John Selden's 1617 section on the name of Syria and Assyria, from the 1629 edition
The name Syria is latinized from the Greek Συρία (Suría). In toponymic typology, the term Syria is classified among choronyms (proper names of regions and countries). The origin and usage of the term has been the subject of interest, both among ancient writers and modern scholars. In early Hittite, Luwian, Cilician and Greek usage between the 9th century BC and 2nd century BC, the terms Συρία (Suría) and Ασσυρία (Assuría) were used almost interchangeably.[1][2][3][4] In the Roman Empire, the terms Syria and Assyria came to be used as names for distinct geographical regions. "Syria" in the Roman period referred to the region of Syria (the western Levant), while Assyria (Asōristān, Athura) was part of the Parthian Empire and then Sasanian Empire and only very briefly came under Roman control, AD 116–118, marking the historical peak of Roman expansion. Henceforth, the Greeks then applied the term "Syrian" without distinction between the actual Assyrians of Mesopotamia, Northeast Syria and Southeast Anatolia, and now also to the Arameans and Phoenicians of the Levant who had not previously had the term applied to them or their lands.[citation needed]
Etymologically, the name Syria is linked to Assyria (Akkadian Aššur), which was a major ancient Mesopotamian civilization founded in modern-day northern Iraq founded in the 25th century BC. It expanded to include parts of Southeastern Anatolia and Northeastern Syria by the late Bronze Age, and whose empire eventually conquered much of Western Asia during the Iron Age, reaching Cyprus to the west Caucasus to the north, Persia to the east and Egypt and Arabia to the south. During the Middle Assyrian Empire (1365-1050 BC) Syria, apart from the Assyrian northeast corner, was known as "The Land of the Amorites" (Amurru). During the Neo-Assyrian Empire (911-605 BC) it was referred to as Eber Nari and Aram. These designations for modern Syria were continued by the Achaemenid Empire (539-332 BC), while Assyria remained known as Assyria by the Achaemenids.
Theodor Nöldeke in 1871 was the second to give philological support to the assumption that Syria and Assyria have the same etymology,[5][6] following a suggestion going back to John Selden (1617).[7] Current modern academic opinion strongly favours the connection.
Modern Syria (Arabic: الجمهورية العربية السورية "Syrian Arab Republic", since 1961) inherits its name from the Ottoman Syria vilayet (Vilâyet-i Sûriye), established in 1865. The choice of the ancient regional name, instead of a more common Ottoman practice of naming provinces according to provincial capitals, was seen as a reflection of growing historical consciousness among the local intellectuals at the time.[8]
The Classical Arabic name for the region is بلاد اَلشَّأمbilād aš-ša'm ("The land of Shem") eldest son of Noah, Modern Standard Arabic اَلشَّامaš-šām) from شأمš'm "left hand; northern".[9] In contrast, Baalshamin (Imperial Aramaic: ܒܥܠ ܫܡܝܢ, romanized: Lord of Heaven(s)),[10][11] was a Semitic sky-god in Canaan/Phoenicia and ancient Palmyra.[12][13] Hence, Sham refers to (heaven or sky).
^Frye 1992, p. 281.
^Frye 1997, p. 30.
^Joseph 1997, p. 37-38.
^Messo 2011, p. 113.
^Nöldeke 1871, p. 443–468.
^Messo 2011, p. 111.
^Rollinger 2006b, p. 283.
^Masters 2013, p. 177, 181-182.
^The Levant as "the northern region" (as seen from Arabia), from the convention of east-oriented maps. Lane, Arabic Lexicon (1863) I.1400.
^Teixidor, Javier (2015). The Pagan God: Popular Religion in the Greco-Roman Near East. Princeton University Press. p. 27. ISBN 9781400871391. Retrieved 14 August 2017.
^Beattie, Andrew; Pepper, Timothy (2001). The Rough Guide to Syria. Rough Guides. p. 290. ISBN 9781858287188. Retrieved 14 August 2017.
^Dirven, Lucinda (1999). The Palmyrenes of Dura-Europos: A Study of Religious Interaction in Roman Syria. BRILL. p. 76. ISBN 978-90-04-11589-7. Retrieved 17 July 2012.
^J.F. Healey (2001). The Religion of the Nabataeans: A Conspectus. BRILL. p. 126. ISBN 9789004301481. Retrieved 14 August 2017.
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