Zenobia was a famous warrior queen who dared to challenge the Roman Emperor together with crippled the empire amongst an ambitious military machine expansion.
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| Queen Zenobia's Last Look upon Palmyra past times Herbert Gustave Schmalz, 1888 [Credit: WikiCommons] |
According to ancient written sources, Zenobia's dreams of glory for Palmyra were shattered past times a successful Roman counter-campaign that culminated inwards the devastation of the city, ordered past times Emperor Aurelian (270-275 CE) inwards 272/273 CE.
But to what extent tin move nosotros trust written sources? What actually happened to Palmyra next, inwards the fourth dimension afterwards Zenobia? H5N1 enquiry projection initiated inwards 2011 has been trying to response this real question.
Our results are straightaway published inwards a novel mass Palmyra afterwards Zenobia (AD 273-750) – an archaeological together with historical reappraisal.
272/273 CE – Palmyra's urban watershed
Based on a reassessment of published reports together with unpublished archival information from past times archaeological excavations together with surveys, along amongst a large corpus of Latin, ancient Greek, Syrian, together with Standard Arabic written sources, the projection has together with then far managed to shed novel calorie-free on the fate of Palmyra.
It appears that the events of 272/273 CE marked an of import watershed for the history of the city. The settlement's inhabited surface expanse shrank to close one-half of its master size together with major projects ended abruptly, such equally the structure of a violet 1.2 kilometre-long street named past times scholars afterwards its porticoes, the Great Colonnade.
From the fourth century CE, the rich houses of the urban aristocracy stopped existence lavishly adorned, suggesting an exodus of the aristocratic elite.
A novel beginning
Nonetheless, the urban meat was non completely abandoned together with was gradually rebuilt from its ashes, demonstrating remarkable urban resilience, equally nosotros would nation today.
Palmyra inwards Late Antiquity, however, would convey looked real dissimilar from that of the Roman period.
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| The remarkably good preserved remains of Palmyra convey lately undergone major devastation due to the electrical flow conflict inwards Syria, simply the site remains ane of the best-known urban settlements inwards the Roman East [Credit: PAL.M.A.I.S. project] |
Public streets together with squares were gradually devoured past times the advance of someone space, pregnant houses together with shops. This, inwards itself, does non necessarily indicate to urban decline, rather to the existence of a thriving urban community that was struggling to respect infinite to alive inside the urban meat walls.
A changing townscape
One of the mind reasons behind the survival of Palmyra must survive related to the installation of a garrison inwards the city, the Legio I Illyricorum, inwards a newly built fortress, which eventually became the economical engine of the settlement.
The advent of Christianity was equally good an of import agent inwards transforming the city. Palmyra had a bishop from at to the lowest degree the early on fourth century and, from the terminate of the same century, urban infidel sanctuaries were gradually abandoned or converted into churches, equally amongst the famous Temple of Bel.
At to the lowest degree viii churches convey been constitute inwards Palmyra: Church four existence ane of the largest inwards the entire early on Christian Syria, excavated past times a Syro-Polish archaeological team.
When inwards 634 CE the Muslim forcefulness of the caliph Abu Bakr guided past times the full general Khalid ibn al-Walid, the "sword of Allah," reached Palmyra. The urban meat surrendered without a fight.
Palmyra afterwards the Islamic conquest
Palmyra inwards the early on Islamic menstruation (634-750 CE) shows incredible continuity from Late Antiquity, simply major changes are equally good visible inwards the urban layout. Perhaps ane of the most remarkable changes is the add-on of a congregational mosque, which was installed inwards an existing edifice around the ancient Roman theatre.
H5N1 suq, an opened upwards bazaar, was equally good installed inwards the railroad vehicle agency of the primal department of the Great Colonnade, suggesting the commercial vitality of the short town fifty-fifty inwards this period.
The fortress which had ane time garrisoned the Roman legion was no longer needed equally Palmyra was no longer situated along a frontier, simply was straightaway at the centre of the growing territory controlled past times the Islamic caliphate inwards Damascus.
The terminate of the ancient site
Eventually, political stresses set an terminate to Palmyra. In the early on Islamic period, the urban meat housed the powerful tribe of the Banu Kalb, who supported the Umayyads, the ruling dynasty inwards Damascus.
When the Umayyads were replaced past times the Abbasids inwards 750 CE, the political agent behind Palmyra´s survival ended abruptly.
The urban meat gradually shrank inwards size and, past times the tenth century CE, it became entrenched into the precinct of the Sanctuary of Bel. The glorious history of the short town was at an end.
New milestones together with time to come directions
The publication of the new book is an of import milestone, simply at that spot is soundless much to survive done to unravel the mysteries of Palmyra afterwards Zenobia.
The projection continues to get together novel of import information to cast calorie-free on this neglected stage of Palmyra´s history, including onetime documentation of past times archaeological excavations together with surveys.
It is equally good attempting to house Palmyra´s belatedly antique together with early on Islamic history into a much wider regional together with empire-wide context past times agreement to what extent the urban development of the site represents trends inwards contemporary settlements.
Author: Emanuele E. Intagliata | Source: ScienceNordic [August 02, 2018]
This flush is republished courtesy of ScienceNordic. Read the master flush here.
Sumber http://archaeologynewsnetwork.blogspot.com
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