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List of Syrian monarchs

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Template:Short description

File:SASH D050 Map of ancient syria.jpg
The region of Syria

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.

BackgroundEdit

{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} The term Syria was first applied by Herodotus in the 5th century BC to indicate a region generally extending between Anatolia and Egypt.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn 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.Template:Sfn The usage of the name in referring to the region during the Iron Age (ended 586 BC) is a modern practice.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn

List of monarchsEdit

Seleucid dynastyEdit

According to Polybius, King Antigonus I Monophthalmus established the Syrian kingdom which included Coele-Syria.Template:Sfn 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.Template:Sfn Starting from the 2nd century BC, ancient writers, such as Polybius and Posidonius, began referring to the Seleucid ruler as the king of Syria.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn 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).Template:Sfn

Portrait Monarch
(and lifespan) 		Reign Consort
(and tenure) 		Parents, co-regents, and notes
File:Antiochos III coin cropped.jpg Antiochus III the Great
(c. 241–187 BC) 		200–187 BC Laodice III
(200–187 BC)
Euboea
(191–187 BC)
  • Son of Seleucus II Callinicus and Laodice II.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn He appointed his eldest son Antiochus, who preceded him in death, as co-king.<ref group="note">Antiochus son of Antiochus III was made co-king in 209 BC and died in 193 BC.Template:Sfn</ref>Template:Sfn
  • Antiochus III's second wife is attested in the hostile work of Polybius and the story is debated.<ref group="note">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.Template:Sfn 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.Template:Sfn 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.Template:Sfn Hence, in the view of Kosmin, by marrying this girl, Antiochus signified that he was marrying the island which the girl became its symbol.Template:Sfn</ref>Template:Sfn
File:Seleucus IV Philopator.png Seleucus IV Philopator
(c. 218–175 BC) 		187–175 BC Laodice IV
(187–175 BC)
File:Antiochos, son of Seleukos IV obverse.jpg Antiochus
(c. 180–170 BC) 		175–170 BC Unmarried
  • Son of Seleucus IV and Laodice IV.Template:Sfn The minister Heliodorus held real power,Template:Sfn then Antiochus was made co-king by his uncle Antiochus IV.<ref group="note">Antiochus was a child of 4 or 5 years when he ascended the throne.Template:Sfn Heliodorus might have killed Seleucus IV,Template:Sfn before being removed by Antiochus IV who kept his nephew as co-king before killing him in 170 BC.Template:Sfn</ref>Template:Sfn
File:Antiochos IV Epiphanes face.png Antiochus IV Epiphanes
(c. 215–164 BC) 		175–164 BC Laodice IV
(c. 175–c. 164 BC)
File:Antiochos V Eupator tetradrachm obverse.jpg Antiochus V Eupator
(172–161 BC) 		164–162 BC Unmarried
File:Demetrius I.png Demetrius I Soter
(187–150 BC) 		162–150 BC
File:Antiochus of 150 BC.png Antiochus 150 BC
File:Alexander I Syria.jpg Alexander I Balas
( –145 BC) 		150–145 BC Cleopatra Thea
(150–145 BC)
  • Claimed to be a son of Antiochus IV.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn He could have been an illegitimate son of Antiochus by a concubine named Antiochis.<ref group="note">Appian called Balas Alexandros Nothos (Alexander the bastard); this bastardy could have been the reason for the doubts ancient writers showed regarding Alexander's paternity.Template:Sfn</ref>Template:Sfn
File:DemetriusII, coin, face.jpg Demetrius II Nicator
( –125 BC) 		145–138 BC
(first reign) 		Cleopatra Thea
(145–138 BC)
File:AntiochusVI, coin, face.jpg Antiochus VI Dionysus
(148 BC–142/141 BC) 		144–142/141 BC Unmarried
  • Son of Alexander I and Cleopatra Thea.Template:Sfn Was proclaimed king against Demetrius II by general Diodotus Tryphon who held actual power and eventually killed Antiochus.<ref group="note">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.Template:Sfn However, the last coins struk in Antiochus' name date to the year142/141 BC indicating that he was murdered around that time.Template:Sfn</ref>Template:Sfn

Non-dynasticEdit

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.Template:Sfn

Portrait Monarch
(and lifespan) 		Reign Consort
(and tenure) 		Parents, co-regents, and notes
File:Tryphon.png Diodotus Tryphon
( –138 BC) 		142/141–138 BC
  • Last coins date to 138 BC but his reign might have lasted into early 137 BC.Template:Sfn

Seleucid dynastyEdit

Portrait Monarch
(and lifespan) 		Reign Consort
(and tenure) 		Parents, co-regents, and notes
File:Antiochos VII.jpg Antiochus VII Sidetes
( –129 BC) 		138–129 BC Cleopatra Thea
(138–129 BC)
File:DemetriusII, coin, face.jpg Demetrius II Nicator
( –125 BC) 		129–125 BC
(second reign) 		Cleopatra Thea
(129–125 BC)
  • Was released by the Parthians and regained his throne and wife following Antiochus VII's death in a battle against Parthia.Template:Sfn
File:Antiochus VIII face.png Antiochus VIII Grypus
( –96 BC) 		128 BC
(first reign)
  • Son of Demetrius II and Cleopatra Thea.Template:Sfn He was elevated as king by his mother in an attempt to establish her authority.Template:Sfn
File:Aleksander II Zabinas face.png Alexander II Zabinas
( –123 BC) 		128–123 BC
  • Claimed to be of Seleucid heritage.<ref group="note">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.Template:Sfn</ref>Template:Sfn Declared himself king in opposition to Demetrius II.Template:Sfn

Ptolemaic dynastyEdit

Portrait Monarch
(and lifespan) 		Reign Consort
(and tenure) 		Parents, co-regents, and notes
File:Cleopatra Thea face.png Cleopatra Thea
(c. 165–121 BC) 		125–121 BC

Seleucid dynastyEdit

Portrait Monarch
(and lifespan) 		Reign Consort
(and tenure) 		Parents, co-regents, and notes
Seleucus V Philometor
( –125 BC) 		125 BC
  • Son of Demetrius II and Cleopatra Thea.Template:Sfn
  • He declared himself king following his father's murder against the wishes of his mother who killed him.Template:Sfn
File:Antiochus VIII face.png Antiochus VIII Grypus
( –96 BC) 		125–96 BC
(second reign) 		Tryphaena
(124–111 BC)
Cleopatra Selene
(103–96 BC)
  • Due to the discontent arising from her becoming a queen regnant, Cleopatra Thea elevated Antiochus VIII as co-king.<ref group="note">In 124/123 BC,Template:Sfn he married Tryphaena who was murdered in 111 BC by Antiochus IX.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn By 103 BC, he married Tryphaena's sister Cleopatra Selene.Template:Sfn</ref>Template:Sfn
File:Antiochus IX face.png Antiochus IX Cyzicenus
( –95 BC) 		114–95 BC Cleopatra IV
(114–112 BC)
Cleopatra Selene
(96–95 BC)
  • Son of Antiochus VII and Cleopatra Thea.Template:Sfn
  • He rose against Antiochus VIII with the help of Cleopatra IV.Template:Sfn
Antiochus VIII died in 96 BC and Antiochus IX followed him in 95 BC;Template:Sfn the country became embroiled in a civil war in which Antiochus VIII's five sons and the descendants of Antiochus IX fought between themselves.Template:Sfn The chronology of all those monarchs is problematic and is specially vague regarding Seleucus VI's successors.Template:Sfn
File:DemetriusIII.png Demetrius III Eucaerus
( –88 BC) 		96–88 BC
File:Seleucus VI Epiphanes.png Seleucus VI Epiphanes
( –94/93 BC) 		96–94/93 BC
File:Antioco X Eusebes.jpg Antiochus X Eusebes
( –92) 		95–92 BC Cleopatra Selene
(95–92 BC)
  • Son of Antiochus IX and a first wife whose name is lost.Template:Sfn
  • Avenged his father and killed Seleucus VI.<ref group="note">His reign might have actually ended in 89/88 BC.Template:Sfn</ref>Template:Sfn He married his step-mother.Template:Sfn
File:Antiochus 11.png Antiochus XI Epiphanes
( –93 BC) 		94–93 BC
File:Philipus I.png Philip I Philadelphus
( –83 BC) 		94–84/83 BC
  • Son of Antiochus VIII and Tryphaena.Template:Sfn Took the throne with his twin Antiochus XI.<ref group="note">Philip's death date is unknown but traditionally assumed to be the year 84 or 83 BC.Template:Sfn Although there is a possibility that he ruled until 75 BC.Template:Sfn</ref>Template:Sfn
File:Antiochus XII.jpg Antiochus XII Dionysus
( –84 BC) 		87–84/83 BC

Ptolemaic dynastyEdit

Portrait Monarch
(and lifespan) 		Reign Consort
(and tenure) 		Parents, co-regents, and notes
File:Obverse of cleopatra selene.png Cleopatra Selene
(c. 135/130–69 BC) 		83–69 BC

Seleucid dynastyEdit

Portrait Monarch
(and lifespan) 		Reign Consort
(and tenure) 		Parents, co-regents, and notes
File:Antiochus XIII face.jpg Antiochus XIII Asiaticus
(c. 94–63 BC) 		83 or 83–74 BC
(first reign)
  • Son of Antiochus X and Cleopatra Selene.Template:Sfn
  • Might have had a brother, Seleucus VII Philometer, as a co-ruler.<ref group="note">In 2002, numismatist Brian Kritt announced the discovery and decipherment of a coin bearing the portrait of Cleopatra Selene and a co-ruler;Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn 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.Template:Sfn Kritt gave the newly discovered ruler the regnal name Seleucus VII, and considered it very likely that he is identical with Kybiosaktes.Template:Sfn The reading of "Seleucus VII" was accepted by some scholars such as Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones and Michael Roy Burgess,Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn 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.Template:Sfn</ref>Template:Sfn

Artaxiad dynastyEdit

Portrait Monarch
(and lifespan) 		Reign Consort
(and tenure) 		Parents, co-regents, and notes
File:Coin of Tigranes II the Great, Antioch mint.jpg Tigranes the Great
(140–55 BC) 		83/74–69 BC
  • King of Armenia, invaded Syria; the year of the invasion is up to debate and is traditionally given as 83 BC based on the account of Appian.Template:Sfn The date of the invasion might actually be later, around 74 BC.Template:Sfn The Armenian king captured Cleopatra Selene and killed her in 69 BC,Template:Sfn but he was forced by the Romans to evacuate Syria the same year.Template:Sfn

Seleucid dynastyEdit

Portrait Monarch
(and lifespan) 		Reign Consort
(and tenure) 		Parents, co-regents, and notes
File:Antiochus XIII face.jpg Antiochus XIII Asiaticus
(c. 94–63 BC) 		69–67 BC
(second reign)
  • The Roman general Pompey confirmed Antiochus as king following Tigranes departure.Template:Sfn
Philip II Philoromaeus
( –after 57 BC) 		67–65 BC
File:Antiochus XIII face.jpg Antiochus XIII Asiaticus
(c. 94–63 BC) 		65–64 BC
(third reign)

Antonian dynastyEdit

Portrait Monarch
(and lifespan) 		Reign Consort
(and tenure) 		Parents, co-regents, and notes
Ptolemy Philadelphus
(36–after 30 BC) 		34–30 BC

Hashemite dynastyEdit

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.Template:Sfn

Portrait Name
(and lifespan) 		Reign Consort
(and tenure) 		Standard Notes
File:King Faisal I of Syria in July 1920.jpg Faisal
(20 May 1885 – 8 September 1933) 		8 March 1920 – 24 July 1920 Huzaima bint Nasser
(8 March 1920 – 24 July 1920) 		File:Royal Standard of the King of Syria (1920).svg

Biblical usage for Aramean kingsEdit

In the first translation of the Old Testament into Greek written during the third century BC (called the Septuagint),Template:Sfn Aram and Arameans were often translated as Syria and the Syrians;Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn hence, the king was referred to as the king of Syria,Template:Sfn and this was carried on by many English translations.Template:Sfn Aram in the Hebrew Old Testament and Syria in the translation indicated the kingdom of Aram-Damascus most of the times.Template:Sfn Occasionally, other Aramean regions were also referred to as Syria.Template:Sfn 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.Template:Sfn

Aramean kings referred to as "kings of Syria"Edit

Portrait Name Reign Notes
Rezon 10th century BC
Hezion 10th century BC
Ben-Hadad I
Ben-Hadad II
File:Hazael bust.jpg Hazael c. 842–800 BC
Ben-Hadad III
  • The only king mentioned by the name "Ben-Hadad" both in the Old Testament and extra-biblical sources.Template:Sfn
Rezin 750s–733 BC

See alsoEdit

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NotesEdit

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ReferencesEdit

CitationsEdit

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SourcesEdit

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Template:Syria topics

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