Syria has long been one of the most trouble-prone and politically volatile regions of the Near and Middle Eastern world. This book looks back beyond the troubles of the present to tell the 3000-year story of what happened many centuries before. Trevor Bryce reveals the peoples, cities, and kingdoms that arose, flourished, declined, and disappeared in the lands that now constitute Syria, from the time of it's earliest written records in the third millennium BC until the reign of the Roman emperor Diocletian at the turn of the 3-4th century AD. Across the centuries, from the Bronze Age to the Rome Era, we encounter a vast array of characters and civilizations, enlivening, enriching, and besmirching the annals of Syrian history: Hittite and Assyrian Great Kings; Egyptian pharaohs; Amorite robber-barons; the biblically notorious Nebuchadnezzar; Persia's Cyrus the Great and Macedon's Alexander the Great; the rulers of the Seleucid empire; and an assortment of Rome's most distinguished and most infamous emperors. All swept across the plains of Syria at some point in her long history. All contributed, in one way or another, to Syria's special, distinctive character, as they imposed themselves upon it, fought one another within it, or pillaged their way through it. But this is not just a history of invasion and oppression. Syria had great rulers of her own, native-born Syrian luminaries, sometimes appearing as local champions who sought to liberate their lands from foreign despots, sometimes as cunning, self-seeking manipulators of squabbles between their overlords. They culminate with Zenobia, Queen of Palmyra, whose life provides a fitting grand finale to the first three millennia of Syria's recorded history. The conclusion looks forward to the Muslim conquest in the 7th century AD: in many ways the opening chapter in the equally complex and often troubled history of modern Syria.

A must read for anyone interested in this wonderful country. * Timeless Travels *
[An] absorbing book ... This is essential bed-time reading for anyone wanting to know more about the history of one of the ancient world's most significant civilizations. * Ancient Egypt Magazine *
Ancient Syria should be read, studied or consulted by those who want to deepen their knowledge about an amazing country, cradles of cultures and civilizations. I really appreciated Bryces effort to convey in a single book such a vast material. It has not been done before in such a comprehensive way. One must be grateful that the multiple fascinating (hi)stories of ancient Syria are now accessible to a wider audience. * Matteo Vigo, Bryn Mawr Classical Review *
This book can be thoroughly recommended for anyone wishing to gain a broad overview of the history of ancient Syria. * Adam John Fraser, Palestine Exploration Quaterly *
Bryce has outdone himself; a marvellous achievement. Reads as smoothly as a novel, but packed as full of facts as an encyclopedia. Bryce weaves together the threads of disparate cultures and centuries of civilization, creating the very fabric of history itself... * Eric H. Cline, The George Washington University, and author of Biblical Archaeology: A Very Short Introduction *
sketches the history of Syria in a lively and fluid style. * Bibliotheca Orientalis *
The author is an engaging writer and one quickly gets the impression that he has enjoyed researching and writing this book ... Professor Trevor Bryce's publication provides a lucid account that assists our understanding of Syria's historical importance and continuing strategic location. * Andrew Jamieson, Ancient Near Eastern Studies *

Trevor Bryce is an Honorary Research Consultant in the University of Queensland, and an Emeritus Professor of the University of New England, Australia, where he was Professor of Classics and Ancient History. He is also a Fellow of the Australian Academy of the Humanities and has been awarded an Australian Centenary medal for services to History. Although trained as a Classicist, primarily in Latin language and literature, most of his research has been conducted in the field of Near Eastern history and civilization, with some emphasis also on the links between the Classical and Near Eastern worlds. He is the author of numerous books and articles on Near Eastern history, including The World of the Neo-Hittite Kingdoms (2012) and Babylonia: A Very Short Introduction (2016), also published by Oxford University Press.