Osroene

Osroene or Osrhoene (/ɒzˈriːniː/; Ancient Greek: Ὀσροηνή) was an ancient kingdom and region in Upper Mesopotamia. The Kingdom of Osroene, also known as the "Kingdom of Edessa" (Classical Syriac: ܡܠܟܘܬܐ ܕܒܝܬ ܐܘܪܗܝ / "Kingdom of Urhay"), according to the name of its capital city (now Şanlıurfa, Turkey), existed from the 2nd century BC up to the 3rd century AD, and was ruled by the Nabataean Arab Abgarid dynasty. They were generally allied with the Parthians.

The Kingdom of Osroene enjoyed semi-autonomy to complete independence from the years of 132 BC to around AD 213. The kingdom's population was of mixed culture, being Aramaic and then Syriac-speaking from the earliest times. The city's cultural setting was fundamentally Semitic (Syrian-Aramaic and Arab), alongside Greek and Parthian influences.

The ruling Abgarid dynasty was deposed by the Romans during the reign of Roman Emperor Caracalla (r. 211–217), probably in 213, and large parts of the kingdom of Osroene were incorporated into the already existing Roman province of the same name. Whether the kingdom of Osrhoene continued to exist as a rump state in the following decades is a matter of debate—in each case, it briefly existed during the reign of Roman emperor Gordianus III (238–244). Christianity came early to Osroene. From 318, Osroene was a part of the Diocese of the East. By the 5th century, Edessa had become a main center of Syriac literature and learning. In 608, the Sasanian emperor, Khosrow II (r. 590–628), took Osroene. It was briefly reconquered by the Byzantines, but in 638 it fell to the Muslims as part of the Muslim conquests.

Osroene, or Edessa, was one of several states that acquired independence from the collapsing Seleucid Empire through a dynasty of the nomadic Nabataean tribe from Southern Canaan and North Arabia, the Osrhoeni, from 136 BC. Osroene's name either derives from the name of this tribe, or from Orhay (Urhay), the original Aramaic name of Edessa. Arab influence had been strong in the region.

Osroene endured for four centuries, with twenty-eight rulers occasionally named "king" on their coins. Most of the kings of Osroene were called Abgar or Manu and settled in urban centers.

Osroene was generally allied with the Parthian Empire. After a period under the rule of the Parthian Empire, it was absorbed into the Roman Empire in 114 as a semiautonomous vassal state, and incorporated as a simple Roman province in 214.

Edessa was celebrated as the first kingdom to adopt Christianity as its official religion. There were two main Christianizing movements at Edessa, one that came from Nisibis in the east in the first century and the second that came from Antioch in the west in the end of the second century. There is a mention of a Christian synod in Osroene in 197 CE but scholars have doubted its authenticity. At the end of the second century a bishop of Edessa was consecrated in Rome but had to go to Antioch to be confirmed. The connection between Antioch and Edessa became close by the end of the second century and the see of Edessa became subject to Antioch in the early third century.

Edessa was regularly described as the 'capital of Mesopotamia' in early Syriac manuscripts. The earliest dated Christian literary manuscript in any language was written in November 411 CE, a fragment of Isaiah is dated 459-60 CE, a manuscript containing Genesis and Exodus is dated 463-4 CE, and the earliest dated Gospels in any language were completed in October 510 CE, although there are undated Gospel manuscripts which probably are from the fifth century.