VI. History. — 1. The first occupants of Syria appear to have been of Hamitic descent. The Canaanitish races, the Hittites, Jebusites, Amorites, etc., are connected in Scripture with Egypt and Ethiopia, Ciish and Mizraim (Gen. X, 6, 15-18) ; and, even independenth' of the evidence, there seems to be sufficient reason for believ- ing that the races in question stood in close ethnic con- nection with the Cushitic stock (Rawlinson, Herod, iv, 243-245). These tribes occupied not Palestine only, but also Lower Syria, in very early times, as we may gather from the fact that Hamath is assigned to thera in Genesis (x, 18). Afterwards the}' seem to have be- come possessed of Upper Syria also, for when the As- syrians first push their conquests beyond the Euphra- tes, the}^ find the Hittites (Khatti) established in strength on the right bank of the great river. After a while the first comers, who were still to a great extent nomads, received a Shemitic infusion, which most prob- ably came to them from the south-east. The family of Abraham, whose original domicile was in Lower Baby- lonia, may, perhaps, be best regarded as furnishing us with a specimen of the migratory movements of the pe- riod. Another example is that of Chedorlaomer with his confederate kings, of whom one at least — Amraphel — must have been a Shemite. The movement may have begun before the time of Abraham, and hence, perhaps, the Shemitic names of many of the inhabitants when Abraham first comes into the country, as Abimelech, Melchizedek, Eliezer, etc. The only Syrian town whose existence we find distinctly marked at this time is Da- mascus (Gen. xiv, 15; xv, 2), which appears to have been already a place of some importance. Indeed, in one tradition Abraham is said to have been king of Damascus for a time (Nic. Dam. Fragm. 30) ; but this is quite unworthy of credit. Next to Damascus must be placed Hamath. which is mentioned by Moses as a well- known place (Numb, xiii, 21 ; xxxiv, 8), and appears in Egyptian papyri of the time of the eighteenth dynasty (^Cambridge Essays, 1858, p. 2(58). Syria at this time, and for man}' centuries afterwards, seems to have been broken up among a number of petty kingdoms. Sev- eral of these are mentioned in Scripture, as Damascus, Rehob, Maachah, Zobah, Geshur, etc. We also hear occasionally of ^^ the Hugs of Syria and of the Hittites" (1 Kings X, 29; 2 Kings vii, 6) — an expression indica- tive of that extensive subdivision of the tract among numerous petty chiefs which is exhibited to us verj' clearly in the early Assyrian inscriptions. At various times different states had the pre-eminence, but none was ever strong enough to establish an authoritj' over the others.
2. The Jews first come into hostile contact with the Syrians, under that name, in the time of David. The wars of Joshua, however, must have often been with Sj'rian chiefs, with whom he disputed the possession of the tract about Lebanon and Hermon (Josh, xi, 2-18). After his time the Syrians were apparently undisturbed, until David began his aggressive wars upon them. Claiming the frontier of the Euphrates, which God had promised to Abraham (Gen. xv, 18), David made war on Hadadezer, king of Zobah, whom he defeated in a great battle, killing 18,000 of his men, and taking from him 1000 chariots!^ 700 horsemen, and 20,000 footmen (2 Sam. viii, 3, 4, 13). The Damascene Syrians, having endeavored to succor their kinsmen, were likewise de-
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feated with great loss (ver. 5) : and the blow so weak- ened them that they shortly afterwards submitted and became David's subjects (ver. 0), Zobah, however, was far from being subdued as yet. When, a few years later, the Ammonites determined on engaging in a war with David, and applied to the Syrians for aid, Zobah, together with Betii-Uehob, sent them 20,000 footmen, and two other Syrian kingdoms furnished 13,000 (x, (■)). This army being completely defeated by Joab, Had- adezer obtained aid from Mesopotamia (ver. 10), and tried the chance of a third battle, which likewise went against him. and produced the general submission of Syria to the Jewish monarch. The submission thus begun continued under the reign of Solomon, who ••reigned over all the kingdoms from the river [Eu- pjirates] unto the land of the I'hilistines and unto the border of Egypt; they brought presents and served Sol- omon all the days of his life" (1 Kings iv, 21). The only part of Syria which Solomon lost seems to have been Damascus, where an independent kingdom was set up by Eezon, a native of Zobah (xi, 23-25). On the separation of the two kingdoms, soon after the ac- cession of Rehoboam, the remainder of Syria no doubt shook off the yoke. Damascus now became decidedly the leading state, Hamath being second to it, and the northern Hittites, whose capital was Carchemish, near Bambuk, third. See Carcheiiish. The wars of this period fall most properly into the history of Damascus, and have already been described in tlie account given of that citj'. See Damascus. Their result was to at- tach Syria to the great Assyrian empire, from which it passed to the Babylonians, after a short attempt on the part of Egypt to hold possession of it, which was frus- trated by Nebuchadnezzar. From the Babylonians Syria passed to the Persians, under whom it formed a satrapy in conjunction w'ith Judrea, Phcenicia, and Cy- prus (Herod, iii, 91). Its resources were still great, and probably it was his confidence in them that encour- aged the Syrian satrap Megabazus to raise the standard of revolt against Artaxerxes Longimanus (B.C. 447). After this we hear little of Syria till the year of the bat- tle of Issus (B.C. 333), when it submitted to Alexander without a struggle.