page_title: Name of Syria
hierarchical_section_title: Name of Syria
caption_attribution_description: English: John Selden's 1617 section on the name of Syria and Assyria
context_page_description: The name Syria is latinized from the.
  Herodotus used it loosely to refer to Cappadocia.
  In Greek usage, Συρία Suría and Ασσυρία Assuría were used almost interchangeably, but in the Roman Empire, Syria and Assyria came to be used as distinct geographical terms. "Syria" in the Roman Empire period referred to the region of Syria, while Asōristān was part of the Sasanian Empire and only very briefly came under Roman control.
  Etymologically, the name Syria is connected to Assyria, ultimately from the Akkadian Aššur. Theodor Nöldeke in 1881 was the first to give philological support to the assumption that Syria and Assyria have the same etymology, a suggestion going back to John Selden. Current academic opinion favours the connection.
  Modern Syria inherits its name from the Ottoman Syria Vilayet, established in 1865. The choice of the ancient Latin name for the Ottoman province reflects a growing historical consciousness among the local intellectuals at the time.
  The Classical Arabic name for the region is بلاد اَلشَّأم‎ bilād aš-ša'm from شأم‎ š'm "left hand; northern". In contrast, Baalshamin, was a Semitic sky-god in Canaan/Phoenicia and ancient Palmyra. Hence, Sham refers to.
context_section_description: The name Syria is latinized from  the (Greek Συρία Suría).
  Herodotus used it loosely to refer to Cappadocia.
  In Greek usage,  Συρία Suría and Ασσυρία Assuría were used almost interchangeably, but in the Roman Empire, Syria and Assyria came to be used as distinct geographical terms. "Syria" in the Roman Empire period referred to  the region of Syria (the western Levant,  "those parts of the Empire situated between Asia Minor and Egypt"), while Asōristān was part of the Sasanian Empire and only very briefly came under Roman control (AD 116–118, marking the historical peak of Roman expansion).
  Etymologically, the name Syria is  connected to  Assyria, ultimately from the Akkadian Aššur. Theodor Nöldeke in 1881 was the first to give  philological support to the assumption that Syria and Assyria have the same etymology, a suggestion going back to John Selden (1617). Current academic opinion favours the connection.
  Modern Syria (Arabic: الجمهورية العربية السورية‎ "Syrian Arab Republic", since 1961) inherits its name  from the Ottoman Syria Vilayet, established in 1865. The choice of the ancient Latin name for the Ottoman province reflects a growing historical consciousness among the local intellectuals at the time.
  The Classical Arabic name for the region is بلاد اَلشَّأم‎ bilād aš-ša'm ("land to the north", Modern Standard Arabic اَلشَّام‎ aš-šām) from شأم‎ š'm "left hand; northern". In contrast, Baalshamin (Aramaic: ܒܥܠ ܫܡܝܢ‎, romanized: Lord of Heaven(s)), was a Semitic sky-god in Canaan/Phoenicia and ancient Palmyra. Hence, Sham refers to (heaven or sky).
caption: John Selden's 1617 section on the name of Syria and Assyria (from the 1629 edition).
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