The title King of Syria appeared in the second century BC in referring to the Seleucid kings who ruled the entirety of the region of Syria. It was also used to refer to Aramean kings in the Greek translations of the Old Testament, mainly indicating the kings of Aram-Damascus. Following the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in World War I, the region came under the rule of France, the United Kingdom and Prince Faisal of Hejaz, who was proclaimed King of Syria on 8 March 1920. Faisal's reign lasted a few months before he was overthrown by France and the title fell out of use.
Background
The term Syria was first applied by Herodotus in the 5th century BC to indicate a region generally extending between Anatolia and Egypt.[1][2] With the advent of the Hellenistic period, Greeks and their Seleucid dynasty used the term "Syria" to designate the region between the Mediterranean and the Euphrates.[3] The usage of the name in referring to the region during the Iron Age (ended 586 BC) is a modern practice.[1][4]
List of monarchs
Seleucid dynasty
According to Polybius, King Antigonus I Monophthalmus established the Syrian kingdom which included Coele-Syria.[5] The Seleucid king Antiochus III the Great defeated the Ptolemaic Kingdom in the Battle of Panium (200 BC); he annexed the Syrian lands controlled by Egypt (Coele-Syria) and united them with his Syrian lands, thus gaining control of the entirety of Syria.[6] Starting from the 2nd century BC, ancient writers, such as Polybius and Posidonius, began referring to the Seleucid ruler as the king of Syria.[7][8] The evidence for this title's usage by the kings is provided by the inscription of Antigonus son of Menophilus, who described himself as the "admiral of Alexander, king of Syria" (Alexander refers either to Alexander I Balas or Alexander II Zabinas).[8]
| Portrait | Monarch (and lifespan) |
Reign | Consort (and tenure) |
Parents, co-regents, and notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
Antiochus III the Great (c. 241–187 BC) |
200–187 BC | Laodice III (200–187 BC) Euboea (191–187 BC) |
|
 |
Seleucus IV Philopator (c. 218–175 BC) |
187–175 BC | Laodice IV (187–175 BC) |
|
 |
Antiochus (c. 180–170 BC) |
175–170 BC | Unmarried |
|
 |
Antiochus IV Epiphanes (c. 215–164 BC) |
175–164 BC | Laodice IV (c. 175–c. 164 BC) |
|
 |
Antiochus V Eupator (172–161 BC) |
164–162 BC | Unmarried | |
 |
Demetrius I Soter (187–150 BC) |
162–150 BC | ||
 |
Antiochus | 150 BC | ||
 |
Alexander I Balas ( –145 BC) |
150–145 BC | Cleopatra Thea (150–145 BC) |
|
 |
Demetrius II Nicator ( –125 BC) |
145–138 BC (first reign) |
Cleopatra Thea (145–138 BC) |
|
 |
Antiochus VI Dionysus (148 BC–142/141 BC) |
144–142/141 BC | Unmarried |
Non-dynastic
Diodotus Tryphon, who opposed Demetrius II by raising Antiochus VI to the throne, killed his protege and declared himself king ruling until 138 when the Seleucids unified Syria again.[27]
| Portrait | Monarch (and lifespan) |
Reign | Consort (and tenure) |
Parents, co-regents, and notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
Diodotus Tryphon ( –138 BC) |
142/141–138 BC |
|
Seleucid dynasty
| Portrait | Monarch (and lifespan) |
Reign | Consort (and tenure) |
Parents, co-regents, and notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
Antiochus VII Sidetes ( –129 BC) |
138–129 BC | Cleopatra Thea (138–129 BC) |
|
|
Demetrius II Nicator ( –125 BC) |
129–125 BC (second reign) |
Cleopatra Thea (129–125 BC) |
|
 |
Antiochus VIII Grypus ( –96 BC) |
128 BC (first reign) |
||
 |
Alexander II Zabinas ( –123 BC) |
128–123 BC |
Ptolemaic dynasty
| Portrait | Monarch (and lifespan) |
Reign | Consort (and tenure) |
Parents, co-regents, and notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
Cleopatra Thea (c. 165–121 BC) |
125–121 BC |
|
Seleucid dynasty
| Portrait | Monarch (and lifespan) |
Reign | Consort (and tenure) |
Parents, co-regents, and notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seleucus V Philometor ( –125 BC) |
125 BC | |||
|
Antiochus VIII Grypus ( –96 BC) |
125–96 BC (second reign) |
Tryphaena (124–111 BC) Cleopatra Selene (103–96 BC) |
|
 |
Antiochus IX Cyzicenus ( –95 BC) |
114–95 BC | Cleopatra IV (114–112 BC) Cleopatra Selene (96–95 BC) |
|
| Antiochus VIII died in 96 BC and Antiochus IX followed him in 95 BC;[49] the country became embroiled in a civil war in which Antiochus VIII's five sons and the descendants of Antiochus IX fought between themselves.[50] The chronology of all those monarchs is problematic and is specially vague regarding Seleucus VI's successors.[51] | ||||
 |
Demetrius III Eucaerus ( –88 BC) |
96–88 BC | ||
 |
Seleucus VI Epiphanes ( –94/93 BC) |
96–94/93 BC | ||
 |
Antiochus X Eusebes ( –92) |
95–92 BC | Cleopatra Selene (95–92 BC) |
|
 |
Antiochus XI Epiphanes ( –93 BC) |
94–93 BC | ||
 |
Philip I Philadelphus ( –83 BC) |
94–84/83 BC | ||
 |
Antiochus XII Dionysus ( –84 BC) |
87–84/83 BC | ||
Ptolemaic dynasty
| Portrait | Monarch (and lifespan) |
Reign | Consort (and tenure) |
Parents, co-regents, and notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
Cleopatra Selene (c. 135/130–69 BC) |
83–69 BC |
|
Seleucid dynasty
| Portrait | Monarch (and lifespan) |
Reign | Consort (and tenure) |
Parents, co-regents, and notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
Antiochus XIII Asiaticus (c. 94–63 BC) |
83 or 83–74 BC (first reign) |
|
Artaxiad dynasty
| Portrait | Monarch (and lifespan) |
Reign | Consort (and tenure) |
Parents, co-regents, and notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
Tigranes the Great (140–55 BC) |
83/74–69 BC |
|
Seleucid dynasty
| Portrait | Monarch (and lifespan) |
Reign | Consort (and tenure) |
Parents, co-regents, and notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Antiochus XIII Asiaticus (c. 94–63 BC) |
69–67 BC (second reign) |
||
| Philip II Philoromaeus ( –after 57 BC) |
67–65 BC |
| ||
|
Antiochus XIII Asiaticus (c. 94–63 BC) |
65–64 BC (third reign) |
|
Antonian dynasty
| Portrait | Monarch (and lifespan) |
Reign | Consort (and tenure) |
Parents, co-regents, and notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ptolemy Philadelphus (36–after 30 BC) |
34–30 BC |
|
Hashemite dynasty
On 8 March 1920, prince Faysal of the House of Hashim, supported by the Syrian National Congress, declared himself king of the Arab Kingdom of Syria; the kingdom collapsed on 24 July of the same year.[76]
| Portrait | Name (and lifespan) |
Reign | Consort (and tenure) |
Standard | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
Faisal (20 May 1885 – 8 September 1933) |
8 March 1920 – 24 July 1920 | Huzaima bint Nasser (8 March 1920 – 24 July 1920) |
.svg) |
|
Biblical usage for Aramean kings
In the first translation of the Old Testament into Greek written during the third century BC (called the Septuagint),[79] Aram and Arameans were often translated as Syria and the Syrians;[80][81] hence, the king was referred to as the king of Syria,[82] and this was carried on by many English translations.[80] Aram in the Hebrew Old Testament and Syria in the translation indicated the kingdom of Aram-Damascus most of the times.[80] Occasionally, other Aramean regions were also referred to as Syria.[80] In the view of W. Edward Glenny, the rendering of Aram by Syria might be explained by an anti-Syrian bias, since at the time of the translation, Syria belonged to the Seleucids, the Jews' main enemy; Aram-Damascus was the Jews' enemy during its Iron Age prime in the 9th century BC.[83]
Aramean kings referred to as "kings of Syria"
| Portrait | Name | Reign | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rezon | 10th century BC | ||
| Hezion | 10th century BC | ||
| Ben-Hadad I |
| ||
| Ben-Hadad II | |||
 |
Hazael | c. 842–800 BC |
|
| Ben-Hadad III |
| ||
| Rezin | 750s–733 BC |
|
See also
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Notes
- There is no reason to believe that Laodice III fell from grace as she survived her husband and was honoured throughout his and his successors reigns.[12] Seleucid monarchs did not engage in polygamy and even the most hostile accounts, aside from the propagandistic work of Polybius, do not accuse Antiochus III with the act.[12] Paul J. Kosmin suggests a solution for the problem of Antiochus' second wife; according to Polybius, Euboea was a name given by Antiochus to his second wife and it is the name of her island.[12] Hence, in the view of Kosmin, by marrying this girl, Antiochus signified that he was marrying the island which the girl became its symbol.[12]
- Fritz Heichelheim proposed three possibilities: Antiochus was Demetrius I's son Antigonus who assumed the dynastic name Antiochus, a pretender, or Demetrius I's youngest son Antiochus VII.[24] Alfred Raymond Bellinger considered the suggestion of Antiochus VII the most credible.[25]
- Josephus placed Antiochus' murder after the end of Demetrius II's first reign and Diodorus Siculus placed the usurpation of Diodotus Tryphon in the consular year 138 BC.[33] However, the last coins struk in Antiochus' name date to the year142/141 BC indicating that he was murdered around that time.[33]
- Alexander fabricated a genealogy that presented him as the son of Alexander I Balas according to Poseidonius, or the adopted son of Antiochus VII according to Justin.[38]
- In 2002, numismatist Brian Kritt announced the discovery and decipherment of a coin bearing the portrait of Cleopatra Selene and a co-ruler;[64][65] Kritt read the name of the ruler as Seleucus Philometor and, based on the epithet "Philometor", meaning mother loving, identified him with Cleopatra Selene's son, unnamed by Cicero.[66] Kritt gave the newly discovered ruler the regnal name Seleucus VII, and considered it very likely that he is identical with Kybiosaktes.[67] The reading of "Seleucus VII" was accepted by some scholars such as Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones and Michael Roy Burgess,[68][69] but Oliver D Hoover rejected Kritt's reading, noting that the coin was badly damaged and some letters were unreadable; Hoover read the king's name as Antiochus and identified him with Antiochus XIII.[65]
References
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