PALMYRA, anciently one of the largest and most mag nificent cities in the world, but now completely in ruins, is situated in the desert of Syria, in 34° 35' North. Lat. and 38° 39' West Long. It stands 200 miles east of the Mediterranean, and 150 south-east of Aleppo. nearly on a line between that city and the Persian Gull. Excepting on the east, where it is flanked by a ridge of mountains, it is surrounded by barren, sandy, uninhabited plains. I' enjoyed the benefit of two springs, the waters of which, now nearly absorbed in the sands, are still used, though warm and sulphureous ; but water seems also to have been conveyed to the city from a considerable distance, by means of a magnificent aqueduct, the ruins of which may yet he traced.
Of the origin of this city we can give no certain infor mation. It is regarded by some as having risen to distinc tion long before the time of Solomon, who lived about a thousand years before the Christian era; while others suppose it to have been the " Tadmor in the wilderness," built by that illustrious monarch, (1 Kings, ix. Chron. viii. 4.) This latter opinion is rendered not im probable, from the circumstance, that the two terms in question are synonymous. " The name of Tadmor, or Palmyra," says Gibbon," by its signification in the Syriac as well as in the Latin language, denoted the multitude of Palm-trees, which afforded shade and verdure to that tem perate region." A similar account is given by Josephus, no incompetent authority—who also affords a complete re futation to the opinion, that the King of Jerusalem was too wise and prudent a prince to found a city of such extent in a distant and uninhabited corner of his dominions, when he remarks, that " the reason why Solomon built this city so remote from the parts of Syria that arc inhabited, is this, that below there is no water to be had, and that it is in that place only where there are springs and pits of wa ter," and that it was meant to form the emporium of the commerce carried on between the Persian Gulf and the mercantile cities on the banks of the Mediterranean. The pearls, cinnamon, gold, &c. mentioned in sacred history, afford ample proof that a commercial relation did subsist, from a very early period, between the places in question, because, in the countries bordering upon the Persian Gulf, could these articles alone be got ; and Palmyra, situated on a straight line between the Persian Gulf and the Sy rian and Phoenician cities, thus early became, it is proba ide, the centre of the trade of the eastern world, and at tained to that degree of wealth and splendour which its ruins so powerfully indicate. It may not be improper to state, that the original buildings of Palmyra have been long entirely obliterated by the lapse of time; and that the edifices, the ruins of which are now so splendid, must have been erected long posterior to the time of Solomon ; be cause Messrs. Dawkins and Wood, to whom we owe al most all we know of this extraordinary place, discovered no inscription older than the Christian era; and, besides, the style of architecture is all either of Greek or Roman origin.
But important as this city soon became, its history is almost totally unknown. This probably may be account ed fur from its sequestered situation and peaceful pursuits, and the various other causes which also tended to sink in obscurity every record of the early commercial history of that interesting portion of the globe. It is transiently
mentioned by an ancient historian, (John of Antioch.) that Nebuchadnezzar took possession of Tadmor ere he laid siege to Jerusalem. Pliny speaks of it as an opulent and important city—as connecting the Roman and Par thian empires by the mutual benefits of commerce, and as enjoying, from this circumstance, the privileges of a complete neutrality,—until, after the victories of Trajan, it became subject to Rome, and remained in that state for upwards of 150 years. Meagre, however, as thc histori cal notices of Palmyra are, it can boast of one splendid xra, when, under its king, the celebrated Oudenatus, it gained various victories over the Persians, and at length stood forth as the rival of Rome herself. Oudenatus was not destined long to enjoy the honours he had won ; he was, after a glorious career, murdered by a member of his own family ; but on his death, Zenobia, his queen, one of the most illustrious females that Asia ever produced, as sumed the government, avenged his death, and soon ren dered herself formidable to all the nations within her reach. To the dominions of Oudenatus, which extended from the Euphrates to Bithynia, she added the kingdom of Egypt, derived from her ancestors. Arabia, Armenia, and Persia, solicited her alliance; the Emperor Claudius II. acknowledged her greatness, and she was universally recognized as Queen of the East. But her dignity and her power did not long continue ; and Palmyra, through her, sacrificed ages of quiet and prosperity, to a moment of glory. The Emperor Aurelian, actuated by ambition, or a desire to secure the safety and tranquillity of the Ro man provinces in Asia, marched a powerful army thither, attacked and defeated Zenobia, and obliged her to retire within the walls of Palmyra. The seige of this city was more tedious and more bloody than Aurelian had expect ed; and he thought it neccessary at length to offer terms of capitulation. These terms, though favourable to the besieged, were indignantly refused. Zenobia declared that the last moment of her reign and of her life should be the same. This resolution, however, did not long continue to animate her: seeing nothing before her but defeat or death, she fled, and had got so far as the Euphrates, a dis tance of sixty miles, when she was overtaken and appre hended. Her courage now completely failed her, and she fixed an indelible stain on a character, otherwise glorious, by purchasing her own life at the expence of those of her subjects and lier friends. Among the numbers whom, on this occasion, Aurelian devoted to death, was the cele brated Longinus, secretary to the queen, and one of the most elegant writers in the Greek language, whose works have come down to us. Palmyra was delivered over to the rapacity of the Roman soldiers; and though Valerian, with the value of the gold and jewels found in Zenobia's possession, repaired the celebrated Tem ple of the Sun; and though Justinian, in a subsequent age, attempted to restore it to its ancient splendour, this city gradually from this period verged into decay and desolation. The Mahometans, into whose hands it after wards fell, did nothing to save it from that ruin into A% hich it was fast sinking; and its present mouldering remains speak to us, in the most emphatic language, of the un avoidable fate that awaits the pride of man, and the no blest monuments of human genius.