Gaius Julius Fabia Sampsiceramus III Silas (flourished second half of the 1st century & first half of the 2nd century, died 120) was a Syrian Prince

History of Syria

The history of Syria:*Prehistory and Ancient Near East: see Pre-history of the Southern Levant, Fertile Crescent, Ebla, Mitanni*Antiquity: see Syro-Hittite states, Greater Syria, Roman Syria...

 and Roman Client Priest King of Emesa

Royal family of Emesa

The royal family of Emesa, also known as the Emesani Dynasty or the Sempsigerami of Emesa , sometimes known as The Sampsiceramids were a ruling Roman client dynasty of priest-kings in Emesa, Syria Province...

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Silas was a monarch of Assyrian

Assyrian people

The Assyrian people are a distinct ethnic group whose origins lie in ancient Mesopotamia...

, Greek

Greeks

The Greeks, also known as the Hellenes , are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighboring regions. They also form a significant diaspora, with Greek communities established around the world....

, Armenian, Medes

Medes

The MedesThe Medes...

, Berber

Berber people

Berbers are the indigenous peoples of North Africa west of the Nile Valley. They are continuously distributed from the Atlantic to the Siwa oasis, in Egypt, and from the Mediterranean to the Niger River. Historically they spoke the Berber language or varieties of it, which together form a branch...

 and Roman ancestry

Ancient Rome

Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....

. He was the son of Gaius Julius Alexio

Gaius Julius Alexio

Gaius Julius Alexio also known as Alexio II was a Syrian Prince and Roman Client Priest King of Emesa.Alexio was a monarch of Assyrian, Greek, Armenian, Medes, Berber and Roman ancestry. He was the child born to the monarchs Sohaemus of Emesa and Drusilla of Mauretania. The father of Alexio,...

, also known as Alexio II by an unnamed wife. His paternal grandparents were the previous Emesene Monarchs Sohaemus of Emesa

Sohaemus of Emesa

Gaius Julius Sohaemus, also known as Sohaemus of Emesa and Sohaemus of Sophene , was a prince and a Roman Client Priest King from Syria who lived in the 1st century....

 and Drusilla of Mauretania

Drusilla of Mauretania (born 38)

This article is about Drusilla of Mauretania for her paternal aunt of the same name; see Drusilla of Mauretania .Drusilla of Mauretania was a Princess of Mauretania, North Africa and was the great grandchild of Ptolemaic Greek Queen Cleopatra VII of Egypt and Roman Triumvir Mark Antony.-Ancestry...

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Silas was born and raised in Emesa. After his father died in 78, Silas succeeded his father as Priest King of Emesa. Silas ruled as a Priest King from 79 until his death in 120. He was the priest of the Syrian Sun God, known in Aramaic

Aramaic language

Aramaic is a group of languages belonging to the Afroasiatic language phylum. The name of the language is based on the name of Aram, an ancient region in central Syria. Within this family, Aramaic belongs to the Semitic family, and more specifically, is a part of the Northwest Semitic subfamily,...

 as El-Gebal. Little is known on his life and his reign as Emesene Priest King. What is known about Silas is from surviving inscriptions from Emesa

Homs

Homs , previously known as Emesa , is a city in western Syria and the capital of the Homs Governorate. It is above sea level and is located north of Damascus...

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There is a noted sepulchral Greek inscription on a monument dated 78/79 at Emesa, dedicated by Silas to his family:

Γαΐος Ἰούλιος, Φαβίᾳ, Σαμσιγέραμος ὁ καὶ Σείλας, Γαΐου Ἰουλίου Ἀλεξιῶνος υἱὁς, ζῶν ἐποίησεν ἑαυτῷ καὶ τοῖς ἰδίοις, ἔτους Οτʹ

Gaius Julius Fabia, Sampsiceramus, also called Silas, son of Gaius Julius Alexio, while still living made this for himself and his family, year 390

The generations after Silas, are not recorded sufficiently to accurately present a pedigree. There is a possibility Silas may have been the father of Gaius Julius Longinus Soaemus, the Emesene Priest King who succeeded Silas. A descendant of Silas’ is the Emesene high priest Gaius Julius Bassianus

Julius Bassianus

Gaius Julius Bassianus or Bassus, also known as Julius Bassianus was a Syrian, who lived in the 2nd century and 3rd century. Bassianus was a high priest for the Temple of the Sun, which was adored in a shape of a black stone. The Aramaean Sun God in Aramaic is El-Gabal. Bassianus was a member of...

, who was the father of the Roman Empress Julia Domna

Julia Domna

Julia Domna was a member of the Severan dynasty of the Roman Empire. Empress and wife of Roman Emperor Lucius Septimius Severus and mother of Emperors Geta and Caracalla, Julia was among the most important women ever to exercise power behind the throne in the Roman Empire.- Family background...

 and another possible descendant was the Syrian Queen of the 3rd century, Zenobia

Zenobia

Zenobia was a 3rd-century Queen of the Palmyrene Empire in Roman Syria. She led a famous revolt against the Roman Empire. The second wife of King Septimius Odaenathus, Zenobia became queen of the Palmyrene Empire following Odaenathus' death in 267...

 of Palmyra

Palmyra

Palmyra was an ancient city in Syria. In the age of antiquity, it was an important city of central Syria, located in an oasis 215 km northeast of Damascus and 180 km southwest of the Euphrates at Deir ez-Zor. It had long been a vital caravan city for travellers crossing the Syrian desert...

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Sources

• H. Temporini & W. Haase, Aufstieg und Niedergang der römischen Welt: Geschichte und Kultur Roms im spiegel der neueren Forschung, Walter de Gruyter, 1977
• A.R. Birley, Septimius Severus: the African emperor, Routledge, 1999
• Cleopatra’s Children and Descendants at Ancient History by Suite101