PALMY'RA (Lat., from Gk. ITaX.wpcf, trans lation of Heb. Tadmiir, Tadmor, from Id mil r. palm-tree ) . The Greek Tadmor, connected by tradition with a city built by King Solomon (I. Kings ix. IS: 11. Chron. viii. 4). an ancient city in an oasis of the Syrian desert, 150 miles north east of Damascus (.Map: Turkey in Asia, G 5). It owed its importance to two springs of water which produced luxurious vegetation. Being half way between the Orontes and the Euphrates. it became, at an early date, a caravan station for the trade between the and the Tigris-Euphrates Valley. Its population was. therefore, always hybrid, though in the main Axamean. The city is first mentioned in me. 41 in connection with the wars of Antonius against the Parthians, when the Triumvir made an unsue cessful attempt to possess himself of its riches. At an early time it was reckoned as belonging to the Bonian Empire• though retaining a large measure of independence. No Boman troops were sta thmed here, and Palmyra had to patrol the dis trict between Damascus and the Euphrates with her own troops. In the wars of Tra jan the city was almost destroyed, but was rebuilt by Iladrian 1130) and called Had ria nopol is or 1 I adriana Palmyra. It was made a Roman colony under Caracalla (212), receiving the •/us Italicum. In the course of time n semi-inde pendent monarchy was developed here. Original ly it was governed by a senate, at the head of which was a senator. The first senator of whom we have mention was Hairan• son of (222-235), who took the name of Septimius.
He was followed by his son Udainath ( Odenat hus), who in turn was followed by his son Hairan (Septhuius llairanes, died 255). lie was followed by his brother Udainath 11., who, though still called Fir ronsularis, was made King of Pahnyra and Vice rot of the Ercperor tor tile East. After his death lie received the high-sounding title of 'King of Kings' (inscription of the year 271). The city itself was governed by Palmyrene, Septimius Varodes, as procurator. Ud a i no th took the part of Rome in her war against the Persian King Sailor; relieved Edessa. recovered Nisibis and Carrble (264), marched against Ctesiphon, drove out the Persians, expelled the Gitlis from ('appadocia, and marched into Emesa (266). De seems to have had Armenia, Cilicia,
Cappadocia, Syria. and Arabia in his power. He was killed in the year 267. His son Wah ballat (Athenodorus) was too young to rule, and the Prince's mother, Zcnobia (in Palmyrene Bat Zabbai). wielded the sceptre in his stead. She bore the title 'Queen of Palmyra and the East.' and she tried to free herself from Roman tute lage. Under her rule the Palmyrene realm readied its greatest extension. Her adviser and instructor in Greek was the Platonic philoso pher Longinus. She defeated the Roman army under lleraelianns, and attempted to add Egypt to her dominions, sending thither Zabdas with an army of 70.000 men. Though he occupied Alexandria for a time, he was driven out of Egypt (270) by Probus, the general of Aurelian. The Emperor himself marched against her in 272, and being only weakly supported by the Parthian Varahran, she was defeated in Syria, and Palmyra was besieged. Zenobia escaped to the Euphrates. but was captured and graced the triumph of the conqueror in 274. While Aure lian was on his way home the Palmyrenes rose, appointed a certain AntbIchus their ruler, and massacred the Roman garrison. Aurelian turned back and destroyed the city (273), taking the most beautiful spoils of the Temple to Rome. The city now lost its chief importance as a trade centre, the caravans being sent via llosra and Ctesiphon. An attempt was made by Diocletian (284-305) to rebuild the city. It was the seat of the first Illyrian regiment, and later became also the seat of a Christian bishopric. .Justinian rebuilt the churches and the public buildings and placed a garrison there. The city, however, con tinued to decline. It was taken by the Arabs under Khalid in 634, destroyed again in 744, severely injured by an earthquake in 1157, and plundered by the Tatars under Tamerlane in 1401. Toward the end of the sixteenth century the Druse chieftain Man Oghlu fortified it; but the fortifications were destroyed by the Turks in the seventeenth century. Since then the place has been occupied by the Aneze Bedouins. The modern city is a miserable conglomeration of Bed ouin huts, containing about 1500 souls.