Osroene
historical Arab kingdom in Upper Mesopotamia; semi-autonomous or independent from 132 BCE to 244 CE; Roman province from 244–608 CE / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Osroene (also spelled Osrohene, Osrhoene, from the Greek Όσροηνῆ; Syriac: ܡܠܟܘܬܐ ܕܒܝܬ ܥܣܪܐ ܥܝܢܐ Malkuṯā d-Bēt ʿŌsrā ʿĪnē), also known by the name of its capital city, Edessa (modern Şanlıurfa, Turkey), was a historic kingdom located on the present-day border of Syria and Turkey. The kingdom was Assyrian[1][2] and enjoyed semi-autonomy to complete independence from the years of 132 BCE to 244 AD.[2][3] It was a Syriac speaking kingdom,[4] and according to an ancient legend King Abgar V of Edessa was converted[5] to Christianity by Thaddeus of Edessa, or Saint Addai, one of the Seventy-two Disciples.[5] By 201 AD or earlier,[6] under King Abgar the Great,[7] Osroene became the first Christian state.[8][9]