Editing History of the ancient Levant (section)

==Roman period==
The [[Roman Republic|Romans]] gained a foothold in the region in 64 BC after permanently defeating the [[Seleucid dynasty|Seleucids]] and [[Tigranes the Great|Tigranes]]. [[Pompey]] deposed the last Seleucid king [[Philip II Philoromaeus]], and incorporated Syria into Roman domains. However, the Romans only gradually incorporated local kingdoms into [[Roman province|provinces]], which gave them considerable autonomy in local affairs. The [[Herodian Kingdom of Judea]] replaced the [[Hasmonean dynasty|Hasmonians]] in 37 BC until their full incorporation of the [[Judaea (Roman province)|province of Judaea]] in 44 CE after [[Herod Agrippa II]]. [[Commagene]] and [[Osroene]] were incorporated in 72 and 214 CE respectively, while [[Nabatea]] was incorporated as [[Arabia Petraea]] in 106 CE.

Between the 1st and 3rd centuries, the [[Levant]]'s population reached an estimated 3.5 to 6 million, population levels only later matched by those of the 19th century. Urban centers peaked and so did population density in the rural settlements. [[Antioch]] and [[Palmyra]] reached a peak of 200,000–250,000 inhabitants, while [[Apamea, Syria|Apamea]] counted 117,000 'free citizens' circa AD 6. Combined with the dependencies and villages, Apamea may have, in fact, counted as high as 500,000. The [[Syrian Coastal Mountain Range]], a marginal hill country, was less densely settled and had a population of around 40–50,000.<ref name="Kennedy">{{cite web |last1=Kennedy |first1=David L. |title=Demography, the Population of Syria and the Census of Q. Aemilius Secundus |url=https://www.academia.edu/11730357 |website=Academia|date=January 2006 }}</ref> Provinces of [[Palestine (region)|Palestine]] and Transjordan accounted for roughly 800,000–1,200,000 of the population.<ref name="Kennedy"/> The first to second centuries saw the emergence of a plethora of religions and philosophical schools. [[Neoplatonism]] emerged with [[Iamblichus]] and [[Porphyry (philosopher)|Porphyry]], [[Neopythagoreanism|Neopythagorianism]] with [[Apollonius of Tyana]] and [[Numenius of Apamea]], and Hellenic Judaism with [[Philo of Alexandria]]. [[Christianity]] initially emerged as a sect of [[Judaism]] and finally as an independent religion by the mid-second century. [[Gnosticism]] also took significant hold in the region.

The region of [[Palestine (region)|Palestine]] or [[Judea]] experienced abrupt periods of conflict between Romans and Jews. The [[First Jewish–Roman War]] (66–73) erupted in 66, resulting in the [[Siege of Jerusalem (70 CE)|destruction of Jerusalem and the Second Temple]] in 70. Province forces were directly engaged in the war; in 66 AD, [[Cestius Gallus]] sent the Syrian army, based on [[Legio X Fretensis]] and [[Legio XII Fulminata]] reinforced by ''[[vexillatio]]nes'' of IV ''Scythica'' and VI ''Ferrata'', to restore order in Judaea and quell the revolt, but suffered a defeat in the [[Battle of Beth Horon (66)|Battle of Beth Horon]]. However, XII ''Fulminata'' fought well in the last part of the war, and supported its commander [[Vespasian]] in his successful bid for the imperial throne.<ref>Parker, ''Roman Legions'', pp. 138f</ref> Two generations later, the [[Bar Kokhba revolt]] (132–136) erupted once again, after which the province [[Syria Palaestina]] was created in 132.

[[File:Palmyrene Empire.png|thumb|Palmyrene Empire in 271]]

During the [[Crisis of the Third Century]], the Sassanids under [[Shapur I]] invaded the Levant and captured Roman emperor [[Valerian (emperor)|Valerian]] in the [[Battle of Edessa]]. A Syrian notable of [[Palmyra]], [[Odaenathus]] assembled the Palmyrene army and Syrian peasants, and marched north to meet Shapur I.<ref name="SmithII">{{cite book|title=Roman Palmyra: Identity, Community, and State Formation|first= Andrew M.|last=Smith II|publisher=Oxford University Press|year= 2013|isbn= 978-0-19-986110-1}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Empress Zenobia: Palmyra's Rebel Queen|first= Patricia|last=Southern|publisher=A&C Black|year= 2008|isbn= 978-1-4411-4248-1}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=The Roman Empire from Severus to Constantine|first= Patricia|last=Southern|publisher=Routledge|year= 2015|isbn= 978-1-317-49694-6}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|title=Odaenathus and the Roman-Persian War of 252-264 A.D.|first= Lukas|last=de Blois|publisher= Brill|journal=Talanta – Proceedings of the Dutch Archaeological and Historical Society|volume=VI|year=1975|issn=0165-2486|oclc=715781891}}</ref> The Palmyrene monarch fell upon the retreating Persian army between [[Samosata]] and [[Zeugma, Commagene|Zeugma]], west of the Euphrates, in late summer 260, defeating and expelling them.<ref>{{cite book|first1= Michael H|last1=Dodgeon|first2=Samuel N. C |last2= Lieu|title= The Roman Eastern Frontier and the Persian Wars AD 226–363: A Documentary History| year=2002| publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-134-96113-9}}</ref><ref name="Udo"/> After eliminating Roman usurpers in Syria –[[Balista]] and [[Quietus]]– in 261, Odaeanathus penetrated the Sassanid province of [[Asoristan|Asōristān]] in late 262 and laid siege to the Sassanid capital, [[Ctesiphon]] in 263.<ref name="Udo">{{cite book|first= Udo|last=Hartmann|title=Das Palmyrenische Teilreich|year=2001|publisher=Franz Steiner Verlag|language= de|isbn=978-3-515-07800-9}}</ref> However, logistical problems meant the siege could not continue for long, and soon after Odaenathus broke the siege and brought numerous prisoners and booty to Rome.<ref name="Udo"/> After his return, Odaenathus assumed the title of [[King of Kings]] of the East (''Mlk Mlk dy Mdnh'' / ''Rex Regum'').<ref>{{cite book|title= Roman Syria and the Near East|first= Kevin|last=Butcher|year=2003|publisher=Getty Publications|isbn=978-0-89236-715-3}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last=Potter|first=David S.|year= 1996|title=Palmyra and Rome: Odaenathus' Titulature and the Use of the Imperium Maius|journal= Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik|publisher=Dr. Rudolf Habelt GmbH|volume=113|issn=0084-5388}}</ref> Odaenathus was succeeded by his son [[Vaballathus]] under the regency of his mother Queen [[Zenobia]]. In 270, Zenobia detached from Roman authority and declared the [[Palmyrene Empire]], rapidly conquering much of Syria, [[Egypt]], [[Arabia Petraea]] and large parts of [[Asia Minor]], reaching present-day [[Ankara]].<ref name="SmithII"/> However, by 273, Zenobia was decisively defeated by [[Aurelian]] and his Arab [[Tanukhid]] allies in Syria.<ref name="SmithII"/><ref name="zenoksa">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=41-MAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA302|title=Ancient Syria: A Three Thousand Year History|author= Trevor Bryce|page= 302|year= 2004|publisher=OUP Oxford |isbn=978-0-19-100293-9}}</ref>

Following the permanent division of the Roman Empire in 391, the Levantine provinces became part of the [[Byzantine Empire]]. In the southern Levant, a newly established [[foederati]] were crystallizing, the [[Ghassanid]] Arabs. The Ghassanids became a client state of the Byzantines, and served as a bulwark against Sassanid incursions and raids by nomads.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Shahid |first1=Irfan |title=Byzantium And The Arabs In The Fourth Century |date=1984 |publisher=Dumbarton Oaks |isbn=9780884021162 |url=https://archive.org/details/byzantium-and-the-arabs-in-the-fourth-century/}}</ref> With the consolidation of [[Christianity]], Jews had become a minority in southern Levant, remaining a majority only in Southern Judea, [[Galilee]] and [[Golan]]. Jewish revolts had also become much rarer, mostly with the [[Jewish revolt against Constantius Gallus]] (351–352) and [[Jewish revolt against Heraclius]] (617). This time the [[Samaritans]], whose population swelled to over a million, insurrected the [[Samaritan revolts]] (484–572) against the Byzantines, which killed an estimated 200,000 Samaritans,<ref name="Alan David Crown 1989, pp. 75–76">Alan David Crown, ''The Samaritans'', Mohr Siebeck, 1989, {{ISBN|3-16-145237-2}}, pp. 75–76.</ref> after the civil uprising of [[Baba Rabba]] and his subsequent execution in 328/362.

The devastating [[Byzantine–Sasanian War of 602–628]] ended with Byzantine recapture of the land, but left the empire rather exhausted, which taxed the inhabitants heavily. The Levant became the frontline between the Byzantines and the Persian [[Sasanian Empire|Sassanids]], which devastated the region.<ref>{{Citation|title=The Roman Eastern Frontier and the Persian Wars (Part II, 363-630 AD)|last1=Dodgeon |first1=Michael H.|last2=Greatrex|first2=Geoffrey|last3=Lieu|first3= Samuel N. C.|year=2002|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-0-415-00342-1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zoZIxpQ8A2IC|postscript=.}}</ref><ref name="Kaegi">{{Citation|last=Kaegi|first=Walter Emil|author-link=Walter Kaegi|title=Byzantium and the early Islamic conquests|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=1995|orig-year=1992|isbn=978-0-521-48455-8|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IvPVEb17uzkC|postscript=.}}</ref><ref>{{Citation|title=The Roman Eastern Frontier and the Persian Wars (Part II, 363-630 AD) |last1=Reinink|first1=Bernard H.|last2=Stolte|first2=Geoffrey|last3=Groningen|first3=Rijksuniversiteit te|year=2002|publisher=Peeters Publishers|isbn=978-90-429-1228-1|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0ytkockAajMC|postscript=.}}</ref> The war triggered the displacement of many inhabitants from Syria and Palestine to [[Egypt]], and from there to [[Carthage]] and [[Sicily]],<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Theodoropoulos |first1=Panagiotis |title=The Migration of Syrian and Palestinian Populations in the 7th Century: Movement of Individuals and Groups in the Mediterranean |journal=Migration Histories of the Medieval Afroeurasian Transition Zone |date=2020 |pages=261–287 |doi=10.1163/9789004425613_011 |series=Studies in Global Social History, Volume: 39/13 and Studies in Global Migration History, Volume: 39/13 |publisher=Brill |location=Leiden, The Netherlands|isbn=9789004425613 |s2cid=218995707 |doi-access=free }}</ref> although archaeological evidence suggests smooth continuity and little displacement of the overall population.<ref name = "Phoenicia">{{cite book |title= Itineraria Phoenicia|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=SLSzNfdcqfoC&q=Opusculum+de+Persica+captivitate&pg=PA542| author = Edward Lipiński |publisher = Peeters Publishers |pages = 542–543 |year = 2004 |access-date=11 March 2014|isbn = 978-90-429-1344-8}}</ref>