Cyrrhestica is a district of
Greater Syria which appears to have owed its name to the
Macedonian occupation of the country. It lies between the plain of
Antioch, and was bounded on the east by the
Euphrates, and on the west by
Amanus and
Commagene; to the south, it extended as far as the desert. This fertile, well-watered, and thickly peopled district occupied the right bank of the Euphrates, where the river inclines rather eastward of south. It was the scene of the campaign in which
Ventidius defeated the
Parthian Pacorus and avenged
Crassus and the Roman army which had fallen at
Carrhae.
Constantine I united it with
Commagene under the name of
Provincia Euphratensis. The chief towns of Cyrrhestica were
Hierapolis Bambyce,
Zeugma,
Europus,
Birtha?,
Beroea (modern Aleppo),
Batnae, and
Cyrrhus.