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.

Full Product Details

Author:   Rubina Raja (Aarhus Universitet, Denmark)
Publisher:   Cambridge University Press
Imprint:   Cambridge University Press
ISBN:  

9781009532082

ISBN 10:   1009532081
Pages:   252
Publication Date:   16 October 2025
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Not yet available, will be POD  
This item is yet to be released. You can pre-order this item and we will dispatch it to you upon it's release. This is a print on demand item which is still yet to be released.
Language:   English

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.

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Author Information

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).

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