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Palmyra was a vast autonomous Semitic caravan trading city oasis in the middle of semi-arid terrain. It flourished as a middleman for exchange and trans-shipment of goods between settled Syria and Mesopotamia and nomadic groups from Arabia and surrounding regions. Its ruins give an impression of its wealth and grandeur. It developed its own distinctive sculpture and architecture that reflect Roman influences but were not exclusively Roman. Its elites used a unique Aramaic script. It achieved its maximal prosperity and power in the second and third century CE. The Roman Emperor Aurelian decisively crushed Palmyra in 272. Its inner perimeter wall had a length of approximately 6 kilometers.

Learning Resources

Name: Palmyra

Material:

Size: Its inner perimeter wall had a length of approximately 6 kilometers.

Date: 1st through 3rd century CE

Place of Origin: Central Syria (215 km northeast of Damascus)

Location: Central Syria (215 km northeast of Damascus)

Source and Registration#:
Michael Jennings NELC PhD candidate

Walter E. Kaegi

Professor of History, University of Chicago