POLITICAL GEOGRAPHY. — Syria has passed through many changes. Its ancient divisions were numerous, and constantly varying. The provinces of the Biblical Aram have already been noticed. [ARAm.] Phcenicia was generally regarded as a distinct principality [PlicEructa], and the warlike tribes of Lebanon appear to have remained almost in a state of independence from the earliest ages. [LEBANoN.] The political divisions, as enumerated by Greek and Roman geographers, are indefinite and almost unintelligible. Strabo mentions five great provinces Commagene, a small territory in the extreme north, with Samosata for capital, situated on the Euphrates ; 2. Seleucia, lying south of the former, was subdivided into four dis tricts according to the number of its chief cities : (1.) Antioch Epidaphne ; (2.) Seleucia, in Pieria ; (3.) Apamea ; and (4.) Laodicia. In the district of Antioch was another subdivision, situated near the Euphrates, and called Cyrrhestice, from the town Cyrrhestis, which contained a celebrated temple of Diana. Southward were two subdi visions (apparently) of Apamia, called Parapota mia and Chalcidice, bordering on the Euphrates. and inhabited by Scenit. The territory of Laodicia extended south to the river Eleutherus, where it bordered on Phcenice and Ccclesyria. 3. Ccelesyria, comprising Laodicia ad Libanum, Chalcis, Abilene, Damascus, Iturfea, and others farther south, included in Palestine ; 4. Phanicia ; 5. judlea (Geogr. xvi. pp. 748, seq.) Pliny's divisions are still more numerous than those of Strabo. It appears that each city on
rising to importance gave its name to a surround ing territory, larger or smaller, and this in time assumed the rank of a province (Pliny, IL N. v. 14-20.
Ptolemy mentions thirteen provinces :—Com magene, Pieria, Cyrrhestica, Seleucis, Casiotis, Cha libonitis, Chalcis, Apamene, Laodicene, Phcenicia, Ccelesyria, Palmyrene, and Batanea, and he gives a long list of the cities contained in them. He ex cludes Palestine altogether (Geogr. v. 15).
Under the Romans Syria became a province of the empire. Some portions of it were permitted to remain for a time under the rule of petty princes.
dependent on the imperial government. Gradually, however. all these were incorporated, and Antioch was capital. Under Hadrian the province was divided into two parts :—Syria Major on the north, and Syria-Phceniee on the south. Towards the close of the 4th century another partition of Syria was made, and formed the basis of its ecclesiastical government : Syria Prima, with Antioch as capital ; 2. S. Secunda, with Aparnea as capital ; 3. Pluenieia Prima, including the greater part of ancient Phcenicia —Tyre was its capital ; 4. Phce nicia Seetinda, also called Phamicia ad Libanum, with Damascus for capital (` Car. a St. Paul,' Geog. Sac. p. 287).
At the present time Syria forms a portion of three pashalics : Aleppo, Damascus, and Sidon.