Editing Homs (section)

===Emesene dynasty and Roman rule{{anchor|Emesani dynasty and Roman rule}}===
{{Redirect|Emesa|the genus of thread-legged bug|Emesa (bug)}}
{{see also|Royal family of Emesa|Elagabalus (deity)}}
[[Strabo]] only mentioned [[Al-Rastan|Arethusa]] in his ''[[Geographica|Geography]]'', as a "very strong place" of the Arab Sampsigeramos and of his son Iamblikhos, "phylarchs" of the Emesene, who had allied themselves to Q. Caecilius Bassus against Caesar in 47 BC; the translators above cited have thought strange Strabo's not saying a word about Emesa.<ref name="Strabon, p. 209, Henri Seyrig, p. 187">{{harvnb|Strabon|1819|p=209}}; {{harvnb|Seyrig|1952|p=187}}.</ref> Claims have been made that Emesa was founded by [[Seleucus I Nicator]] who established the [[Seleucid Empire]] upon the death of [[Alexander the Great]]. However, according to [[Henri Seyrig]], Emesa does not seem to have received any Greek colony and the authors' complete silence makes one think that it did not increase its visibility under the Seleucid kings.<ref>{{harvnb|Seyrig|1952|p=186}}.</ref> According to Henri Seyrig, it even seems that [[Posidonius]], to whom Strabo probably referred concerning the Emesenes' phylarchs' alliance with Q. Caecilius Bassus, regarded the Emesenes as a simple tribe, governed by its sheikhs, and still devoid of a real urban existence;<ref>{{harvnb|Seyrig|1952|p=187}}.</ref>{{efn|According to J. L. Whitaker, "Strabo seems to consider these Emesani to be among the tribes of tent dwellers (''skénitai'') who dwelt in the region south of Apamea".<ref name="Dumper1"/>}} according to Maamoun Abdulkarim, occupation of the citadel's tell does not confirm the existence of a real urban center in the plain before the Roman period and recent excavations have refuted the existence of vestiges preceding the Roman period under the actual town's outline, and the existence of an Arab Emesene dynasty in the region, probably located in Arethusa, attests to the secondary nature of this area during the Hellenistic period.<ref>{{harvnb|Abdulkarim}}.</ref> Upon [[Pompey]]'s submission of the [[Seleucid Empire|Seleucid state of Syria]] to the [[Roman Republic]] in 64 BCE, the [[Royal Family of Emesa|Emesene dynasty]] were confirmed in their rule as [[Client state|client kings]] of the Romans for aiding their troops in various wars. At its greatest extent, the Arab kingdom's boundaries extended from the [[Bekaa Valley]] in the west to the border with [[Palmyra]] in the east, and from [[Yabroud|Yabrud]] in the south to [[al-Rastan]] (Arethusa) in the north. A marker at the [[Palmyra|Palmyrene]]'s southwestern border was found in 1936 by [[Daniel Schlumberger]] at [[Qasr al-Hayr al-Gharbi]], dating from the reign of [[Hadrian]] or one of his successors, which marked the boundary between Palmyrene and Emesene<ref>Schlumberger 1939, pp. 43, 66.</ref>{{Incomplete short citation|date=October 2020}}{{sfn|Bryce|2014|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=Xno9AgAAQBAJ&pg=PA284 284]}}{{efn|Inscription reproduced:<ref>Schlumberger 1939, p. 64.</ref>{{Incomplete short citation|date=October 2020}}<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;''Fin''[''es'']<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;''inteṛ''<br>''Hadriano''[''s'']<br>''Palmyrenos''<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;''et''<br>[''He'']''ṃesenos''}} ([[Pliny the Elder]] asserted that both territories were contiguous);{{sfn|Seyrig|1952|pp=189–190}} this boundary probably ran northwards to Khirbet al-Bilaas on [[Jabal al-Bilas]] where another marker, laid by Roman governor [[Quintus Caecilius Metellus Creticus Silanus|Silanus]], has been found, {{convert|75|km}} northwest of Palmyra, probably marking a boundary with the territory of [[Hama|Epiphania]].{{sfn|Seyrig|1952|p=190}}{{sfn|Edwell|2008|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=DQgmOZlsEWcC&pg=PA41 41]}} The kingdom of [[Sampsiceramus I]], was the first of Rome's Arab clients on the desert fringes.<ref name="Ball">Ball, 2000, pp. 34–35.</ref>

[[File:Emesa helmet (profile).jpg|thumb|The [[Emesa helmet]] found in the necropolis of [[Tell Abu Sabun]]. Its owner was likely buried in the first half of the 1st century AD<ref>{{harvnb|Seyrig|1952|p=250}}.</ref>]]
[[File:Tomb of Sampsigeramus 1907 2.jpg|thumb|right|The [[Tomb of Sampsigeramus]], photographed 1907; it may have been built in 78–79<ref>{{harvnb|Chad|1972|p=92}}.</ref> by a relative of the [[Emesene dynasty]]<ref>{{harvnb|Millar|1993|p=84}}.</ref>]]
The city of Emesa grew to prominence after the new-found wealth of the Emesene dynasty, governed first by one of the sons of Sampsiceramus I, [[Iamblichus (phylarch)|Iamblichus I]] who made it the kingdom's capital.<ref name="Ball"/> The Emesene proved their loyalty to Rome once more when they aided Gaius [[Julius Caesar]] in his siege of [[Alexandria]] in 48 BC, by sending him army detachments. Subsequently, they became embroiled in the [[Roman Civil War]] between the rebelling [[Mark Antony]] and the pro-Caesar [[Augustus|Octavian]]. Iamblichus I took the side of Octavian, and so upon encouragement from Antony, Iamblichus's brother [[Alexander (brother of Iamblichus I)|Alexander]] usurped the throne and put Iamblichus I to death in 31 BCE. Octavian's forces prevailed in the war, however, and as a result the kingdom's throne was reverted to [[Iamblichus II]] (the son of Iamblichus I) after Alexander was executed for treason. It was in 32 that [[Baalbek|Heliopolis]] and the [[Beqaa Valley]] came under the kingdom's control.<ref name="Ball"/> Relations with the Roman government grew closer when [[Sohaemus of Emesa|King Sohaemus]] inherited the kingship. Under him, Emesa sent the Roman military a regular levy of archers and assisted them in their [[Siege of Jerusalem (70)|siege of Jerusalem]] in 70. Sohaemus had died in 73. According to [[Maurice Sartre]], the dynasty was very likely deprived of its kingdom, which was annexed to the [[Roman province of Syria]], between 72 and the date of the construction of the [[Tomb of Sampsigeramus]] (78–79).<ref name="Maurice Sartre, D'Alexandre à Zénobie : Histoire du Levant antique">{{harvnb|Sartre|2001}}.</ref>

[[File:Monnaie frappée en la cité d'Emese.jpg|thumb|Coin minted by Macrinus in Emesa]]
[[File:Bronze-Uranius Antoninus-Elagabal stone-SGI 4414.jpg|thumb|The Emesa temple to the sun god El-Gabal, with the holy stone, on the reverse of this bronze coin by [[Roman usurper]] [[Uranius|Uranius Antoninus]]]] 
Under the Romans, Emesa began to show attributes of a Greek [[city-state]] and traces of Roman town planning still remain. Its transformation into a major city was completed under the reign of Emperor [[Antoninus Pius]] (138–161) when Emesa began to [[Mint (coin)#Ancient mints|mint coins]].<ref name="Dumper1"/> By the 3rd century, it grew prosperous and well integrated into the Roman Orient. This was partly due to the marriage of Emperor Lucius [[Septimius Severus]] to a woman from a family of notables based in Emesa. According to a text of [[Ulpian]] (''Digest'' 50.15.1.4) and another one of [[Paul (jurist)|Paul]] (''Digest'' 50.15.8.6), [[Caracalla]] and [[Elagabalus]] each promoted Emesa to the rank of a [[Colonia (Roman)|colonia]] and granted ''[[ius Italicum]]'' to it; [[Eugène Albertini]] has hypothesized about a revocation by [[Macrinus]] of the privileges given by Caracalla and a reestablishment of those by Elagabalus.<ref>{{harvnb|Albertini|1934|pp=24–26}}.</ref> [[Elagabalus]] served as the high priest at the Temple of [[Elagabalus (deity)|El-Gebal]], the local Arab sun god. He brought the image of this god, a conical black stone ([[Baetyl]]), to the [[Elagabalium]] in Rome.<ref name="Dumper"/><ref>Herodian, ''Roman History'', [https://www.livius.org/he-hg/herodian/hre503.html#3_5 V.3.5] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070822131726/https://www.livius.org/he-hg/herodian/hre503.html#3_5 |date=22 August 2007 }}</ref>

Emesa also grew wealthy because it formed a link in the eastern trade funnelled through [[Palmyra]]; however, this dependence also caused the city's downfall when Palmyra sank to insignificance in the 4th century. Nonetheless, Emesa at this time had grown to rank with the important cities of [[Tyre, Lebanon|Tyre]], [[Sidon]], [[Beirut]], and [[Damascus]]. It also continued to retain local significance, because it was the market center for the surrounding villages. The city remained a strong center of paganism, because of the Temple of El-Gabal. After one of his victories over [[Zenobia]], Emperor [[Aurelian]] visited the city to pay thanks to the deity.<ref name="Dumper"/>

[[File:Vase d'Émèse (Louvre, Bj 1895).jpg|thumb|left|Silver vase from Emesa, decorated with busts of biblical figures (end of 6th century or beginning of 7th). [[Louvre Museum]]]]
[[File:Frescos in Saint Elian Church - Hims, Syria.jpg|thumb|Some frescoes inside the [[Church of Saint Elian]] date back to the 6th century (not the ones pictured)]]
Due to the strength of the pagan sun cult in Emesa, Christians initially did not settle in the city. [[Eusebius of Caesarea|Eusebius]] writes that Silvanus, the city's first bishop, had no jurisdiction over the city, but the surrounding villages. He was executed by [[Julian the Apostate|Emperor Julian]] and succeeded by Bishop Antonius—the first bishop to settle Emesa.<ref>Herbermann, 1913, p. 403.</ref> By the 5th century, [[Christianity]] was well established under the [[Byzantine Empire]]; however, few ancient Christian inscriptions exist in Homs today.<ref name="Dumper"/> Under the Byzantines, the city became an important center for [[Eastern Christianity]].<ref name="Carter2008-2"/> Initially a [[diocese]], Homs was given the status of [[ecclesiastical metropolis]] after the discovery of [[John the Baptist]]'s head in a nearby cave in 452.<ref name="Dumper"/> [[Nemesius]], who lived in the fourth or early fifth century AD, was the bishop of Emesa.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0062%3Aalphabetic+letter%3DN%3Aentry+group%3D3%3Aentry%3Dnemesius-harpers |title=Harry Thurston Peck, Harpers Dictionary of Classical Antiquities (1898), Nemesius |access-date=26 September 2022 |archive-date=26 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220926214617/https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0062:alphabetic+letter%3DN:entry+group%3D3:entry%3Dnemesius-harpers |url-status=live }}</ref>

During the [[Byzantine–Sasanian War of 602–628]], Emesa fell in 613 to [[Shahrbaraz]] and was in Sasanian hands until near the end of the war.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Crawford |first1=Peter |title=The War of the Three Gods: Romans, Persians and the Rise of Islam |date=2013 |publisher=Pen and Sword |isbn=9781473828650 |pages=42–43 |language=en}}</ref>