Middle East Kingdoms

City States
c.1750 BC

Amorites began to arrive in the territory to the west of the Euphrates, in modern Syria, from around 2500 BC. The Akkadians called them Amurru, and groups of them drifted down into Sumer where they eventually replaced the Sumerians as rulers in Mesopotamia. Enough groups remained in Syria to have their name, Amurru, eventually come to be used for part of Syria and all of Phoenicia and Palestine instead of referring to them as a specific kingdom, language, or population.

By the eighteenth century BC, Syria was a mass of city states, each ruled separately. According to the Bible, for a time they were dependencies of Elam, but the existence of the Elamite king, Chedorlaomer, cannot be confirmed.

c.1750 BC

Amraphel

In Shinar.

c.1750 BC

Bera

In Sodom.

c.1750 BC

Birsha

In Gomorrah.

c.1750 BC

Shinab

In Admah.

c.1750 BC

Shemeber

In Zeboiim.

c.1750 BC

?Zoar

In Bela.

c.1750 BC

Melchizedek

In Salem.

c.1150 BC

Assyria gains a level of control over Syria.

1115 - 1077 BC

Assyria extends its power to fully include Syria, taking overlordship of the region from Egypt.

Rulers of the Kingdom of Syria

c.900 BC

Hezion

c.873 BC

Benhadad I

c.810 BC

Hazael

c.810 BC

Benhadad II

884 - 824 BC

Assyria completes its conquest of Syria and the Syrian king is killed.

c.740 BC

Rezin

710 BC

The Syrians support Mardukapaliddina II in his successful bid to usurp the Babylonian throne.