List of Syrian monarchs


The Syrian monarchs ruled Syria as kings and queens regnant. The title King of Syria appeared in the second century BC in referring to the Seleucid kings who ruled the entirety of the region of Syria. It was also used to refer to Aramean kings in the Greek translations of the Old Testament; mainly indicating the kings of Aram-Damascus. Following the defeat of the in World War I, the region came under the rule of France, United Kingdom and prince Faisal of Hejaz who was proclaimed King of Syria on 8 March 1920. Faisal's reign lasted a few months before he was overthrown by France and the title fell out of use.

Background

The term Syria was first applied by Herodotus in the 5th century BC to indicate a region generally extending between Anatolia and Egypt. With the advent of the Hellenistic period, Greeks and their Seleucid dynasty used the term "Syria" to designate the region between the Mediterranean and the Euphrates. The usage of the name in referring to the region during the Iron Age is a modern practice.

List of monarchs

Seleucid dynasty

The Seleucid king Antiochus III the Great defeated the Ptolemaic Kingdom in the Battle of Panium ; he annexed the Syrian lands controlled by Egypt and united them with his Syrian lands, thus gaining control of the entirety of Syria. Starting from the 2nd century BC, ancient writers, such as Polybius and Posidonius, began referring to the Seleucid ruler as the king of Syria. The evidence for this title's usage by the kings is provided by the inscription of Antigonus son of Menophilus, who described himself as the "admiral of Alexander, king of Syria".
PortraitMonarch
ReignConsort
Parents, co-regents, and notes
Antiochus III the Great
200–187 BCLaodice III

Euboea

  • Son of Seleucus II Callinicus and Laodice II. He appointed his eldest son Antiochus, who preceded him in death, as co-king.
  • Antiochus III's second wife is attested in the hostile work of Polybius and the story is debated.
Seleucus IV Philopator187–175 BCLaodice IV

  • Son of Antiochus III and Laodice III. He married Laodice IV, his brother Antiochus' widow.
Antiochus175–170 BC
  • Son of Seleucus IV and Laodice IV. The minister Heliodorus held real power, then Antiochus was made co-king by his uncle Antiochus IV.
Antiochus IV Epiphanes175–164 BCLaodice IV

  • Son of Antiochus III and Laodice III. Married his brother's widow.
Antiochus V Eupator164–162 BCUnmarried
  • Son of Antiochus IV Epiphanes and possibly Laodice IV. His regent Lysias held actual power.
Demetrius I Soter162–150 BC
Antiochus150 BC
  • Known from a coin minted in the same year Demetrius I lost his throne; his identity is left to speculations.
    • Alexander I Balas150–145 BCCleopatra Thea

    • Claimed to be a son of Antiochus IV. He could have been an illegitimate son of Antiochus by a concubine named Antiochis.
    Demetrius II Nicator145–138 BC
    		Cleopatra Thea


    • Son of Demetrius I and possibly Laodice V.
    • First reign; Ptolemy VI Philometor of Egypt divorced his daughter Cleopatra Thea from Alexander I and married her to Demetrius.
    Antiochus VI Dionysus144–142/141 BC
    • Son of Alexander I and Cleopatra Thea. Was proclaimed king against Demetrius II by general Diodotus Tryphon who held actual power and eventually killed Antiochus.
    Non-dynastic
    Diodotus Tryphon, who opposed Demetrius II by raising Antiochus VI to the throne, killed his protege and declared himself king ruling until 138 when the Seleucids unified Syria again.
    PortraitMonarch
    		ReignConsort
    		Parents, co-regents, and notes
    Diodotus Tryphon
    		142/141–138 BC
    • Last coins date to 138 BC but his reign might have lasted into early 137 BC.
    Seleucid dynasty
    PortraitMonarch
    		ReignConsort
    		Parents, co-regents, and notes
    Antiochus VII Sidetes
    		138–129 BCCleopatra Thea

    • Son of Demetrius I and possibly Laodice V. Married his brother's wife after Demetrius II was captured by the Parthians.
    Demetrius II Nicator129–125 BC
    		Cleopatra Thea

    • Was released by the Parthians and regained his throne and wife following Antiochus VII's death in a battle against Parthia.
    Antiochus VIII Grypus128 BC

    • Son of Demetrius II and Cleopatra Thea. He was elevated as king by his mother in an attempt to establish her authority.
    Alexander II Zabinas128–123 BC
    • Claimed to be of Seleucid heritage. Declared himself king in opposition to Demetrius II.
    Ptolemaic dynasty
    PortraitMonarch
    		ReignConsort
    		Parents, co-regents, and notes
    Cleopatra Thea
    		125–121 BC
    Seleucid dynasty
    Ptolemaic dynasty
    PortraitMonarch
    		ReignConsort
    		Parents, co-regents, and notes
    Cleopatra Selene
    		83–69 BC
    Seleucid dynasty

    Antonia dynasty

    Hashemite dynasty

    On 8 March 1920, prince Faysal of the House of Hashim, supported by the Syrian National Congress, declared himself king of the Arab Kingdom of Syria; the kingdom collapsed on 24 July of the same year.
    PortraitName
    		ReignConsort
    		StandardNotes
    Faisal
    		8 March 1920 – 24 July 1920Huzaima bint Nasser

    Biblical usage for Aramean kings

    In the first translation of the Old Testament into Greek written during the third century BC, Aram and Arameans were often translated as Syria and the Syrians; hence, the king was referred to as the king of Syria, and this was carried on by many English translations. Aram in the Hebrew Old Testament and Syria in the translation indicated the kingdom of Aram-Damascus most of the times. Occasionally, other Aramean regions were also referred to as Syria. In the view of W. Edward Glenny, the rendering of Aram by Syria might be explained by an anti-Syrian bias, since at the time of the translation, Syria belonged to the Seleucids, the Jews' main enemy; Aram-Damascus was the Jews' enemy during its Iron Age prime in the 9th century BC.

    Aramean kings referred to as "kings of Syria"

    Citations