Syria's communities and civilizations – history, sites and heritage
Achaemenid Persians (satrapy 'Beyond the River')
الأخمينيون الفرس (عبر النهر)
Civilizations and historical peopleshistorical
After 539 BC Syria belonged to the Achaemenid Persian Empire as Eber-Nari, 'Beyond the River', first joined with Babylonia and later a separate satrapy. Phoenician cities such as Arwad kept self-government under Persian rule until Alexander's conquest. This is a historical empire.
In 535 BC Cyrus organised Babylonia and Eber-Nari as a single satrapy with the satrap at Babylon; the mega-satrapy was divided before about 450 BC. Herodotus' fifth tax district comprised Aramea, Phoenicia and Cyprus.
Sources and details
Under the Persians Arwad was allowed to join a confederation with Sidon and Tyre with a common council at Tripolis. Burial chambers at Amrit yielded 5th-century BC finds.
Eber-Nari passed to Alexander the Great during his conquest of the Persian Empire (c. 332 BC). Visible Achaemenid-period monuments in Syria are few.
Sites connected with this community 2
These categories describe history, language and faith – not exclusive identities. Many Syrians belong to several, and some names refer to civilizations of the past.