Material, epigraphic, and numismatic evidence
材料、铭文和货币证据

The oasis city of Palmyra in the Syrian desert is one of the most iconic sites of the ancient world (for overviews, see Will 1992; Sartre and Sartre-Fauriat 2008; Smith 2013; Sommer (ed.) 2020; Gawlikowski 2021; Raja 2022; Raja (ed.) 2024). A minor outpost for much of its history, Palmyra rose quickly from obscurity to opulence in the first century BC and became a vital hub for long-distance trade between the Persian Gulf and the Mediterranean Sea. Palmyra’s heyday lasted some 300 years, and its fortunes were closely tied to Rome. It was Roman governance of the Near East that created stable conditions for Palmyra to flourish. And it was the uprising against Rome, under Palmyra’s famous queen Zenobia, that brought about its spectacular downfall, ending her short-lived empire with the sack of the city by Aurelian’s troops in AD 273. Yet, while its fortunes lasted, Palmyra enjoyed more liberties and privileges than almost any other community within the confines of the Roman Empire.
叙利亚沙漠中的绿洲城市帕尔米拉是古代世界最具标志性的遗址之一（有关概述，请参见 Will 1992；Sartre 和 Sartre-Fauriat 2008；Smith 2013；Sommer（编）2020；Gawlikowski 2021；Raja 2022；Raja（编）2024）。在其历史的大部分时间里，帕尔米拉是一个小型前哨站，但在公元前一世纪迅速从默默无闻崛起为繁荣，成为波斯湾与地中海之间长途贸易的重要枢纽。帕尔米拉的全盛时期持续了约 300 年，其命运与罗马紧密相连。正是罗马对近东的统治为帕尔米拉的繁荣创造了稳定的条件。而在帕尔米拉著名女王泽诺比亚的领导下，反抗罗马的起义导致了其壮观的衰落，结束了她短暂的帝国，公元 273 年，城市被奥雷利安的军队洗劫。然而，在其繁荣的时期，帕尔米拉享有比罗马帝国内几乎任何其他社区更多的自由和特权。

The fact that Palmyra prospered enormously under Roman rule is beyond dispute: the splendour of its key landmarks exudes prosperity and urban sophistication. Palmyra’s crown jewel was the Temple of Bel. Inaugurated on the 6th of April in AD 32, this immense monument, set within a colonnaded courtyard of 200 by 200 metres, integrated the principles of Greek Hellenistic temple architecture of the highest order with Mesopotamian building traditions and idiosyncratic adaptations to accommodate local cult practices. Until its destruction by Islamic State militants in 2015, this temple stood as one of the most impressive material witnesses of any ancient civilisation in the Levant.
在罗马统治下，帕尔米拉的繁荣无可争议：其主要地标的辉煌散发着繁荣和城市的复杂性。帕尔米拉的瑰宝是贝尔神庙。该庙于公元 32 年 4 月 6 日落成，这座巨大的纪念碑位于一个 200 米乘 200 米的柱廊庭院内，融合了最高等级的希腊化寺庙建筑原则与美索不达米亚建筑传统，以及独特的适应当地宗教习俗的改造。直到 2015 年被伊斯兰国武装分子摧毁，这座庙宇一直是黎凡特地区任何古代文明中最令人印象深刻的物质见证之一。

Palmyra is often dubbed a ‘caravan’ city. The term has been used in various ways over the years, but at its core, it denotes a city whose prosperity rested, to a considerable extent, on revenue from long-distance trade. The label ‘caravan city’ has been applied too loosely to include cities, such as Bostra, south of Damascus, Gerasa in Jordan, and Dura-Europos in northern Syria by the Euphrates - but Palmyra is the one instance where this appellation is fully justified. As the following pages show, Palmyra’s fortunes were tied up with long-distance trade in a variety of ways, politically, economically, and militarily, and in particular, its elite found
帕尔米拉常被称为“商队”城市。这个术语多年来以各种方式被使用，但其核心含义是指一个城市的繁荣在很大程度上依赖于远程贸易的收入。“商队城市”这一标签被过于宽泛地应用于包括大马士革南部的博斯特拉、约旦的杰拉萨以及位于幼发拉底河北部叙利亚的杜拉-欧罗波斯等城市，但帕尔米拉是唯一一个完全符合这一称谓的实例。正如接下来的页面所示，帕尔米拉的命运在政治、经济和军事等多方面与远程贸易紧密相连，尤其是其精英发现
ingenious ways to establish Palmyra as an indispensable node on a vital trade route, and to profit from this position to entrench their own power.
巧妙的方法将帕尔米拉确立为重要贸易路线上的一个不可或缺的节点，并利用这一位置巩固自己的权力。

Pliny the Elder, writing in the 70 s AD, in a famous passage paints a vivid picture of Palmyra as a city athwart the empires of East and West, skilfully navigating its own course between the two great antagonists.
老普林尼在公元 70 年代的著名段落中生动描绘了帕尔米拉这座城市，位于东西方帝国之间，巧妙地在这两个伟大对手之间航行。

Palmyra is a city famous for its situation, for the richness of its soil and for its agreeable springs. Its fields are surrounded on every side by a vast circuit of sand, and it is as it were isolated by Nature from the world, having a destiny of its own between the two mighty empires of Rome and Parthia, and at the first moment of a quarrel between them always attracting the attention of both sides. ${}^1$${}^1$^(1){ }^{1}
帕尔米拉是一座因其地理位置、土壤肥沃和宜人的泉水而闻名的城市。它的田野四面被广阔的沙漠环绕，仿佛被自然隔离于世，与罗马和帕提亚两个强大帝国之间有着自己的命运，每当它们之间发生争执时，总是吸引着双方的注意。

Palmyra was annexed to Rome’s provincia Syria probably in the early first century AD . No Roman garrison was established in the city until the 160 s AD. Instead, the first military force attested there are Palmyrene troops serving as auxiliary units to Roman legions. This is but one indication that Palmyra enjoyed rights and privileges granted to hardly any other local community under Roman rule.
帕尔米拉大约在公元一世纪初被并入罗马的叙利亚省。直到公元 160 年代，城市内才建立了罗马驻军。相反，最早在那里的军事力量是作为罗马军团辅助部队的帕尔米拉部队。这只是一个迹象，表明帕尔米拉享有罗马统治下几乎没有其他地方社区所获得的权利和特权。

Palmyra was the only city in the Roman Near East where, alongside the standard Greek that was the official language of Rome’s eastern provinces, the native (Palmyrene) Aramaic language was used in public inscriptions. Even though Aramaic was the spoken lingua franca across the Near East at the time, only Palmyra manifested the confidence and pride in its own traditions to elevate their native tongue on par with Greek in their public documents. Latin was also used occasionally, e.g. in a number of trilingual inscriptions, but to a much lesser extent, even though Palmyra became a titular Roman colony in the second century AD. Palmyrene vocabulary and personal names also show a distinct Arabic element, but it is unknown to what extent Arabic, too, was a spoken language among the people of Palmyra.
帕尔米拉是罗马近东唯一一座城市，在这里，除了作为罗马东部省份官方语言的标准希腊语外，土著（帕尔米拉）阿拉米语也用于公共铭文。尽管阿拉米语在当时是近东的通用语，但只有帕尔米拉展现出对自身传统的自信和骄傲，将其母语提升到与希腊语在公共文件中同等的地位。拉丁语也偶尔被使用，例如在一些三语铭文中，但使用程度要小得多，尽管帕尔米拉在公元二世纪成为名义上的罗马殖民地。帕尔米拉的词汇和人名也显示出明显的阿拉伯元素，但尚不清楚阿拉伯语在帕尔米拉人民中作为口语的使用程度。

Throughout its history, Palmyra’s commercial, social, and religious life was dominated by powerful groups of clans and tribes. The leading citizens of Palmyra formed a local elite with strong ties among priests and magistrates. The basis of their power was partly located outside the city itself. The Palmyrene elite maintained close connections, and perhaps familial ties, with the people of the desert.
在其历史上，帕尔米拉的商业、社会和宗教生活一直受到强大氏族和部落的主导。帕尔米拉的主要市民形成了一个与祭司和官员之间有着紧密联系的地方精英。它们权力的基础部分位于城市之外。帕尔米拉的精英与沙漠人民保持着密切的联系，甚至可能有血缘关系。

First elements of a civic organisation are attested in the first century AD, with Palmyrene inscriptions naming civic offices such as treasurers and Greek-style civic institutions, namely a council (boulē) and an assembly (dēmos). At the same time, inscriptions also frequently mention the names of different tribes - a dozen or so are attested at first, but by the end of the first century AD , the number was reduced to just four (Kaizer 2002). It is thought that each of these four ‘civic’ tribes was in charge of one or two major sanctuaries at Palmyra. Thus, for instance, the sanctuaries of Baalshamin and Allat were linked to a tribe with an Arabic name (Benē Ma’zin, the “shearers”) which had at first been located outside the city limits
公民组织的最初元素在公元一世纪得到了证明，帕尔米拉的铭文提到了公民职务，如财务官和希腊式的公民机构，即议会（boulē）和大会（dēmos）。与此同时，铭文也经常提到不同部落的名称——最初有十几个部落被证明存在，但到公元一世纪末，数量减少到仅剩四个（Kaizer 2002）。人们认为这四个“公民”部落负责帕尔米拉的一两个主要圣所。因此，例如，巴尔沙敏和阿拉特的圣所与一个阿拉伯名字的部落（Benē Ma’zin，“剪羊毛者”）有关，该部落最初位于城市边界之外。
but was later integrated into the city as Palmyra grew northwards (Yon 2022, 301). While these official four ‘civic’ tribes are amply attested in inscriptions, personal or familial tribal affiliations are not explicitly mentioned in the limited documentary record at our disposal, but one must assume that adherence to clans and tribes continued to constitute a significant force in the social life of the Palmyrenes.
但随着帕尔米拉向北发展，后来被纳入城市中（Yon 2022, 301）。虽然这四个官方的“市民”部落在铭文中有充分的证据，但在我们所掌握的有限文献记录中，个人或家庭的部落隶属关系并没有明确提及，但必须假设对氏族和部落的依附仍然在帕尔米拉人的社会生活中构成了重要力量。

Palmyra was located in a solitary fertile green spot in the midst of an inhospitable desert, but its exceptional position allowed it to control large tracts of the surrounding area. Palmyra’s local militias, an elite camel corps of mounted archers, were not stationary in the city but patrolled the vast expanse of the surrounding desert of Syria between Emesa (Homs) and the Euphrates border to the north. The routes were thus protected by Palmyra’s own military units, as evidenced by several inscriptions naming commanders (stratēgoi) and troops. With military muscle and diplomacy, they could therefore ensure safe passage for the caravans and organise appropriate guides, pack animals, and relay stations.
帕尔米拉位于一片孤立的肥沃绿洲中，周围是荒凉的沙漠，但其特殊的位置使其能够控制周边大片地区。帕尔米拉的地方民兵，一支精英骆驼骑兵弓箭手，并不驻扎在城市中，而是在叙利亚的广阔沙漠中巡逻，巡逻范围从埃梅萨（霍姆斯）到北部的幼发拉底河边界。因此，这些路线得到了帕尔米拉自己军事单位的保护，几处铭文中提到了指挥官（stratēgoi）和部队。凭借军事力量和外交手段，他们能够确保商队的安全通行，并组织合适的向导、驮兽和中转站。

Palmyra’s quick and spectacular rise to prosperity, which manifests itself in the city’s sumptuous monuments, was closely tied to long-distance trade. Caravans of camels and horses travelling the routes across the Syrian desert were Palmyra’s commercial life blood (on trade in Palmyra; see in particular Matthews 1984; Gawlikowski 1996; id. 2022; Millar 1998; Young 2001, 136-86; Seland 2016; id. 2020). Palmyra’s geography, positioned halfway between the Euphrates to the north and east and the Mediterranean coast to the west (some 200 km in either direction from Palmyra), was ideally suited as a stopover along the east-west trade routes. From the middle of the Euphrates, the Syrian desert route straight west through Palmyra represented the closest connection to the Mediterranean, and a considerable shortcut compared with the traditional route which followed the Euphrates all the way to its western bend, and from there into northern Syria and the Orontes Valley.
帕尔米拉迅速而壮观的繁荣崛起，体现在城市奢华的纪念碑上，与远距离贸易密切相关。穿越叙利亚沙漠的骆驼和马队是帕尔米拉商业的命脉（关于帕尔米拉的贸易，特别参见 Matthews 1984；Gawlikowski 1996；id. 2022；Millar 1998；Young 2001, 136-86；Seland 2016；id. 2020）。帕尔米拉的地理位置位于北部和东部的幼发拉底河与西部的地中海沿岸之间，距离帕尔米拉大约 200 公里，理想地作为东西贸易路线的中途停留点。从幼发拉底河中游出发，穿越帕尔米拉的叙利亚沙漠路线直通西方，是通往地中海的最近连接，相较于传统路线（沿幼发拉底河一直到其西弯，再进入北叙利亚和奥龙特斯谷）而言，是一个相当大的捷径。

This desert shortcut was not a natural trade route; the route had to be created and maintained. It was especially under the Roman aegis over the region that the political, economic, and military conditions aligned in such a propitious way as to allow Palmyra to flourish as a major trade hub.
这条沙漠捷径并不是一条自然的贸易路线；这条路线必须被创建和维护。特别是在罗马对该地区的保护下，政治、经济和军事条件以如此有利的方式相互协调，使得帕尔米拉能够繁荣成为一个主要的贸易中心。

The importance of caravan trade in Palmyra’s economy is reflected in the epigraphy. Some three-dozen so-called ‘caravan inscriptions’ illustrate the traffic between Palmyra and Mesopotamia between AD 19 and 260 (Gawlikowski [1996] lists the 34 caravan inscriptions known at the time). These inscriptions, written in Aramaic, often doubled with a Greek translation, originally accompanied bronze statues representing Palmyrene elites involved in trade. These bronze statues, like hundreds of others that originally populated the public spaces of Palmyra, are now lost, but from the tiny scraps that do survive, e.g. a left foot clad in a sandal, one can gather that they were originally dressed in Greek costume, with chiton and himation, or possibly with Roman togas. Most of these statues were no doubt brought in from outside Palmyra, as suggested by a passage from the famous “Tariff” regulating the import of such statues (Kropp and Raja 2014, 394).
帕尔米拉经济中商队贸易的重要性在铭文中得到了体现。大约三十多块所谓的“商队铭文”展示了公元 19 年至 260 年间帕尔米拉与美索不达米亚之间的交通（Gawlikowski [1996] 列出了当时已知的 34 块商队铭文）。这些铭文用阿拉米语书写，通常附有希腊语翻译，最初伴随着代表参与贸易的帕尔米拉精英的青铜雕像。这些青铜雕像，像其他数百个最初装点帕尔米拉公共空间的雕像一样，现在已经遗失，但从幸存的微小残片中，例如一只穿着凉鞋的左脚，可以推测它们最初穿着希腊服装，配有长袍和外披，或者可能穿着罗马托加。毫无疑问，这些雕像大多数是从帕尔米拉外部引进的，这一点在著名的“关税”中有提及，该关税规范了此类雕像的进口（Kropp 和 Raja 2014, 394）。

The caravan inscriptions and statues were set up after the successful conclusion of a journey from the east back to Palmyra, and commissioned either by the merchants participating in a caravan or by the municipal authorities in their name. Among the destinations repeatedly mentioned are Spasinou Charax on the Persian Gulf and, somewhat closer, Vologesias in Babylonia on the lower Euphrates. The texts are disappointingly vague on the exact exploits of the beneficiaries. They are usually thanked in generic terms for having helped a caravan or “pleased the merchants in everything.” No specific trade goods are enumerated, and no details are provided as to the finance, logistics, or organisation of caravan ventures.
商队的铭文和雕像是在从东方成功返回帕尔米拉的旅程结束后设立的，委托人通常是参与商队的商人或以他们的名义的市政当局。反复提到的目的地包括位于波斯湾的斯帕西努查拉克斯，以及稍近一些的位于幼发拉底河下游的巴比伦的沃洛吉西亚斯。文本对受益者的具体事迹令人失望地模糊。通常以笼统的方式感谢他们帮助商队或“在各方面取悦商人”。没有列举具体的贸易商品，也没有提供关于商队活动的财务、物流或组织的细节。

Another notable omission from the caravan inscriptions is any destination to the west of Palmyra. The only travels mentioned are to and from Mesopotamia and the Gulf, never to the Mediterranean. It may be that only the eastern journeys were considered perilous and thus in need of organised and well-funded protection, which would then be rewarded with public honours in the shape of statues and inscriptions. Travel from Palmyra to Damascus and Emesa, and from there to the main seaports, was much less risky and in no need of organisation into large, well-armed caravans. Trade to the west was thus less worthy of note, and quite possibly in the hands of merchants from outside Palmyra.
另一个值得注意的遗漏是，商队铭文中没有提到任何前往帕尔米拉以西的目的地。提到的旅行仅限于往返美索不达米亚和海湾，从未提及地中海。可能只有东部的旅程被认为是危险的，因此需要组织和资金充足的保护，这样的保护会以雕像和铭文的形式获得公共荣誉。从帕尔米拉到大马士革和埃梅萨的旅行，以及从那里到主要海港的旅行，风险要小得多，不需要组织成大型、装备精良的商队。因此，前往西方的贸易就显得不那么重要，可能完全掌握在帕尔米拉以外的商人手中。

The inscriptions thank the great notables as benefactors without whom the caravans would not be possible, but do not highlight any specific task or feat, probably because their contributions were elementary and too self-obvious to all parties involved to deserve special mention. The texts do, however, single out so-called caravan chiefs (synodiarchai in Greek), men whose responsibility was to lead the caravans safely from Palmyra to Mesopotamia and back, while also taking charge of organisational tasks. They, too, were no doubt members of the elite.
铭文感谢伟大的显贵作为恩人，没有他们，商队就不可能存在，但并没有突出任何具体的任务或壮举，可能是因为他们的贡献是基础性的，对所有相关方来说过于显而易见，不值得特别提及。然而，文本确实特别提到了所谓的商队首领（希腊语中的 synodiarchai），这些人的责任是安全地将商队从帕尔米拉带到美索不达米亚并返回，同时还负责组织任务。他们无疑也是精英成员。

Palmyrene authorities seem to have distinguished between privately organised and public caravans. The former were in the hands of ‘merchants’ (emporoi), the latter were led by synodiarchai on officially sanctioned business. The striking designation of “caravan of all the Palmyrenes” found in one inscription appears to confirm this kind of distinction. There was thus a twofold structure with, on the one side, caravans connected to the civic organs of the city, and on the other side, elite members acting on their own accord.
帕尔米拉当局似乎区分了私人组织的商队和公共商队。前者由“商人”（emporoi）掌控，后者则由官方授权的 synodiarchai 领导。一个铭文中出现的“所有帕尔米拉人的商队”这一引人注目的称谓似乎证实了这种区分。因此，存在一种双重结构，一方面是与城市公民机构相关的商队，另一方面是自行行动的精英成员。

As for Palmyra’s commercial success, most profits appear to come not from taxing merchandise in transit, but rather from services rendered. Goods in transit probably never entered the city; they were stored in caravan stops built some distance away. Some of these khans at the outskirts of the city, where the goods must have been unloaded, taxed, and exchanged, have been documented and excavated, e.g. in the Valley of the Tombs (Gawlikowski 2021, 48-9 Fig. 22). The oasis was enclosed within an extended walled circuit, but this wall does not seem to have served a strategic purpose. It probably marked Palmyra’s fiscal boundary, and is today still known as the “customs wall.” This municipal privilege was leased, as was the privilege of collecting Roman customs duties, to private leaseholders at a small profit.
至于帕尔米拉的商业成功，大多数利润似乎并不是来自对过境商品的征税，而是来自提供的服务。过境的货物可能从未进入城市；它们被存放在距离城市有一定距离的驿站中。这些位于城市边缘的驿站，货物必须在这里卸货、征税和交换，已经被记录和发掘，例如在墓谷（Gawlikowski 2021, 48-9 Fig. 22）。绿洲被一个扩展的围墙包围，但这道墙似乎并没有战略意义。它可能标志着帕尔米拉的财政边界，今天仍被称为“关税墙”。这一市政特权被租赁，收取罗马关税的特权也被租给私人承租人，以小额利润。

Camels and horses were the primary modes of transport for desert routes. In addition, one inscription indicates the use of boats on the Euphrates, which probably
骆驼和马是沙漠路线的主要交通工具。此外，一块铭文表明在幼发拉底河上使用船只，这可能
implies that camels and horses were left to graze on the river bank, waiting for the traders to return. Palmyrene merchants established themselves in Mesopotamia from early on. By 33 BC, a Palmyrene community is attested at Dura-Europos, a town under Parthian control since the late second century BC. A community of Palmyrene and Greek merchants in Seleucia (presumably Seleucia on the Tigris) was established by AD 6. Palmyra’s merchants also held permanent trading posts in Babylonia (Ctesiphon, Vologesias) and on the Persian Gulf (Spasinou Charax, Phorath, Bahrein).
这意味着骆驼和马被留在河岸上吃草，等待商人们回来。帕尔米拉商人早期就在美索不达米亚定居。到公元前 33 年，帕尔米拉社区在杜拉-欧罗波斯得到了证实，该镇自公元前二世纪末以来一直处于帕提亚控制之下。公元 6 年，帕尔米拉和希腊商人在塞琉西亚（可能是底格里斯河上的塞琉西亚）建立了一个社区。帕尔米拉的商人还在巴比伦（凯特希丰、沃洛吉西亚）和波斯湾（斯帕西努查拉克斯、福拉斯、巴林）设有永久贸易站。

Some Palmyrene merchants pushed further east: two inscriptions refer to traders going all the way to northwestern India (referred to as ‘Scythia’ in the texts) on boats owned by Palmyrenes, and there is further evidence for a Palmyrene presence in the Persian Gulf. By contrast, there is no evidence that Palmyrenes crossed into Iran or Central Asia, let alone China. Conversely, no merchants from the Far East are attested as travelling to the Roman Levant. Although Chinese sources seemed to be dimly aware of some names of Near Eastern cities, some Roman embassies may have reached China and some Roman material culture definitely did, we have no information about direct trade contacts (Graf 1996). But the lack of direct contact is not in itself significant. Trade in either direction did, of course, take place, but via middlemen along the way.
一些帕尔米拉商人向东推进：两块铭文提到商人乘坐帕尔米拉人拥有的船只一路前往西北印度（在文本中称为“斯基泰”），并且还有进一步的证据表明帕尔米拉人在波斯湾的存在。相比之下，没有证据表明帕尔米拉人进入了伊朗或中亚，更不用说中国了。相反，没有来自远东的商人被证实曾前往罗马的黎凡特。尽管中国的资料似乎对一些近东城市的名称有模糊的了解，一些罗马使节可能到达过中国，确实有一些罗马物质文化传入，但我们没有关于直接贸易联系的信息（Graf 1996）。但是，缺乏直接接触本身并不重要。贸易确实在两个方向上进行，但都是通过中介进行的。

What items did the caravans carry? The caravan inscriptions do not specify the trade goods imported. Judging from what is known about Rome’s eastern trade at large, they included exotic herbs and spices, principally pepper, but also ginger, cardamom, aloe, and spikenard; exotic woods such as teak; Indian muslin cloth, Chinese silk (brought via India), precious and semi-precious stones, and pearls from the Persian Gulf (Gawlikowski 2021, 48). What all these goods had in common was their portability, durability, and extreme resale value in cities across the Roman Mediterranean where these items were exceedingly rare and precious luxury commodities. Due to their value and rarity, such luxury goods are by definition hard to grasp archaeologically and rarely found in excavations, but one notable exception at Palmyra is Chinese silk.
商队携带了哪些物品？商队铭文并未具体说明进口的贸易商品。根据对罗马东部贸易的了解，它们包括异国香草和香料，主要是胡椒，还有生姜、豆蔻、芦荟和香葱；异国木材如柚木；印度穆斯林布料、中国丝绸（通过印度运输）、来自波斯湾的珍贵和半珍贵宝石以及珍珠（Gawlikowski 2021, 48）。所有这些商品的共同点是它们的便携性、耐用性以及在罗马地中海城市中极高的转售价值，这些地方这些物品极为稀有且珍贵。由于其价值和稀有性，这类奢侈品在考古学上本质上难以获取，且在发掘中很少发现，但在帕尔米拉有一个显著的例外是中国丝绸。

Silk, either as raw silk or woven textiles, had to be imported to the west from China all through antiquity until the sixth century AD when the technique of raising silkworms was finally mastered in the west. In Palmyra, the tombs of the local aristocracy have yielded large numbers of silk textile fragments that give a vivid impression of the splendour of luxury clothing among the city’s elite at the time. A good part of the silk reached Palmyra as ready-made textiles with monochrome decorative patterns. The number and quality of these so-called “Han damask” textiles in Palmyra are extraordinary and only comparable to those found in client kingdoms in western China where they were probably used and exchanged as tribute payments and diplomatic gifts. Besides Palmyra, there is no other location in the Roman Empire where Han damask has been found (Stauffer 2013, 132). Palmyra has even yielded two examples of Chinese silk with polychrome decorative patterns and Chinese lettering. Such textiles were only allowed to be produced in special workshops under Chinese imperial control. Again, Palmyra is the only Roman site to provide such finds. On the whole, Palmyra has yielded the largest amounts of
丝绸，无论是生丝还是织物，整个古代时期都必须从中国进口到西方，直到公元六世纪西方终于掌握了养蚕技术。在帕尔米拉，当地贵族的墓葬中出土了大量丝绸织物碎片，生动地展现了当时城市精英奢华服装的辉煌。相当一部分丝绸以成品织物的形式到达帕尔米拉，具有单色装饰图案。这些所谓的“汉锦”织物在帕尔米拉的数量和质量都非常出色，仅与西中国的附属国中发现的相媲美，后者可能作为贡品和外交礼物被使用和交换。除了帕尔米拉，罗马帝国没有其他地方发现汉锦（Stauffer 2013, 132）。帕尔米拉甚至出土了两件带有多色装饰图案和中文文字的中国丝绸。这种织物只能在中国皇帝控制下的特定作坊中生产。再次强调，帕尔米拉是唯一提供此类发现的罗马遗址。 总体而言，帕尔米拉出土了大量的

Chinese silks anywhere in the Roman Empire and thus allows for unique insights into the use of this sought-after fabric that spurred the imagination of contemporary observers and commentators as the epitome of luxury and decadence.
罗马帝国任何地方的中国丝绸，因此可以独特地洞察这种备受追捧的面料的使用，这激发了当时观察者和评论者的想象力，成为奢华和堕落的典范。

In addition to ready-made silk textiles, Palmyra also imported raw silk which was then used by local craftsmen to produce silk textiles on the spot. Technical analyses have shown that part of the silks were woven on horizontal Syrian looms and not on vertical Chinese looms (Ruffing 2022, 395). Furthermore, raw silk could also be rewoven in Palmyra together with other types of material, such as wool, cotton, or linen. The local textile manufacture in Palmyra profited in this way from its access to trade goods from the Far East. Palmyra was not just at the receiving end of long-distance trade, but could draw on these connections to draw positive impulses to its local economy and manufacture.
除了现成的丝绸纺织品，帕尔米拉还进口生丝，这些生丝随后被当地工匠用来现场生产丝绸纺织品。技术分析表明，部分丝绸是在水平叙利亚织机上编织的，而不是在垂直的中国织机上（Ruffing 2022, 395）。此外，生丝还可以与其他类型的材料（如羊毛、棉花或亚麻）一起在帕尔米拉重新织造。帕尔米拉的当地纺织制造因此受益于其对来自远东的贸易商品的获取。帕尔米拉不仅是远程贸易的接受方，还可以利用这些联系为其地方经济和制造业带来积极的推动。

Palmyra’s caravan trade peaked in the latter half of the second century AD. The caravan inscriptions are concentrated in the years between AD 130 and 161, though at least three more date from the late second or early third centuries. What followed was a noticeable decline in trade (with no caravan inscriptions between 211 and 247), possibly owing to conflict and insecurity in the region in the wake of the overthrow of the Parthians by the Persian Sassanids in AD 224. But, given the relatively small sample size, the absence of caravan inscriptions alone cannot be taken as a sure indicator of the demise of trade. Rather than the cessation of long-distance trade, the absence of these monumental inscriptions may, in part at least, hint at changes in habits of organising, recording, and rewarding caravan ventures. The trade routes certainly remained open to some extent, as shown by the continued presence of merchants in Palmyra, but we now learn from Palmyrene inscriptions of soaring interest rates raised on loans of 30 or 32 percent, reflecting the increased risks and insecurity (Gawlikowski 2022, 386).
帕尔米拉的商队贸易在公元二世纪后半期达到了顶峰。商队铭文集中在公元 130 年至 161 年之间，尽管至少还有三条铭文的日期来自二世纪末或三世纪初。随之而来的是贸易的明显下降（在公元 211 年至 247 年之间没有商队铭文），这可能是由于公元 224 年波斯萨珊王朝推翻帕提亚人后，该地区的冲突和不安全所致。然而，考虑到样本量相对较小，仅凭商队铭文的缺失不能作为贸易衰退的确凿指标。缺失这些纪念性铭文可能在某种程度上暗示了组织、记录和奖励商队活动习惯的变化，而不是长途贸易的停止。贸易路线显然在某种程度上仍然开放，正如帕尔米拉商人持续存在所示，但我们现在从帕尔米拉铭文中了解到，贷款的利率飙升至 30%或 32%，反映出风险和不安全性的增加（Gawlikowski 2022, 386）。

At the same time, there is evidence to suggest a re-orientation in the third century, with new Palmyrene involvement in Egypt and on the Red Sea coast (Yon 2022, 291). Two individuals, identifiable as Palmyrenes by their names, were honoured at Coptos by Palmyrene wool merchants, under the name of “Palmyrene nauklēroi of the Erythraean Sea.” Further new discoveries from various locations around the Arabian Peninsula attest to the exploration of new routes and outlets by Palmyrene merchants: Palmyrene inscriptions at Suqutra, Qani on the Yemeni coast, and South Arabian inscriptions in the Hadramawt where Indians, Chaldaeans (most probably people from southern Mesopotamia), and Palmyrenes met (Gawlikowski 2022, 382; Yon 2022, 291).
与此同时，有证据表明在三世纪发生了重新定向，帕尔米拉人在埃及和红海沿岸的新参与（Yon 2022, 291）。两位可以通过名字识别为帕尔米拉人的个体在科普托斯受到帕尔米拉羊毛商人的荣誉，称为“红海的帕尔米拉航海者”。来自阿拉伯半岛各地的进一步新发现证明了帕尔米拉商人探索新路线和出口的活动：在苏库特拉的帕尔米拉铭文、也门海岸的卡尼以及哈德拉毛特的南阿拉伯铭文中，印度人、迦尔底亚人（很可能是来自美索不达米亚南部的人）和帕尔米拉人相遇（Gawlikowski 2022, 382；Yon 2022, 291）。

In addition to material evidence of actual trade goods from distant lands found in Palmyrene tombs, and to caravan inscriptions celebrating elite citizens in public spaces, there is also visual evidence that is often taken as evidence of Palmyra’s status as a caravan city: a handful of relief monuments depicting camels and, in one case, a ship, are regularly cited to prove the importance of long-distance trade in the economic life of the city.
除了在帕尔米拉墓葬中发现的来自遥远土地的实际贸易商品的物质证据，以及庆祝公共空间中精英公民的商队铭文，还有视觉证据常被视为帕尔米拉作为商队城市地位的证据：一些描绘骆驼的浮雕纪念碑，以及在一个案例中，一艘船，常被引用以证明长途贸易在该市经济生活中的重要性。

The camel, the quintessential ‘ship of the desert’, was the indispensable means of long-distance transport across the arid deserts from its domestication, probably in the Arabian Peninsula in the course of the second millennium BC, until the early twentieth century. For the inhabitants of these areas, the camel was also an essential source of milk, meat, wool, leather, and fuel (Seland 2017, 106). In Syria and the Levant, the predominant camel breed was the one-humped dromedary, whereas in less arid areas from inner Asia to Asia Minor, the two-humped ‘Bactrian’ camel was more common.
骆驼，作为“沙漠之船”的典型代表，自从在公元前第二个千年期间可能在阿拉伯半岛被驯化以来，一直是干旱沙漠中长途运输不可或缺的工具，直到 20 世纪初。对于这些地区的居民来说，骆驼也是牛奶、肉类、羊毛、皮革和燃料的重要来源（Seland 2017, 106）。在叙利亚和黎凡特，主要的骆驼品种是单峰驼，而在从内亚到小亚细亚的干旱程度较低的地区，双峰的“巴克特驼”更为常见。

In the Hellenistic and Roman Levant, horse- and camel-mounted troops were often employed jointly, both by native troops and the corresponding units in imperial armies. For instance, Palmyrene men are known to have served in the Roman army, usually as camel riders and archers, from at least the time of Trajan (early second century AD), e.g. in the ala I Ulpia Dromedariorum Palmyrenorum milliaria, which was first stationed at Palmyra, then moved to Arabia. Around the middle of the second century AD, the Roman garrison that was stationed at Palmyra, the ala I Ulpia Singularium, joined the existing Palmyrene militiae of camel riders to help patrol the countryside and protect the long-distance trade routes (Stoll 2022, 342).
在希腊化和罗马时期的黎凡特，骑马和骑骆驼的部队常常被联合使用，既包括本地部队，也包括帝国军队中的相应单位。例如，已知帕尔米拉人从至少图拉真时期（公元二世纪初）起就曾在罗马军队服役，通常担任骑骆驼的骑兵和弓箭手，例如在 ala I Ulpia Dromedariorum Palmyrenorum milliaria 中，该部队最初驻扎在帕尔米拉，后来迁往阿拉伯。公元二世纪中叶，驻扎在帕尔米拉的罗马驻军 ala I Ulpia Singularium 加入了现有的帕尔米拉骑骆驼民兵，以帮助巡逻乡村并保护长途贸易路线（Stoll 2022, 342）。

In light of the camel’s pervasive role in the life of their communities, depictions of domesticated camels are surprisingly rare in the artistic repertoire of ancient civilisations. Palmyra is one of the few ancient sites to have yielded such images. These consist of small-scale relief sculptures from sarcophagi or blocks from architectural structures. Some are ascertained to come from tombs, while others were found to be out of context or of uncertain provenance. They seemingly attest to the involvement of Palmyrene aristocrats in the lucrative caravan trade.
考虑到骆驼在他们社区生活中的普遍角色，古代文明的艺术作品中对驯化骆驼的描绘出奇地稀少。帕尔米拉是少数几个出土此类图像的古代遗址之一。这些图像包括来自石棺的小型浮雕或建筑结构的块材。有些被确认来自墓葬，而另一些则被发现处于不合适的上下文或来源不明。它们似乎证明了帕尔米拉贵族参与了利润丰厚的商队贸易。

An architectural block found reused in the Justinianic city wall depicts, within a rectangular frame of leaf mouldings, a row of three camels resting on their haunches (Figure 5.1) (Colledge 1976, pl. 129; Tanabe 1986, nos. 92-93). The three animals are rendered identically. Each is equipped with a high-backed saddle covered with animal fur and flanked by shield, spear, and quiver. There is no indication of trade goods or transport here, and instead strong hints to a military context. The military connotation of this image is confirmed by other reliefs from Palmyra which depict camels with identical equipment but with the addition of
在贾斯丁尼亚城墙中发现的一个建筑块，在一个矩形的叶子模具框架内描绘了三只驼背的骆驼（图 5.1）（Colledge 1976，图版 129；Tanabe 1986，编号 92-93）。这三只动物的表现完全相同。每只骆驼都配备了一个高背鞍，鞍上覆盖着动物毛皮，并且旁边有盾牌、长矛和箭袋。这里没有贸易商品或运输的迹象，而是强烈暗示了军事背景。这幅图像的军事含义得到了来自帕尔米拉的其他浮雕的确认，这些浮雕描绘了装备相同但增加了的骆驼。

Figure 5.1 Monumental base with three camels.
图 5.1 三只骆驼的纪念性基座。
Source: Palmyra Museum A24/1226. H 36 cm, W 173 cm. Photo A. Kropp.
来源：帕尔米拉博物馆 A24/1226。高 36 厘米，宽 173 厘米。照片 A. Kropp。
riders on their backs who are unmistakably identified as warriors (or warrior gods) in native desert costume, holding swords or lances in their hands (Colledge 1976, 43 pl. 33; Tanabe 1986, nos. 141-2).
骑在他们背上的人无疑被认定为战士（或战士神），身着本土沙漠服装，手中握着剑或长矛（Colledge 1976, 43 pl. 33; Tanabe 1986, nos. 141-2）。

A second block, a sarcophagus panel found reused in the Camp of Diocletian (Figure 5.2), depicts a standing camel equipped in the same manner and flanked by two Palmyrene men in elaborate costumes, one of whom is holding the camel’s reins (Colledge 1976, pl. 143). The depicted figures have been repeatedly identified as a caravan leader and his servant in recent publications (Sartre and Sartre-Fauriat 2008, 84; Smith 2013, 74-5), but as E.H. Seland correctly points out, there is no indication in the imagery of any connection with the world of trade or commerce, nor is there a visible distinction in status between the two figures (Seland 2017, 107-8). Instead, the military theme is once again prominent, with the left figure holding a spear and the right one a long sword.
第二块石板，一个在戴克里先营地重新使用的石棺面板（图 5.2），描绘了一只站立的骆驼，装备方式相同，旁边是两位穿着华丽服装的帕尔米拉人，其中一人正握着骆驼的缰绳（Colledge 1976, pl. 143）。最近的出版物中，这些描绘的人物被反复认定为商队领袖和他的仆人（Sartre and Sartre-Fauriat 2008, 84; Smith 2013, 74-5），但正如 E.H. Seland 正确指出的那样，图像中没有任何与贸易或商业世界的联系的迹象，也没有两个形象之间的地位明显区别（Seland 2017, 107-8）。相反，军事主题再次突出，左侧的人物持有一根矛，右侧的人物则持有一把长剑。

Seland, however, misinterprets the costume: the two figures are not wearing “trousers suitable for riding” (Seland 2017, 108) but rather elaborate Persian costumes of the kind often found in funerary relief sculpture. They consist of richly embroidered long-sleeved belted cloaks, trousers, and soft-leather boots. Such costumes are never shown on figures on camel-back; they instead appear in civilian life, e.g. in the context of banqueting scenes at Palmyra, as elegant evening dress on the bodies of reclining revellers and their attendants.
然而，Seland 错误解读了服装：这两个人物并没有穿着“适合骑马的裤子”（Seland 2017, 108），而是穿着精美的波斯服装，这种服装常见于葬礼浮雕雕刻中。它们由丰富刺绣的长袖束腰斗篷、裤子和软皮靴组成。这种服装从未在骑骆驼的人物身上出现；相反，它们出现在平民生活中，例如在帕尔米拉的宴会场景中，作为躺着的欢宴者及其随从的优雅晚礼服。

The relief sculpture hence combines the display of martial prowess with the refined elegance of the Palmyrene elite lifestyle. To underline the elite status, the relief also depicts between the heads of the two standing figures a modius, the cylindrical hat worn by Palmyrene priests, to indicate priestly status. The monument hence puts on display the civilian as well as the military credentials of these Palmyrene citizens, without any hint to trade or commercial activities.
因此，这件浮雕结合了武力的展示与帕尔米拉精英生活方式的优雅。为了强调精英地位，浮雕在两位站立人物的头部之间描绘了一个模迪乌斯，这是帕尔米拉祭司所戴的圆柱形帽子，以表示祭司身份。因此，这座纪念碑展示了这些帕尔米拉公民的文职和军事资历，而没有任何与贸易或商业活动的暗示。

The iconography of the camels in both monuments provides important insights into Palmyra’s material culture, as it includes historically significant antiquarian
这两个纪念碑中骆驼的图像为帕尔米拉的物质文化提供了重要的见解，因为它包括历史上重要的古董

Figure 5.2 Sarcophagus panel with camel and two men.
图 5.2 带有骆驼和两名男子的石棺面板。
Source: Palmyra Museum 2093/7431. H 75 cm. Photo A. Kropp.
来源：帕尔米拉博物馆 2093/7431。高 75 厘米。照片 A. Kropp。
details: These images show what was at the time a new kind of saddle: a cross-bow saddle (Kreuzbogensattel in German) with a wooden construction around the hump of the camel. In contrast to traditional saddles, contraptions made of straps and cushions, this kind of saddle provided the rider with a stable seat and allowed the camel to carry a heavier load and thus cross longer distances than was previously possible. Bridging the vast expanse of the desert with greater ease, this innovation enhanced the power and income of those in control of desert routes for centuries to come. The Palmyrene camel reliefs, alongside images of Nabataean camels on Roman denarii minted in 58 BC , are among the very first known attestations of the new cross-bow saddle type (Kropp 2013, 41-2 n. 290, Fig. 1).
细节：这些图像展示了当时一种新型鞍具：一种十字弓鞍（德语为 Kreuzbogensattel），其木质结构围绕着骆驼的驼峰。与传统的由带子和垫子制成的鞍具相比，这种鞍具为骑手提供了一个稳定的座位，并允许骆驼承载更重的负荷，从而能够跨越比以往更长的距离。这项创新使得跨越广袤的沙漠变得更加轻松，增强了控制沙漠路线的人的力量和收入，持续了几个世纪。帕尔米拉骆驼浮雕，以及公元前 58 年铸造的罗马德纳里上的纳巴泰骆驼图像，是已知的十字弓鞍类型的最早证明之一（Kropp 2013, 41-2 n. 290, Fig. 1）。

Of all the images of Palmyrene means of transportation, by far the most famous and unusual one is the so-called ship relief (Figure 5.3) (Colledge 1976, pl. 103). This fragment of a funerary relief was found in the tomb of Julius Aurelius Maronas (dated AD 236) in the western necropolis. It depicts a complex scene made up of disparate elements (Seland 2017, 112-13).
在所有帕尔米拉交通工具的图像中，最著名和最不寻常的是所谓的船只浮雕（图 5.3）（Colledge 1976, pl. 103）。这个葬礼浮雕的碎片是在西部墓地的尤利乌斯·奥雷利乌斯·马罗纳斯的墓中发现的（公元 236 年）。它描绘了一个由不同元素组成的复杂场景（Seland 2017, 112-13）。

Its main feature is a detailed image of a large sailing ship with a rounded hull and equipped with rudder side oars. The ship is fully rigged and under sail. This is a striking image of a maritime vessel at a desert city hundreds of kilometres away from any sea coast. To the left of the ship, the relief shows the figure of a man of disproportionately large size in relation to the ship. The figure is fragmented, and only the lower part is preserved up to the chest. He seems to be clad in an unusually short belted tunic. With his left hand, he appears to be grasping, incongruously, the stern of the ship. With his right hand, he is holding the reins of a large animal, now broken off entirely except for the two front hoofs. The surface of the hoofs is too badly weathered to determine with certainty whether they belonged to a horse or a camel, but considering the context, the latter is by far the more likely (Seland 2017, 112). Of all the Palmyrene relief sculptures regularly cited in the literature as
其主要特征是一幅详细的图像，描绘了一艘大型帆船，船体呈圆形，配备了舵和侧桨。船只完全装帧并在航行。这是一幅引人注目的海洋船只图像，位于距离任何海岸数百公里的沙漠城市中。在船的左侧，浮雕显示了一个与船相比体型不成比例的大男人的形象。这个形象是破碎的，只有下半部分保存到胸部。他似乎穿着一件异常短的束腰长袍。用左手，他似乎不合时宜地抓住了船的船尾。用右手，他握着一只大型动物的缰绳，现在完全断裂，只剩下两只前蹄。蹄子的表面风化严重，无法确定它们是否属于马或骆驼，但考虑到上下文，后者更为可能（Seland 2017, 112）。在文献中经常引用的所有帕尔米拉浮雕雕塑中，

Figure 5.3 Ship relief from the tomb of Julius Aurelius Maronas, AD 236. Source: Palmyra Museum 1046/2249. H 85 cm. Photo A. Kropp.
图 5.3 朱利乌斯·奥雷利乌斯·马罗纳斯墓中的船只浮雕，公元 236 年。来源：帕尔米拉博物馆 1046/2249。高 85 厘米。照片 A. Kropp。
evidence for caravan trade, the ship relief is the only one that stands up to scrutiny as testimony of Palmyrene long-distance trade. Gawlikowski $(2021,172)$$(2021,172)$(2021,172)(2021,172) interprets the scene plausibly as “commemorating a caravan venture to the Gulf and a sea passage to India.”
关于商队贸易的证据，这幅船只浮雕是唯一一个经得起审查的帕尔米拉长途贸易的证据。Gawlikowski $(2021,172)$$(2021,172)$(2021,172)(2021,172) 合理地将这一场景解读为“纪念一次前往海湾的商队活动和通往印度的海上航行。”

The relief also represents an entirely unique and original composition, juxtaposing a camel and a sailing ship scaled down to size, and in their midst with a firm grip on both, the towering figure of one Palmyrene aristocrat. This uniqueness underlines how out of the ordinary such celebratory images of long-distance trade were in the visual landscape of ancient Palmyra. There were no pattern books or visual formulas to fall back on for this subject. In contrast to the extremely repetitive funerary sculpture of Palmyra, reproducing the same visual formulas a thousandfold, images of caravan trade were not in any artists’ repertoires - they had to be invented there and then.
这幅浮雕还代表了一种完全独特和原创的构图，将一只骆驼和一艘缩小到尺寸的帆船并置在一起，而在它们中间，紧紧握住两者的是一位高大的帕尔米拉贵族的身影。这种独特性强调了在古代帕尔米拉的视觉景观中，长途贸易的庆祝图像是多么不寻常。对于这个主题，没有现成的图案书或视觉公式可供参考。与帕尔米拉极其重复的葬礼雕塑相比，后者千篇一律地再现相同的视觉公式，商队贸易的图像并不在任何艺术家的曲目中——它们必须在当时被创造出来。

This chapter has brought together the available material, epigraphic, and visual evidence for Palmyra’s pre-eminent position within the trading and transit networks that connected the Mediterranean world with Asian markets. Palmyra’s far-flung contacts are most vividly exemplified by Chinese silk textiles of impressive quality and quantity found in the tombs of the Palmyrene elite. No other site in the Roman Empire has yielded a comparable trove of Chinese silk. But findings such as these do not amount to evidence for the existence of an ancient “Silk Road” in the sense of either a continuous commercial link or a consistent vector of political encounter or cultural exchange between the East and West (Millar 1998). Contacts between the Roman Near East and China always remained indirect, sporadic, and haphazard, to such an extent that the two empires maintained no diplomatic contacts and were barely aware of each other’s existence.
本章汇集了现有的材料、铭文和视觉证据，展示了帕尔米拉在连接地中海世界与亚洲市场的贸易和运输网络中的卓越地位。帕尔米拉广泛的联系最生动地体现在在帕尔米拉精英的墓葬中发现的数量和质量都令人印象深刻的中国丝绸上。罗马帝国没有其他地点能提供类似的中国丝绸宝藏。但像这样的发现并不能证明古代“丝绸之路”的存在，无论是作为一个持续的商业联系，还是作为东西方之间政治接触或文化交流的一致载体（Millar 1998）。罗马近东与中国之间的接触始终保持间接、零星和偶然，以至于两个帝国没有保持外交联系，几乎对彼此的存在毫不知情。

The lack of an ancient “Silk Road” can in no small part be attributed to logistics:
古代“丝绸之路”的缺失在很大程度上可以归因于物流：
The overland caravan route across Iran to Central Asia and beyond hardly existed as a sustainable commercial prospect. The cost of land transport was enormous, fifty times more expensive than sea shipping and five times more than river haulage. This cost, and political risks resulting from the strained relations between Rome and Parthia, as well as frequent passage fees levied even in friendly territory, made merchants choose land routes only when unavoidable.
穿越伊朗到中亚及更远地区的陆路商队路线几乎不存在作为可持续的商业前景。陆路运输的成本巨大，比海运贵五十倍，比河运贵五倍。这一成本，以及由于罗马与帕提亚之间紧张关系而导致的政治风险，以及即使在友好领土上也会征收的频繁通行费，使得商人们只有在不可避免的情况下才选择陆路路线。
(Gawlikowski 2022, 382)
The situation was rather different for the sea lanes. As outlined above, two routes offered themselves to the merchants from the Roman Empire. One of them linked Egyptian Red Sea ports and the western coast of India; the other started at the head of the Persian Gulf to reach the same Indian ports. Palmyrene traders are known to have operated on both routes, and it was these routes, via Indian middlemen, that probably brought Far Eastern goods to Palmyra and helped transform it into a prosperous hub of commerce.
海上航线的情况则大为不同。如上所述，罗马帝国的商人有两条航线可供选择。其中一条连接埃及红海港口和印度西海岸；另一条则从波斯湾的源头出发，抵达同样的印度港口。已知帕尔米拉的商人曾在这两条航线上进行交易，正是通过印度中介的这些航线，可能将远东商品带到了帕尔米拉，并帮助其转变为繁荣的商业中心。

Palmyra’s idiosyncratic coinage is a complex subject. In sharp contrast to scores of other cities of the Roman Near East, the coins of Palmyra are small, lightweight, and often of crude manufacture. Whereas other cities regularly produced civic bronze coinage in 3 or 4 different denominations, with the largest one often up to sizes of 30 mm and beyond, Palmyra’s coinage is typically in the range of $10-15\mathrm{mm}$$10-15\mathrm{mm}$10-15mm10-15 \mathrm{~mm} and a weight of $1-1.5\mathrm{g}$$1-1.5\mathrm{g}$1-1.5g1-1.5 \mathrm{~g}. It seems paradoxical that, of all Syrian cities, a phenomenally prosperous city of commerce such as Palmyra should produce a local currency so thoroughly unimpressive. But findings from on-site excavations have shown that the intermittent output of Palmyra’s local mint may, in part at least, be due to the fact that
帕尔米拉独特的货币体系是一个复杂的主题。与罗马近东其他城市的众多硬币形成鲜明对比的是，帕尔米拉的硬币小巧、轻便，且常常制造粗糙。其他城市通常会定期生产 3 或 4 种不同面额的市政青铜硬币，最大的一种通常达到 30 毫米及以上，而帕尔米拉的货币通常在 $10-15\mathrm{mm}$$10-15\mathrm{mm}$10-15mm10-15 \mathrm{~mm} 的范围内，重量为 $1-1.5\mathrm{g}$$1-1.5\mathrm{g}$1-1.5g1-1.5 \mathrm{~g} 。令人感到矛盾的是，在所有叙利亚城市中，像帕尔米拉这样一个极为繁荣的商业城市竟然会生产出如此毫无吸引力的地方货币。但现场挖掘的发现表明，帕尔米拉地方铸币厂的间歇性产出至少部分可能是由于这个事实。

Figure 5.4 Standard typology of Palmyrene coinage.
图 5.4 帕尔米拉货币的标准类型学。
Source: Krzyżanowska 1982.
来源：Krzyżanowska 1982。

Figure 5.5 New typology of Palmyrene coinage. The numbering follows Krzyżanowska 1982 unless preceded by a letter. Source: © A. Kropp.
图 5.5 帕尔米拉货币的新类型学。编号遵循 Krzyżanowska 1982，除非前面有字母。来源：© A. Kropp。
other currencies from East and West circulated freely in Palmyra and were widely accepted as legal tender, thus rendering sustained local coin production obsolete.
来自东西方的其他货币在帕尔米拉自由流通，并被广泛接受为法定货币，从而使得持续的地方铸币生产变得过时。

The study of Palmyra’s coinage had long been dormant but has seen renewed interest in recent years. Yet even in new publications, the coin typology that is still universally in use is the preliminary and incomplete one first presented by Krzyżanowska more than 40 years ago (Figure 5.4) (Krzyżanowska 1982).
对帕尔米拉货币的研究长期处于沉寂状态，但近年来重新引起了关注。然而，即使在新的出版物中，仍然普遍使用的硬币类型学是 40 多年前由 Krzyżanowska 首次提出的初步和不完整的版本（图 5.4）（Krzyżanowska 1982）。

I present here, for the first time, a new typology of Palmyrene coins that fundamentally overhauls the standard typology (Figure 5.5). This illustration is intended as a preview of an upcoming detailed study on Palmyrene coin typology. This new typology is based on a thorough review of all the available numismatic evidence and previously overlooked publications. It is hence more accurate and comprehensive than its predecessors, and it puts the coinage into a coherent thematic order (sorted by obverse iconographies) that visualises the internal coherence between these coin issues, forming a proper visual programme with a discernible rationale. This categorisation by iconographic themes offers new insights on local identities and religious life as set out by the mint of Palmyra and thus promises to set Palmyrene numismatics on a new footing.
我在这里首次提出了一种新的帕尔米拉硬币分类法，彻底改革了标准分类法（图 5.5）。这幅插图旨在预览即将发布的关于帕尔米拉硬币分类法的详细研究。这种新分类法基于对所有可用的货币证据和之前被忽视的出版物的全面审查。因此，它比其前任更准确、更全面，并将硬币按正面图像的主题顺序整理，展现了这些硬币发行之间的内在一致性，形成了一个具有明显理由的适当视觉方案。这种按图像主题的分类为帕尔米拉铸币厂所设定的地方身份和宗教生活提供了新的见解，因此有望为帕尔米拉钱币学奠定新的基础。

$1HN$$1HN$1HN1 H N 5.88. Although written in the later first century AD, Pliny probably relied on sources that pre-dated Palmyra’s annexation by Rome.
$1HN$$1HN$1HN1 H N 5.88。尽管是在公元一世纪晚期写成的，普林尼可能依赖于早于帕尔米拉被罗马吞并的来源。

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