Palmyra (/pælˈmaɪrə/pal-MY-rə;Palmyrene:𐡶𐡣𐡬𐡥𐡴 (),romanized:Tadmor;Arabic:تَدْمُر,romanized: Tadmur) is an ancient city in centralSyria. It is located in the eastern part of theLevant, and archaeological finds date back to theNeolithic period, and documents first mention the city in the early second millennium BCE. Palmyra changed hands on a number of occasions between different empires before becoming a subject of theRoman Empire in the first century CE.
The city grew wealthy fromtrade caravans; the Palmyrenes became renowned as merchants who established colonies along theSilk Road and operated throughout the Roman Empire. Palmyra's wealth enabled the construction of monumental projects, such as theGreat Colonnade, theTemple of Bel, and the distinctive tower tombs. Ethnically, the Palmyrenes combined elements ofAmorites,Arameans, andArabs. Socially structured around kinship and clans, Palmyra's inhabitants spokePalmyrene Aramaic, a variety ofWestern Middle Aramaic, while usingKoine Greek for commercial and diplomatic purposes. TheHellenistic period ofWest Asia influenced theculture of Palmyra, which produced distinctive art and architecture that combined different Mediterranean traditions. The city's inhabitants worshipedlocal Semitic,Mesopotamian, andArab deities.
By the third century, Palmyra had become a prosperous regional center. It reached the apex of its power in the 260s, when the Palmyrene KingOdaenathus defeated theSasanian emperorShapur I. The king was succeeded by queen regentZenobia, who rebelled against Rome and established thePalmyrene Empire. In 273, Roman emperorAurelian destroyed the city, which was later restored byDiocletian at a reduced size. The Palmyrenes converted toChristianity during the fourth century and toIslam in the centuries following the conquest by the 7th-centuryRashidun Caliphate, after which the Palmyrene and Greek languages were replaced byArabic.
Before 273 CE, Palmyra enjoyed autonomy and was attached to the Romanprovince of Syria, having its political organization influenced by theGreek city-state model during the first two centuries CE. The city became aRoman colonia during the third century, leading to the incorporation of Roman governing institutions, before becoming a monarchy in 260. Following its destruction in 273, Palmyra became a minor center under theByzantines and later empires. Its destruction by theTimurids in 1400 reduced it to a small village. UnderFrench Mandatory rule in 1932, the inhabitants were moved into the new village ofTadmur, and the ancient site became available for excavations. During theSyrian civil war in 2015, theIslamic State captured Palmyra and destroyed large parts of the ancient city, which was recaptured by theSyrian Army on 2 March 2017. It was then recaptured by theSyrian Free Army, after the fall of theAssad government in December 2024.
Records of the name "Tadmor" date from the early second millennium BC;[1] eighteenth century BC tablets fromMari written incuneiform record the name as "Ta-ad-mi-ir", while Assyrian inscriptions of the eleventh century BC record it as "Ta-ad-mar".[2] Aramaic Palmyrene inscriptions themselves showed two variants of the name;TDMR (i.e., Tadmar) andTDMWR (i.e., Tadmor).[3][4] The etymology of the name is unclear; the standard interpretation, supported byAlbert Schultens, connects it to the Semitic word for "date palm",tamar (תמר),[note 1][7][8] thus referring to the palm trees that surrounded the city.[8]
The Greek nameΠαλμύρα (LatinizedPalmyra) was first recorded byPliny the Elder in the 1st century AD.[9] It was used throughout theGreco-Roman world.[7] It is generally believed that "Palmyra" derives from "Tadmor" and linguists have presented two possibilities; one view holds that Palmyra was an alteration of Tadmor.[7] According to the suggestion by Schultens, "Palmyra" could have arisen as a corruption of "Tadmor", via an unattested form "Talmura", changed to "Palmura" by the influence of the Latin wordpalma (date "palm"),[1] in reference to the city's palm trees, then the name reached its final form "Palmyra".[10] The second view, supported by some philologists, such asJean Starcky, holds that Palmyra is a translation of "Tadmor" (assuming that it meant palm), which had derived from the Greek word for palm, "palame".[1][8]
An alternative suggestion connects the name to theSyriactedmurtā (ܬܕܡܘܪܬܐ) "miracle", hencetedmurtā "object of wonder", from the rootdmr "to wonder"; this possibility was mentioned favourably byFranz Altheim and Ruth Altheim-Stiehl (1973), but rejected by Jean Starcky (1960) and Michael Gawlikowski (1974).[9]Michael Patrick O'Connor (1988) suggested that the names "Palmyra" and "Tadmor" originated in theHurrian language.[1] As evidence, he cited the inexplicability of alterations to the theorized roots of both names (represented in the addition of-d- totamar and-ra- topalame).[8] According to this theory, "Tadmor" derives from the Hurrian wordtad ("to love") with the addition of the typical Hurrianmid vowel rising (mVr)formantmar.[11] Similarly, according to this theory, "Palmyra" derives from the Hurrian wordpal ("to know") using the same mVr formant (mar).[11]
The city of Palmyra lies 215 km (134 mi) northeast of the Syrian capital,Damascus;[12] along with an expanded hinterland of several settlements, farms and forts, the city forms part of the region known as the Palmyrene.[13] The city is located in anoasis surrounded bypalms (of which twenty varieties have been reported).[8][14] Two mountain ranges overlook the city: the northernPalmyrene mountain belt from the north and the southern Palmyrene mountains from the southwest.[15] In the south and the east Palmyra is exposed to theSyrian Desert.[15] A smallwadi, al-Qubur, crosses the area, flowing from the western hills past the city before disappearing in the eastern gardens of the oasis.[16] South of the wadi is a spring,Efqa.[17] Pliny the Elder described the town in the 70s AD as famous for its desert location, for the richness of its soil,[18] and for the springs surrounding it, which made agriculture and herding possible.[note 2][18]
Palmyra began as a small Neolithic settlement near the Efqa spring on the southern bank of Wadi al-Qubur.[20] The much later Hellenistic settlement of Palmyra was also located near the Efqa spring on the southern bank of Wadi al-Qubur.[20] It had its residences expanding to the wadi's northern bank during the first century.[16] Although the city's walls at the time of Zenobia originally enclosed an extensive area on both banks of the wadi,[16] the walls rebuilt during Aurelian's reign surrounded only the northern-bank section.[21][16] Most of the city's monumental projects were built on the wadi's northern bank,[22] among them is theTemple of Bel, on atell which was the site of an earlier temple (known as the Hellenistic temple).[23] However, excavation supports the theory that the tell was originally located on the southern bank, and the wadi was diverted south of the tell to incorporate the temple into Palmyra's late first and early second century urban organization on the north bank.[24]
Also north of the wadi was theGreat Colonnade, Palmyra's 1.1-kilometre-long (0.68 mi) main street,[25] which extended from the Temple of Bel in the east,[26] to the Funerary Temple no.86 in the city's western part.[27][28] It had amonumental arch in its eastern section,[29] and atetrapylon stands in the center.[30] The Baths of Diocletian were on the left side of the colonnade.[31] Nearby were residences,[32] theTemple of Baalshamin,[33] and the Byzantine churches, which include "Basilica IV", Palmyra's largest church.[34] The church is dated to theJustinian age,[35] its columns are estimated to be 7 metres (23 ft) high, and its base measured 27.5 by 47.5 metres (90 by 156 ft).[34]
The earliest known inhabitants were theAmorites in the early second millennium BC,[41] and by the end of the millennium,Arameans were mentioned as inhabiting the area.[42][43]
Arabs arrived in the city in the late first millennium BC.[44]
Zabdibel, who aided theSeleucids in thebattle of Raphia (217 BC), was mentioned as the commander of "the Arabs and neighbouring tribes to the number of ten thousands";[45] Zabdibel and his men were not actually identified as Palmyrenes in the texts, but the name "Zabdibel" is a Palmyrene name leading to the conclusion that he hailed from Palmyra.[46] The Arab newcomers were assimilated by the earlier inhabitants, used Palmyrene as a mother tongue,[47] and formed a significant segment of the aristocracy.[48]
At its height during the reign of Zenobia (around 270), Palmyra had more than 200,000 residents.[note 3][50]
The classical city also had a Jewish community; inscriptions in Palmyrene from theBeit She'arim necropolis inLower Galilee confirm the burial of Palmyrene Jews.[51]
During the Roman period, occasionally and rarely, members of the Palmyrene families took Greek names while ethnic Greeks were few; the majority of people with Greek names, who did not belong to one of the city's families, were freed slaves.[52] The Palmyrenes seem to have disliked the Greeks, considered them foreigners, and restricted their settlement in the city.[52]
Palmyra's population was a mixture of the different peoples inhabiting the city,[57][58] which is seen in Aramaic, Arabic and Amorite names of Palmyrene clans,[note 4][59] but the ethnicity of Palmyra is a matter of debate.[60]
Some scholars, such as Andrew M. Smith II, consider ethnicity a concept related to modern nationalism, and prefer not to describe the Palmyrenes with ethnic designations they themselves did not know, concluding that there is a lack of evidence regarding what ethnicity the Palmyrenes perceived themselves.[61] On the other hand, many scholars, such as Eivind Seland, contend that a distinctive Palmyrene ethnicity is apparent in the available contemporary evidence.[62] The second century workDe Munitionibus Castrorum mentioned the Palmyrenes as anatio, the Latin equivalent of the Greek ἔθνος (éthnos).[63] Seland noted the epigraphic evidence left by the Palmyrenes outside the city.[62]
The inscriptions reveal the existence of a real diaspora satisfying the three criteria set by the sociologistRogers Brubaker.[note 5][64] Palmyrene diaspora members always made clear their Palmyrene origin and used the Palmyrene language, and maintained their distinct religion even when the host society's religion was close to that of Palmyra. Seland concluded that in the case of Palmyra, the people perceived themselves different from their neighbours and a real Palmyrene ethnicity existed.[65] Aside from the existence of a Palmyrene ethnicity, Aramean or Arab are the two main ethnic designations debated by historians;[60] Javier Teixidor stated, "Palmyra was an Aramaean city and it is a mistake to consider it as an Arab town", while Yasamin Zahran criticized this statement and argued that the inhabitants considered themselves Arabs.[66] In practice, according to several scholars such as Udo Hartmann and Michael Sommer, the citizenry of Palmyra were mainly the result of Arab and Aramaean tribes merging into a unity with a corresponding consciousness; they thought and acted as Palmyrenes.[67][68]
Until the late third century, Palmyrenes spokePalmyrene Aramaic and used thePalmyrene alphabet.[69][70] The use ofLatin was minimal, but Greek was used by wealthier members of society for commercial and diplomatic purposes,[71] and it became the dominant language during the Byzantine era.[72] There are several theories explaining the disappearance of the Palmyrene language shortly after the campaigns of Aurelian. The linguist Jean Cantineau assumed that Aurelian suppressed all aspects of Palmyrene culture, including the language, but the last Palmyrene inscription dates to 279/280, after the death of the Roman emperor in 275, thus refuting such a theory.[73] Many scholars ascribe the disappearance of the language to a change in society resulting from the reorganization of the Eastern Roman frontier following the fall of Zenobia.[73] The archaeologist Karol Juchniewicz ascribed it to a change in the ethnic composition of the city, resulting from the influx of people who did not speak Aramaic, probably a Roman legion.[21] Hartmann suggested that it was a Palmyrene initiative by nobles allied to Rome attempting to express their loyalty to the emperor; Hartmann noted that Palmyrene disappeared in the written form, and that this does not mean its extinction as spoken language.[74] After the Arab conquest, Greek was replaced byArabic,[72] from which, although the city was surrounded by Bedouins, a Palmyrene dialect evolved.[56]
Palmyrene funerary portrait representing Aqmat, a Palmyrene aristocrat
Classical Palmyra was a tribal community, but due to the lack of sources, an understanding of the nature of Palmyrene tribal structure is not possible.[75] Thirty clans have been documented;[76] five of which were identified as tribes (PhylaiKoinē Greek:Φυλαί, pl. ofPhyle Φυλή) comprising several sub-clans.[note 6][77] By the time ofNero, Palmyra had four tribes, each residing in an area of the city bearing its name.[78] Three of the tribes were theKomare, Mattabol andMa'zin; the fourth tribe is uncertain, but was probably the Mita.[78][79] In time, the four tribes became highly civic and tribal lines blurred;[note 7][78] by the second century clan identity lost its importance, and it disappeared during the third century.[note 8][78] Even the four tribes ceased to be important by the third century as only one inscription mentions a tribe after the year 212; instead, aristocrats played the decisive role in the city's social organization.[81]
Women seem to have been active in Palmyra's social and public life. They commissioned inscriptions, buildings or tombs, and in certain cases, held administrative offices. Offerings to gods in the names of women are documented.[82]
The last Palmyrene inscription of 279/280 refers to the honouring of a citizen by the Maththabolians,[73] which indicates that the tribal system still carried weight after the fall of Zenobia.[83] A noticeable change is the lack of development of aristocratic residences, and no important public buildings were constructed by locals, indicating that the elite diminished following the campaign of Aurelian. The social change and the reduction of the aristocratic elite is hard to explain. It could be a result of the aristocracy suffering many casualties in the war against Rome, or fleeing to the countryside.
According to historianEmanuele Intagliata, the change can be ascribed to the Roman reorganization following Zenobia's fall, as Palmyra ceased to be a rich caravan city and became a frontier fortress, leading the inhabitants to focus on satisfying the needs of a garrison instead of providing the empire with luxurious oriental items. Such a change in functions would have made the city less attractive for an aristocratic elite.[84]
Palmyra benefited fromUmayyad rule, since its role as a frontier city ended and the East-West trade route was restored, leading to the re-emergence of a merchant class. Palmyra's loyalty to the Umayyads led to an aggressive military retaliation from their successors, theAbbasid Caliphate, and the city diminished in size, losing its merchant class.[85]
Following its destruction byTimur, Palmyra maintained the life of a small settlement until its relocation in 1932.[86]
The scarce artifacts found in the city dating to the Bronze Age reveal that, culturally, Palmyra was most affiliated with western Syria.[87]Classical Palmyra had a distinctive culture,[88] based on alocal Semitic tradition,[89] and influenced by Greece and Rome.[note 9][91] To appear better integrated into the Roman Empire, some Palmyrenes adopted Greco-Roman names, either alone or in addition to a second native name.[92] The extent of Greek influence on Palmyra's culture is debated.[93] Scholars interpreted the Palmyrenes' Greek practices differently; many see those characters as a superficial layer over a local essence.[94] Palmyra's senate was an example; although Palmyrene texts written in Greek described it as a "boule" (a Greek institution), the senate was a gathering of non-elected tribal elders (a Near-Eastern assembly tradition).[95] Others view Palmyra's culture as a fusion of local and Greco-Roman traditions.[96]
The culture ofPersia influenced Palmyrene military tactics, dress and court ceremonies.[97] Palmyra had no large libraries or publishing facilities, and it lacked an intellectual movement characteristic of other Eastern cities such asEdessa or Antioch.[98] Although Zenobia opened her court to academics, the only notable scholar documented wasCassius Longinus.[98]
Palmyra had a largeagora.[note 10] However, unlike the Greek Agoras (public gathering places shared with public buildings), Palmyra's agora resembled an Easterncaravanserai more than a hub of public life.[100][101] The Palmyrenes buried their dead in elaborate family mausoleums,[102] most with interior walls forming rows of burial chambers (loculi) in which the dead, lying at full length, were placed.[103][104] Arelief of the person interred formed part of the wall's decoration, acting as a headstone.[104]Sarcophagi appeared in the late second century and were used in some of the tombs.[105] Many burial monuments containedmummies embalmed in a method similar to that used inAncient Egypt.[106][107]
Although Palmyrene art was related tothat of Greece, it had a distinctive style unique to the middle-Euphrates region.[108] Palmyrene art is well represented by thebust reliefs which seal the openings of its burial chambers.[108] The reliefs emphasized clothing, jewelry and a frontal representation of the person depicted,[108][109] characteristics which can be seen as a forerunner ofByzantine art.[108] According toMichael Rostovtzeff, Palmyra's art was influenced byParthian art.[110] However, the origin of frontality that characterized Palmyrene and Parthian arts is a controversial issue; while Parthian origin has been suggested (byDaniel Schlumberger),[111]Michael Avi-Yonah contends that it was a local Syrian tradition that influenced Parthian art.[112] Little painting, and none of the bronze statues of prominent citizens (which stood on brackets on the main columns of the Great Colonnade), have survived.[113] A damagedfrieze and other sculptures from the Temple of Bel, many removed to museums in Syria and abroad, suggest the city's public monumental sculpture.[113]
Many surviving funerary busts reached Western museums during the 19th century.[114] Palmyra provided the most convenient Eastern examples bolstering an art-history controversy at the turn of the 20th century: to what extent Eastern influence onRoman art replaced idealized classicism with frontal, hieratic and simplified figures (as believed byJosef Strzygowski and others).[113][115] This transition is seen as a response to cultural changes in theWestern Roman Empire, rather than artistic influence from the East.[113] Palmyrene bust reliefs, unlike Roman sculptures, are rudimentary portraits; although many reflect high quality individuality, the majority vary little across figures of similar age and gender.[113]
Like its art, Palmyra's architecture was influenced by the Greco-Roman style, while preserving local elements (best seen in the Temple of Bel).[note 11][116][119] Enclosed by a massive wall flanked with traditional Roman columns,[119][120] Bel's sanctuary plan was primarily Semitic.[119] Similar to theSecond Temple, the sanctuary consisted of a large courtyard with the deity's main shrine off-center against its entrance (a plan preserving elements of the temples ofEbla andUgarit).[119][121]
The statue of Al-lāt (equated with Athena) found in its temple (destroyed in 2015)
The Funerary Temple no.86
Diocletian's walls
West of the ancient walls, the Palmyrenes built a number of large-scale funerary monuments which now form theValley of Tombs,[122] a one-kilometre-long (0.62 mi)necropolis.[123] The more than 50 monuments were primarily tower-shaped and up to four stories high.[124] Towers were replaced by funerary temples in the first half of the second century AD, as the most recent tower is dated to AD 128.[27] The city had other cemeteries in the north, southwest and southeast, where the tombs are primarilyhypogea (underground).[125][126]
The senate building is largely ruined.[37] It is a small building that consists of aperistyle courtyard and a chamber that has anapse at one end and rows of seats around it.[76]
Much of theBaths of Diocletian are ruined and do not survive above the level of the foundations.[127] The complex's entrance is marked by four massive Egyptian granite columns each 1.3 metres (4 ft 3 in) in diameter, 12.5 metres (41 ft) high and weigh 20 tonnes.[37] Inside, the outline of a bathing pool surrounded by a colonnade ofCorinthian columns is still visible in addition to an octagonal room that served as a dressing room containing a drain in its center.[37]Sossianus Hierocles, a governor under EmperorDiocletian, claimed to have built the baths, but the building was probably erected in the late second century and Sossianus Hierocles renovated it.[note 12][129]
TheAgora of Palmyra is part of a complex that also includes the tariff court and the triclinium, built in the second half of the first century AD.[130] The agora is a massive 71-by-84-metre (233 by 276 ft) structure with 11 entrances.[37] Inside the agora, 200 columnar bases that used to hold statues of prominent citizens were found.[37] The inscriptions on the bases allowed an understanding of the order by which the statues were grouped; the eastern side was reserved for senators, the northern side for Palmyrene officials, the western side for soldiers and the southern side for caravan chiefs.[37]
TheTariff Court is a large rectangular enclosure south of the agora and sharing its northern wall with it.[131] Originally, the entrance of the court was a massive vestibule in its southwestern wall.[131] However, the entrance was blocked by the construction of a defensive wall and the court was entered through three doors from the Agora.[131] The court gained its name by containing a 5-metre (16 ft) stone slab that had the Palmyrene tax law inscribed on it.[132][133]
TheTriclinium of the Agora is at the northwestern corner of the Agora and can host up to 40 people.[134][135] It is a small 12-by-15-metre (39 by 49 ft) hall decorated withGreek key motifs that run in a continuous line halfway up the wall.[136] The building was probably used by the rulers of the city;[134] the French general director of antiquities in Syria,Henri Seyrig, proposed that it was a small temple before being turned into atriclinium or banqueting hall.[135]
TheTemple of Bel was dedicated in AD 32;[137] it consisted of a largeprecinct lined byporticos; it had a rectangular shape and was oriented north-south.[138] The exterior wall was 205-metre (673 ft) long with apropylaea,[139] and the cella stood on a podium in the middle of the enclosure.[140]
TheTemple of Baalshamin dates to the late 2nd century BC in its earliest phases;[141] itsaltar was built in AD 115,[121] and it was substantially rebuilt in AD 131.[142] It consisted of a central cella and two colonnaded courtyards north and south of the central structure.[143] Avestibule consisting of six columns preceded the cella which had its side walls decorated with pilasters in Corinthian order.[144]
TheTemple of Nabu is largely ruined.[145] The temple was Eastern in its plan; the outer enclosure'spropylaea led to a 20-by-9-metre (66 by 30 ft) podium through a portico of which the bases of the columns survives.[143] The peristylecella opened onto an outdoor altar.[143]
TheTemple of Al-Lat is largely ruined with only a podium, a few columns and the door frame remaining.[38] Inside the compound, a giant lion relief (Lion of Al-lāt) was excavated and in its original form, was a relief protruding from the temple compound's wall.[144][146]
The ruinedTemple of Baal-hamon was located on the top of Jabal al-Muntar hill which oversees the spring of Efqa.[147] Constructed in AD 89, it consisted of a cella and a vestibule with two columns.[147] The temple had a defensive tower attached to it;[148] amosaic depicting the sanctuary was excavated and it revealed that both the cella and the vestibule were decorated withmerlons.[148]
TheArch of Triumph was one of Palmyra's monuments that was destroyed by ISIS in 2015 with the use of dynamite.[149]
The Arch of Triumph, taken Feb 2, 1996. (Before its destruction by ISIS in 2015)
TheGreat Colonnade was Palmyra's 1.1-kilometre-long (0.68 mi) main street; most of the columns date to the second century AD and each is 9.50 metres (31.2 ft) high.[25]
TheFunerary Temple no. 86 (also known as the House Tomb) is located at the western end of the Great Colonnade.[27][150] It was built in the third century AD and has a portico of six columns and vine patterns carvings.[59][151] Inside the chamber, steps leads down to a vault crypt.[151] The shrine might have been connected to the royal family as it is the only tomb inside the city's walls.[59]
TheTetrapylon was erected during the renovations of Diocletian at the end of the third century.[86] It is a square platform and each corner contains a grouping of four columns.[36] Each column group supports a 150-ton cornice and contains a pedestal in its center that originally carried a statue.[36] Out of sixteen columns, only one is original while the rest are from reconstruction work by theSyrian Directorate-General of Antiquities in 1963, using concrete.[151] The original columns were brought from Egypt and carved out of pink granite.[36]
TheWalls of Palmyra started in the first century as a protective wall containing gaps where the surrounding mountains formed natural barriers; it encompassed the residential areas, the gardens and the oasis.[21] After 273, Aurelian erected the rampart known as the wall of Diocletian;[21] it enclosed about 80 hectares, a much smaller area than the original pre-273 city.[152][153]
Bel's temple entrance arch remains after the destruction of the cella
According to eyewitnesses, on 23 May 2015Islamic State militants destroyed theLion of Al-lāt and other statues; this came days after the militants had gathered the citizens and promised not to destroy the city's monuments.[154] IS destroyed the Temple of Baalshamin on 23 August 2015.[155] On 30 August 2015, IS destroyed the cella of the Temple of Bel.[156] On 31 August 2015, the United Nations confirmed the temple wasdestroyed;[157] the temple's exterior walls and entrance arch remain.[156][158]
It became known on 4 September 2015 that IS had destroyed three of the best preserved tower tombs including theTower of Elahbel.[159] On 5 October 2015, news media reported that IS was destroying buildings with no religious meaning, including the monumental arch.[160] On 20 January 2017, news emerged that the militants had destroyed the tetrapylon and part of the theater.[161] Following the March 2017 capture of Palmyra by the Syrian Army, Maamoun Abdulkarim, director of antiquities and museums at theSyrian Ministry of Culture, stated that the damage to ancient monuments may be lesser than earlier believed and preliminary pictures showed almost no further damage than what was already known.[162] Antiquities official Wael Hafyan stated that the Tetrapylon was badly damaged while the damage to the facade of the Roman theatre was less serious.[163]
Digital reconstruction of the Temple of Bel (New Palmyra project)
In response to the destruction, on 21 October 2015,Creative Commons started theNew Palmyra project, an online repository of three-dimensional models representing the city's monuments; the models were generated from images gathered, and released into the public domain, by the Syrian internet advocateBassel Khartabil between 2005 and 2012.[164][165] Minor restorations took place; two Palmyrene funerary busts, damaged and defaced by IS, were sent off to Rome where they were restored and sent back to Syria.[166] The restoration of the Lion of Al-lāt took two months and the statue was displayed on 1 October 2017; it will remain in theNational Museum of Damascus.[167]
Regarding the restoration, the discoverer of Ebla,Paolo Matthiae, stated that: "The archaeological site of Palmyra is a vast field of ruins and only 20–30% of it is seriously damaged. Unfortunately these included important parts, such as the Temple of Bel, while the Arch of Triumph can be rebuilt." He added: "In any case, by using both traditional methods and advanced technologies, it might be possible to restore 98% of the site".[168]
In February 2022, following acts of restoration and rehabilitation the Afqa spring site was reopened.[169] In October 2022, the SyrianDirectorate-General of Antiquities and Museums and the Institute for the History of Material Culture ofRussian Academy of Sciences signed an agreement to start the second and third phase of the project for restoringArch of Triumph.[170] In February 2023, Directorate General of Antiquities and Museums has finalized the study required for restoring Palmyra National Museum which was subjected to damage by ISIS terrorists in 2015.[171] By May 2023, the first phase of the reconstruction and rehabilitation project of the Arch of Triumph was completed.[172] In July 2023, the comprehensive restoration ofRoman Theatre started.[173]
The area has a rich history of human habitation, with evidence of Paleolithic settlements.[175] Habitation in the area of Tell ez-Zor, dates as far back as thePrepottery Neolithic A period, with a three-unit architectural complex dating to thePrepottery Neolithic B period.[176] In theEfqa Spring site, not far from the Tell, aNeolithic settlement existed,[177] withstone tools dated to 7500 BC.[178]Archaeological sounding in the tell beneath the Temple of Bel uncovered a mud-brick structure built around 2500 BC, followed by structures built during the Middle Bronze Age and Iron Age.[179]
The city entered the historical record during theBronze Age around 2000 BC, when Puzur-Ishtar the Tadmorean (Palmyrene) agreed to a contract at anAssyrian trading colony inKultepe.[178] It was mentioned next in theMari tablets as a stop for trade caravans and nomadic tribes, such as theSuteans,[57] and was conquered along with its region byYahdun-Lim of Mari.[180] KingShamshi-Adad I of Assyria passed through the area on his way to theMediterranean at the beginning of the 18th century BC;[181] by then, Palmyra was the easternmost point of the kingdom ofQatna,[182] and it was attacked by the Suteans who paralyzed the traffic along the trade routes.[183] Palmyra was mentioned in a 13th-century BC tablet discovered atEmar, which recorded the names of two "Tadmorean" witnesses.[57] At the beginning of the 11th century BC, KingTiglath-Pileser I of Assyria recorded his defeat of the "Arameans" of "Tadmar";[57] according to the king, Palmyra was part of the land of Amurru.[184] The city became the eastern border ofAram-Damascus which was conquered by theNeo-Assyrian Empire in 732 BC.[185]
TheHebrew Bible (Second Book of Chronicles 8:4) records a city by the name "Tadmor" as a desert city built (or fortified) by KingSolomon ofIsrael;[186] FlaviusJosephus mentions the Greek name "Palmyra", attributing its founding to Solomon in Book VIII of hisAntiquities of the Jews.[142] Later Arabic traditions attribute the city's founding to Solomon'sJinn.[187] The association of Palmyra with Solomon is a conflation of "Tadmor" and a city built by Solomon inJudea and known as "Tamar" in theBooks of Kings (1 Kings 9:18).[141] The biblical description of "Tadmor" and its buildings does not fit archaeological findings in Palmyra, which was a small settlement during Solomon's reign in the 10th century BC.[141] TheElephantine Jews, a diaspora community established between 650 and 550 BC in Egypt, might have come from Palmyra.[188]Papyrus Amherst 63 indicates that the ancestors of the Elephantine Jews wereSamarians. The historianKarel van der Toorn suggested that these ancestors took refuge inJudea after the destruction of their kingdom bySargon II of Assyria in 721 BC, then had to leave Judea afterSennacherib devastated the land in 701 BC and headed to Palmyra. This scenario can explain the usage of Aramaic by the Elephantine Jews, and Papyrus Amherst 63, while not mentioning Palmyra, refers to a "fortress of palms" that is located near a spring on a trade route in the fringes of the desert, making Palmyra a plausible candidate.[189]
During theHellenistic period under theSeleucids (between 312 and 64 BC), Palmyra became a prosperous settlement owing allegiance to the Seleucid king.[141][190] Evidence for Palmyra's urbanisation in the Hellenistic period is rare; an important piece is theLaghman II inscription found inLaghman, modernAfghanistan, and commissioned by the Indian emperorAshoka c. 250 BC. The reading is contested, but according to semitologistAndré Dupont-Sommer, the inscription records the distance to "Tdmr" (Palmyra).[note 13][192] In 217 BC, a Palmyrene force led by Zabdibel joined the army of KingAntiochus III in theBattle of Raphia which ended in a Seleucid defeat byPtolemaic Egypt.[44] In the middle of the Hellenistic era, Palmyra, formerly south of the al-Qubur wadi, began to expand beyond its northern bank.[24] By the late second century BC, the tower tombs in the Palmyrene Valley of Tombs and the city temples (most notably, the temples ofBaalshamin, Al-lāt and the Hellenistic temple) began to be built.[23][44][141] A fragmentary inscription in Greek from the Temple of Bel's foundations mentions a king titled Epiphanes, a title used by the Seleucid kings.[note 14][198]
In 64 BC, theRoman Republic conquered the Seleucid kingdom, and the Roman generalPompey established theprovince of Syria.[44] Palmyra was left independent,[44] trading with Rome andParthia but belonging to neither.[199] The earliest known inscription in Palmyrene is dated to around 44 BC;[47] Palmyra was still a minorsheikhdom, offering water to caravans which occasionally took the desert route on which it was located.[200] However, according toAppian, Palmyra was wealthy enough forMark Antony to send a force to conquer it in 41 BC.[199] The Palmyrenes evacuated to Parthian lands beyond the eastern bank of theEuphrates,[199] which they prepared to defend.[47]
Cella of the Temple of Bel (destroyed in 2015)Temple of Baal-Shamin (destroyed in 2015)Palmyra's theater (damaged in 2017)The monumental arch in the eastern section of Palmyra's colonnade (destroyed in 2015)
Palmyra became part of theRoman Empire when it was conquered and paid tribute early in the reign ofTiberius, around 14 AD.[note 15][44][202] The Romans included Palmyra in the province of Syria,[201] and defined the region's boundaries.[203]Pliny the Elder asserted that both the Palmyrene andEmesene regions were contiguous;[204] a marker at the Palmyrene's southwestern border was found in 1936 byDaniel Schlumberger atQasr al-Hayr al-Gharbi, dating from the reign ofHadrian or one of his successors, which marked the boundary between the two regions.[note 16][206][207] This boundary probably ran northwards to Khirbet al-Bilaas onJabal al-Bilas where another marker, laid by the Roman governorSilanus, has been found, 75 kilometres (47 mi) northwest of Palmyra, probably marking a boundary with the territory ofEpiphania.[208][203] Meanwhile, Palmyra's eastern border extended to the Euphrates valley.[207] This region included numerous villages subordinate to the center,[209] including large settlements such asal-Qaryatayn.[210] The Roman imperial period brought great prosperity to the city, which enjoyed a privileged status under the empire—retaining much of its internal autonomy,[44] being ruled by a council,[211] and incorporating many Greek city-state (polis) institutions into its government.[note 17][212]
The earliest Palmyrene text attesting a Roman presence in the city dates to 18 AD, when the Roman generalGermanicus tried to develop a friendly relationship with Parthia; he sent the Palmyrene Alexandros toMesene, a Parthian vassal kingdom.[note 18][215] This was followed by the arrival of the Roman legionLegio X Fretensis the following year.[note 19][216] Roman authority was minimal during the first century AD, although tax collectors were resident,[217] and a road connecting Palmyra andSura was built in AD 75.[note 20][218] The Romans used Palmyrene soldiers,[219] but (unlike typical Roman cities) no localmagistrates orprefects are recorded in the city.[218] Palmyra saw intensive construction during the first century, including the city's first walled fortifications,[220] and the Temple of Bel (completed and dedicated in 32 AD).[137] During the first century Palmyra developed from a minor desert caravan station into a leading trading center,[note 21][200] with Palmyrene merchants establishing colonies in surrounding trade centers.[215]
Palmyrene trade reached its acme during the second century,[222] aided by two factors; the first was a trade route built by Palmyrenes,[18] and protected by garrisons at major locations, including a garrison inDura-Europos manned in 117 AD.[223] The second was theRoman conquest of theNabataean capitalPetra in 106,[44] shifting control over southern trade routes of theArabian Peninsula from the Nabataeans to Palmyra.[note 22][44] In 129 Palmyra was visited byHadrian, who named it "Hadriane Palmyra" and made it afree city.[225][226] Hadrian promotedHellenism throughout the empire,[227] and Palmyra's urban expansion was modeled on that of Greece.[227] This led to new projects, including the theatre, the colonnade and the Temple of Nabu.[227] Roman garrisons are first attested in Palmyra in 167, when the cavalryAla I Thracum Herculiana was moved to the city.[note 23][230] By the end of the second century, urban development diminished after the city's building projects peaked.[231]
In the 190s, Palmyra was assigned to the province ofPhoenice, newly created by theSeveran dynasty.[232] Toward the end of the second century, Palmyra began a steady transition from a traditional Greek city-state to a monarchy due to the increasing militarization of the city and the deteriorating economic situation;[233] the Severan ascension to the imperial throne in Rome played a major role in Palmyra's transition:[231]
The Severan-ledRoman–Parthian War, from 194 to 217, influenced regional security and affected the city's trade.[234]Bandits began attacking caravans by 199, leading Palmyra to strengthen its military presence.[234]
The rise of theSasanian Empire in Persia considerably damaged Palmyrene trade.[237] The Sasanians disbanded Palmyrene colonies in their lands,[237] and began a war against the Roman Empire.[238] In an inscription dated to 252Odaenathus appears bearing the title ofexarchos (lord) of Palmyra.[239] The weakness of the Roman Empire and the constant Persian danger were probably the reasons behind the Palmyrene council's decision to elect a lord for the city in order for him to lead a strengthened army.[240] Odaenathus approachedShapur I of Persia to request him to guarantee Palmyrene interests in Persia, but was rebuffed.[241] In 260 the EmperorValerian fought Shapur at theBattle of Edessa, but was defeated and captured.[241] One of Valerian's officers,Macrianus Major, his sonsQuietus andMacrianus, and theprefectBalista rebelled against Valerian's sonGallienus, usurping imperial power in Syria.[242]
A clay tessera bearing a possible depiction of Odaenathus wearing a diadem
Odaenathus formed an army of Palmyrenes and Syrian peasants against Shapur.[note 24][241] According to theAugustan History, Odaenathus declared himself king prior to the battle.[244] The Palmyrene leader won a decisive victory near the banks of the Euphrates later in 260 forcing the Persians to retreat.[245] In 261 Odaenathus marched against the remaining usurpers in Syria, defeating and killing Quietus and Balista.[246] As a reward, he received the titleImperator Totius Orientis ("Governor of the East") from Gallienus,[247] and ruled Syria,Mesopotamia,Arabia andAnatolia's eastern regions as the imperial representative.[248][249] Palmyra itself remained officially part of the empire but Palmyrene inscriptions started to describe it as a "metrocolonia", indicating that the city's status was higher than normal Roman colonias.[250] In practice, Palmyra shifted from a provincial city to a de facto allied kingdom.[251]
In 262 Odaenathus launched a new campaign against Shapur,[252] reclaiming the rest of Roman Mesopotamia (most importantly, the cities ofNisibis andCarrhae), sacking the Jewish city ofNehardea,[note 25][253][254] andbesieging the Persian capitalCtesiphon.[255][256] Following his victory, the Palmyrene monarch assumed the titleKing of Kings.[note 26][259] Later, Odaenathus crowned his sonHairan I as co-King of Kings near Antioch in 263.[260] Although he did not take the Persian capital, Odaenathus drove the Persians out of all Roman lands conquered since the beginning of Shapur'swars in 252.[261] In a second campaign that took place in 266, the Palmyrene king reached Ctesiphon again; however, he had to leave the siege and move north, accompanied by Hairan I, to repelGothic attacks onAsia Minor.[262] The king and his son were assassinated during their return in 267;[263] according to theAugustan History andJoannes Zonaras, Odaenathus was killed by a cousin (Zonaras says nephew) named in theHistory asMaeonius.[264] TheAugustan History also says that Maeonius was proclaimed emperor for a brief period before being killed by the soldiers.[264][265][266] However, no inscriptions or other evidence exist for Maeonius' reign.[267]
Zenobia as Augusta, on the obverse of an Antoninianus.
Odaenathus was succeeded by his son; the ten-year-oldVaballathus.[268]Zenobia, the mother of the new king, was thede facto ruler and Vaballathus remained in her shadow while she consolidated her power.[268] Gallienus dispatched his prefectHeraclian to command military operations against the Persians, but he was marginalized by Zenobia and returned to the West.[261] The queen was careful not to provoke Rome, claiming for herself and her son the titles held by her husband while guaranteeing the safety of the borders with Persia and pacifying theTanukhids inHauran.[268] To protect the borders with Persia, Zenobia fortified different settlements on the Euphrates including the citadels ofHalabiye andZalabiye.[269] Circumstantial evidence exist for confrontations with the Sasanians; probably in 269 Vaballathus took the titlePersicus Maximus ("The great victor in Persia") and the title might be linked with an unrecorded battle against a Persian army trying to regain control of Northern Mesopotamia.[270][271]
Zenobia began her military career in the spring of 270, during the reign ofClaudius Gothicus.[272] Under the pretext of attacking the Tanukhids, she conquered Roman Arabia.[272] This was followed in October by aninvasion of Egypt,[273][274] ending with a Palmyrene victory and Zenobia's proclamation as queen of Egypt.[275] Palmyra invaded Anatolia the following year, reachingAnkara and the pinnacle of its expansion.[276] The conquests were made behind a mask of subordination to Rome.[277] Zenobia issued coins in the name of Claudius' successorAurelian, with Vaballathus depicted as king;[note 27][277] since Aurelian was occupied with repelling insurgencies in Europe, he tolerated the Palmyrene coinage and encroachments.[278][279] In late 271, Vaballathus and his mother assumed the titles ofAugustus (emperor) andAugusta.[note 28][277]
The following year, Aurelian crossed theBosphorus and advanced quickly through Anatolia.[283] According to one account, Roman generalMarcus Aurelius Probus regained Egypt from Palmyra;[note 29][284] Aurelian enteredIssus and headed toAntioch, where he defeated Zenobia in theBattle of Immae.[285] Zenobia was defeated again at theBattle of Emesa, taking refuge inHoms before quickly returning to her capital.[286] When the Romans besieged Palmyra, Zenobia refused their order to surrender in person to the emperor.[276] She escaped east to ask the Persians for help, but was captured by the Romans; the city capitulated soon afterwards.[287][288]
Aurelian spared the city and stationed a garrison of 600 archers, led bySandarion, as a peacekeeping force.[289] In 273 Palmyra rebelled under the leadership ofSeptimius Apsaios,[282] declaringAntiochus (a relative of Zenobia) as Augustus.[290] Aurelian marched against Palmyra, razing it to the ground and seizing the most valuable monuments to decorate hisTemple of Sol.[287][291] Palmyrene buildings were smashed, residents massacred and the Temple of Bel pillaged.[287]
Palmyra was significantly reduced and it largely disappeared from historical records of that period.[292] After its sacking, Aurelian repaired the Temple of Bel, and theLegio I Illyricorum was stationed in the city.[152] Shortly before 303 the Camp of Diocletian, acastrum in the western part of the city, was built.[152] The 4-hectare (9.9-acre) camp was a base for the Legio I Illyricorum,[152] which guarded the trade routes around the city.[292] Though some of the city would not be rebuilt, Palmyra would become a major stronghold and fortress in the East. Thanks in part to this, in the following years Palmyra began to regain importance, becoming a Christian city in the decades following its destruction by Aurelian.[293] In late 527,Justinian I further strengthened the city, ordering the restoration of Palmyra's churches and public buildings to protect the empire against raids byLakhmid kingAl-Mundhir III ibn al-Nu'man.[294]
Palmyra prospered as part of the Umayyad Caliphate, and its population grew.[297] It was a key stop on the East-West trade route, with a largesouq (market), built by the Umayyads,[297][298] who also commissioned part of the Temple of Bel as amosque.[298] During this period, Palmyra was a stronghold of theBanu Kalb tribe,[53] which began to take abode in and around the city after the conquest.[299] After being defeated byMarwan II during acivil war in the caliphate, Umayyad contenderSulayman ibn Hisham fled to the Banu Kalb in Palmyra, but eventually pledged allegiance to Marwan in 744; Palmyra continued to oppose Marwan until the surrender of the Banu Kalb chiefal-Asbagh ibn Dhu'ala in 745.[300] That year, Marwan ordered the city's walls demolished.[86][301]
In 750 a revolt, led byMajza'a ibn al-Kawthar and Umayyad pretenderAbu Muhammad al-Sufyani, against the newAbbasid Caliphate swept across Syria;[302] the tribes in Palmyra supported the rebels.[303] After his defeat Abu Muhammad took refuge in the city, which withstood an Abbasid assault long enough to allow him to escape.[303]
Abbasid power dwindled during the 10th century, when the empire disintegrated and was divided among a number of vassals.[304] Most of the new rulers acknowledged the caliph as their nominal sovereign, a situation which continued until theMongol destruction of the Abbasid Caliphate in 1258.[305]
The population of the city started to decrease in the ninth century and the process continued in the tenth century.[306] In 955Sayf al-Dawla, theHamdanid prince ofAleppo, defeated the nomads near the city,[307] and built akasbah (fortress) in response tocampaigns by the Byzantine emperorsNikephoros II Phokas andJohn I Tzimiskes.[308] With the advent ofFatimid rule in the late 10th century, Palmyra remained a stronghold of the Kalb and taxes on the oasis' crops was a major source of the tribe's income. Toward the end of the century, the Kalb around Palmyra migrated from the area.[309] Earthquakes devastated Palmyra in 1068 and 1089.[86][310] In the 1070s Syria was conquered by theSeljuk Empire,[311] and in 1082, the district of Homs came under the control of the Arab lordKhalaf ibn Mula'ib.[312] The latter was a brigand and was removed and imprisoned in 1090 by the Seljuq sultanMalik-Shah I.[312][313] Khalaf's lands were given to Malik-Shah's brother,Tutush I,[313] who gained his independence after his brother's 1092 death and established acadet branch of the Seljuk dynasty in Syria.[314]
Fakhr-al-Din al-Maani Castle
By the twelfth century, the population moved into the courtyard of the Temple of Bel which was fortified;[306] Palmyra was then ruled byToghtekin, theBuridatabeg of Damascus, who appointed his nephew governor.[315] Toghtekin's nephew was killed by rebels, and the atabeg retook the city in 1126.[315] Palmyra was given to Toghtekin's grandson,Shihab-ud-din Mahmud,[315] who was replaced by governorYusuf ibn Firuz when Shihab-ud-din Mahmud returned to Damascus after his fatherTaj al-Muluk Buri succeeded Toghtekin.[316] The Burids transformed the Temple of Bel into a citadel in 1132, fortifying the city,[317][318] and transferring it to theBin Qaraja family three years later in exchange for Homs.[318]
During the mid-twelfth century, Palmyra was ruled by theZengid kingNur ad-Din Mahmud.[319] It became part of the district of Homs,[320] which was given as a fiefdom to the Ayyubid generalShirkuh in 1168 and confiscated after his death in 1169.[321] Homs region was conquered by theAyyubid sultanate in 1174;[322] the following year,Saladin gave Homs (including Palmyra) to his cousinNasir al-Din Muhammad as a fiefdom.[323] After Saladin's death, the Ayyubid realm was divided and Palmyra was given to Nasir al-Din Muhammad's sonAl-Mujahid Shirkuh II (who built the castle of Palmyra known asFakhr-al-Din al-Maani Castle around 1230).[324][325] Five years earlier, Syrian geographerYaqut al-Hamawi described Palmyra's residents as living in "a castle surrounded by a stone wall".[326]
Palmyra was used as a refuge by Shirkuh II's grandson,al-Ashraf Musa, who allied himself with theMongol kingHulagu Khan and fled after the Mongol defeat in the 1260Battle of Ain Jalut against theMamluks.[327] Al-Ashraf Musa asked the Mamluk sultanQutuz for pardon and was accepted as a vassal.[327] Al-Ashraf Musa died in 1263 without an heir, bringing the Homs district under direct Mamluk rule.[328]
TheAl Fadl clan (a branch of theTayy tribe) were loyal to the Mamluks, and in 1281, PrinceIssa bin Muhanna of the Al Fadl was appointed lord of Palmyra by sultanQalawun.[329] Issa was succeeded in 1284 by his sonMuhanna bin Issa who was imprisoned by sultanal-Ashraf Khalil in 1293, and restored two years later by sultanal-Adil Kitbugha.[330] Muhanna declared his loyalty toÖljaitü of theIlkhanate in 1312 and was dismissed and replaced with his brotherFadl by sultanan-Nasir Muhammad.[330] Although Muhanna was forgiven by an-Nasir and restored in 1317, he and his tribe were expelled in 1320 for his continued relations with the Ilkhanate,[331] and he was replaced by tribal chiefMuhammad ibn Abi Bakr.[332]
Muhanna was forgiven and restored by an-Nasir in 1330; he remained loyal to the sultan until his death in 1335, when he was succeeded by his son.[332] Contemporary historianIbn Fadlallah al-Omari described the city as having "vast gardens, flourishing trades and bizarre monuments".[333] The Al Fadl clan protected the trade routes and villages fromBedouin raids,[334] raiding other cities and fighting among themselves.[335] The Mamluks intervened militarily several times, dismissing, imprisoning or expelling its leaders.[335] In 1400 Palmyra was attacked byTimur; the Fadl princeNu'air escaped the battle and later foughtJakam, the sultan of Aleppo.[336] Nu'air was captured, taken to Aleppo and executed in 1406; this, according toIbn Hajar al-Asqalani, ended the Al Fadl clan's power.[336][329]
Gerard Hofsted van Essen's painting of the ruins, following his participation in the 1691Levant Company expedition, the first Western expedition to the site. This is the earliest Western depiction of Palmyra. A group stands in the center foreground around a large stone, on which the date 1693 is shown. The gold text at the top explains the 1743 donation of the picture as part of thePapenbroek Collection. Scroll left and right to view the full panorama.
While most of Syria came underOttoman rule in 1516, Palmyra (Tadmur) does not appear to have been incorporated into the Empire before the conquest ofIraq in 1534–1535. It first appears as the centre of an administrative district (sanjak) around 1560.[337][note 30][338] The region was important to the Ottomans above all for its salt deposits. In 1568, the governor of the sancak restored the medieval citadel.[339] After 1568 the Ottomans appointed theLebanese emirAli bin Musa Harfush as governor of Palmyra's sanjak,[340] dismissing him in 1584 for insubordination.[341] In 1630 Palmyra came under the tax authority of another Lebanese emir,Fakhr-al-Din II,[342] who renovated Shirkuh II's castle (which became known as Fakhr-al-Din al-Maani Castle).[325][343] The prince fell from grace with the Ottomans in 1633 and lost control of the village,[342] which remained a separate sanjak until it was absorbed byZor Sanjak in 1857.[344] The Ottoman governor ofSyria,Mehmed Rashid Pasha, established a garrison in the village to control the Bedouin in 1867.[345][346]
With Palmyra gaining importance in the French efforts to pacify theSyrian Desert, a base was constructed in the village near the Temple of Bel in 1921.[351] In 1929, Henri Seyrig, began excavating the ruins and convinced the villagers to move to a new, French-built village next to the site.[352] The relocation was completed in 1932;[353] ancient Palmyra was ready for excavation as its villagers settled into the new village ofTadmur.[354][352] DuringWorld War II, the Mandate came under the authority ofVichy France,[355] who gave permission toNazi Germany to use the airfield at Palmyra;[356] forces ofFree France, backed by British forces, invaded Syria in June 1941,[355] and on 3 July 1941, the British took control over the city in the aftermath of abattle.[357]
Sculpture in the Palmyra Museum, before and after the conflict.
As a result of theSyrian civil war, Palmyra experienced widespread looting and damage by combatants.[358] In 2013, the façade of the Temple of Bel sustained a large hole frommortar fire, and colonnade columns have been damaged byshrapnel.[358] According to Maamoun Abdulkarim, theSyrian Army positioned its troops in some archaeological-site areas,[358] whileSyrian opposition fighters positioned themselves in gardens around the city.[358]
On 13 May 2015, ISIL launched an attack on the modern town of Tadmur, sparking fears that theiconoclastic group would destroy the adjacent ancient site of Palmyra.[359] On 21 May, some artifacts were transported from the Palmyra museum to Damascus for safekeeping; a number of Greco-Roman busts, jewelry, and other objects looted from the museum have been found on the international market.[360] ISIL forces entered Palmyra the same day.[361] Local residents reported that theSyrian Air Force bombed the site on 13 June, damaging the northern wall close to the Temple of Baalshamin.[362] During ISIL's occupation of the site, Palmyra's theatre was used as a place of public executions of their opponents and captives; videos were released by ISIL showing the killing of Syrian prisoners in front of crowds at the theatre.[363][364] On 18 August, Palmyra's retired antiquities chiefKhaled al-Asaad was beheaded by ISIL after being tortured for a month to extract information about the city and its treasures; al-Asaad refused to give any information to his captors.[365]
Syrian government forces supported byRussian airstrikes recaptured Palmyra on 27 March 2016 after intense fighting against ISIL fighters.[366] According to initial reports, the damage to the archaeological site was less extensive than anticipated, with numerous structures still standing.[367] Following the recapture of the city, Russian de-mining teams began clearing mines planted by ISIL prior to their retreat.[368] Following heavy fighting, ISIL briefly reoccupied the city on 11 December 2016,[369] prompting an offensive by the Syrian Army which retook the city on 2 March 2017.[370]
Inscription in Greek and Aramaic honoring thestrategos Zabdilas, whose Roman name was Julius Aurelius Zenobius, dated 242–243 AD.[374]
From the beginning of its history to the first century AD Palmyra was a petty sheikhdom,[375] and by the first century BC a Palmyrene identity began to develop.[376] During the first half of the first century AD, Palmyra incorporated some of the institutions of a Greek city (polis);[212] the notion of an existing citizenship first appears in an inscription, dated to AD 10, mentioning the "people of Palmyra".[377] In AD 74, an inscription mentions the city's boule (senate).[212] The tribal role in Palmyra is debated; during the first century, four treasurers representing the four tribes seems to have partially controlled the administration but their role became ceremonial by the second century and power rested in the hands of the council.[378]
The Palmyrene council consisted of about six hundred members of the local elite (such as the elders or heads of wealthy families or clans),[note 33][211] representing the city's four-quarters.[79] The council, headed by a president,[379] managed civic responsibilities;[211] it supervised public works (including the construction of public buildings), approved expenditures, collected taxes,[211] and appointed twoarchons (lords) each year.[379][380] Palmyra's military was led bystrategoi (generals) appointed by the council.[381][382] Roman provincial authority set and approved Palmyra's tariff structure,[383] but the provincial interference in local government was kept minimal as the empire sought to ensure the continuous success of Palmyrene trade most beneficial to Rome.[384] An imposition of direct provincial administration would have jeopardized Palmyra's ability to conduct its trading activities in the East, especially in Parthia.[384]
With the elevation of Palmyra to acolonia around 213–216, the city ceased being subject to Roman provincial governors and taxes.[385] Palmyra incorporated Roman institutions into its system while keeping many of its former ones.[386] The council remained, and thestrategos designated one of two annually-elected magistrates.[386] Thisduumviri implemented the new colonial constitution,[386] replacing the archons.[380] Palmyra's political scene changed with the rise of Odaenathus and his family; an inscription dated to 251 describes Odaenathus' son Hairan I as "Ras" (lord) of Palmyra (exarch in the Greek section of the inscription) and another inscription dated to 252 describes Odaenathus with the same title.[note 34][239] Odaenathus was probably elected by the council as exarch,[240] which was an unusual title in the Roman empire and was not part of the traditional Palmyrene governance institutions.[239][387] Whether Odaenathus' title indicated a military or a priestly position is unknown,[388] but the military role is more likely.[389] By 257 Odaenathus was known as aconsularis, possibly thelegatus of the province of Phoenice.[388] In 258 Odaenathus began extending his political influence, taking advantage of regional instability caused by Sasanian aggression;[388] this culminated in the Battle of Edessa,[241] Odaenathus' royal elevation and mobilization of troops, which made Palmyra a kingdom.[241]
The monarchy continued most civic institutions,[388][390] but the duumviri and the council were no longer attested after 264; Odaenathus appointed a governor for the city.[391] In the absence of the monarch, the city was administered by aviceroy.[392] Although governors of the eastern Roman provinces under Odaenathus' control were still appointed by Rome, the king had overall authority.[393] During Zenobia's rebellion, governors were appointed by the queen.[394] Not all Palmyrenes accepted the dominion of the royal family; a senator, Septimius Haddudan, appears in a later Palmyrene inscription as aiding Aurelian's armies during the 273 rebellion.[395][396] After the Roman destruction of the city, Palmyra was ruled directly by Rome,[397] and then by a succession of other rulers, including the Burids and Ayyubids,[315][323] and subordinate Bedouin chiefs—primarily the Fadl family, who governed for the Mamluks.[398]
Relief in the Temple of Bel depicting Palmyrene war godsPalmyrene horseman, in a hunting scene.
Due to its military character and efficiency in battle, Palmyra was described byIrfan Shahîd as the "Sparta among the cities of the Orient, Arab and other, and even its gods were represented dressed in military uniforms."[399] Palmyra's army protected the city and its economy, helping extend Palmyrene authority beyond the city walls and protecting the countryside's desert trade routes.[400] The city had a substantial military;[207] Zabdibel commanded a force of 10,000 in the third century BC,[44] and Zenobia led an army of 70,000 in the Battle of Emesa.[401] Soldiers were recruited from the city and its territories, spanning several thousand square kilometers from the outskirts of Homs to the Euphrates valley.[207] Non-Palmyrene soldiers were also recruited; aNabatean cavalryman is recorded in 132 as serving in a Palmyrene unit stationed atAnah.[18] Palmyra's recruiting system is unknown; the city might have selected and equipped the troops and thestrategoi led, trained and disciplined them.[402]
Thestrategoi were appointed by the council with the approval of Rome.[382] The royal army in the mid 3rd century AD was under the leadership of the monarch aided by generals,[403][404] and was modeled on theSasanians in arms and tactics.[97] The Palmyrenes were noted archers.[405] They used infantry while a heavily armored cavalry (clibanarii) constituted the main attacking force.[note 35][407][408] Palmyra's infantry was armed with swords, lances and small round shields;[219] the clibanarii were fully armored (including their horses), and used heavy spears (kontos) 3.65 metres (12.0 ft) long without shields.[408][409]
Citing the Palmyrenes' combat skills in large, sparsely populated areas, the Romans formed a Palmyreneauxilia to serve in theImperial Roman army.[219] Vespasian reportedly had 8,000 Palmyrene archers in Judea,[219] and Trajan established the first Palmyrene Auxilia in 116 (acamel cavalry unit, Ala I Ulpia dromedariorum Palmyrenorum).[219][410][411] Palmyrene units were deployed throughout the Roman Empire,[note 36] serving inDacia late in Hadrian's reign,[413] and atEl Kantara inNumidia andMoesia underAntoninus Pius.[413][414] During the late second century Rome formed theCohors XX Palmyrenorum, which was stationed in Dura-Europos.[415]
Baalshamin (center), Aglibol (left) and Malakbel (right)
Palmyra's gods were primarily part of thenorthwestern Semiticpantheon, with the addition of gods from theMesopotamian andArab pantheons.[416] The city's chief pre-Hellenistic deity was called Bol,[417] an abbreviation ofBaal (a northwestern Semitic honorific).[418] The Babylonian cult ofBel-Marduk influenced the Palmyrene religion and by 217 BC the chief deity's name was changed toBel.[417] This did not indicate the replacing of the northwestern Semitic Bol with a Mesopotamian deity, but was a mere change in the name.[418]
The deities worshiped in the countryside were depicted as camel or horse riders and bore Arab names.[354] The nature of those deities is uncertain as only names are known, most importantlyAbgal.[425] The Palmyrene pantheon includedginnaye (some were given the designation "Gad"),[426] a group of lesser deities popular in the countryside,[427] who were similar to the Arabjinn and the Romangenius.[428] Ginnaye were believed to have the appearance and behavior of humans, similar to Arab jinn.[428] Unlike jinn, however, the ginnaye could notpossess or injure humans.[428] Their role was similar to the Roman genius:tutelary deities who guarded individuals and their caravans, cattle and villages.[419][428]
Although the Palmyrenes worshiped their deities as individuals, some were associated with other gods.[429] Bel hadAstarte-Belti as his consort, and formed atriple deity with Aglibol and Yarhibol (who became a sun god in his association with Bel).[422][430] Malakbel was part of many associations,[429] pairing withGad Taimi and Aglibol,[431][431] and forming a triple deity with Baalshamin and Aglibol.[432] Palmyra hosted anAkitu (spring festival) eachNisan.[433] Each of the city's four-quarters had a sanctuary for a deity considered ancestral to the resident tribe; Malakbel and Aglibol's sanctuary was in the Komare quarter.[434] The Baalshamin sanctuary was in the Ma'zin quarter, the Arsu sanctuary in the Mattabol quarter,[434] and the Atargatis sanctuary in the fourth tribe's quarter.[note 37][432]
An Altar found inTrastevere dedicated to Malakbel bearing the epithet Sol Sanctissimus
The priests of Palmyra were selected from the city's leading families,[435] and are recognized in busts through their headdresses which have the shape of apolos adorned with laurel wreath or other tree made of bronze among other elements.[436] The high priest of Bel's temple was the highest religious authority and headed the clergy of priests who were organized into collegia each headed by a higher priest.[437] The personnel of Efqa spring's sanctuary dedicated to Yarhibol belonged to a special class of priests as they were oracles.[437] Palmyra's paganism was replaced with Christianity as the religion spread across the Roman Empire, and a bishop was reported in the city by 325.[293] Although most temples became churches, the Temple of Al-lāt was destroyed in 385 at the order ofMaternus Cynegius (theeastern praetorian prefect).[293] After the Muslim conquest in 634Islam gradually replaced Christianity, and the last known bishop of Palmyra was consecrated after 818.[438]
In 274, following his victory over Palmyra, Aurelian dedicated a large temple ofSol Invictus in Rome;[439] most scholars consider Aurelian's Sol Invictus to be of Syrian origin,[440] either a continuation of emperorElagabalus cult ofSol Invictus Elagabalus, or Malakbel of Palmyra.[441] The Palmyrene deity was commonly identified with the Roman godSol and he had a temple dedicated for him on the right bank of theTiber since the second century.[442] Also, he bore the epithet Invictus and was known with the name Sol "Sanctissimus", the latter was an epithet Aurelian bore on an inscription fromCapena.[442]
The position of the Palmyrene deity as Aurelian's Sol Invictus is inferred from a passage byZosimus reading: "and the magnificent temple of the sun he (i.e. Aurelian) embellished with votive gifts from Palmyra, setting up statues ofHelios and Bel".[443] Three deities from Palmyra exemplified solar features: Malakbel, Yarhibol and Šams, hence the identification of the Palmyrene Helios appearing in Zosimus' work with Malakbel.[443] Some scholars criticize the notion of Malakbel's identification with Sol Invictus; according toGaston Halsberghe, the cult of Malakbel was too local for it to become an imperial Roman god and Aurelian's restoration of Bel's temple and sacrifices dedicated to Malakbel were a sign of his attachment to the sun god in general and his respect to the many ways in which the deity was worshiped.[444]Richard Stoneman suggested another approach in which Aurelian simply borrowed the imagery of Malakbel to enhance his own solar deity.[445] The relation between Malakbel and Sol Invictus can not be confirmed and will probably remain unresolved.[442]
Palmyra's Agora; the two front entrances lead to the interior, the city's marketplace
Palmyra's economy before and at the beginning of the Roman period was based on agriculture, pastoralism, and trade;[18] the city served as a rest station for the caravans which sporadically crossed the desert.[200] By the end of the first century BC, the city had a mixed economy based on agriculture, pastoralism, taxation,[446][447] and, most importantly, the caravan trade.[448] Taxation was an important source of revenue for the Palmyrene government.[447] Caravaneers paid taxes in the building known as the Tariff Court,[76] where a tax law dating to AD 137 was exhibited.[133][449] The law regulated the tariffs paid by the merchants for goods sold at the internal market or exported from the city.[note 38][76][451]
The classicistAndrew M. Smith II suggested that most land in Palmyra was owned by the city, which collected grazing taxes.[446] The oasis had about 1,000 hectares (2,500 acres) of irrigable land,[452] which surrounded the city.[453] The Palmyrenes constructed an extensive irrigation system in the northern mountains that consisted of reservoirs and channels to capture and store the occasional rainfall.[454] The most notable irrigation work isHarbaqa Dam which was constructed in the late first century AD;[note 39][455] it is located 48 km (30 mi) southwest of the city and can collect 140,000 cubic metres (4,900,000 cu ft) of water.[456]Terebinth trees in the hinterland were an important source of charcoal, resin and oil; although evidence is lacking, it is possible that olive trees were also planted, and dairy products were produced in the villages;[209] it is also apparent that barley was cultivated.[457] However, agriculture could not support the population and food was imported.[453]
After Palmyra's destruction in 273, it became a market for villagers and nomads from the surrounding area.[458] The city regained some of its prosperity during the Umayyad era, indicated by the discovery of a large Umayyadsouq in the colonnaded street.[459] Palmyra was a minor trading center until its destruction in 1400;[460] according toSharaf ad-Din Ali Yazdi, Timur's men took 200,000 sheep,[461] and the city was reduced into a settlement on the desert border whose inhabitants herded and cultivated small plots for vegetables and corn.[462]
If the Laghman II inscription in Afghanistan is referring to Palmyra, then the city's role in Central Asian overland trade was prominent as early as the third century BC.[194] During the first centuries AD, Palmyra's main trade route ran east to the Euphrates where it connected at the city ofHīt.[463] The route then ran south along the river toward the port ofCharax Spasinu on thePersian Gulf, where Palmyrene ships traveled back and forth to India.[464] Goods were imported from India, China andTransoxiana,[465] and exported west to Emesa (or Antioch) then the Mediterranean ports,[466] from which they were distributed throughout the Roman Empire.[464] In addition to the usual route some Palmyrene merchants used theRed Sea,[465] probably as a result of theRoman–Parthian Wars.[467] Goods were carried overland from the seaports to aNile port, and then taken to the Egyptian Mediterranean ports for export.[467] Inscriptions attesting a Palmyrene presence in Egypt date to the reign of Hadrian.[468]
Since Palmyra was not on the main trading route (which followed the Euphrates),[18] the Palmyrenes secured the desert route passing their city.[18] They connected it to the Euphrates valley, providing water and shelter.[18] The Palmyrene route connected the Silk Road with the Mediterranean,[469] and was used almost exclusively by the city's merchants,[18] who maintained a presence in many cities, including Dura-Europos in 33 BC,[221]Babylon by AD 19,Seleucia by AD 24,[215]Dendera,Coptos,[470] Bahrain, theIndus River Delta,Merv and Rome.[471]
The caravan trade depended on patrons and merchants.[472] Patrons owned the land on which the caravan animals were raised, providing animals and guards for the merchants.[472] The lands were located in the numerous villages of the Palmyrene countryside.[354] Although merchants used the patrons to conduct business, their roles often overlapped and a patron would sometimes lead a caravan.[472] Commerce made Palmyra and its merchants among the wealthiest in the region.[448] Some caravans were financed by a single merchant,[76] such as Male' Agrippa (who financed Hadrian's visit in 129 and the 139 rebuilding of the Temple of Bel).[225] The primary income-generating trade good was silk, which was exported from the East to the West.[473] Other exported goods included jade, muslin, spices, ebony, ivory and precious stones.[471] For its domestic market Palmyra imported a variety of goods including slaves, prostitutes, olive oil, dyed goods, myrrh and perfume.[450][471]
Palmyra's first scholarly description appeared in a 1695 paper in thePhilosophical Transactions of theRoyal Society byWilliam Hallifax followed by a 1696 book byAbednego Seller.[474][475] In 1751, an expedition led byRobert Wood andJames Dawkins studied Palmyra's architecture.[476] French artist and architectLouis-François Cassas conducted an extensive survey of the city's monuments in 1785, publishing over a hundred drawings of Palmyra's civic buildings and tombs.[475] Palmyra was photographed for the first time in 1864 by Louis Vignes.[475] In 1882, thePalmyra Tariff, an inscribed stone slab from AD 137 in Greek and Palmyrene detailing import and export taxation, was discovered by princeSemyon Semyonovich Abamelik-Lazarev in the Tariff Court.[477] It has been described by the historianJohn F. Matthews as "one of the most important single items of evidence for the economic life of any part of the Roman Empire".[478] In 1901, the slab was gifted by the Ottoman SultanAbdul Hamid II to the Russian Tsar and is now in theHermitage Museum inSaint Petersburg.[479]
Palmyra's first excavations were conducted in 1902 byOtto Puchstein and in 1917 byTheodor Wiegand.[353] In 1929, French general director of antiquities of Syria and Lebanon Henri Seyrig began large-scale excavation of the site;[353] interrupted by World War II, it resumed soon after the war's end.[353] Seyrig started with the Temple of Bel in 1929 and between 1939 and 1940 he excavated the Agora.[354] Daniel Schlumberger conducted excavations in the Palmyrene northwest countryside in 1934 and 1935 where he studied different local sanctuaries in the Palmyrene villages.[354] From 1954 to 1956, a Swiss expedition organized byUNESCO excavated the Temple of Baalshamin.[353] Since 1958, the site has been excavated by the Syrian Directorate-General of Antiquities,[352] and Polish expeditions of thePolish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology University of Warsaw,[480] led by many archaeologists includingKazimierz Michałowski (until 1980) andMichael Gawlikowski (until 2009).[353][481] The stratigraphic sounding beneath the Temple of Bel was conducted in 1967 byRobert du Mesnil du Buisson,[87] who also discovered the Temple of Baal-hamon in the 1970s.[147] In 1980, the historic site including the necropolis outside the walls was declared aWorld Heritage Site by the UNESCO.[482]
The Polish expedition concentrated its work on the Camp of Diocletian while the Syrian Directorate-General of Antiquities excavated the Temple of Nabu.[354] Most of the hypogea were excavated jointly by the Polish expedition and the Syrian Directorate,[483] while the area of Efqa was excavated by Jean Starcky andJafar al-Hassani.[32] The Palmyrene irrigation system was discovered in 2008 byJørgen Christian Meyer who researched the Palmyrene countryside through ground inspections and satellite images.[484] Most of Palmyra still remains unexplored especially the residential quarters in the north and south while the necropolis has been thoroughly excavated by the Directorate and the Polish expedition.[32] Excavation expeditions left Palmyra in 2011 due to the Syrian Civil War.[485]
^The Semitic word T.M.R is the common root for the words that designate palm dates inArabic,Hebrew,Ge'ez and other Semitic languages.[5] Schultens argued that in the Bible (1 Kings 9:18), the name is written "Tamor" in the text and "Tadmor" in the margin.[6] Schultens considered "Tamor" to be the original name and derived from "Tamar".[7] However, the inclusion of a -d- in "Tamar" cannot be explained.[8]
^Pliny mentioned that Palmyra was independent, but by AD 70, Palmyra was part of the Roman empire; modern scholars dismiss Pliny's account of Palmyra's political situation, considering it to rely on older accounts dating to the period ofOctavian, when Palmyra was independent.[19]
^Estimates vary from as low as 30,000 to 200,000; the latter number is doubted considering the environment of Palmyra and its hinterland which makes it difficult to provide the population with the necessary foodstuff.[49]
^E.g for Aramaic: Gaddibol and Yedi'bel.[59] E.g for Arab: Bene Ma'zin.[59] E.g for Amorite: Zmr' and Kohen-Nadu.[59]
^These criteria are: dispersion in a wide geographical range; orientation towards a homeland through the usage of own language and reference to a distinct origin and pantheon; the usage of own language and origin to preserve a distinct identity amongst host societies.[64]
^The Phylai are the Bene Mita, Komare, Mattabol, Ma'zin and Claudia.[77]
^In general, a civic tribe (Phyle) is a collection of people chosen from the collective population and ascribed a deity as a tribal ancestor, then assigned a territory for them to reside in. The Phylai were united by their citizenship instead of origin.[80]
^The clans might have gathered under the name of the four tribes causing them to disappear.[78]
^E.g. by the second century AD, Palmyrene goddessAl-lāt was portrayed in the style of the Greek goddessAthena, and named Athena-Al-lāt. However, this assimilation of Al-lāt to Athena did not extend beyond iconography.[90]
^In the Hellenistic tradition, the agora was the center of athletic, artistic, spiritual and political life of the city.[99]
^There are hints of Greek training; the names of three Greeks who worked on the construction of the Temple of Bel are known through inscriptions, including a probably Greek architect named Alexandras (Αλεξάνδρας).[116][117] However, some Palmyrenes adopted Greco-Roman names and native citizens with the name Alexander are attested in the city.[118]
^The historian Rudolf Fellmann suggested that this building was the royal palace.[128]
^According to the reading of Dupont-Sommer, Palmyra is separated by two hundreds "bows" from Laghman; In the inscription, the word used to indicate bow is "QŠTN", and Dupont-Sommer asserted that it is an Aramaic word denoting a unit to measure a distance of 15 to 20 kilometres.[191]Franz Altheim and Ruth Altheim-Stiehl read three hundred instead of two hundred bows; they equated it with the Vedic unit of measurementyojona, c. 12 kilometres, which would result in a number close to the actual 3800 kilometres distance between Laghman and Palmyra.[192] The linguist Helmut Humbach criticized the reading of Dupont-Sommer and considered his claims regarding the distance to have no validation.[193] In the Aramaic alphabet, the letters "r" and "d" share an identical character;[194]Jean de Menasce read the city's name "Trmd" and identified it withTermez on theOxus river.[195] The linguistFranz Rosenthal also contested the reading of Dupont-Sommer and considered that the inscription refers to an estate called "Trmn".[196] HistorianBratindra Nath Mukherjee rejected the readings of both Dupont-Sommer and de Menasce; he contested the large value attributed to "bow", considering it a small unit. The historian also rejected the reading of Tdmr and Trmd as referring to a city; in the view of Mukherjee, the name, whether Tdmr or Trmd refers to the rock on which the inscription was carved itself.[195]
^The inscription is in bad shape but the letters' form, especially the four-branchedsigma, indicate that it is one of the earliest inscriptions from Palmyra, dating to the beginning of the first century AD or the former first century BC. Seyrig concluded that it is futile to identify the king as the title Epiphanes was borne by many Seleucid kings, the last of them,Antiochus XII, died in 82 BC. Even then, according to Seyrig, the date is too high for the form of the letters. Seyrig suggested a king ofCommagene or, more likely, a Parthian king.[197]
^The attribution of Palmyra annexation to Tiberius was supported by Seyrig and became the most influential. However, other dates have been suggested ranging from as early asPompey's era to as late asVespasian's reign.[201]
^Inscription reproduced:[205] Fin[es] inteṛ Hadriano[s] Palmyrenos et [He]ṃesenos
^The exact year for when Palmyra first made use of some Greek institutions is not known; the evidence that specifically identify Palmyra as a polis is not extensive, and the earliest known reference is an inscription dated to AD 51, written in Palmyrene and Greek, mentioning the "City of the Palmyrenes" in its Greek section.[212]
^Despite his Greek name, Alexandros was probably a native Palmyrene.[213] There is no evidence that Germanicus visited Palmyra.[214]
^The legion was part of Germanicus' eastern campaign and was not stationed in the city as a garrison.[216]
^The transformation already began in the first century BC.[221]
^Although Palmyra benefiting from the annexation of Petra is a mainstream view, Palmyra's trade was mostly with the East, while Petra's trade counted on southern Arabia. In addition to the fact that Palmyra and Petra traded in different articles, hence the annexation of Petra might have not had a real effect on Palmyra's trade.[224]
^The Ala I Thracum Herculiana was amilliaria.[228] Generally, amilliaria consisted of a thousand horsemen.[229]
^No evidence exist for Roman units serving in the ranks of Odaenathus; whether Roman soldiers fought under Odaenathus or not is a matter of speculation.[243]
^The Mesopotamian Jewish population was regarded by the Palmyrenes as loyal to the Persians.[253]
^The first decisive evidence for the use of this title for Odaenathus is an inscription dated to 271, posthumously describing Odaenathus as "King of Kings".[241][257] Known inscriptions dating to his reign address him as king. However, Odaenathus' son Hairan I, is directly attested as "King of Kings" during his lifetime. Hairan I was proclaimed by his father as co-ruler and was assassinated during the same assassination incident that took the life of Odaenathus and it is unlikely that Odaenathus was simply a king while his son held the King of Kings title.[258]
^Claudius died in August 270, shortly before Zenobia's invasion of Egypt.[273]
^All other accounts indicate that a military action was not necessary, as it seems that Zenobia withdrew her forces in order to defend Syria.[284]
^Named in Ottoman system "Salyane Sanjak", which is aSanjak that had an annual allowance from the government, in contrast to the Khas Sanjaks, which yielded a land revenue.[338]
^The British did not occupy the area and the local Bedouins agreed to protect the field.[347]
^Neither the British, French or Arab armies attacked the Sanjak.[348]
^Hairan I was described as "Ras" in 251 indicating that Odaenathus was promoted at that time as well.[239]
^The Palmyrene army that invaded Egypt was mainly composed of clibanarii supported by archers.[406]
^A Palmyrene monument was discovered nearNewcastle in England; it was set by a Palmyrene namedBaratas, who was either a soldier or a camp follower.[412]
^The fourth tribe's name is not certain but most likely the Mita.[432]
^Richard Stoneman proposes that the law regulated taxes imposed on goods destined for the internal market and did not cover the transit trade.[450]
^The dating of the dam's construction was questioned by the archaeologist Denis Genequand who compared it to several Umayyad dams and suggested a date corresponding to the Umayyad period.[49]
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