Palmyrene Empire: Map & History
The Palmyrene Empire was a short-lived breakaway state from the Roman Empire resulting from the Crisis of the Third Century.
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Historiographical synthesis & structured realm registry
The Palmyrene Empire was a short-lived breakaway state from the Roman Empire resulting from the Crisis of the Third Century. Named after its capital city, Palmyra, its territory included the Roman provinces of Syria Palaestina, Arabia Petraea, and Egypt, as well as large parts of Asia Minor.
Modern Countries Once Part of Palmyrene Empire
At its mapped extent, Palmyrene Empire covered territory in 7 present-day countries. The period shown is when the mapped borders include that country, and the note says how much of it.
- Jordan261–269 CE · nearly all
- Syria261–269 CE · most
- Lebanon261–269 CE · most
- Egypt261–269 CE · most
- Palestine261–269 CE · most
- Israel261–269 CE · most
- Turkey261–269 CE · a large part
States and Provinces
Largest Present-Day Cities in Its Territory
Each opens on the live map inside Palmyrene Empire's borders of that time.
Derived by testing mapped cities against this polity's dated territorial polygons, so the list is indicative and follows the borders in the source dataset.
Palmyrene Empire in Depth
Evaluation and legacy
The ultimate motive behind the revolt is debated; when dealing with the rise of Palmyra and the rebellion of Zenobia, historians most often interpreted the ascendancy as an indication of cultural, ethnic or social factors. Andreas Alföldi viewed the rebellion as a completely native ethnic opposition against Rome. Irfan Shahîd considered Zenobia's revolt a pan-Arab movement that was a forerunner of the Arab expansion of the Caliphates; an opinion shared by Franz Altheim, and an almost universal view amongst Arab and Syrian scholars such as Philip Khuri Hitti. Mark Whittow disagreed that the revolt was ethnic in its nature and emphasized that it was a reaction to the weakness of Rome and its inability to protect Palmyra from the Persians.
Background
Following the murder of Roman emperor Alexander Severus in 235, general after general squabbled over control of the empire, the frontiers were neglected and subjected to frequent raids by Carpians, Goths and Alemanni, in addition to outright attacks from the aggressive Sassanids in the east. Finally, Shapur I of Persia inflicted a disastrous defeat upon the Romans at the Battle of Edessa in 260, capturing the Roman emperor Valerian and soon, Quietus and Macrianus rebelled against Valerian's son Gallienus and usurped the imperial power in Syria.
The Palmyrene leader Odaenathus was declared king, and remained nominally loyal to Gallienus, forming an army of Palmyrenes and Syrian peasants to attack Shapur. In 260, Odaenathus won a decisive victory over Shapur in a battle near the Euphrates.
Sections adapted from Wikipedia: Palmyrene Empire (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Palmyrene Empire Timeline
Key historical inflections from foundation to peak territorial expansion
Expansion to peak recorded area of 1,043,312 km² in 267 CE.
Palmyrene Empire: Frequently Asked Questions
When did the Palmyrene Empire exist?
The Palmyrene Empire is dated to 261 CE – 269 CE, in the Classical Antiquity era.
What was the capital of the Palmyrene Empire?
The capital of the Palmyrene Empire was Palmyra.
How large was the Palmyrene Empire at its peak?
At its peak in 267 AD the Palmyrene Empire covered about 1,043,312 km².