The Palmyrenes, inhabitants of the ancient city known in Aramaic and modern Arabic as Tadmor and located in the largest oasis of the Syrian Desert, are among the most visible ethnic groups in the epigraphic record. They proudly underlined their civic appurtenance by an ethnikon Palmyrenos / Palmyrenus in Greek and Latin inscriptions, by the use of a particular Aramaic script, typical of Palmyrene epigraphy, and distinctive onomastics as well as by the veneration of gods such as Malakbel, Yarhibol and Aglibol. The collective volume edited by Sommer, Magnani and Castiello engages with the topic of the mobility of the Palmyrenes into different parts of the ancient world in the period of the first three centuries ce. Sommer rightly points out that research on Palmyra still lacks a systematic and comprehensive study of the Palmyrenes abroad. The subject remains discussed only in scattered fashion across numerous papers dealing with various aspects of Palmyrene life outside their hometown (see e.g. some chapters in R. Raja [ed.], The Oxford Handbook of Palmyra [2024], pp. 251–87; A. Kubiak-Schneider, ‘Palmyrene Gods in the West. Interferences, Interpretations and Interactions’, in: L. Pérez Yarza, J. Herrera Rando and S. Bianchi Mancini [edd], One Cult, Multiple Cultures: Multilingualism and Religion in the Roman Mediterranean [2025], pp. 319–40). The multilingual book under review is an outcome of a hybrid conference held at the Villa Vigoni, situated on Lake Como, in 2020. Its thirteen chapters are structured into four parts: ‘Diasporas’, ‘Trajectories’, ‘Areas’ and ‘Perspectives’. The unifying theme of the contributions, written in English, French and Italian, is the concept of ‘diaspora’, discussed in particular by Sommer and Castiello.
The only contribution in Part 1 is by Sommer, who offers a theoretical and conceptual discussion of diasporas. He defines diaspora as a network of individuals maintaining strong ties to their homeland while being dispersed among other nations. Sommer seeks to situate Palmyra within this framework, examining the city’s place in the broader definitions of diaspora and the distinctive diasporic character of empires that foster migration and collective identities. Drawing on world history and the social sciences, he considers the Roman Empire as a diasporic environment that provided the conditions for cultivating a sense of diasporic distinctiveness.
Part 2, which addresses various facets of diaspora under the heading of ‘Trajectories’, opens with T. Kaizer’s paper on religious aspects. The author presents a discussion on the importance of religion for underlining the Palmyrene identity abroad. Some points in this contribution require clarification. For instance, the epigraphic habits of the Palmyrenes demonstrate their capacity to adapt to local cultures of inscription across different regions of the ancient world. Hence, epitaphs of Palmyrene expatriates often include the Roman formula Dis Manibus (‘to the spirits of the deceased’), and their votive inscriptions employ the traditional expression votum solvit libens merito. In contrast, dedications from Palmyra feature the Aramaic mwd’ (‘in thanksgiving’) and its Greek equivalent euchēn (A. Kubiak-Schneider, Des dédicaces sans théonyme de Palmyre [2021], pp. 50–60). Highly speculative is the theory of emphasis on the solar aspect of Yarhibol in the army as having no counterpart in Palmyra. Firstly, the name Yarhibol, as recently proposed by K. van der Toorn (Papyrus Amherst 63 [2018], pp. 33–4), can have the meaning ‘Golden Bol’, illustrating the solar aspect. Secondly, Yarhibol appears in connection with Sol, the Roman Sun god, only in inscriptions from Dacia. It is not clear whether the other provinces where his cult is attested (e.g. Numidia, Africa Proconsularis) saw him in the same manner as Dacia. Thirdly, apart from Dura-Europos, we do not have any iconographic representation of Yarhibol outside of Palmyra and its hinterland. The Durene representations of the god follow the pattern known from Palmyra, attested also on tesserae, small tokens dated to the period between the first and third centuries ce (Recueil des tessères de Palmyre [1955], 346–74). Another issue raised by T. Kaizer is the veneration of Aesculapius and Hygia by a high Roman official of Palmyrene origin, Publius Aelius Theimes from Sarmizegetusa. This example shows the polytheistic elasticity in cults and does not necessarily indicate that the devotee thought about Shadrapha or Asklepios, as Kaizer postulates. Latin and Greek inscriptions attest the acts of devotion to foreign deities, without any further interpretation of the divine figures (e.g. T. Kaizer, ‘Notes on some Palmyrene Religious Imagery’, in: K. Lapatin and R. Raja [edd], Palmyra and the East [2022], pp. 127–38). Still, Kaizer arrives at an important conclusion. He signals that many Palmyrenes might not have been recognised by modern readers of the inscriptions. The reasons of the camouflage are onomastics, honoured deities, languages and epigraphic habits.
The longest chapter of the volume – spanning 42 pages and rich in information and sources – is by Magnani and focuses on Palmyrene soldiers. It offers a comprehensive overview of the dispersed Palmyrene troops attested in Arabia, Dura-Europos, Dacia and North Africa. Magnani begins with references to Zabdibol, an officer of Antiochos III mentioned by Polybius, and to Flavius Josephus, who refers to a certain Malchos, a Palmyrene archer serving in the Roman army sent to Jerusalem. Both names are well attested in the epigraphy of Palmyra, which makes their Palmyrene identity highly probable. Magnani also discusses the processes of recruitment and the role of auxiliaries in the Roman army. This is a significant and pioneering study – indeed the most thorough analysis to date – of the military dimension of Palmyra’s social history. Magnani notes how Palmyrene soldiers adapted to new environments, cultures and administrative systems while retaining their own identity.
The chapter by A.-C. Sander and P. von Danckelman concludes Part 2. The authors examine the question of elites and their connections with Palmyrene communities abroad. They define what constituted ‘elite’ status and attempt to identify its members both in Palmyra and beyond. Their discussion centres on epigraphic evidence and on the achievements of prominent Palmyrenes mentioned in honorific inscriptions (tituli honorarii). Among the bodies conferring such honours were the highest civic institutions of a polis – the boule and the demos. There is no reason to assume that the mention of either the boule or the demos alone reflects political change or a division of responsibilities. Numerous tituli honorarii from the Eastern Mediterranean attest to this practice, whereby a single civic institution could bestow honours upon a distinguished citizen (cf. A. Wojciechowska and K. Nawotka [edd.], Ancient Epigraphic Culture on the Aegean and Ionian Islands [2025]). Sander and von Danckelman conclude their paper with important questions for future research, including the purpose of embassies, Palmyra’s foreign policy, a reassessment of the city’s status as a polis, and the criteria governing the kind of information selected for public display.
Part 3 covers areas where Palmyrenes are mentioned in textual and archaeological sources: Rome (T. Gnoli), Dacia (I. Piso and O. Țentea), Egypt (M. Cobb), Dura-Europos (L. Dirven), Babylonia (E.H. Seland), Southern Arabia (D. Piacentini), Soqotra (M. Gorea) and beyond the Erythraean Sea (T.L. Høistæter). I will not discuss each chapter in detail, but rather emphasise some points from a few of them.
In the analysis of Palmyrene merchants in Egypt Cobb adds less obvious documents in addition to the inscriptions from Koptos and Berenike. He includes ostraca from Myos Hormos and Berenike with Semitic names and attestation of the Palmyrene anthroponym Hierobolos = Iarhibola, a Tentyris tablet with Greek and faint traces of the Palmyrene Aramaic epitaph (Palmyrene Aramaic Texts [1996], 0256) and the possibility of the presence of Palmyrenes in Alexandria before 270 ce. Despite the lack of written documents (either papyri or inscriptions) in the latter city, Cobb argues hypothetically that some of the community of Tadmorean merchants were eager to sell their cargo and goods in the Alexandrian metropolis. Cobb’s paper is significant for understanding the Palmyrene presence in Egypt, not in terms of controlling and running the ports, but with regard to being located in an important trading hub on the coast of the Red Sea and helping against predatory activities of desert nomads between the second half of the second century ce and 270 ce.
Seland deals with the diaspora in Lower Mesopotamia around Seleucia-on-the-Tigris, Babylon and Mesene. He presents the epigraphic evidence, concentrating on so-called ‘caravan inscriptions’ (honorific texts set up in important spots of the city with reference to the caravans), and archaeological finds, for example torpedo jars, the bitumen-clad transport amphorae for the transportation of wine originally from Babylonia and found in Palmyra. Seland expresses hope that the archaeological work of an international team in Spasinou-Charax, active since 2016, will bring more results highlighting Palmyrene connections to this southern Mesopotamian city. Seland emphasises the importance of religious links between the homeland and Palmyrene traders in Lower Mesopotamia. Institutions such as Palmyrene temples had interests in long-distance trade to exchange cultic knowledge and concepts.
Piacentini examines sources attesting Palmyrenes in Southern Arabia. She presents the history of trade in the region and draws attention to the kingdom of Hadramawt. There are two inscriptions in Hadramawtic script and language mentioning Palmyrene traders. Piacentini suggests that the presence of Palmyrenes in this corner of the ancient world was rather transitory and non-permanent. One of these texts is a rock graffito, the second is a dedication by Palmyrenes (explicitly labelled as Tadmoreans) to the local Hadramawtic deity. The Southern Arabic evidence attests again the epigraphical adaptivity of the Palmyrenes, addressing their texts in the local language to local readers. It is a different situation in Soqotra (Gorea), where Abgar left his dedication in Aramaic in a cave. The multilingual and multireligious environment of the place encouraged him to write the dedication in his own language and script, knowing that it would potentially be read by compatriots or other people knowing Aramaic. Both Abgar and the Palmyrenes from Southern Arabia dedicated to the local deities with bigger (in the case of Hadramawt) and lower (in the case of Soqotra) knowledge about the divine onomastics.
The volume is concluded by Castiello with an overview of the study of the Palmyrene diaspora. She suggests a comprehensive look at all elements such as onomastics, languages, and art, but also at the adaptation processes for a better understanding of the situation of Palmyrenes abroad, their role and status.
The volume is coherently put together, presenting the arguments in a clear manner. It is a great source of reference for studies on ancient diasporas and the visibility of different ethnic identities in the historical evidence. The example of Palmyra shows the aspects of migration and of the promotion of one’s own identity abroad.
