Names of the Levant homeland proper with the northwest coastal region of the Levant, centered at Phoenician cities such as Ugarit, Tyre, Sidon, and Byblos. Today, this place is usually equated with modern Lebanon and the coast of modern Syria. Also there is a modern town in Turkey called "Finike" which is thought to have derived by the Lycians who traded with Phoenicians in ancient times. Israel: Judea: The kingdoms of Israel and Judah were Iron Age Semitic nations spanning from Edom to Assyria. Today the modern State of Israel controls much of the former territory of the ancient Israelite/Judean kingdoms. According to the
Lebanon–Syria relations France led to economic downfall and the suspension of the constitution in both Syria and Lebanon. Because the mandates were vulnerable to invasion, Britain pressured France to allow both countries to hold elections. At the same time, nationalist movements aimed to “create nations” within the geographical boundaries of newly formed states including Syria and Lebanon. In Lebanon, Christians grew to recognize Lebanon’s regional Arab identity while Muslims recognized Lebanon’s sovereignty as country separate from Syria. At the same time, movements for pan-Arabism and Islamic solidarity still existed and gained traction within Lebanon, Syria, and the wider Middle East. In 1943,