Late Antique and Early Islamic Palmyra/Tadmur : an archaeological and historical reassessment
In approaching the scientific literature on the UNESCO world heritage site of Palmyra for the first time, any scholar would be immediately struck by the number of studies devoted to the Roman phase of the settlement â roughly 1st-third quarter of the 3rd century. By contrast, contributions on late antique and early Islamic Palmyra have never been numerous, reflecting both the preference granted by current scholarship to the study of Roman remains and the paucity of archaeological and written evidence at our disposal to cast light on this period. Admittedly, works on post-273 Palmyra have grown significantly in number in the last couple of decades. Yet, almost the totality of them has often been confined to the examination of items of circumstantial evidence. We still lack an organic publication that attempts a systematic overview of these works and tries to contextualise the history of the city in a broader geographic and chronological framework. Numerous questions, such as the fate of the city in the 5th century, remain to be answered; other evidence, such as the bulk of early Arabic written sources, still has to be fully explored. This dissertation presents an examination of those evidence that are useful
Intagliata, Emanuele Ettore
Palmyra ; Tadmur ; Late Antiquity ; Early Islam
Late Antique and Early Islamic Palmyra/Tadmur : an archaeological and historical reassessment. In approaching the scientific literature on the UNESCO world heritage site of Palmyra for the first time, any scholar would be immediately struck by the number of studies devoted to the Roman phase of the settlement â roughly 1st-third quarter of the 3rd century. By contrast, contributions on late antique and early Islamic Palmyra have never been numerous, reflecting both the preference granted by current scholarship to the study of Roman remains and the paucity of archaeological and written evidence at our disposal to cast light on this period. Admittedly, works on post-273 Palmyra have grown significantly in number in the last couple of decades. Yet, almost the totality of them has often been confined to the examination of items of circumstantial evidence. We still lack an organic publication that attempts a systematic overview of these works and tries to contextualise the history of the city in a broader geographic and chronological framework. Numerous questions, such as the fate of the city in the 5th century, remain to be answered; other evidence, such as the bulk of early Arabic written sources, still has to be fully explored. This dissertation presents an examination of those evidence that are useful
late_antique early_islamic archaeological_historical reassessment approach scientific literature unesco world_heritage site first_time scholar would immediately strike number study devote roman phase settlement contrast contribution late_antique early_islamic never numerous reflect preference grant current_scholarship study roman remain paucity archaeological write evidence disposal cast_light period work post grown significantly number yet almost totality often confine examination item circumstantial evidence still_lack organic publication attempt systematic overview work try contextualise history city broader geographic chronological_framework numerous question fate city remain answered evidence bulk early arabic write_source still fully_explore present examination evidence useful