Analysis of information sources in references of the Wikipedia article "الإسلام في فلسطين" in Arabic language version.
To the عرب, this same territory, which the Romans considered Arabian, formed part of what they called بلاد الشام, which was their own name for بلاد الشام. From the classical perspective however Syria, including Palestine, formed no more than the western fringes of what was reckoned to be Arabia between the first line of cities and the coast. Since there is no clear dividing line between what are called today the بادية الشام and الصحراء العربيةs, which actually form one stretch of arid tableland, the classical concept of what actually constituted Syria had more to its credit geographically than the vaguer Arab concept of Syria as Bilad al-Sham. Under the الإمبراطورية الرومانيةs, there was actually a سوريا فلسطين, with its capital at أنطاكية, which carried the name of the territory. Otherwise, down the centuries, Syria like شبه الجزيرة العربية and بلاد الرافدين was no more than a geographic expression. In إسلامic times, the Arab geographers used the name arabicized as سوريا, to denote one special region of Bilad al-Sham, which was the middle section of the valley of the نهر العاصي, in the vicinity of the towns of حمص and حماة. They also noted that it was an old name for the whole of Bilad al-Sham which had gone out of use. As a geographic expression, however, the name Syria survived in its original classical sense in الإمبراطورية البيزنطية and Western European usage, and also in the اللغة السريانية literature of some of the مسيحية شرقية churches, from which it occasionally found its way into مسيحيون Arabic usage. It was only in the nineteenth century that the use of the name was revived in its modern Arabic form, frequently as Suriyya rather than the older Suriyah, to denote the whole of Bilad al-Sham: first of all in the مسيحية Arabic literature of the period, and under the influence of أوروبا الغربية. By the end of that century it had already replaced the name of Bilad al-Sham even in مسلم Arabic usage.
The western coastline and the eastern deserts set the boundaries for the Levant... The Euphrates and the area around Jebel el-Bishrī mark the eastern boundary of the northern Levant, as does the Syrian Desert beyond the Anti-Lebanon range's eastern hinterland and Mount Hermon. This boundary continues south in the form of the highlands and eastern desert regions of Transjordan.
The western coastline and the eastern deserts set the boundaries for the Levant... The Euphrates and the area around Jebel el-Bishrī mark the eastern boundary of the northern Levant, as does the Syrian Desert beyond the Anti-Lebanon range's eastern hinterland and Mount Hermon. This boundary continues south in the form of the highlands and eastern desert regions of Transjordan.
To the عرب, this same territory, which the Romans considered Arabian, formed part of what they called بلاد الشام, which was their own name for بلاد الشام. From the classical perspective however Syria, including Palestine, formed no more than the western fringes of what was reckoned to be Arabia between the first line of cities and the coast. Since there is no clear dividing line between what are called today the بادية الشام and الصحراء العربيةs, which actually form one stretch of arid tableland, the classical concept of what actually constituted Syria had more to its credit geographically than the vaguer Arab concept of Syria as Bilad al-Sham. Under the الإمبراطورية الرومانيةs, there was actually a سوريا فلسطين, with its capital at أنطاكية, which carried the name of the territory. Otherwise, down the centuries, Syria like شبه الجزيرة العربية and بلاد الرافدين was no more than a geographic expression. In إسلامic times, the Arab geographers used the name arabicized as سوريا, to denote one special region of Bilad al-Sham, which was the middle section of the valley of the نهر العاصي, in the vicinity of the towns of حمص and حماة. They also noted that it was an old name for the whole of Bilad al-Sham which had gone out of use. As a geographic expression, however, the name Syria survived in its original classical sense in الإمبراطورية البيزنطية and Western European usage, and also in the اللغة السريانية literature of some of the مسيحية شرقية churches, from which it occasionally found its way into مسيحيون Arabic usage. It was only in the nineteenth century that the use of the name was revived in its modern Arabic form, frequently as Suriyya rather than the older Suriyah, to denote the whole of Bilad al-Sham: first of all in the مسيحية Arabic literature of the period, and under the influence of أوروبا الغربية. By the end of that century it had already replaced the name of Bilad al-Sham even in مسلم Arabic usage.
