# Syria

Pronunciation: US say "SEER-ee-uh" /ˈsɪɹi.ə/; UK

## Proper noun

1. A country in West Asia, in the Middle East, officially called the Syrian Arab Republic, with its capital at Damascus.
   - Simple: A country in the Middle East whose capital city is Damascus.
   - _Syria declared independence from France in 1946._
   - _Archaeologists have uncovered ancient cities throughout Syria's eastern desert._
2. A historical region in West Asia stretching from southeast Turkey to the Sinai Peninsula, between the Mediterranean Sea and the Euphrates and Arabian Desert; also called Greater Syria.
   - Simple: A large area of land between Turkey, the Arabian Desert, the Sinai Peninsula, and the Mediterranean Sea.
   - _For centuries, caravans crossed Syria carrying goods between Mesopotamia and the Mediterranean coast._
   - _Twelfth-century pilgrims passing through Syria visited cities from Aleppo to Jerusalem._
3. An ancient Roman province in the eastern Mediterranean, existing from 64 BCE to 135 CE.
   - Simple: A part of the Roman Empire, ruled by Rome about two thousand years ago.
   - _Several Roman legions were stationed in Syria to defend the eastern frontier._
   - _Wealthy merchants in Syria shipped wine and textiles to ports across the empire._

## Origin

From Middle English Sirie, from Latin Sȳria, from Ancient Greek Σῠρῐ́ᾱ (Sŭrĭ́ā), which was shortened from Ἀσσυρία (Assyria); this traces back through Akkadian to Aššur. Its ancient inhabitants originally called the land Aram, but the Greeks applied the name Syria because the region had once been ruled by the Neo-Assyrian Empire, and over time Syria came to denote the broader Levant while Assyria referred to Mesopotamia.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/syria (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).