Identity and Mobility of Palmyrene Jews

doi:10.1017/9781009532044.009

9 - Identity and Mobility of Palmyrene Jews

Published online by Cambridge University Press: 21 October 2025

Eleonora Cussini

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Rubina Raja

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Rubina Raja: Affiliation:
Aarhus Universitet, Denmark

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Summary

Little is known about the Jewish presence Roman time Palmyra: the remains of a synagogue and other archaeological and epigraphic data indicate that Jews lived in Palmyra. Their presence is confirmed by onomastics. About twenty biblical names are preserved in inscriptions from Palmyra. Others are found in epitaphs from Beth She‘arim catacombs. However, Palmyrene Jews also bore Palmyrene names, and therefore it is not always easy to reconstruct identity and religious affiliation. Therefore the epigraphic data indicate only a small portion of what must have been the Jewish population of Palmyra. Examples of the mobility of Palmyrene Jews are illustrated by their presence in the Roman army, by first century BC–first century AD ossuaries from Palestine with Palmyrene epitaphs and by Palmyrene onomastics in Aramaic and Greek epitaphs. Westward mobility of Palmyrenes is displayed in an Aramaic Bar Kokhba letter mentioning an individual of Palmyrene origin. Finally, fourth to seventh centuries AD documents from Israel and Jordan written in Hebrew, Aramaic or Greek show the persistence and fortune, within Jewish and proto-Christian communities, of the name Zenobios and Zenobia, an onomastic choice inspired by the foremost protagonist of the last phase of Palmyrene history.

Keywords

Palmyrene Jews Onomastics synagogue menorah Psalm 118 Diaspora communities Beth She’arim Apamea Zenobia Ard al-Karak cemeteries

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Type: Chapter
Information: Palmyra, the Mediterranean and Beyond , pp. 187 - 211

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009532044.009 [Opens in a new window]

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Print publication year: 2025

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