Caravan Cities diarchai].’’^47 We know that the Palmyrenes, uniquely for a provincial city,
maintained military outposts far away on the Euphrates, outside the Roman
provincial area.^48
Our knowledge of the difficulties and dangers which faced caravans on
their way back from Vologaesias to Palmyra has been enhanced by a recently
published bilingual inscription of.. from the temple of Athena, hon-
ouring Soados son of Boliades (to use his Greek name). He had saved a cara-
van under attack from forces under a leader called in Palmyrene ‘Abdallat
Ahiitya, and the allusion here seems to be quite clearly to military protection.
Since the preliminary publication appears in an article by H. J. W. Drijvers
on the dependence of the public vocabulary of Palmyrene on Greek,^49 and
might thus escape notice altogether, it is worth reproducing Drijvers’ trans-
lation here, with minor presentational changes:
[The statues?], this one in [the temple of Athen]a, one in the sacred
garden, and one in the temple of Atargatis, [which] have been erected
next to the first four statues that were erected by the first caravan [syno-
dia] for Soados son of Boliades son of Thaimisamsos, who is pious and
patriotic, through his benevolence and magnanimity towards the citi-
zens in every way, adorned with distinctions and very great honours,
the caravan [synodia] of all Palmyrenes which came back from Volo-
gaesias erected, because he advanced in a distinguished manner, taking
with him a large force, and he protected (them) against [Ab]dallathos
from Eeithe and these [‘‘the robbers’’ in the Palmyrene text] that were
brought together by him from P[.......] who for a long time were lying
in wait in order to harm the [caravan...] he preserved them. There-
fore they erected for him [the statues?] to honour him, when Malê
son of Sumonos [.....] and [E]nnibel son of Sumonos son of Bazekeswere caravan-leaders [συνοδιαρχούντων] in the year month Daisius
( June).The Abdallathos against whom Soados had protected the caravan will pre-
sumably have been very like thephylarchoi(tribal chiefs) of the Skenitai of
whom Strabo speaks as operating on the other side of the Euphrates (text
.Inv.X,no.PAT, no. .
. See M. Gawlikowski, ‘‘Palmyra et l’Euphrate,’’Syria (): –; Millar (n. ),
, –.
. H. J. W. Drijvers, ‘‘Greek and Aramaic in Palmyrene Inscriptions,’’ inStudiaAramaica:
NewSourcesandNewApproaches, ed. M. J. Geller and J. C. Greenfield (), –, on –,
with pl. . Not included inPAT.