Antakya’s rich collection of mosaics

Antakya in Turkey is the modern name for Laudetia, which Seleucos Nicator named after his mother. It was later renamed Antioch-on-the Orontes. Today, the city is most famous for its rich collection of mosaics that are displayed in the local Hatay Archaeology Museum and worth a visit by itself. 

Unsurprisingly, a mosaic from the 2^nd century AD was discovered during the construction works to build a new hotel. It is described as a hand-woven carpet and, with its 1050 square meters, the largest single-piece mosaic in the world – although this may be exaggerated. 

Because of its size and shape, the mosaic will remain in place. It has been wracked by repeated earthquakes in the area (see: Eyewitnesses of an earthquake in Antioch-on-the-Orontes). 

Luckily, the hotel owner sees the archaeological find as an extra opportunity to lure clients and visitors alike and turn his project into a museum-hotel which he’ll name Necmi Asfuroǧlu Archaeology Museum. Besides the mosaic, some 200 artifacts from Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine, Islamic, and Ottoman times have been unearthed and will find a place in this future museum. 

Indeed another reason to visit Antakya soon!

[Pictures from onedio]

The unique mosaic from Apamea

During clandestine excavations on the site of Apamea in October 2011, a mosaic with a very rare and unusual scene was discovered as it represented the foundation of Antioch on the Orontes by Seleucos in 300 BC. The work is obviously Roman and has been dated to the 4^th century AD. What makes the picture so unique is that it shows the religious sacrifice as performed by Seleucos I and his son Antiochus I.

The name Apamea appeared in 300 BC when Seleucos, a successor of Alexander, created one of the grandest cities in the east. At the Susa mass wedding of 324 BC, Seleucos married Apame, the daughter of Spitamenes of Bactria. Apame accompanied her husband during all of his expeditions and campaigns. After conquering the east, Seleucos established another capital of his empire at Antioch on the Orontes, today's Antakya in Turkey. The region pleased him so much that he built another beautiful city further inland, which he named Apamea (see: Apamea, heritage of Alexander) after his wife. Together with Antakya, it became the most important city of his wide empire, reaching from the Mediterranean to the Indus. Seleucos truly moved in Alexander's footsteps, and like him, he built many cities, which are said to be all named after family members. One city was named after his father, Antioch; five after his mother, Laodicea; four after his two wives, Apamea and Stratonikea; and last but not least, nine were named after him, Seleucia.

After being incorporated into the Roman Empire, Apamea grew to harbor 250,000 people and became very rich. It was a military base and was renowned for breeding military horses. This explains the monumental remains of private and official buildings we still see today on both sides of the colonnaded Cardo.

The above-mentioned mosaic was created when the city reached its peak of refinement between the 3^rd and the 5^th century AD. The alarming fact is that the mosaic has disappeared, probably sold on the black market to some art collector. It is quite peculiar that we have a photograph of this beautiful composition made by an unknown author, even if it is not the best shot. The mosaic may have been decorating the floor of a house belonging to some high official, as it covers about 10 m2.

[Picture downloaded from Pinterest]

A Greek inscription identifies the sacrifice attended by five standing figures above which floats an eagle, representing Zeus, holding a bull’s head in its claws. We see Seleucos I Nicator (the Victorious) and Antiochus I Soter (the Savior) standing on either side of an altar with a fire burning on which a bull is being sacrificed. Seleucos wears a blue tunic underneath his parade cuirass and a purple cloak; his head is crowned with a golden tiara. Antiochus, in turn, is dressed in a white tunic trimmed with two black stripes covered with a purple cloak as well; he wears some jewels. Next to Seleucos, we recognize Heracles and the Muse Calliope, and next to Antiochus, we find Ktisis, the female personification of the city, holding the tools of the architect. The two women are clad in a belted chiton and show their jewelry.

Interpol has now launched an official search for this out-of-common mosaic. Unfortunately, this is not the only one that has disappeared from the Apamea site that was badly damaged when the IS occupied the region. Please keep on the lookout!

[For more mosaic news, read also: More illegal mosaics from Apamea] 

Crossing the Euphrates and Tigris Rivers

River crossings are generally considered mere accessory events in Alexander's campaign, but they are widely underestimated. On their way east, the Macedonians had to cross countless rivers, streams, and rivulets. Each of these, however, came with its own challenges: some were mere sandy flats while others were filled with rocks; some banks were steep and slippery while others were marshy and swampy; some streams were lazy water ribbons while others were torrential white waters; and some were hazardous while others were placid.

Over the years, Alexander crossed many significant rivers, among which the most important are the Danube, the Nile, the Euphrates and the Tigris, the Oxus and the Jaxartes, and finally, the Indus, including the entire Punjab, i.e., the Hydaspes (Jhelum), the Acesines (Chenab), the Hydraotes (Ravi), and the Hyphasis (Beas). This time, let us concentrate on the Euphrates and the Tigris, major barriers to Alexander's march through Mesopotamia.

In mid-July 331 BC, Alexander sent Hephaistion ahead to build two bridges over the Euphrates. Such crossing points were well-known in antiquity, and Alexander's intelligence must have provided the necessary information. The most amazing part of such expeditions is the logistics involved. It is said that Alexander transported his ships in separate elements from Phoenicia to be reassembled on the banks of the Euphrates. Even in a straight line from the eastern Mediterranean, let's say from Antioch-on-the-Orontes (Antakya) to Thapsacus (Carchemish), we are talking about a distance of more than 200 km, implying that he must have planned this colossal move early on, maybe even while he was still at Tyre. As always, his invaluable scouts did a thorough reconnaissance job, for Alexander could not take chances to expose Hephaistion and his advanced forces to enemy attacks on the way. Even more admirable is the timing of the entire operation since the bridges had to be completed by the time Alexander and the bulk of his army arrived. 

Hephaistion's forces included carpenters and engineers who directed the hauling of the ship's parts, but also enough soldiers to do the foraging and to withstand any unexpected attack by local tribes or those people still faithful to the Persians. The crossing point was near Thapsacus, where the river was about 800 meters wide. Unfortunately, the river banks are now flooded by yet another dam further upstream, and archaeologists can't investigate this in any way. 

Meanwhile, King Darius knew that Alexander had to cross the river. He sent his most experienced general, Mazaeus, with instructions to burn the crops ahead of the enemy route. Although the harvest had already taken place, this order was carried out, and little was left to burn. Besides, this policy had no effect since Alexander took a more northerly route, which Darius had not expected.

We know that Mazaeus arrived on the eastern bank of the Euphrates and watched Hephaistion's construction progress for several days. Hephaistion stopped his operation short of the opposite riverbank to avoid seeing the end of his bridges destroyed by Mazaeus. There was little else to do for Mazaeus but to wait, but when Alexander appeared with the bulk of his army, he turned around and left to further execute his orders of scorching the earth.

By now, it must have been mid-August, and soon the two bridges were completed. This means that Hephaistion accomplished his task in a maximum of six weeks' time – speaking of engineering prowess! Of course, these were no bridges in the true sense of the word, but boats and rafts tied together with ropes and chains. A walkway of planks was placed over the boats, and the passage was created to move the nearly 50,000 troops across, as well as the thousands of horses. It seems it took the army five days to cross the Euphrates.

Alexander led his troops further east, and on the road, he learned from spies that Darius was encamped on the Tigris River. As an army is most vulnerable when crossing a river, Alexander force-marched his troops and reached the Tigris two weeks later. Here, he found no sign of Darius and nobody to stop his army. The obvious fording location has been pinned at Abu Dhahir, near the Persian Royal Road.

There was no need to build a floating bridge over the Tigris River since its waters were shallow, although fast-flowing, and men could simply wade through. Well, this is the simple version that most historians like us believe, but Diodorus tells an entirely different story. According to him, Mazaeus had decided that the river could not be crossed at the time because it ran too deep and its current was too swift. Consequently, the Persian general did not find it necessary to guard the crossing. So, when Alexander arrived at the ford, the water was above a man's breast, and the current swept away those who entered the river. At this stage, Alexander ordered all his men to lock arms with each other and "to construct a sort of bridge out of the compact union of their persons."

Yet the most vivid and perilous report is given by Curtius. He mentions that Alexander cautiously sent a few of his cavalry to test the river. The water rose up to their horses' flanks and, when they were mid-channel, to their necks. "Tigris" in Persian means "arrow," and the river owes its name to its current running as fast as an arrow. Alexander ordered his troops in formation with the infantry in the center. The men had to carry their weapons above their heads as they waded through the river with great difficulty. Like in a battle formation, the cavalry was posted on either side, where the horses upstream would break the strong current, and the cavalrymen downstream would catch those soldiers who lost footing and were swept away. Alexander directed the operation like on a battlefield, pointing his troops in this or that direction and encouraging them to move on. They all landed safely without any loss of life, only some material losses.

Once on dry land, Alexander gave his men a well-deserved rest. This was at the time of the moon eclipse that occurred on 20 September, and it has been recorded that Alexander sacrificed to the Sun, the Moon, and the Earth.

[Bottom picture is from World Archaeology]

Tracking Alexander from Tyre to the Euphrates

When reading any of the Alexander histories, the routes he followed seem to be clear-cut and leave no room for any doubt at all – that is until we actually try to walk in his steps with a map in hand. Many stretches are quite obscure while others are, let’s say, not too obvious. Historians have a tendency to stick to the facts and when nothing noteworthy is happening between point A and point Z, they simply skip every step or stop in between. This is the case when Alexander leaves Tyre for Thapsacus and Arrian simply states that he marches “inland”; a straightforward route until you try to figure it out.

In antiquity, the traveler would generally follow rivers, skirt mountains and deserts, look for arable lands able to provide enough food, and spot wells for drinking water when there is no river on the way. When this is not possible, one has to be inventive. A good example of such creativity is, for instance, when Alexander has his fleet accompanying him along the desert of the Sinai; another one when he returns from Egypt to Tyre and where his army had widely depleted the rare agricultural provisions on their way south a few months earlier and he made use of his fleet once again.

From Tyre, scholars are generally torn between two possible routes leading the army inland. The first would retrace Alexander’s steps north to near Antioch-on-the Orontes along the coastline and from there turn east towards the Euphrates as Cyrus the Younger and Crassus had done, using the fleet to support his provisions. The other possible road, which I prefer because the region was more fertile in antiquity, runs east to Damascus and from there north to Homs, Hama, Apamea, and Aleppo. Or, after all, Alexander may have used a combination of both routes – why not?

Damascus is incontestably the oldest inhabited city in the world and against all odds, I am looking for traces of Alexander but find none. That is not surprising since he only passed through the city in 331 BC; there was no siege or resistance apparently. In fact, there is nothing left that could refer to Hellenistic times, as all traces generally have been erased and supplanted by Roman constructions anyway. The Romans, however, used Greek and Aramaic foundations when they laid-out Damascus, covering an area of approximately 1,500 x 750 meters, inside its protective walls. Damascus counted seven city gates, but only the Bab Sharqi on the east side has survived. This city has been discussed in detail in my earlier blog, Damascus after Alexander.

Even the modern road north from Damascus skirts the eastern flanks of the Lebanon Mountains. The countryside looks uninviting and a pretty barren stretch of some 200 kilometers that Alexander must have tackled stubbornly as always, although the land may have been more fertile in his days.

Beyond Homs, he must have aimed for Hama which lies on the Orontes River and is today one of the largest cities in Syria after Aleppo, Damascus and Homs and an obvious stop for anyone traveling between Damascus and Aleppo. Under Hellenistic rule, the city prospered since it laid on the trade routes between Greece and Asia. Hama is best known for its spectacular large wooden waterwheels – a Roman/Byzantine invention so ingenious that you have to see them in order to fully grasp their significance (see: Hama and its ingenious norias). Known under their Arabian name as norias, their earliest traces are found in a mosaic dating from 469 AD but they may have been used earlier on.

From Hama, the modern road heads straight for Aleppo without being hampered by the desert but Alexander must have stayed closer to the floodplains of the fertile Orontes River for the first stretch of his route at least and would, inevitably, have come to Apamea (see: Apamea, heritage of Alexander).

Leaving Apamea, Alexander must have veered to the northeast across a mostly desert landscape to reach Aleppo, almost one hundred kilometers away. It is not impossible that previously to his march, he organized water depots along the way.

The modern city of Aleppo has been built right on top of its antique remains, meaning that there is very little to see from when Alexander was here in 331 BC. His successor, Seleucos called it Beroea in memory of the city by the same name in Macedonia. It became the center of gravity of the Hellenistic colonization till it was conquered as the rest of Syria by Pompey in 64 BC.

The most striking feature in Aleppo is unmistakably its Citadel situated at the center of the old city that was surrounded by a five kilometres-long wall counting seven entrance gates. To my knowledge, no Greek/Hellenistic remains have been uncovered although excavations have reached the layers of the neo-Hittite period. Yet it seems that friezes belonging to a temple dedicated to the god of storm Hadad dating from the third millennium BC have been discovered.

This partially manmade hill that is crowned by the famous Citadel rises some fifty meters above the city and measures respectively 450 and 325 meters across since it has an elliptical shape. Originally the entire hill was covered with large blocks of whitish limestone that were very difficult to climb; some of these slabs are still in situ. The mound is surrounded by a moat, 22 meters deep and 30 meters wide, which has been added in the 12^th century. The inside of the Citadel is a town on its own with a hammam, a number of mosques, a palace occupied by the sons of Saladin and even a theater that is still being used. All this is obviously a very far cry from what Alexander may have found, but the panoramic view over the roofs of Aleppo cannot have been too much different, except for the presence of minarets and mosques.

Alexander arrived at Thapsacus by mid-summer 331 BC and had two (pontoon) bridges constructed over the Euphrates which, according to historians was a good 700 meters wide at this spot. There have been endless discussions about the location of this city, which has been placed at Al Raqqa, Dura-Europos and even at Deir-Ezzor further downstream. Based on the facts related by Xenophon and Eratosthenes, however, all evidence points towards Carchemish on the Turkish-Syrian border. It seems that, except for a few towering walls, there is very little left of old Thapsacus because after the construction of yet another dam the river has turned into a lake and the scant remains are nothing more than an island in the middle of the Euphrates. It is so sad to find such a historical place swallowed by the waters after centuries of survival!

It so happened that my first view of the Euphrates River was near Birecik, Turkey, on the road from Gaziantep to Sanliurfa, i.e. about 30 kilometers north of the place that has been identified as Thapsacus. Crossing this majestic, wide, blue and fast flowing river over a modern bridge, confirmed that I was truly entering Mesopotamia, the land between Euphrates and Tigris from my history books. The depiction of this being the Fertile Crescent eludes me, for the land is desolate and barren and the houses on the eastern river bank are nothing more than square colored blocks piled up against a sandy hill.

Based on Darius’ earlier crossing of the Euphrates before the Battle of Issus, it may have taken Alexander five days to move his entire force to the eastern bank. The logistics of such an operation are never discussed in detail, neither here nor at any other major river like the Nile, the Tigris, the Oxus, the Jaxartes or the Indus for that matter, but the operations much have been colossal and terribly well organized!

The modern flow of the Euphrates cannot be compared to what it was in Alexander’s days, mainly because of the many barrages that interfere, but it remains a very rewarding experience to follow the river further downstream along the Lake of al-Assad to Rasaffa, Al-Raqqa, Halabia, Deir Ezzor and finally to Dura-Europos. These basically were all Roman forts at the edge of the empire but most probably were first settled by Seleucos a few decennia earlier. Contemplating the river from among the reed fields in the near silence on an early winter evening was one of my greatest experiences. In the tiny villages in between, time has come to a standstill.

Another memorable moment was at Halabia where I climbed up to the remains of a Roman fort. From this strategic location, I could look up and down the Euphrates beneath me as the soldiers had done some 2,000 years ago. From this vantage point, I was reminded of Alexander when the occasional car crossed the rickety pontoon bridge with a resonating sound in the quiet evening air. History was simply unfolding at my feet! I was wishfully thinking to look for Thapsacus around there. 

Eye witnesses of an earthquake in Antioch-on-the-Orontes

Antioch-on-the-Orontes is known today as Antakya, and the earthquake happened 1900 years ago. It made headlines because Hadrian, who had been campaigning in Syria, had set up his headquarters at Antioch, and Emperor Trajan returning from his campaign in Armenia, spent the winter in the city as well.

The devastating earthquake with a magnitude of 7.5 hit Antioch on the morning of 13 December 115 AD (although some scholars think it happened in January 115) and nearly erased the city from the map together with Apamea, Daphne, and three other towns. The seismic effect was felt as far as Rhodes and triggered a tsunami along the Lebanese coastline.

[Map from Ancient History]

Antioch-on-the-Orontes had been founded by Seleucos, one of Alexander’s generals and successors, to become one of the Seleucid’s capitals. It was erected at a very strategic location, on the eastern bank of the Orontes River at the end of the caravan route (to become the Silk Road) where merchants from India, Persia, and parts of Asia Minor brought their goods in order to exchange them against products from the western Mediterranean. After being conquered by Rome in 64 BC, Antioch was soon converted to Roman standards with the construction of a great colonnaded street, the Via Triumphalis, and appropriate buildings like a theater, an amphitheater, a hippodrome, and a forum. A new aqueduct carried water to the bath complexes and the many fountains and villas. Antioch became a stronghold and truly deserved its title “Queen of the East.”  By 115 AD, when the earthquake occurred, it had as many as 500,000 inhabitants, not counting the visitors.

The catastrophic event has been recorded by Cassius Dio, who paints a picture of an overcrowded city because Emperor Trajan was overwintering there with his entire retinue. Besides his soldiers, many civilians had been attracted to business or tourism as well, and embassies from abroad took the opportunity to plead their cause with the emperor.

Cassius Dio tells about a sudden great bellowing roar announcing the tremendous quake itself. He speaks of buildings and people being projected into the air. Buildings were tossed around randomly; people were killed by the falling debris, and the aftershocks that followed for several days made more victims, while others who were crushed by the falling buildings died with those that were trapped.

Trajan was lucky. He suffered only minor injuries and escaped through a window of the room in which he was staying. Together with other survivors, he lived outdoors in the hippodrome for several days while the city was still rocked by repeated aftershocks. No report has been found about the survival of Hadrian, but he apparently made it through. In total, 260,000 people seem to have perished, and many sections of the city were abandoned.

Trajan soon started to restore Antioch. The aqueduct that had been seriously damaged took serious priority, and the emperor either repaired the damaged one or started the construction of a totally new water supply. Eventually, the project was finished by his successor, Hadrian.

To commemorate the rebuilding of the city, Trajan erected a gilded copy of the Tyche in the theater since she was the patron goddess of Antioch, presiding over the city’s prosperity. This bronze statue had been made by Eutychides, a pupil of Lysippos, especially for Antioch in the third century BC. One striking copy of this statue has survived and can be seen in the Vatican Museum.

After Trajan’s death, on 11 August 117 AD, Hadrian was proclaimed emperor by the army in Antioch. In the footsteps of his predecessor, he continued to repair and improve the city. In September of 117 AD, he finally left for Rome.

Most of the antique city, however, is still buried underneath modern Antakya, and it will be interesting to discover more remains of this once-so-important site.

Libraries in antiquity, a short overview

Talking about a library in antiquity, we automatically have – be it abstract – visions of the famous Library of Alexandria, Egypt. The library was, of course, not a Greek invention. However, they all kept legal and administrative documents. It is here that philosophers and occasional orators held lectures.

The oldest library (2500-2250 BC) was the one discovered in Ebla, Syria, containing a vast number of clay tablets. Of more recent dates were the clay tablets found at Mari (1900 BC) and Ugarit (1200 BC), both in Syria. As shown at Hattusa, Turkey, the Hittites were not behind, with some 30,000 tablets going back to 1900-1190 BC.

One of Turkey's more recently constructed libraries was The Royal Library of Antioch (today’s Antakya) founded in the third century BC under Antioch III.

Next comes the Library of Pergamon (modern Bergama), established by the Attalid kings between 197 and 159 BC. With its 200,000 volumes, it is second only to the Library of Alexandria. When the Ptolemies blocked the import of papyrus from Egypt, Pergamon started to use fine calfskin as alternative writing support, creating the first parchment or pergamum. The Library of Celsus in Ephesus was built in 135 AD and had close ties with Alexandria and Pergamon.

Aristotle founded the oldest Greek library in Athens in the fourth century BC, which contributed widely to the later collection in Alexandria. Next came the libraries of Cos and Rhodes and the Library of Hadrian in Athens, all dating from the first/second century AD.

The Library of Alexandria has not survived, and the few descriptions that reached us leave a lot to our imagination. Among the best-preserved and/or best-restored, we note the Library of Celsus in Ephesus and the Library of Hadrian in Athens, which will help us to recreate an overall image of these fascinating structures.

The Library of Celsus in Ephesus is an inevitable landmark to every tourist who walks down Curetus Street and is beckoning him from the onset. It is indeed an imposing building with a carefully reconstructed façade, yet it is consistent with the grandeur and wealth of Ephesus. The high Corinthian columns support richly decorated ceiling caissons and frame the statues of four goddesses on their high pedestal, i.e., Sofia (wisdom), Arete (virtue), Ennoia (intelligence), and Episteme (knowledge). Consul Gaius Julius Aquila built this Library around 105-107 AD for his father, a worthy present, no doubt. Initially, the inside walls were covered with colored marble, and they still vaguely show traces of the niches meant to hold the papyrus scrolls in partitioned wooden cupboards (armaria). The room is quite grand, measuring 11 x 17 meters, and reminds me of Ptolemy’s library, as shown in Oliver Stone’s movie Alexander.

Hadrian built his Library of Hadrian in Athens circa 132-134 AD as part of his ambitious plans for the city. He erected it close to the Roman Agora and served as a repository for the city’s official archives besides its books. The peristyle-shaped building measured 122 x 82 meters, and today it is still accessible through an impressive propylon with Corinthian columns of Karystos marble. One hundred columns of Phrygian marble surrounded the large courtyard, interrupted by several semi-circular seating spaces. A garden and a decorative pool once occupied the center. Today, we see the ruins of several basilicas from the 7th and 12th centuries. Opposite the entrance propylon and at the far end of the courtyard lies the library itself. It was composed of a central reading room flanked by an auditorium with curved seating resembling a theatre. Of additional interest are the remains of the small Agios Asomatos sta Skalia church dedicated to the Archangel Michael, built in between the Corinthian columns at the entrance and still showing traces of a Byzantine fresco.

With its high surrounding walls, this Library must have been awe-inspiring – an excellent example to imagine other libraries elsewhere since the remains are often too scant to prove it.

[Picture of Pergamon is from Eduscapes]

Astrology and Astronomy, one and the same in antiquity

The subtitle could be: What a coin could tell us, for this is about a Greek coin minted around 120 BC showing King Antiochus VIII of Syria on one side but on the reverse we find the unusual picture of Zeus with a crescent of the moon above his head while his right arm is reaching out to a star (maybe the planet Jupiter?) hovering above the palm of his hand. It is a one-of-a-kind iconography, meaning that is was worth investigating further.

Antiochus VIII was king of the Seleucid Empire, which in his days had its capital in Antioch-on-the-Orontes at the border of modern Turkey and Syria. His empire was threatened by the expansionism of the Parthians in the east and that of the Romans in the west. He started his kingship at the side of his mother, Cleopatra Thea, a very domineering woman who had gone so far as to kill her oldest son so Antiochus could be the ruler of her choice. This did not reassure Antiochus who decided to put his mother to death in 121 BC.

[Picture from Unreported Heritage News]

The abovementioned coin is indeed out of common; maybe there is a meaning beyond the simple picture of Zeus. Dr Robert Weir, a classic professor with an interest in astronomy and ancient coins started to make some calculations to see what the sky of Antioch-on-the-Orontes would have looked like in Antiochus’ days. He found that on January 17, 121 BC, the planet Jupiter was blocked out by the moon, a phenomenon that today is called an “occultation”. When this occultation happened, the moon was in the constellation of Cancer, a very significant constellation. This was explained as a sign that a great king was coming, or would be born in Syria since the Cancer constellation governs that part of the world according to the ancient astrologers. 

Yet, there was more happening in the night sky at that time. Dr Weir discovered that another occultation of Jupiter happened within the year and just one week after the first one, there also was an occultation of Venus, considered to be a very good omen too. This was especially well received by King Antiochus ruling over his ever shrinking Seleucid empire barely delivered from his murderous mother.

But appearances are deceptive and the following years did not favour the king. His half-brother and cousin, Antiochus IX, claimed the throne and in the end what was left of the once proud Seleucid Kingdom was split between the two of them. Over the next few years several bad luck eclipses of Mars and Saturn lit the night skies. The final blow came in 114 BC, shortly before the coin was stopped being minted: the Moon eclipsed Mars and Saturn at the very same time. Such an eclipse happens only once in 2,000 years and is recorded as being about the worst omen one can get.

The death of Antiochus VIII was all but glorious; he was killed by one of his ministers in 96 BC. The Seleucid Empire was doomed. In 64 BC Pompey conquered Syria that became part of the Roman Empire.

The glorious days of Palmyra

My first view of Palmyra was at nightfall when the entire city was bathed in floodlights. My eyes could not take in this fascinating scenery; it was a mere flash, a snapshot of columns and arches, of waving and fluted lines, of temples and streets whose warm tones strongly contrasted with the black velvet night sky. The mirage disappeared in the blink of an eye, but tomorrow looked most promising!

This city, which the Arabs called Tadmor, is not mentioned in Alexander’s history and was strangely enough ignored by the succeeding Seleucids who ruled over Greater Syria from 305 BC till it was annexed by Rome in 63 BC. Even at that time, it already had a long history going back to the second millennium BC as mentioned in the clay tablets found at Mari as well as in the Bible as part of Solomon’s realm. The oasis of Palmyra was generally an independent city, ideally located at the heart of the Syrian Desert, an important crossroad of several trade routes on the Silk Road. In other words, a strategic place that was most envied by the Roman Emperors.

For the next one hundred years, business boomed thanks to Palmyra’s intensive trading with Persia, India, and China and even with the Parthians who for many years were the enemies of Rome. The well-traveled Emperor Hadrian inevitably visited Palmyra in 129 AD and he was so much taken by this city that he renamed it Palmyra Hadriana and declared it independent. Unfortunately, the good days did not last and in 212 it became a Roman colony. From then onward it played a mere military role and its trading regressed, especially when the Sassanids occupied the lands between Tigris and Euphrates in the third century AD.

However, in 256/257 Palmyra’s King Odenathus (Septimus Edeinat) was held in high esteem by the Roman Emperor Valerian who appointed him Consul and Governor of the province Syria-Phoenicia that belonged to Palmyra since 194 AD. A few years later, Valerian was killed by the Sassanids (see: Sassanid reliefs tell a story of their own in Persia) and apparently, Odenathus felt morally obligated to revenge the emperor’s death. He pursued the Sassanids to their capital Ctesiphon, situated on the Tigris River, on the opposite bank of Seleucia, but failed to take the city.

At this period of time, Palmyra had reached its glory, much to the chagrin of Rome, and Odenathus was murdered under obscure circumstances. His wife, Queen Zenobia took over and ruled in the name of her minor son Vaballath. Zenobia was a tough lady who caused quite a stir in history. Classical as well as Arabic sources describe her as handsome and intelligent, with dark skin, pearly-white teeth, and sharp black eyes. She is said to be more beautiful than Cleopatra, yet very chaste. Zenobia could ride a horse like a man, and on hunting or drinking parties she stood her man. She also was very learned, fluent in Arabic, Greek, Aramean, and Egyptian, and had a good knowledge of Latin. She was a sophisticated hostess and entertained philosophers and poets, among whom the famous Cassius Longinus. This Longinus wrote especially for her one of his masterpieces in which he integrated now lost parts of love poems by Sappho of Lesbos, who composed them in the 6^th century BC.

Zenobia also was very ambitious and extended her territory to the west, occupying Bosra, and in 269-270 she even marched all the way to Egypt; on the way back she took the harbor of Antioch-on-the-Orontes. She even managed to annex a big part of Anatolia including Ancyra (Ankara) in her empire. As can be expected, the Romans were not grateful for her interference and in 272 Emperor Aurelian took Antioch-on-the-Orontes back, followed by Emesa (Homs) and finally also Palmyra. Zenobia tried to escape by fleeing across the Euphrates but she was captured and taken to Rome, together with her son, Vaballath.

Vaballath probably died on the way to Rome. In 274 Zenobia appears in golden chains during Aurelian’s triumphal march through Rome. Out of pity but also taken by her beauty and pride, he granted Zenobia her freedom and installed her in an elegant villa at Tibur (today’s Tivoli, Italy), where she lived under her Roman name of Iulia (or Julia) Aurelia Zenobia. She spent her days in wealth and became a prominent philosopher, hostess, and Roman matron. She married a Roman governor and senator whose name is not known, giving him several daughters who all married into prominent Roman families. Some sources mention that Zenobia committed suicide after Aurelian’s defeat, but that is not very credible. A great number of her descendants have been traced to far into the 4^th and 5^th centuries.

In the meantime, Palmyra had not been entirely forgotten. Emperor Diocletian enlarged the city to install his Roman legions in all comfort and built a city wall to protect them against a possible invasion by the Sassanids from Persia. Later the Byzantines constructed several churches, but after the conquest by the Arabs Palmyra played only a marginal role.

It is still early and bone-chilling when I arrive at the site of Palmyra on this November day in 2009. The blistering wind chases freely through the colonnades and ruins but strangely enough, the surrounding hills remain shrouded in a low foggy veil – an eerie scenery. For a moment I pause to get my bearings and it all seems too much to take in, so many columns, stones, arches, walls, streets, remains, etc. I am totally overwhelmed and have to kick myself to move on.

My visit starts at the eastern city gate, very appropriately called the Monumental Arch, consisting of three Roman arches of which the middle one is the largest and leads immediately to the unpaved main street. We owe this arch to Septimius Severus (193-211 AD) who ingeniously built it with a twist to cover up the 30-degrees-angle between the Decumanus on one side of the arch and the Temple of Nebo on the other side. Nebo or Nabo was the Mesopotamian god of oracles, later assimilated with Apollo – hence the importance of this Temple. The remains are still imposing with its columns along the temenos in reserved Doric style, while the columns of the Temple itself are enhanced with Corinthian capitals.

With wide open eyes, I set foot on the Great Colonnade Street or Decumanus with its wonderful 10-meter-high monolithic columns crowned with Corinthian capitals. Each column has an empty pedestal where rich or prominent gentiles could place their likeness against payment that is. Public Relations even in those days were an important tool!

Then I come across the Baths of Zenobia, a rather large bathing complex where the Frigidarium as well as the Tepidarium, and the Caldarium are clearly recognizable. At the entrance, there are four remarkable pink granite monolithic columns, which with their Corinthian capitals stand in pleasant contrast with the white-pinkish stones used for the construction of the Baths.

On the opposite side of the street, I find the remains of the theater which looks too small for a city like Palmyra. Appearances are deceptive for originally this theater from the 2^nd century AD must have counted at least 30 tiers of seats but only nine have survived. The stage with the entire skena however is still in excellent condition. The theater has obviously been restored to be used for local festivals. The high stone wall around the orchestra indicates that it was also used for wild animal fights, a favorite sport of the Romans.

At an angle lies the Agora, also from the 2^nd century, complete with its annexes. The market area is well preserved as are a number of the surrounding shops and buildings. It is always exciting to discover that besides the original columns, the 2,000 years-old walls of the building have survived, including their windows and doorframes.

Elegant typical Roman arches are still marking the crossroads along this Great Colonnade Street, and that’s how I reach the Tetrapylon, a group of four times four columns. Only one of the sixteen pink granite columns is original, imported all the way from Aswan in Egypt. The other columns are modern copies but clearly illustrate the key position of this Tetrapylon at the bend in the Great Colonnade Street. This 1200-meter-long street or Decumanus although very impressive, is however shorter than the main street at Apamea (see: Apamea, heritage of Alexander), which I found more impressive. It may seem strange that this street was never paved but the reason therefore is that the camels needed a comfortable passage through the city – an animal-friendly consideration! With its porticoes and sidewalks, this Decumanus was exceptionally wide and measured nothing less than 23 meters! This avenue alone would be worth the visit.

On the sidewalk, I discover a long row of connecting pipes belonging to an aqueduct. An awkward place, but not so when you realize that this aqueduct ran on top of the colonnade along the Decumanus. The image brings back memories of the grand aqueduct of Aspendos (see: Aspendos the unfaithful) in Turkey where I saw these elements for the first time.

And that is how I reach the columns carrying the inscriptions of Zenobia, a bilingual text in Greek and Palmyrean. On one of the columns, one can read that it was dedicated by the rulers of Tadmor to their king and master Odenathus. The other column was dedicated to Septimia Bath-Zabbai (in Greek, Zenobia), their religious and saintly queen.

From afar the Citadel with the Arabian fortress probably built in the 13^th century by the Mameluks controls the landscape. However, what we see here dates mainly from the early 17^th century when Emir Fakhr-ud-Ding-ibn-Ma’ani occupied what is now Syria and Lebanon, and constructed several strongholds as a defense against the Ottomans. It is a constant backdrop in between the columns and streets of Palmyra and a photogenic one for that matter.

Walking northwards, I stop at the Temple of Baal-Shamin, the god of rain and fertility. It was built around 150 AD and is very well preserved because the Byzantines converted it into a church. It is a cozy temple that somehow reminds me of the Temple of Nike high on the Acropolis in Athens, except that it has Corinthian columns and a window in the sidewall. The inside is very inviting with the antique naos in the back, now a semi-circular apse with slender columns. It is a lovely spot, in the shade of a young tree that grows within its sheltering walls.

Keeping the best for last is a visit to the magnificent Temple of Bel that I treated in a separate blog (see: The Temple of Bel at Palmyra – In Memoriam).

A visit is not complete without a stop at one of the many tower tombs with their underground Hypogea. I have never seen anything like it, but there always is a first time for everything. After the Valley of the Queens in Egypt, this is the largest and most impressive collection of tombs. Surprisingly the entire landscape between the city walls of Palmyra and the surrounding hills is dotted with square towers or remains thereof, containing burial sites underground as well as above ground. They generally can be dated to between the 9^th century BC and the 2^nd century AD. I am told there are as many as 150 tombs, a significant number. Yet I have no idea what to expect.

The tower tomb of the Elahbel Family from 103 AD seems to be the most popular, and that is no wonder. I step inside a rather large rectangular room, deeper than it is wide and pretty high as well. The ceiling is still intact and is made of colorful starry caissons with at its center four portraits of the founders set against a bright blue background. What a beauty! The long side walls are meant to receive the remains of the dead in one of the four stories high slots. In this way, there was enough space for future generations, at least 300 family members. The vertical pillars separating the rows are fluted and crowned with a Corinthian capital. To the left of the entrance door is a staircase that leads to the upper floor, meaning that access to the superposed niches was easy enough.

Unfortunately, I am running out of time and I have to skip the less impressive remains on the north-western side of Palmyra with the Temple of Allat, the Temple with the Emblems, the Grave Temple, the Camp of Diocletian and especially the Oval Forum – although I was curious whether it was as big as the one at Gerasa (Jerash) in Jordan; probably not since I haven’t seen any pictures so far.

Yes, I am one of the lucky few to have seen this great and glorious city with my own eyes. The famous Temple of Bel (see: The Temple of Bel at Palmyra – In Memoriam) survived wars and conflicts for nearly two thousand years to shine in all its glory. This glory is gone now in 2015 as this great sanctuary and many other precious buildings have been blasted to dust. A part of the world’s history has been annihilated and obliterated. Our ancestors deserved a better fate.

My story and my pictures are a praise to Palmyra’s rich memory and to all those brave forefathers and fellow citizens who have lived there and led the city to its greatness.

[Click here to see all the pictures of Palmyra]
[The picture of Odenathus comes from Wikipedia. The concept of Zenobia from Zenobia, empress of the East]