EXPLORING ZENOBIA’S CITY

Press, 12 July 1980, Page 17

EXPLORING ZENOBIA’S CITY

Palmyra. By lain Browning, Chatto and Windus, 1979. 223 pp. Bibliography, index, maps and illustrations. $28.50. (Reviewed by Ngaire Orlowski)

lain Browning’s previous work, “Petra," is probably well enough known to act as a recommendation for this book about Palmyra. Browning begins with an outline of the history of Palmyra, “the Bride of the Desert,” which is situated 230 kilometres northeast of Damascus and since prehistoric times was part of such diverse empires as the Assyrian, Persian, Macedonian Greek, Seleucid and Roman. By the first century A.D. Palmyra, or Tadmor as it was called in pre-Semitic days and is again called today, was a flourishing and prosperous trading-post between the two super-powers of Rome and ■Parthia. There is no clear date for when Rome first brought Palmyra under her authority, but the evidence points to Roman interference from at least 18 A.D. The Romans were tactful in their dealings with Palmyra, leaving local affairs in local hands, but keeping a firm grip on political dealings abroad until 267 A.D. In that year Septimius Odainat, the uncrowned king of Palmyra, who had remained loyal to

Rome while her control Over her empire began to disintegrate, was murdered, probably at the instigation of his wife Zenobia. This remarkable and ambitious woman proceeded to challenge the might of Rome, conquering the Province of Syria and seizing Egypt. But she went too far in proclaiming her son Augustus and Rome moved against her. Zenobia was captured and came to an obscure end while Palmyra was devastated by Roman forces in 273 A.D. Its day of glory had ended. There followed domination by Christianity, then Islam. Palmyra slipped from town, to village, to wretched hamlet, until in 1678 Dr William Halifax visited it and wrote a report. The two Englishmen who rescued Palmyra from oblivion were Robert Wood and James Dawkin, who visited the site in 1751 and made detailed drawings of all the most important monuments. But probably the most extraordinary visitor to Palmyra was another remarkable and unconventional woman, Lady Hester Stanhope, who regarded her entry into Palmyra as the greatest triumph of her life, though in reality she was probably greeted by only a handful of poor desert people and accommodated in a hovel. Scholars from Russian and German

archaeological institutes followed and science took over from romance. Today Palmyra is a mass of rums, visited by tourists, excavated by archaeologists and used as a thoroughfare by the occasional goatherd. The author has woven details of the life and culture of the inhabitants of Palmyra at various stages into his account of its history. He has drawn on evidence provided by literary references, inscriptions and art, and has shown clearly how Palmyra was influenced by the powers which dominated it. In its turn. Palmyra was to have some influence on the decaration of ceilings in eighteenth century Britain. The second half of the book is devoted to describing Palmyra as it stands today and explores the ruins thoroughly, providing a walk-around text for tourists and detailed information for the reader at home. Palmyra is written in a lucid style which, together with a thoughtfullyprovided glossary of architectural terms and an absence of highly technical vocabulary, makes this work enjoyable reading for the interested layman. Throughout the work there are sensitive reconstructions which testify to the author’s skill in drawing, and practical knowledge of architecture and design.