West of the Euphrates we have the peninsula of Asia Minor which later
contained the important Lydian nation, and many Greek colonies connected
with later history; Syria, on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean
Sea, divided into three distinct parts,--Syria proper; Phœnicia, or the
strip of coast between Mount Lebanon and the sea; and Palestine, south
of Phœnicia; the peninsula of Arabia, extending southeastward, and
having little to do with ancient history.