The discussion of the interactions and contextualisation of different aspects of life at Palmyra within the largely well-understood context of the Mediterranean world draws on a rich body of older and more recent publications (e.g. M. Sommer, S. Magnani and A. Castiello [edd.], Palmyrenes Abroad. Diasporas from Rome to Mesopotamia and Beyond [2025]; M. Gawlikowski, ‘Trade Across Frontiers. Foreign Relations of a Caravan City’, in: J.C. Meyer, E.H. Seland, N. Anfinset [edd.], Palmyrena. City, Hinterland and Caravan Trade between Orient and Occident [2016], pp. 19–28; D. Wielgosz-Rondolino, ‘La sculpture en marbre à Palmyre’, Studia Palmyreńskie 11 [2010], 75–106; M. Gawlikowski, ‘Palmyra as a Trading Centre’, Iraq [1994], 27–33; H. Seyrig, ‘Palmyra and the East’, JRS 40 [1950], 1–7). The importance of this ancient Syrian city in its contemporary world is immense, comprising trade, religions and social features. The Tadmoreans–Palmyrenes are one of the most visible ethnic groups in the epigraphic sources from Roman Britain to Soqotra and India. Palmyra was a significant part of the Mediterranean region and, beyond that, connected various trends and traditions.
The volume edited by Raja comprises nine chapters arising from a 2015 conference ‘Palmyra and the Mediterranean’ held in Copenhagen, on the relations between Palmyra and the rest of its contemporary world.
The introduction by R. provides, after an outline of Palmyra and its excavation history, an overview of the approach to the material and the subjects raised by the contributors. Particular attention is given to the question posed in the subsection ‘How Far from Palmyra Was the Mare Nostrum (“Our Sea”) of the Roman Empire?’ While this question lies at the heart of the volume, the introduction would have benefited from a more explicit discussion of the theoretical foundations underlying the Mediterranean approach. A fuller engagement with the influential model of Mediterranean connectivity developed by P. Horden and N. Purcell might have clarified how such a framework can be applied to a city situated on the eastern fringes of the Roman world and what new perspectives it can offer to Palmyrene studies. Indeed, the integration of Palmyra into wider cultural and communicative networks is not a new subject in scholarship. Studies of Palmyrene religion, society and mobility have repeatedly demonstrated the city’s participation in both regional and long-distance networks while simultaneously preserving distinctive local traditions (T. Kaizer, The Religious Life of Palmyra [2002]; A. Kubiak-Schneider, Des dédicaces sans théonyme de Palmyre. Béni (soit) son nom pour l’éternité [2021]).
E.H. Seland turns attention to the western networks of Palmyra, analysing political, military, economic and ideological aspects. He employs M. Mann’s IEMP model, emphasising the human factor of power. Seland presents Palmyra as an active player within the networks of the Near East, the Roman world and beyond. He underlines that Palmyra maintained its distinctive cultural identity while simultaneously becoming deeply integrated into Roman political and economic systems. This can be seen from the languages used in the numerous epigraphic sources, as Aramaic is preferred, for example, for religious expressions. The chapter reads largely as a synthesis rather than as a substantially new interpretation.
The next chapter by J.-B. Yon follows the paths of the Palmyrenes from their place of origin to various locations in the Mediterranean. He examines the patterns of how Palmyrenes moved within the Mediterranean and focuses on individual itineraries, stressing the role of onomastics in the identification of the origins of the people from Palmyra. However, such an approach can be problematic in view of the fact that personal names are not necessarily unambiguous markers of identity and may also reflect processes of cultural adaptation, integration and social mobility rather than straightforward ethnic affiliation. Yon raises a question about the Palmyrenes at Tyre, a place where caravans reached the Mediterranean (p. 36). And he analyses epigraphic sources from Palestine, Egypt and North Africa. The concept of the reconstruction of the routes travelled by individuals and the challenges raised by Yon are thought-provoking and novel in the field. What is more, he points out that Palmyra’s diaspora cannot be reduced only to merchant colonies and military units and highlights the role of civilians.
Chapter 4 by Raja concerns the iconographic traditions of the Palmyrenes and their connections to the Mediterranean, taking into consideration seal impressions representing three Greek goddesses: Tyche, Athena and Nike stamped on tesserae. Raja seeks to demonstrate that Palmyrene art was part of broader processes of cultural exchange and visual communication while simultaneously maintaining distinctive local characteristics. She enumerates the variety of images of these female deities and provides 54 examples in an appendix. The treatment of stamp impressions remains largely focused on the Palmyrene material, while broader regional comparanda from the Eastern Mediterranean and Mesopotamia receive limited attention. These goddesses are popular on the seals from, for example, Zeugma (M. Önal, Die Siegelabdrücke von Zeugma [2017]). The use of these particular stamps on the tesserae marks the administrative purposes and shared iconographic conventions across the supra-region of the Eastern Mediterranean (A. Kubiak-Schneider, ‘Palmyrene Tesserae in the Context of Temple Administration’, in: R. Raja [ed.], The Small Stuff of the Palmyrenes. Coins and Tesserae from Palmyra [2022], pp. 81–8). The analysis usefully foregrounds the role of connectivity in shaping artistic production and highlights the coexistence of shared visual repertoires with distinct local forms, confirming earlier theories about Palmyrene art (L. Dirven, The Palmyrenes of Dura-Europos [1999]).
L. Gregoratti discusses relations between Palmyra and Emesa in dialogue with the works of P.-L. Gatier and H. Seyrig. He concludes that Emesa can exist without Palmyra and that Palmyra does not depend structurally on Emesa. He goes further by saying that Emesa was not, as previously considered, a fundamental place and a gateway connecting the Mediterranean and the Euphrates. Gregoratti postulates that the main roads were north and south of the oasis city and the main trade centres were located along the way to Antiochia on the Orontes. This is an important observation, challenging the long-standing straight-line model of trade and route connections, and it reorients Palmyra within northern Syria.
In Chapter 6 K. Schörle studies commercial networks. She argues that Palmyrene trade power relied on the strategic organisation of flexible, multi-scalar networks that linked different economic zones of the ancient world. She analyses the topic in a wide geographical region, extending to the Indian Ocean. Her paper situates Palmyra within a wider Indo-Mediterranean system of exchange.
In Chapter 7 J.F. Healey presents the largest inscription from Palmyra: the Palmyrene Tariff and its context within Roman traditions, analysing, among other things, the Roman officials mentioned and linguistic issues. He points out that this text provides important insight into everyday life in the Near East of that time.
The wider context of Palmyrene portraits is studied by M.K. Heyn. She argues that the distinctive appearance of Palmyrene funerary portraits emerged through continuous engagement with artistic traditions circulating throughout the Roman Empire. Heyn uses the funerary portraiture from Pannonia and Egypt as comparanda to Palmyra. She analyses the stylistic and iconographic features, adding another piece to the broad cultural context of Palmyrene funerary sculpture.
Chapter 9 by E. Cussini concerns the Palmyrene Jews. It is a thorough investigation of onomastics as well as a commentary on the archaeological remains, which can point towards the life of this religious community in Palmyra. Cussini’s paper is not lacking in remarks on the necropolis of Beth Shearim and attestations of the Palmyrenes there. Interestingly, she points to some names of the dedicators to ‘Blessed-his-name-forever’, which might indicate Jewish affiliations. The chapter constitutes an important contribution to the study of the Jewish diaspora in the Roman period and broadens the picture of Palmyrene society, examined mostly through the temple and trade connections.
The volume closes with N. Andrade’s chapter on Palmyrene soldiers and the transfer of cults to Dura-Europos, Dacia and Numidia. He bases his study on the well-known inscriptions from these places that mention Palmyrene deities. He investigates military mobility as a mechanism of cultural transmission. By examining evidence from Dura-Europos, Dacia and Numidia, the chapter highlights the role of soldiers as agents of cultural transfer and identity formation.
Those looking for the Mediterranean context to Palmyra in this volume will be surprised. The Mediterranean frequently functions as a descriptive rather than an analytical category. While the volume succeeds in bringing together a distinguished group of scholars and offers several valuable syntheses of current research on Palmyra, its overarching conceptual framework remains somewhat elusive. The recurring emphasis on the Mediterranean as an analytical category is not always matched by a clear demonstration of how a Mediterranean perspective fundamentally alters the understanding of Palmyra. Many of the contributions address themes that have long occupied Palmyrene scholarship, including diaspora communities, trade networks, military mobility and artistic exchange, often reaching conclusions that are broadly consistent with earlier studies. For the discussion of networks the book lacks a visual presentation of the nodes and ties that would help readers understand the processes of connectivity and relations. The volume successfully demonstrates that Palmyra participated in a wide range of interconnected networks across the Roman world, but it overlooks the connections to the East (Mesopotamia, Parthian Empire) and to the South (Arabian Peninsula, Jordanian harrah). Even when some of the chapters are synthetic, they provide authoritative summaries of current scholarship. The volume highlights movement as a defining characteristic of Palmyrene society. Despite certain conceptual ambiguities surrounding the Mediterranean framework, the volume represents a valuable contribution to contemporary Palmyrene studies. Bringing together leading specialists from a range of disciplines, it offers a multifaceted picture of Palmyra as a city shaped by mobility, connectivity and cultural interaction.
