Phoenicia came under Roman rule in 64 BC, when Pompey created the province of Syria. With the exception of a brief period in 36–30 BC, when Mark Antony gave the region to Ptolemaic Egypt, Phoenicia remained part of the province of Syria thereafter.[1] Emperor Hadrian (reigned 117–138) is said to have considered a division of the overly large Syrian province in 123–124 AD, but it was not until shortly after c. 194 AD that Septimius Severus (r. 193–211) actually undertook this, dividing the province into Syria Coele in the north and Syria Phoenice in the south.[1]Tyre became the capital of the new province, but Elagabalus (r. 218–222) raised his native Emesa to co-capital, and the two cities rivalled each other as the head of the province until its division in the 4th century.[1]
The province was much larger than the area traditionally called Phoenicia: for example, cities like Emesa[a] and Palmyra[b] and the base of the Legio III Gallica[c] in Raphanaea[d] were now subject to governor in Tyre. Veterans of this military unit were settled in Tyre, which also received the rank of colonia.[2]
After the death of the 2nd century Roman emperor Commodus, a civil war erupted, in which Berytus, and Sidon supported Pescennius Niger. While the city of Tyre supported Septimius Severus, which led Niger to send Mauri[e]javelin men and archers to sack the city.[3] However, Niger lost the civil war, and Septimius Severus decided to show his gratitude for Tyre's support by making it the capital of Phoenice.
Diocletian (r. 284–305) separated the district of Batanaea and gave it to Arabia, while sometime before 328, when it is mentioned in the Laterculus Veronensis, Constantine the Great (r. 306–337) created the new province of Augusta Libanensis out of the eastern half of the old province, encompassing the territory east of Mount Lebanon.[4]
Phoenice I and Phoenice Libanensisedit
Constantine's province was short-lived, but formed the basis of the re-division of Phoenice c. 394 into the Phoenice I or Phoenice Paralia (Greek: Φοινίκη Παραλία, "coastal Phoenice"), and Phoenice II or Phoenice Libanensis (Φοινίκη Λιβανησία), with Tyre and Emesa as their respective capitals.[4] In the Notitia Dignitatum, written shortly after the division, Phoenice I is governed by a consularis, while Libanensis is governed by a praeses, with both provinces under the Diocese of the East.[5] This division remained intact until the Muslim conquest of the Levant in the 630s.[6] Under the Caliphate, most of the two Phoenices came under the province of Damascus, with parts in the south and north going to the provinces of Jordan and Emesa respectively.[7]
Ecclesiastical administrationedit
The ecclesiastical administration paralleled the political, but with some differences. The bishop of Tyre emerged as the pre-eminent prelate of Phoenice by the mid-3rd century. When the province was divided c. 394, Damascus, rather than Emesa, became the metropolis of Phoenice II. Both provinces belonged to the Patriarchate of Antioch, with Damascus initially outranking Tyre, whose position was also briefly challenged by the see of Berytus c. 450; after 480/1, however, the Metropolitan of Tyre established himself as the first in precedence (protothronos) of all the Metropolitans subject to Antioch.[6]
Militaryedit
Since the time of Septimius Severus, it had been the practice to assign not more than two legions to each frontier province, and, although in some provinces one legion was sometimes deemed sufficient, the upper limit was not exceeded. This policy appears to have been continued during the third century AD, as seen in the case of Aurelian raising the garrisons of Phoenice to the normal strength of two legions.[8]
Governorsedit
Propraetorial Imperial Legates of Phoeniciaedit
Marble head of the emperor Septimius Severus, from Tyre, on display at the National Museum of Beirut.
^A.H.M. Jones, J.R. Martindale, J. Morris, Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire, vol. I: AD 260–395, Cambridge 1971 (hereinafter: PLRE I), pp. 1105–1110 (fasti). For the reviews, often negative, and corrections to the first volume of PLRE, cf. A.H.M. Jones, “Fifteen years of Late Roman Prosopography in the West” (1981–95), [in:] Medieval Prosopography 17/1, 1996, pp. 263–274.
^Martindale, J. R. & A. H. M. Jones, "Nicentius 1", The Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire, Vol. I AD 260-395 (Cambridge: University Press, 1971), p. 628
Sourcesedit
Blankinship, Khalid Yahya (1994). The End of the Jihâd State: The Reign of Hishām ibn ʻAbd al-Malik and the Collapse of the Umayyads. Albany, New York: State University of New York Press. ISBN978-0-7914-1827-7.
Schürer Emil, Vermes Geza, Millar Fergus, The history of the Jewish people in the age of Jesus Christ (175 B.C.-A.D. 135), Volume I, Edinburgh 1973, p. 243-266 (Survey of the Roman Province of Syria from 63 B.C. to A.D. 70).
Linda Jones Hall, Roman Berytus: Beirut in late antiquity (2004)
Martindale, J. R.; Jones, A. H. M, The Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire, Vol. I AD 260–395, Cambridge University Press (1971)
November 03, 2023
phoenice, roman, province, confused, with, phoenicia, this, article, about, ancient, roman, province, levant, ancient, greek, city, epirus, phoenice, phoenice, latin, syria, phoenīcē, latin, ˈsʏri, pʰoe, ˈniːkeː, koinē, greek, Φοινίκη, Συρία, romanized, phoinī. Not to be confused with Phoenicia This article is about the ancient Roman province in the Levant For the ancient Greek city in Epirus see Phoenice Phoenice Latin Syria Phoenice Latin ˈsʏri a pʰoe ˈniːkeː Koine Greek ἡ Foinikh Syria romanized he Phoini ke Syria Koine Greek h e pʰyˈni ke syˈri a was a province of the Roman Empire encompassing the historical region of Phoenicia It was officially created in 194 AD and after c 394 Phoenice Syria was divided into Phoenice proper or Phoenice Paralia and Phoenice Libanensis a division that persisted until the region was conquered by the Muslim Arabs in the 630s Province of Syria PhoeniceProvincia Syria Phoenice Latin ἐparxia tῆs Foinikhs Syrias Koine Greek Province of the Roman Empire after 395 of the Byzantine Empire c 194 c 394Roman Empire in 210 with Syria Phoenice highlighted in redCapitalTyrusHistoryHistorical eraLate Antiquity Created by Septimius Severusc 194 Division during the reign of Theodosius the Greatc 394Preceded by Succeeded bySyria Roman province Syria Palaestina Phoenice LibanensisPhoenice ParaliaToday part ofLebanonIsrael Contents 1 Administrative history 1 1 Phoenice I and Phoenice Libanensis 2 Ecclesiastical administration 3 Military 4 Governors 4 1 Propraetorial Imperial Legates of Phoenicia 4 2 Consulares of Phoenicia 5 Notes 6 References 7 SourcesAdministrative history edit nbsp Map of the Diocese of the East with its provinces as recorded in the Notitia Dignitatum c 400Phoenicia came under Roman rule in 64 BC when Pompey created the province of Syria With the exception of a brief period in 36 30 BC when Mark Antony gave the region to Ptolemaic Egypt Phoenicia remained part of the province of Syria thereafter 1 Emperor Hadrian reigned 117 138 is said to have considered a division of the overly large Syrian province in 123 124 AD but it was not until shortly after c 194 AD that Septimius Severus r 193 211 actually undertook this dividing the province into Syria Coele in the north and Syria Phoenice in the south 1 Tyre became the capital of the new province but Elagabalus r 218 222 raised his native Emesa to co capital and the two cities rivalled each other as the head of the province until its division in the 4th century 1 The province was much larger than the area traditionally called Phoenicia for example cities like Emesa a and Palmyra b and the base of the Legio III Gallica c in Raphanaea d were now subject to governor in Tyre Veterans of this military unit were settled in Tyre which also received the rank of colonia 2 After the death of the 2nd century Roman emperor Commodus a civil war erupted in which Berytus and Sidon supported Pescennius Niger While the city of Tyre supported Septimius Severus which led Niger to send Mauri e javelin men and archers to sack the city 3 However Niger lost the civil war and Septimius Severus decided to show his gratitude for Tyre s support by making it the capital of Phoenice Diocletian r 284 305 separated the district of Batanaea and gave it to Arabia while sometime before 328 when it is mentioned in the Laterculus Veronensis Constantine the Great r 306 337 created the new province of Augusta Libanensis out of the eastern half of the old province encompassing the territory east of Mount Lebanon 4 Phoenice I and Phoenice Libanensis edit Constantine s province was short lived but formed the basis of the re division of Phoenice c 394 into the Phoenice I or Phoenice Paralia Greek Foinikh Paralia coastal Phoenice and Phoenice II or Phoenice Libanensis Foinikh Libanhsia with Tyre and Emesa as their respective capitals 4 In the Notitia Dignitatum written shortly after the division Phoenice I is governed by a consularis while Libanensis is governed by a praeses with both provinces under the Diocese of the East 5 This division remained intact until the Muslim conquest of the Levant in the 630s 6 Under the Caliphate most of the two Phoenices came under the province of Damascus with parts in the south and north going to the provinces of Jordan and Emesa respectively 7 Ecclesiastical administration editThe ecclesiastical administration paralleled the political but with some differences The bishop of Tyre emerged as the pre eminent prelate of Phoenice by the mid 3rd century When the province was divided c 394 Damascus rather than Emesa became the metropolis of Phoenice II Both provinces belonged to the Patriarchate of Antioch with Damascus initially outranking Tyre whose position was also briefly challenged by the see of Berytus c 450 after 480 1 however the Metropolitan of Tyre established himself as the first in precedence protothronos of all the Metropolitans subject to Antioch 6 Military editSince the time of Septimius Severus it had been the practice to assign not more than two legions to each frontier province and although in some provinces one legion was sometimes deemed sufficient the upper limit was not exceeded This policy appears to have been continued during the third century AD as seen in the case of Aurelian raising the garrisons of Phoenice to the normal strength of two legions 8 Governors editPropraetorial Imperial Legates of Phoenicia edit nbsp Marble head of the emperor Septimius Severus from Tyre on display at the National Museum of Beirut Date Legatus Augusti pro praetore Governor of imperial province 193 194 Ti Manilius Fuscus 9 198 Q Venidius Rufus Marius Maximus L Calvinianusc 207 Domitius Leo Procillianus213 D Pius CassiusBetween 268 and 270 Salvius TheodorusBetween 284 and 305 L Artorius Pius Maximus292 293 CrispinusConsulares of Phoenicia edit In the fourth century as a whole almost 30 governors of Phoenicia are known with 23 governors of Phoenicia being in office between 353 and 394 10 Date Provincial governor Consularis Between 293 and 305 Aelius StatuusBetween 293 and 303 Sossianus HieroclesBefore 305 Julius Julianus Between 309 313 Maximusc 323 Achillius328 329 Fl Dionysius335 Archelausc 337 Nonnus342 Marcellinus353 4 ApollinarisBefore 358 Demetrius358 359 Nicentius 11 359 60 EuchrostiusBefore 360 Julianus360 361 AndronicusBefore 361 Aelius Claudius Dulcitius361 Anatoliusc 361 2 Polycles362 Julianus362 363 Gaianus363 364 Marius364 Ulpianus364 365 Domninus372 Leontius380 Petrus382 383 ProculusBefore 388 Eustathius388 Antherius388 Epiphanius390 Domitius391 Severianus392 LeontiusNotes edit Modern day Homs Hims حمص Syria Arabic ت د م ر Tadmur A military unit of the Imperial Roman army Arabic الرفنية romanized al Rafaniyya colloquial Rafniye Latin designation for the Berber population of Mauretania a region in the ancient Maghreb References edit a b c Eissfeldt 1941 p 368 Ulpian Digests 50 15 1 Herodian Roman History 3 3 a b Eissfeldt 1941 pp 368 369 Notitia Dignitatum in partibus Orientis I a b Eissfeldt 1941 p 369 Blankinship 1994 pp 47 48 240 Parker The Legions of Diocletian and Constantine p 177 178 Hall pg 94 A H M Jones J R Martindale J Morris Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire vol I AD 260 395 Cambridge 1971 hereinafter PLRE I pp 1105 1110 fasti For the reviews often negative and corrections to the first volume of PLRE cf A H M Jones Fifteen years of Late Roman Prosopography in the West 1981 95 in Medieval Prosopography 17 1 1996 pp 263 274 Martindale J R amp A H M Jones Nicentius 1 The Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire Vol I AD 260 395 Cambridge University Press 1971 p 628Sources editBlankinship Khalid Yahya 1994 The End of the Jihad State The Reign of Hisham ibn ʻAbd al Malik and the Collapse of the Umayyads Albany New York State University of New York Press ISBN 978 0 7914 1827 7 Eissfeldt Otto 1941 Phoiniker Phoinike Realencyclopadie der Classischen Altertumswissenschaft Vol Band XX Halbband 39 Philon Pignus pp 350 379 Schurer Emil Vermes Geza Millar Fergus The history of the Jewish people in the age of Jesus Christ 175 B C A D 135 Volume I Edinburgh 1973 p 243 266 Survey of the Roman Province of Syria from 63 B C to A D 70 Linda Jones Hall Roman Berytus Beirut in late antiquity 2004 Martindale J R Jones A H M The Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire Vol I AD 260 395 Cambridge University Press 1971 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Phoenice Roman province amp oldid 1176679783, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
