Hazael

Hazael (/ˈheɪziəl/; Biblical Hebrew: חֲזָאֵל or חֲזָהאֵל, romanized: Ḥăzāʾēl; Old Aramaic: 𐡇𐡆𐡀𐡋, romanized: ḤZʾL, from the triliteral Semitic root h-z-y, "to see"; his full name meaning, "El/God has seen"; Akkadian: 𒄩𒍝𒀪𒀭, romanized: Ḫa-za-’-ilu) was an Aramean king who is mentioned in the Bible. Under his reign, Aram-Damascus became an empire that ruled over large parts of Syria and Israel. While he was likely born in the greater Damascus region of today, his exact place of birth is still controversial, with both Bashan and the Beqaa Valley being favoured by different historians.