Palmyra – Epigraphy and religion. A review article

Extract

The Religious Life of Palmyra, By Ted Kaizer. (Oriens et Occidens 4), pp. 305, 7 pls. Stuttgart, Franz Steiner Verlag, 2002.

Palmyra (ancient Tadmor) is undoubtedly one of the most glamorous of Graeco-Roman cities in the Near East and probably the most visited of all historical sites in the modern Republic of Syria. It has long been recognised as a major centre of Semitic religious cults which flourished particularly when the city was politically within the orbis Romanus. Its semi-independent political status and its retention of Aramaic as a major day-to-day language of commerce and administration certainly helped to guarantee the continuation of its Semitic cultural traditions and religious life.