Bilad al-Sham

Bilad al-Sham

former administrative territorial entity

Year dem found am	636
Official name	بلاد الشام
Official language	Arabic
Continent	Asia
Country	Rashidun Caliphate
Capital	Damascus
Dey contain de administrative territorial entity	Jund Filastin, Jund al-Urdunn
Replaced by	Egyptian Ikhshidid Emirate
Dey replace	Diocese of the East
Date dem dissolve, abolish anaa demolish	940s

Bilad al-Sham (Arabic: بِلَاد الشَّام, romanized: Bilād al-Shām), dem often refer to as Islamic Syria anaa simply Syria insyd English-language sources, be a province of de Rashidun, Umayyad, Abbasid, den Fatimid caliphates. E roughly correspond plus de Byzantine Diocese of de East, wey de Muslims conquer insyd 634–647. Under de Umayyads (661–750), Bilad al-Sham be de metropolitan province of de Caliphate den different localities thru out de province serve as de seats of de Umayyad caliphs den princes.

Bilad al-Sham be first organized into de four ajnad (military districts; singular jund) of Dimashq (Damascus), Hims (Homs), al-Urdunn (Jordan), den Filastin (Palestine), between 637 den 640 by Caliph Umar dey follow de Muslim conquest. D create de jund of Qinnasrin out of de northern part of Hims by caliphs Mu'awiya I (r. 661–680) anaa Yazid I (r. 680–683). Dem make de Jazira (Upper Mesopotamia) an independent province from de Mesopotamian part of Qinnasrin by Caliph Abd al-Malik insyd 692. Insyd 786, dem establish de jund of al-Awasim den al-Thughur from de northern frontier region of Qinnasrin by Caliph Harun al-Rashid. As centralized Abbasid rule over Bilad al-Sham collapse insyd de 10th century, dem divide control over de region by several potentates den de ajnad only represented nominal divisions. De Abbasids den de Egypt-based Fatimid Caliphate continue to officially recognize de province den ein ajnad til de Crusader invasions of de coastal regions insyd 1099.

Name

De name Bilad al-Sham insyd Arabic dey translate as "de left-hand region". Dem so name am from de perspective of de people of de Hejaz (western Arabia), wey consider demaselves to be facing de rising sun, wey de Syrian region be positioned to dema left, while to dema right be al-Yaman ("de right-hand-region").