phraates and Tigranes. Relying on his naval blockade to wear down Mithridates, Pompey spent 64 BC annexing

980-478: A liturgical language by Syriac Christians . English, and to a lesser extent French, is widely understood and used in interactions with tourists and other foreigners. Religious differences in Syria have historically been tolerated, and religious minorities tend to retain distinct cultural, and religious identities. Sunni Islam is the religion of 74% of Syrians. The Alawites , a variety of Shia Islam , make up 12% of

1120-421: A mosaic of West and East. Conservative and liberally minded people will live right next to each other. Like the other countries in the region, religion permeates life; the government registers every Syrian's religious affiliation. However, the number of non-believers in Syria is increasing but there is no credible source or statistics to support this information. Syrian cuisine is dominated by ingredients native to

1260-708: A rebellion in Gallia Narbonensis , after which his army entered winter quarters near Narbo Martius . In early 76 BC, he crossed the Col de Portet and entered the Iberian peninsula, where he would remain for the next five years. His arrival boosted the morale of Metellus' troops, while some rebels changed sides, but soon after he was defeated by Sertorius at the Battle of Lauron , losing one third of his army while inflicting next to no losses on Sertorius' army. This

1400-761: A result of the crisis of the third century . During Late antiquity Christianity became increasingly popular, finally ousting the Roman imperial cult with the Theodosian decrees of 393. Successive invasions of Germanic tribes finalized the weakening of the Western Roman Empire during the 5th century, while the Eastern Roman Empire persisted throughout the Middle Ages , in a state called Romania by its citizens, and designated

1540-643: A series of conflicts of the 4th and 3rd centuries, the Samnite Wars , Latin War , and Pyrrhic War . Roman victory in the Punic Wars and Macedonian Wars established Rome as a super-regional power by the 2nd century BC, followed by the acquisition of Greece and Asia Minor . This tremendous increase of power was accompanied by economic instability and social unrest, resulting in the Catiline conspiracy ,

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1680-568: A series of measures, one of which was to appoint Pompey to a military command. While Lepidus continued south, Pompey raised troops from among his veterans in Picenum, and moved north to besiege Mutina , capital of Cisalpine Gaul. The town was held by Lepidus' ally Marcus Junius Brutus , who surrendered after a lengthy siege, and was assassinated next day, allegedly on Pompey's orders. Catulus then defeated Lepidus outside Rome, while Pompey marched against his rear, catching him near Cosa. Lepidus and

1820-418: A special senatorial decree. Plutarch suggests Pompey supported Crassus as his co-consul in order to put him under an obligation. The two men were elected consuls for 70 BC, but allegedly differed on almost every measure, rendering their term "politically barren and without achievement." However, their consulship did see the plebeian tribune recover powers removed by Sulla. One of the most significant

1960-474: Is often considered to begin with the earliest recorded Epic Greek poetry of Homer (8th–7th-century BC) and ends with the end of the Western Roman Empire in 476 AD. Such a wide span of history and territory covers many disparate cultures and periods. Classical antiquity may also refer to an idealized vision among later people of what was, in Edgar Allan Poe 's words, "the glory that was Greece, and

2100-714: Is the most recurrent in Levantines (42–68%); the Peninsular Arabian and East African ancestral components represent around 25% of Syrian genetic make-up. The paternal Y-DNA haplogroup J1, which reaches its highest frequencies in Yemen 72.6% and Qatar 58.3%, accounted for 33.6% of Syrians. The J2 group accounted for 20.8% of Syrians; other Y-DNA haplogroups include the E1B1B 12.0%, I 5.0%, R1a 10.0% and R1b 15.0%. The Syrians are closest to other Levantine populations:

2240-556: Is usually served with Arab-style tea – highly concentrated black tea, which is often highly sweetened and served in small glass cups. Another popular drink, especially with Christians and non-practicing Muslims, is the arak , a liquor produced from grapes or dates and flavored with anise that can have an alcohol content of over 90% ABV (however, most commercial Syrian arak brands are about 40–60% ABV). [REDACTED] Media related to People of Syria at Wikimedia Commons Classical antiquity Classical antiquity , also known as

2380-677: The Akkadian word Aššūrāyu ( Assyria ) in northern Mesopotamia , modern-day Iraq. However, during the Seleucid Empire , this term was also applied to The Levant , and henceforth the Greeks applied the term without distinction between the Assyrians of north Mesopotamia and Arameans of the Levant. The Greeks used the terms "Syrian" and "Assyrian" interchangeably to indicate the indigenous Arameans , Assyrians and other inhabitants of

2520-607: The Anti-Lebanon Mountains and capturing Pella, Jordan and Damascus . Pompey's incursion further south, into Judea , was occasioned on account of its inhabitants, under the leadership of Hyrcanus II and Aristobulus II , having ravaged Phoenicia and Pompey wanting to bring a stop to it. The initial onslaught was disrupted by the Hasmonean Civil War , in which Pompey backed Hyrcanus II over his brother Aristobulus II. When he compelled

2660-515: The Armenian genocide and the Assyrian genocide and settled in Syria. There are also roughly 500,000 Palestinians , who are mostly descendants of refugees from the 1948 Israeli-Arab War. The community of Syrian Jews inside Syria once numbered 30,000 in 1947, but has only 200 today. The Syrian people's beliefs and outlooks, similar to those of most Arabs and people of the wider Middle-East, are

2800-524: The Battle of Italica . Pompey faced Sertorius in the indecisive Battle of Sucro , in which Sertorius defeated Pompey's right flank and nearly captured Pompey himself, but his legate Lucius Afranius defeated the Sertorian right. Sertorius withdrew inland, then turned to fight at Saguntum , where Pompey lost 6,000 men, including his brother-in-law Memmius, reputedly his most effective subordinate. Sertorius himself suffered 3,000 casualties, one of whom

2940-524: The Battle of the Colline Gate . Pompey, who was pursuing the government forces, arrived just after the battle. By the end of 82 BC, Sulla had expelled his opponents from Italy, and engineered his nomination as Dictator by the Senate. Either through admiration of his abilities, or concern at his ambition, Sulla sought to consolidate his alliance with Pompey by persuading him to divorce Antistia, and marry his stepdaughter Aemilia. Plutarch claims she

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3080-561: The Byzantine Empire by later historians. Hellenistic philosophy was succeeded by continued development of Platonism and Epicureanism , with Neoplatonism in due course influencing the theology of the Christian Church Fathers . Many writers have attempted to name a specific date for the symbolic "end" of antiquity, with the most prominent dates being the deposing of the last Western Roman Emperor in 476,

3220-615: The Byzantine Papacy . The Eastern Roman empire's capital city Constantinople remained the only unconquered large urban site of the original Roman empire, as well as being the largest city in Europe. Yet many classical books, sculptures, and technologies survived there along with classical Roman cuisine and scholarly traditions, well into the Middle Ages, when much of it was "rediscovered" by visiting Western crusaders. Indeed,

3360-524: The Catholic Church in particular maintained Latin language, culture, and literacy for centuries; to this day the popes are termed Pontifex Maximus which during the classical period was a title belonging to the emperor, and the ideal of Christendom continued the legacy of a united European civilization even after its political unity had ended. The political idea of an Emperor in the West to match

3500-609: The Cretans and Lebanese Armenians . Studying the genetic relation between Jews and Syrians showed that the two populations share a close affinity. Apparently, the cultural influence of Arabian expansion in the Eastern Mediterranean in the seventh century was more prominent than the genetic influx. However, the expansion of Islam did leave an impact on Levantine genes; religion drove Levantine Muslims to mix with other Muslim populations, who were close culturally despite

3640-528: The First Triumvirate , an informal political alliance designed to counter-balance the optimates . Pompey's influence was based on his reputation as a military commander, and popularity with the Roman people. Crassus' wealth allowed him to construct extensive patronage networks, but he lacked the military clout essential for political success in the late Republican era . Once elected, Caesar secured

3780-687: The Lebanese , the Palestinians and Jordanians ; this closeness can be explained by the common Canaanite ancestry and geographical unity which was broken only in the twentieth century with the advent of British and French mandates. Regarding the genetic relation between the Syrians and the Lebanese based on Y-DNA, Muslims from Lebanon show closer relations to Syrians than their Christian compatriots. The people of Western Syria show close relations with

3920-776: The Levant and Mesopotamia , Herodotus considered "Syria" west of the Euphrates . Starting from the 2nd century BC onwards, ancient writers referred to the ruler of the Seleucid Empire as the King of Syria or King of the Syrians. The Seleucids designated the districts of Seleucis and Coele-Syria explicitly as Syria and ruled the Syrians as indigenous populations residing west of the Euphrates ( Aramea ) in contrast to Assyrians who had their native homeland in Mesopotamia east of

4060-578: The Muslim conquests of the 7th century finalized the irreversible loss of all the largest Eastern Roman imperial cities besides the capital itself. The emperor Heraclius in Constantinople , who reigned during this period, conducted his court in Greek, not Latin, though Greek had always been an administrative language of the eastern Roman regions. Eastern-Western associations weakened with the ending of

4200-683: The Roman Senate . Sulla's return in 83 BC sparked a civil war within the Roman world. In the year prior to Sulla's return Pompey had raised and equipped a full legion from amongst his father's old clients and veterans in Picenum . In the spring of 83 Sulla landed in Brundusium . As he marched north-west towards Campania , Pompey led his own legion south to join him. The government in Rome sent out three separate armies in an attempt to prevent

4340-607: The Sabines to a festival and stole their unmarried maidens, resulting the integration of Latins and Sabines. Archaeological evidence indeed shows first traces of settlement at the Roman Forum in the mid-8th century BC, though settlements on the Palatine Hill may date back to the 10th century BC. According to legend, the seventh and final king of Rome was Tarquinius Superbus . As the son of Tarquinius Priscus and

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4480-713: The Social War and the First Triumvirate , and finally the transformation to the Roman Empire during the latter half of the 1st century BC. The precise end of the Republic is disputed by modern historians; Roman citizens of the time did not recognize that the Republic had ceased to exist. The early Julio-Claudian Emperors maintained that the res publica still existed, albeit protected by their extraordinary powers, and would eventually return to its earlier Republican form. The Roman state continued to term itself

4620-485: The Social War (91–87 BC) . Strabo died in 87 BC during the short-lived civil war known as the Bellum Octavianum , although sources differ on whether he succumbed to disease, or was murdered by his own soldiers. Prior to his death, Strabo was accused of embezzlement ; as his legal heir, Pompey was held responsible for the alleged crime and put on trial. He was acquitted, supposedly after agreeing to marry

4760-614: The Third Mithridatic War , and in various other military campaigns. Pompey's early success earned him the cognomen Magnus – "the Great" – after his boyhood hero Alexander the Great . His adversaries gave him the nickname adulescentulus carnifex ("teenage butcher") for his ruthlessness. In 60 BC, Pompey joined Crassus and Caesar in the informal political alliance known as the First Triumvirate , cemented by Pompey's marriage with Caesar's daughter, Julia . After

4900-497: The Third Servile War . Pompey returned to Italy just before Crassus defeated the main rebel army in 71 BC, arriving in time to massacre 6,000 fugitives from the battle. His claim to have ended the war by doing so was a long-standing source of resentment for Crassus. Pompey was granted a second triumph for his victory in Hispania, and nominated for the consulship. Since he was both too young and technically ineligible, this required

5040-582: The Vaccaei . Dire straits caused by this stretch of the campaign and Sertorius' guerrilla warfare led Pompey to write a letter to the Senate asking for funds and men, and scolding their lack of support for him and Metellus. Pompey's letter had the effect of galvanizing the Senate into sending him more men and funds. Reinforced by two more legions, in 74 BC he and Metellus began a war of attrition against their enemy. As his chief opponent had lost most of his Roman legionaries and could no longer match him in

5180-581: The West Indies , Africa, Australia, and New Zealand. Six million refugees of the Syrian Civil War also live outside Syria now, mostly in Turkey , Jordan , and Lebanon . Various sources indicate that the name Syria itself is derived from Luwian term "Sura/i", and the derivative ancient Greek name: Σύριοι , Sýrioi , or Σύροι , Sýroi , both of which originally derived from

5320-460: The ancient Near East . The Seleucids ruled the indigenous peoples of the Levant, whom they named "Syrians", as a conquered nation; Syrians were not assimilated into Greek communities, and many local peasants were exploited financially as they had to pay rent for Greek landlords. Outside Greek colonies , the Syrians lived in districts governed by local temples that did not use the Greek civic system of poleis and colonies. The situation changed after

5460-653: The classical era , classical period , classical age , or simply antiquity , is the period of cultural European history between the 8th century BC and the 5th century AD comprising the interwoven civilizations of ancient Greece and ancient Rome known together as the Greco-Roman world , centered on the Mediterranean Basin . It is the period during which ancient Greece and ancient Rome flourished and had major influence throughout much of Europe , North Africa , and West Asia . Conventionally, it

5600-588: The classical orders of architecture. The philosophy of St. Thomas Aquinas was derived largely from that of Aristotle , despite the intervening change in religion from Hellenic Polytheism to Christianity . Greek and Roman authorities such as Hippocrates and Galen formed the basis of the practice of medicine even longer than Greek thought prevailed in philosophy. In the French theater , playwrights such as Molière and Racine wrote plays on mythological or classical historical subjects and subjected them to

5740-520: The judge's daughter, Antistia . One of the main issues at stake in 87 BC was the appointment of the consul Lucius Cornelius Sulla as commander of the Roman army in the ongoing First Mithridatic War , an opportunity to amass enormous wealth. During his absence in the East, his political rivals led by Lucius Cornelius Cinna , Gnaeus Papirius Carbo and Gaius Marius the Younger regained control of

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5880-620: The red-figure style , developed by the Andokides Painter in about 530 BC. Greek colonisation refers to the expansion of Archaic Greeks , particularly during the 8th–6th centuries BC , across the Mediterranean Sea and the Black Sea . The Etruscans had established political control in the region by the late 7th-century BC, forming the aristocratic and monarchial elite. The Etruscans apparently lost power in

6020-804: The 1880s for the name to begin to be widely used by the inhabitants to refer to themselves. Both Muslims and Christians agreed that the Muslims were not Syrians because they belonged to the Arabs while the Christians retained the Syrianism of antiquity. The spread of the Syrian "idea" amongst the Muslims can be traced to the efforts of Rashid Rida who contributed to the formulation of the Syrian Union Party's manifesto in 1918, demanding that Syria, in

6160-484: The 18th and 19th centuries. The earliest period of classical antiquity occurs during a time of gradual resurgence of historical sources after the Late Bronze Age collapse . The 8th and 7th centuries BC are still largely protohistorical , with the earliest Greek alphabetic inscriptions appearing during the first half of the 8th century. The legendary poet Homer is usually assumed to have lived during

6300-566: The 19th century. John Milton and even Arthur Rimbaud received their first poetic educations in Latin. Genres like epic poetry, pastoral verse, and the frequent use of characters and themes from Greek mythology affected Western literature greatly. In architecture, there have been several Greek Revivals , which seem more inspired in retrospect by Roman architecture than Greek. Washington, DC has many large marble buildings with façades made to look like Greek temples , with columns constructed in

6440-932: The 8th or 7th century BC, and his lifetime is often considered as the beginning of classical antiquity. During the same period is the traditional date for the establishment of the Ancient Olympic Games , in 776 BC. The Phoenicians originally expanded from ports in Canaan , by the 8th century dominating trade in the Mediterranean . Carthage was founded in 814 BC, and the Carthaginians by 700 BC had established strongholds in Sicily , Italy and Sardinia , which created conflicts of interest with Etruria . A stele found in Kition , Cyprus commemorates

6580-426: The Arameans, whom he calls Aramaei , indicating an extant ethnicity. Posidonius noted that the people called Syrians by the Greeks refer to themselves as Arameans. In his book The Great Roman-Jewish War , Josephus , a Hebrew native to the Levant, mentioned the Syrians as the non-Hebrew, non-Greek indigenous inhabitants of Syria. Syrians are mainly descended from the various ancient Semitic-speaking peoples of

6720-425: The Dark Ages). In pottery, the Archaic period sees the development of the Orientalizing style , which signals a shift from the geometric style of the later Dark Ages and the accumulation of influences derived from Egypt, Phoenicia and Syria . Pottery styles associated with the later part of the Archaic age are the black-figure pottery , which originated in Corinth during the 7th-century BC and its successor,

6860-420: The Eastern Roman capital ( first in 674–78 and then in 717–18 ) severed the economic, cultural, and political links that had traditionally united the classical cultures around the Mediterranean, ending antiquity (see Pirenne Thesis ). The original Roman Senate continued to express decrees into the late 6th century, and the last Eastern Roman emperor to use Latin as the language of his court in Constantinople

7000-409: The Elder , and Ptolemy , reported that Arabs inhabited many parts of Syria, which according to modern historians indicate either an ethnic group or a nomadic way of life. The urheimat of the Arab ethnos is unclear; the traditional 19th century theory locates this in the Arabian Peninsula, while some modern scholars, such as David Frank Graf, note that the epigraphic and archaeological evidence render

7140-421: The Emperor in the East continued after the Western Roman Empire's collapse; it was revived by the coronation of Charlemagne in 800; the self-described Holy Roman Empire ruled central Europe until 1806. The Renaissance idea that the classical Roman virtues had been lost as a result of medievalism was especially powerful in European politics of the 18th and 19th centuries. Reverence for Roman republicanism

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7280-438: The Euphrates. However, the interchangeability between Assyrians and Syrians persisted during the Hellenistic period . In one instance, the Ptolemaic dynasty of the Hellenistic kingdom of Egypt applied the term "Syrian Village" as the name of a settlement in Fayoum . The Ptolemies referred to all peoples originating from Modern Syria and Palestine as Syrian. The term Syrian was imposed upon Arameans of modern Levant by

7420-442: The French who established a mandate in 1920, but the formation of a Syrian consciousness amongst the members of the Syrian Arab national movement solidified and spread amongst the Muslims as well as the Christians. Genetic tests on Syrians were included in many genetic studies. The genetic marker which identifies descendants of the ancient Levantines is found in Syrians in high proportion. Modern Syrians exhibit "high affinity to

7560-418: The Great in 323 BC. In 510, Spartan troops helped the Athenians overthrow the tyrant Hippias , son of Peisistratos . Cleomenes I , king of Sparta, established a pro-Spartan oligarchy conducted by Isagoras . The Greco-Persian Wars (499–449 BC), concluded by the Peace of Callias ended with not only the liberation of Greece, Macedon , Thrace , and Ionia from Persian rule , but also with

7700-443: The Great of Armenia . Lucullus was a skilled general who won numerous victories, but claims he was protracting the war for "power and wealth" led to a Senate investigation, while by 69 BC his troops were weary and mutinous. In 68 BC, Quintus Marcius Rex replaced Lucullus in Cicilia, while Manius Acilius Glabrio received Bithynia. He also assumed leadership of the war against Mithridates, but failed to respond decisively when

7840-461: The Great , was a general and statesman of the Roman Republic . He played a significant role in the transformation of Rome from republic to empire . Early in his career, he was a partisan and protégé of the Roman general and dictator Sulla ; later, he became the political ally, and finally the enemy, of Julius Caesar . A member of the senatorial nobility, Pompey entered into a military career while still young. He rose to prominence serving Sulla as

7980-470: The Greeks. Fathers had great power over their children, and husbands over their wives. In fact, the word family, familia in Latin, actually referred to those who were subject to the authority of a male head of household. This included non-related members such as slaves and servants. By marriage, both men and women shared property. Divorce was allowed first during the first century BC and could be done by either man or woman. The Roman Empire began to weaken as

8120-473: The Levant" based on studies comparing modern and ancient DNA samples. Syrians cluster closely with ancient Levantine populations of the Neolithic and Bronze Ages. A Levantine ancestral genetic component was identified; it is estimated that the Levantine, the Arabian and East African ancestral components diverged 23,700–15,500 years ago, while the divergence between the Levantine and European components happened 15,900–9,100 years ago. The Levantine ancestral component

8260-411: The Levant; this helped to further strengthen the development of the Syrian national consciousness. Initially, most inhabitants were against the establishment of Syria as they considered this a step against Arab unity, but gradually, Faisal's Syria, which was declared an independent kingdom in 1920, prompted the Syrians to begin exploring the notion of Syrianism instead of pan-Arabism. Faisal was deposed by

8400-526: The Mithridatic War, notably Soli , renamed Pompeiopolis, and Dyme in Greece, with others sent to towns in Libya and Calabria . These communities retained a strong attachment to both Rome and Pompey. In 73 BC, Lucius Licinius Lucullus , formerly one of Sulla's chief lieutenants, was made proconsul of Cilicia , and commander in the Third Mithridatic War. The war began in 74 BC, when the last ruler of Bithynia died and left his kingdom to Rome, sparking an invasion by Mithridates VI of Pontus , and Tigranes

8540-469: The Roman conquest in 64 BC; Semitic-speaking Syrians obtained the citizenship of Greek poleis , and the line separating the Greeks and the natives blurred. The idioms Syrian and Greek were used by Rome to denote civic societies instead of separate ethnic groups. Ancient Syria of the first millennium BC was dominated by the Aramaeans; they originated in the Northern Levant as a continuum of the Bronze Age populations of Syria. The Aramaeans assimilated most of

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8680-429: The Romans. Pompey created the province of Syria , which included modern-day Lebanon and Syria west of the Euphrates, framing the province as a regional social category with civic implications. Plutarch described the indigenous people of this newly created Roman province as "Syrians", so did Strabo , who observed that Syrians resided west of the Euphrates in Roman Syria, and he explicitly mentions that those Syrians are

8820-413: The Senate and had Superbus and the monarchy expelled from Rome in 510 BC. After Superbus' expulsion, the Senate in 509 BC voted to never again allow the rule of a king and reformed Rome into a republican government . The classical period of Ancient Greece corresponds to most of the 5th and 4th centuries BC, in particular, from the end of the Athenian tyranny in 510 BC to the death of Alexander

8960-463: The Senate was divided, Pompey remained as popular as ever with the masses. He was awarded a third triumph for his achievements in Asia Minor, celebrated on his 45th birthday in 61 BC. Pompey claimed the new provinces established in the East had increased annual state income from 200 million to 340 million sesterces , plus an additional payment of 480 million sesterces to the treasury. He refused to provide details of his personal fortune, but given

9100-425: The Senate, Pompey was appointed military commander in Spain with proconsular authority in order to defeat Sertorius. This act was technically illegal as he had yet to hold public office, illustrating Pompey's preference for military glory, and disregard for traditional political constraints. Pompey recruited 30,000 infantry and 1,000 cavalry, evidence of the threat posed by Sertorius. En route to Hispania, he subdued

9240-416: The aftermath of World War I and the Ottoman withdrawal from the region, become an independent state and not part of larger Arab one ruled by the Hashemites of the Kingdom of Hejaz . Rida did not reject the Arab identity but recognized a Syrian uniqueness and advocated the idea of a Syrian state. In the end, Syria did become a separate state but under the Hashemite king Faisal . He entered Damascus in 1918 in

9380-414: The aftermath of the Ottomans' evacuation of the Levant at the end of World War I. His entry ignited the Syrian national consciousness after he declared an Arab government in the Levant centred in Damascus with him as prince. In June 1919, the Syrian National Congress , which included representatives from Palestine and Lebanon, demanded the full independence of Syria, within borders that encompass more or less

9520-465: The amounts declared publicly, this must have been enormous. Some of it was used to build one of the most famous structures of Ancient Rome, the Theatre of Pompey . However, the Senate then refused to ratify the treaties agreed by Pompey as part of his settlement of the East. Opposition was led by the optimates Cato the Younger and Metellus Celer , whose sister Mucia had recently been divorced by Pompey, for reasons still disputed. They also defeated

9660-412: The area by the late 6th-century BC, and at this time, the Italic tribes reinvented their government by creating republics , with greater restraints on the ability of individual rulers to exercise power. According to legend, Rome was founded on 21 April 753 BC by twin descendants of the Trojan prince Aeneas , Romulus and Remus . As the city was bereft of women, legend says that the Latins invited

9800-401: The closing of the last Platonic Academy in Athens by the Eastern Roman emperor Justinian I in 529, and the conquest of much of the Mediterranean by the new Muslim faith from 634 to 718. These Muslim conquests, of Syria (637), Egypt (639), Cyprus (654), North Africa (665), Hispania (718), Southern Gaul (720), Crete (820), and Sicily (827), Malta (870), as well as the sieges of

9940-654: The consul Gaius Papirius Carbo in Cisalpine Gaul . During this campaign Pompey acted as Metellus's cavalry commander. Metellus and Pompey defeated Carbo's lieutenant, the praetor Gaius Carrinas , in a six-hour battle at the river Aesis, only to be blockaded by Carbo himself. When word of Sulla's victory at the Battle of Sacriportus reached them, Carbo retreated to his base at Ariminium , severely harassed by Pompey's cavalry. Some time later Metellus defeated Gaius Marcius Censorinus , another of Carbo's lieutenants, Pompey's cavalry caught Censorinus's fleeing troops outside their base at Sena Gallica , defeating them and plundering

10080-690: The creation of a new Greek state in 1832. After the capture of Constantinople in 1453, the Russian Czars (a title derived from Caesar) claimed the Byzantine legacy as the champion of Orthodoxy ; Moscow was described as the " Third Rome ", and the Czars ruled as divinely appointed Emperors into the 20th century. Despite the fact that the Western Roman secular authority disappeared entirely in Europe, it still left traces. The Papacy and

10220-611: The cultures of Persia , the Kingdom of Israel and Kingdom of Judah , Central Asia and Egypt . Significant advances were made in the sciences ( geography , astronomy , mathematics , etc.), notably with the followers of Aristotle ( Aristotelianism ). The Hellenistic period ended with the increase of the Roman Republic to a super-regional power during the 2nd century BC and the Roman conquest of Greece in 146 BC. The Republican period of Ancient Rome began with

10360-479: The deaths of Julia and Crassus (in 54 and 53 BC), Pompey switched to the political faction known as the optimates —a conservative faction of the Roman Senate . Pompey and Caesar then began contending for leadership of the Roman state in its entirety, eventually leading to Caesar's Civil War . Pompey was defeated at the Battle of Pharsalus in 48 BC, and he sought refuge in Ptolemaic Egypt , where he

10500-556: The deposed Hiempsal to the Numidian throne. Around this time, his troops began referring to him as Magnus , or "the Great", after Alexander the Great , a figure much admired by the Romans. Shortly thereafter, Pompey formally made this part of his name . On returning to Rome, he asked for a triumph to celebrate his victories, an unprecedented demand for someone so young. Pompey refused to disband his army until Sulla agreed, although

10640-514: The difficulties Pompey faced came from officials who resented his authority. In Gaul, Piso hampered his recruitment efforts, while in Crete , Quintus Metellus refused to comply with his instructions. Pompey spread his forces throughout the Mediterranean to prevent the pirates escaping a Roman fleet by moving elsewhere. Fifteen legates were given specific areas to patrol, while he secured

10780-488: The disappearance of imperial authority in the west. This tendency reached its maximum when Charlemagne was crowned "Roman Emperor" in the year 800, an act which resulted in the formation of the Holy Roman Empire . The notion that an emperor is a monarch who outranks a king dates from this period. In this political ideal, there would always be a Roman Empire, a state the jurisdiction of which extended through

10920-667: The dominance of Athens in the Delian League , which resulted in conflict with Sparta and the Peloponnesian League , resulting in the Peloponnesian War (431–404 BC), ending with a Spartan victory. Greece began the 4th century with Spartan hegemony , but by 395 BC the Spartan rulers dismissed Lysander from office, and Sparta lost its naval supremacy. Athens , Argos , Thebes and Corinth ,

11060-526: The earlier Levantine populations through their language. With the adoption of a common religion, Christianity , most of the inhabitants turned into Syrians (Aramaeans). Islam and the Arabic language had a similar effect where the Aramaeans themselves became Arabs regardless of their ethnic origin following the Muslim conquest of the Levant . The presence of Arabs in Syria is recorded since the 9th century BC, and Roman period historians, such as Strabo , Pliny

11200-467: The early periods of the conquest, and formed an isolated aristocracy. The Arabs of the caliphate accommodated many new tribes in isolated areas to avoid conflict with the locals; caliph Uthman ordered his governor, Muawiyah I , to settle the new tribes away from the original population. Syrians who belonged to Monophysitic denominations welcomed the Muslim Arabs as liberators. The Abbasids in

11340-531: The eighth and ninth centuries sought to integrate the peoples under their authority, and the Arabization of the administration was one of their methods. Arabization gained momentum with the increasing numbers of Muslim converts from Christianity ; the ascendancy of Arabic as the formal language of the state prompted the cultural and linguistic assimilation of Syrian converts. Some of those who remained Christian also became Arabized, while others stayed Aramean, it

11480-508: The end of 66 BC. According to contemporary sources, Mithridates and a small contingent escaped the battle, outstripped their pursuers, and reached Colchis on the Black Sea . While there, he took control of the Cimmerian Bosporus from its Roman-backed ruler, his son Machares , who later committed suicide. Meanwhile, Pompey invaded Armenia supported by Tigranes the Younger , whose father quickly came to terms; in return for

11620-520: The entire Mediterranean as well as Gaul, parts of Germania and Britannia , the Balkans , Dacia , Asia Minor, the Caucasus , and Mesopotamia . Culturally, the Roman Empire was significantly Hellenized , but also incorporated syncretic "eastern" traditions, such as Mithraism , Gnosticism , and most notably Christianity . Classical Rome had vast differences within their family life compared to

11760-649: The entire civilized western world. That model continued to exist in Constantinople for the entirety of the Middle Ages, where the Byzantine Emperor was considered the sovereign of the entire Christian world. The Patriarch of Constantinople was the Empire's highest-ranked cleric, but even he was subordinate to the emperor, who was "God's Vicegerent on Earth". The Greek-speaking Byzantines and their descendants continued to call themselves " Romioi " until

11900-585: The eve of the Rashidun Caliphate conquest of the Levant, 634 AD, Syria's population mainly spoke Aramaic as the Lingua franca , while Greek was the language of administration. Arabization and Islamization of Syria began in the 7th century, and it took several centuries for Islam, the Arab identity, and language to spread; the Arabs of the caliphate did not attempt to spread their language or religion in

12040-482: The field, Pompey, along with Metellus, gained the upper hand, conquering more and more Sertorian cities, slowly grinding down Sertorius' revolt. By now, Sertorius was being undermined by internal divisions. Discontent in Sertorius' coalition of Iberian and Roman forces came to a head in 72 or 73 BC when Perperna, leading a conspiracy with other prominent Sertorians, had Sertorius assassinated and assumed control of

12180-540: The fringes of India . The classical Greek period conventionally ends at the death of Alexander in 323 BC and the fragmentation of his empire, which was at this time divided among the Diadochi . Greece began the Hellenistic period with the increasing power of Macedon and the conquests of Alexander the Great . Greek became the lingua franca far beyond Greece itself, and Hellenistic culture interacted with

12320-412: The geographic distance, and this produced genetic similarities between Levantine Muslims and Moroccan and Yemeni populations. Christians and Druze became a genetic isolate in the predominantly Islamic world. Arabic is the mother tongue of the majority of Syrians as well as the official state language. The Syrian variety of Levantine Arabic differs from Modern Standard Arabic . Western Neo-Aramaic ,

12460-627: The government forces made one final effort to march to the relief of Praeneste. They mustered 10,000 legionaries and marched to join forces with the Samnites and the Lucanians , fierce enemies of Sulla, who had campaigned against them in the Social War. Pursued by Pompey they united their forces and made for Praeneste. Unable to break through Sulla's blockade, they marched for undefended Rome, only to be caught just in time and defeated by Sulla at

12600-611: The grain route to Rome. These measures won him control of the western Mediterranean in just 40 days, after which his fleets moved to the east, forcing the pirates back to their bases in Cilicia. Pompey led the decisive assault on their stronghold in Coracaesium , winning the Battle of Korakesion and concluding the war in only three months. Most of his opponents surrendered without fighting, thanks to Pompey's reputation for clemency. They were granted lands in cities devastated during

12740-451: The grandeur that was Rome". The culture of the ancient Greeks , together with some influences from the ancient Near East , was the basis of art, philosophy, society, and education in the Mediterranean and Near East until the Roman imperial period . The Romans preserved, imitated, and spread this culture throughout Europe, until they were able to compete with it. This Greco-Roman cultural foundation has been immensely influential on

12880-467: The idea. When Sulla died in 78 BC, Lepidus sought to block his state funeral and roll back some of Sulla's laws, then became proconsul of Cisalpine and Transalpine Gaul in January 77 BC. When the Senate ordered him back to Rome, Lepidus refused to comply unless granted another term as consul, a proposal that was rapidly rejected. Assembling an army, he began marching on Rome; the Senate responded with

13020-558: The independent and wealthy cities of Syria , which were incorporated into a new Roman province. In the process, he acquired large amounts of money and prestige, as well as criticism from his opponents in Rome, who argued doing so exceeded his authority. Meanwhile, an ageing Mithridates had been cornered in Panticapaeum by another of his sons, Pharnaces II of Pontus . An attempt to commit suicide by taking poison allegedly failed due to his habit of taking "precautionary antidotes", and he

13160-613: The inhabitants of Constantinople continued to refer to themselves as Romans, as did their eventual conquerors in 1453, the Ottomans (see Romaioi and Rûm .) The classical scholarship and culture that was still preserved in Constantinople were brought by refugees fleeing its conquest in 1453 and helped to begin the Renaissance (see Greek scholars in the Renaissance ). Ultimately, it was a slow, complex, and graduated change of

13300-466: The language, politics, law, educational systems, philosophy , science, warfare, literature, historiography, ethics, rhetoric, art and architecture of both the Western , and through it, the modern world. Surviving fragments of classical culture helped produce a revival beginning during the 14th century which later came to be known as the Renaissance , and various neo-classical revivals occurred during

13440-435: The latter re-occupied much of Pontus in 67 BC, then attacked Cappadocia , a Roman ally. Seeing an opportunity, in 66 BC Pompey used the tribunate to pass the lex Manilia , giving him extensive powers throughout Asia Minor in order to defeat Mithridates, in addition to those granted by the lex Gabinia . The optimates were privately horrified that one man should hold so much influence, but fearful of his popularity allowed

13580-628: The latter to surrender Jerusalem , its defenders took refuge in the Temple , which the Romans first stormed , then looted. Judea became a client kingdom ruled by Hyrcanus, while its northern section was incorporated into the Decapolis , a league of semi-autonomous cities (see map). Both Judea and the League were made subordinate to the new province of Syria. Other organisational changes included creating

13720-543: The latter tried to offset the impact by awarding simultaneous triumphs to Lucius Licinius Murena and Gaius Valerius Flaccus . Sometime during this period, Pompey married Mucia Tertia, a member of the powerful Metellus family. They had three children before their divorce in 61 BC; Pompey the younger , usually known as Gnaeus, a daughter, Pompeia Magna , and a younger son, Sextus . Pompey supported Marcus Aemilius Lepidus as consul for 78 BC; Plutarch claims he did so against Sulla's advice, but most modern historians refute

13860-533: The latter two of which were formerly Spartan allies, challenged Spartan dominance in the Corinthian War , which ended inconclusively in 387 BC. Later, in 371 BC, the Theban generals Epaminondas and Pelopidas won a victory at the Battle of Leuctra . The result of this battle was the end of Spartan supremacy and the establishment of Theban hegemony . Thebes sought to maintain its dominance until it

14000-414: The local Roman administration, showing a lack of animosity towards his former opponents, which extended his patronage throughout Hispania and into southern Gaul. Pompey and his army remained in Hispania for a few years conquering the Sertorian remnants, and then marched back to Rome. During Pompey's absence, Marcus Licinius Crassus was charged with suppressing the slave rebellion led by Spartacus known as

14140-549: The measure to pass. Incensed at being replaced, Lucullus called Pompey a "vulture" who profited from the work of others, a reference both to his new command and claim to have finished the war against Spartacus. Pompey agreed an alliance with Phraates III , king of Parthia , whom he persuaded to invade Armenia. When Mithridates offered a truce, Lucullus argued the war was over, but Pompey demanded concessions which could not be accepted. Outnumbered, Mithridates withdrew into Armenia, followed by Pompey, who defeated him at Lycus near

14280-710: The name "Syrian" began to spread amongst its Arabic speaking inhabitants. The term gained more importance during the Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon , becoming the accepted national name for the Arabic speakers of the Syrian Republic. Most Arabic speaking Syrians identify as Arabs. There is no contradiction between being an Arab and a Syrian since the Syrian Arab identity is multi-layered and being Syrian complements being Arab. In addition to denoting Syrian Arabs,

14420-540: The only surviving Western Aramaic dialect, is still spoken in three villages ( Maaloula , Bakh'a and Jubb'adin ) in the Anti-Lebanon Mountains by both Muslim and Christian Arameans (Syriacs) . Syriacs in the northeast of the country are mainly Turoyo-Aramaic speakers but there are also some speakers of Suret-Aramaic , especially in the Khabour Valley . Classical Syriac is also used as

14560-697: The overthrow of the Monarchy c. 509 BC and lasted more than 450 years until its subversion through a series of civil wars , into the Principate form of government and the Imperial period. During the half millennium of the Republic, Rome increased from a regional power of the Latium to the dominant force in Italy and beyond. The unification of Italy by the Romans was a gradual process, brought about by

14700-477: The passage of a new agrarian bill, helped by Pompey's veterans, who filled the streets of Rome and allegedly intimidated the Senate. When Bibulus opposed the measure, he was attacked in the forum , and spent the rest of his consulship under virtual house arrest. Caesar then ensured ratification of Pompey's settlements in the east, while the Lex Vatinia made him governor of Gallia Cisalpina and Illyricum . He

14840-597: The past fifty years, partly because of the decline of traditional naval powers like Rhodes , while previous attempts to subdue them had been unsuccessful. However, Romans routinely referred to their opponents as "pirates" or "brigands", and some historians argue it is more accurate to see them as a conventional enemy, rather than disorganised outlaws. Principally based in Cilicia , in 68 BC they raided as far as Ostia , Rome's port, and kidnapped two senators, to general outrage. Prompted by Pompey, Aulus Gabinius , tribune of

14980-641: The people of Northern Lebanon. Mitochondrial DNA shows the Syrians to have an affinity with Europe; main haplogroups are H and R . Based on Mitochondrial DNA, the Syrians, Palestinians, Lebanese and Jordanians form a close cluster. Compared to the Lebanese, Bedouins and Palestinians, the Syrians have noticeably more Northern European component, estimated at 7%. Regarding the HLA alleles , Syrians, and other Levantine populations, exhibit "key differences" from other Arab populations; based on HLA-DRB1 alleles, Syrians were close to eastern Mediterranean populations, such as

15120-461: The plebs in 67 BC, proposed the Lex Gabinia , giving him a mandate for their suppression. It granted him proconsular authority for three years in any province within 50 miles of the Mediterranean, along with the power to appoint legates and significant financial resources. Concerned by one man holding such wide-ranging powers, the Senate opposed the law but it was passed by the people. Most of

15260-891: The population and mostly live in and around Tartus and Latakia . Christians make up 10% of the country. Most Syrian Christians adhere to the Byzantine Rite ; the two largest are the Antiochian Orthodox Church and the Melkite Greek Catholic Church . The Druze are a mountainous people who reside in Jabal al-Druze who helped spark the Great Syrian Revolt . The Ismailis are an even smaller sect that originated in Asia. Many Armenian and Assyrian Christians fled Turkey during

15400-400: The province of Bithynia and Pontus , with the rest of Mithridates' territories distributed among Roman allies. Elsewhere, Ariobarzanes I of Cappadocia was restored to his throne, while Lesser Armenia was taken from Tigranes and incorporated into Galatia , with Pompey's client Deiotarus becoming ruler of the new kingdom. Finally, Cilicia received the coastal region of Pamphylia , previously

15540-403: The rebel army. Pompey engaged Perperna in battle and defeated him swiftly at the Battle near Osca . Perperna was captured and attempted to persuade Pompey to spare him by giving over Sertorius' correspondence, allegedly containing proof of communications between the rebel leader and leading men in Rome. Pompey burned the letters unread and executed Perperna, and then spent some time restructuring

15680-596: The region, with many of its speakers having become Arabs. Those who retained the Aramaic language are divided among two groups: The Arabs in Arabia called the region of Syria region al-Sham ( Arabic : بِـلَاد الـشَّـام , romanized :  Bilād al-Šām , lit.   'the country of Sham') which became the dominant name of the Levant under the Rashidun Caliphate and its successors. The geographic designation "Syria" returned in 1864 when Ottoman Syria

15820-484: The region. Olive oil , garlic , olives , spearmint , and sesame oil are some of the ingredients that are used in many traditional meals. Traditional Syrian dishes enjoyed by Syrians include, tabbouleh , labaneh , shanklish , wara' 'enab , makdous , kebab , Kibbeh , sfiha , moutabal , hummus , mana'eesh , bameh , and fattoush . A typical Syrian breakfast is a meze . It is an assortment platter of foods with cheeses, meats, pickles, olives, and spreads. Meze

15960-627: The remnants of his army retreated to Sardinia , where he died. The Sertorian War began in 80 BC when Quintus Sertorius , a prominent proscribed Marian general, initiated a rebellion in Hispania , where he was joined by other Roman exiles like Perperna. Supported by local Iberian tribes, he took control of Hispania Ulterior and repeatedly defeated Quintus Caecilius Metellus Pius through skillful use of guerrilla warfare . Sertorius defeated other Roman generals sent to oust him and soon conquered Hispania Citerior as well. Backed by his allies in

16100-400: The restoration of Armenian territories taken by Lucullus, he paid a substantial cash indemnity and allowed Roman troops to be based on his territory. In 65 BC, Pompey set out to take Colchis, but to do so had first to subdue various local tribes and allies of Mithridrates. After winning a series of battles, he reached Phasis and linked up with Servilius, admiral of his Euxine fleet, before

16240-488: The socio-economic structure in European history that resulted in the changeover between classical antiquity and medieval society and no specific date can truly exemplify that. In politics, the late Roman conception of the Empire as a universal state, commanded by one supreme divinely appointed ruler, united with Christianity as a universal religion likewise headed by a supreme patriarch , proved very influential, even after

16380-640: The son-in-law of Servius Tullius , Superbus was of Etruscan birth. It was during his reign that the Etruscans reached their apex of power. Superbus removed and destroyed all the Sabine shrines and altars from the Tarpeian Rock , enraging the people of Rome. The people came to object to his rule when he failed to recognize the rape of Lucretia , a patrician Roman, by his own son. Lucretia's kinsman, Lucius Junius Brutus (ancestor to Marcus Brutus ), summoned

16520-725: The state, as can be seen in the architecture of the Panthéon , the Arc de Triomphe , and the paintings of Jacques-Louis David . During the revolution, France transitioned from kingdom to republic to dictatorship to Empire (complete with Imperial Eagles) that the Romans had experienced centuries earlier. Classical antiquity is a general term for a long period of cultural history . Such a wide sampling of history and territory covers many rather disparate cultures and periods. "Classical antiquity" often refers to an idealized vision of later people, of what was, in Edgar Allan Poe 's words, "the glory that

16660-560: The strict rules of the classical unities derived from Aristotle's Poetics . The desire to dance in a manner allegedly similar to the manner of the ancient Greeks caused Isadora Duncan to create her brand of ballet . Pompey People Events Places Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus ( Latin: [ˈŋnae̯ʊs pɔmˈpɛjjʊs ˈmaŋnʊs] ; 29 September 106 BC – 28 September 48 BC), known in English as Pompey ( / ˈ p ɒ m p i / POM -pee ) or Pompey

16800-670: The term "Syrian" also refer to all Syrian citizens, regardless of their ethnic background. In 2018, Syria had an estimated population of 19.5 million, which includes, aside from the aforementioned majority, Kurds , Assyrians , Turks , Armenians and others. Before the Syrian Civil War , there was quite a large Syrian diaspora that had emigrated to North America ( United States and Canada ), European Union member states (including Sweden, France, and Germany), South America (mainly in Brazil , Argentina , Venezuela , and Chile ),

16940-668: The town. While Metellus remained in the north-west, Pompey seems to have transferred to Sulla's command in the south. Pompey advanced south-west along the Via Flaminia towards Spoletium , where he joined Marcus Licinius Crassus, together they defeated Carrinas once again. Pompey laid siege to Carrinas in Spoletium but the latter managed to escape. Pompey resumed his march to join Sulla's command. Not long afterwards Pompey successfully ambushed another large force under Censorinus, which

17080-415: The traditional theory inadequate to explain the Arabs' appearance in Syria. The Arabs mentioned in Syria by Greco-Roman writers were assimilated into the newly formed "Greco–Aramaean culture" that dominated the region, and the texts they produced were written in Greek and Aramaic. Old Arabic , the precursor of Classical Arabic , was not a literary language; its speakers used Aramaic for writing purposes. On

17220-588: The union between Pompey's and Sulla's army. Pompey attacked one of these armies and routed it. The three enemy commanders, unable to agree on a course of action, withdrew. Soon after Pompey arrived at Sulla's camp. He was greeted by Sulla with the official title of Imperator (General). At some point in 83 BC, it is not clear when but definitely before the onset of winter, Sulla sent Pompey back to Picenum to raise more troops. When fighting broke out once more in 82 Sulla advanced towards Rome, while Metellus (one of his lieutenants), supported by Pompey, campaigned against

17360-440: The urban electorate. With additional support from Crassus, Caesar became one of the two consuls for 59 BC, the other being the optimate Marcus Calpurnius Bibulus . This meant Caesar could help pass legislation sponsored by Pompey and Crassus, while it was in his interest to keep them aligned, an important factor given the rivalry between his two patrons. Despite appearing to be the most junior, Caesar thus became central to

17500-577: The victory of King Sargon II in 709 BC over the seven kings of the island, marking an important part of the transfer of Cyprus from Tyrian rule to the Neo-Assyrian Empire . The Archaic period followed the Greek Dark Ages , and saw significant advancements in political theory , and the beginnings of democracy , philosophy , theatre , poetry , as well as the revitalization of the written language (which had been lost during

17640-596: Was Greece , the grandeur that was Rome !" During the 18th and 19th centuries AD, reverence for classical antiquity was much greater in Europe and the United States than it is now. Respect for the ancient people of Greece and Rome affected politics , philosophy , sculpture , literature , theatre , education , architecture , and sexuality . Epic poetry in Latin continued to be written and circulated well into

17780-512: Was Hirtuleius. Although Metellus defeated Perperna in a separate battle, Sertorius was able to withdraw to Clunia late in the year, where he repaired the walls to lure his opponents into a siege, while forming garrisons from other towns into a new field army. Once this was ready, he escaped from Clunia and used it to disrupt Roman logistics on land and by sea. Lack of supplies forced Metellus to quarter his troops in Gaul , while Pompey wintered among

17920-472: Was a serious blow to Pompey's prestige, who spent the rest of the year re-organising his army. Metellus' failure to dislodge Sertorius and Pompey's defeat meant the senatorial generals made no progress in the year. In 75 BC, Sertorius led the campaign against Metellus, while Pompey defeated his subordinates Perperna and Gaius Herennius outside Valencia . When Sertorius took over operations against Pompey, Metellus defeated his deputy Lucius Hirtuleius at

18060-442: Was already pregnant by her former husband, and died in childbirth soon after. The surviving Marians escaped to Sicily, where their ally Marcus Perperna was propraetor . They were supported by a fleet under Carbo, while Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus occupied the Roman province of Africa . Perperna abandoned Sicily after Pompey landed on the island with a large force, while Carbo was captured and later executed. Pompey claimed this

18200-535: Was also assigned Gallia Transalpina after its governor died in office, before leaving Rome to launch the Gallic Wars in 58 BC. His alliance with Pompey was strengthened when the latter married Caesar's daughter Julia. Senatorial opposition to the triumvirate was led by Cicero , a long-standing Pompeian ally. Despite this, the latter supported the populist politician Publius Clodius Pulcher in an attack on Cicero for executing Roman citizens without trial during

18340-554: Was assassinated by the courtiers of Ptolemy XIII . Pompey was born in Picenum on 29 September 106 BC, eldest son of a provincial noble called Gnaeus Pompeius Strabo . Although the dominant family in Picenum, Strabo was the first of his branch to achieve senatorial status in Rome ; he completed the traditional cursus honorum , becoming consul in 89 BC, and acquired a reputation for greed, political duplicity, and military ruthlessness. Pompey began his career serving with his father in

18480-718: Was emperor Maurice , who reigned until 602. The overthrow of Maurice by his mutinying Danube army commanded by Phocas resulted in the Slavic invasion of the Balkans and the weakening of Balkan and Greek urban culture (resulting in the flight of Balkan Latin speakers to the mountains, see Origin of the Romanians ), and also provoked the Byzantine–Sasanian War of 602–628 in which all the great eastern cities except Constantinople were lost. The resulting turmoil did not end until

18620-669: Was finally ended by the increasing power of Macedon in 346 BC. During the reign of Philip II , (359–336 BC), Macedon expanded into the territory of the Paeonians , the Thracians and the Illyrians . Philip's son, Alexander the Great , (356–323 BC) managed to briefly extend Macedonian power not only over the central Greek city-states but also to the Persian Empire , including Egypt and lands as far east as

18760-410: Was justified by Carbo's alleged crimes against Roman citizens, but his opponents nicknamed him adulescentulus carnifex , or "young butcher", as a result. Pompey now sailed for Africa, leaving Sicily in the hands of his brother-in-law, Gaius Memmius . After defeating and killing Ahenobarbus at the Battle of Utica , Pompey subdued Numidia and executed its king Hiarbas , a Marian ally. He restored

18900-477: Was killed by the rebels. Pharnaces sent his embalmed body to Pompey, in return for which he was granted the Bosporan Kingdom and made an ally of Rome. The final collapse of the Seleucid Empire allowed Pompey to annex Syria in 64 BC, but its dissolution destabilised the region, while many of its cities had used the power vacuum to achieve independence. In early 63 BC, Pompey left Antioch and marched south, occupying coastal cities like Apamea , before crossing

19040-418: Was probably during the Abbasid period in the ninth century that Christians adopted Arabic as their first language; the first translation of the gospels into Arabic took place in this century. Many historians, such as Claude Cahen and Bernard Hamilton, proposed that the Arabization of Christians was completed before the First Crusade . By the thirteenth century, the Arabic language achieved complete dominance in

19180-427: Was reorganized and the name was used for a vilayet encompassing generally the southern Levant. The use of the national designation "Syrian" however has its origin in the tense relationship between the Arabic-speaking Muslims and Christians of the Levant, where Christians wanted to distance themselves from the Muslims. Already in the 1830s, the Lebanese traveler As’ad Khayyat identified with the term Syria, but it took till

19320-437: Was strong among the Founding Fathers of the United States and the Latin American revolutionaries; the Americans described their new government as a republic (from res publica ) and gave it a Senate and a President (another Latin term), rather than use available English terms like commonwealth or parliament . Similarly in Revolutionary and Napoleonic France, republicanism and Roman martial virtues were promoted by

19460-516: Was the ability to veto Senatorial bills, an act often seen as a turning point in the politics of the late Republic. Although popular with the people, the measure must have been opposed by the optimates , and thus passing it required support from both consuls, although most extant sources barely mention Crassus. Pirates operated throughout the Mediterranean, while their fleets often formed temporary alliances with enemies of Rome, including Sertorius and Mithridates. Their power and range had increased over

19600-425: Was trying to get through to Praeneste where Carbo's consular colleague, Marius the Younger (who was the figurehead of the struggle against Sulla), was blockaded. It was the failure of these attempts to get through the Sullan blockade in Umbria and Etruria , added to Metellus's success in winning control of the north, which broke the back of the government's resistance. At the end of the campaigning season of 82,

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