ABSTRACT

Security became an increasing preoccupation from the mid-third century AD. With the rise of the Sasanian Empire in Persia in AD 224, the pattern of occasional intrusions from the east intensified. Roman legions were stationed in Syria to strengthen defence against incursions via the central steppe, with Damascus as a centre for armaments production along the long frontier zone stretching across Syria, the Strata Diocletiana. With the removal of restrictions on Christian worship under Constantine, the fourth century saw a surge in the number of adherents to Christianity across Syria and the conversion of the Roman Jupiter shrine to serve as the cathedral dedicated to John the Baptist. Theological controversies which wracked the eastern empire reflected a residual difference in emphasis between the Greek-speaking and Aramaean strands in Syrian society, an inherent tension which was perhaps intensified by the Sasanian occupation of Syria.