The ability which the Palmyrenes developed and exploited to protect the caravans originating in and destined for the Persian Gulf became an essential aspect in the relationship between Rome and Palmyra. The geographical
Location of Palmyra, half way between the Mediterranean and the Euphrates, gave it the opportunity to act as an intermediary for trade bound for the Roman Empire through the ports of the eastern Mediterranean. It was able to do the same for trade destined for the Persian Gulf. The ability to protect trade gave Palmyra the opportunity to levy tariffs on products that passed through the oasis bound for and originating in the Roman Empire, and this was the source of Palmyra’s considerable wealth. The Palmyrenes developed a reputation for protecting the caravans with units of mounted archers commanded by strategoi as they journeyed to and from the Persian Gulf along the Euphrates and across the Palmyrene desert.1 It was not just this ability that contributed to Palmyra’s success because there is evidence to show that the Palmyrenes were involved in the sea trade routes to India and also around the Arabian peninsula. The evidence is not clear, but it is possible that the Palmyrene archers came to operate as a permanent or standing army in the second century for the purposes of protecting trade.2
Palmyra’s provision of effective protection to the caravans meant a more reliable supply of exotic and luxury goods demanded in the Roman Empire. Its trading success began soon after the Romans established the province of Syria under Pompey, and its growth in wealth was closely linked to the Roman presence in the Near East. Until the early second century AD, Roman power and influence at Palmyra continued to develop and was expressed in the Roman control of tariff levels on goods as they passed through the city. It was not until the reigns of Trajan and Hadrian that Rome employed the skills of the Palmyrene archers, who had so successfully protected the trade routes, and began using them in frontier regions in other parts of the empire. This continued in the second century until Palmyrene auxiliary units commanded by Palmyrenes who had served in the Roman army were organized as the nucleus of the first identifiable permanent military presence at Palmyra. Palmyrene archers probably formed the nucleus of the auxiliary units that garrisoned Dura Europos on the Euphrates and Koptos in Egypt in the second half of the second century AD. The Palmyrene auxiliary units were essential in assisting Roman consolidation of gains made along the Euphrates, while protecting Palmyra from desert tribal attacks - given its obvious wealth.
Palmyra took advantage of the opportunity to exploit its geographical position for trade as the Roman presence in the Near East and Syria expanded through the first and second centuries AD in particular. Following the collapse of what remained of the Seleucid Empire in northern Syria and the growing rivalry between Rome and Parthia for control of former Seleucid possessions, the whole region went through periods of instability. Rome and Parthia, and a number of smaller kingdoms such as Pontus and Armenia, competed with each other for control of territory in northern Syria and Mesopotamia. The set-back suffered by Rome at the loss of
Crassus and his legions in 53bc had the effect of halting Roman expansion in the East. Antonius’ setbacks in the East from the late 40s to the early 30s BC, coupled with the crippling civil war with Octavian, also contributed to instability. The situation in southern Syria from the middle of the first century BC to the middle of the first century AD was also volatile. The Nabataean kingdom competed with Rome for control of the regions around Damascus and also in Judaea. Palmyra was able to take advantage of its desert location between northern and southern Syria during this time of instability, although Palmyra itself suffered when Antonius attacked it. A further chance for Palmyra to exploit its position for trade came after the peace settlement between Augustus and Phraates IV of Parthia in 20/19bc.3 The peace that ensued gave Palmyra the chance to capitalize significantly on its geographical position, which it had already begun to exploit for the safer passage of traded items.4 As part of this process, some Palmyrenes had established a presence on the Euphrates at Dura Europos, but the community there appears to have been small and remained so until at least the middle of the first century ad.5 Behind the growth of trade, and the necessity to provide it with protection across the desert from the Euphrates, was demand from Rome. Palmyra’s ability to escort vulnerable caravans up the Euphrates and across its guarded desert routes from the Euphrates and on to the ports of the eastern Mediterranean became the economic lifeblood of the city. The wealth that Palmyra generated due to its handling of trade, however, did not substantially begin to express itself at the city until the first half of the first century AD.6
Palmyra’s structure as a city and region was unlike that of neighbouring client-kingdoms, that comprised the regions to its north, west and south. These regions included Nabataea, Emesa, Commagene and Osrhoene. All were kingdoms which eventually became a part of Roman territory. For the first 100 years of the existence of Roman Syria, Palmyra was governed by a confederation of tribes and it is difficult to establish exactly what comprised Palmyrene territory in this period, particularly to the east. By the reign of Vespasian, the institutions of a Hellenistic city had been established and this structure emerged as the dominant civic authority at Palmyra in the second century AD. This was the means by which Palmyra dealt with the Roman provincial authority in Syria, while culturally it reflected Palmyra’s growing status and inclusion in the world of the Roman Near East. Palmyra’s relatively late development as a major urban settlement with the many prominent features of a Near Eastern city came as a result of its growth in wealth from trade. This saw a steady expansion in public, religious and funerary building. Palmyra benefited from, and quickly became a part of, the world of Near Eastern Hellenistic culture, which had continued in the western cities of the old Seleucid Empire and also flourished under Roman control. This, combined with a strong Semitic cultural identity, expressed vividly in religion and language, created a unique culture at Palmyra that assisted its maintenance of an individual identity even when it was clearly a part of the Roman province of Syria Phoenice. It would ultimately be a key feature in Palmyra’s demise.
World History
