Palmyra, the Mediterranean and Beyond

by Rubina Raja (Editor)

Overview

Palmyra is one of the most famous sites of the ancient world and played a major role in the overland trade between the Mediterranean and the East. This volume explores fascinating aspects of Palmyrene archaeology and history that underline the site's dynamic relations with the Roman world, whilst simultaneously acknowledging its extremely local nature. The chapters explore Palmyra as a site, but also Palmyrene society both at home and abroad – as travellers in the then known world and contractors and businesspeople as well as innovative political and military leaders of their time. They illuminate Palmyra's and Palmyrene society's negotiations, struggles, benefits and disadvantages from being part of the Roman Empire, situated on the fringes between the East and the West, and their use of this location to recreate themselves as a central power player – at least for a time – within a rapidly changing world.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781009532082
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	10/16/2025
Series:	Mediterranean Studies in Antiquity
Pages:	252
Product dimensions:	6.50(w) x 1.50(h) x 9.50(d)

About the Author

RUBINA RAJA is Professor of Classical Art and Archaeology at Aarhus University, Denmark, and Director of the Danish National Research Foundation's Centre of Excellence for Urban Network Evolutions. She also directs several collective research projects focusing on the archaeology, history, and cultural heritage of Palmyra, including the Palmyra Portrait Project. Her books include Pearl of the Desert. A History of Palmyra (2022) and Urban Development and Regional Identity in the Eastern Roman Provinces, 50 BC – AD 250: Aphrodisias, Athens, Ephesos, Gerasa (2012).

Table of Contents

1. Palmyra in the Mediterranean World Rubina Raja; 2. The Western Networks of Palmyra Eivind Heldaas Seland; 3. You Can't Get There from Here: Itineraries of the Palmyrenes in the Mediterranean Jean-Baptiste Yon; 4. Palmyrene Iconographic Traditions and the Mediterranean Connections: A Note on Some Signet Seal Impressions on the Palmyrene Tesserae Rubina Raja; 5. Palmyra and Emesa or 'Palmyre sans Émèse': Some Considerations on Palmyrene Trade Networks and the Mediterranean Leonardo Gregoratti; 6. Organizing Networks to Supply Mediterranean Markets Katia Schörle; 7. Language, Law and Religion: The Palmyrene Tariff in Its Roman Context John F. Healey; 8. Channels of Communication and Connections of Style; Palmyrene Portraiture in Its Wider Context Maura K. Heyn; 9. Identity and Mobility of Palmyrene Jews Eleonora Cussini; 10. Palmyrene Military Expatriation and Its Religious Transfer at Roman Dura-Europos, Dacia and Numidia Nathanael Andrade.