Much has already been written about the "revolt" of Palmyra, so I won't go to great lengths here to give the full history. What follows is just a brief overview to learn a little about the times, the region, and the sequence of events, to better put the coins into context.

Tadmor, called by the Greeks and the Romans "Palmyra", was a city on the lucrative Oriental "silk road" trade route halfway between Emessa and the Euphrates River. As such it amassed great wealth, and it's most powerful citizens were those traders, or the leaders of the men who protected the caravans. In the mid-3rd century the most powerful of these was Odenathus.

Septimius Odenathus (whose name means "Little Ear" in Arabic) seems to have risen to fame rather suddenly. Though his family is named in detail on some of his monuments, they don't seem appear on other prior records. His family must have gained citizenship during the reign of Septimius Severus or his sons, as evidenced by his name. Exactly how he came to power isn't known, but perhaps he was fortunate enough to have amassed wealth at a faster rate than others, whether through landowning or caravan protection. He became a great general, being entrusted by Valerian and Gallienus with control of Syria, a buffer zone between Rome and their perpetual enemy Persia, now under control of the new Sasanian rulers.

After the capture of Valerian, Odenathus attacked the Sasanians in force, and had great victories. While on campaign in Asia Minor in 267 he and his oldest son (by his first wife) were murdered, leaving his young son under the regency of his mother, Zenobia.

Zenobia (Bat Zabbai in Arabic, which perhaps means "daughter of the one with beautiful long hair") was younger than Odenathus, and apparently much more ambitious. While Odenathus seems to have been content to fight on behalf of Rome, she invaded and ended up controlling much of the eastern Roman Empire. With the capture of Valerian had come a power vacuum in the East, as his son Gallienus had his hands more than full with ursurpers and invaders in the western part of the empire. With the death of Odenathus the power in the east theoretically fell on his son Vabalathus, but in reality the real power was his mother and regent Zenobia.

Vabalathus is the Latinized form of his Arabic name, Wahballath, "the gift of Allat." Allat was an important Arabic goddess, sometimes equated with Athena. His Greek name Athenodoris reflects this. His name appears on coins variously as Vabalathus, Vhabalathus, or Vaballathus. His mother's rule was in his name, and if she were cautious the rule could have lasted. Unfortunately this seems to have been one of the few virtues she lacked.

Within 3 years of the death of Odenathus, Zenobia had invaded Egypt. She eventually carved out a large portion of the empire for herself and her son, which may be a reflection of the Gallic Secessionist Empire which Postumus had been ruling. Neither Gallienus nor his successor, Claudius Gothicus, were in a position to contest this. When the new Emperor Aurelian came to power, he lost little time beginning his march to Syria.

During this period, coins were minted in Syria and Egypt, with Aurelian identified as the emperor and wearing the radiate crown signifying both the denomination and the ruler. In a break from convention, Vabalathus is featured on the reverse wearing a laurel wreath and showing the abbreviation of the titles he had assumed, VCRIMDR. The exact meaning of these initials is debated, but the most logical arrangement would be Vir Clarissimus Rex Imperator Dux Romanorum (Most illustrious (senatorial rank), king, leader of the army, duke under Rome). This clearly demonstrates him putting himself in the lower position of client king and acknowledges the rule of the emperor, but the invasions and seizure of the eastern portion of the empire was not something Aurelian would overlook. When war broke out in earnest, coins identifying Vabalathus as the emperor and Zenobia as Augusta were minted, though these are much more rare.

Though the armies of Zenobia were initially successful, they could not stand against the full might of the Roman war machine, or the strategic mind of Aurelian. Eventually both Syria and Egypt had been recaptured, and Zenobia (and probably Vabalathus) were both taken into custody and marched in Aurelian's triuphal parade in Rome.

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Antioch mint

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The dual-bust coins of Vabalathus from the mint in Antioch Syria show Aurelian on one side, and Vabalathus on the other. The side with Aurelian is probably the obverse, in spite of the officina mark below him. It was standard practice for the emperor to be on the obverse, and these coins show Aurelian with the radiate crown which identifies him with Sol, and also indicates the denomination of the coin (referred to by modern numismatists as an "antoninianus"). He is shown with the close-cropped beard typical of portraits of the military era, and is cuirassed (armored). The legend reads IMP(erator) C(aesar) AVRELIANVS AVG(ustus)

During the reign of Gallienus, the Roman Imperial mints were beginning a system of putting mint and/or officina (workshop within a mint) marks on coins, a practice that was to continue throughout the remainder of the Imperial period. Among other things, this might have been needed for quality control, helping to trace irregularities in coin weights and alloys. This practice quickly caught on and became more standardized, and the coins of Vabalathus from the Antioch mint are uniformly marked with the Greek numeral for the workshop number.

The other side of the coin features the young Vabalathus, probably in his early teens judging from the portrait and lack of beard. He is shown draped, and wearing a laurel wreath. The legend VABALATHVS V C R IM D R is discussed above.

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Alexandria mint

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Since the beginning of the Imperial period Egypt was considered the property of the reigning emperor, and was ruled by a governor appointed by him. The coins reflect this - they are not of the Imperial standard, but are the traditional tetradrachms, albeit much smaller (and in bronze) than in Ptolemaic times. This doesn't change until the Reforms of Diocletian.

The coins of Alexandria are dated by regnal year of the emperor, with the "L" somehow signifying the word "year". There is some debate about the meaning of this, with some of the opinion that the "L" is an abbreviation or monogram for the Greek word for year, others feeling that it represents the word "year" in Egyptian demotic script. Following this is the Greek numeral for the year. On the example coin we see year one (A) of Aurelian, and in a bold move, year 4 (D) of Vabalathus. The obverse legend reads "AVT K L D AVRHLIANOC CvB", with the reverse legends "IACO VABALLAQOC AQHN BACI" or "IACO VABALLAQOC AQHNO YA...CRw" .

Year two coins (B of Aurelian, v of Vabalathus) read "A K L DOM AVRHLIANOC CvB", and "IACO VABALLAQOC AQHNV ACR".

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All coins from the author's collection. Not a commercial site, these coins are not for sale.