Societe d’Etudes Latines de Bruxelles

Mark Antony and the Raid on Palmyra : Reflections on Appian, "Bella Civilia" V, 9
Author(s): Olivier Hekster and Ted Kaizer
Source: Latomus, T. 63, Fasc. 1 (JANVIER-MARS 2004), pp. 70-80
Published by: Societe d’Etudes Latines de Bruxelles
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 Mark Antony and the Raid on Palmyra :
Reflections on Appian, Bella Civilia V, 9 (*)

'AjzojzXevoáoriçôè zfjgКХеоштдадèç та oixeïa,ó 'Avtcdvloç ёже(шеtovç

íjuiéaçnákpLvga jzófav,ov
' (iaxgàv ovaav aitòEvcpgárov, ôiangáoai, fitxgà
¡lèvèmxaXwv xai TlagOvaícov
amole;,ori Pcofiaícov ovTeçècpógioi èç éxaré-
govç èmôe^íojçei%ov(epmogoiyàg ovieç ř xo/iíÇovoi ptèvèx Tlegowvта
'Ivôixà fj 'Agäßta,дсапвеутасó èv Tfj Pœfiaicov ), egycoó èmvoœvtovç
ijtjïéaçjzegiovoiáoai.naXfivgr]vã)vôè Jtgo^aOóvTcov xai rà âvayxaíaèç то
Jtégav TovnoTajiov/isTeveyxávTcov те xai èjzi TfjçoxOtíç, et tiç èm%eigoír'
oxevaoafxévœv a
tóÇoiç,ngòç JieyvxaoLv oi
è^aigéTouç, ÍTCJtéeç ttjvJtókiv
xevrjv Teç
xaTakaßov шёотдеграу, orne èç gaç èkQóvTeç orne ti XafióvTeç.
Translation : «WhenCleopatra hadsailedhomewards, Antony senthishorsemen to
thepolisPalmyra, notfarfrom theEuphrates, toplunder, accusing them ofsome-
thing thatthey- beingonthefrontier
insignificant, between theRomansandthe
Parthians - showedtactto bothsides(beingmerchants, theycarryIndianand
Arabian goodsfrom thePersiansandtheydisposeofthemintheterritory ofthe
Romans), butinfacthehadinhismindtoenrich hishorsemen. As thePalmyrenes
learned aboutthisbeforehand andcarried theiressentialstotheother sideofthe
riverandtotheriverbank, preparingthemselves with bows - withwhich theyare
by nature -
excellent incase anyonewould attackthem, the horsemen, seizingthe
cityempty, turnedaround,nothaving metanyone, nothaving takenanything» (').
The passageis well-known. As one ofthefewliterary sourceson pre-Roman
Palmyra, scholars on
working Palmyra have used it extensively.Similarly,
historians
focussingon MarkAntony'sEasternmilitary policyin thetriumviral
periodhave drawnfar-reaching conclusionsfromthe episode. But textsare
rarelyunambiguous, and thispassage is no exception.The aim of thepresent

(*) Manythanks toLukePitcher forhiscomments ona draftofthispaper,

andforpro-
vidingus withuseful
references.
(1) TextfollowingLCL. In 1996a newannotated Penguin translation
byJohn Carter
hasappeared , theCivilWars
(Appian , London)anda newedition ofthebooksonthecivil
warsbyKai Brodersen is in preparation forOxfordClassicalTexts. no
Unfortunately,
majorgeneralinterpretationofAppianexistsyet.ValuableareB. Goldman, Einheit-
lichkeit
undEigenständigkeitderHistoria RomanadesAppian - New-
, Hildesheim York,
1988andthearticlesbyК. Brodersen andI. Hahn- G. Németh,ANRWU34.Ì,1993.Of
importancewillalsobe L. Pitcher,TheHistorio graphical
Techniques ofAppian, forth-
coming. On 'CivilWars': E. Gabba,Appianoe la storiadelleguerre civili
, Florence,
1956; D. Magnino,Le "Guerre Civili" diAppianoinANRW 11.34.1,1993,p. 523-554.

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 MARK ANDTHERAIDONPALMYRA
ANTONY 71

contribution
is twofold.Firstly, thatneitherof the
we set out to demonstrate
above-mentioned of
applications the is
passage unproblematic : thepassage is
sometimesincompatible withexternalsources, sometimes sole supportfora
claim,and in generalnotas strongevidenceas assumed.Secondly,it will be
arguedthatlookingat thepassagein bothitsliterary
and historical contextnot
onlyhighlightssomeoftheseveryproblems, butmayalso explainthem.
Thepassage and modernhistoriography : Palmyra.- The mainconclusions
thatscholarshave drawnfromthispassage aboutthe pre-Romanhistoryof
Palmyraare thattheplace was richenoughin 41 ВС to attract theattentionof
potential and
pillagers, that must
Palmyra therefore have been a relatively
pros-
perous'caravan'cityby thisearlydate(2). In addition,thepassagehas someti-
mes been connectedwithan alleged 'nomadic'natureof the inhabitants of
Palmyra in themid-first ВС
century (3). Our further
evidence,however, does not

(2) I. Richmond, Palmyra undertheaegisofRomeinJRS53, 1963,p. 44 : 'itsmer-

cantilewealth,alreadyfamous'; H. Bengtson,MarcusAntonius : Triumvir und
Herrscher des Orients , Munich,1977,p. 164: 'die reicheHandelsstadt Palmyra' ;
H. J.W.Drijvers, Hatra,Palmyra undEdessa.Die Städtedersyrisch-mesopotamischen
Wüsteinpolitischer, kulturgeschichtlicher undreligionsgeschichtlicher Beleuchtung in
AM?WII8, 1977,p. 838: 'daßPalmyra damalsschondenRufeinerreichen Stadtgehabt
hať ; J.Matthews, TheTaxLawofPalmyra : Evidence forEconomic Historyina Cityof
theRomanEast in JRS74, 1984,p. 161: 'its alreadyfabulous mercantilewealth';
E. Will,Plinel'ancienetPalmyre : unproblème d'histoireou d'histoire ? in
littéraire
Syria 62, 1985, p. 268 : 'une république demarchands' ; Id.,Les Palmyréniens. La Venise
dessables,Paris,1992,p. 35 : 'assezrichepourêtrepillée'; E. Frézouls,Palmyre etles
conditions politiques dudéveloppement de sonactivité commerciale inAAAS42, 1996,
p. 149: 'Palmyre avaitdéjàà la findel'époquehellénistique d'uncentre
le profil actifet
capabled'accumuler des richesses' ; L. Dirven,ThePalmyrenes ofDura-Europos. A
Study ofReligious Interaction inRomanSyria , Leiden,1999,p. 19: 'already wealthy in
thosedays'; E. Savino,Cittàdifrontiera nell'Impero romano. Formedellaromanizza-
zioneda Augusto ai Severi , Bari,1999,p. 52 : 'una certafamadi cittàprospera' ;
G. Degeorge,Palmyre, métropole caravanière , Paris,2001, p. 68 : 'suffisamment
prospère' ; M. Sartre,D'Alexandre à Zénobie. HistoireduLevant antique,ivesiècleav.
J.-С. - uiesiècleар. J.-С.,Paris,2001,p. 843: 'déjàrichelorsduraidde MarcAntoine
en41 av.J.-C.',andcf.ibid.,p.464andp.496.ButseeH. Seyrig, Palmyra andtheEast
inJRS40, 1950,p. 1 : 'notyetoverburdened withluxuries' andB. Isaac,TheLimits of
Empire, Oxford,19922,p. 141-2: 'thecity'swealthwill haveconsisted of bullion,
coinage, andlivestock' .
(3) G. K.Young, Rome'sEastern Trade. International Commerce andImperial Policy,
31 ВС -AD 305,London- NewYork,2001,p. 136: 'Intheseearlyyearsitappears that
theinhabitants oftheoasiswerestillsemi-nomadic, as Appianstates thattheywereable
toremove all theirmaterial wealthacrosstheEuphrates whenAntony attackedthemin
42 (sic)ВС'. Cf.Will,LesPalmyréniens [п.2],p. 36 : 'quelquechoseencore comme un
campement de Bédouins'; Isaac,Limits ofEmpire[п. 2', p. 142: 'thePalmyrene res-
ponsetotheRomanattack wasstillthatofnomads facinga forceofsuperior strength';
Savino,Cittàdifrontiera [п.2],p. 52 : 'ancoraprossimi allostatonomade'. Butseenow

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72 O. HEKSTER
& T. KAIZER

allow us to speak withmuchcertainty aboutthepre-Romanperiod.Polybius

(V,79,8) mentions a commander over 'the Arabs and neighbouring tribes'
("Agaßeg ôè xaì tiveç rwv tovtolçtcqooxcoqcov) inAntiochus Ill's armyatthe
battleofRaphia,whohas a typically Palmyrene name,Zabdibelus,butthisdoes
notnecessarilysuggestthatPalmyraas a place was of greatimportance in the
pre-Romanperiod(4). JosephusarguesthatSolomonbuiltPalmyra'withvery
strongwalls', butin doingso he follows2 Chronicles8,4, wheretheoriginal
'Tamarin thedesert'(as used in 1 Kings9, 18) is interpreted as 'Tadmorin the
desert'. The statement byJosephus shouldtherefore notbe takenatfacevalue(5).
His near-contemporary Pliny,whoappearsto givea geographical description of
Palmyraanditssurroundings in themid-first century AD ( HN V,88),providesa
notionalperception of whatan oasis oughtto be like,ratherthanfactualinfor-
mationbasedon first-hand knowledge, andin anycase does nottellus anything
aboutthelateRepublic(6).
We are notsuggesting thattherewas notsome sortof permanent settlement
in 41 ВС, regardless of whether Appian's word choice (jzófaç) is adequate.The
earliest dated inscriptionfrom Palmyra,writtenin the local Aramaic
(Palmyrenean) dialect,recordstheerection ofa statuein44 ВС bythepriesthood
of Bel, which was to become one of the most prominentinstitutions in
Palmyrene society until thecity'scapture in AD 272 (7).It is also well known that
thetempleof Bel as it is stillstandingnowadayswas precededby an earlier
structure,or earlierstructures, andrecentbutstillunpublished soundingsin the
temenosby Syrianarchaeologists may have revealed the first archaeological

U. Scharrer, Nomaden undSeßhafte inTadmor im2. Jahrtausend v.Chr.inM. Schuol,

U. Hartmann and A. Luther(eds.),Grenzüberschreitungen. Formendes Kontakts
zwischenOrient undOkzident imAltertum 2002,p. 309: 'DerBericht
, Stuttgart, Appians
kanndemnach nicht
alsBegründung füreinenomadische Lebensweise inderOasegegen
Mittedes 1. Jahrhunderts v. Chr.herangezogen werden'.Notethesimilarities with
Diodorus'descriptionoftheNabataeans, whowhenJToXefiiœv òvvafiiçâôgà approa-
ches,(pevyovOLv eíç rrjvедщоу, whichservesthemas a fortress (ramrjxQÚ/ievoi
oxvgcbiian) (DiodorusSiculusXIX,94).
(4) On thenameof 'Zabdibelus' at Palmyra, see J.K. Stark,PersonalNamesin
Palmyrene , Oxford,
Inscriptions 1971,p. 85.
(5) Josephus,Ant.VIII,6, 1 (153-4).Cf.F. Millar,TheRoman NearEast.31 ВС-AD
337, Cambridge [MA]- London, 1993,p. 320.
(6) Will inSyria62,1985[n.2],p. 263-9.
(7) The inscriptionis D. R. Hillers and E. Cussini,Palmyrene AramaicTexts ,
Baltimore- London,1996(henceforth : PAT),no 1524(wrongly datedtoAD 44). See
nowalsoКн.al-As'adandM. Gawlikowski, TheInscriptionsintheMuseum ofPalmyra,
Palmyra- Warsaw, 1997,p. 25-26,no29,andКн.(al-) As'adandJ.-B. Yon,Inscriptions
de Palmyre,Beirut- Damascus- Amman, 2001,p. 32,no.2. On thePalmyrene priest-
hoodofBel,see nowT. Kaizer,TheReligious LifeofPalmyra, 2002,p. 229-
Stuttgart,
234.

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 MARK ANDTHERAIDONPALMYRA
ANTONY 73

remainsof theso-calledHellenistictempleof Bel (8). Furthermore,thepresent

archaeologicalprojectsouthofthewadi seems to confirmthat
this
largeandnow
empty area had been thecentreof early-Roman ('pre-Colonnade')andpossibly
HellenisticPalmyra(9).Butthisis as muchas archaeological materialcan indi-
cateat present.Smallfindsfromthethirdand secondmillennium ВС areinsuf-
ficientto provea culturalcontinuum fromthe BronzeAge onwards(10).The
remaining walls areby themselves difficult
to date,and anyconclusionsdrawn
fromthemare highlydebatable(n). Externalevidence,therefore, does not
contradicttheinformation providedby Appian,butit certainlydoes notprove
himrighteither.
There are even more seriousproblemswithinthe passage itself.If the
Palmyrenes wereso rich,thanhow could theyhave carriedeverything away?
Accordingto thestory, Antony'shorsemenfoundthecityempty(xevoç). But
Appianonlytalksabout 'essentials'(rà âvayxaîa) beingcarriedaway.How
emptyis a cityafteressentialsare carriedaway? Were essentialsonly the

(8) Onthetemple ofBel,seeKaizer,Religious Life[n.7],p. 67-79.TheSyrian soun-

dingsarereferred tobyE. Will,Les sallesde banquet de Palmy reetd'autreslieuxin
Topoi7, 1997,p. 873-87.See nowalsoM. al-Maqdissi, Notesurlessondagesréalisés
parRobert duMesnilduBuissondansla courdusanctuaire de Bêl à Palmyre inSyria
77,2000,p. 137-158, a recentre-examinationoftheexcavations madeinthetemenos in
the1960s.
(9) A. Schmidt-Colinet /Кн.al-As'ad,ZurUrbanistik deshellenistischenPalmyra.
Ein Vorbericht (withcontributions of H. Becker,Ch. Römerand M. Stephani)in
Damaszener Mitteilungen 12,2000,p. 61-93.The gravesbehindthetempleof Baal-
Shamin havebeendatedtothe2nd centuryВС andseemtohavebeeninusethroughout
thefirstcentury ВС. Cf. R. Fellmann, Le sanctuairede Baal-Shamîn à Palmyre5. Die
Grabanlage , Neuchâtel, 1970.
(10) On somerecent finds,seeD. Bieliñska,SmallFindsfrom Pre-classical
Palmyra
inStudiaPalmyreñskie 10,1997,p. 19-22.Cf.Scharrer, inSchuol,Grenzüberschreitun-
gen[n.3],ontablets from Mariandelsewhere.
(11) Somescholars haveargued wallsofPalmyra
thattheoriginal ought tohavepost-
dated41 ВС precisely becauseofthepassageinAppian. Theyassumethattheattempt by
Antony's horsemen toplunder theplaceimpliesthelackofa proper enclosure.See e.g.
Richmond inJRS53,1963[n.2],p.48 : 'considering whatrelativelymodest defences will
stopa cavalry force,thismustsurelybe acceptedas true',andD. vanBerchem, Le
premier rempart de Palmyre inCRAI, 1970,p. 234,referringtoAppian'sstory as provi-
dinga terminus postquemandtoPalmyra in41 thereforeas 'unevilleouverte'. Most
recentlythesameconnection is madebyDegeorge, Palmyre [n.2],p. 298n.94.Thisis
methodologically Cf.Matthews
incorrect. inJRS74,1984[n.2],p. 160; Millar,Roman
NearEast [n. 5], p. 321. For variousopinionson thedevelopment of thewallsof
Palmyra : M. Gawlikowski, Le temple palmyrénien, Warsaw, 1973,p. 12-20; id,Les
défenses de Palmyre in Syria51, 1974,p. 231-242; D. P. Crouch,TheRamparts of
Palmyrain StudiaPalmyreñskie 6, 1975, p. 6-44 (withbriefremarks made by
Gawlikowski, ibid.,p.45-46).

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74 & T. KAIZER
O. HEKSTER

valuables? How muchcan one, logistically, carryin flightanyhow? Events

become even more confusingwhen we read where the Palmyreneswent.
Accordingto Appian,theywent'to theotherside of theriverand to theriver-
bank'.This impliesthattheEuphrateswas reasonably nearby, whereasin reali-
tyit is some 200 km away.Introducing Palmyraas not far from theriver(ov
fiaxgàvovoav áno EvcpQÓrov), theauthor'stopographicalknowledge doesnot
seemto be entirely accurate(12).It shouldalso be notedthatAppiandoes not
writethatPalmyrawas a caravancityin Antony'stime.He explicitly uses the
presenttense: efjjcogoi... ovreç xofiíÇovoi...(13).As we will suggestbelow,
thismaywellbe significant.
Thepassage and modernhistoriography : Antonyand theEast - Usingthepas-
to
sage analysepre-Roman has
Palmyra provedhighlyproblematic. Coulditstill
haveramifications forAntony'sEasternpolicyin thepost-Philippi period? That
of
policyis, course, of substantialimportance forourunderstanding ofthestrug-
gle for power between Octavian and Antony, and of the eventual East-West
dichotomy thatso characterised theevents and found reflections in so manyof
oursources.Antony'sraidon Palmyra has indeedbeen perceived in thiscontext,
althoughleadingto divergent conclusions.Some authorshave arguedstrongly
thatby mounting an attackon Palmyra, Antonywas trying to establishcontrol
over the surrounding area as a whole,possiblyto preparethe groundfora
Parthian campaign(14).ButAppian'spassagehas also beeninvokedto 'prove'the
oppositepointofview.The raidon Palmyrathenservesas an attempt byAntony
to establisha 'buffer-zone'to limittheeffectsof an almostinevitableParthian

(12) Notedby Millar, RomanNearEast [n.5], p. 321. Contrast J.Vanderleest,

Appian's References tohisOwnTimeinAHB3, 1989,p. 132: 'Itis clearfrom Appian's
Preface thathehada strong senseofgeography Butseefurther geographical blun-
dersas notedbyP.Janni, La mappae ilperiplo: cartografia anticae spazioodologico ,
Rome,1984,p. 114: 'ignorantissimo de geografia';A. M. Gowing, The Triumvirat
NarrativesofAppianandCassiusDio, AnnArbor, 1992,appendix 4 ; J.S. Richardson,
Appian: WarsoftheRomans inIberia, Warminster,2000,p. 5-6.
(13) Already Isaac,Limits ofEmpire [n.2],p. 141; Millar,Roman NearEast[n.5],
p. 321.
(14) A. Baldini, Romae Palmira : notestorico-epigraphiche
inEpigraphica 36,1974,
p. 109-133,esp.p. 111-113.Baldini's argumentthatthePalmyrenes probably retreated
to
Dura-Europos (p. 112) seemshighly doubtful.
Moresensemakeshiscombination of
Appian, ВС V,9 withCicero, AdEarn.XV,1,2,which mentions a possibleattack onTyba
(Taybek).Baldinisuggests thatthisindicatesanattempt byAntony tobring theentirearea
underhiscontrol. Similarly,C. Pelling,TheTriumval Periodin САНIO2,1996,p. 12
argues: 'During41 Antony hadprobably beenpreparing foran offensive waragainst
Parthia- bytheendoftheseasonhehadindeedtaken theborder townofPalmyra'. Cf.
К.-H.Ziegler,Die Beziehungen zwischen RomunddemPartherreich. EinBeitrag zur
GeschichtedesVölkerrechts , Wiesbaden, 1964,p. 32-36.

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 MARK ANDTHERAIDONPALMYRA
ANTONY 75

offensive one couldevensee Antony'sactionagainstPalmyra

(15).Alternatively,
in thecontextof his normalmilitary activities
as governor (I6).If a passagecan
be usedin defenceofseveraloppositeviewpoints, itdoes notproveanyofthem.
In short,one needsto be cautiouswhendrawinganyconclusionsfromthispas-
sage.
Literaryand historicalcontextof thepassage. - Fromthe sack of Palmyra,
Appiancontinueshis narrative by recountingfurther detailson theoutbreakof
theParthian War(ВС 5,10),beforehe returns to Octavianin Italy(ВС 5,12ff.).
This seemsto strengthen thecase forthosewho wantto emphasisetheimpor-
tanceof theraidon Palmyrain Antony'sEasternpolicy(17).Yet,cannotliterary
considerations, morethanAntony'sperceivedgoals,haveinfluenced Appianin
hiswriting ? In whatfollows,we aimto showthattakingintoaccountbothlite-
rarytopoiandAppian'sbias can further clarifythepassage.Let us, withthisin
mind, first look at what instantlyprecedesthe sack of Palmyrain Appian's
account:
«So straight
awaytheattentionthatAntony haduntilnowdevoted
toevery matter
wascompletely andwhatever
blunted, commanded
Cleopatra wasdone,without
consideration
ofwhatwasright intheeyesofmanorgod.OnAntony's ordersher
sisterArsinoé,whohad takenrefugeas a suppliant at thetempleof Artemis
Leukophryene inMiletus,
wasputtodeath, andheordered tosurrender
theTyrians
Serapiontoher,whoas hercommander inCyprus hadsupportedCassiusbutwas
nowa suppliant thepeopleofAradustohandoveranother
inTyre.He instructed
some
suppliant, man whom they wereharbouringandmaking outtobe Ptolemy,
afterthedisappearance
ofCleopatra'sbrotherPtolemyinthenavalbattleagainst

(15) H. Bengtson, MarcusAntonius : TriumvirundHerrscher derOrients , Munich,

1977,p.158: 'Die Maßnahmen imOrient... sind... demMotivderFurcht voreiner
möglichen parthischeIntervention entsprochen'. Cf.H. Buchheim, Die Orientpolitikdes
Triumvirs M.Antonius , Heidelberg,1960,p. 28.
(16) L. Craven, Antony's OrientalPolicyuntiltheDefeatoftheParthian Expedition,
Columbia, 1920,p. 27-28,establishing a conjecturalrouteof thetouras : 'Ephesus,
Smyrna,Sardis,Magnesia,Pergamom, Adramyttium, Cyzicus,Nicaea, Ancyra,
Pessinum, Synnada, Icanium,Cybistra, Tyana,Tarsus,Antioch, Laodicea,Apamea,
Epiphania, fromwhicha cavalry expedition was sentto Palmyra, Damascus, through
Iturea, acrossPalestine to thecoastandthenceto Egypt'.Pellingin САНIO2,1996
[п. 14],p. 11 withп. 32 seesmostofAntony's touras 'beginning toreorganizetheadmi-
nistration after
thedisruption ofthewar', though heplacesthemeasures againstPalmyra
in a different context [supran. 14].Examplesof governor's dutiesthatMarkAntony
undertook alongtheway: Plutarch, Ant.XXIII,26,58 ; Appian, ВС V,7 ; StraboXIV,
5, 14.See ontheroleofgovernors, esp.J.Richardson, Roman ProvincialAdministration.
227 ВС toAD 117, Bristol, 19842,p. 27-46; A. Lintott,Imperium Romanům. Politics
andAdministration , London- NewYork,1993,p. 43-69.
(17) F. Chamoux, MarcAntoine : dernierprincede l'Orient grec, Paris,1986,p. 247-
8 ; С. В. R. Pelling,Putarch, LifeofAntony, Cambridge etal., 1998,p. 193(on28.1).

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76 & T. KAIZER
O. HEKSTER

CaesarontheNile.He alsoorderedthepriestofArtemisatEphesus,
whomthey
callMegabyzus,tobebrought him,becausehehadoncewelcomed
before Arsinoé
himwhentheEphesians
as queen,butreleased pleadedwithCleopatra
herself.
So
swiftlywasAntony andthispassionwasthebeginning
transformed, andtheendof
evilsthatafterwards him(omco¡lèvó 'Avtcúvioç
befell êvrjXkaxio
mxécoç,xaí то
av
jtáOoç тф Tomo noi
âgxv TéXoç rcõvелеltoi
xaxœv eyévew)»(18).
Appian,itappears,recounts thesackofPalmyraas thebeginning 'oftheevils
thatafterwards befell'Antony.In otherwords,thefruitless attackon Palmyra,
whichresultedin nothingand antagonised theParthians,can be seen as one of
thoseexamplesofchangesin fortune thatancienthistoriographywas so fondof.
A similareventtakesplace in Plutarch, LifeofCrassus17. In 54 ВС, at theout-
setof whatwouldturnoutto be sucha disastrous Easterncampaign,Crassusis
said to have excessivelycelebratedhis victoryovertheinsignificant townof
Zenodotia.This,Plutarchwrites,'was veryill thought of,andit lookedas ifhe
despaireda noblerachievement, thathe made so muchof thislittlesuccess'.
Quitea changefromthe'good fortune' and 'excellentgeneralship'thatCrassus
had showedin his campaignagainstSpartacus(19).Needlesslyattacking a city
becomesevenmorea metaphor of a reversaloffortune whenitis counterbalan-
ced by an effectivesiege on an important cityby one's greatestopponent.The
easy, irrelevantand ultimatelyunsuccessful sack of Palmyratookplace just a
year before Octavian'sdifficult
but important fightat Perugiain ВС 41. In his
extensivedescription of thatbattle,Appianis noticeably morepositivetowards
Octavianthanotherancientauthors(20).
But it is, morethananything else, Cleopatra'sinfluenceoverAntonythat
dominatesthis part of the Bella Civilia. Not thatAppian is alone in this.
References totheevilforeignqueen,whocorrupted thegoodRomanAntony, are

(18) Appian, BCW,9. Translation from Carter,CivilWarsГп.11,withH. White, LCL.

(19) Plutarch,Crass.XI. Appian'sdistaste forAntony's motivated
insufficiently
aggression againstPalmyra is alsotypicaloftheauthor'sdisapprovalforwarswithout
somesortof legitimacy. Cf.Appian'sversion of thetreatmentof Crassus'campaign
against theParthians atВС II, 18 andhisdisapproval ofLucullus'behaviour in Spain
СIber. 51).
(20) Appian, ВС V,33-49.Cf.Suetonius, Aug.14-15; Dio 48, 14.ButnoteVelleius
Paterculus II, 74,4. Itmaybe relevant thatbynotintervening inthesiegeofPerugia,
Antony effectivelylefthisbrother LuciusatOctavian's
mercy.NotealsothatAppian con-
spicuously underplays theactivities
ofthethirdtriumvirinthesameperiod: hedoesnot
e.g.mention Lepidus'triumph ofthelastdayof43 ВС : VelleiusPaterculusII, 67,3-4,
whorefers to mocking chantsby Lepidus'soldiers. Cf. R. D. Weigel,Lepidus.The
Tarnished Triumvir, London- NewYork,1992,p. 75.Alsop. 80-81onLepidus'activi-
tiesin41 ВС.

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 MARK ANDTHERAIDONPALMYRA
ANTONY 77

galorein Romanliterature (21).Plutarchis primeexampleofthis(22).Of course,

he hadhisownreasonsto depictCleopatra(andAntony)quitenegatively. In the
LifeofAntony, whichis oftenparticularly theorigins
moralistic, of thebattleof
Actiumare describedthroughplacingemphasison the dichotomybetween
OctaviaandCleopatra: thegood Romanmatronversusthewickedwitchofthe
East (23).Perhapsthiswas underinfluence oftheLifeofDemetrios: 'The neces-
sityof makingAntonius'eroticismcorrespond to thatof Demetriosmayhave
encouragedPlutarchto acceptand embellishtheAugustanpropagandawhich
madeAntoniusthetipsyparamour oftheEgyptianqueen' (24).On thewholethe
LifeofAntony(like thatof Demetrios)appearsto be a negativeexemplum , as
Plutarch himself(Comp.Demetr. Ant.3,1) implies: 'Bothwereinsolentin pros-
perity,and abandonedthemselves to luxuryand enjoyment'. A wickedwitchof
theEast wouldfitthestructure well (25).Othersfollowedsuit(26).As theimpor-
tanceof thequeen was well advertised, thisis notin theleast surprising
(27).
Appian's Cleopatra therefore need not strike us as exceptional,and neither
shouldhis statement thatAntony'sinfatuation withthequeenheraldsthebegin-
ningof theend. This changein Antony'sbehaviouris also emphasisedby his
impioustreatment ofthesupplicants in thepassagequotedabove: anything that
Cleopatra ordainedwas done, notwithstanding Roman mores. Onlysupplication
to,andacceptanceby,thequeenherselfdecidedthecourseof actiontaken.

(21) Horace,OdesI, 37 ; Epodes9 ; Propertius III, 11; VelleiusPaterculus II, 85,

3-6; Josephus,Ant.lud.XV,97-8; FlorusII, 21,2-3; С. B. R. Pelling,Anything Truth
can do we can do better : theCleopatra Legendin S. WalkerandP. Higgs(eds.),
Cleopatra ofEgypt. FromHistory toMyth , London, 2001,p. 290-301.
(22) Plutarch, Ant.XXVII,1-2; LIII,6-10; Comp.Dem.Ant.III, 1-3.
(23) С. В. R. Pelling,Plutarch's Adaptation ofhisSource-Material inB. Scardigli
(ed.),EssaysonPlutarch's Lives,Oxford, 1995,p. 125-154. According toPelling(p. 148
n.61) thisdichotomy 'seemstobe Plutarch's ownelaboration'.
's Life'Markos Antonios ' :A andCultural in
(24) F.E. Brenk, Plutarch Literary Study
ANRW II.33.6,1992,p.4347-4469. NotealsoAppian, ВС V,76 : 'beingbynature exces-
sivelyfondofwomen'.
(25) С. B. R. Pelling,Plutarch's Method ofWork in theRomanLivesin Scardigli
Essays[n.23],p. 298: 'Private excessesandyetbrilliant : thecontrast
ability is pro-
grammatic, andexcellently prepares theemergence ofCleopatra, Antonius' tekevíalov
xaxóv(25.1)'.Cf.P.Wallmann, TriumviriReiPublicaeConstituendae. Untersuchungen
zurpolitischen Propaganda imzweiten Triumvirat (43-30B.C.),Frankfurt et.al., 1989.
Ongeneral Romanattitudes towards powerful women, plustopoi: N. Purcell,Liviaand
theWomanhood ofRomeinProc.Camb.Philol.Soc. 212,n.s.32,1986,p. 78-105.
(26) E.g.Dio XLIX,34, 1 ; 41, 1 ; L, 5, 1 ; 24,3 ; 24,7 ; 25, 1-4; 27, 1-5.OnDio's
version ofOctavian's pre-
Actium speech, andtheemphasis onthedanger from theEast:
M. Reinhold, FromRepublic toPrincipáte. AnHistorical Commentary onCassiusDio's
Roman History. Book49-52(36-29B.C.),Atlanta, 1988,p. 84.
(27) Wallmann, Triumviri [n.25], p. 252. Famously, Cleopatra is described as the
'QueenofKings'(Cleopatra Reginae Regum) ona coin-type ofMarkAntony ; Crawford,
RRC,I, no.543.1.

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78 & T. KAIZER
O. HEKSTER

Indeed,theveryfirstlines of book fiveare illustrative fortheweightthat

on
Appianplaces Antony'scorruption by his love forCleopatra:
«AfterthedeathofCassiusandBrutus Octavian returned
toItaly,butAntony
pro-
ceededtoAsia,wherehe metCleopatra, queenofEgypt, andsuccumbed toher
charms atfirst Thispassionbrought
sight. ruinuponthemanduponallEgypt(èg
ökrjv
AïyviïTOv) besides(ВС 5,1,1)».
FortheAlexandrian Appian,thefateofEgyptwas oftheutmostimportance.
Andit turnedon thechangein Antony'sbehaviourthatfollowedhis affair with
Cleopatra(28).The raidon Palmyrais putforward whenAppianillustratesthat
specificchange.Moreover,theseemingly irrelevantattacknotonlyhas prece-
dentsin earlierhistoriography,butit mayalso findan echo in therelevantsack
ofPerugiabyhis opponent - Rome'sfirstemperor.

Contemporary contextofthepassage. - WhywasAppianinterested inPalmyra

in thefirstplace ? Whydid he pay attention to theattackbyAntony'sbowmen
whenotherclassicalauthorsdid not? As notedabove,Appianseemssomewhat
topographically challengedin his description of thedistancebetweenPalmyra
andtheEuphrates(29).Thiscouldprovea tellingslip.Bothriverandcityareal-
readymentioned intheProemoftheHistoriaRomana(30).Moreimportantly even,
at Proem1,4AppianstatesthattheEuphrates formsan Easternboundary to the
Empire.Naturally, scholarshaverecognised thisas a terminusantequemforhis
work(31).But thisstatement has widerimplications thanpurelychronological
ones.The explicitemphasison theEuphrates as a bordercouldhaveideological
connotations (32).Hadrian,on his accession,abandonedTrajan'srecently acqui-
redterritoriesbeyondtheEuphrates (33).Thiscontroversialretreat
maywellhave

(28) Ofcourse, Appian's Antony is notunambiguously a 'goodRoman'evenbefore

Cleopatra(e.g.ВС III,98),andnotentirely evilafterwards
either(e.g.ВС V,66 ; V,136).
(29) See supra, n. 12.
(30) Appian, Proem2.
(31) Appian, after all,wroteabouttheEuphrates as a borderinapparent ignorance of
LuciusVerus'Parthian campaigns of 165(on whichsee A. R. Birley,Hadrianto the
AntoninesinСАН112,2000,p. 160-165). See especially
Gabba,Appiano [п. 1],p. ix,-xi,
Vanderleest inAHB3, 1989[п. 12],p. 132,andK. Brodersen, AppianundseinWerk in
ANRW11.34. 1, 1993,p. 353,whoarguefora datearound AD 160.LukePitcher, howe-
ver,kindlypoints outtous thatthere seemstobe noa priorireasontoexcludea dateas
earlyas thelate140s.Essentially thesamepointis madebyG. S. Bucher,TheOrigins
' ,
Program, andComposition ofAppian'sRomanHistory in ТАРА130,2000,p. 411-58;
415-429.
(32) Thisis,indeed, reaffirmedwhenAppiandescribes thedivisionoftheempire by
thetriumvirs(ВС V,65).
(33) On Trajan'sconquests, see Millar, RomanNear East [n.5], p. 90-111;
J. Bennett,TrajanOptimus Princeps, London- NewYork,20012,p. 183-204.On
Hadrian'sprovincialpolicy, seenowC. Ando,Imperial Ideology andProvincial Loyalty

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 MARK ANDTHERAIDONPALMYRA
ANTONY 79

madean impacton theyoungAlexandrian, whohadjustarrivedin Rome(34).Is

thisthereasonwhytheEuphrates so
figures prominently in thedescriptionofan
otherwise unknown event? Theriver, inAppian'sperception, was thelimitofthe
civilisedworld.It is unlikelythattheinhabitants of Palmyrawouldflee over
200 kilometres, withall theirpossessions(orin anycase theiressentials), tohide
behinda river,but thepointwas thattheyretreated beyondtheboundaryof
Romanpower.ForAppian,to crosstheEuphrates was to leavetheempire.
Outsidethatempire,so Appianwrites,thePalmyrenes were'preparing them-
selveswithbows in case anyonewouldattackthem'.The historian emphasises
that4heyare by natureexcellent'withthatweapon(Jtgòçâ neqvxaoiv ê^ai-
gérœç). But Antony'smen nevercame. Accordingto the story,they'turned
around'fromPalmyra,'nothavingmetanyone,nothavingtakenanything'. So
this
why emphasis on bowmen then ? It may be worthpointing out thatonlyindi-
vidualPalmyrenes had servedas archersin the imperialforcesfromat least
Trajan'sreign onwards, andthattherewereno regularPalmyrene auxiliaryunits
in theRomanarmyuntillongafterAppianwrotehis work,probablynotbefore
theearlythirdcentury AD (35).It was,ofcourse,theParthians whowerereputed
bowmenin Romantimes(36).TakingintoaccountthatAppiannotonlydescribes
Palmyraas beingsituatedoutsidetheEmpireproper(despitePompey'screation
oftheprovindaSyriain 64 ВС), butalso linkstheattackbyAntony'stroopsto
an indignant reactionfromthepartof theParthians, it is notin theleastsurpri-
sing thathe the with
portrays Palmyrenes primarily Parthian skills.
this
Notwithstanding original 'near-Parthian' reputation Palmyra,by the
of
timeof Appian the cityhad become verymuchpartof the Roman world.
Auxiliary unitswerecertainly basedattheoasis inthedirectaftermath ofLucius
Verus'Parthianwar, and possibly before (37).The city,long adheringto the
organisation of thestandard 'Greek city',had evenbeen visitedby theRoman

in the RomanEmpire , Berkeley- Los Angeles- London,2000, p. 330-335;

M. T. Boatwright, HadrianandtheCitiesoftheRomanEmpire N.J.,2000.
, Princeton,
(34) Forthedating ofAppian'sarrivalin Rome,see Gowing, Narratives
Triumvirat
[n.12],p. 16.
(35) A number record
ofdiplomata thegrantofcitizenshiptosuchsoldiers intheearly
yearsofHadrian : CIL XVI,68 ; M. M. Roxan,RomanMilitary Diplomas1954-1977 ,
London, 1978,17,27-28: Palmyrenis See alsoIsaac,Limits
Sagittariis. ofEmpire [n.2],
p. 144.Thereis noevidenceforPalmyrene archersatDuraintheParthian period, as has
beensuggested. See nowDirven, Palmyrenes [n.2],p. 34,withreferences.Bowmen are
atDurainAD 168-171: Dirven,
attested Palmyrenes [n.2],p. 233-235.
(36) See e.g.O. Kurz,TheCambridge HistoryofIran3 (1),Cambridge, 1983,p. 561,
on thedreaded mobilityoftheParthian mounted archers,andespecially theso-called
'Parthian
shot'.
(37) For further see J.-P.Rey-Coquais,
references, Syrieromaine, de Pompéeà
DioclétieninJRS68, 1978,p. 68,andMillar,Roman NearEast[п.5],p. 108.

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80 O. HEKSTER
& T. KAIZER

emperorhimself(38).ForPalmyra,thisadventusmusthavebeena majorevent,
whichfoundreflection in theadditionof 'Hadriane'to itsname(39).Whetherthe
imperial visit was also advertisedin Rome is of courseanothermatter.But
Hadrian'sreignis preciselytheperiodin whichtheprovincesand theirinhabi-
tantsweremorethanbeforeacknowledged as an inherentpartoftheEmpire(40).
It maynotbe entirely accidentalthatthelistofthoseinscriptions fromPalmyra,
whichreferto thecity'slong-distance trade,showsa noticeableconcentrationin
thefirsthalfofthesecondcentury (41).
Recently,Appianhas been describedas an Antoninehistorian(42).He, as
everyauthor,saw theworldin thecontextof his own time.This wentbeyond
simplepoliticaladherenceto therulingdynasty.
Perceptions areinfluencedbya
varietyof incentives.
Indeed, the'critic's
taskmust be first
and foremostto seek
reasons'forthechoiceof composition anddetailsinAppian'swriting (43).With
theobservations madein thepresentcontribution, we hopeto haveshownhow
contemporary opinionsand eventshelped to shape Appian's descriptionof
Antony's raidon Palmyrain 41 ВС. Theythuscontinueto influence ourpercep-
tionsof an important
episodeofRomanhistory.

WadhamCollege- MertonCollege, Oxford

, OlivierHekster
and CorpusChristiCollege, Oxford. andTed Kaizer.

(38) See PAT0305(AD 131),whichrecords theerectionofa statue fora Palmyrene

whohadprovided oil forcitizens
andaccommodation forthearmy'during thevisitof
(ourlord)thedivine Hadrian'. Thedouble-structured ofa bouléanda dèmos
organisation
is firstattested
atPalmyra inAD 74,seeJ.Cantineau, TadmoreainSyria14,1933,p.
174,no2b,although theassembly onitsownappears already
preciselyfiftyyearsearlier,
seePAT1352.Thefamous taxlawfrom AD 137givesa wholeseriesofoffices of
typical
a 'Greekcity',seePAT0259.
(39) Thetaxlaw{PAT0259)givesthenewnameinPalmyrenean only(hdryn' tdmr),
but an inscription fromsix yearsearlierrefersto its honoureeas [fAôjçiavòv
IlaktiVQrjvóv,see PAT1374(AD 131). See nowalso Boatwright, Hadrian[n.33],
p. 104-5.
(40) Theprocesshasbeenhighlighted recentlybyAndo,Imperial Ideology [n.33],
p. 330-5,andBoatwright, Hadrian[n.33],esp.p. 204-9.
(41) See M. Gawlikowski, Palmyraas a Trading CentreinIraq 56, 1994,p. 27-33,
withthelistonp. 32-33.Cf.F. Millar,CaravanCities: theRoman NearEastandLong-
distance TradebyLandinM. Austin, J.HarriesandC. Smith (eds.),ModusOperandi :
Essaysin Honourof Geoffrey Rickman, London,1998 (Bulletin of theInstituteof
ClassicalStudies, Suppl.71),p. 119-137.Mostrecently Young,Rome'sEasternTrade
[n.3],p. 136-186.
(42) Gowing, Triumviral Narratives
[n.12],p. 273-287.
(43) Gowing, Triumviral Narratives
[n.12],p. 277.

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