The monumental remains of Palmyra (also known as Tadmor) have fascinated travelers and scholars for centuries. The Oxford Handbook of Palmyra gives a detailed analysis of the archaeology and history of this ancient oasis city in the Syrian Desert, spanning evidence from several millennia. With contributions from thirty archaeologists, epigraphists, historians, and philologists, this book covers the city's archaeological findings and history from its earliest mentions in the pre-Roman era to the destruction of many of its monuments during the Syrian Civil War and the subsequent looting. The authors recap evidence and present significant new findings and analyses from fieldwork they or others undertook in Palmyra prior to the 2011 conflict and discuss the recent occupation by ISIS and calls to defend the site's remains from current and future threats.
A broad range of themes are covered, which not only relate to the archaeology and history of the site, but also to its standing and relationship with the rest of the ancient world as a major trade hub connecting routes from East to West during the Roman period. Thirty-seven chapters relay firsthand expert knowledge in an accessible style and include up-to-date bibliographies, making this handbook an ideal and comprehensive resource for professional researchers, students, and anyone interested in this major UNESCO World Heritage Site.
"Contributors 1. Palmyra-Tadmor in the Syrian Desert: An Introduction to the Handbook of Palmyra Rubina Raja Part One Setting and Landscape 2. Climate and Environment of Palmyra and the Syrian Desert Eivind Heldaas Seland 3. The Palmyrene: Hinterland and Sedentarization Jørgen Christian Meyer Part Two Tadmor-Palmyra in a Longue Durée Perspective 4. Glimpses of Tadmur before Alexander: The Pre-Hellenistic Evidence John Healey 5. Hellenistic Palmyra: A Fata Morgana? Andreas Schmidt-Colinet 6. Palmyra: The Development of an Ancient City Michal Gawlikowski 7. Palmyrene Identity and Community: Continuity and Change Andrew Smith II 8. Palmyra and its ""Dark Ages"" (273--750): An Archaeological and Historical Reassessment Emanuele E. Intagliata 9. Palmyra in Late Antique and Medieval Times Slawomir Kowalski 10. Palmyra and the Third-Century Crisis Udo Hartmann 11. Queen Zenobia: The Rise and Fall of Her Palmyra Nathanael Andrade 12. Palmyra and the Military: From the Roman Period to the Islamic Conquest Emanuele E. Intagliata Part Three Palmyra and Language 13. A Bilingual World? Language and Epigraphy in Palmyra Jean-Baptiste Yon 14. The Palmyrene Tax Tariff John Healey 15. Aramaic Legal Language from Palmyrene Monumental Inscriptions Eleonora Cussini Part Four Palmyra and its Contacts 16. The Palmyrene Diaspora Katia Schörle 17. Palmyrene Trading Networks Eivind Heldaas Seland 18. Palmyrenes in Rome Eugenia Schneider 19. Palmyra and the Parthians Peter Edwell 20. Palmyra and Dura-Europos: Contact, Impact, and Differences Lucinda Dirven Part Five Palmyra and its Monuments 21. Urban Layout and Public Space: The Monuments of Palmyra in the Roman and Late Antique Periods Emanuele E. Intagliata 22. Domestic Architecture in Palmyra Gioia Zenoni 23. Religious Architecture: The Temples and Sanctuaries Robyn Le Blanc 24. Built for Eternity: The Funerary Monuments of Palmyra Agnes Henning 25. The Fortifications and Military Architecture in Palmyra Karol Juchniewicz Part Six Palmyra and its Art 26. Public Sculptures from Palmyra Dagmara Wielgosz-Rondolino 27. The Palmyrene Funerary Sculpture Rubina Raja 28. Palmyrene Women: Breaking the Glass Ceiling or Window Dressing? Maura Heyn 29. Representations of Men in Palmyra Maura Heyn 30. Religious Life and Priestly Representations in Palmyra Rubina Raja 31. Children in Palmyra Olympia Bobou 32. The Production Economy of Funerary Portraiture Julia Steding 33. The Banqueting Tesserae from Palmyra: Tokens for Religious Events Rubina Raja 34. Palmyrene Coinage Nathalia Kristensen 35. Wall Paintings and Stucco Work in Palmyrene Funerary Hypogea Hélène Eristov, Claude Vibert-Guigue, Nicole Blanc 36. A Note on Quarries and Textiles in Palmyra Andreas Schmidt-Colinet 37. Postludium: Palmyra and the Civil War Annie Sartre-Fauriat"
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 and the Palmyra Portrait Project. She has published extensively on culture and societies in the Eastern Roman Empire. Her monographs include Pearl of the Desert: A History of Palmyra (2022), Urban Development and Regional Identity in the Eastern Roman Provinces, 50 BC--AD 250: Aphrodisias, Athens, Ephesos, Gerasa (2012), and The Ingholt Archive (2023), published in four volumes and co-authored with Olympia Bobou, Amy Miranda, and Jean-Baptiste Yon.
