Syria
Syria, Key events in the history of Syria include:c2100 BC Amorites (Semites) settled in the area of Syria.15th-13th cents. BC Syria part of the Hittite Empire, alternating with Egyptian overlordship.8th cent. BC Most of the area conquered and made part of the Assyrian Empire.538 BC Persia conquered the region.333-332 BC Alexander the Great made Syria part of his empire.312-64 BC Seleucid dynasty in power in Syria and environs; established by Seleucus I following breakup of Alexander the Great’s empire.64 BC Domains of Seleucid Empire (greatly reduced) made into a Roman province by Pompey.
Syria
Syr-ia e- 1. or Heb. Aram ram, er-m Arab. Ash Sham or Esh Sham sham Ancient country, Asia, at E end of Mediterranean Sea, incl. modern Syria, Lebanon, Israel, and Jordan.History: Evidence of human inhabitation for several thousand years; from mid-3d millennium B.C. under control variously of Sumerians, Akkadians, Amorites, Egyptians, Assyrians, and Babylonians; became part of Persian Empire 6th cent. B.C. ; conquered by Macedonian King Alexander the Great 4th cent. B.C. ; ruled by the Seleucids who carried on war against Egypt in 3d cent B.C. ; made a Roman province by Pompey the Great 64 B.C.
Alexander the Great
Alexander the Great, (Alexander III) 356-323 BC. Macedonian king (336-323 BC), successor to his father, Philip II. One of the world’s greatest conquerors, he created a vast empire extending from Greece to northern India, and, by his conquests, helped spread Greek civilization throughout the ancient world. Soon after becoming king, Alexander crushed revolts in Thrace, Illyria, and Thebes. His rule in Greece thus established, he began his epic military expedition (334-324 BC) with some 37,000 soldiers and the initial objective of conquering Persia. He met and defeated the Persians at the battles of Granicus (334) and Issus (in Syria, 333), laid siege to and finally took Tyre (332) to complete conquest of Phoenicia, marched unopposed into Egypt (332-331), and there founded the great city of Alexandria (332). He again defeated the Persians at the Battle of Gaugamela (331), sent Persian king Darius III into flight, and sacked the Persian capital of Persepolis (331). He continued eastward to Media (330) and central Asia, where he invaded Scythia (329). Despite open discontent in his army (over his acceptance of Persian manners and increasingly autocratic rule), Alexander invaded India (327). After the Battle of Hydaspes (326), he took control of the Punjab and, his men unwilling to go farther, returned to Persia (324). He subsequently consolidated Macedonian control of his conquests and attempted to integrate Greeks and Persians by, among other things, ordering his soldiers to marry Persian women. The hero of these great conquests, and such legendary feats as cutting the Gordian Knot, died shortly after a prolonged banquet in 323. His conquests created a short-lived empire that imposed a common currency and common system of laws on the diverse cultures it embraced. New roads and increased trade between the various parts of the empire brought a period of prosperity. A builder as well as a conqueror, Alexander built over 70 cities before his death. (See also Macedonia.)