PALMYRA

Palmyra is seperated by some hundred and fifty kms of steppe from the lush valley of the Orontes to the west. There are more than two hundred kms of desert to cross before you reach the fertile banks of the Euphrates to the east. To both north and south there is nothing but sands and stones. But here at Palmyra a last fold of the Anti-Lebanon forms a basin on the edge of which a spring rises out of a long channel whose depth has never been measured. This spring is called Afqa in ancient inscriptions, an Aramaic word meaning "Way out". Its clear blue slightly sulphorous waters are said to have medicinal properties. They have fed an oasis here with olives, date palms, cotton and cereals. For generations this oasis was known as Tadmor.

A meeting place for East and West:

This remarkable site in the centre of the Syrian Desert became a necessary stopping place for caravans taking the shortest route from the Arabic Gulf to the Mediterranean, as well as for those taking the silk route and crossing the Tigris near Seleucis in Babylon. Tadmor is mentioned on tablets dating back to the 19th century B.C. but it was from the first century B.C. when the Romans invaded Syria that Tadmor (city of dates) now Palmyra (city of palms), took full advantage of her geographical isolation which gave her some protection against military attacks. For four hundred years the city enjoyed uninterrupted prosperity as a centre of trade and a cross road between the east and the west. In 129 A.D. the Roman Emperor Hadrian visited the city and recognised Palmyra as a "free city". In recognition the city adopted the name of Adriana Palmyra for a time. The main temples were built or enlarged during this period; the Agora was made and the residential quarters grew up on both sides of the great colonnaded central avenues.

Luxury amid the desert:

Palmyra enjoyed new favours. Spices, perfumes, ivory and silk from the east, glassware and statues from Phoenicia, all passed through Palmyra - the traffic was organized by the Palmyrenes, some of whom even owned ships sailing the Indian ocean.

The whole city reflected activity and great prosperity, but all this did not restrict innovation in thought. Alongside the traditional worship of Bel, a Babylonian god equivalent to Zeus, and his two acolytes Yarhibol (the sun) and Aglibol (the moon), and that of Belshemen, a tendency to monotheism appeared. From the second century Christianity was already prevalent before the year 300 since a Palmyrene bishop played a leading role at the council of Nicea.

The ambitious Arab queen Zenobia:

During the third century the wars in which Rome was involved caused a slackening of trade between east and west. Persia became once more a major threat to the Roman world. All this caused the leaders of Palmyra to come to the logical conclusion that the hour had come to liberate the whole of the middle east from foreign domination, whether Roman or Persian. Under the reign of an influential Arab family, Palmyra passed from being a merchant republic governed by a senate, to being a kingdom under a certain Odenathus the Younger who awarded himself the title of king of kings. He defeated the Persian army twice, but at the end of 267, Odenathus and his son were assassinated in mysterious circumstances. Rumours had it that the king's second wife, Zenobia, mother of a very young son, was in some way involved in the crime. She revealed herself to be an able monarch.

Within six years she had affected the whole life of Palmyra. In 270 the queen, who claimed to be descended from Cleopatra, took possession of the whole of Syria, conquered lower Egypt and sent her armies across Asia Minor as far as the Bosphorous.

In open defiance of Rome, Zenobia and her son took the title "August" and had coins struck in this name, thus setting themselves up as rivals to the Roman emperor Aurelian.

The death of a metropolis:

Aurelian raised a new army, crossed Anatolia, pushed the Palmyrenes out of their positions at Emesa (Homs), and made straight for Palmyra which fell after a few weeks' seige. Zenobia was taken prisoner to Rome where she was forced to ride in Aurelian's "Triumph" in 274.

Palmyra was reduced from being a capital to a mere Syrian frontier strong- hold. Palmyra never recovered her position as Aleppo and then Damascus became important centre of commerce and ideas. At the begining of the 17th century the Emir Fakhr Ad Din used Palymra as a place to train his police, and built a castle on the on the hillside overlooking the city. Down below, the ruins soon sheltered only a few peasants. It was not really until our own time, 18 centuries after the dramatic end of the reign of Zenobia, that Palmyra re- emerged from oblivion.

As we walk down the Great Colonnade, which stretched for more than a thousand meters, we can gain a clear impression of the layout of the city.

The columns themselves are all crowned by wide corinthian capitals

The moulded consoles half way up the shafts of the columns supported statues of public figures. Only one of these survives and it has been put back in place. There are also some inscriptions commemorating the citizens who contributed to the costs of building the avenue itself.

On both sides there were ware-houses and the principal public buildings of the city. On the right hand side four granite columns- unusual in this limestone region- indicate the site of baths dating from the later Diocletian period. The other public buildings are all on the left central avenue. The first one we come to after the monumental arch is a nymphaeum (a sacred fountain). Then, immediately past the arch, there is the base of a temple excavated in 1963-65. The temple was dedicated to Nabo, a Babylonian divinity, later identified with Apollo, who enjoyed great popularity in Syria. Further on along the great colonnade is the outside wall of the theatre. From the highest row of seats inside the theatre there is a fine view down over the orchestra pit, the stage and the wall behind. Other important remains include the almost square agora and the official banqueting hall.

The museum:

The entrance hall of the museum is devoted to prehistory depicted in a series of highly realistic dioramas. The room to the right of the entrance shows the evolution of the Palmyrene script. In the next room there are religious sculptures and a model of the temple of Bel as it was when it was built. In the third room there are sculptures from public buildings.

The depict every day life, commerce and honours. The three rooms and gallery on the left of the entrance hall are occupied mainly by splendid funerary sculptures.. On the first floor there are many collections of objects: explanatory panels and reconstructions with life-size figures which together constitute a veritable museum of the Syrian desert. Some scenes show every day life in the oasis of Tadmor, others show the production of turpentine (used by the Egyptians in the mummification of their dead).

The temple is surrounded by a great blank wall, 200m on each side. The bleak exterior gives no hint of the magnificence of the building's internal layout. There is an immense courtyard surfaced with smooth rock which rises gently towards the cella, where the sacrificial mystries were celebrated. In front of the cella is the great sacrifical alter together with a ritual basin in which the priests performed their ablutions. The interior of the cella consists of two open chapels facing each other with ceilings made from single slabs of stone. The one on the left is decorated with signs of the zodiac, while the one on the right displays fine geometric designs. The Palmyrene Trinity (Bel, Yarhibol and Argibol) is also depicted.

The Ancient Tombs:

There are four types of tombs to be found on the slopes of the hills to the east of the city: the tomb tower, the house tomb, the hypogeum tower (a stair- way linking a network of underground chambers inside a tomb tower) and the hypogeum tomb (built to receive the bodies of one family over a period of two centuries). The Valley of the Tombs contains some of the most remarkable tombs in Palmyra: the Marona house tomb, the Jamblique tomb tower built in 83 AD and the tomb tower of the Elhabel family built in 103 AD. Near the top of the hillside there is an entrance to the hypogeum of Atenatah, which was dug in 98.

Visitors to Palmyra, who come alone or in small groups simply to have the pleasure of watching the sunrise over some magnificent ruins, are a remarkable sign of the rebirth of the city that witnessed the will of Zenobia.

Thank you for reading.

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