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Palmyra,
Tadmor or the "the bride of the
desert", is now a small town that
lies near a hot-water spring called Afqa
in the heart of the Syrian Desert, 155
kilometres east of Homs city and 210
kilometres northeast of Damascus.
Doubtless it is the most beautiful and
magnificent of the Syrian historic sites
on the old Silk Road. Palmyra was an ideal
stopover for the caravans shuttling
between Iraq and Greater Syria, carrying
silk and other valuables from China to the
Mediterranean.
Most likely, Palmyra was
established in the 2nd millennium BC, and
was mentioned in one of the Assyrian
tablets of Mari and in another Assyrian
text. It was also mentioned in the Bible
as part of Solomon's territories.
This strategic location had many
advantages, but also one major
disadvantage. Tudmor lied between two
warring empires, Rome and Persia, and
eventually had to suffer the consequences
of the Roman – Persian bloody conflict.
Palmyra's local name
is Tudmor and it has been a settlement
since Neolithic times. From about 1000
B.C. for nearly one millennium it was an
Assyrian caravan town and later became an
important outpost of the Greek Empire for
about two hundred years. In 217A.D. it was
annexed by Rome and enjoyed a period of
astonishing wealth, gained from taxation
on the flourishing caravan trade. The
Romans called it Palmyra (the land of
Palms). In 634A.D. the city was conquered
by the Muslims, and in 1089 A.D. was
totally destroyed by an earthquake.
Rome resorted to the
ruler of Palmyra for help. The leader
Septimus Odeinat (Odenathus) became quite
favoured by Rome and in 256/7 was
appointed by the Emperor Valerian as
Consul and Governor of the province of
Syria Phoenice, which Palmyra had been
transferred to in 194. A few years later
Valerian was captured and murdered by the
Sassanian Persians, and in redemption,
Odeinat campaigned as far as the Sassanian
capital Ctesiphon, captured and killed the
Sassanian King in revenge.
Palmyra's greatest days however were after
the murder of Odeinat and one of his sons
at the hands of his nephew. His wife
Zenobia took over on behalf of her son
Vaballath and started her rule by avenging
her husband’s treacherous by destroying
all the properties of his murderer.
Eventually she called herself the Queen of
Palmyra, wore the King's crown and became
the sole ruler. Zenobia, renowned for her
exceptionally strong character and will,
ruled Palmyra in a way that astonished
both West and East. She was exceptionally
intelligent and attractive at the same
time, a gifted linguist, and an eloquent
speaker of Palmyrian, Greek, Latin, and
hieroglyphics, as
well as Arabic and Aramaic dialects from
nearby. She took the
famous Faotegenes as her teacher, and she
knew a lot about Homers and Plato, as she
was a familiar with their books. She had a
wide knowledge of politics, and in her
court, she had many philosophers, scholars
and theologians.
On top of that,
Zenobia was one of the most beautiful
women of her time. She was probably one of
very few women whose courage matched their
beauty. She used to follow her husband to
the forest during the hunt season, and
took pat without any fear in the face of
lions and tigers. It is also known that
she helped her husband gain the wars he
made. In short, she wasn't only far from
being weak, but she also denied her
feelings.
How did historians
see her? Zenobia was described as a lovely woman, of dark complexion, as would be
normal in the Syrian part of the world.
Her teeth were pearly-white, with large,
black eyes that sparkled. The large eyes
imply that she had small, finely chiselled
features, well modelled and attractive.
She equalled in beauty Egypt’s
Cleopatra, whom she considered an
ancestor. She claimed direct descent from
the Macedonian Kings, of Egypt and the
Macedonian homeland.
While Zenobia claimed Cleopatra as an ancestor, she far
exceeded her in chastity and valour. She
did not resort to feminine ploys to gain
her ends; she earned the right to rule in
her knowledge and bearing, and especially
daring. She conducted herself with regal
dignity, both during her husband’s reign
and during her own time of rule. On state
occasions she wore the purple of the
ruling class, the robe fringed with
precious gems and with golden ornaments
about her waist. One arm was left bare to
the shoulder, and while riding in her
gem-encrusted carriage she wore a helmet.
During
her rule, she was greeted with Persian
prostration, common in the area and era.
Her voice reflected confidence, yet
remained pleasant to the ear. Under the
court philosopher Longinus, she studied
the ways of politics, and of men. She
patronized Greek ways, modelled herself
after a proper Greek matron, and even
wrote a history of her beloved East.
During her travels with her husband, she inured herself to
fatigue, refused a covered carriage and
rode a horse in military dress. Often she
marched several miles at the head of the
column of soldiers without complaint. All
this won her the respect of the troops,
and insured that they would be loyal.
Zenobia was esteemed the most lovely as
well as the most heroic of her sex,
tempered by the most attractive sweetness.
When she governed,
she treated her people with love and care.
Historians say that she dealt with her
people in the same manner she dealt with
her children. No wonder they adored her
and were ready to die for her. She used to
spend huge sums of money on poets,
philosophers, and artists, bringing them
from their native countries, and giving
them luxurious accommodation next to hers.
Her palace was a
paradise on earth. It contained huge
gardens and buildings. All the streets
were tiled, clean and shadowed by trees.
The palace compound was like a small city.
It had a temple called “The Temple of
the Sun”, having in its centre many
pyramids.
Queen Zenobia was soon fired by the
ambition of getting rid of Roman
domination. In 268, during the reign of
Emperor Aurelian, Zenobia with the help of
her Prime Minister Longinus, decided to
conquer all of Rome’s territories in
Africa & Asia. Her ambitions knew no
limits, and probably she had in mind, at
that early stage, conquering Rome itself.
She made use of the fact that Rome was
then very much engaged in internal
conflicts, as well as external wars.
This enabled Queen
Zenobia to take over the whole of Syria;
she headed for the north and took Antioch,
conquered Egypt (269-270) and sent her
armies to Asia Minor, gaining control
thereby of all the land and seaways to the
Far East. She took the title of
‘August’, which was only used by the
Emperors of Rome, and she had money coined
with her and her son’s likeness upon it,
without that of the Emperor of Rome. Her
armies actually humiliated three Roman
Emperors in battlefields.
However,
Emperor Aurelian took quick action to
quell his internal disputes, and started
to plan revenge. He formed a new army for
this purpose, which proceeded through
Turkey to conquer Zenobia’s army in its
first defensive position in Homs (Emesa).
It besieged Palmyra until it fell in 274.
Queen Zenobia was defeated and taken
captive to Rome, fettered in golden
chains.
The destiny of the Great Kingdom of
Palmyra was no better than that of its
Queen; the city fell prey to looting and
destruction. Archaeologists are still
working on excavations there in order to
uncover the Queen’s palace, which was
destroyed by the Romans and replaced by a
military camp. Queen Zenobia’s ambitious
dream is still embodied in the magnificent
remains of what she built.
Later in the Byzantine period a few
churches were built and added to the
much-ruined city. It was later taken by
the Arabs, under Khaled Ibn Al Walid rule.
It played a minor defensive role during
the Islamic periods although the Umayyads
built the two Qasr Al Heirs. Later Temple
of Baal was fortified and the Arab Castle
of Fakhredin Al Maany was built. Since
then it has had no major roles and the
ruins have fallen victim to natural
erosion.
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